Xin Feiliu frowned. Back then, she had waited with her sister for Wangquan Chumo’s return. Not long after he left, her sister discovered she was pregnant. Later, as there was still no sign of him, her sister heard the news spreading through the Central Province the very day after she gave birth. It was said that Wangquan Chumo had turned demonic and betrayed them, killing countless disciples from the Eastern and Southern Provinces. Her sister refused to believe it, thinking he had been framed, and did not hesitate to personally go to the Ten Thousand Demon Valley to find him.
After that, news spread that Wangquan Chumo had personally killed his own beloved. Eventually, everyone vanished; the victims and the killer all disappeared from the Central Province.
“And then what? My sister clearly went to find you!” She grew agitated and pressed for answers immediately.
At these words, Wangquan Chumo’s lifeless eyes became bloodshot, filled with remorse, guilt, and sorrow. He knelt on the ground, his back arched and his hands clutching his forehead as he relived that agonizing scene.
“I killed every last disciple that year. My madness lasted for an entire month, and I slaughtered most of the demon beasts in the Ten Thousand Demon Valley. Later, A'ying came to find me. She saw that I was being controlled by something and tried to use music to restore my sanity, but it was useless.
“I almost attacked A'ying too, but what little consciousness I had left forced me to self-harm as a way to immediately distance myself from her. For that entire month, I was like a low-level demon beast, killing people, drinking blood, and carving out hearts. I killed many innocent people as well.”
Wangquan Chumo’s gaze was vacant and dazed, but his trembling voice betrayed the absolute helplessness and despair he had felt. After he regained his sanity, he remembered every single action from his madness—he remembered killing those who had been his best brothers and sisters, and he remembered using that sword to kill defenseless elderly and children. His sins were heavy.
Xin Feiliu’s pupils trembled. She hadn't expected the situation to be like that.
Mist gathered in the corners of Wangquan Chumo’s eyes and rolled down his cheeks. His gaze had long since lost any spark of life. “Later, A'ying found me for the second time. At that time, she was wearing her wedding gown. She captured me and bound me within an array. She said she had found a way to save me. She took her own life before my eyes, using a secret technique to extract her heart’s blood and feed it to me...
“The first thing I saw when I woke up was her in my arms, having pierced her own heart with my sword. She took her last breath right there. I was the one who caused her death. I am the one who failed everyone...” Wangquan Chumo lowered his head, sobbing uncontrollably.
Xin Feiliu slumped to the ground, her expression one of disbelief. She hadn't expected the truth to be like this. How much despair he must have felt! He must have instinctively tried to pull the sword out, which led to the rumors that he had personally killed his beloved.
She had believed those rumors back then, but as time passed, the more she thought about it, the more it felt wrong—it felt like a setup. No matter how much Wangquan Chumo and her sister grew apart, he would never have raised a hand against her, let alone kill every disciple from the Eastern and Southern Provinces.
“What about the killer? Back then, I thought they had hidden somewhere in the Central Province, yet here you are, curled up in this place. Why haven’t you sought revenge?! Do you have any idea that my sister had just...” Xin Feiliu was about to mention that Xin Yingru had gone to find him right after giving birth, but she suddenly stopped herself, biting back the words.
“...After I woke up, I realized the Central Province wasn't safe, so I brought A'ying’s body back to the Eastern Province. I’ve been investigating all these years. So far, I’ve identified some of them, and there are others I need to confirm in the Central Province. Once I’m certain, I will hunt them down one by one and kill them. Finally...” He would take his own life to atone for his sins, apologizing to all those he had murdered.
Wangquan Chumo was in no mood to notice her words at that moment. Memories of everything that had happened after he went mad continued to loop in his mind. For all these years, he had been drinking just like her, trying to use alcohol to numb those painful memories, but the more he did, the more clearly he remembered every single moment.
Xin Feiliu looked up, dazed. “They caused my sister’s death. This debt of blood includes my share. There is no need for you to try and dissuade me as her husband. I am doing this simply as her sister, her only living relative.”
“You are her only relative left. I will not drag you into this. Leave.” Wangquan Chumo shook his head, knowing she would react this way.
“By what right?! She wasn't just your wife; she was my sister!”
Xin Feiliu stood up and shouted at him, “By what right did you keep this from me for all these years, not seeking me out or letting me know the truth? By what right do you get to bear everything alone? Wangquan Chumo, I hate you! Even if you didn't kill my sister, I still hate you—I hate you for lacking the strength to protect her, and for marrying her only to drag her down!
“It’s been a thousand years! You selfishly and hypocritically hid my sister here. Did you ever consider she still had a sister? Did you ever consider how I was supposed to survive this thousand years, having lost her without even being able to set up a headstone for her?!”
Her hysterical behavior made her look like a madwoman compared to Wangquan Chumo’s deathly silence, but he knew her internal grief was no less than his own.
Wangquan Chumo’s face grew increasingly tragic as he listened to her words, only deepening his resolve not to let Xin Feiliu get involved.
“Precisely because A'ying only had you left as a sister, I didn't seek you out. I didn't dare let you know the truth of what happened back then. Telling you now is only to give you some closure. You don't need to interfere with the revenge.”
Hearing him say this, the blood rushed to Xin Feiliu’s head. In a moment of impulse, she walked right up to him and slapped him across the face.
Smack!
Wangquan Chumo could have dodged, but he didn't. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth; he reached up and calmly wiped it away.
“You were able to find me because Wen Bai told you, wasn't it? She isn't the type to meddle in others' business. Did she have you come here to take her disciple away?”
Other than Gu Linshu, he couldn't think of any other reason why Wen Li would have Xin Feiliu come here. She should be in the Southern Province by now.
Xin Feiliu said coldly, “That’s none of your business. I will personally take him to the Interprovincial Passage and teleport to the Southern Province.”
...
Southern Province, Tingyin Pavilion.
Inside the quiet pavilion, only the sound of turning pages could be heard.
“It’s my turn to go provide musical healing to Jiang Nianyao today.”
Xin Jiuxian appeared suddenly, her arms crossed. Dressed in white with her silver hair held in a simple bun by a magnolia jade hairpin, her pale and frail face bore a command that brooked no argument.
“Ah!”
Bai Songxu, who was processing Tingyin Pavilion’s ledgers, was startled by her ghost-like entrance and hurriedly clutched his heart.
“Come on, big sister! You don’t make a sound when you walk.”
Previously, Xin Jiuxian had been kept in the forbidden ground of the Tingyin Pavilion. No one knew of her existence except for the three elders and Bai Yu. The first time Bai Songxu had met her was when the ancestor, Bai Yu, had arranged that soul-summoning farce to have her leave with Wen Li.
However, that didn't stop Xin Jiuxian from acting like they were old friends. In her eyes, people were divided into two categories: those who could fight and those who couldn't—or rather, those she could boss around and those she couldn't.
Xin Jiuxian’s expression was wooden and her tone indifferent. “You’re a soul-summoning master, yet you’re afraid of ghosts.”
“Is a ghost I summon the same as one who shows up of their own accord?”
One was a guest; the other was an enemy.
It seemed she still held a grudge over him summoning her soul last time so that Wen Li could take her away. Bai Songxu silently reached into his storage bag for a defensive shield, fearing she might crush him to death with her zither in the next second.
Wait, what did she say when she appeared? Oh, right, she was going to treat Jiang Nianyao.
“Hold on!”
“What are you going to see Jiang Nianyao for? Did she offend you? What kind of grudge do you have that you need to go hit her with your zither?” His eyes widened. He couldn't afford to provoke either of them!
Xin Jiuxian’s brow furrowed slightly, her expressionless face showing a hint of annoyance.
She wasn't that violent.
With a surge of spiritual energy, the Yulan Floating Light Zither appeared. He actually dared to slander her.
“Hey, hey, hey!”
Terrified, Bai Songxu immediately jumped up and ran to the side, pulling out the defensive shield and helmet he had already located in his storage bag and putting them on.
“My dear lady, I can’t survive a hit from that Saint Artifact!”
Even if she wasn't playing music, this Saint Artifact had been tempered by a Soul Formation cultivator. He, a mere Golden Core Great Perfection cultivator, would be smashed into meat paste.
Rate on N.U.
