Found Out

1,212 words

Chapter 17: Found Out

"Who!! Who is it!!!" An utterly violent roar echoed through the entire cave, the voice of Danyangzi. It was the first time he had been so enraged.

When others had escaped before, Danyangzi had not been angry. When Li Huowang had unintentionally offended him with words, he had not been angry either. But he was angry now.

The atmosphere in the entire Qingfeng Temple became oppressively stifling. Even the oil lamps hanging on the walls seemed dimmer than usual.

At Danyangzi's command, everyone slowly filed into the main hall for morning lessons.

The air was thick with the smell of blood. The scattered corpses on the floor were proof that Danyangzi had vented his uncontrollable rage on the innocent.

Killing made him feel somewhat better, but it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.

Plop. A bloody mass, a head and a tangle of flesh, slammed down in front of everyone.

It was the vase-girl's head, the one Li Huowang had broken earlier. Death had leeched all the color from her rouge, and her vacant eyes held a deep, lingering fear.

"Who did this? Who sneaked into my room while I was refining the elixir?!"

Danyangzi's voice was now low and strained, like a lion on the verge of a charge. "If you step forward now, this Daoist will grant you a quick death. But if I have to catch you myself... Hmph! I'll make you beg me on your knees to kill you!"

The entire cave was silent. Not a single person moved—not the human ingredients, not the disciples, not the temple boys.

"Fine! No one talks, huh? Then I'll ask one by one! Changming, Changren, what were you doing while I was refining the elixir?"

The two disciples carrying longswords immediately bowed to Danyangzi. "Reporting to Master, we were guarding the main gate of Qingfeng Temple as you ordered, without a moment's delay!"

His face expressionless, Danyangzi walked up to them, scrutinizing their expressions closely. He stared until cold sweat was about to roll down their faces, then slowly turned his gaze elsewhere. "Xuanyuan! And you?"

Beside Xuanyuan, Li Huowang's heart tightened. He knew he was next. Clenching his resolve, he told himself, Hold steady! As long as I don't let him see through me, I've already won!

"Xuanyang! Your turn. After you delivered the human ingredients today, where did you go?"

The moment he heard the question, Li Huowang blurted out, "Disciple was in the material room, preparing the next batch of ingredients for Master's elixir."

"Is that so?" Danyangzi approached. His nauseating stench and suffocating pressure overwhelmed Li Huowang, his body tensed to its absolute limit. Now he understood why the other senior brothers had sweated so much.

Time crawled by. Under the immense pressure, beads of sweat gathered on Li Huowang's forehead.

Just as the pressure lifted and he thought he might have escaped, Danyangzi's voice rang out again. "Did any of you actually see Xuanyang in the material room?"

Li Huowang's eyes shot up. Danyangzi was now standing before Bai Lingmiao and the others—the human ingredients—and he was asking them.

"Think before you speak. Whoever can help me find the culprit, this Daoist will not only send you home but give you traveling expenses as well."

The words hit the dozen or so mutilated human ingredients like a thunderclap. Their eyes went wide. They wanted to go home. They dreamed of leaving this hell.

"Master... Senior Brother Li was indeed with us at the time..." Bai Lingmiao was the first to speak, sensing the wavering morale.

Danyangzi's gaze lingered on her face. "Oh? And what about the rest of you?"

Gouwa's breathing was ragged, his expression a war of internal struggle. Finally, he gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and stepped forward. "Hey, Immortal Grandpa, I'll talk! That Xuanyang guy didn't come to the material room even once today! It must be him!"

At these words, Xuanyin, whose face had been pale with fright, let the corners of his mouth twitch upward. He almost laughed out loud. His life was saved.

Danyangzi turned back to look at Li Huowang, then walked slowly to Gouwa. His right hand swung out, and smack—the sound of a slap echoed through the hall. "Bullshit! The human ingredient this morning was delivered by Xuanyang himself! Where would he find a human ingredient if he wasn't in the material room? Are you looking for death?"

Gouwa, as if terrified out of his wits, immediately fell to his knees, snot and tears streaming down his face. He kowtowed frantically. "I was wrong, Immortal Grandpa! I was blinded by greed! I lied!"

Danyangzi stared expressionlessly at Gouwa, who looked like he was about to piss himself in fear. The next moment, he whirled around and fixed his gaze on Xuanyin. "What were you just smiling about? Are you happy that Xuanyang has been falsely accused?"

The words hit Xuanyin like a hammer, and his body trembled violently. The immense pressure radiating from Danyangzi made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

As Danyangzi slowly walked toward him, Xuanyin's panic grew more and more obvious. So obvious that even those who didn't know the truth could tell something was seriously wrong.

When Danyangzi stood before him, he completely broke. He collapsed to the ground, yellow urine seeping from beneath his Daoist robe. "Master! It wasn't my idea! Senior Brother Zhengkun forced me to do it!"

The moment Xuanyin said this, Zhengkun's expression twisted. He pushed off the hard ground with both feet and, like a hunting leopard, shot toward the cave entrance, leaving a faint blur behind.

"So it's you!" Danyangzi snorted coldly. With a sweep of his right sleeve, a jingle-jingle of clear chimes rang out. A bronze coin, tarnished with verdigris, clattered to the ground and began to spin like a top.

Just as Zhengkun was about to reach the entrance, Danyangzi's right foot, clad in a cloth shoe, lifted sharply then slammed down. Dust flew into the air.

Crack.

The bronze coin shattered into pieces, scattering in all directions. But it wasn't just the coin that broke apart.

In the distance, so did Zhengkun.

His arms and legs were torn from his body as if by some invisible dismemberment. Yet, even without his limbs, bleeding profusely, Zhengkun was not dead. Like a meat maggot, he continued to squirm toward the entrance.

"Child, you've been with me the longest. Why did it have to be you? I should have guessed—you knew how to undo the restrictions in my room." Danyangzi's face twisted with fury. He planted his foot on Zhengkun's head, stopping his squirming.

"Master... I... I was wrong, Master. I'm a cripple now. Please, spare me this once!"

"Master, back when those monks from Zhengde Temple were hunting us, it was my two younger brothers who gave their lives so we could escape! Master!"

Danyangzi's foot shifted slightly, pressing Zhengkun's face, already purple from strain, into the ground, silencing him completely.

"Child, do you know? I know everything you've been thinking. You and your two brothers—you're all ungrateful wolves!" Danyangzi said, each word deliberate and hammered home. His foot kept increasing the pressure.

BANG.

With an explosive sound, a single drop of thick, viscous blood splattered onto Li Huowang's face.

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Reading Guide Decoding

The Tyrant Unmasked

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

This chapter demonstrates the brutal internal hierarchy of a "cultivation sect." Danyangzi isn't just a master—he's a god-tyrant. His authority is absolute and enforced through violence that makes even his inner disciples disposable. The interrogation scene reveals a core xianxia dynamic: the master holds all the cards, and betrayal is met with spectacular, public punishment meant to terrorize everyone else into loyalty. The bronze coin curse is a subtle but powerful example of "Daoist sorcery"—ritual objects (coins, bells, swords) are not just tools but vessels for order-based supernatural power. Zhengkun's instant dismemberment, mirrored by the coin's destruction, visually reinforces the concept of sympathetic magic bound to strict rules. Also note the chilling use of "sending home" as a reward—for these mutilated captives, home is a psychological weapon more potent than any threat.

Sympathetic curse

A Daoist sorcery technique that links a target's fate to a ritual object, such as a coin; when the object is destroyed, the target suffers the same effect.

Cultural / Xianxia Notes (Extended)

This chapter vividly depicts the brutal internal hierarchy of a cultivation sect, where the Master's word is law, and betrayal is met with spectacular, public punishment meant to terrorize the rest into submission. The scene underscores the core difference from modern justice: authority here is personal and absolute, not institutional. Danyangzi's method of execution—using a bronze coin as a focus for sympathetic magic that tears Zhengkun apart—is a classic example of Daoist sorcery, where ritual objects act as contracts or conduits for supernatural power. The "sending home" reward for the human ingredients highlights their desperate psychological state; in a world where freedom is a fantasy, even a chance at it is a potent weapon.

Chapter Overview

Get ready, fellow Daoists, because the lid just blew off Danyangzi's kitchen pot! This chapter is a masterclass in tension as the old alchemist discovers his sacred vase has been shattered. "Found Out" isn't just a title—it's a promise fulfilled. The serene, calculating facade cracks wide open, revealing the raw, murderous tyrant underneath. We watch our boy Li Huowang sweat through the ultimate test of nerves, while the cave temple's fragile social order collapses into a bloodbath of paranoia and betrayal. It's a claustrophobic, visceral payoff that redefines the stakes: in this world, a single mistake doesn't just kill you—it does so with theatrical, grinding cruelty.

Key Plot Points

Danyangzi erupts in unimaginable rage upon discovering the broken vase-girl, slaughtering innocents to vent his fury before interrogating the entire temple.
He methodically questions his disciples: Changming, Changren, Xuanyuan, and finally Li Huowang, who maintains his lie about being in the material room under immense pressure.
Danyangzi then turns to the human ingredients, dangling the ultimate bait—freedom and travel money—to identify the culprit.
Bai Lingmiao first confirms Li Huowang's alibi, but Gouwa, the sharp-faced sycophant, betrays Li Huowang, claiming he was never in the material room.
Danyangzi brutally slaps Gouwa down, seeing through his lie and using the failed accusation to pivot toward his real target: Xuanyin.
Xuanyin, cornered by Danyangzi's relentless pressure, breaks down and confesses that Zhengkun forced him to frame Li Huowang.
Zhengkun makes a desperate break for the entrance but is monstrously and systematically dismembered by Danyangzi's curse through a bronze coin.
The chapter ends with Zhengkun, now a limbless, bloody worm, begging for mercy until Danyangzi literally crushes his head, splattering blood across Li Huowang's face.

Reading Guide

Watch Li Huowang's game face in this chapter. He's not a hero; he's a survivor playing a high-stakes bluff. The real tension is in the near misses: Danyangzi's gaze passes over him, Gouwa's lie is too clumsy to stick, and Xuanyin's panic saves him by redirecting the target. This is the kind of desperation-chess that defines the best survival horror. Also, pay close attention to how the "human ingredients" act—they are not props. Bai Lingmiao's quick defense shows her growing agency, and even the terrified Gouwa makes a rational, if cowardly, choice. The true horror isn't just the bloodshed; it's that every person in that cave is calculating how to use another's life to save their own. Li Huowang wins this round, but the blood on his face is a promise: he's a step closer to the abyss.

Reading Guide

Pay close attention to Li Huowang's internal performance. He's not playing for dominance; he's playing for survival. The near-misses are the core of the chapter's tension: Gouwa's lie is too clumsy to stick, and Xuanyin's panic saves Li Huowang by redirecting the target. This is desperation-chess, the defining strategy of a character who has no power but must win anyway. Also, note how the "human ingredients" react—Bai Lingmiao's quick shield shows her growing agency, and even Gouwa's cowardly betrayal is a rational choice under duress. The true horror isn't just the bloodshed; it's that every person in that cave is calculating how to use another's life to barter for their own.