Chapter 43 Duanmu (Part Two) Let's make a deal. ...
Qingxing paused for a moment, then walked to his side and looked up at the green trees in the courtyard with him: "Master, is there something important that you have come to visit so late at night?"
"Young friend, have you ever heard the stories circulating within the Duanmu family?" Qingxing heard him ask.
A story? A curse of falsehood?
However, before Qingxing could answer, he spoke again: "Qiuzhi is lively and talkative, I'm sure she's already told you that."
Duanmu Yi turned to look at Qingxing. He was advanced in years, and after managing the entire family for so many years, he was already exhausted by the affairs of the clan. He was only halfway through his forties, an age when cultivators should be full of vigor, but Duanmu Yi was like an old tree that had been drained of its life force by climbing vines, trembling in the bloody wind of the Blood Peach Forest, risking collapse to shield the Duanmu family from the threat.
"Although I don't know what happened in Jade Lake, I dare to guess that the strange phenomenon that day was related to you, young friend." His voice was hoarse, and the wrinkles on his face opened and closed with the movement of his mouth.
Qingxing was taken aback by what she heard and instinctively wanted to deny it: "No..."
Unexpectedly, Duanmu Yi raised a hand, indicating that she didn't need to explain.
He laughed and said, "I've lived most of my life. If I could be fooled by you, then I wouldn't deserve the title of 'Head of the Duanmu Family'."
"The Duanmu family has guarded the Blood Peach Forest for a hundred years, and the Jade Lake is an extremely dangerous place. If you can rescue those people and escape unscathed, and even break through your own limits in the process, then you are truly remarkable."
Duanmu Yi chuckled: "There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Qingxing remained silent for a long time. Since this person had discovered the clues, why did he not consult with the elders of Taihua Mountain, but instead came to talk to her in the middle of the night when no one was around? There must be some hidden reason.
Seeing that the truth could no longer be hidden, and that blindly denying it would only harm herself, Qingxing wisely gave up the struggle and instead asked, "What does the head of the family want to say?"
Duanmu Yi asked seriously, "What did you see beneath Emerald Lake?"
“A purple-clad demon and a bunch of human puppets.” Qingxing observed his expression and knew that he wanted to know more than just that, so she recalled carefully and added, “I heard Zhu call the purple-clad demon ‘Liu Nuo’s mother.’”
"What?!" Duanmu Yi's pupils trembled upon hearing this. He shook his head slightly, seemingly incredulous.
Qingxing remained silent, watching the old man before her, deeply immersed in shock. A moment later, Duanmu Yi looked up, his eyes filled with pain, a fleeting tear passing through them so quickly that Qingxing thought it was her imagination.
He said in a hoarse voice, "...Liu Nuo was my deceased wife."
Qingxing was taken aback, then pressed on, "What about Duanmu Rui...?"
Duanmu Yi closed his eyes briefly and affirmed, "He is my eldest son, Tingzhu's... elder brother."
These few words seemed to have exhausted all his strength. After uttering the last word, he took a few steps back and slumped heavily against the wooden pillar behind him.
Qingxing's fingertips twitched slightly, but remembering that this person had tried to threaten her earlier, she suppressed the urge to help him up and just stared at him.
She asked softly, "Is what Qiu Zhi said about the rumors true?"
“Yes.” Duanmu Yi sighed heavily. “But it’s not a ‘curse.’ To be precise, for the past five hundred years, someone has been working behind the scenes.”
Qingxing: "What do you mean?"
Duanmu Yi raised his eyes, his gaze stretching back to a distant century ago: "There was a tribe of demons called the Crimson Hair. After the war between humans and demons, the Resurrected Clan was completely wiped out, but it is unknown whether any demons managed to escape. In the past five hundred years, all cultivators of my Duanmu family, regardless of gender, who practiced talismans, have disappeared into thin air before the age of twenty."
The Red-Haired Clan… The image of red-haired, golden-eyed beings flashed through Qingxing's mind, and a vague idea began to form in her heart. She remained silent, only listening to Duanmu Yi continue:
"This is also why I forbade Tingzhu to learn talismanic arts. His elder brother learned talismanic arts but disappeared when he was eighteen. My wife, Liu Nuo, went into the Blood Peach Forest in the dead of night to look for him and never returned. Tingzhu insisted on learning talismanic arts, so I sent someone to bring him to Mount Taihua, thinking that with so many elders there, he could be protected for life..."
Upon hearing this, Qingxing's heart skipped a beat—it seemed that the villagers of "Wuning Village" in the illusion array were all descendants of Duanmu who had disappeared over the past century.
The person behind the scenes used some unknown method to lure them here, then skinned them alive and turned them into puppets, trapping them in the illusionary dream array.
Wu Ning Village, Wu Ning, Wu Ning.
They will never find peace, life after life.
Liu Nuo was indeed Duanmu Tingzhu's mother, but she had been turned into a demon and even she herself didn't remember her.
"Is Tingzhu's mother still there?" Duanmu Yi asked in a trembling voice.
Qingxing felt guilty. She opened and closed her mouth several times before finally speaking: "...She was turned into a demon and has lost all self-awareness."
Although he had some idea of what was going on, Duanmu Yi still closed his eyes tightly when he heard the news from his wife. Qingxing watched him and felt that he had aged ten years in just a few breaths.
"Do not tell anyone about our conversation tonight." After an unknown amount of time, Duanmu Yi composed himself and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll make a deal with you, young friend: I can vouch for you and remove you from the strange phenomenon at Emerald Lake."
Sadness still lingered in his eyes: "But please keep the secrets of the Duanmu family that I just told you to yourselves, and treat them as mere rumors. Also, do not tell any third party about the fact that the monster at the bottom of the lake is my wife, Liu Nuo."
"Okay." Qingxing had no reason not to make such a good deal.
She pondered Duanmu Yi's previous words carefully, and then asked, "I would like to ask you, senior, if demonic energy originates from the heart's energy, then why would it form a tribe?"
"You mean the Red-Haired Clan?" Duanmu Yi glanced at her. "The Red-Haired Clan are born evil people, naturally born as demons, and everyone has the right to kill them."
Qingxing asked in confusion, "What about Wangyan? Is he also a member of the Red-Haired Clan?"
Duanmu Yi was puzzled: "What do you mean by that? You are just making baseless accusations that you strayed into the demonic path because of your own lack of willpower, and that it has nothing to do with the red-haired man."
Qingxing: "He doesn't have any red hair?"
Duanmu Yi: "No."
Qingxing raised her eyes, a hint of mockery in them: "Are you so sure?"
Although he didn't know why the junior in front of him suddenly looked at him like that, Duanmu Yi still said, "I'm certain."
After hearing this, Qingxing did not press the matter further. Instead, she looked away and said calmly, "I have remembered what the patriarch said, and I will not break my promise."
She bowed to Duanmu Yi and said, "He has passed away. I hope you will take care of yourself, Master."
Duanmu Yi waved his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally said goodbye to Qingxing. Then he dragged his feet and slowly walked away from the courtyard.
The usually decisive and efficient head of the Duanmu family walked alone in the darkness, his figure lonely. Qingxing watched his departing figure, and couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.
No matter how authoritative Duanmu Yi was, or how powerful he was in the Blood Peach Forest, at this moment, he was just a father who cared about his child and a husband who had lost his wife.
The night was quiet, and people who had been working non-stop for several days had all fallen asleep. After closing the door, Qingxing sat upright at her desk, staring blankly at the moon in the sky until it gradually sank, while the distant mountains in the east began to turn a pale white.
A ray of morning light shone in, but Qingxing was still wide awake.
Some things are gradually sprouting from the seeds in her heart.
The next day, Qingxing wanted to visit Shen Wan and the others, but their rooms were all empty. She grabbed a Duanmu family cultivator and asked him, only to find out that those people had rushed to Duanmu Tingzhu's room early in the morning.
"They don't even give people time to rest," Gudako muttered weakly, following behind Qingxing.
When Qingxing went to Jade Lake, she threw the cloth bag to Qiuzhi, and Guda was naturally taken back to the Duanmu residence as well. After Shenwan and Xie Yuzhou were brought in, Guda received treatment. When it woke up and saw that Qingxing had not returned, it stayed by Shenwan's side and was pampered and cared for every day to recover.
“Everyone is worried,” Qingxing said.
However, despite the worries, Tingzhu was so badly injured that she naturally couldn't recover immediately.
He was unconscious for more than a day. During that time, Duanmu Yi mobilized two-thirds of the cultivators in the manor to search the peach blossom forest. Judging from the situation, it seemed that he would not give up until he found out who was behind it all.
Qingxing usually cultivated with her fellow disciples. Once, when everyone gathered together, Shen Wan frowned and wailed for a long time: "Junior brother won't... never wake up again!"
"No." Xie Yuzhou patted her shoulder gently.
“Junior brother is still young, but it will take some time for him to recover.” Wenren Xi stretched out his legs and sat on the stone bench. When Chen Mo lifted him back earlier, he accidentally used too much force and broke one of his legs. It is still slowly recovering.
Chen remained silent, simply pushing the tea towards him.
"Don't go, Senior Sister!" Wenren Xi said, both amused and exasperated, with a sigh. "Look, I'm really fine. Besides, I can't drink any more water if you try to feed me."
"Senior Sister is doing this for your own good," Qingxing said calmly as she flipped through a book on cultivation techniques.
But no one responded for a long time after she finished speaking, and an eerie silence fell over the surroundings.
After a long while, Qingxing realized something was wrong. She looked up and saw everyone staring at her, so she asked curiously, "Why are you looking at me?"
Wenren Xi chuckled twice, but to Qingxing, the laughter sounded very dry.
She heard him speak softly, "Why do I feel that Junior Sister's aura is different?"
Shen Wan squinted, scanned Qingxing up and down, and then shouted, "Senior Sister, you've broken through again!"
Gudako, who was sleeping nearby, was awakened by the noise of these people. He turned over, covered himself with the book as a blanket, and said impatiently, "So what if he's a Nascent Soul cultivator! What's the big deal!"
Qingxing:......
Everyone: ...
What do you mean by "lou"? After this ordeal, some of them were injured or crippled, while Qingxing, on the other hand, had all become Nascent Soul cultivators!
She was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator six months ago!
Seriously, enlightenment is as common as cabbage!
Amidst the complex gazes of the crowd, Qingxing calmly picked up her teacup and gently blew away the tea foam floating on top.
The five of them counted down the days in worry, living in constant fear. Finally, seven days later, while Qingxing was meditating on the cultivation technique in her room, Qiuzhi rushed over with good news: the young master had woken up!
Qingxing threw down the book in her hand and practically "flew" into the Listening Bamboo Room.
Shen Wan and the others received the news before her and had already gathered around Tingzhu's bedside, asking questions one after another. Jiu Quchen stood to the side, and seeing Qingxing arrive, he found an excuse to send everyone away: "The air is not circulating well, which is not good for the patient's recovery. Now you can all leave!"
Shen Wan cried her eyes out. She wanted to refute Jiu Quchen, but after hearing that "it would not help Tingzhu recuperate," she composed herself and turned to leave with Chen Mo.
As she passed Qingxing, she reached out and squeezed Qingxing's hand, which was hanging by her side. Qingxing squeezed back tightly.
Once only the three of them remained in the room, Duanmu Tingzhu, who was leaning against the headboard, glanced at Jiu Quchen. Jiu Quchen immediately understood, turned around, winked at Qingxing, and then stepped out of the room.
Qingxing walked to the bedside and sat down. She looked at Tingzhu's pale face and asked softly, "Are you still feeling unwell?"
Duanmu Tingzhu shook his head. He pursed his lips and remained silent for a long time. Finally, as if he could no longer hold on, he suddenly grabbed Qingxing's arm and said in a dry voice, "...Senior sister, I saw my mother."
He ran away from the Blood Peach Forest on his own that day.
Because after the monster exploded, he saw Liu Nuo's face amidst the billowing smoke and dust.
She stood behind the peach tree, smiling and waving to him, calling out, "Tingzhu, come to your mother's side."
Duanmu Tingzhu lost his mother when he was six years old. In the years since, every time he woke up in the middle of the night, he was searching for the shadow of his mother.
Without hesitation, and even ignoring the talismans that had been blown away, he scrambled to his feet and ran toward her.
But he never expected that it was a sweet trap.
Qingxing patted his hand: "I know."
“My mother…” Duanmu Tingzhu’s eyes filled with tears. His lips trembled, as if he had a thousand words to say, but he couldn’t utter a single word.
Qingxing listened silently to his sobs, waiting for him to speak.
"I thought my mother left because she didn't want me." After a long while, he buried his head in the quilt and sobbed in a muffled voice.
Qingxing pulled him up and made him look at her.
Looking into Tingzhu's swollen eyes, meeting the endless pain in them, she slowly said, "Tingzhu, no mother in this world would willingly abandon her child."
She didn't abandon you; she just got lost while searching for her other child.
Looking at her, Tingzhu could no longer hold back his overwhelming emotions. He disregarded everything around him, and tears streamed down his face like a cascading waterfall.
At the bottom of Emerald Lake, only Green Apricot remains awake.
Only she could catch the purple-clad demon's hesitation when Duanmu Tingzhu called out "Liu Nuo's mother," thus telling Duanmu Tingzhu: Your mother loves you, Tingzhu. She cares about you just like your brother.
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Author's Note: No updates on Thursdays and Fridays, updates will resume on Saturdays. [Lower-eared rabbit head]
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