Shen Yunjin’s gaze remained fixed on the character “Fortune” . It was the one Wen Yuzhu had taught him to write, stroke by stroke. He still remembered the day the inkstone at home had dried up; Wen Yuzhu had given him a few copper coins to go to the street corner to buy ink. When he returned, the Shen residence had already been burned to ashes.
A faint sound of arguing emanated from within the house, but it was indistinct. Shen Yunjin subconsciously wanted to approach the door, but the voices inside sounded as if muffled by a veil, hazy and dreamlike.
“Don’t move.” Xie Weiyuan’s hand pressed onto his shoulder.
Shen Yunjin turned his head, and the man lowered his voice: “A gentleman does not eavesdrop on what is improper.”
Xie Weiyuan really had the nerve to say that with a straight face.
Shen Yunjin was about to retort when he felt a tightening around his waist. Before he could react, he had been hoisted onto the rafters by Xie Weiyuan.
“…”
His expression grew grim as he looked at Xie Weiyuan’s stern profile.
So, lurking in corners is beneath a gentleman, but tearing off roof tiles is considered a gentlemanly act?
Xie Weiyuan was completely oblivious to Shen Yunjin’s resentment. He repeated the maneuver, grabbing Ji Yunlan by the back of his collar like a chick and hauling him up onto the rafters as well.
The three of them crouched there on the main roof, secretly spying on the situation within the estate.
The argument inside the Shen residence abruptly ceased, falling into an eerie silence. The three of them waited for a long time, but aside from the rustling of the orchid grass in the courtyard, there was no further movement.
Ji Yunlan asked skeptically: “Strange, we should be close to the time of the great fire that consumed the Shen house; why has everything suddenly gone quiet?”
Shen Yunjin did not reply, his eyes fixed intently on the door. Suddenly, Wen Yuzhu lifted the bead curtain and walked out.
She moved very slowly. The youthful innocence of the past had faded from her features, replaced by a deep, heavy sorrow.
Wen Yuzhu mechanically pruned the flowers and plants in the courtyard, yet she seemed uninterested skilled, but devoid of life.
“Logically speaking, Wen Yuzhu married the person she loved and was reunited with her child. Why would she be so despondent?”
“Could it be that she didn’t love Shen’s father and was forced into this marriage?”
Shen Yunjin shook his head: “They had been married for ten years and were deeply in love. There had never been any discord or argument.”
“That is strange, then. Her state really does defy logic.”
In this Huangliang Scroll, everything reconstructed was true to the past; it shouldn’t be fake. It seemed Wen Yuzhu must have discovered something.
Bang! The sound of a shattering bowl came from the inner room. Shen’s father pushed his wooden wheelchair out, his face full of rage.
“Why are you so obstinate? Are you saying you would rather watch me die early and leave you alone to survive?”
Wen Yuzhu paused upon hearing this: “I cannot watch you go astray.”
“How have I gone astray? Those Spiritual Slaves are just items to be traded cheap lives! If I don’t take their lives, others will. What difference does it make?”
Wen Yuzhu trembled with anger: “Human life has its own destiny; how can you arbitrarily seize it? To perform such a sinister act just to extend your life how is this different from a man-eating demon? I never knew that the husband who has been by my side for years was such a wolfish creature who treats human life like straw. Had I known, I would never have stepped one foot into this Shen residence!”
Shen’s father was suddenly stunned by these words. He turned his head away; his expression was unclear, but his voice was low, heavy, and chillingly sinister: “Unfortunately, the person you married all those years ago was me. Regardless of how I disguised myself then, you still believed in me, didn’t you?”
“Yuzhu, don’t deny it. You truly loved me, so why can’t you give that love entirely to me? Those Spiritual Slaves have nothing to do with you and are beneath you. Why must you empathize with them, thinking for them and turning against your husband?”
Wen Yuzhu turned her back, her heart completely dead: “Shen-lang, if there is still a shred of kindness left in your heart, please, stop here.”
Alas, one evil stains the heart, and ten thousand calamities follow.
Shen’s father’s face became hideous. His blood pressure surged, leaving him speechless, and he broke into a violent coughing fit.
“Fine, I will listen to you. But this is the last time…”
“What last time?”
“I checked with the Spirit-Measuring Talisman yesterday. He is a high-grade five-element spiritual root. If I can use his roots and bones to nourish myself, I will be completely healed, and we can spend the rest of our lives together.”
He suppressed his wicked greed and took Wen Yuzhu’s hand: “Yuzhu, trust me one more time, okay? Do you remember our past? We were once a young couple envied by all. We will have many, many more children. It’s just this one… he cannot stay.”
“Just this once…”
Wen Yuzhu yanked her hand away, her eyes brimming with horrific fear. She looked at Shen’s father in disappointment: “Even a tiger does not eat its own cubs. I thought you still had a shred of conscience. So it seems…”
“I can only divorce you.”
Shen’s father let out a cold laugh and pushed his wheelchair closer: “You cannot escape, Yuzhu. I said it before we will be together for a lifetime. Once he returns, I will do it.”
Wen Yuzhu could no longer hold back; tears slid down her face.
The person before her still had the same features, but he was no longer the young man who once cherished and cared for her. He had become a stranger, an executioner.
“If you dare to touch him, I will die right in front of you.”
The smile on Shen’s father’s lips grew more bitter: “Life and death are not for you to decide. Once I have him, even if you descend to the eighteenth level of hell, I will drag you back.”
He showed no fear of Wen Yuzhu’s threat, merely watching her furious expression from afar.
So, there was such torment in the past. Xie Weiyuan looked at Shen Yunjin with pity.
Shen Yunjin, however, showed no emotion. He felt dull, as if he had lost all feeling. His heart was filled with regret and hatred if he hadn’t gone out that day and had stayed to keep Wen Yuzhu company, perhaps this great disaster could have been averted.
The three were at a loss. Unable to jump down and infiltrate to investigate, they could only speculate wildly. Shen Yunjin’s eyes were sharp; he suddenly noticed a person in gray robes standing sneakily before the Shen residence gate.
His breathing quickened. He had seen this familiar figure many times in his dreams; seeing him here in the flesh, his desire to uncover the truth became all the more urgent.
The nightmare that had been silent in his heart for years was right before him, and no one would be spared.
Four years ago, during the fire at the Shen residence, amidst the sea of flames, he had caught a glimpse of this man’s back. Seeing him here again today, the suspicions he had held for years solidified.
That disastrous fire… it perhaps originated from this man’s hands.
Before Xie Weiyuan could stop him, Shen Yunjin jumped down from the roof and followed the man.
Xie Weiyuan jumped down as well, grabbing Shen Yunjin’s wrist.
“What are you doing?”
“I am going to see who he really is.”
“Going now will only alert the enemy. Why invite disaster? Since the fire started here at the Shen residence, you should lie in wait here perhaps you will see some clues.”
He shook off Xie Weiyuan’s hand: “No. I must see his face clearly.”
Xie Weiyuan tried to block him again, but seeing Shen Yunjin’s somber expression, he realized that, risking discovery, the boy pulled a dagger from his waist and slashed fiercely at the man’s back.
The whistling sound of the dagger breaking through the air alerted the man. The gray-robed cultivator whipped around and slapped the incoming blade away.
…
Shen Yunjin saw his face clearly. His expression grew dark, and the rage in his chest almost erupted.
“So that’s it.”
No wonder… no wonder Xie Weiyuan tried to stop me!
Xie Weiyuan’s heart also skipped a beat. He stared at the man’s face in disbelief.
Both he and Shen Yunjin were all too familiar with it.
The man… he had a face identical to Xie Weiyuan’s. Or rather, this man was the Linghua-jun from four years ago!
Xie Weiyuan cursed inwardly. This original body really knew how to cause trouble. Now, even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he wouldn’t be able to wash himself clean. Shen Yunjin likely wanted to kill him on the spot.
The reality matched his prediction. A deathly silence fell over the scene. Even Ji Yunlan’s eyes darted back and forth between Xie Weiyuan and the cultivator, seemingly unwilling to believe they were the same person.
The gray-robed cultivator frowned as well, but soon let out a cold laugh: “Truly curious. This world actually has a face exactly like mine.”
But “Linghua-jun” was not a person who would tolerate such offense. He condensed a Weak Water Spiritual Technique at his fingertips and launched a vicious attack.
Xie Weiyuan grabbed Shen Yunjin’s wrist, trying to pull him aside to hide.
Spiritual power could not be used within the Huangliang Scroll; the three of them surely couldn’t withstand this blow and would die right here.
But Shen Yunjin stood stubbornly in place, his eyes dangerous, his hatred condensing like ice in his pupils. He had begun to change his opinion of Xie Weiyuan, but he never expected that this man was the murderer who had killed his parents years ago.
Everything was linked now.
Xie Weiyuan from four years ago must have learned that he had a high-grade five-element spiritual root and likely carried a Divine Seal, so he had come to burn the Shen residence to the ground, only to pretend to be charitable and rescue him back to the Jiuyou Sect, where he subjected him to abuse and forced the awakening of the Divine Seal.
He had been naive enough to serve his parents’ murderer as a disciple for so many years.
He had even, on that day… entertained the thought of saving Xie Weiyuan.
Shen Yunjin felt revulsion for the small bit of “goodness” he had discovered in Xie Weiyuan. He stood there heedless, not even trying to dodge.
The Linghua-jun of four years ago would not show the mercy the current Xie Weiyuan did. The Weak Water technique tore through the air, coming within an inch of hurting them.
“System Task, Block this attack.”
As soon as the mechanical voice fell, Xie Weiyuan opened his eyes in shock, uncontrollably shielding Shen Yunjin.
He turned around and met Shen Yunjin’s gloomy eyes, seemingly catching a hint of shock and peculiarity in them.
Damn… I am not going to die here today, am I!
He closed his eyes, expecting to meet his end, but instead, with a bang, a golden light crossed in front of him, blocking the attack.
Shen Yunjin paused; the golden light in his palm did not fade.
“Master, don’t you have an explanation?” his eyes, cold as tempered ice, asked coldly.
That Divine Seal has awakened to this extent in just a few days? The villain’s strength is truly heaven-defying. This little brat had even lied to him at the inn, claiming the seal hadn’t fully awakened.
At this rate, he could already catch a blow from the prime-era “Linghua-jun.” It would only take a few more years of training for him to crush Xie Weiyuan.
Not to mention the current Xie Weiyuan, who was nothing more than a cripple.
With this stance, if he didn’t give a good answer, he would likely be finished off along with this dream’s “Linghua-jun.”
He pretended to be calm, swallowing hard, and tried to stabilize the situation with Shen Yunjin: “Things are not as you think.”
Shen Yunjin gave a sarcastic smile: “Master, do you take me for a fool?”
“If that is the case, then perhaps you can tell me why you were here four years ago, and why… you burned the Shen residence to the ground!”
His voice rose, his eyes sharpening as he looked at Xie Weiyuan.
The System had not given Xie Weiyuan this memory, and he had no idea why the original body had slaughtered Shen Yunjin’s entire household.
Facing his doom, Xie Weiyuan’s voice trembled; he didn’t know how to answer. Fortunately, the Linghua-jun in the dream had no intention of letting them go. Another spiritual attack came, and the opponent’s “Cloud-Hidden Flute” responded to the call, piercing through the air toward them.
Shen Yunjin had no choice but to fight back. Among the three, only he had the capacity for resistance. His martial arts were fierce; though not as skilled in technique as “Linghua-jun,” he could hold his own.
He poured all of his power into every strike as if venting his rage, seemingly unleashing the flames of hatred in his heart upon this false “Linghua-jun.”
Xie Weiyuan swallowed, watching Shen Yunjin’s bloodshot, enraged state, feeling a rare pang of guilt.
He tapped the System in his consciousness: “The Shen family… did I truly burn them?”
“During the mission, you may not request outside assistance.”
“…”
To his surprise, the “Linghua-jun” in the dream was not as resilient as he thought or perhaps the man had no heart to tangle with Shen Yunjin and he turned and fled in a panic.
Shen Yunjin turned back and gave a chilling smile: “Master, can we talk about what happened back then now?”