The Grandmaster 01 02

"Just what kind of Taskmaster was that?" Fang Zhiyi pondered.

Xiao Hei shook his head repeatedly. "Don't think about it. Taskmasters aren't only humans; some powerful remnant souls can do it too."

Fang Zhiyi looked at it. "It was a remnant soul? Good heavens, if a remnant soul is that terrifying, imagine the real deal."

Xiao Hei pretended to wipe sweat from its brow.

Fang Zhiyi asked again, "Seriously, if you fought her..."

Xiao Hei waved its hands frantically. "Forget it... I'm not crazy."

Fang Zhiyi sensed the energy within his body and was pleasantly surprised. "Oh ho, Wuxia?"

Seeing that he had finally stopped fixating on the Taskmaster, Xiao Hei breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, the plot was delivered.

In this world, martial artists were numerous. Where there are people, there is the Jianghu, and the Jianghu is about strife.

Among the countless large and small sects of the Jianghu, Fang Zhiyi was the sect master of the Cangyue Sect. His martial arts were barely passable, and he was a pedantic man who often stayed on the mountain cultivating, paying almost no attention to the affairs of the Jianghu.

The story begins with his youngest disciple. This lad was the last disciple Fang Zhiyi had taken in, an honest and upright fellow. Since Fang Zhiyi paid little mind to management, the sect's affairs were handled by the head disciple, Yu Cangyun. Seeing that his junior brother was now ready to graduate, Yu Cangyun sent him down the mountain to gain experience. This was the rule; almost every disciple would journey through the Jianghu after graduating, firstly to broaden their horizons, and secondly to make a name for themselves—essentially announcing to other Jianghu figures that the Cangyue Sect had produced another master.

However, the honest Li Xiuyu, once out, was inexplicably drawn into a struggle over a treasure. In the chaos, he was helped to escape by a young woman. The girl's name was Yue. She was clever and quirky and took a liking to the honest Li Xiuyu. Li Xiuyu had never encountered anything like this, and so their feelings gradually deepened. It wasn't until Yue was once surrounded by enemies and Li Xiuyu desperately rescued her that he learned Yue was actually the Demon Cult's Saintess!

However, Yue was unwilling to be this Saintess and had run away. Li Xiuyu was deeply conflicted. His master, who prided himself on being from a righteous sect, would absolutely never permit him to be with Yue. Yet, Yue's feelings for him were genuine.

And so, he continued to wander the Jianghu with Yue, all the while wrestling with his thoughts. Yue's disregard for rules caused quite a bit of trouble, but fortunately, Li Xiuyu's skills were not lacking, and he managed to extricate them from danger time and again.

One day, Li Xiuyu found a severely wounded, unconscious man by the roadside. He brought the man back to their lodgings and tended to him carefully. Upon waking, the man was wary at first, but after spending more time together, he also realized Li Xiuyu was an honest man and slowly let his guard down. When he finally revealed his identity, both Yue and Li Xiuyu were shocked.

The man was a notorious villain, Sun Kui. It was said he had stolen secret manuals and treasures from many sects and killed several righteous figures. But he claimed he had his reasons—the people he killed were the true culprits behind the murder of his wife and child years ago.

Yue was somewhat suspicious, but Li Xiuyu believed him.

Only, his situation grew even more precarious. First, there was the Demon Cult Saintess Yue, and now, the great villain Sun Kui had joined them.

He received several messages from his sect ordering him to return, but Li Xiuyu delayed, utterly unsure how to explain the matter to his master.

Later, with Sun Kui as their witness, Yue and he held a simple wedding ceremony. He agonized over whether to return or not.

Yue gave birth, and he worried while still agonizing over whether to return or not.

Their son learned to talk, and he watched as Sun Kui taught the boy martial arts, continuing to agonize over whether to return or not.

Finally, he made up his mind. Now that his son was grown, surely his master would understand for the child's sake, right?

So he bid farewell to Sun Kui and, with his wife and son in tow, returned anxiously to the Cangyue Sect. The moment he passed through the mountain gate, Li Xiuyu was stunned. The Cangyue Sect had become quite dilapidated. When he found his master, he learned the truth: over the years, the trouble he and Yue had stirred up had been brought to the Cangyue Sect's doorstep. His master, knowing they were in the wrong, had no choice but to compensate others.

Later, after people witnessed them being with the villain Sun Kui, other sects began coming one after another to demand he be handed over. His master was constantly worried and frowning, and many disciples under the sect had quietly left.

By the time Li Xiuyu returned this time, his tracks had long been discovered by watchers at the foot of the mountain.

Just as he was having his son greet his grandmaster, a large crowd of Jianghu figures in various attire stormed the mountain gate. The Cangyue Sect was not large to begin with and was instantly packed to the brim with people from different factions.

They surrounded the members of the Cangyue Sect, arrogantly demanding the handover of the Demon Cult Saintess Yue and the murderous treasure-thief Sun Kui. Li Xiuyu panicked, looking to his master for help, but his master only heaved a heavy sigh.

"The Cangyue Sect is, after all, a righteous sect. Surely Sect Master Fang would not stoop to sheltering evildoers, would he?" The sect master of the Liushuang Sect, Abbess Rowei, eyed Li Xiuyu sideways.

“Exactly, Sect Master Fang. Your disciple has colluded with an evil cult Saintess and befriended the villain Sun Kui. Today, we are merely carrying out heaven's will. Which side will you stand on?”

They did not fear Fang Zhiyi because over the past few years, Fang Zhiyi had shown an attitude of appeasement and concession. Moreover, Fang Zhiyi's strength was inferior to that of these major sect masters.

"Xiuyu, how could you have brought such disaster upon us?" The head disciple, his senior brother, was heartbroken.

Li Xiuyu looked at his other senior brothers; they all wore expressions of despair. His master had turned his back. Li Xiuyu understood then that his sect would not make enemies of so many factions for his sake.

"Li Xiuyu, Sun Kui killed my master's entire family. Tell us his whereabouts today, and we will spare you."

"Wait." Abbess Rowei of the Liushuang Sect looked toward Yue, who was shielding the child. "This she-devil must also be handed over!"

Li Xiuyu's face drained of color. His nature prevented him from thinking of much else. He suddenly turned and kowtowed three times toward his master's back. "Master, your disciple begs you to help care for this child."

His master did not turn around.

Li Xiuyu stood up, looking at the crowd before him. He now understood that these people, who paid lip service to eradicating evil and defending the righteous path, were actually after the treasures rumored to have been stolen by Sun Kui. How laughable!

Yue seemed to understand his thoughts. The husband and wife exchanged a glance. Without hesitation, Li Xiuyu chose to take his own life! Yue cried out in shock, then looked at the crowd closing in. She knew that falling into their hands would be far worse—a fate where she could neither live nor die freely!

She pushed the child toward Fang Zhiyi, gave one last, longing look at her son, drew a dagger, and plunged it through her own heart.

Only, Yue's gaze remained fixed on Fang Zhiyi until the end—filled with bewilderment and mockery.

Afterwards, Li Xiuyu's senior brothers buried the pair, and the child remained at the Cangyue Sect.

The Jianghu still prioritized profit. News of Yue's death spread, but the Demon Cult did not seek revenge for her. After all, starting a war with these righteous sects over a dead person was hardly rational.