Chapter 161
A sudden gust of wind arose, scattering the tall sycamore trees outside the skylight. The violently trembling branches mercilessly tore apart the bright moon, shattering the moonlight cast upon the ground.
Yin Qiu sat in the shattered moonlight, and for a moment felt as if she were in a vast icy plain.
Shen Mandong is dead.
He died protecting her.
An indescribable, sharp pain spread through her chest, penetrating to her very bones and spreading to every part of her body. Yin Qiu's vision went black, her mind buzzed, and scalding tears welled up in her eyes instantly.
It turns out that her mother really didn't abandon her; she truly had her reasons and was forced into this situation.
No wonder that after all these years, no one knows where Shen Mandong went. Everyone says that she couldn't accept the destruction of Ruyi Sect and chose to retire from the martial world. Now that I think about it, that must have been a lie deliberately spread by the murderer. Shen Mandong did not disappear at all. She really died in that catastrophe.
Otherwise, if even Meng Wugui could endure for so many years and return to seek revenge, how could Shen Mandong have remained completely silent from beginning to end? Even if she didn't want revenge, she should at least show her face. After all, she still has family and loved ones in this world. If she were still alive, how could she have refused to appear until today?
It was only at this moment that Yin Qiu suddenly realized that Shen Mandong's death was never truly untraceable. She had simply clung to a sliver of hope, always hoping that Shen Mandong might still be alive. Even though Yin Qiu had secretly resented her, speculated about her, and even wondered if she was no longer alive, every time news of Shen Mandong circulated in the martial arts world, she would earnestly hope that it was true. But each time, her hopes were predictably dashed.
The cold wind howled incessantly outside, sweeping across the sky and bringing boundless desolation. Hot tears slid down her cheeks, quickly soaking her clothes. Yin Qiu bit her lip tightly, suppressing her sobs. She silently endured the grief in her heart, her red eyes fixed on Ye Zhilan, and she said in a hoarse voice, "It was you...it was you who harmed the Ruyi Sect, who harmed everyone in the Shen family. You are the real murderer who destroyed the Ruyi Sect! You are more despicable than Nangong Min. You framed my father for colluding with the Ziwei Sect, and indirectly pushed my mother into an abyss of no return. You killed my parents, you murderer!"
Faced with Yin Qiu's tearful accusations, Ye Zhilan remained unperturbed, even appearing quite indifferent. She took out a handkerchief to wipe away Yin Qiu's tears and said with a smile, "Is it painful? When I saw my father's corpse back then, I was in more pain than you are now."
"Don't touch me!" Yin Qiu suddenly stepped back, her face filled with undisguised resistance and hatred.
Ye Zhilan scoffed, reached out and pinched Yin Qiu's chin, forcefully pulling her back. Ye Zhilan stared directly at her and said, word by word, "Remember how you feel right now. The more you hate me now, the more I hate Man Jiangxue. No... even so, you still can't understand how much I hate her. You can't even imagine the pain and despair I've gone through."
"I'm going to kill you," Yin Qiu said with a chilling look in his eyes. "If you don't kill me today, I will definitely kill you with my own hands one day. I want to avenge everyone in the Ruyi Sect!"
Ye Zhilan laughed heartily: "Of course I wouldn't bear to kill you. I still want to use you to torture Man Jiangxue." Her laughter was shrill and desolate, without a trace of pleasure. "Besides, how could you kill me with your own hands? It is true that I am your enemy who killed your family, but I am also your savior, do you understand?"
Yin Qiu struggled instinctively, her wrists and ankles chafed raw by the rope, oozing traces of blood. Ye Zhilan tightened the rope around her neck, her voice as gentle as ever, just like her senior sister. She looked at Yin Qiu and said, "Why do you think you survived? That man killed Shen Mandong and threw her body into the fire. Then he deliberately threw you into the birthing room, trying to burn you alive as well. I rescued you from the fire. Before you entered Yunhua Palace, I was secretly watching over you. Otherwise, you would have died long ago and there would have been no way you would have survived to this day!"
Yin Qiu froze, tears streaming down her cheeks and hitting the ground, creating a fine, misty spray. The rope around her neck tightened, making it hard for her to breathe. She coughed violently, her bound hands pushing against Ye Zhilan with all her might.
"Do you know how happy I was when I saw Man Jiangxue desperately searching for Shen Mandong on Liucang Mountain?" Ye Zhilan's expression gradually turned somewhat manic, and her brows became a little ferocious. "If she hadn't avoided Shen Mandong and insisted on using official business as an excuse to hide from her, Shen Mandong wouldn't have died. I watched Man Jiangxue running through the sea of fire, and saw her usually indifferent face reveal anxiety, self-blame, regret, guilt, and many other complex expressions. At that moment, the pain in my heart was greatly relieved. I have never been so happy since I left Yongye Kingdom. Can you understand?"
Yin Qiu gasped for breath, her face flushed red, tears still streaming down her face. Ye Zhilan admired her appearance for a while before finally letting go of her hand, saying to herself, "But that's not enough, far from enough. In Man Jiangxue's heart, Shen Mandong was at most just a senior sister who was kind to her. She wasn't anyone particularly important. Once she's dead, she's gone. She'll be forgotten soon. Shen Mandong's death and the destruction of the Ruyi Sect won't torment Man Jiangxue permanently. That's not the effect I really wanted to achieve."
The suffocation subsided the moment Ye Zhilan let go. Yin Qiu coughed violently, collapsing against the wall to the ground. Ye Zhilan reached out and smoothed her disheveled hair, saying, "That's why I want you to live, and I want to send you to Man Jiangxue's side, so she can watch you grow up, so you can spend every day together and become inseparable family. You're a good child, well-behaved, sensible, and lovable. That's good. You haven't disappointed me. You've indeed entered Man Jiangxue's heart, and she cherishes and protects you. That's exactly what I wanted to see. Now, if I were to hurt you in front of her, or even kill you outright, Man Jiangxue would inevitably suffer an unprecedented blow. Losing you would be more painful for her than losing Shen Mandong."
Having said that, she burst into laughter again, her unrestrained and arrogant laughter echoing throughout the room, completely drowning out the sound of the wind outside.
As Yin Qiu listened to her words, she suddenly recalled Jin Huai City in early spring. As a child, she was squatting in an alley when someone gave her a steamed bun and sent her to the Su family to be a maid.
“So it was you…” Yin Qiu said in a daze, her voice hoarse, “You sent me to the Su family and told me that I could go back to where I was supposed to be in a year. It was you who spread the news about me in the Su family, which is why my uncle found me. I always thought… it was just a dream.”
“That wasn’t a dream, it was a memory from your childhood,” Ye Zhilan straightened up, then leaned back in her chair, looking down at Yin Qiu. “The reason I made you suffer for so many years was to let Man Jiangxue know what it means to have something lost and then found again. When she hears that her deceased senior sister left behind a child, she will do everything she can to take you in and raise you, to make up for the mistakes she made back then. And once your news spreads, the Ziwei Sect will know too, and then everything I’ve planned since you were taken away by Man Jiangxue can start to happen.”
“My martial uncle is not wrong,” Yin Qiu questioned, “What exactly is the grudge between you and my martial uncle?”
Hearing this, Ye Zhilan forced a smile, gazing at the bright moon outside the window. "A festival?" Her pale face, bathed in the cold moonlight, appeared almost translucent. "Xie Yijun said she originally intended to appoint me as the sect leader, but who cares about being a sect leader? From birth, I've been groomed by my father as the crown prince. If it weren't for the fall of the kingdom and the destruction of my family, I would be the ruler of a nation. Do you think I would respect the position of a mere sect leader in the martial arts world?"
Yin Qiu was stunned for a moment, and her gaze toward Ye Zhilan was filled with surprise.
"You entered the palace when you were ten. When I was ten, I was studying in the palace," Ye Zhilan said, perhaps feeling the moonlight was too bright, she moved her chair to hide in the shadows. "My father had many beauties in his harem and many heirs, but he only favored me. This was because he and my mother were childhood sweethearts, and their feelings were beyond those of ordinary women. But my mother was murdered, and the murderer is still unknown. My father was heartbroken over this and killed many of the suspected beauties. To make it up to me and prevent me from being bullied, he issued an edict early on to make me the crown prince. Not only that, he also moved me out of the harem and into his bedchamber. He gave me the best of everything. In the palace, the only person I was close to was my father."
But Mud died.
With Mude's death, the Western Ling Kingdom followed suit, its entire existence vanishing overnight, mercilessly trampled by horses' hooves and torn apart by swords.
“Now you are seventeen. When I was seventeen, I was still in the palace, but not in Xiling, but in Yongye,” Ye Zhilan said expressionlessly, her slender hands tightly gripping her dress. She turned to look at Yin Qiu, a cool smile playing on her lips. “Why don’t you guess what kind of life I had in Yongye?”
As the night deepened and the chill intensified, the biting wind grew even more biting with each passing moment. Yin Qiu met Ye Zhilan's gaze and couldn't help but shiver. She glanced at Ye Zhilan's chest and whispered, "What...did you experience in the Eternal Night Palace?"
Ye Zhilan's eyes were filled with gloom, her dark pupils like a bottomless pool of stagnant water. She sneered, but her voice remained gentle: "The King of Yongye wants Man Jiangxue to marry into a foreign kingdom. She has run away, and someone has to take her place. So, who do you think will be the one to replace her?"
Before Yin Qiu could reply, Ye Zhilan continued, "Man Jiangxue grew up in the royal villa. It's said that although her mother didn't know martial arts, she knew many chivalrous figures from the Central Plains martial arts world. Under her mother's tutelage, Man Jiangxue learned excellent martial arts and had a small reputation beyond the Great Wall. That year, during a grand sacrificial ceremony in the palace, a torrential rainstorm struck. Man Jiangxue single-handedly protected the Xiling banners and saved a group of officials who were nearly crushed to death. Because of that incident, she became famous and a household name in Xiling. My father even met with her, but the two of them had no feelings for each other and couldn't reach an agreement, so they parted on bad terms. Has Man Jiangxue told you about this?"
Yin Qiu raised her arm to wipe her eyes and gave a soft "hmm".
“That’s the main reason I hate her,” Ye Zhilan said. “The fall of a kingdom isn’t scary. Xiling can’t defeat Yongye, and that’s something no one can save. As the crown prince, I know very well that Xiling will eventually come to an end. So when the Yongye army stormed into the palace, I was very calm, not even flustered at all. But the first thing the Yongye king mentioned after entering the palace was that he wanted to see Man Jiangxue. Do you know that?”
Yin Qiu slowly nodded, then lay motionless on the cold ground. Ye Zhilan reached out and helped her up, draping her clothes over her shoulders again, and continued, "Man Jiangxue's fame has spread to Yongye. Even the king knows that our Xiling has a princess who is highly skilled in martial arts at a young age. That king is brave and skilled in battle throughout his life, and he especially loves beautiful women, but he has few children and no daughters. He heard that Man Jiangxue is outstanding in appearance and has extraordinary skills, so he set his sights on her and wanted to see her that very night. However, Man Jiangxue did not enter the palace that night. But my father and the king of Yongye reached a private agreement that as long as Man Jiangxue is willing to marry into Yongye, they can cease hostilities and live in peace with Xiling."
Upon hearing this, Yin Qiu couldn't help but speak up: "But my master was willing to marry into the country, and she did not resist. However, the King of Yongye went back on his word. He violated the treaty and killed Mude, and he does not intend to let Xiling go. In that case, what is wrong with my master taking my aunt to the Central Plains? Can't she choose her own destiny and be at the mercy of others?"
“It’s good that she escaped. But her escape has harmed me,” Ye Zhilan said. “She relied on her martial arts skills and didn’t even respect the generals. She escaped from the Yongye Palace twice. But we remaining royal heirs didn’t have her abilities. I had only been learning the art of Gu poison from my master for two years. Let alone killing people, I didn’t even have the ability to protect myself. When Man Jiangxue escaped, the Yongye King was furious. He cruelly murdered my father’s beauties one by one. Then he gathered us royal heirs together as live targets, intending to shoot us with his own hands and treat us as playthings to quell the anger that Man Jiangxue had brought him.”
"So you're blaming all of this on your martial uncle?" Yin Qiu said.
"What else?" Ye Zhilan sneered. "If she hadn't made a scene at the sacrificial ceremony, the King of Yongye wouldn't have known of her existence, and there wouldn't have been this marriage alliance. She made the wrong choice and became someone's target, but I have to bear the consequences for her. Why can't I hate her?"
“That’s not something that my martial aunt can control, and she didn’t want it to turn out this way.” Yin Qiu disagreed with her statement.
"But it all started because of her!" Ye Zhilan raised her voice, looking down at Yin Qiu. "You make it sound so easy. You haven't experienced it, so you can be so detached. But if you had personally experienced what I went through, you would know why I hate her so much."
Yin Qiu didn't want to argue with her, and she couldn't change her mind with words, so she could only keep quiet.
Ye Zhilan said, "The King of Yongye wants to shoot and kill the rest of our royal heirs. We can only desperately hide in the narrow prison, like livestock to be slaughtered. Not only me, but everyone here hates Man Jiangxue to the extreme! But in the end, they all died, and only I survived. If they had also been spared, then today, I would not be the only one seeking revenge against Man Jiangxue."
"So, can you guess how I survived?" Ye Zhilan's fingertips curled slightly as she pinched her own flesh, gritting her teeth as she said, "I am the Crown Prince of Xiling, and it would be most appropriate for me to replace Man Jiangxue. That's why the King of Yongye didn't kill me. My existence is proof that he destroyed Xiling. He wants to humiliate me, trample on me, and put me in the Yongye Palace so that everyone knows that the King of Xiling is dead, and even the Crown Prince is under his control, unable to live or die. That would give him unparalleled satisfaction. He wants to enjoy such a victory. I am the sacrifice he uses to flaunt his glorious achievements!"
The moment she finished speaking, the small oil lamp on the wall went out without warning, plunging the room into darkness, and even the moonlight coming in from the window dimmed.
Yin Qiu curled up on the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably. She didn't know if it was from the cold or from hearing Ye Zhilan's words. Her chest and back felt cold, and her face was still wet with tears. After a long silence, she whispered, "Then you should hate the King of Yongye Kingdom, not your master."
"Who says I don't hate him?" Ye Zhilan laughed in the dim light. "I endured humiliation and flattered him in every way, living a life of hiding in the Eternal Night Palace for a long time. Then I finally got an opportunity, which was the annual autumn hunt. I begged him to take me out of the palace, and he agreed. Then I used my horsemanship and archery skills to win his favor and make him lower his guard a little. When night came, I poisoned him in the tent and fed him poisoned wine. After he died, I also drank poisoned wine, but I took the antidote early in the morning and just fainted. When I woke up, I had been thrown into a mass grave. Then I crawled out of the grave, traveled through mountains and rivers to the Central Plains, and tried every means to enter Yunhua Palace. I was taken in by Xie Yijun and became her first disciple. Then, I began my plan to deal with Man Jiangxue."
Yin Qiu felt uncomfortable listening to this: "Don't say anymore..." She lowered her head and gently tapped her forehead on her knees. "I sympathize with your plight, but everything you've been through wasn't caused by your martial uncle. Even if your martial uncle hadn't run away, the King of Yongye would never have let you go. In any case, you've already killed him and avenged yourself. Your martial uncle was also a victim. Since you are both Xiling people and blood relatives, you should understand that your martial uncle also had her own difficulties. If it were you, seeing Mude being killed, would you still be willing to go through with the marriage alliance? You certainly wouldn't."
"Don't try to reason with me. I know more reason than you do," Ye Zhilan retorted. "You think killing that old emperor of the Eternal Night Kingdom will appease all my resentment? You're too naive! All of this should have been borne by Man Jiangxue, but she escaped it, and it all fell on me. I want her to taste the pain, to return everything that rightfully belonged to her! Over the years, I've actually had countless opportunities to secretly feed her Gu poison, but I didn't do it, because that would be pointless. Physical torment is far less..." The pain in my heart was etched deep. I helped Nangong Min destroy the Ruyi Sect, watched helplessly as Shen Mandong was pierced through the heart by a sword, and saw Man Jiangxue living alone on Jingyue Peak in Yunhua Palace. In those moments, the resentment in my heart found unparalleled relief. If it weren't for the incident involving those secret guards that implicated me and landed me in the punishment hall, I wouldn't have acted against you so quickly. Now that things have come to this, I'm not going to wait any longer. Tomorrow, I will deliver a devastating blow to Man Jiangxue, ensuring she lives a life of endless regret!
A cold wind swept in, blowing Ye Zhilan's skirt and black hair. By the remaining moonlight, Yin Qiu could clearly see the madness and cold smile in her eyes.
That hideous face filled Yin Qiu with uncontrollable panic; this was a Ye Zhilan she had never seen before in the past.
“Senior sister, turn back before it’s too late…” Yin Qiu stared blankly at her, “You have killed too many innocent people, it’s time to let go.”
"You have no right to advise me to let go!" Ye Zhilan roared in anger. "No one in this world can make me turn back! My long-cherished wish is about to come true, how could I be soft-hearted at a time like this? Haven't you always wanted to see your parents? I'll do you a good deed and give you that chance to reunite as a family of three in the underworld. Isn't Man Jiangxue quite capable? Let's see if she can save you!"
Perhaps because she had learned too many shocking truths tonight, Yin Qiu calmed down. She sighed and asked, "So what exactly do you plan to do tomorrow?"
Ye Zhilan chuckled and got up from the wooden chair. She moved closer to Yin Qiu again, touched Yin Qiu's face, and said gently, "The people I've killed, apart from those refugees in Yao Dingcheng, are all bad people. Whether it's Shen Mandong or Yin Xuan, although they both died because of me, neither of them are good men or women. But you are different. In the years you've been in the palace, I've treated you with some sincerity. So I said, whether you will die tomorrow or not, I don't know yet. It depends on whether Man Jiangxue can save you."
Yin Qiu remained silent for a moment, then said, "Are you planning to fight to the death? Even if your martial uncle doesn't make a move, the sect leader and Senior Sister Ji won't let you escape. You've gone to such lengths all these years just to seek death?"
“What’s the point of wanting to die? Who will live and who will die is still uncertain,” Ye Zhilan said. “You don’t need to worry about my fate. I have long since disregarded life and death. You can’t persuade me with your words. Don’t worry, I’ve chosen a good place. Whether you can keep your life or not is up to fate.”
Seeing that she was about to turn and leave after saying this, Yin Qiu quickly called her back and asked, "Who was the person who killed my mother?"
Ye Zhilan paused, turning her head slightly: "If I survive after tomorrow, I'll consider whether to tell you then," she raised her hand and lightly tapped Yin Qiu, "but the premise is that you also have to have that opportunity."
"Wait a minute!" Yin Qiu pleaded urgently, "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, but could you at least reveal a little bit of information about him?"
Ye Zhilan looked indifferent.
"I've never harmed you, yet you've ruined my family and caused my death. Can't you just do me a favor?" Yin Qiu said. "I'll cooperate with you and won't cause you any trouble. Senior sister, I'm still willing to call you senior sister... Please!"
Ye Zhilan's eyes flickered, and she stood there without saying a word. After a long while, she finally spoke: "That person used to be close to your mother." She smiled and said with a hint of sarcasm, "You've met him, and you had a special relationship with him too."
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