Chapter 69 Shouldn't someone who has killed another pay with their life?

The original author of the revenge story personally recounted the sequel, but Achan was only disappointed; the story was not exciting at all.

Those burdened with hatred have long since turned into piles of bones, and those who were determined to avenge them will soon disappear from this world, while the murderer is still alive.

“You should know that even if you don’t leave this body, you won’t last much longer,” Achan said to Song Yan.

“I know…I know. I originally planned to leave before his body couldn’t take it anymore. I was just too unwilling. I spent so much time and thought of so many ways, but the laws of the world didn’t apply to them at all.” Song Yan’s tone was full of grief and helplessness. “Song Yu clearly said that the laws of the Great Xia would punish all those who made mistakes.”

Achan fell silent, and even Chen Hui, who had been quietly listening to Song Yan speak, couldn't help but sigh.

Both Song Yu and Song Yan in front of them are very intelligent and talented, but they do not understand power, nor do they understand how many people are willing to become slaves or even give up their lives for it.

The justice that Song Yan wants cannot be given to him by the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The law is not wrong, nor are they wrong; it's just that their hearts are too pure.

Ah Chan thought, maybe the human world is inherently so filthy, otherwise, why would she always encounter such things?

Perhaps because he had told Ah Chan all his secrets, Song Yan seemed to have no more reservations and told her about everything that had happened that day.

He said to Achan, "I heard that the Duke of Song and Song Xi have been released, so I went to the Duke of Song's mansion to try and find out some information. My power is very weak, and I could only barely control a mouse to get into the mansion."

I waited a long time before I overheard their conversation. If I hadn't overheard it, I might never have guessed the truth about Song Yu's life of wandering.

"The truth?" Achan's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't everything already clear? What truth could there be?

If we really have to say one, then it's only about who switched the eldest son and the illegitimate son of the Duke of Song back then.

The person who took the blame claimed that he was the one who switched the items, but the common people all felt that this matter must be related to the stepmother of the Duke of Song, since she and her son were the ultimate beneficiaries.

So, who exactly is it?

"Is it... the Duke of Song?" Achan suddenly asked.

Song Yan must have had some guesses in his mind, but the truth caught him off guard. It was clearly someone who had never been suspected, which left only the Duke of Song.

What biological father would switch his two sons and then send one of them out of the house?

Song Yan twitched the corners of his lips, but couldn't manage a smile.

"It's him."

"Why?" Achan asked, puzzled. Song Yan, who heard the Duke of Song say these words himself, was equally confused.

Isn't it said that humans value offspring most? Is there anything wrong with Song Yu?

Song Yan looked into the darkness where the lantern light couldn't reach, recalling everything he had seen and heard in the Song State Duke's mansion through the mouse.

When Song Xi returned to the Duke's mansion, the Duke himself went to the gate to greet him. The father and son did not become estranged despite the death of Song Yu between them.

Duke Song took Song Xi to his study. Duke Song was a lover of painting, and many famous paintings hung in his study.

In the past, Song Yan would have been overjoyed to see him, but at that time his attention was entirely focused on the Duke of Song and his son.

He overheard the Duke of Song telling Song Xi that if Song Xi hadn't acted on his own initiative and allowed Song Chengliang's adopted son to kill Song Yu, none of this would have happened. Fortunately, Song Chengliang took the blame, preventing the situation from escalating.

Then Song Xi admitted his mistake, saying that it was all his fault. He said that when he suddenly learned about his background, he found it hard to accept and was afraid that if the Duke of Song found out about it, he would return the identity and status that originally belonged to him to Song Yu, so he did something wrong.

Upon hearing his son's words, the Duke of Song remained unmoved.

At that time, Song Yan only felt that the father and son were hypocritical and cold-blooded. The mistake that Song Xi mentioned so casually was that he sent someone to kill his own brother, whose identity he had taken over.

When Duke Ming of Song learned that his legitimate son had been murdered by his illegitimate son, he showed no sign of sadness or grief.

He thought that seeing the ugly faces of the father and son was enough to make him nauseous, but little did he know that things were far from over.

He heard the Duke of Song say to Song Xi, "Your father has always put you first all these years. Why do you think that your father would abandon you and choose a discarded son instead?"

Song Xi seemed surprised and asked him what he meant by "abandoning a pawn".

Only at this moment did the Duke of Song finally reveal the truth, a truth that even his own son, whom he had raised, did not know.

He said that from the day Song Yu and Song Xi were born, he had already chosen the heir of the Song State Duke's Mansion, and that person was Song Xi, and it could only be Song Xi.

There was never a mix-up, nor were there any subordinates acting on their own initiative; it was all the Duke of Song's decision.

Later, the father and son talked a lot more, and the small part of the truth that Song Yan had heard at the time was finally pieced together.

How wicked can a person be? Song Yan traveled all the way from Jizhou to Shangjing and encountered many wicked people. They were crude and ugly, but none of them could compare to the Duke of Song.

At that moment, Song Yan met the most disgusting person in the world, yet that person could still say with a high-sounding voice that everything he did was for the prosperity of the family.

Song Yu was switched at birth by order of the Duke of Song.

Song Yu's repeated setbacks in the imperial examinations over the years were also at the behest of the Duke of Song.

Although the Duke of Song did not want this son, he did not forget to keep an eye on Song Yu, preventing him from standing out and giving him no chance to appear in the capital.

His only fatherly love for Song Yu was probably to spare Song Yu's life. But even that meager fatherly love couldn't compare to the importance of Song Xi in his heart.

Song Yan's thoughts were immersed in memories from not long ago, and it took him a while to come back to his senses.

He told Achan, "The Duke of Song told Song Xi that everything he did was for the sake of the family. Song Xi was found to have excellent aptitude at birth, while Song Yu's meridians were blocked and he could not cultivate. So he made the decision to switch the two sons."

Because the heir of the Duke of Song's mansion cannot be a useless person incapable of cultivation.

Achan asked, "Then why send Song Yu away? Can't the Song State Duke's mansion support two sons?"

Song Yan remained silent; he didn't know either.

At this moment, Chen Hui spoke up: "Because of despicable acts."

She said to the two of them, "The Duke of Song did something to wrong Song Yu, so how could he be willing to put him in front of him? Of course, he hopes to never see this son again so that he won't remember what he did to deserve this."

Achan felt that she might never be able to fully understand humanity, just as she could never understand the actions of the Duke of Song.

Previously, the person who came out to confess used the same excuse, which she found utterly absurd. But now, the truth has come out of the Duke of Song's mouth, and those words are actually the truth.

Song Yan said, "After Song Xi had Song Yu killed, the Duke of Song already knew who the murderer was. The people who cleaned up the mess for Song Xi were all sent by him."

Song Yan couldn't continue speaking at this point.

He was suddenly relieved that Song Yu hadn't known his biological father was such a person before he died.

"Is this why you're so unwilling to accept this?" Achan suddenly asked.

"Yes, even if I am not human, even if this matter has nothing to do with me, I just cannot accept that my spiritual mentor, who should have had a brilliant life, was ruined by two shameless people, who are even his blood relatives."

Song Yan let out a long breath, his voice growing softer and softer: "It's a pity I'm so incompetent. Just controlling a mouse has backfired on me. It seems I should go and join Song Yu... It's a pity I couldn't get justice for him."

"What kind of justice do you want?" Achan asked.

The Mo Ling before me was born because of Song Yu, and her hasty and short life was about to end before it even began.

Even during the time he was "alive," he lived entirely for Song Yu.

This is not tragic, it just makes her feel regretful.

Achan's question surprised Song Yan: "What kind of justice?"

Song Yan thought about it carefully for a long time. The justice he had once pursued was the justice that Song Yu upheld.

But Song Yu was already dead, and the justice he sought was never obtained.

Song Yan murmured, "Miss Ji, shouldn't someone who kills pay with their life?"

“Yes, the fairest thing in this world is the saying ‘a life for a life.’” A-Chan’s clear gaze lingered on Song Yan for a long time before she finally said, “I might be able to grant you some power that doesn’t belong to you for a short time. Then you can leave this body and do what you want to do. Would you like to try?”

"Of course," Song Yan replied without hesitation.

“But after you borrow this power, you might…” A-Chan suddenly stopped midway through her sentence, “…you didn’t seem to have much time left anyway.”

A smile appeared on Song Yan's face: "So no matter what price I have to pay, it's a win for me. I'm really lucky. First I met Mr. Wen, and then I met you."

"Mr. Wen helped you?" Achan asked curiously.

Song Yan nodded: "He and Song Yu are both exceptionally talented people. After I met him, I improved a lot. If I hadn't met him, I probably wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long."

"So, to repay Mr. Wen, you made him lose several games in a row?" Achan joked.

Song Yan smiled and said, "Mr. Wen wouldn't mind. It's a pity Song Yu is gone. If Mr. Wen had met him, he would surely have considered him a close friend."

Achan glanced at Song Yan and said to him, "Mr. Wen also considers you a close friend."

Song Yan was slightly taken aback, then smiled.

"Is the inkstone you used to live on still with you?" Achan asked again.

"Do you want to use it in my house?"

“Yes.” Achan nodded. “I’ll have Huiniang take you to get it tomorrow morning. You’ll have to stay here with me for the next few days.”

"It's good that we won't disturb Miss Ji."

"do not bother."

That night, Song Yan stayed at A Chan's house.

After nightfall, the capital was not peaceful. Someone tried to summon the spirits of their ancestors at home, but ended up being possessed by an evil spirit that killed several people. In the end, the spirit was beaten to death by the Mingjing Guards.

Some people wanted to use ghosts to take revenge, so they set up a formation to summon a hundred ghosts to parade at night. However, before the formation could be set up, the Mingjing Division broke down the door, and the whole family was captured.

These are the myriad aspects of human life that Achan could hardly comprehend. Just past midnight, this year's Ghost Festival could be considered to have passed peacefully. The Mingjing Guards, who had been busy all day, lined up and headed to the yamen.

As Bai Xiuming rode past A Chan's house, he turned his head and glanced at the new plaque hanging on the gate.

Jiang Kai followed his master's gaze and asked, "Sir, what are you looking at?"

"Your handwriting is quite good."

"ah?"

Bai Xiuming ignored him and rode away.

Jiang Kai scratched his head and followed.

That night, Achan slept very well.

When Chen Hui woke up the next day, Song Yan had already returned with the things.

Besides the inkstone where he lived, there were also the writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and daily utensils commonly used by Song Dynasty inkstone makers.

After Ah Chan finished breakfast, she opened the box that Song Yan had brought over. Inside was a very ordinary-looking inkstone.

However, upon closer inspection, one can see that many tiny cracks have appeared on this inkstone. If the inkstone breaks, the Song Dynasty inkstone will disappear from the world completely.

Song Yan sat opposite A Chan, showing no sign of nervousness as A Chan picked up the inkstone and examined it closely. Instead, she asked curiously, "Miss Ji, what do you want me to do to obtain power that doesn't belong to me?"

Achan put the inkstone back in the box and asked him, "Do you know about the mountain god?"

"I've heard of them. Although they are called gods, they are probably some kind of mountain spirits. They are friendly to humans, which is why they were worshipped by humans later."

Achan nodded: "Offering incense can bring magical power, but this power comes from the outside world. If the offerings are stopped, the power will gradually weaken. What I'm going to do for you is similar."

"But one person making offerings probably isn't enough, is it?"

"Of course it's not enough, so I'll use some tricks to steal some power from elsewhere and put it into you."

"What do you mean by 'other places'?" Song Yan always felt that A Chan was doing something very dangerous.

“Of course I’m referring to my ancestors.” Achan smiled slyly. “I just held a memorial service for my ancestors yesterday. We had a very pleasant one-sided communication, so I’m sure they would be happy to help me with this small favor.”

Although our ancestor couldn't speak, she burned incense for a whole day. Given how filial she was, our ancestor certainly wouldn't be stingy, right?

Although Song Yan felt that her ancestors might not have been so magnanimous, A Chan seemed very confident, which made him even more curious.