Chapter 4045: The Grand Elder’s Questioning

The Sword Peak Head’s eyebrow twitched.

The Grand Elder ignored Zhenyu’s remark. "Your disappearance occurred during the thirty-seventh year of Patriarch Luoxian’s second century of appointment."

"Wrong," Zhenyu immediately replied.

Several people blinked.

The Grand Elder remained expressionless. "Wrong?"

"Thirty-eighth."

The Grand Elder’s eyes sharpened slightly.

Zhenyu snorted. "If you’re going to question me about my own disappearance, at least get the year right."

"The official records state the thirty-seventh year."

"And the official records are wrong."

A murmur spread through the gathered elders.

The Grand Elder continued calmly. "How?"

Zhenyu looked at him as though the answer were obvious. "Because old Luoxian insisted his second term began from the day the previous Patriarch entered seclusion. The Administrative Division counted it from the formal succession ceremony eleven months later. Half the sect used one calendar, half used the other, and the resulting mess lasted nearly sixty years."

Lin Mu had discovered that discrepancy while studying the archives.

Three different sets of records had placed events during that period one year apart. Zhenyu’s memoir had complained about the matter repeatedly because one of his mission rewards had apparently been delayed due to the confusion.

The Grand Elder gave a faint nod. "Correct."

The Sword Peak Head glanced at him. "That could be found in the archives."

"Indeed," the Grand Elder replied.

Zhenyu laughed. "Then ask something difficult, child."

The Sword Peak Head’s face twitched again.

The Grand Elder did exactly that. "Before your departure, you fought Elder Mian Guzu in the southern training grounds. Why?"

Lin Mu almost answered immediately but then he stopped himself.

There had been a fight with Mian Guzu. Zhenyu’s memoir described it extensively. The official records claimed the conflict had started over a dispute concerning access to a body cultivation chamber.

But something felt wrong as the Grand Elder had phrased the question too cleanly.

’Trap.’ Zhenyu’s expression became strange. "Which fight?"

The Grand Elder paused as several elders looked confused.

Zhenyu continued, "The one where Guzu accused me of stealing his medicine? The one where I threw him into the waterfall? Or the one involving his sister?"

High Elder Shatter Peak’s eyes widened with interest.

The Grand Elder’s lips twitched. "The southern training grounds."

"That was the waterfall."

"No," the Grand Elder said. "The records say it concerned a cultivation chamber."

Zhenyu laughed loudly. "Those idiots actually wrote that down?"

The Grand Elder’s eyes gleamed.

Zhenyu shook his head. "Guzu had been courting Junior Sister Lian for three years. The fool finally gathered enough courage to confess, then discovered she had already accepted someone else’s proposal. He got drunk, blamed me because I introduced them, and challenged me."

A few disciples struggled to keep their expressions straight. But Zhenyu continued with absolutely no mercy toward a man who had been dead for more than a hundred thousand years.

"I threw him into the waterfall to sober him up. He climbed back out and challenged me again, so I threw him back in. We repeated that five times."

"Seven," the Grand Elder corrected.

Zhenyu’s eyes narrowed as Lin Mu’s mind moved rapidly.

Zhenyu’s memoir said five but the official disciplinary report said seven. Yet there was another document... A complaint written by Mian Guzu himself.

’Five times into the waterfall. Twice into the pond afterward.’

Zhenyu scoffed. "Five into the waterfall, twice into the lotus pond. If you’re going to count, count properly."

The Grand Elder finally smiled again. "Correct."

High Elder Shatter Peak looked thoroughly impressed. "Ancestor was wild."

High Elder Palm Saber quietly replied, "Focus."

"I am focused."

Lin Mu suppressed his amusement.

The Grand Elder’s questions continued. "What was kept beneath the third stone seat of the old Wild Peak council chamber?"

"Nothing."

"A formation diagram."

"Nothing," Zhenyu repeated and the Grand Elder stared at him.

Zhenyu stared back as several seconds passed.

Then the Grand Elder nodded. "Correct."

The Sword Peak Head frowned. "You just said there was a formation diagram."

"There was supposed to be," the Grand Elder explained. "Historical records claim one was hidden there."

Zhenyu snorted. "Old Peak Head Gu smashed the stone seat during an argument. Everyone discovered the compartment underneath was empty. The formation diagram had already been misplaced decades earlier."

High Elder Palm Saber looked toward Shatter Peak.

High Elder Shatter Peak whispered, "Our Peak Heads really haven’t changed."

High Elder Palm Saber could not disagree.

The questions grew stranger.

"What color was Patriarch Luoxian’s ceremonial crown?"

"Purple."

The Grand Elder nodded.

"Blue," Zhenyu added.

The Grand Elder paused.

Everyone looked confused.

"Which was it?" the Clarity Peak Head asked.

Zhenyu looked at her. "Both."

"How?"

"The cloth braid was purple. The feathers were blue."

The Grand Elder nodded again. "Correct."

"What animal lived beneath the western bridge connecting Wild Peak to the old Inner Court Arena site?"

"A Three-Eyed Mud Toad."

"Incorrect. A Golden Shell River Turtle."

Zhenyu rolled his eyes. "The turtle arrived later. During my time it was a Three-Eyed Mud Toad named Fatty."

Several disciples stared at him.

"Someone named it Fatty?" one whispered.

Zhenyu immediately pointed toward the disciple without even looking. "I did."

The disciple shut his mouth.

The Grand Elder’s expression became increasingly thoughtful. "Who killed it?"

Zhenyu frowned. "Nobody."

The Grand Elder waited.

"It ate Elder Shen’s poisonous medicine and died."

"Correct."

Daoist Bone Ruler watched the exchange with a complicated expression.

These questions sounded ridiculous, yet he understood their purpose. Public history preserved great battles, techniques, promotions, inheritances and disasters. It rarely preserved the name of a toad living beneath a bridge or the embarrassing reason behind two disciples fighting.

Then the Grand Elder’s questions became considerably more serious. "Who taught you the first half of the Shifting Earth principle?"

Zhenyu’s amusement faded.

"Senior Elder Wuheng."

"Records say Elder Qiao."

"Records say many stupid things."

The Grand Elder waited for an explanation.

Zhenyu gave him one. "Wuheng taught me the original Earth Shifting technique. I dismantled it and used its principles as the foundation of the Shifting Earth component. Elder Qiao helped me stabilize the circulation method years later. Calling him the teacher would have made Wuheng climb out of his grave and strangle whoever wrote that record."

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