Redemption
My name is Sima Lingfeng, also known as "Young Master Nong Yue." Behind this elegant name lies a past stained with dust and blood that even I myself have been reluctant to delve into.
I once lived in a happy family. When I was seven, a sudden disaster struck. Many people broke into our home and began killing people. My mother committed suicide in front of me, and I was stabbed and fell into a coma. When I woke up, the first person I saw was the Master of Wuyou Palace. She told me to treat her as my mother. She treated me with great kindness, as if she were her own daughter, teaching me the art of Qimen Dunjia, poetry, calligraphy, chess, and music. She told me she had raised me at my mother's request, as she had left it before her death. I believed her, and I engraved my gratitude for her upbringing in my heart, while also burying deep hatred for the "enemy" I had never met.
Later, I gradually came into contact with the man behind her—Ban Tianyue. He was powerful and mysterious, and the Palace Master obeyed his every word. He asked me to assist the Moon Worship Cult with some "matters," some of which were shady and illegal. Although I had my doubts, the Palace Master explained that this was to accumulate strength for future revenge for my parents. The weight of gratitude and "righteousness" weighed upon me, turning me into a sharp pawn in his hands. Then, a woman named Ding Ziling arrived in Sifang City. The Palace Master Wuyou told me that she worked in the police station and had recently arrested many Moon Worship Cult members. She was said to be exceptionally talented, highly skilled in martial arts, and proficient in the Qimen Dunjia technique. He asked if I had any solution.
Always priding myself on my ingenuity, I accepted the assignment. I set a trap to lure her to Chunfengdeyi Palace, and sure enough, she showed up. I hadn't expected her to be so young and beautiful! I'd created a "poison without poison" scheme, offering her a seemingly ordinary cup of tea. Most people would either drink it without suspicion or refuse it out of suspicion, but she defied convention and simply set it aside without a second thought.
I provoked her with words: "Young lady, don't you give me Chunfengdeyi Palace face?" Her eyes were bright, and she answered brilliantly: "It's not that I don't give you face. On the contrary, I respect you, so I dare not drink. Caution and fear are the greatest respect for an opponent!"
I took out a silver needle to test for poison to show my honesty. She laughed and said, "I believe this tea is non-toxic, just like persimmons are non-toxic. However, persimmons and crabs are harmful to the body if eaten together."
At that moment, I was stunned. She had figured out the key to my game so easily! I exclaimed in praise, "Excellent! She's actually able to break the poison of my Chunfengdeyi Palace. You're worthy enough to be my opponent!"
Unexpectedly, she smiled cunningly, with a bit of joking: "I just made a random guess, and you actually admitted it! Alas, Young Master Nong Yue is just like this. It's boring, I'm leaving." Before she finished speaking, her figure had already rushed out like a startled wild goose, and her lightness skills were so high that I could not catch up with her.
Gazing at the direction she disappeared, a complex and indescribable emotion welled up within me for the first time: the rage of being seen through, the excitement of meeting a rival of equal caliber, and... a hint of indescribable admiration. Her beauty, her wit, her insight, her rebelliousness.
From then on, I couldn't help but follow her. I heard she'd become famous for cracking a corruption case, earning her the nickname "Fairy Sister" from the people of Sifang City. She'd also been promoted by the city lord to the position of Forger of the Imperial Edict for her calligraphy skills. Her fame grew, and her calligraphy pieces commanded immense prices. I heard she was approachable, and I heard she'd rejected many aristocratic men. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of person could possibly catch her eye, someone like me... At some point, rumors began circulating about Ding Ziling, some claiming she was attracted to women, some even claiming she was—a man! I suspect those men she'd rejected, resentful and unwilling to be rejected, spread the rumors to save face, but she surprisingly didn't respond at all, acting as if the outside world's voices had nothing to do with her.
Because her pursuit touched upon the core of the Moon Worship Cult, Bantianyue ordered me to plot her capture. Exploiting human weakness, I ordered my men to seize her maid while she was out buying groceries. I then left a message for her to come to the Moon Worship Cult's headquarters, a place teeming with experts. By sparing her life, I could secure both a beautiful woman and a Moon Worship Cult master—killing two birds with one stone. She had somehow infiltrated Zhaixing Nongyue Residence and abducted the Palace Master Wuyou. She left a message demanding I return the maid unharmed and, instructing Master Nongyue to surrender to the police station, lest she deliver a finger of the Palace Master Wuyou within an hour! I'd heard Ding Ziling never killed, but that didn't mean the Palace Master Wuyou would be safe. I panicked! This plan had to be abandoned. After returning the maid, I went to the police station as instructed. I knew there were Moon Worship Cult members there, so I wasn't worried. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the Palace Master Wuyou had also appeared at the Zhaixing Nongyue Residence gate. The Palace Master of Wuyou Palace came to visit me in the cell and told me that Ding Ziling had entered Zhaixing Nongyue Residence through the dog hole, without triggering the gate's formation, so she was completely unprepared. I didn't expect this opponent to be so interesting! When I suggested that she use her connections to get me released, the Palace Master of Wuyou Palace told me to be patient and that she would make the arrangements. Hearing this, I calmed down and waited patiently in the cell.
At night, she appeared here at some point. I remained calm and asked, "It's said that Fairy Sister Ding Ziling comes and goes without a trace, and her reputation is well-deserved. On such a starry night, what could this young lady want from me?"
She said seriously: "Are you waiting for the people from the Moon Worship Sect to rescue you? I heard what you said to the Lord of Wuyou Palace during the day. Tonight I will take you to be executed in advance!" After that, she took out a secret decree.
I feigned composure as she ordered the cell unlocked. I wondered where I was being taken. My thoughts raced, and all my past strategies seemed to have failed. Was I really going to die here? And why wasn't anyone seeking justice for those who had harmed my family?
"Do you have any last wishes before you die? Tell me, maybe I can fulfill them for you when I'm in a good mood," she said suddenly.
These words seemed to have a magical power, or perhaps they had been pent up inside me for a long time. In front of her, I dropped all pretense and revealed my past, the extermination of my family at a young age, and my upbringing at the Wuyou Palace. She suddenly stopped, lost in thought.
"If it were you, what would you do?" I thought maybe she would take a different path with me.
"I think I will be the same as you." After that, she untied my underwear and said, "Go away, don't let me catch you again!" I was stunned for a moment by this unexpected development. When I reacted, she had already left, as if everything just now was just a dream.
After being released, I exploited her natural sensitivity to pain and injury to even the odds, feigning poison. She relented, unhesitatingly offering the Silver Thread Gu to detoxify me and channeling my inner energy. I seized the opportunity to seize her. After capturing her, I released her. Before parting, I gave her the Yin-Yang fan, crafted from ice silk and inscribed with the words "Love you, hate you, forever." Those eight words perfectly captured my feelings at the time: I loved her radiance, yet I resented the fate that had divided us.
Later, I learned she had a history with the young master of the Zhao family, and I couldn't help but feel melancholy. Years later, a woman resembling her once again intruded upon my Chunfengdeyi Palace. Wielding the Phoenix Blood Sword, she was none other than Shangguan Yan, the "Dragon Goddess," renowned in recent years. She shared a similar appearance to Ding Ziling, yet possessed a completely different temperament. More importantly, the Dragon Goddess was easily smitten with my "non-toxic poison"—a far cry from Ding Ziling's cleverness. She even called me a villain—a stark contrast to Ding Ziling. I'm certain they were completely different, but the silver-threaded Gu that protected the Dragon Goddess from poisoning was her work. I suspect they might be close relatives!
Fate took a turn after she lost her memory. I was stabbed by the Phoenix Blood Sword. The Palace Master Wuyou treated my wound with ice silkworms, but the healing only lasted seven days. Coincidentally, Moon Worship Cult spies reported that "Sister Shenxian" was suspected of returning to Sifang City. I went to the streets, pretending to encounter her by chance, to test her. She had forgotten her past and claimed her name was "Wu Suowei." She engaged in a series of duels of wits with her "Mingri," known in the martial arts world as "Mingri"—a truly exceptional wit. I felt both a sense of unease, "If there's Yu, why not Liang?" and the joy of meeting a worthy opponent. Hua Tuo, realizing my sword wound was difficult to heal, challenged me to a duel, ultimately losing. Zi Ling pleaded on my behalf, and Hua Tuo left me a life-saving elixir. Unwilling to ask Hua Tuo for mercy, I plotted to poison him, which indirectly led to the Palace Master—my adoptive mother—death in my stead! Her dying gaze was filled with reluctance and guilt. In that moment, my years of faith began to crumble.
In Ouyang Mingri's tomb, I saw Zi Ling, despite her amnesia, still resolutely accompanying him through life and death. I was filled with overwhelming envy and a gnawing loneliness. I added oil to the lamp, not so much to save him as to erase the psychological barrier of indirectly causing the Palace Master's death through my own fault.
Later, Zi Ling came to me and said she wanted to heal the Master of Wuyou Palace. She also told me that she had investigated the Sima family's past and speculated that Sima Changfeng and I were brothers. I couldn't believe it. How could my adoptive mother lie to me? Until she asked me to jump into the water, the silk armor on my body came into contact with water and revealed the handwriting left by my adoptive mother... There, my life experience was clearly written - my enemy was none other than Bantianyue, who raised me! It turned out that the person I was loyal to was the murderer of my father; my beloved adoptive mother knew the truth, but because of her love for Bantianyue, she hid it from me all her life. The world completely shattered before my eyes. It was Zi Ling who whispered to comfort me when I was most desperate. She said that the Master of Palace loved me the most, and she was just afraid that I would be powerless to resist Bantianyue, so she could only use this method to leave the truth.
Burning with hatred, I decided to perish alongside Ban Tianyue. I tricked Shangguan Yan into visiting his mother, Ding Xuelian. Aunt Shangguan recognized me by my real name and told me my birth date and childhood memories. Aunt Shangguan treated me with great kindness, but the hatred for the extermination of my family remained etched in my mind. I wanted my brother, Sima Changfeng, to survive and continue the Sima family line. So I sent him away and threatened Shangguan Yan to cooperate. When Shangguan Yan refused, I poisoned her. My eldest brother forbade me from harming Shangguan Yan, so I made him drink "Dream Fairy Tea" with me. This poison increases internal strength. At its peak, its internal strength is also at its highest. Then, the two of us, brothers, could join forces to avenge our parents and then go down together to accompany them. My eldest brother agreed. The next day, Ziling and Shangguan Yan came to see me. I explained my plan to Ziling, and tearfully, Ziling told me that my life and my eldest brother's were purchased by our parents, and they were priceless. Ban Tianyue wasn't worthy of our lives in exchange. She urged me to live on, saying that living well with my brother Sima Changfeng and me was the greatest revenge against Ban Tianyue. Her eyes, still clear and filled with pure concern, softened my icy, resolute heart at that moment. She mentioned my brother, my only remaining blood relative in this world. She asked about my relationship with Ouyang Mingri. Seeing the confusion and struggle in her eyes when she mentioned him, I couldn't help but say, "Sai Huatuo is a man of deep thoughts, not as simple as you. I'm afraid you'll suffer if you're with him." She immediately retorted, saying they were just friends. I smiled bitterly. Silly girl, how could he ever look at you like a "friend"? But I could see that she also had genuine feelings for Sai Huatuo.
In the end, I gave up the idea of destroying myself and everyone else. It wasn't because I was completely relieved, but because, besides the hatred, there seemed to be something else in this world worth cherishing—my brother's existence, and her pure kindness, hoping for everyone's survival. I took my brother to seek out Hua Tuo for an antidote, both to survive and perhaps... also to be able to continue watching her. Gazing into her clear eyes, it felt as if the inextricable darkness in my life could be redeemed for a moment.
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