The buried truth
The shocking turn of events at the birthday banquet was like a sudden tsunami, sweeping across the entire Feng family mansion.
Feng Jinhong's suicide on the spot cast a heavy, inescapable shadow over what should have been a joyous birthday banquet.
The guests had already been dismissed, and only the core members of the Feng family and a team of special personnel were left in the huge manor.
Yu Jinli had already fallen into a deep coma inside Feng Jinxuan's arms.
Her face was as pale as paper, and her breath was weak, like a flower that had been ravaged by a storm and was about to wither.
Feng Jinxuan held her cold, soft body, feeling as if his heart was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, the pain making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
He had never felt such intense fear and powerlessness as he did at that moment.
Fortunately, Gu Yanzhi arrived in time.
He didn't ask any more questions, but quickly took out a jade pendant that emitted a soft white light from his wooden box and gently placed it on Yu Jinli's forehead.
“This is the ‘Soul Nourishing Jade’ of Tianyan Pavilion,” he said solemnly. “It can temporarily stabilize her mind and protect her original fortune from dissipation. But she has consumed too much energy this time, damaging her fundamental health. We must find a way to cure her as soon as possible.”
Looking at the unconscious Yu Jinli, a complex emotion flashed in Grandpa Feng's sharp, eagle-like eyes.
There was admiration, guilt, and a hint of... indescribable familiarity.
He paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice to Feng Jinxuan and Gu Yanzhi, "You two, bring this girl and come to my study."
The study in the Feng family's old house is simple and solemn.
The air was filled with a unique aroma, a blend of aged ink and sandalwood.
Feng Jinxuan carefully placed Yu Jinli on the soft couch in the inner room of the study and covered her with a thin blanket.
Then, he and Gu Yanzhi walked back to the outer room and stood in front of the old man.
"grandfather."
"Old man."
Old Master Feng sat in that rosewood armchair, his domineering presence from the banquet hall gone, replaced by the somewhat weary old man's appearance.
He looked at the two young men in front of him, one was his grandson on whom he had placed great hopes, and the other was a disciple of an old friend.
He remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, his voice old and hoarse.
"Jinxuan, have you been blaming me all along?"
Feng Jinxuan remained silent.
"It's my fault back then. After your accident, instead of thoroughly investigating the truth for you, I crippled your cultivation, confined you, and made you suffer for so many years." The old man sighed softly, his voice filled with helplessness and exhaustion.
"grandfather……"
“You don’t need to tell me, I know everything.” The old man waved his hand, interrupting him. “There are other hidden stories about what happened back then. It’s not that I don’t want to investigate, but… I can’t.”
He looked at Feng Jinxuan, a hint of fear showing in his cloudy old eyes.
"Because our Feng family has offended someone...someone we simply cannot afford to offend."
"Shadow Devouring Sect."
Gu Yanzhi's eyes narrowed instantly upon hearing those three words.
"It seems that Mr. Gu also knows their background." The old man glanced at him and nodded slowly.
“That’s right. The one who placed the ‘Seven Fiends Soul Locking Technique’ on you back then was someone from the Shadow Devouring Sect. And Feng Jinhong was just a pawn they planted in the Feng family.”
"Why?" Feng Jinxuan's voice was hoarse and hoarse. "Why did they do this to me?"
"Because what they want is in our Feng family." The old man looked at him and said, word by word, a shocking secret.
"More accurately, it's about...you."
Feng Jinxuan and Gu Yanzhi were both stunned.
“Our ancestor, Feng, was once a wandering knight-errant.” The old man began to recount a long-forgotten story. “By chance, our ancestor saved a strange man who was seriously injured. In order to repay the life-saving grace, that strange man gave our ancestor half of his cultivation and a token.”
"That extraordinary person was the previous head of the Tianyan Pavilion."
Tianyan Pavilion!
Gu Yanzhi's body jolted violently.
"Our ancestors relied on that half of their cultivation to lay the foundation for the Feng family's legacy," the old man continued. "But because of this, our Feng family's bloodline now includes an additional half... a legacy that doesn't belong to this mortal world, but to the Tianyan Pavilion."
"For ordinary people, this kind of inheritance is an immense blessing. But for those evil sects of the Shadow Devouring Sect, it is... the most top-tier 'tonic'."
"They went to great lengths to cast evil spells on you, not just to steal your business fortune." The old man looked at Feng Jinxuan, his eyes filled with pain and self-reproach.
"Their true purpose is to slowly drain the purest original power belonging to the Heavenly Evolution Pavilion from your body through the 'Seven Fiends Soul Locking Technique'!"
"Back then, I crippled your cultivation and confined you to your quarters so that... you could become a 'cripple'." The old man's voice trembled slightly. "Only in this way could I temporarily sever your connection with that power and allow you to live a few more years under their watchful eyes."
The study fell into a deathly silence.
Feng Jinxuan listened quietly without speaking, but his clenched fists and slightly trembling body betrayed the turbulent emotions churning within him.
"Then... what about the safety amulet that my mother begged for?" he asked hoarsely.
“That wasn’t something we begged for.” The old man shook his head. “It was something your mother earned with half her own life.”
"Back then, she also noticed something was wrong with you. She kept it from me and, all by herself, took the half of the token from the Feng family and went to the gate of Tianyan Pavilion."
"She knelt outside the mountain gate for three days and three nights before she finally begged the then-palace master of Tianyan Pavilion to carve the 'Nine Revolutions Soul Protection Curse' for you."
"But as a result, she was severely weakened and developed chronic illnesses, which led to her death from depression a few years later."
Feng Jinxuan's body suddenly swayed.
Although Yu Jinli was unconscious, her consciousness seemed to be floating in a warm and dark space.
She could vaguely hear the conversations outside.
She heard about the Heavenly Evolution Pavilion, the Shadow Devouring Sect, the origin of the Peace Buckle, and also... Feng Jinxuan's almost broken, suppressed breathing.
She longed to wake up and hug the man who was enduring immense pain.
But her eyelids felt incredibly heavy, and she couldn't open them no matter what she did.
Just then, she heard Gu Yanzhi's voice.
The voice carried an unprecedented solemnity and sigh.
"Old Master, it's President Feng."
"Now, perhaps only one person can save President Feng and Jinli."
Feng Jinxuan looked up abruptly, as if grasping at the last straw.
"who?"
Gu Yanzhi looked at the girl who was still unconscious on the soft couch in the inner room, and slowly uttered an answer that shocked everyone present.
"The current head of Tianyan Pavilion."
He paused, then added a sentence that resonated like a thunderclap in everyone's hearts.
"That is... the koi's biological parents."
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