Chapter 934: Chapter 44: Xuan Ye Arrives_3
Xuan Ye’s words were indeed harsh, and Xuan Yue was stunned. Ah Dai was even more severely shaken; his heart ached immensely. Although he knew that his identity didn’t match that of Xuan Yue, he never expected Xuan Yue’s father to think so lowly of him. His voice trembling and his face flushed red, he protested, "I, I am not a demon."
Xuan Ye sneered, "Still saying you’re not a demon. I ask you, who killed the thieves in the Elf Forest? And who killed those bandits in the Yalan tribe? Nearly a thousand lives have been destroyed by your Sword of Hades, and you still say you’re not a demon."
"No, no—," Ah Dai shouted frantically, his blood boiling, his mind overheating from the scenes of killing that flashed continuously through his mind. He grabbed his own hair with both hands, shaking his head repeatedly, "No, no, I didn’t want to kill them; they forced me, they forced me."
Xuan Yue, seeing Ah Dai in that state, felt a great pain in her heart. She wanted to go over and comfort him but found herself unable to move. "Dad, how can you say that? The ones Ah Dai killed, they were all bad people! Moreover, if he hadn’t killed them, they would have killed us."
Xuan Ye let out a cold huff, "So bad people are not people? They are still lives, thousands of them."
Ah Dai’s body shook, and a surging warmth suddenly flowed into his body. That power of the same origin continuously soothed his disordered energy, and a gentle voice sounded by his ear, "Ah Dai, calm yourself. If you continue like this, you will become possessed. Everything will be handled by your master."
Ah Dai’s energy gradually stabilized, and he turned his head to see that Xi Wen had arrived by his side at some point. Not just Xi Wen, the eyes of all the second-generation disciples of the Tian Gang Sword Sect showed anger. Xuan Ye’s words were not only an insult to Ah Dai but also to the departed Owen, the Nether King. Owen was their brother and already dead; how could they tolerate outsiders making irresponsible remarks.
"Bishop, you should watch your language. Ah Dai is the third-generation disciple of our Tian Gang Sword Sect. I can assure you, he has a kind heart. I think there’s nothing wrong with Ah Dai killing those people. To kill a bad person is akin to saving hundreds, even thousands, of good people. Moreover, when one’s own life is threatened by the enemy, if it were you, Bishop, could you avoid killing someone for self-preservation?"
Xuan Ye was stunned; he had not expected Ah Dai to have such a deep relationship with the Tian Gang Sword Sect. Even after knowing he possessed the Sword of Hades, Xi Wen still defended him, and considering these few angry experts around him, he began to feel apprehensive. He thought he could deal with just one Xi Wen, but any two of these old men, whose skills were not weak, could join forces and might be more than he could handle.
Tears streamed down Xuan Yue’s face as she pleaded, "Dad, Ah Dai has never killed a good person. Please don’t wrong him like this!"
Xuan Ye walked up to Ah Dai with flickering cold light in his eyes, thinking to himself, having also killed as many as two thousand bandits, he seemed unable to blame the young man for a similar act. He let out a cold huff, "It is precisely because he has not yet killed a good person that I have no intention of taking his life. However, the Sword of Hades must be reclaimed by the Church, and furthermore, you are forbidden to be with him any longer. You must return to the Church with me immediately."
Ah Dai stood there dumbfounded, looking towards Xi Wen for help. In truth, he wanted to hand over the Sword of Hades, but it was the last memento left to him by Owen, so he was reluctant to part with it.
Just as Xi Wen was about to speak, Zhou Wen had already stood up abruptly, letting out an angry huff, "Your Excellency the Red Bishop, you should recognize where you are, this is Tian Gang Mountain, not the Holy Church. The dignity of our sect is not to be violated by anyone. Ah Dai is the third-generation disciple of our sect, and let me tell you frankly, the ’Nether King’ you speak of was our long-lost junior fellow disciple. Now that our junior fellow disciple has passed away, the Sword of Hades, one could argue, is his relic, and we will absolutely not allow outsiders to take it away."
Great anger swelled in Xuan Ye’s heart; since his appointment as Red Robe Priest, no one had ever been so disrespectful to him. But the words of Zhou Wen also took him aback; he could have never imagined that the world’s number one assassin, the ’Nether King’, would be a disciple of the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang. With these old men present, it seemed his objective could not be achieved. Was he really going to request reinforcements from the Church? But behind the Tian Gang Sword Sect was the support of the entire Empire of Huasheng; if this issue escalated, it was likely to be detrimental to both parties.
Seeing Xuan Ye’s face alternate between shades of green and white, Lu Wen knew he was on the verge of an outburst. Lu Wen exchanged looks with Xi Wen, quickly stepped forward, pulling Zhou Wen away, and said to Xuan Ye, "Your Excellency the Bishop, my apologies, my junior brother tends to act brashly, please don’t take it to heart. However, the Nether King indeed was our long-lost junior fellow disciple, and he was coerced by the Assassin’s Guild into committing those deeds. Now that he is dead, we will no longer pursue the sins he committed, and we hope that you will not delve deeper into them nor insult his memory. As for the Sword of Hades, we hope to find a resolution satisfactory to both parties. My master has always held the Church in high regard, hence, we do not wish for any rift between us. Wouldn’t you agree?"
Lu Wen spoke with neither servility nor overbearingness, preventing Xuan Ye from lashing out. He said in a deep voice, "Then tell me, how do you propose we resolve this? The Sword of Hades was initially discovered by His Holiness the third Pope of our Church, and later, for unknown reasons, it was lost. When the ’Nether King’ used this Evil Sword to run amok on the continent, our Pope issued an order that we must retrieve the sword at any cost. Now that the Sword of Hades is in Ah Dai’s possession, are you suggesting I should simply give up on it?"
