Chapter 13: Let Me Tell You My Story
Yin Lisheng woke up just before Yin Tangyue disappeared.
Even though he had used all his strength, by the time he arrived, Yin Tangyue was already gone.
Fu Yunshu walked over, gently put his arm around the person, and offered silent comfort.
Yin Lisheng rested his head on Fu Yunshu's shoulder and remained motionless for a long time.
The two remained in that position for an unknown amount of time before Fu Yunshu heard soft sobbing.
Soon, the sobbing grew louder, and the person in her arms began to wail.
Finally, Yin Lisheng hugged Fu Yunshu's waist, buried her face in his shoulder, and cried unrestrainedly.
...
"Cough cough..." As soon as Fu Yunshu came out of his dream, he immediately began to take Yin Lisheng's pulse. Fortunately, although Yin Lisheng was still unconscious, he was only slightly lacking in qi and blood and his body was not seriously injured.
Yin Simiao, who had been keeping watch nearby, rushed over as soon as she saw the two of them wake up.
"Oh my God, Young Master Su, you're finally awake!"
"As expected of me, you changed your tune just in time," Yin Simiao thought smugly.
Fu Yunshu noticed his slight unease and guessed that the child probably already knew his identity, so he said directly, "It's alright, Yin Lisheng won't wake up for a while. What about the other disciples?"
Yin Simiao: "The Illusion Trial ended more than half an hour ago. The disciples who passed should have already reached the top of the mountain. Qiu Nan and Yan Shuangwan didn't want to leave at first, but I persuaded them to go."
“Alright,” Fu Yunshu nodded. “Yin Lisheng has passed today’s assessment. I will personally speak with Wen Zhuo afterward.”
After Fu Yunshu finished speaking, he prepared to leave.
"Ancestor, please wait a moment!" Yin Simiao called out to him.
Fu Yunshu asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Yin Simiao: "Are you going to Huayang Academy?"
"right."
"Today, I unexpectedly discovered traces of the demon race in Huayang Courtyard. My master has ordered the Huayang Courtyard to be sealed off."
Fu Yunshu: "So where do you plan to place the new disciples now?"
Yin Simiao: "Beast Taming Peak".
Fu Yunshu: "..."
The first peak master of Beast Taming Peak believed that the way of taming beasts should return to simplicity and communicate with all living things. Therefore, there are no houses on Beast Taming Peak; from the peak master and elders to the servants, everyone lives in caves.
Moreover, there are many spirit beasts on the peak that are not yet fully tamed. If they suddenly get excited in the middle of the night and howl a couple of times, you probably won't be able to sleep peacefully all night.
In short, Beast Taming Peak is not a good place for recuperation.
Yin Simiao chuckled twice, "Ancestor, you know, there's nothing we can do about it."
The main peak is not suitable for them to live on; besides the disciples' residences, all the open spaces on Dan Peak are used for planting spiritual herbs, leaving no extra space; the disciples on Jian Peak are all immersed in cultivation and dislike being disturbed by outsiders; the disciples on Fu Peak have a strong sense of territory, and new disciples who enter upright will likely emerge lying horizontally the next day; the disciples on Qi Peak are all heavy night owls and like to drag people along to test the strange and wonderful magical artifacts they have crafted, which could easily lead to deaths.
After much thought, Beast Taming Peak turned out to be the best place. At least the spirit beasts there were bound by contracts and wouldn't be harmed. At most, they would just be a bit noisy.
"I understand," Fu Yunshu said, clearly aware of the situation, and said nothing more.
"Have them set up a soundproof array for the disciples on Beast Taming Peak. I'll take Yin Lisheng to rest elsewhere. Also, tell your master that I need to see him later."
Yin Simiao bowed and replied, "Yes."
After giving all the instructions, Fu Yunshu carried Yin Lisheng away.
He was used to living alone, and there was only a simple courtyard on Tingxue Peak, not even a side courtyard. Fu Yunshu could only settle him in his old residence on the main peak first, and then go to brew medicine for Yin Lisheng.
The flames in the furnace flickered gently, and small bubbles bubbled from the medicine pot. Fu Yunshu stood quietly in front of the furnace, her slender fingers gently fanning herself with a small palm-leaf fan.
A faint medicinal fragrance permeated the air, and a few strands of hair fell down with Fu Yunshu's movements. His face was hidden in the misty green smoke, serene and picturesque.
"Thump—"
The sound of something falling to the ground came from inside the room. Fu Yunshu picked up the medicine that had already been brewed, pushed open the door, and Yin Lisheng stood awkwardly in the room.
"Sorry, I accidentally knocked over the chair," Yin Lisheng said apologetically.
“It’s alright,” Fu Yunshu placed the medicine bowl on the table. “Drink your medicine first.”
Yin Lisheng picked up the medicine bowl and was about to pour it into his mouth when Fu Yunshu quickly stopped him.
"I'm telling you to take your medicine, not to burn your tongue. Don't be in such a hurry."
Fu Yunshu reluctantly snatched the medicine back from his hand, scooped it up spoonful by spoonful to cool it down, and then handed it to Yin Lisheng.
Yin Lisheng swallowed it in one gulp. Fu Yunshu then offered him something more, and Yin Lisheng, without suspicion, obediently swallowed it.
A sweet sensation exploded in her mouth, and Yin Lisheng suddenly opened her eyes wide.
Fu Yunshu smiled and patted his head: "It's getting late. If we go to buy candied hawthorns now, we'll probably just end up empty-handed. Let's have some candied fruit for now. I'll take you to buy candied hawthorns next time."
Yin Lisheng lowered his eyes and remained silent. So... candied fruit just be something to make do?
"No need to buy."
He dared not ask for too much; this was already enough to make him happy and even fearful.
"Alright, that's not up to you," Fu Yunshu said, not taking his words to heart. "After you finish your medicine, get some rest."
Yin Lisheng: "I've been asleep for a long time, and I don't want to sleep anymore."
Fu Yunshu: "Children should sleep and rest more. Do you expect me to tell you stories to lull you to sleep?"
Yin Lisheng: "Then I'll tell you."
Fu Yunshu: "?"
He raised an eyebrow, stopped clearing the dishes, and said with a hint of surprise, "Okay, go ahead."
Yin Lisheng paused, and after a while, he slowly said, "Once upon a time, there was a child."
Fu Yunshu's gaze swept over his lowered eyelids as she listened quietly.
This sentence reveals that it is Yin Lisheng's own story.
“He lived in a remote and cramped courtyard since he was a child. Only a blind old woman accompanied him every day, but the old woman did not appear often. Most of the time, he was alone in the courtyard. Before the age of three, the child did not even know what his parents meant.”
"The yard was too small, and the child had nothing to do. He would just sit in the yard all day, staring blankly at the sky, until he was three years old."
“That day, a group of children several years older than him suddenly came to the yard. The older children threw mud and stones at the little boy and loudly cursed him as a ‘bastard’.”
"The child could only try his best to curl up and avoid their attacks. He didn't understand why these older children were hitting him, nor did he understand what 'bastard' meant. He could only cry and shout 'I'm not a bastard' over and over again, hoping to make them stop attacking him."
Upon hearing this, Fu Yunshu felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if someone had ripped it out.
Fu Yunshu couldn't even imagine the scene of little Yin Lisheng being surrounded, beaten, and bullied by a group of older children.
"When the child was in despair, an older brother appeared and stopped them. He was happy, thinking that the older brother had come to save him, but on the contrary, the older brother gave him an even heavier blow."
"The child was kicked and rolled on the ground several times, but more than the pain, he wanted to know why these people did it."
"'Why? Ha, because you're an illegitimate child. You were born inferior. You and your mother, who died young, ruined my family. I wish I could tear you apart and drink your blood. I'm only kicking you once, and you can't even take it? Let me tell you, you're in for a world of hurt!'"
"That's how the older brother answered the child. The child didn't believe it, so he ran to ask the old woman who had been taking care of him the first question. He asked her what 'bastard' meant. The old woman didn't answer him, but the child understood what she meant."
"No wonder I've never seen my parents, no wonder they beat me, I'm a bastard."
Yin Lisheng spoke these words with unusual calmness. His eyes were devoid of any emotion, as still and undisturbed as a stagnant pool.
These memories had haunted him for many years. Every time he woke up in the middle of the night, he seemed to hear Yin Mingyuan's words "bastard" echoing in his ears. Now they were all dead, but he, the "bastard," had survived. Yin Lisheng was not happy; he only felt it was utterly absurd.
"I always thought I'd spend my whole life like a rat in a sewer in that little courtyard, until that day—"
"It was supposed to be a normal sunny day, but suddenly the sky darkened, and a thick blood mist locked the entire Yin family compound. Many chaotic sounds broke in: women's screams, children's sobs..."
"I was terrified and wanted to run away, but it was pitch black all around and I couldn't see anything."
“Yin Tianhe found me. By then, he was almost covered in blood. I could clearly feel that his life was slipping away and he was about to collapse.”
"At the end of his life, he and a group of elders used their last spiritual power to send me away."
“I survived, but they all died.”
Yin Lisheng closed his eyes. The scene from that day was still deeply etched in his mind, even though more than half a month had passed.
Yin Tianhe came to find him covered in blood. From childhood to adulthood, he had only met this nominal father four times. Each time they met, Yin Tianhe's eyes were filled with all sorts of emotions, which Yin Lisheng could not understand.
This time, however, Yin Tianhe's eyes were filled with worry.
"Yin Lisheng, I'll see you out."
Yin Tianhe channeled all his spiritual power, trying to break through the strange barrier, but he was already on the verge of exhaustion, his spiritual power was about to run out, and he was powerless to do so.
Just then, Yin Tangyue arrived with a group of elders.
"Elder, I'm dying, please help me." Yin Tianhe was extremely weak, barely holding on by his last breath.
It was only then that Yin Lisheng realized that the mother-in-law who had been with her for several years was actually the eldest elder of the Yin family.
With the combined efforts of the group, a gap was broken in the barrier, and Yin Tianhe handed something to Yin Lisheng.
He was at his last gasp, and his speech was broken and intermittent.
“Yin…Yin Lisheng, you must keep this safe. The Yin family has treated you badly. Don’t think about revenge. Staying alive is the most important thing.”
"You can't die. If... you really don't know where to go, go to Qingyuan Sect, the number one sect in the world... maybe they can protect you..."
Yin Lisheng was filled with doubts; he had many questions to ask. If she didn't love him, why did she keep him in the first place? And now, why was she using the entire clan's resources to protect him? If she only wanted to leave a descendant for the Yin family, Yin Mingyuan would have been the best choice.
But that opening quickly closed, and Yin Lisheng could only watch helplessly as members of the Yin family were skinned, had their bones removed, had their heads chopped off, and had their limbs severed...
And he could do nothing.
A note from the author:
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