Chapter 74 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

Before the Council Again

"I would like to present myself," Diệp Sương said, her voice clearly echoing throughout the small room, completely different from the trembling she had felt when she stood before the council last year. She spread the old map on the table, pointing to each detailed marker she had recorded throughout her wandering journey.

"This is Tiêu Sa Pass, where Cố Thanh Việt and I discovered traces of the Special Coordination Line more than a year ago," she said, her finger moving to another point. "This is the Thâm Vụ Forest, where I found survey poles with the same type of markings, with the weakening of the Linh Mạch dating back about fifteen years. And here," she said, pointing to another series of points marked with newer red ink, "are the places where changes have occurred in the past week, according to the information I gathered on the way back."

*

"The coincidence between old weakening points and new outbreak points cannot be a coincidence," Tạ Vân Khê continued, standing up and pointing to the map. "If we connect these points, they form a network that almost exactly matches the scope of operations recorded by the Special Coordination Line in the old records that I have had people look up over the past several months."

Húc Bá Nguyên stood up, his voice still trying to maintain skepticism. "A hand-drawn map by a convicted person is not enough as official evidence."

"So what about the testimony of the Hidden Cloud clan?" Diệp Sương responded immediately, turning to signal Miên Trà to step up.

*

Miên Trà, although still trembling because it was the first time she stood in front of so many powerful people, still spoke clearly. "Our clan has lived in the Thâm Vụ Forest for many generations. We witnessed the land weakening with our own eyes after strange wooden stakes appeared. This is not a rumor; it is something my clan has lived with for many years."

"A creature of unknown origin," Húc Bá Nguyên retorted, his voice filled with contempt, "how can it be considered a credible witness before a human council?"

Those words made Du Khinh growl and take a step forward, but Diệp Sương raised her hand to stop him, her eyes burning with restrained anger.

*

Cố Thanh Việt stepped up and stood next to Diệp Sương, his voice rang out with the power of a person who had repeatedly proven his bravery before this council. "I can also confirm part of what Miên Trà just said," he said. "I have seen with my own eyes how the land around the Hạn Thủy ravine has weakened. I have read the documents that Khâm Vân Ti's official secretary Chúc Nghi Lam risked her life to copy, clearly stating the name of the Special Coordination Line unit and the mining operations hidden under the name of periodic surveys."

"There's one more detail," Tất Bá Kỳ spoke up from the back of the room, where he stood waiting to be called in. "Recently, a Deputy Supervisor of Khâm Vân Ti named Ngộ Khắc Bình went to a small village on the border, where Diệp Sương used to stay, to inquire about her, under the pretext of a security investigation. If it were just a normal matter, why would a high-ranking official personally travel to such a remote place just to find a person who had been stripped of all her status?"

That question made the whole room silent for a moment. Húc Bá Nguyên clenched his hands, not responding immediately, his eyes avoiding Tạ Vân Khê's probing gaze.

*

"It is that attitude," he said, his voice cold, "this contempt for anyone who does not belong to your system, that is the reason why for so many years, no one has listened to the early warnings from those you consider inferior - from the abandoned frontier people, from the banished Vụ Ẩn clan, and even from me, a country child you once reluctantly took in."

The whole room was silent at that straightforward statement. Thư Khải Dương, sitting silently from the beginning, finally spoke, his voice was deep and heavy.

"You're right," he admitted, surprising both Húc Bá Nguyên and Diệp Sương. "This sect, over the years, has been too complacent with its position, too slow to listen to voices from outside the system. That is a mistake I must take responsibility for, as its leader."

*

"So what does the sect leader intend to do with this evidence?" Tạ Vân Khê asked directly, her eyes did not leave him for a moment.

Thư Khải Dương was silent for a long time, his eyes glanced over the map, through Diệp Sương, through Miên Trà and Du Khinh, finally stopping where Húc Bá Nguyên was sitting stiffly.

"I will order an official, comprehensive investigation into the Special Coordination Line and its connection to the sect elders and Khâm Vân Ti officials," he announced, his voice decisive and uncompromising. "But that investigation will have to wait, until the immediate danger is dealt with. We don't have time to investigate and fight at the same time."

*

"What about my crime?" Diệp Sương asked, her voice was soft but could not hide the tension of waiting.

Thư Khải Dương looked at her for a long time, his eyes carrying a complexity that was difficult to name—both apologetic and cautious, as if he were weighing justice against the sect's fragile political stability at a critical moment.

"I cannot officially cancel the banishment right now," he said, his voice heavy, "because that would require the full investigation I just talked about. But I declare that, from this moment on, you are allowed to operate freely within the sect as an ally in an emergency situation, under the direct guarantee of elder Tạ Vân Khê."

*

It wasn't the complete vindication Diệp Sương expected, but in this situation, she understood that this was probably the best she could get. She nodded, bowed her head in thanks. "I accept, Master. I just hope that the immediate danger is dealt with first, and justice can wait a little longer."

Húc Bá Nguyên, although clearly dissatisfied with this decision, did not dare to protest publicly in the midst of an urgent situation. He just sat down silently, his eyes flashed with a hint of concern that was hard to hide when looking at Tạ Vân Khê.

*

After the meeting, when everyone had dispersed, Tạ Vân Khê held Diệp Sương back and led her to a deserted corner of the hallway. "You did well," she said, her voice filled with pride. "Better than I could ever have expected from the thirteen-year-old I met."

"I learned from you," Diệp Sương replied, smiling tiredly. "How to stand firm against those more powerful than you, without losing yourself."

Tạ Vân Khê smiled softly and placed her hand on Diệp Sương's shoulder. "There's still a lot to do ahead. But tonight, rest first. You've come a long way to get here."

"Do you think the sect leader is sincere?" Diệp Sương asked softly, her voice still a bit skeptical. "Or is it just a way to delay to maintain internal peace in the midst of danger?"

Tạ Vân Khê pondered for a moment before responding. "I'm not completely sure of his motives, even after many years of sitting on the council. But I believe, at least for now, his decisions come from practical necessity rather than malice. It's not perfect justice, but it gives you a foothold to keep fighting, and sometimes, that's all you can win in a system that isn't ready for radical change." Diệp Sương nodded, understanding those words more than ever. She remembered what Mr. Bảy Nhánh once said in Rễ Bàng Hamlet - sometimes nameless things are more durable than things stamped with a red seal - and thought to herself, perhaps justice is the same, sometimes it has to come in small steps, not all at once.

*

That night, when Diệp Sương was finally able to lie down in a small room arranged for her in the sect's guest house, she looked up at the ceiling, her heart still filled with a million worries. She was relieved to have been heard, but heavy with the knowledge that the real battle—with the demon threat and those exploiting the Linh Mạch—still lay ahead.

She turned the silver bracelet on her wrist, thinking of Lãnh Vũ, Mr. Bảy Nhánh, Mrs. Chín Lài and Mr. Tám Mực in her faraway hometown, and all the people who had trusted her throughout the past journey. She silently promised herself that she would not let that trust become meaningless.

Outside the window, the night wind howled stronger and stronger, bringing unusual cold air through the door, like a reminder that although tonight it had regained a partial foothold in the sect, the real storm was still waiting out there, with no intention of delaying for any human meeting.