Chapter 205
To this day, Xie Yijun still remembers the look on her elder brother's face as he died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
Ruyi Sect poisoned the food and wine, killing everyone in the escort team. Xie Yijun escaped in the chaos that night. She did not see her father. She spent the rest of the night in the forest of Liucang Mountain. At dawn, Ruyi Sect sent people to put out the fire and clean up the place.
From that time on, the Xie family ceased to exist. No one knew why the once-renowned Xie Family Escort Agency in Weicheng had vanished without a trace, nor did anyone know that a daughter of the Xie family had miraculously survived. In the months that followed, the Ruyi Sect secretly constructed underground traps and killed everyone responsible for the operation. This included Yin Xuan's parents, who were poisoned and rendered mute and blind, and soon after hanged themselves. As a result, Yin Xuan, at a young age, was beaten down the mountain and forced to work as a servant in a tavern, where he suffered endless bullying and humiliation.
Xie Yijun had met Yin Xuan.
After experiencing the murder of her father and brother, she spent several months in Liaoping County in a state of utter despair, neither human nor ghost. She considered following her father and brother in death, but they had both jumped into the river. Someone passing by rescued her. She stole a clothesline that someone had hung in their yard and found a tree to hang herself. The family found her, gave her a full meal, and provided her with a clean set of coarse cloth clothes.
Xie Yijun attempted suicide several times but failed. She then decided that it was better to live than to die. She begged on the streets for half a month. An old man saw that she was all alone and took her into a restaurant to work as a handyman. It was in that restaurant that Xie Yijun met Yin Xuan.
In fact, Xie Yijun had already encountered Yin Xuan on the night she accompanied her father and brothers to deliver goods up the mountain, on their way back to their guest room after the Yin couple had finished counting the goods. At that time, Yin Xuan was still studying late into the night. When he came out to bathe and prepare for bed, the two of them briefly met on the road and exchanged a few pleasantries. However, neither of them expected that after this chance encounter, they would both become homeless and pitiful people.
At that time, Xie Yijun herself had not yet emerged from the shadow of her father and brother's deaths, and since the affairs of the Yin couple were unknown to outsiders, she did not know why Yin Xuan had ended up there. So Xie Yijun took the initiative to find Yin Xuan, and after learning about his plight, she immediately understood.
"Don't even think about it. Your parents must have been killed by the people in Ruyi Sect," Xie Yijun said. "If the people in charge of transporting the goods are all dead, then the people in charge of building the mechanisms are even less likely to be alive."
Upon learning the truth, Yin Xuan slid down the wall to the ground and silently covered her face, weeping bitterly.
"Do you want revenge?" Xie Yijun asked him.
Yin Xuan was just a ten-year-old child at the time, and he asked with a blank expression, "How do I get revenge?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way. As long as you want it, you'll eventually get what you want," Xie Yijun said. "If God doesn't let me die, it's so I can take revenge. The Ruyi Sect burned my father and brothers to ashes, so I'll repay them in kind with an even fiercer fire!"
Yin Xuan said, "But I survived precisely because I knew nothing. Uncle Shen probably thought I was still young, which is why he didn't kill me. I've known Mandong and Manzhen since I was little. How could I kill their parents to avenge them? I can't do it."
Xie Yijun sneered, "You can't bring yourself to kill their parents, but they can kill ours. What, in your eyes, is the mere bond of childhood sweethearts more important than your parents?"
Yin Xuan asked absentmindedly, "...Where are you going?"
Xie Yijun opened the door, turned to look at him, and said, "My father told me that Yunhua Palace is the number one sect in the martial arts world, and Ruyi Sect is only second. I've been living in a daze these past few days, but I've finally figured it out. I want to enter Yunhua Palace to learn martial arts, and I want to become someone that everyone looks up to. Only when I have the strength to surpass Ruyi Sect can I destroy this culprit. If you are willing to clear my parents' name, then it depends on whether you are willing to come with me."
Yin Xuan's lips parted, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.
Seeing that he was indecisive and hesitant before even starting, Xie Yijun lost all patience and had no time to care about Yin Xuan. She immediately turned and left.
Little did she know that just two days after she left, Yin Xuan would encounter a turning point in his fate at the restaurant.
That day, the Nangong father and daughter held a grand banquet in the building, inviting the leaders of other sects to discuss matters. At that time, the Nangong leader, feeling seriously ill and sensing that his days were numbered, asked the guests to take good care of Nangong Min after his death. During the banquet, there was an old man who was fond of men. Upon seeing Yin Xuan, he was overjoyed and claimed that he would take care of Nangong Min, but he wanted to give Yin Xuan to him as a thank-you gift.
Nangong Min was disgusted upon hearing this and secretly gave his father a look, so the leader of the Nangong Sect disagreed. The old man, feeling embarrassed, threw a tantrum and said some vulgar and offensive things. The leader of the Nangong Sect, enraged, drew his holy sword and stabbed the old man, killing him on the spot.
And so, Yin Xuan joined the Ziwei Sect, where he studied literature and martial arts with Nangong Min. After a year, the sect leader Nangong Min adopted him as his godson, and they became siblings.
·
"Later, when Man Dong first brought Yin Xuan to the palace, I felt that he looked familiar," Xie Yijun said, feeling thirsty. She went to the desk to pour herself a cup of tea to quench her thirst, and also poured a cup for Man Jiangxue. "Especially those eyes, I felt like I had seen them somewhere before, but I just couldn't remember where."
Man Jiangxue remained silent for a long time.
She originally thought that Xie Yijun had no connection with the Ruyi Sect and the Shen family, but she never expected that there was such a secret feud between them.
And all of this was caused by that underground mechanism.
Man Jiangxue was speechless for a moment.
“But have you thought about this question?” Xie Yijun leaned against the table, closing the distance between herself and Man Jiangxue, as if they were chatting casually in the past, and said, “Even I have a vague impression of Yin Xuan’s face. Man Dong and he grew up together in Ruyi Sect since childhood. Even though ten years have passed since they met again, they were still people who spent every day together. So why didn’t she and Sect Leader Shen recognize who Yin Xuan was?”
Man Jiangxue looked at the cup of tea Xie Yijun poured for her and said, "I've thought about it." But by the time she thought of this question, Ruyi Sect had already been destroyed, and no one could tell her why.
“Because the Shen couple did recognize Yin Xuan, but when they learned his name, they could only pretend not to,” Xie Yijun said. “As for Mandong, she genuinely didn’t remember such a person. She was too young when the incident happened, and ten years later, she had long forgotten the Yin family. And seeing that she was so fond of Yin Xuan, how could the Shen couple dare to tell her about the despicable things they had done? Besides, in the eyes of that couple, Yin Xuan didn’t know the truth of what happened back then and wouldn’t cause them any trouble. How could they know that I had already told Yin Xuan the truth? Perhaps because they felt guilty, or perhaps because they didn’t want to hand over Ruyi Gate to someone else, the Shen couple ultimately chose Yin Xuan as their son-in-law.”
"This family of four is all acting."
What kind of play is being performed? Naturally, the Shen couple are pretending not to know Yin Xuan, Shen Mandong is pretending to be deeply in love with Yin Xuan, and Yin Xuan is pretending not to know about the hatred from back then.
None of these four people are kind-hearted.
"Then how did you know?" Man Jiangxue asked.
“It was Yin Xuan who told me,” Xie Yijun said. “Although you didn’t go on their wedding day, I did. That day, after I had the banquet with my master, I went alone to the guest house where my father and brother died tragically. That’s where I ran into Yin Xuan. It’s strange, really. He and Mandong stayed in the palace for a few months before their wedding. We saw each other all the time in the palace, but we didn’t recognize each other. It was only on their wedding day that we suddenly recognized each other.”
At that time, Xie Yijun was already the senior disciple of Yunhua Palace. She and Yin Xuan reunited after a long separation and had a deep conversation in secret. When she learned that Yin Xuan had returned to Ruyi Sect to seek revenge, Xie Yijun was very surprised. However, Yin Xuan suddenly told her later that he no longer wanted revenge.
Ten years have passed. Yin Xuan, who was barely taller than a sapling back then, has grown into a handsome and extraordinary young man. Dressed in his bright red wedding robes, he stood under the maple tree and said to Xie Yijun, "Sect Leader Shen couldn't possibly have failed to recognize me. I could see the hidden meaning in their eyes. But I have fallen in love. My feelings for Man Dong are genuine. Before returning to Ruyi Sect, I thought I could be ruthless, but in the end, I couldn't. Now that I'm married to Man Dong, I will no longer help Sister Nangong against Ruyi Sect." After he finished speaking, he asked, "And what about you?"
Xie Yijun retorted, "What about me?"
Yin Xuan said, "You have already fulfilled your wish from back then and reached the position of the senior disciple of the palace. Although Man Dong is now the chief disciple, she is returning to succeed as the sect leader and cannot take over as the sect leader. I see that your other two junior sisters have no interest in becoming the sect leader. After our grandmaster passes away, the sect leader will definitely be yours. So I want to know, do you still have the thought of revenge?"
When Xie Yijun heard him say that he had fallen in love with Shen Mandong, she knew that Yin Xuan could not be used by her. If she showed that she had never given up her desire for revenge in the past ten years, there was no guarantee that Yin Xuan would not be wary of her in the future, which would naturally be an unnecessary trouble for her.
So Xie Yijun pretended to be relieved and said, "Mandong and I have been together for so many years, and we have become very close. She is so kind, upright, and likable. How could I bear to destroy everything she has? The dead cannot be brought back, and the living should look forward. Like you, I have long since given up on revenge."
That statement isn't entirely untrue.
After parting ways with Yin Xuan in Liaoping County, Xie Yijun traveled a long way to Shangyuan City. She had learned martial arts from her father and had a foundation, so the entrance trial was a piece of cake for her. Not to mention that many people without martial arts experience were able to enter the palace to learn martial arts. Once someone like her appeared, she was naturally more popular.
After successfully entering Yunhua Palace, Xie Yijun quickly stood out among the new disciples with her diligence, hard work and outstanding talent. Nowadays, when it comes to sword geniuses in Yunhua Palace, most people think of Shen Mandong first, then Man Jiangxue, and then the younger generation Ji Wanshu.
But many people have forgotten that Xie Yijun was also the first place winner in the new disciple competition back then.
That's why she became her master's first personal disciple. But not long after, Wen Chaoyu, who was even more powerful than her, came along, followed by Shen Mandong, who became famous throughout the land, and finally Man Jiangxue, who was even younger and more talented than the former two.
Xie Yijun appeared so ordinary under the overwhelming brilliance of these three people.
But was she really mediocre? No, she was actually quite skilled in martial arts, well-read in poetry and literature, and had beautiful handwriting. Not only was she formidable in martial arts, but she was also capable of managing affairs. From the moment she became her master's apprentice, she helped handle official business and oversaw all matters in the palace.
Holding multiple positions, Xie Yijun was busier than any of the disciples, yet even so, she managed to hone her swordsmanship in the limited time she had, engaging in a sparring match with her three junior sisters, each with their own unique strengths. Even before Shen Mandong appeared, her master had always groomed her to be the next sect leader.
Xie Yijun, who is skilled in both literature and martial arts, how could she be mediocre?
But when Shen Mandong arrived, everything changed.
Her master no longer focused on cultivating her, nor did he care for her as before. More often than not, her master was exceptionally strict with her, showing no mercy. Her master always said, "You are the senior sister, so you should act like one. You should set a good example for your junior sisters. Your kung fu is not as good as Mandong's, and your interpersonal skills are not as good as Chaoyu's. You should be more eager to learn and ask questions than them, and you should put in more effort than them. Not only your master, but how many eyes in this palace are watching you? I don't expect you to be able to compete with Mandong for the top disciple position, but at least you should be able to convince people that you are the senior sister."
Xie Yijun didn't understand why, with Shen Mandong around, she, as the senior sister, couldn't command respect anymore.
More importantly, why Shen Mandong of all people? Why the daughter of her own murderer?
However, during those ten years, Xie Yijun had to admit that, putting everything else aside, she did genuinely like her junior sister, Shen Mandong.
No one can resist a beautiful and cheerful girl—she's always clinging to you, walking beside you hand in hand, affectionately calling you "Senior Sister." When spring comes, she picks a flower for you; when summer comes, she makes a bowl of chilled hawthorn soup for you; when autumn comes, she invites you to Liucang Mountain to see the red maple leaves; when winter comes, she places a small, hand-rolled snowman in front of your window, with your name written on a note attached.
Xie Yijun had thought about it many times in the quiet of the night: Maybe I should just give up?
The hatred of one generation is no concern for the next. Those deep-seated grudges should either rot in their hearts or, as she said when she lied to others, those who are alive should look forward.
Having no relatives or friends, it would be no easy task for her to overthrow a long-established powerful sect on her own. And what about transferring the pain and suffering she endured to a naive girl who had grown up in luxury? Wouldn't that create a new source of hatred?
When will this cycle of revenge ever end?
In those days that are now just memories, the five of them, master and disciples, traveled together, with Xie Yijun always lagging behind. She looked at her three junior sisters ahead of her, and at her master. She was so close to them, yet so far away from them.
If her father and elder brother hadn't died, would everything have been different? Perhaps she could have entered Yunhua Palace by chance, and perhaps she could have met those people. Under such a hypothetical scenario, she would have truly enjoyed herself and fulfilled the instincts of a senior sister.
Unfortunately, there are everything in this world except "what ifs".
·
The thunder continued, and the dark clouds seemed within reach. Xie Yijun, holding her teacup, looked at the disciples outside who dared not rush in and said, "I originally thought that if I had a chance for revenge, I would seize it firmly. If not, I would hide away, treat Yunhua Palace as my home, and live like that, which wouldn't be bad." She seemed unconcerned about being surrounded or that Man Jiangxue would kill her. She simply continued in the same tone, "But after that, several things happened that changed my mind. Those are things you don't know."
Man Jiangxue had rarely spoken throughout, and after a moment of silence, she asked with a complicated expression, "What is it?"
"It's all trivial matters," Xie Yijun said slowly, taking a sip of tea. "That year, two female disciples in the palace miscalculated the accounts. When Master found out, he instructed me to punish them by deducting a month's salary according to the rules, because this was not the first time they had made such a mistake. As the saying goes, 'things should not happen more than three times,' and if it happens too many times, it should be punished."
However, when she was punishing the two women on her master's orders, Shen Mandong happened to pass by and, upon learning of the matter, kindly pleaded for the two female disciples. Xie Yijun, not wanting to offend her on the spot, agreed and only gave them a few simple reprimands without actually punishing them.
However, when she passed by the two female disciples' offices at night, she heard them complaining about her behind her back.
"What kind of senior sister is she? She's making a big deal out of nothing. Even the sect leader doesn't care, but she keeps making a fuss about it. It's not like she made a huge mistake. Is it really necessary to curse her so harshly?"
"That's right, Senior Sister Shen is much better. Young ladies from wealthy families are so approachable, kind, and easy to get along with. Senior Sister Xie, on the other hand, comes from a humble family and doesn't have the same magnanimity and open-mindedness as Senior Sister Shen."
"No wonder the sect leader doesn't like her. Ever since Senior Sister Shen came, Senior Sister Xie has fallen out of favor. Haven't you noticed? The sect leader has been giving her less and less kindness lately. He probably knows she's not a good person, too picky, petty, and nitpicky. After all, she's his own disciple, so of course the sect leader knows what kind of person she is better than anyone else. Comparing the two, if it were me, I'd prefer Senior Sister Shen a bit more."
...
In fact, this was not the first time Xie Yijun had heard disciples gossiping about her behind her back. The senior sister of the palace sect appeared to be high-ranking and powerful, but the reality was quite different. There were many trivial matters to attend to every day in the palace, and there were always times when she would have friction and unpleasantness with others. Just like Ye Zhilan later in the palace, there were many people who liked her, but there were also many people who disliked her.
Things involving one's own interests are often not so simple. People are always selfish, only thinking about themselves and not others.
"The second thing was Master's birthday banquet," Xie Yijun said, pouring tea. Seeing that Man Jiangxue was dressed lightly, she closed half a window. "You weren't in the palace at the time; you went to Qingluo City on business. Master was very happy that day and made an exception, allowing us to drink. You know, Wen Chaoyu drinks like a cow when she starts, and Man Dong and I couldn't stop her. We even ended up getting drunk ourselves. Later, I slept until dawn the next day, and Master called me to Mingguang Hall and scolded me."
It turned out that after midnight that night, Master had gone back to his bedchamber to rest, leaving only the three sisters drinking and playing drinking games. All three were drunk, but Wen Chaoyu, who had drunk the most, was more sober than the others. Shen Mandong, feeling dizzy, found a comfortable spot to sleep soundly, without making a fuss. Xie Yijun, however, unknowingly went on a drunken rampage, accidentally breaking the jade ruyi that their grandmaster had given to Master.
Xie Yijun had no recollection of it; she didn't remember it at all. But after Shen Mandong woke up, she took the blame herself and even asked Wen Chaoyu to cover for Xie Yijun. Shen Mandong meant well; she knew her master had high hopes for Xie Yijun and was therefore much stricter with her, and she really didn't want Xie Yijun to be scolded because of this.
But the commotion caused by the three of them was clearly heard by their master in the bedroom. She did not make a scene that night, waiting for Xie Yijun to come and apologize to her the next day. However, what she got was Shen Mandong.
That day, Xie Yijun knelt in the Mingguang Hall. Her master wasn't angry, but his tone was harsh. He said, "I often remind you of what to do, but you haven't listened to a word. Your two junior sisters are both younger than you. As their senior sister, you have to keep an eye on them at all times. Everyone else can get drunk, but you can't. That jade ruyi wasn't anything special, not worth much money, but it was valuable because of its significance. I wouldn't have blamed you for breaking it, but you have to take responsibility for your own actions. You made a mistake, so you should bear the consequences yourself. What kind of nonsense is it to make Mandong cover for you?"
Xie Yijun did not defend herself; she could not defend herself, she could not say even a word in her own defense. If she opened her mouth, she would only disappoint her master even more.
“I didn’t ask her to take the blame for me. She did it voluntarily, out of kindness,” Xie Yijun said, a forced smile playing on her lips. “What has Mandong ever done that wasn’t out of kindness? But her understanding has brought me countless troubles. She made me look like a bully using someone else’s power, and like an irresponsible and immoral person. And yet, I can’t resent her, nor can I hate her. Instead, I have to thank her for thinking of me. But if she were truly sensible, she should know that she can’t interfere when I’m punishing offending disciples, and she should know that even if Master is going to reprimand me, she can’t add fuel to the fire. So sometimes I feel like I don’t understand her. I can’t tell if she’s genuinely kind or just pretending. And once such speculation arises, it makes me feel like a petty, narrow-minded person judging others by my own standards. Jiang Xue, that’s why I say even if I tell you everything, you still won’t understand me. How could you possibly understand me?”
Man Jiangxue really couldn't understand it.
She hadn't experienced that, nor did she have those worries. Even if she could understand Xie Yijun's feelings, she couldn't completely empathize with her.
Only those who have experienced it know what it's like.
Such incidents were far from isolated; during their years working together, Xie Yijun had countless times incurred criticism and undeserved misfortune because of Shen Mandong's "good intentions." Each time, she could only swallow her anger and silently endure it, without even a single person to confide in.
“The third thing is the sword competition to select the chief disciple,” Xie Yijun continued patiently, unconcerned that Man Jiangxue couldn’t respond. “A few days before the competition, Master told me about it and asked me to start preparing as soon as possible. After I drafted the list of participating disciples, I sent it to Jingyue Peak for Master to see. On my way back to Mingguang Hall from Jingyue Peak, I ran into Mandong. She said that Master wanted to talk to her. I admit that I had my own thoughts at the time, so I quietly returned and hid outside the hall to eavesdrop on her conversation with Master.”
It was springtime. Xie Yijun sat in the corridor, leaning against the wall, looking at the red maple leaves in the courtyard. Her master, in the Chenxing Hall just a wall away, said to Shen Mandong, "In this sword competition, I hope you can win first place. You know the rules of the palace: the chief disciple is given priority to become the sect leader. Among my disciples, Yijun is talented, but she is also cunning and calculating. I can't entrust Yunhua Palace to her. As for Chaoyu, she's decent in every way, but nothing is particularly outstanding. Plus, she's unruly and has gone too far with her personality. If she becomes the chief disciple, everyone below her will have to follow her example, which will be disrespectful." As for Jiang Xue, although she comes from a noble family, her life has been full of hardships. She doesn't look down on the leaders of martial arts sects, but at a young age, she has already seen through the vanities of the world and is unwilling to pursue fame and fortune. She is an excessively detached and single-minded person. You are guests in the mortal world, while she is a celestial being in the clouds. My Yunhua Palace cannot contain her, nor does it want to. Mandong, in my eyes, you are the most suitable person to succeed as sect leader. You are no less capable than your senior and junior sisters in any way. I have complete confidence in entrusting Yunhua Palace to you. Therefore, on the day of the sword competition, you must win first place. Do not falter under pressure. Do you understand?
Shen Mandong looked troubled upon hearing this, and sincerely said, "Master, I understand everything you said, but I am still a descendant of the Shen family. Even if I come to the palace to become your disciple, I will eventually return to inherit the Ruyi Sect. What you said earlier is correct. Senior Sister Wen is indeed too unrestrained and unconventional, and Junior Sister is too indifferent to desires, which I agree with. But Senior Sister Xie doesn't seem quite right to me. Based on my understanding of Senior Sister Xie, she is actually more suitable to succeed me as sect leader. I am still a bit too young. Senior Sister Xie is several years older and has performed exceptionally well, enjoying a good reputation in the palace. Although her skills are not as good as ours, and she may not win first place in the sword competition, that does not prevent her from being a good sect leader. Don't you think so, Master?"
The master nodded first, then shook his head, saying worriedly, "Yes and no. There's a reason I said she's cunning and calculating. Yijun is different from you. She's very mature and steady. I took her as my disciple because I valued her talent and ability. But after getting to know her, I found that she's not simple at all. She's far more than just humble and easygoing on the surface. Sometimes, judging by appearances isn't entirely wrong. A person's experience and character are reflected on their face, and there are always clues to be found. But Yijun is so young, and I've seen countless people, yet I can't quite see through her. Besides, although she says she has no interest in becoming the sect leader, her eyes often reveal a hint of ambition. You may not understand what I mean, but in short, if Yijun walks the right path, she will indeed achieve great things. But if she goes astray, the consequences are unimaginable. And an unstable variable like that won't be considered by me. I can only pass the position of sect leader to you."
Shen Mandong said, "Isn't Master overthinking this? How could Senior Sister have gone astray? Why would she go astray when she was perfectly fine?"
"It's hard to say, and it's not easy to say. I hope I'm overthinking it," the master sighed. "Anyway, if you become the sect leader one day, you can listen to Yijun's opinions on minor matters, and you can use her. She is thorough and meticulous in handling affairs and is a reliable person. But on important matters, you should listen to Jiang Xue and Chaoyu's advice more. Jiang Xue doesn't talk much, but she always sees things very clearly. Although Chaoyu is usually a bit frivolous, she is very decisive on important matters, even no less so than Jiang Xue. Yijun is too unfathomable and has a sinister nature. You must be wary of her and not take her lightly. Yijun is certainly not a good sect leader."
Xie Yijun heard the entire conversation clearly from outside, not missing a single word.
Before this, she thought her master was strict with her because he valued her and wanted to hold her to a higher standard, hoping she would succeed. But she soon realized that it wasn't like that at all. Her master only suppressed and guarded against her. She had been deluding herself all along, and was being secretly targeted without even realizing it.
Is she so worthless? Not only does she have to suppress her hatred and greet her enemy's daughter with a smile, but she also has to selflessly dedicate herself to her, willingly assisting her and paving the way for her.
On what grounds?
Why can't Xie Yijun be a good sect leader?
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