Red Heart Patrols the Sky

Jiang Wang's voice sounded faintly, "So the first thing I did after I recovered was to go find Fang DeCai."

Fang Pengju was silent for only a moment before his longsword thrust out swiftly!

"Beast! My Fang Family has treated you well. How dare you collude with the mountain thieves, forge letters, and harm my third brother!"

This sword was both swift and accurate, blood splattered. Fang DeCai convulsed violently, uttering a few choked sounds from his throat before he lay still like a dead dog. From beginning to end, he didn't even have the chance to utter a word in his own defense.

"Fang Pengju!" No one present was a fool, and although Du Yehu was rough, it didn't mean he was stupid. Now his tiger eyes were wide with surging anger.

"Big brother," Fang Pengju said, his longsword dripping with blood, his face filled with shame, "I... I was overtaken by rage and only thought of killing this beast to vent my anger for third brother!"

"It doesn't matter." Jiang Wang waited for Fang Pengju's performance to end before shaking out a piece of paper from his chest, densely inscribed with writing, "Here is Fang DeCai's confession and his signature. Would you like to see it, Peng Ju?"

"Clang!"

Discarding his longsword carelessly, Fang Pengju fell to his knees violently, "I don't need to read it to know roughly what it says. Only that the Western Mountain Bandits' desire for my destruction is relentless, I do not know what price they paid to make DeCai so devoted! But third brother, believe me, I have always been open and aboveboard, when have I ever acted like a petty person? No matter how this affair started, our Fang Family must give you an explanation. I will offer a reward of ten thousand coins to eliminate all bandits within a hundred miles, to cleanse the hatred in third brother's heart!"

Some disciples from the outer court also spoke up, "That's right, Brother Jiang, each of you Maple Forest Five Heroes is a hero and the pride of our Fenglin City Taoist Academy's outer court. Please do not be swayed by the villains!"

"My elderly mother was gravely ill once, and it was Brother Fang who generously helped. I believe he is not that sort of person."

There were also those who spat on Fang DeCai's corpse, "Such a wicked servant deserves death. He even tarnished Brother Fang's reputation and spoiled the brotherly bond of the Maple Forest Five Heroes. Had he still been alive, I would've wished to flay him a thousand times over!"

"My fellow disciples, there's no need for further words!" Fang Pengju waved his hand to stop the crowd's discussion, moved forward on his knees looking earnestly at Jiang Wang, "After third brother disappeared, I searched everywhere with our people, often to the point of tears! Everyone knows my feelings for third brother, heaven and earth can bear witness! Even though my conscience is clear, if it wasn't for my trust in DeCai and third brother's trust in me, how could this beast have had the opportunity to exploit? All the guilt is mine, and I am willing to bear it alone!"

"I am willing to give up all my private wealth to compensate for third brother's pain; I am willing to subject myself to corporal punishment to atone for the error of trust; I am willing to fight the bandits alone, to vow to annihilate the remnants of the Western Mountain, and I will not return to the city until they are completely eradicated!"

"I am willing to do this, not as a compensation, for third brother almost lost his life, a hatred difficult to repay! It's just that we are brothers, and I cannot forgive myself!"

"If..." Fang Pengju's voice nearly broke down with tears, gritting his teeth, "If third brother still cannot let go of his hatred, then pick up this longsword and kill me with one strike! Peng Ju will have no complaints!"

All eyes were cast onto the blood-stained longsword that had been thrown to the ground.

"Brother Fang, you mustn't do this!"

"I believe it's not your fault, how can a true man speak so lightly of death?"

In such a scene, all spectators were deeply moved and spoke out to persuade.

Even Ling He, after a silence, spoke up again, "Brother, this matter..."

Jiang Wang swept forward with his tattered sleeve, his spine straight, "Peng Ju, I've taken wounds for you, and you've stood up for me in the past. Together, the five brothers of us, we've also shared life and death."

Whether it was Ling He, Du Yehu, or Zhao Rucheng, all were deeply touched. The blood and tears they shared, the days they fought side by side, the joys they experienced together... only they themselves knew.

How can the bond of life and death be fully expressed in a few words?

"Third brother..." Fang Pengju bowed his head, tears streaming down his face, unable to speak, "It's all my fault, a thousand faults, ten thousand faults. I should not have trusted a wicked servant, nearly causing a disaster!"

"But since you've said so..." Jiang Wang began to speak slowly, "Then third brother, I shall respectfully comply!"