Legend of Zhan Zhao

Chapter 80 The Birth of Zhong Kui
"Quick! Quick!"

Seeing that Madam Gu had stepped in to "intercept" Gu Lin, Zhou Wuxin seized the opportunity and made a series of arrangements, getting the elites of the Six Doors into position and setting up an inescapable net.

At the same time, they pricked up their ears, wanting to hear clearly why this young hero, who was extremely skilled in martial arts and had a bright future, would go to such lengths to fake his death and become "Zhong Kui," committing this shocking crime that would scare the world.

In his excitement, Gu Lin didn't try to hide his last sentence, which was overheard by someone nearby.

But apart from a handful of people, no one understood what they were hearing; it all seemed completely incomprehensible.

Of the three who understood, Zhan Zhao sighed silently, while Granny Jiang and Lian Caiyun's expressions changed drastically.

Granny Jiang was a participant in the affair back then, and it was precisely because she disagreed with Madam Gu marrying Jiang Heming that she came to the capital to manage the mansion.

Lian Caiyun had heard about the past from Madam Gu herself when her second senior brother, Tang Lei, died not long ago.

When Madam Gu was young, she traveled the martial arts world and was humiliated by bandits. Later, she became pregnant. Jiang Heming, as Gu Menglai's close attendant, was willing to marry her, which greatly moved Gu Menglai. He then helped her gain a better social standing and status, and she became a great hero praised by everyone in Jiangnan.

As for the villain who insulted Madam Gu back then, his identity has remained unknown, which is still a regret to this day.

Lian Caiyun was very sad after she found out.

Is the reason why Master's wife is now so heartless, devoid of desire, and devoid of emotion precisely because she has no enemies to find and no knots in her heart to untie?

The result is at this moment.

The eldest brother actually said that the villain was both far away and right before his eyes.

And they spend every day together...

The owner of Yunqi Mountain Villa!
Their master!
Yun Heming, the "Great Hero of Jiangnan"!

Madam Gu was clearly stunned: "Him?"

Gu Lin looked at this "master's wife" nervously.

But seeing that she seemed to show little grief or anger beyond surprise, a bitter feeling welled up within me: 'You've fed the Seven Emotions and Six Desires to the Heart Sword Divine Technique, and now you don't even have normal anger left?'

'It's all that beast's fault!!'

Gu Lin felt even more hatred and hissed, "Jiang Heming told me personally that he originally only created a plan to get close to you. After all, given his original identity, he was absolutely unworthy to be with you, but I never expected..."

At this point, Gu Lin fell silent, clearly reluctant to speak, but finally transmitted his voice, word by word: "He didn't expect you to be pregnant, much less that you would give birth to the child, so he immediately proposed marriage, and indeed got everything he had ever dreamed of—"

Yes.

Everything I've always dreamed of.

Jiang Heming went from a lowly servant to the nephew of the Immortal Swordsman and the son-in-law of the Heart Swordsman, and even possessed the Yunqi Manor, a rare and prosperous estate in the Jiangnan region. His status underwent a dramatic change.

What is most appalling is that...

He is also God.

He is also a ghost.

It was clearly this person who caused all the suffering, yet Gu Menglai and her father remained completely unaware, even going so far as to use their precious personal connections to compensate him for his status as a live-in son-in-law.

In the stillness of the night.

You can imagine how smug and arrogant Jiang Heming would be.

Therefore, Jiang Heming did something that was extremely difficult for ordinary people to understand—

He actually acknowledged Gu Lin, whom he had raised as his eldest disciple.

He admitted that he was Gu Lin's biological father.

This was tantamount to admitting that he was the one who insulted Madam Gu back then.

Gu Lin still doesn't want to recall how he got through that period after learning the truth.

He was originally the leader of the Seven Clouds, and his literary and martial talents were unparalleled among his peers. Before he even reached adulthood, he had already won the respect of the entire manor.

Under his leadership, Yunqi Manor was well-organized, and everyone regarded him as the rightful young master of the manor, believing that he would surely lead the manor to great heights in the future.

As it turns out, Jiang Heming has revealed that he is actually his master's wife's illegitimate son, born from an act of humiliation, and that the person who humiliated him is none other than his master, who is the most unyielding figure in the martial arts world.

What a devastating blow this was.

But Gu Lin pulled through. After pulling through, it was time to look back.

To trace back to the truth of what happened back then.

"The key is not Jiang Heming's evil intentions, but how he did it?"

"My master spent over a decade in the Six Doors, and was a renowned constable of the previous generation, whose fame resounded throughout the martial arts world. How easy is it to deceive him?"

"Even if Jiang Heming had such evil intentions, he couldn't possibly achieve them!"

"Someone will definitely help him!"

"Through my subtle probing, Jiang Heming did admit that there was more than one person involved in the plan back then."

"Jiang Heming even said that those people helped each other, and after he became a great hero of Jiangnan, he also gave a considerable reward to those who had planned and cooperated with him back then!"

Madam Gu's expression shifted from shock to calm, and she immediately asked, "Who?"

"I couldn't get the question out at first."

Gu Lin said, "Even if I pretended to be polite and listened to Jiang Heming in private, and even asked you for the Heart Sword Divine Technique and the Divine Wandering in the Void Steps according to his instructions, and then passed them on to Jiang Heming, Jiang Heming could not learn them. I even helped him improve the Cloud Crane Ascending to Immortality Sword Stance and Cloud Crane Ascending to Immortality Steps. All kinds of flattery made him extremely proud, but he always kept silent about those collaborators from back then."

“Until I did one thing.”

"That rumor was spread!"

Lian Caiyun, who was not far away, was no longer surprised, but felt heartache: "The rumors about Senior Brother's background were spread by Senior Brother himself?"

I had previously suspected Granny Jiang, Madam Gu, and Jiang Heming.

The only one who didn't doubt Gu Lin!
Not only was Gu Lin already dead in everyone's hearts at that time, but the person most hurt by this rumor was "Qiyun", the leader of the Seven Clouds.

It turned out that Gu Lin was the one who set the trap.

Grandma Jiang was also shocked: "You want to force Jiang Heming to reveal a weakness?"

In an instant, she deeply regretted her previous thoughts.

Gu Lin doesn't resemble that thief's son at all; he looks more like his old master, Gu Menglai!

This is true.

Gu Lin continued, "As soon as this rumor came out, Jiang Heming panicked. He first investigated on his own, but to no avail. Then he wanted to join forces with me, saying that father and son were of one mind and that we must protect his reputation as the 'Great Hero of Jiangnan' so that he could pass the manor on to me in the future. We must find out who spread the rumor."

"Under my guidance, he gradually began to doubt the people from back then!"

"That was around that time."

"I finally learned from him about the existence of the 'Ten Directions Ghosts'!"

"It has become clearer who these three people are—"

"Elder Yu Xuzi of the Qingcheng Sect! Helian Jue, the Third Master of Canglang Fortress! Ye Canglang, the Vice Master of the Iron Sword Sect!"

This is really amazing.

In Jiang Heming's view, Gu Lin and he were in the same boat.

No matter how unwilling the son may be, he shares the same fate as his father, whether it be prosperity or ruin.

After all, once their relationship becomes public, Jiang Heming is finished, and Gu Lin is ruined too.

However, Gu Lin was not thinking about his future prospects at all.

"I just want those people from back then to die!"

At this point, the senior disciple turned to his fifth junior sister, Lin Yuxian, and said apologetically, "Jiang Heming was suspicious of the 'Ten Directions Ghost Clan' during that period, and he was extremely sensitive to the masks. It was less about dislike and more about fear! He took his anger out on you, Fifth Sister..."

"But when I saw the Zhong Kui Nuo mask that he had knocked to the ground, I suddenly realized that this was my destiny!"

"I shouldn't have been born into this world, but I was born anyway."

"So I was born to do this—"

Gu Lin slowly tugged at the corners of his lips, a smile appearing on his pale face—a smile imbued with a sense of mission: "I am 'Zhong Kui'! 'Zhong Kui' who captures evil spirits and brings them back to the underworld!"

(End of this chapter)