Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 433 : Huang Taichen’s Crime (2)

Chapter 433: Chapter 433 : Huang Taichen’s Crime (2)

The soup was indeed questionable, but the worst he would get was stomachache.

He could always eat a digestion pill later on for precaution.

Bracing himself against the fear of the unknown, Qiao Wei dug into the bowl with the cracked wooden spoon that Huang Taichen had just given him.

"Stop."

Qiao Wei froze when the spoon almost touched his lips.

"You don’t have to eat it," Huang Taichen said with a sour expression on his face. "I already said it didn’t taste good. If I were you, I would toss it out."

Qiao Wei’s eyes wandered to the other bowl in Huang Taichen’s hands. He used it to warm his hands and lap.

"I don’t see you tossing yours out," Qiao Wei said with a smile. "Eat up."

"..."

Qiao Wei took a spoonful of the soup.

His eyes flew open when he realized what it was.

"This is... Potato?"

To be exact, it was a mashed potato soup. Huang Taichen had zealously boiled the potatoes for so long that their intended firm chunks fell apart, leaving only a smooth, unintended puree behind.

But the seasoning was alright. The right amount of salt and peppercorn.

"... Yeah. Is it good?"

Qiao Wei took another spoonful and swallowed it without reservation.

"So good. Why aren’t you eating?"

It was just a potato soup, but for some reason, Huang Taichen’s eyes gleamed with joy whenever Qiao Wei raised the spoon to his lips.

Unfortunately, good times were never meant to last a long time. The joy in Huang Taichen’s eyes gradually vanished along with the content of the bowl.

Qiao Wei put down his bowl and said, "Thank you for the meal. I am here to ask you something."

Huang Taichen too sank his bowl, the chipped porcelain clattered against the rocky surface beneath him. The tension crackled in his muscles, his breath a shallow tremor. He couldn’t bring himself to meet Qiao Wei’s eyes at all.

Huang Taichen’s body language was that of a guilty man, but Qiao Wei would rather hear the truth from his lips directly.

"Did you kill Tian’an Shang Sect Leader, Shang Daoming?"

Huang Taichen flinched visibly when the question was out in the open. He dug into his thighs in distress before he confessed in a broken voice, "Yes, I did."

A slashing sound cut through the air.

When Huang Taichen raised his head in panic, the tip of Qiao Wei’s sword was already resting against his neck, right under his chin.

"But... But it was not what everyone was thinking!" Huang Taichen sputtered, his eyes shaking in fear. "I... I didn’t mean it!!!"

Qiao Wei narrowed his eyes at the man before him.

"Are you telling me that it was an accident?"

"Yes... No," Huang Taichen clawed into his scalp. "It was not an accident, but I didn’t know it was Sect Leader Shang. I... I... He set me up!!!"

"... Who did?"

Huang Taichen was on the brink of spilling tears when he spoke the next three syllables.

"Shang Zichen."

Shang Zichen.

A crease formed between Qiao Wei’s brows as he again was reminded of the eerie conversation that took place between Huang Taichen and Shang Zichen that other night.

Qiao Wei retracted his sword but held it tightly in his hand, ready to strike at a single suspicious movement by Huang Taichen.

"Speak," he encouraged the younger man. "Start from the beginning. I will listen to what you have to say."

Trembling from head to toe, Huang Taichen threw himself to the ground and kowtowed deeply before Qiao Wei.

And then slowly, he started to narrate the story from his perspective.

"My mother used to be a disciple at Tian’an Shang Sect. Shang Zihan and Shang Zichen used to refer to her as their ’Shijie’.

She was beautiful, smart, and strong. The most prominent among the few female cultivators under Tian’an Shang Sect’s wings."

"She fell in love with my father, who at that time was an insignificant rogue cultivator who traversed the land."

Upon mentioning his father, Huang Taichen raised his head and looked deep into Qiao Wei’s eyes.

"My father hailed from the Banyue tribe in the southern region. The tribesmen and -women are all gifted with the ability to speak to animals.

My father is a good, kind, and honest man.

When my parents were cast out of the cultivation world with no one to turn to, the only sect that accepted us was the Crescent Mayhem Sect."

Huang Taichen rose to his feet and took off his robe. He turned his back to Qiao Wei and pulled the dark curtain of his hair aside to show him the mark that the demonic cultivation sect left on his back.

"Master Qiao Wei, you and many other cultivators are lucky to be accepted into one of the ten great sects," the young man said in a trembling voice. "But what about the others? Does it give the so-called righteous cultivators the right to shun those with poorer fate?"

Qiao Wei had no answer to that question.

Huang Taichen donned his robe again and resumed his story.

"When my parents decided to join the Crescent Mayhem Sect, they didn’t know that the sect practiced demonic cultivation. Or better said... They closed their eyes to their crooked path.

The sect leader never forced my parents to do anything or help out with their heinous campaigns. The sect was generous to us. The other members treated us like family.

For once, we had a home.

And then, the sect was destroyed. My parents got killed after helping me escape.

And I lost my parents and my home."

Tears flowed freely across Huang Taichen’s cheek.

"The Crescent Mayhem Sect was responsible for an atrocious crime in this realm, so I thought that I should give the righteous cultivation path a chance.

It took me a long time to gather my courage and visit Jiangnan.

But of course, I got rejected by Tian’an Shang Sect.

After being rejected several times, I thought about giving up, but then Shang Zichen came to find me."