Chapter 31: Wei Sheng Embracing the Pillar (Part 7) Parents in the world are often unfeeling and uncaring...
"Nonsense!" Lian Qiang blurted out. "That fox demon hasn't even killed ordinary people, and has no grudge against your daughter. Why would they kill her for no reason? And even attract your bounty?"
An Chen, who always appeared friendly, had a cold look in his eyes. "Monsters are monsters after all. Even if they kill innocent people, they don't need any excuses. It's just that they are evil by nature. It's their nature!"
Lian Qiang's head felt like it was about to explode. Nature, nature, and nature again! As a human being, how self-righteous was he, disregarding right and wrong?
Seeing the demonic energy growing stronger, Chi Xingji stepped forward and placed Lian Qiang behind him, both to protect her and to allow her to calm down a bit. "You keep saying she was killed by a fox demon, so how did the fox demon kill her?"
This time, An Chen pursed his lips and refused to speak again.
"If you don't want to tell me, I'll check it myself!" Lian Qiang didn't have the patience to waste time with him anymore, so she turned around and left, waving the door open. She had never expected that someone was eavesdropping outside. Her action startled the person, who screamed in pain and fell heavily to the ground.
"...Mrs. An?" Lian Qiang took a closer look and hurriedly helped her up from the ground, and also checked her injuries.
Madam An stood firmly behind Lian Qiang and shook her head to indicate that she was fine. She slowly said, "I heard everything you just said. To be honest, it's not just you two distinguished guests; I also have the same doubts."
Her tone was gentle and soft. She didn't stand on her husband's side to scold the two of them, but she didn't want to offend him either.
"Shuzi..." An Chen called her with a look of reluctance on his face.
Lian Qiang was surprised to find that this seemed to be the first time she heard the name of Madam An. In the past, she hid behind An Chen, and Lian Qiang only regarded her as Madam An, but now she seemed a little different.
"That day you only said your daughter was killed by a fox demon. You even kept the corpse to yourself, afraid I'd be saddened by seeing it, so you wouldn't let me see her off for the last time," Wu Shuzi's tone held a soft firmness. "I believed you. You said the fox demon had killed my daughter and was hurting people in the city. No matter the cost, he had to be killed to appease the people. I believed you, too."
She walked slowly into the hall. "But as the two distinguished guests have said, there are many loopholes in your words. Jia'er has lived a secluded life since childhood... and has a kind personality. How could she have met a fox demon, angered him, and brought about a fatal disaster? It's just that I was so heartbroken that I didn't notice these omissions."
At this point, Wu Shuzi sighed, "An Chen, you and I have been married for decades, and I've never asked you for anything. Today, I just want you to tell me the truth—how did Jia'er die? Was it an accident, a man-made disaster, or... something else?"
"You can ask me a thousand times, and I will only give the same answer." An Chen opened his eyes and met her gaze. "As I told you before, she was killed by that cunning fox demon."
"You know, that's not what I want to hear. I want to know how she died!" Wu Shuzi could no longer maintain her composure. She was shaky, as if she would collapse at any moment. "Claws, or teeth, or something else? What was it? What killed her? What took my daughter's life?"
She repeatedly imagined her daughter's tragic death, feeling as if her throat were being strangled, unable to breathe, and her heart ached. Tears streamed down her face, and Wu Shuzi was choked with sobs, unable to speak: "She suffered so much injustice... Why... Why was fate so unfair to her..."
Lian Qiang, standing by, felt a pity. If her mother were still alive, watching her go through the events of a hundred years ago, would she be just as sad and heartbroken? Her mother always loved her and her siblings the most. No, her father loved them too, but he had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
There are many heartless and unjust parents in the world, but there are always parents who love their children from the bottom of their hearts.
She wanted to help this poor mother: "Anfu...if you don't mind, why don't you take us to her boudoir to take a look? Maybe there are still some clues left to solve the mystery."
"In that case, I'll trouble you two. I, Wu Shuzi, would like to thank you." Wu Shuzi wiped away her tears and bowed to the two of them, her eyes gleaming with a resoluteness. Lian Qiang and Chi Xingji didn't shy away from her greeting, both accepting it. At this moment, she was a mother, and also the most indestructible person.
"Shuzi, if it's really as I said, what will you do?" An Chen spoke again, still trying to persuade her to leave. "Do you really want to create a rift between you and me?"
Wu Shuzi simply stared at him deeply and said, "When you didn't tell me the truth, you should have known that there would be resentment sooner or later. If the truth is really as you said, then I will have absolutely no regrets."
The three of them left, leaving An Chen alone there, watching them go away.
Led by Wu Shuzi, the three of them walked in the long corridor. Along the way, many people saluted them, but Wu Shuzi did not look around and just strode forward.
Finally, the three of them arrived at a courtyard. The gate had been sealed shut with wooden bars and covered with a thick layer of dust, suggesting it had been sealed for a long time.
"Ever since Jia'er died, he hasn't let anyone get close to this place," Wu Shuzi brushed off the dust, her eyes etched with nostalgia. "Even Liang'er and I were told not to get even a step closer. I originally thought he was just afraid that the scene would bring back memories for us..."
"…Please accept my condolences." The rest of the text that is left unsaid is often the most hurtful. Lian Qiang really couldn't think of any words to comfort this mother who had lost her beloved daughter. After all, any words would be so pale and powerless.
Fortunately, Wu Shuzi did not forget her important business because of her brief sadness. She tried her best to smile at Lian Qiang.
"You two take a few steps back first." Chi Xingji said to interrupt the interaction between the two. He held the sword, which was not even unsheathed - but it was enough to split the wood.
After the two walked away, he did not hesitate and swung his sword. In an instant, sand and rocks flew everywhere, and the world in front of Lian Qiang was spinning in an instant. When she opened her eyes again, the scenery in front of her was completely different.
She seemed to be in a room. Lian Qiang wanted to move around to observe the surrounding scenery, but she found something strange. She looked down and was immediately shocked - she was sitting in a wheelchair, and her legs seemed to have lost all feeling!
Lian Qiang tried to stand up from the wheelchair, but it was in vain. She suddenly lost the ability to walk. Lian Qiang was frightened for a moment, but quickly calmed down and tried to use her magic energy.
However, this time, it was beyond her expectations. Her demonic energy disappeared completely, and was replaced by extremely pure spiritual power.
At the same time, Lian Qiang felt that her mental strength was extremely strong. She could clearly hear the roar of thunder coming from the horizon, and her heart trembled.
Ever since she witnessed Chi Xingji's ascension, Lian Qiang has developed a fear of thunder. But now is not the time to be afraid. Lian Qiang stroked her chest and comforted herself. The long-lost surging spiritual power in her body made her feel like she had returned to a hundred years ago when she was not yet contaminated by demonic energy.
But this was impossible - Lian Qiang calmed herself down. The past events that had been written down could not be changed. She was just at the An family's house. The only place that could have suffered this sudden change could only be An Sijia's courtyard.
After looking around, Lian Qiang found the object she was looking for. She tried to push the wheelchair. Fortunately, the furnishings in the room were simple, perhaps to facilitate the movement of the wheelchair. Although there were obstacles, she still successfully arrived in front of the bronze mirror.
As expected, the face reflected in the bronze mirror was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar. It was a woman with a smear of cinnabar on her forehead. She bore a passing resemblance to An Ziliang, but compared to his delicate and innocent nature, she possessed a cooler and calmer air.
"...An Sijia?" With the answer in her mind, Lian Qiang gently opened her lips, and the person in the mirror also moved.
Even without An Ziliang around, Lian Qiang couldn't help but sigh. The brother and sister's cultivation was truly... one in heaven, one in hell. Putting aside An Sijia's aptitude, such a powerful soul would surely achieve great things in the future.
It's a pity... she died young. Lian Qiang turned her gaze away, not wanting to look any further. If the gap between humans and demons is a chasm, then the distance between life and death is even more insurmountable.
But now, she was here in good health under the guise of An Sijia... An Chen knew people by their appearance but not their hearts. What he said might be false, but he had no reason to lie to Wu Shuzi and An Ziliang about An Sijia's death. Lian Qiang believed that An Sijia was really dead.
But combined with her current mental strength, Lian Qiang felt that if An Sijia's soul was stubborn after death and did not want to reincarnate and leave, it was not impossible for it to remain here and turn into an illusion.
Otherwise, she really couldn't imagine who would go to such great lengths to set up such a scheme, making everything in An Sijia's room in the illusion seem so real.
For now, Lian Qiang needs to find a way to break through the realm. She has heard of such illusions before. It might be possible to break through with brute force, but regardless of whether she has the ability to do so, she is afraid that An Sijia's remaining soul will be destroyed by her.
If this illusion was created by An Sijia's obsession, then if we could find the source of her obsession, we might be able to find a way to break it. Lian Qiang leaned his chin on the armrest of the wheelchair, thinking carefully.
She was lost in thought when a loud thunder crackled across the sky. A white light flashed in the house. Lian Qiang was so startled that she almost fell out of her wheelchair.
At this moment, the door of her room was quietly pushed open. Lian Qiang turned the wheelchair and the person who came was An Chen.
"...Father?" Lian Qiang didn't know the relationship between the parents, so she didn't dare to test their relationship rashly. She had to ask for directions in the safest way.
"Sijia," An Chen said in a deep voice, "I have heard from Ziliang what you are going to do tonight."
What's the matter? Lian Qiang was startled, but An Chen ignored her and continued, "You've always been gentle and polite. You wouldn't do anything to make us worry, but Ziliang said it so seriously. Even if I don't believe it, I should come and ask you."
Late at night...the thing that worried An Chen and his wife...Lian Qiang suddenly understood. Could what An Chen was talking about be the agreement made between An Sijia and Xuze?
In this case, the date in the illusion was exactly the tenth day of April, the day they had agreed to meet, which was also An Sijia's...death date?
Thinking of this, Lian Qiang couldn't help but breathe faster, and her hands on the armrest clenched a little bit.
Will she soon know who killed An Sijia?
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