Chapter 57, Fifty-Seven
Chapter Summary: The Lanling Jin Clan is heavily guarded, so a living person naturally cannot move freely in and out if a search is to be conducted.
While paper-cutting avatars are useful, they are also...
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The Lanling Jin clan is heavily guarded, so a living person naturally cannot come and go freely if a search is to be conducted.
While paper-cut avatars are useful, their effects are limited, and once dispatched, they must be returned to their original positions without any damage. If they are torn apart or destroyed in any way during their return journey, their souls will suffer the same loss.
Wei Wuxian attached himself to the paper figure, sometimes clinging to the hem of a cultivator's robe, sometimes flattening his body to pass through a crack in the door, and sometimes spreading his sleeves to disguise himself as a piece of scrap paper or a butterfly fluttering in the air. Finally, he saw the window of Jin Guangyao's bedroom.
He flew to the edge of the window and, after some effort, finally managed to squeeze through the crack in the window.
Jin Guangyao's bedroom and Jinlintai share the same style: magnificent and richly furnished. Layers of curtains hang to the ground, and incense burners with auspicious beast designs on the incense tables gently exhale orchid smoke. Amidst the luxury, there is a languid and sweet decadent feeling.
The paper figure flew around the bedroom, searching for anything suspicious. Suddenly, the large eye drawn in front of him spotted an agate paperweight on the table, with a letter pressed under it.
The envelope had no name or emblem on it, but judging by its thickness, it was clearly not an empty envelope. The paper figure thought enviously, "Something's strange."
He dusted off his sleeves and landed on the table, eager to see what was inside the letter. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't budge the envelope.
His body was now as light as a piece of paper, unable to move this heavy agate paperweight at all.
The paper figure circled the agate paperweight several times, pushing, kicking, and jumping around, but it remained unmoved. He had no choice but to give up temporarily and check for any other suspicious signs.
Everyone: ……
They were clearly doing something important, so why did it all seem so funny?
Look up and see Wei Wuxian, who is now tugging at Lan Wangji's headband on the left and pulling at the Bichen sword in Lan Wangji's hand on the right, having a great time.
Yeah, only this goofball could do something like that.
It was quite satisfying to see the Yiling Patriarch helpless against a paperweight.
Just then, the door to the bedchamber was pushed open a crack. The paper figure had an eye drawn on both the front and back of its head, so it could see everything around it. Sensing someone entering, it swiftly leaped off the table, pressing itself against the corner without moving. The person who entered was a rather beautiful woman, and Wei Wuxian recognized her—a woman from a prominent cultivation clan. She was also Jin Guangyao's wife, Qin Su. Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "Jin Guangyao's bedchamber is also Qin Su's bedchamber. Why is she so nervous entering her own room? And so sneaky." Qin Su seemed afraid of being discovered. She glanced around before carefully closing the door, gently lifting her skirt as she entered, one hand covering her chest, as if her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest. She walked to the table and saw the letter pressed down with agate paper. She wasn't surprised, but a look of struggle and hesitation appeared on her face. She reached out but then withdrew her hand. Finally, she gritted her teeth, picked up the envelope, tore it open, took out the few sheets of paper inside, and began to read. Wei Wuxian really wanted to read the paper along with her, but he couldn't rashly fly out. If only Qin Su discovered it, he could handle it, but if Qin Su shouted and summoned others, even the slightest damage to this piece of paper would affect his soul.
Upon seeing this, Jin Guangyao's originally relaxed hands unconsciously tightened little by little.
From the very beginning, he realized that Xiao Niangui had not resurrected Qin Su and Jin Rusong.
He was genuinely grateful to her for this.
Because he truly loved Qin Su, he wished he could tear apart the version of himself who had consummated their marriage before the wedding. Therefore, he didn't want Qin Su to continue living with this tragic memory; he hoped she could return to Heaven with Ru Song and have a beautiful next life.
Under the lamplight, Qin Su, her lips moving as she silently read the letter, her once dignified and beautiful face now almost contorted. Her hand, clutching her chest, convulsively gripped her clothes, while her other hand trembled so much she nearly dropped the letter. Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "It'll fall, it'll fall, it'll fall!" Suddenly, Jin Guangyao's voice rang out in the bedchamber: "A-Su, what are you doing?" Qin Su turned sharply. The paper doll of Wei Wuxian clung tightly to the corner of the table, unable to expose himself too much, his view partially obscured. Jin Guangyao seemed to take a step closer, saying, "What are you holding?" His tone was gentle and kind, as if he hadn't noticed anything amiss, hadn't seen the strange letter in Qin Su's hand, nor her contorted face; he was simply asking a trivial question. Qin Su, clutching the letter, didn't answer. Jin Guangyao continued, "I heard you looked a little off. I looked around, and it turns out you've returned to your bedchamber. What's wrong?" His voice was filled with concern. Qin Su held up the letter: "...Someone told me I could see this letter when I got back. Is what's written on it true?" Jin Guangyao chuckled, saying, "A-Su, how am I supposed to know what's written on it, or if it's true, if you don't give it to me?" Qin Su handed him the letter: "Tell me, is it true?!" To see the letter clearly, Jin Guangyao took another step forward. His face was now exposed to the light. He quickly scanned the letter in Qin Su's hand, his expression unchanged, not even a trace of emotion visible. Qin Su was practically screaming, "Say something! Say it! Tell me, this isn't true! It's all a lie!" Jin Guangyao said firmly, "This isn't true, it's all a lie. Nonsense, a frame-up." Qin Su cried, "You're lying to me! It says it all clearly here, everything is written down, and you still lie to me, I don't believe you!" Jin Guangyao sighed and said, "A-Su, you're the one who told me to say this. I really said it, but you don't believe me. It's really difficult." Qin Su threw the letter at him, covering her face, "Oh my god! Oh my god! You—you really…you're really too terrible! How could you…how could you?!" She couldn't continue, covering her face, retreating to the side, leaning against a pillar, and suddenly vomited.
Jin Guangyao turned his face away.
I was just thanking Xiao Niangui, but now I have to say, Niangui is a bit ruthless.
Xue Yang just went through hell again; now it's my turn.
Madam Jin, standing to the side, looked at Jin Guangyao with a puzzled expression.
This couple is clearly the most loving couple, how could this happen...?
Hearing her vomiting, Jin Guangyao silently squatted down and picked up the few pieces of paper scattered on the ground. With a casual gesture, he lit one of the nine lotus lamps beside him, letting them slowly burn.
Watching the ashes fall to the ground bit by bit, he said with a hint of sadness, "A-Su, we have been husband and wife for many years, always in harmony and respect. As a husband, I have never doubted how well I have treated you. Your actions have truly broken my heart."
Qin Su couldn't vomit anymore. She collapsed to the ground, sobbing, "You were good to me...you were good to me...but I...I wish I had never met you! No wonder you never...ever since...ever since...you never...you might as well have just killed me!"
Jin Guangyao said, "A-Su, before you knew about this, we were getting along just fine, weren't we? You only started vomiting and feeling unwell today after you found out, which shows that there was nothing wrong with it originally; it was all just your mind playing tricks on you."
Qin Su shook her head and said sadly, "...For the sake of our marriage, please tell me the truth. Ah Song... how did Ah Song die?"
Who is Ah Song?
Jin Guangyao asked in surprise, "A-Song? Why are you asking me that? A-Song was murdered, and I've already taken care of the person who killed him, avenging him. Why are you bringing him up?"
Qin Su said, "I know. But after reading this letter, I now suspect that everything I knew before was false!"
Jin Guangyao slowly untied the knot on his chin strap, took off his soft gauze hat, placed it on the table, and sat down beside it. His face showed weariness. He said, "What are you thinking? A-Song is my son. What do you think I would do? You'd rather believe a letter than believe me?"
Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "So it's Jin Guangyao's son who died at the age of six."
Qin Su, in a state of utter despair, yanked her hair and screamed, "It's because he's your son that it's so terrifying! What did I think you would do? If you're capable of something like this, what wouldn't you dare to do?! My God!"
Once this part is mentioned, everyone will know that Jin Rusong's death back then was unusual.
"My God! How could Jin Guangyao not even spare his own child? Even tigers don't eat their cubs!"
"They're utterly depraved, not a single one of them is any good."
...
Upon hearing "not a single one of them is any good," Wei Wuxian curled his lip and clicked his tongue.
How can you talk like that? It's one thing for Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao to be bad, but why drag them into this?
Jin Guangyao said, "Don't overthink it. Tell me, who is the person who showed you this letter?"
Qin Su grabbed her hair and said, "What...what do you want?"
Jin Guangyao said, "If that person can write the first letter to you, they can write the second, the third, and countless more letters to other people. What do you plan to do? Let this matter be exposed? A-Su, I'm begging you, please tell me, no matter what our relationship is, who asked you to come back and read this letter?"
Who is it?
Wei Wuxian also wanted to hear Qin Su reveal who it was. Someone who could sneak into the master's bedroom at Jinlintai, someone who could get close to the wife of the Immortal Overseer, someone who saw through some unspeakable secret of Jin Guangyao.
The letter couldn't possibly contain simple heinous acts like murder or arson. It would be something that would disgust or terrify Jin Guangyao's wife to the point of vomiting. And it would be too shameful to speak of, so even though only the two of them were present, Qin Su could only stammer and couldn't bring herself to question him.
But it would be incredibly foolish for Qin Su to honestly reveal who the messenger was. Because once she did, Jin Guangyao would not only deal with that person, but would also undoubtedly try to silence Qin Su.
As for what methods will be used, that's something no one can predict.
Fortunately, although Qin Su had been naive since childhood, she wasn't stupid and didn't answer immediately. Jin Guangyao sat upright at the table, his features exquisite in the candlelight, his expression calm. After a while, he got up and leaned down as if to help her.
Qin Su slapped his hand away and collapsed to the ground, unable to hold back another violent bout of dry heaving.
Jin Guangyao's eyebrows twitched, and he said, "Am I really that disgusting?"
Qin Su said, "...You're not human...you're a madman!"
Jin Guangyao's gaze towards her was filled with a sorrowful tenderness. He said, "A-Su, it's fine if you think I'm dirty or disgusting. But if this gets out, what will others think of you? You're my wife; how can you escape responsibility?"
Qin Su covered her head and cried out, "Stop talking! Stop talking! Stop reminding me!!! I wish I had never known you and had nothing to do with you! Why did you even approach me in the first place?!"
After a moment of silence, Jin Guangyao said, "I was sincere back then."
Qin Su cried out, "You're still using sweet talk!"
Jin Guangyao said, "I'm telling the truth. I've always been grateful to you, grateful that you didn't care about my background, grateful that you never said anything to my mother. Asu, I had no choice. Even if no one else harmed Asong, Asong had to die. He had no choice but to die. If he were allowed to continue growing up, you and I..."
Qin Su raised her hand and slapped him across the face, saying, "Then who exactly is responsible for all of this?! What wouldn't you do for this position, huh?!"
Jin Guangyao received a slap from her, and a red handprint immediately appeared on his fair cheek. He closed his eyes, and after a moment, he smiled again, ignoring Qin Su's pushing and shoving, and helped her up, saying, "A-Su, you really won't tell me who sent you to see this letter?"
Qin Su said, "Am I telling you so you can go and kill someone to cover your tracks?"
Wei Wuxian glanced at Jin Guangyao: Tsk, Lianfang-zun's mouth is really sharp, especially his method of confessing.
However, Jin Guangyao has a really good temper. Although he might stab someone in the back, his outward appearance is admirable.
Jin Guangyao had recovered his senses by now and was looking at Tianying.
He killed his father, brother, wife, son, teacher, and friends back then, initially just to fulfill his mother's wish and return to the Jin family. Who knew that one wrong step would lead to another, and his original intention would be long gone.
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