Still a Lin by Blood

"M-Master Lin, what are you saying?" Lin Dong moved away from the blade, but it followed him persistently. "Master Lin! If you kill me now, you'll only prove that you're unworthy of the sect!" He glared at him. "Lin Guwei sacrificed his life for the good of the sect! Lu Bang gave up his core, and that only leaves you! You're the last one to deal with!"

Lin Dong moved to the side and tried to grab the master, only for Huaban to fly out of its case and cut off the man's hand. Buyue spun to deflect the blood from hitting Lin Kun. Keeping the shock to himself, the master only slid his eyes to the side to look at the agonizing man.

"Lin Dong, never had I heard those words from you. Why would the Heici Xu sect want me gone? What is it that they wish to accomplish?"

"You… are never made to understand. The Hushe Path that your father turned away—the same path he swore not to be taken by his sons—will be our path to immortality!" Lin Dong pulled on his sash and wrapped it around his bleeding arm. He then ran out of the room, tearing down the door.

Lin Kun got up from his seat as if giving chase, but the three swords beat him to it. He had forgotten than Sun Yin had not yet cleansed the swords like she promised. The two swords he treasured were now infected by a dark mind, acting on his very own impulses. He had to make sure they were to hurt no one else.

The energy coming from the three swords tore Sun Yin's attention from Lu Bang. She stepped away from him and got to her feet, knowing that something was coming from behind them, from the end of the hallway. Even Lu Bang was aware, on his feet despite standing on the ground outside.

Screaming accompanied the footsteps coming their way. The smell of blood stirred in the night breeze, and the two was shocked by the man that came out of the corner.

"Lin Dong?!" Lu Bang called out as he shoved Sun Yin to the side as if preventing her from colliding against him. "What—?!" He saw the glares of the three swords behind him.

Lin Dong grabbed Lu Bang's lapel and swapped places with him with a pull as if turning him a shield against the swords. However, only Buyue and Huaban swerved to avoid him. Xiangwei swooped low, piercing through Lin Dong's leg. The man screamed in pain as the sword dragged him away from Lu Bang and lifted him to a tree. He was hung inverted as Xiangwei pinned him onto the big tree, Huaban holding him down by the complete arm. Buyue struck next to his head as if threatening him.

The disciples crowded around, confused by the attack on Lin Dong. Sun Yin and Lu Bang stayed in the hallway, not noticing Lin Kun diving through the crowd. Once the master emerged from the sea of disciples, the chattering was silenced. Lin Kun pulled on his own lapel to straighten his robes. He walked to the man bleeding onto the tree.

"Lin Dong, confess your sins. I can still forgive you."

"My confession comes with your death, Lin Kun. If you continue to walk your father's path, the Huayuan Lin sect will perish!" Lin Dong spat at the man before laughing out. Buyue removed himself from the trunk and hurled himself deep into the man's abdomen. Lin Dong coughed out blood for real before resuming his grin.

Lin Kun balled his fists and made a waning face. He was confused with what he meant, and the subordinate refused to say anything. 'What is the Hushe Path? How can it lead us to immortality? Why would my father deny this from us? What is wrong with this path?' Before he could get another word out, Lin Dong was already dead on the tree.

The swords removed themselves all at once, dropping the body on the ground. The sight of his broken body would haunt the other disciples, but Lin Kun continued to stare at him. Huaban, Xiangwei, and Buyue swiped in mid-air to remove blood on their blades before sheathing themselves on Lin Kun's waist.

Lu Bang went to stand next to his brother. "Do you want me to move him?"

"Brother, this is more than obtaining the treasures of the Bride. They want to become immortals in a way Father did not allow the cultivation world to go." Lin Kun turned to his brother. "This is something more than impersonating the Bride and causing chaos to the land."

"So it never died." Sun Yin went to Lin Kun's other side. "The dream they all once had. The dream that killed my entire sect…"

"Your entire sect was wiped out by them?" Lin Kun looked at the maiden.

"…They called it the Hushe Path, didn't they?" Sun Yin glared at the broken man. "Naming it after my village is an insult; it is as if we spearheaded that way." She looked at the two men. "This so-called Hushe Path is diabolical. If I were you, you shouldn't associate yourself with it. Your father made the right decision not to get involved."

Lin Kun frowned at the maiden before he moved to face her. "You seem to be knowledgeable about this Hushe Path. Why is it dangerous?"

"Because it's a surefire way to be killed"—she batted her eyelashes at him, but her eyes were filled with rage—"by me."

The maiden left the scene, letting the brothers discuss by themselves outside the earshot of the people. However, Lin Kun dispersed the crowd soon enough, giving the senior disciple a proper burial. The events had kept the master awake even until Sun Yin broke in his quarters again.

He only gave her a smile. "Lady Sun, you shouldn't be loitering the halls at night, coming to a man's room in silence."

"I have no qualms if I would be taken by you, but we both know that'll never happen." She returned the polite smile before moving to his side. She had a book with her, which happened to be Lin Guwei's journal. "I found this hidden in the dark room where the Gold Orb used to be."

"Why would you go there on your own? There could have been traps." Lin Kun frowned at the woman. However, he still laid his eyes on the pages she was flipping.

"He wrote here records of finding Buyue and the piece of the golden core inside a jar left in a cave in the mountains." She ran her candle fingers along with the writings on an old paper. "He wrote that he found it using a detector, but that detector was not on this book. This was the only one I found in the place." She then leaned against the man, pressing her chest against his arm. "Little Kun, do you know anything about this detector? Or some other places he could have hidden it?"

Lin Kun only stared at the woman before turning away. "I have to ask, Lady Sun. Why do you keep on doing that? Do you not regard your body as something precious? You're a woman, and yet you let people feast on you."

Sun Yin only giggled with her sleeve on her mouth. "It's because humans tend to lose their rational voices when they are tempted. Most disciples are men, and so I use my body in ways I can to get what I want. Never did I sell more flesh than this, but if that's the price of me finding Yuanyan, so be it."

The master looked at her with a crooked smile. "Yuanyan? The iron fan?"

"Yes, yes, my lovely Yuanyan."

"No need to seduce me; all you have to do is ask." Lin Kun turned to his other side and flipped through the scrolls to get a map. He did not even hold back moving despite having the woman pressed against him. "It's not a secret that the Bride's Iron Fan was recovered in Haiyang, but the sects were all cautious of it. It was said to kill anyone that dared touch it. It's being watched over by the Haiyang Cheng sect.

"It could be only a rumor for I have never seen it move. Since you—its original owner—would be holding it, it might as well obey you." He handed the maiden the map to Haiyang. "I'll let you restock on your resources first before leaving."

"What happened to you? You became so generous." Sun Yin hummed as she reviewed the map. "Oh, the boat routes had changed."

Lin Kun kept his silence for seconds before breaking it himself. "I just keep on thinking about what you had said, in addition to what Lin Dong had. I remembered our father was not known for being honorable enough to stand against the world for what he believed in. He only did whatever it took to keep the sect safe.

"I believe he only kept Buyue and the core piece away from them… in hopes to gain your favor."

Lin Kun shook his head. "We can never stand against the Bride of Corpses. Not being caught up in her rage was for the best. He cared not if he ended up being remembered as a coward for not fighting alongside his brothers… as long as the sect is safe."

"So you're doing the same?" Sun Yin pulled away, her lips curling in delight.

"Perhaps yes, but I still want to know what this Hushe Path is. I need to destroy it if it can be destroyed." Lin Kun sighed.

"An ideal is indestructible." Sun Yin got up from her seat and stood before Lin Kun. "However, you can always end the long line of its dreamers. The Hushe Path will strip everyone off of their humanity.

"If you need to see what happens when you succeed, you can take a good look at me." She then glared with a wicked smile. "If you need to see the opposite, take a look at my Cinder Army."

"Either is a bad choice, isn't it?"