Chapter 797 – Suicide
Mo Hua heard the news from Hao Xuan—well, more accurately, from Hao Xuan's cousin, Hao Se.
Hao Xuan had done poorly in his end-of-year exams.
Especially in sword techniques.
Ever since he got addicted to sneak attacks with his cudgel, he rarely used his sword anymore. Over time, his swordsmanship grew rusty.
In a sect full of geniuses, if you're not improving, you're falling behind.
As a result, Hao Xuan only received a "Grade C" in swordsmanship. Even though his actual skill was slightly better than Mo Hua's, the evaluation wasn't much different.
But Mo Hua had the "pretty boy cheat code" going for him. Plus, he was leagues ahead in formations. So even if his aptitude was limited in other areas, no one really criticized him.
Not to mention, he had no family, no parents nearby—his cultivation depended entirely on self-discipline. No one was pushing him.
Worst-case scenario, even if his parents were around and learned that he scored a "1-A, 6-C" in a talent-saturated sect like Great Void in the Qianxue Prefecture, they'd still be proud of him.
After all, he started from the very bottom. Any progress was a win.
Hao Xuan, however, was a different story.
He had a family. And in his family, the competition was fierce and the expectations even stricter. His parents took his grades very seriously.
At his age, a disciple's "sect performance" was practically the sole justification for his existence.
So when he got a "Grade C", it was like the sky had fallen.
His parents, along with his elders from the same family line, didn't give him a shred of kindness.
This New Year had him walking on eggshells.
Not wanting to stay with his family, he fled back to the sect to "seek refuge."
His excuse to his parents?
"I didn't do well in the exams. I feel ashamed. I want to work harder, get better, so I'll stay at the sect, catch up on my studies, and skip going home this year."
This excuse… was actually something he'd specially asked his "Senior Bro" Mo Hua to help him come up with.
And wouldn't you know it—his parents didn't object.
In fact, they were proud of him.
They thought Hao Xuan had finally learned humility and was now striving to improve. Sure, he bombed this time, but knowing how to work hard meant there was still hope.
His parents were moved to tears.
And so, Hao Xuan stayed behind in the Great Void Sect and celebrated the New Year with Mo Hua.
He actually was cultivating—practicing sword techniques, cudgel moves, and occasionally pestering Mo Hua for formation lessons. So technically, he wasn't lying to his parents.
As the year turned, his parents, still concerned about their "suddenly motivated" son, sent his cousin Hao Se back to the sect to deliver some goodies.
At that moment, Hao Xuan was in the disciples' quarters, learning formations from Mo Hua.
Hao Se arrived and placed seven or eight maroon-trimmed food boxes on the table.
"Hao Xuan, I brought you some snacks."
He then turned and bowed to Mo Hua.
"Senior Brother Mo, happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year…" Mo Hua returned the gesture, though his expression was a bit confused.
He wasn't too familiar with Hao Se. He vaguely remembered someone with that name in the same cohort, but had no strong impression.
They'd never worked together on sect missions, or hunted demons in Demon-Refining Mountain. Practically strangers.
He couldn't even recall the guy's name at first.
Hao Xuan chimed in:
"This is my cousin, Hao Se. We're the same age, started cultivating together. Our levels are about the same, so we both entered the Great Void Sect at the same time."
"Oh." Mo Hua nodded.
Hao Se…
No matter how you said it, the name just sounded a bit off.
Hao Se was cheerful—and overly friendly.
Mo Hua didn't know him well, but Hao Se certainly knew him. After all, in the entire sect cohort of a thousand, there was only one "Little Senior Brother."
The Hao family's New Year gatherings were crowded, noisy, and full of outdated rituals.
Hao Se finally had an excuse to escape and wasn't in a hurry to return. He ended up sitting with Mo Hua and Hao Xuan, eating spiritual food, sipping spirit wine, and chatting casually.
Then, out of nowhere, Hao Se sighed, looking dejected:
"A Senior Sister from Hundred Flowers Valley died."
The statement came so abruptly.
Mo Hua was happily gnawing on a chicken leg when his brain froze.
"What?"
Hao Se repeated, more solemnly this time:
"A Senior Sister from Hundred Flowers Valley… committed suicide."
Mo Hua paused, staring at Hao Se, his mind spinning with confusion.
A disciple from Hundred Flowers Valley… died?
And how would you know that?
You're not even from that sect. What does it have to do with you?
Hao Xuan sighed and hesitated, but since it was just the three of them in the disciples' quarters, he explained:
"My cousin's lifelong dream… is to become a disciple of Hundred Flowers Valley…"
Mo Hua blinked.
"Hundred Flowers Valley… accepts male disciples?"
Hao Se shook his head, sighing deeply:
"Nope."
Mo Hua asked, baffled:
"Then how do you plan to become a disciple?"
Hao Se said solemnly:
"Precisely because they don't accept male disciples… my life's goal is to reform their system—to get them to start accepting male cultivators. Worst case, let men join as guest elders. That way, when I graduate from the Great Void Sect, even if I can't become a disciple, I can still aim to become a Hundred Flowers Valley Elder."
Mo Hua opened his mouth… and had no idea what to say.
This world really has all kinds of people.
"But that reform… is never going to happen. No matter how you spin it, there's no way Hundred Flowers Valley would let a man in—not even as a guest elder," Mo Hua added.
"Yeah… the dream is bleak…" Hao Se looked sorrowful, then gritted his teeth.
"If worse comes to worst… I heard the Hehuan Sect has a cultivation technique that can reverse yin and yang, so I could—"
"Stop right there!" Hao Xuan immediately covered his cousin's mouth.
"Don't even finish that thought! If Uncle or Aunt hear that, they'll snap your legs!"
Mo Hua was stunned… and oddly impressed.
In a weird way, this guy was also… hardcore.
Still, Mo Hua didn't get it and asked:
"Why are you so obsessed with joining Hundred Flowers Valley?"
Hao Se answered sincerely:
"No particular reason. It's just a normal, average 'life goal.' Isn't that enough?"
Mo Hua had… no counter to that.
Hao Xuan sighed again:
"My cousin actually has pretty good aptitude. If he put in some effort and our family pulled some strings, joining one of the Four Major Sects wouldn't be out of reach.
But because he's always saying outrageous stuff, the clan was worried he'd cause trouble, so they shoved him into Great Void to stay with me. I grew up with him, I know his temperament—I can keep an eye on him…"
"I see…" Mo Hua nodded.
But Hao Se insisted:
"Pfft, who cares about the Four Great Sects? If I could join Hundred Flowers Valley, who'd even want those?"
Hao Xuan tore off another chicken leg and handed it to Mo Hua:
"Senior Brother, just eat. Ignore him."
"Oh…" Mo Hua took the leg, bit into it, then asked curiously,
"Hao Se…"
But since he was munching while talking, the words came out muffled—his "Hao Se" sounded more like "Lusty (好色)"…
Hao Se quickly corrected him:
"It's Hao Se! Not 'Lusty'!"
"Mmhm." Mo Hua nodded, then asked,
"So… what exactly happened to the Senior Sister in Hundred Flowers Valley?"
Hao Se's face turned grim.
Although he was a disciple of Great Void Sect, his heart was clearly planted in Hundred Flowers Valley. He always kept tabs on their affairs.
"I often hang around outside Hundred Flowers Valley, so I've gotten to know a few Senior Sisters there…"
"How'd you meet them?"
"Got beat up a few times… and then we became acquainted."
Mo Hua: "..."
Hao Xuan felt extremely embarrassed, but still explained:
"My cousin… he often wandered around Hundred Flowers Valley when he had nothing to do. The disciples there noticed and thought he had bad intentions, so they beat him up a few times. After the misunderstanding was cleared up, well… they sort of got to know each other…"
It was true—sometimes, you really don't know someone until you've thrown a few punches.
Hao Se waved it off and said,
"That was nothing. Who doesn't have a few bumps in life? Now, onto the real matter…"
He took a sip of wine and frowned.
"Right before the New Year, I brought some gifts to a few Senior Sisters from Hundred Flowers Valley. I noticed something was off with their expressions and asked if something had happened.
They wouldn't tell me at first, but after I repeatedly swore not to spread it, they finally let me in on it…"
At this point, Hao Se looked at Mo Hua and Hao Xuan seriously:
"You two need to promise not to tell anyone either. If you can swear that, then I'll continue."
Mo Hua and Hao Xuan nodded silently.
Hao Se, satisfied, continued:
"The Senior Sisters said, during the holiday season, most of the disciples had returned to their families. Only a few stayed in Hundred Flowers Valley—some because they lived too far, some needed to retake exams, others had various reasons for staying behind."
"On the day of the celebration, everything was going fine… until suddenly, a fire broke out in one of the disciples' quarters."
"It wasn't a large fire. The elder on duty extinguished it quickly. The blaze didn't spread and didn't cause much damage."
"At first, the elder was angry—she thought one of the disciples had been careless, perhaps forgot to turn off the alchemy furnace before leaving, causing the fire."
"But when she entered that room, her expression changed dramatically."
"Inside, lying on the floor… was a charred corpse. A female disciple had been burned alive—on New Year's Day."
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed.
"Was it suicide?"
Hao Se shook his head.
"I don't know. But Hundred Flowers Valley did investigate and found no signs of anyone else being involved. From start to finish, that disciple was the only one in the room."
"The matter even alarmed the Sect Master."
"But even after the Sect Master and the elders investigated, they found no other leads. In the end, they all agreed—it was a suicide…"
Hao Se laid out everything he'd heard.
Mo Hua furrowed his brow. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Still, this was Hundred Flowers Valley's business.
Mo Hua was already swamped—cultivating, attending classes, studying formation techniques, and investigating the Water Yama case. He really didn't have the time to get involved.
Besides, Hundred Flowers Valley didn't accept male disciples—and male cultivators weren't even allowed inside.
Even if he wanted to meddle, he couldn't.
As for that young woman, dying in her prime by self-immolation—he could only sigh, and silently mourn her in his heart.
Hao Se looked equally solemn.
Sensing the mood getting heavy, Hao Xuan quickly changed the subject:
"Let's not dwell on that. I'm sure Hundred Flowers Valley will handle it. Let's talk about something else."
Hao Se nodded.
He had been feeling sorrowful and just needed someone to talk to. Now that he'd said it aloud, he felt a little better.
And truth be told, disciple suicides or accidental deaths weren't unheard of in Qianxue Prefecture.
There had even been cases where male and female disciples, unwilling to marry into families they were betrothed to since childhood, had chosen to end their lives together in romantic suicide pacts…
With so many people, anything could happen.
Hao Xuan shifted the topic, and the three of them continued eating, drinking, and chatting. Eventually, Hao Se had to return to his clan.
But just before he left, Mo Hua suddenly paused, then asked, almost on impulse:
"Hao Se… do you know who the disciple was? The one who committed suicide?"
Hao Se thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No idea. I've never seen her before. I just heard… she had the surname Ye."
Ye…
Mo Hua's pupils shrank.
A face flashed through his mind:
An oval-shaped face, delicate features, skin like jade, a hint of sorrow between her brows—quiet and distant, with an air of cold grace.
Senior Sister Ye?!
Just a few days ago, he had met her—adorned in colorful robes like blooming flowers, and even more beautiful than the blossoms themselves.
And now… just a few days later, she was dead?
Mo Hua frowned.
"Could I be mistaken… Maybe it's not that Senior Sister Ye?"
After all, Hundred Flowers Valley probably had more than one disciple with the surname Ye. Maybe it was someone else.
But even as he told himself that, he couldn't shake a very bad feeling.
This matter… Mo Hua couldn't let it go.
A few days later, he sought out Senior Sister Murong to confirm.
Murong Caiyun looked stunned.
"Where did you hear that?"
"From a friend I happened to make. He has some connections with Hundred Flowers Valley."
Mo Hua didn't mention Hao Se's name.
Murong Caiyun's expression grew sorrowful, and she sighed softly.
"Yes… it was Sister Jin'er…"
"Jin'er?"
"That's the Ye Senior Sister you met. Her full name was Ye Jin—she's the disciple from Hundred Flowers Valley who took her own life…"
Mo Hua's frown deepened.
"It really was suicide?"
Murong Caiyun nodded slightly.
"That's what the Valley concluded. As for the reason… it's hard to say."
"Some say her family forced her into marriage. Others think the pressure of cultivation was too much. And some say she was heartbroken—couldn't take the pain, and chose to end it all…"
"But those are just rumors. Who can say what's true?"
Mo Hua was puzzled.
"Her family forced her to marry? Isn't it a bit early for that?"
"It's true," Murong Caiyun said.
"The Ye Clan is a third-rank family. Elsewhere, they might be considered prestigious. But in the Qianxue Prefecture, they're merely a mid-to-low-tier clan."
"Families like that live in the cracks between powerful noble houses. It's hard to move up, but very easy to fall down. And once they fall… they may never climb back up."
"So, these clans are constantly on edge, always looking to curry favor and climb higher."
"Any daughter who is beautiful, talented, and fortunate enough to be accepted into a major sect… is usually betrothed off early."
"Marriage doesn't have to happen right away. But the engagement—that needs to be locked in as early as possible, so that—"
Murong Caiyun trailed off, seemingly unable to finish the sentence.
Mo Hua spoke quietly:
"...so she could fetch a better price?"
Murong Caiyun's eyes widened slightly. She let out a deep sigh, then nodded.
"Yes."
In family clans, whether among the great aristocratic houses or small cultivator families, marriages were often nothing more than transactions.
Mo Hua couldn't help but recall some of the noble family gossip he'd heard from An Xiaofu back in Tongxian City… and Uncle Zhang Lan, who had most likely fled to a small immortal city just to avoid an arranged marriage. A sigh welled up in his chest.
Apparently, even within clans, there was no true freedom.
Mo Hua subtly probed Murong Caiyun for more information about the suicide in Hundred Flowers Valley. But it turned out she didn't know much more than what Hao Se had already shared. The only new lead… was the Ye family.
"Ye family…"
Mo Hua murmured the name softly. For some reason, it sounded incredibly familiar.
But ever since entering Qianxue Prefecture, he had come into contact with far too many cultivators and clans—some great, others humble. Many shared the same surnames, often tracing back to common ancestors, with tangled lineages and sprawling branches.
Being a rogue cultivator, Mo Hua found the web of clan names overwhelming.
He couldn't immediately recall if he had ever encountered any other cultivators or clans with the surname "Ye."
"Right—Senior Sister Murong," Mo Hua asked one last question,
"Where is this Ye family located? I assume they aren't based within Qianxue Prefecture?"
"Correct," Murong Caiyun said.
"The Ye family is a third-rank clan, not qualified to establish a foothold in Qianxue. As for their location…"
Murong Caiyun frowned slightly, then said,
"Wait, let me check."
From a storage pouch embroidered with a golden phoenix pattern, she pulled out a map. After flipping through it for a moment, her slender white finger pointed to a location.
"Here—Yanshui City."
Mo Hua's pupils contracted sharply.
"Yanshui… City?"
"Yes." Murong Caiyun nodded.
"Yanshui City is a third-rank immortal city. It sits beside the Yanshui River, which flows directly through the city. That's how it got its name."
"And the Ye family is one of the top-ranking clans within Yanshui City."
After she finished, Murong Caiyun noticed Mo Hua's strange expression and asked,
"Is something wrong?"
"...No."
Mo Hua paused in thought, then shook his head.
He silently etched the words 'Yanshui City' into his memory. After thanking Murong Caiyun and exchanging a few more polite words, he took his leave.
Back at his disciples' quarters, Mo Hua sat at his desk, brows furrowed deeply.
Yanshui City.
The Ye family.
Senior Sister Ye.
Hundred Flowers Valley.
Suicide...
Something about this whole situation didn't sit right with him.
But there were too few clues, and everything felt disjointed.
Mo Hua sighed softly.
He had only met Senior Sister Ye once, barely even exchanged words. He hadn't intended to get involved—especially since it was an internal matter of Hundred Flowers Valley.
But now… with the words Yanshui River thrown into the mix, things were no longer so simple.
"I need to find out what really happened..."
"But how?"
He had no way into Hundred Flowers Valley. Male cultivators weren't even allowed to set foot there.
The only remaining path… was the Ye family in Yanshui City.
"I'll have to make time for a trip to Yanshui City…"
Mo Hua resolved silently.
A few days later, the new year holidays came to a complete end, and the Great Void Sect resumed its operations.
A new academic year had begun.
This marked Mo Hua's fifth year in the sect.
As usual, the start of term brought a flurry of activity—elders resumed their lectures, disciples had to refocus their efforts, and there were plenty of small, miscellaneous matters to handle.
It took Mo Hua about seven or eight days to sort everything out before his sect life returned to normal rhythm.
Very soon, the first ten-day break of the new semester arrived.
Mo Hua made up his mind to depart for Yanshui City.
But before heading there, he wanted to take a slight detour to visit the ruined temple in Ku Mountain, and check in on Lord Huangshan.
After all, it had been a long time. He had no idea how the mountain god was faring these days.
Were there still incense offerings? Had the broken temple collapsed?
And of course, Mo Hua had questions—about the Way of the Divine, and more importantly…
Sword Manifestation through Divine Will.
(End of Chapter)