Core of the Truehearted - Part Eight is the eighty-sixth chapter of Mo Dao Zu Shi.
Synopsis []
Wei Wuxian asks Sisi for proof. Though she has none, she swears that if she has said a single lie, her corpse should rot and not even have a coffin to lie in.
Lan Qiren speaks, having recognized the second woman from past Discussion Conferences at the Laoling Qin CLan. The woman, Bicao explains that she was the personal maid of Madam Qin, Qin Cangye's wife.
About twelve or thirteen years ago, Madam Qin became extremely distressed over Qin Su's approaching marriage to Jin Guangyao. She insisted on approaching Jin Guangyao in the middle of the night, to Bicao's confusion. After their conversation, however, Madam Qin fainted upon seeing the wedding invitation a few days later. After the wedding, she worsened, but before she died, she confessed the truth to Bicao.
Qin Su and Jin Guangyao were half-sister and half-brother. Jin Guangshan had drunkenly raped Madam Qin, who did not dare tell her husband the truth. She had sought Jin Guangyao to tell him the truth, yet he married Qin Su anyway.
The cultivators are scandalized, presuming that Jin Guangyao still married Qin Su for her father's political support. Clan Leader Yao then declares that Jin Rusong was highly likely to be mentally impaired. Thus, the child must have been assassinated by Jin Guangyao himself, not by a clan leader who opposed the watchtowers. Jin Guangyao clearly framed the clan leader for political gain. The cultivators praise Clan Leader Yao for his "astute" deduction.
Wei Wuxian asks Bicao to confirm that she was the one who met Qin Su the night of the Discussion Conference at Golden Carp Tower. He then asks why she chose now to come forward. Bicao says she just wanted Qin Su to know the truth, and after Qin Su killed herself, she wishes to unmask Jin Guangyao as a monster.
Wei Wuxian retorts that Qin Su killed herself precisely because she learned the truth. Listening to the gossip, he suspects Qin Su killed herself to avoid the cruel delight of the crowd's false pity. He then points out an expensive bracelet on Bicao's wrist, implying she was bribed to come forward.
Nie Huaisang wonders who sent both women to Lotus Pier. Clan Leader Yao lauds them as a "man of justice," but Wei Wuxian objects.
Wei Wuxian advocates for caution, and Lan Wangji adds that there are many points of suspicion. After all, if Jin Guangyao is as cruel as it seems, why would he spare Sisi?
Clan Leader Yao dismisses them. The rumors amplify: Jin Guangyao used Nie Mingjue for political gain before killing him; Jin Guangyao hunted down his father's bastard children; Jin Guangyao killed Jin Zixuan; Jin Guangyao protected Xue Yang to the detriment of Xiao Xingchen before killing Xue Yang, too; Jin Guangyao was an insincere spy who deliberately had Nie Mingjue captured during the Sunshot Campaign; Jin Guangyao learned all of his sword techniques from Wen Ruohan before betraying him; Jin Guangyao pockets money from the watchtowers, et cetera.
As Clan Leader Yao declares an attack on Golden Carp Tower, Wei Wuxian silently scoffs at the rumors, which are similar to those once said about him. In fact, the words "ungrateful" and "immoral" are the exact words once said about him. The crowd eagerly entrusts Wei Wuxian to deal with the Yin Tiger Tally, despite distrusting him earlier that day.
Wei Wuxian feels no happiness that the object of the crowd's ire has changed from himself to Jin Guangyao. In fact, he wonders if the First Siege of the Burial Mounds began much like their conversation today.
As a banquet begins to feed the tired cultivators, Jiang Cheng sneers at Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's lack of decorum in leaving the meeting. He announces that he will look for them while dinner is served. Overhearing this, Lan Qiren is indignant at the insult against his nephew, thinking that if Lan Wangji has no manners, no one does. He fumes at Wei Wuxian's corruption.
Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian shows Lan Wangji around Lotus Pier. Lan Wangji purchases pies for the two to eat, and Wei Wuxian laments that he always finds himself unable to treat Lan Wangji.
Wei Wuxian leads Lan Wangji around Lotus Pier, eager to see his reactions to the spots of his youth. He brings him to the tree he climbed in the middle of the night, the tree he broke his leg falling from when Jiang Yanli failed to catch him.[1]
Characters[]
In order of appearance:
- Wei Wuxian
- Sisi
- Clan Leader Yao
- Lan Qiren
- Bicao
- Madam Qin (mentioned)
- Qin Cangye (mentioned)
- Qin Su (mentioned)
- Jin Guangyao (mentioned)
- Jin Guangshan (mentioned)
- Jin Rusong (mentioned)
- Nie Huaisang
- Lan Wangji
- Nie Mingjue (mentioned)
- Lan Xichen (mentioned)
- Mo Xuanyu (mentioned)
- Jin Zixuan (mentioned)
- Xiao Xingchen (mentioned)
- Xue Yang (mentioned)
- Wen Ruohan (mentioned)
- Jiang Cheng
- Jiang Fengmian (mentioned)
- Jiang Yanli (mentioned)
Events []
- Discussion Conferences (mentioned)
- Death of Jin Zixuan on Qiongqi Path (mentioned)
- Massacre of the Yueyang Chang Clan (mentioned)
- Sunshot Campaign (mentioned)
- First Siege of the Burial Mounds (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Lotus Pier
- Golden Carp Tower (mentioned)
- Caiyi Town (mentioned)
- Cloud Recesses (mentioned)
- Yunmeng (mentioned)
Cultivation Tools[]
- Shuanghua (mentioned)
- Yin Tiger Tally (mentioned)
References[]
- ↑ Novel, Chapter 86