Chapter 66: White Bone Hairpin 21 The Truth (Part 3)
As Xun Shu finished speaking, everyone in the room was shocked.
Some people were surprised that Xun Shu mentioned Shou Zhiyue's name, and some were surprised that the formation on the altar was not a formation for resurrecting people.
Wei Wulang's face paled, his lips gradually losing color. He stared intently at Xun Shu, wanting to say something but not knowing where to begin. Xun Shu seemed oblivious to her emotions and said calmly, "Actually, from the first time I saw you, I felt something was strange about you. Outward appearance can be disguised, but bone structure cannot be altered. Men and women have naturally different bone structures. If you were a man, your bones would be too delicate and soft. But at the time, I didn't think much of it. I simply considered it a case of the myriad worlds, filled with things I had never heard of."
"But yesterday, we went to the Shou family and met Shou Changze. The first time I saw him, I felt a sense of familiarity, an inexplicable feeling, as if he was meant to look like this. But yesterday was our first meeting, so where did this familiar feeling come from?" Xun Shu paused, took a deep breath, and continued. "I felt familiar because he looks a lot like you, and that inexplicable feeling comes from the fact that, despite our similar looks, if he were a man, his bone structure should be like Shou Changze's. How could he look like you? So, I have a bold hypothesis: you and Shou Changze must be related by blood. You are his missing niece, Shou Zhiyue, correct?"
Xun Shu expressed his feelings clearly, his face full of seriousness and concentration.
The wind blew through the towering altar, ruffling Xun Shu's hair and the twisted headband. Her hand had been injured the past few days, and she'd been haphazardly tying her hair up. Today, she'd tied it into a double bun, one high and one low. It was an interesting style, but with her serious expression and enigmatic words, it had a certain air of immortality.
Li Xuanhe stood beside her, looking at her sideways, his heart filled with emotion.
The little girl who hid in the coffin shop, never took the initiative to cause trouble, and didn't like talking to strangers, changed so quickly after being forced to leave the shelter from the wind and rain, as if she had the courage to face all the unknowns overnight.
Maybe she was never someone who needed protecting.
Wei Wulang's gaze swept over the five people on the altar. Realizing that further denials were pointless, she admitted it bluntly, as if clinging to the last ounce of her courage. "Yes, I am Shou Zhiyue. Just as you said, if resurrection from the dead really existed in this world, how could ordinary people like us know about it first? It's all just a false pretense, used to exchange for greater benefits." Her gaze fell on the black pottery jar in the corner, her eyes filled with cold hatred. "I don't believe in resurrection from the dead, but I do believe that those who have done so many evil things will go to hell after death. I will add fuel to their judgment and make sure they never reincarnate!"
Shou Zhiyue's words were quite contradictory. He refused to believe that the formation could bring the dead back to life, yet he believed it held the power of a curse. However, everyone had their own concerns, and no one bothered to dwell on this insignificant detail.
"Why did you want to kill Shou Duan?" Xun Shu expressed his confusion. "There's no set number of people in the Soul-Suppressing Formation; you can curse as many people as you want. Your only enemies are Shou Changze and Cai You. If you want to avenge the sacrificed girls, you can at most include the Donglizheng and the village chief. What does all this have to do with Shou Duan? He seems innocent."
"He is innocent, but then my sister and those girls who were forced into the pond to feed the fish are not innocent too?" Shou Zhiyue's eyes were red, and every word was tearful. "My sister is such a gentle and kind person. After my parents died, she was my only relative. She was still a child, but she considered me in everything... And Shou Changze, this beast, has no ability himself, but he colluded with Cai You to force my sister to become a saint in exchange for his own future! My sister was unwilling and was about to take me away from Ningyuan Village, but she was discovered by Shou Changze, who knocked her unconscious with a wooden stick and sent her directly to Cai You's home. I was only five years old at the time. I wanted to save my sister, but I could do nothing! I could only watch my sister leave the Shou residence, enter the shrine, and never come out again! My sister must have been killed by them!
"Shou Changze and Cai You deserve to die! Even if they were cut into pieces, the hatred in my heart would never be satisfied! As for Shou Duan, I killed him simply because he was the most important person to Shou Changze. Cai You is selfish and only cares about himself. He even fled without taking his family with him. For him, extinguishing his hope of life bit by bit is the most cruel thing. But Shou Changze is different. The person he is most proud of in this life is his son. I want him to experience the pain of losing his most important relative like I did, and then kill him in despair. This is the punishment he deserves."
Shou Zhiyue's lips curved strangely, and a smile flickered in her eyes, as if she were admiring her perfect plan and the fruits of her victory. Xun Shu felt uneasy watching this, unsure who to pity or who to speak for. She hesitated for a moment, suppressing her emotions for the time being, and continued, "What happened after that? How did you leave the Shou family? And how did you become the Fifth Young Master of the Wei family?"
Shou Zhiyue said, "The day my sister entered the Divine Palace, I took advantage of the chaos to escape the Shou family. I might die if I left, but I would definitely die if I stayed! The next Saint could be me! But I was too young. Many people in Ningyuan Village knew me, so I could only wait in a nearby corner and head out of the village when it got dark. But I was only five years old, how could I know the direction? Before I knew it, I arrived at the bamboo forest near the Wei residence and was picked up by my mother who had returned to the village to visit relatives.
"My current mother is Madam Wei, a very kind person. She found out about my situation and was worried I'd be caught, so she had me pretend to be a boy. After letting me recuperate at the Wei residence for a few days, she took me away from Ningyuan Village. Fifteen years have passed since then. I can forget everything, but I can't forget my sister's revenge. I must come back to avenge her! Three years ago, I returned to Ningyuan Village as the fifth young master of the Wei family and happened to meet my wives. Their parents and relatives wanted to trade their lives for their futures with the village chief, the head of the village, and others, but they themselves were unwilling to do so. I wanted to help them, so I came up with a plan. As long as I ruined their reputations and took them home, they could save their lives."
Yu Chang, who was standing by, couldn't help but speak up: "Reputation is also very important to girls. Is it really okay for you to take the initiative and ruin their reputation?"
"Is reputation more important than life?!" Shou Zhiyue sneered. "Everyone in Ningyuan Village thinks daughters are cheap and less valuable than sons, but we are also living people! We can do better than those men! Just a few ounces of meat, do you really think you are the Jade Emperor? Do you think that reputation is important to me and my wives? If there were no prejudiced people like you in this world, what use would reputation be? Is it to feed yourself or to buy you fine clothes and delicious food?
"I brought them back to the mansion, and they were willing to come back with me. I gave them the right to choose, to let them choose the life they wanted. Isn't that good? Now you can see that I nominally married eighteen wives, but most of them were sent out of Ningyuan Village one after another to live the lives they wanted. I didn't intend to keep the remaining few, but they hadn't decided where to go yet, so they could only live in the Wei Mansion for the time being. Everything I did has nothing to do with them, so don't implicate them because of me."
As the words fell, the altar fell silent, with only the endless sound of the wind and the intermittent chirping of cicadas, proving that time had not yet stood still.
Yu Chang's face flushed with shame, he scratched his head, and retreated to the side without a word. Ge Qi continued to guard the entrance to the altar, preventing the Taoist from escaping and others from entering. The young Taoist's clothes were even more disheveled than when he arrived, and his hair crown was askew, threatening to fall off. He stared at the jade ball in the center of the altar, his brows furrowed, as if he was plotting something.
Li Xuanhe stood aside, his arms folded, rubbing his chin from time to time, as if pondering how to handle this case. Xun Shu pinched the corner of her clothes, and for the first time, she felt that the murderer wasn't so hateful. If she hadn't killed the completely innocent Shou Duan, she might have spoken up for her.
Shou Zhiyue calmed down and her face gradually became calm. She looked forward, her eyes unfocused, as if she was looking at Xun Shu, or as if she was looking past Xun Shu at the curling smoke from the Ningyuan Village in the distance, the shrine in the east, or the steep mountain walls and peaks in the distance.
And those who will never come back.
Her voice was hollow, filled with undisguised pleading, "I don't know who you are, but I'll tell you all my secrets now. Your guesses are correct. I killed him, and I'm willing to take the blame. I beg you, please let me kill one more person. I only want Shou Changze's life. If you kill him and let me complete this formation, I'll go with you. I beg you!"
Xun Shu didn't dare respond. He turned to look at the Junior Official of the Dali Temple, but he was lost in thought, seemingly oblivious to Shou Zhiyue's words. Instead, the Taoist priest, slumped on the ground beside him, had somehow found himself sitting cross-legged, his back hunched, shoulders slumped, his eyes darting around, a quiet madness evident.
"Brothers and sisters, nobles, I will tell you everything I know. Can you let me go?" He raised three fingers on his right hand and vowed, "I swear to heaven that I have never killed anyone. I came here only to guard and protect that monster beast, oh no, to protect the snake fish, but I didn't expect to be killed by you. If I go back and report like this, I will definitely be thrown into the alchemy furnace to make pills. I see that you all have extraordinary temperaments and noble faces. You can definitely save me!"
How come this person changed his face in an instant?
Li Xuanhe, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up, seeming to be very interested in what he was saying. "You didn't harm anyone? Didn't you tell her about this formation?"
The Taoist rolled his eyes and said, "I only told her about the Yin-Yang Reversal Formation, but that's not the formation she used! I don't even know what she used, so it naturally has nothing to do with me." He pointed at Xun Shu and said, "This young lady is right. This formation is not a secret. You can probably find records of it in any Taoist temple. All of this was the idea of this young man, no, this young lady, and it has nothing to do with me!"
Xun Shu's brows furrowed as she listened, wondering how a cultivator could be so shameless. Just as she was about to say something, Li Xuanhe said, "Tell me everything you know, and I'll decide if your life is worth saving."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
