Su Yi said, “Who knows how many eyes are watching this Pinewind Villa as we speak? Aren’t you afraid they’ll misunderstand?”

Yue Shichan said softly, “Fellow Daoist, you dared come here on your own. All I’ve done is come here to see you. Besides, what need is there to fear others’ criticism?

Su Yi smiled. This woman is rather interesting. 

He gestured to a stone bench off to the side. “Sit.”

But Yue Shichan refused. “I’ve already seen you, so it’s time for me to leave. Right, I’m rather looking forward to your battle with Su Hongli on the fourth.”

With that, she disappeared in a flash, like a streak of illusory flowing light.

Su Yi arched his brow. He dared say with certainty that Yue Shichan really had just come to “see” him, and that she had no other goal.

After she left, Su Yi sank into thought. 

Earlier, he’d sensed a downright unfathomable aura emanating from the ancient sword on Yue Shichan’s back.

It wasn’t some terrifying power, nor did it seem like some type of mysterious treasure. Rather, it seemed like a living thing.

Could it be that her ancient sword hides a sword spirit? Su Yi stroked his jaw, a hint of regret in his eyes.

Yue Shichan had no enmity for him. Otherwise, he could have tried using his divine sense to investigate her ancient sword’s mysteries. 

Ning Sihua’s body houses a sealed, mysterious power, Mu Xi has his Qilin Blood Jade Pendant. Shi Fengliu is almost certainly possessed, and Yue Shichan’s ancient sword hides deep secrets…

Judging from this, it seems that those who stand at the pinnacle of the Great Zhou are each hiding secrets.

What about Su Hongli? Is he possessed too?

The darkness was growing ever deeper.

Su Yi rose and walked into his room. As was his custom, he cultivated before lying down and sinking into a deep sleep.

However, tonight, he had a dream—

He was in a dark, damp room, lit only with dim, mottled lamplight.

A haggard woman sat there, candlelight illuminating her face, as well as her pallid, almost transparent complexion.

She was bony and gaunt, and from time to time, she burst into hacking coughs. However, whenever she looked at Su Yi, her eyes filled with pity and doting.

Su Yi was only four years old. He sat on a high stool, a bowl of noodles placed in front of him. The broth was watery, with only a few overcooked leafy vegetables for flavor. Although the noodles were steaming hot, they were bland.

The woman looked directly at Su Yi and said gently, “Yi’er, today is your birthday. You’re still so young, but I’m afraid I cannot wait any longer. There are some things I must tell you. You have to remember them always. Do you understand?”

Su Yi raised his little face. “Mom, what do you want to tell me?”

The woman tousled his hair, the rims of her eyes slightly bloodshot. “Later, when I’m not around, you have to take good care of yourself. No matter how others treat you, you have to do whatever it takes to live on. Do you understand?”

The four-year-old Su Yi nodded firmly. “Mm!”

The woman sighed bitterly, her expression moving and sad. “I’ve implicated you. If not for me, you wouldn’t have to suffer like this…”

As she spoke, her eyes welled up, and tears dripped down her face.

The four-year-old Su Yi got up and wiped away her tears, his heart aching. “Mom, why are you crying? I’m not suffering! I’ll do as you say! I’ll take good care of myself, and I’ll live on, so you have to take care of yourself too. Later, I’ll ask Father to treat your sickness, and…”

The woman smiled, looking gratified as she hugged the four-year-old Su Yi close. She murmured, “Yi’er, I… I really wanted to watch you grow up….”

Her voice gradually faded away.

The four-year-old Su Yi didn’t know what was happening, but he suddenly realized that although she was still embracing him, his mother was gradually getting colder.

Until finally, she was like an ice cube…

That was the second day of the second lunar month, the day the dragon raises its head.

His birthday, as well as the day his mother left this world.

That tabletop, just barely visible beneath the flickering candlelight. A bowl of bland, watery birthday noodles. Those arms holding him tight as their owner silently passed on. All were images that would never leave him.

The dreamscape suddenly changed—

Whap!

Someone slapped Su Yi right across the face, sending him flying backward. He landed over a hundred feet away, his handsome face instantly red and swollen. Fiery pain stung his cheek, and blood poured from the corners of his lips.

He clenches his fists tight, his eyes ablaze with hatred as he stared intently at that distant silhouette.

The man who’d hit him seemed tall as a mountain. He wore purple robes embroidered with dragons, and his gaze was cold and indifferent. His aura was imposing and despotic, with the dignified bearing of a ruler or deity.

Su Hongli!

“Unworthy child, I’ve known for years that you’ve always harbored thoughts of avenging your bitch of a mother. If my blood didn’t blow through your veins, I would have executed you a long time ago!” Su Hongli stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes flashing like lightning. His aura was terrifying, and when he looked at Su Yi, his gaze was cold and indifferent.

As if Su Yi weren’t his son at all, but rather, a laughable and ridiculous ant.

“Now, I just want to know one thing. Did you kill my mother?” Su Yi wiped the blood from his lips, his voice raspy. His eyes were bloodshot, and his chest heaved.

Even in the face of this question, Su Hongli merely furrowed his brow in disdain. “When I, Su Hongli, conduct my affairs, I need not explain myself to anyone, much less to you, my unworthy and disgraceful son!

“Don’t let me see you ever again, or else, in my capacity as the leader of the Su Family, I’ll kill my own kin in the name of righteousness!” Then, with one last swish of his sleeves, he turned and left. 

His stalwart, majestic figure disappeared in the blink of an eye, but his voice still echoed through the air. Each word was like a knife stabbing Su Yi in the heart.

His heart seethed and churned with hatred. He felt as if he might explode, and he had to clench his teeth to suppress the urge to roar.

“Su Yi, you’re nothing but the son of a concubine, and now, you’ve lost your cultivation too. You’re no longer the top disciple of Blueriver Sword Manor’s outer sect. Even Father doesn’t ever want to see you again. Just be good and accept your fate.” A promising-looking youth in brocade robes walked over and crouched before Su Yi with a smile. His gaze was pitying.

Su Boning!

The son of Su Hongli and his proper wife, You Qingzhi!

“Of course, I’m not here to seize the opportunity to mock you. No, I’m here with news.

“A few days ago, my mother arranged a marriage for you. Going forward, all you have to do is live out your days in peace as a live-in son-in-law.”

Su Boning’s eyes narrowed into slits as he reached out and patted Su Yi’s cheek. The gesture was utterly humiliating. 

“Oh, right. I don’t want to see you in the Jade Capital again. Otherwise, don’t blame this little brother of yours for his heartlessness!”

…

Suddenly, these scenes disappeared like popped soap bubbles.

Su Yi shuddered and woke with a start.

When he opened his eyes and saw the familiar scenery of his room, he couldn’t help but let out a long breath of turbid air.

Yes, he’d been dreaming just now, but all of those things had really happened to him.

Su Yi sat up amidst the darkness, an unfathomable chill in the depths of his gaze.

It was as if his dream had reversed the flow of time. His life flashed before his eyes, scenes slipping by like scenery viewed from the back of a galloping horse. All of this was in the past, but Su Yi was well aware that this was the effect of obsession.

Like an inner demon!

Morning the next day.

The skies had only just barely brightened before thunder rumbled overhead, and rain came pouring down. However, just enough time to brew a cup of tea passed before the rain stopped once more.

It seemed like summer, when the weather changed like a fickle woman.

Su Yi got up early, washed up, tied up his hair with a wooden pin, and left the Pinewind Villa with an oil paper umbrella.

He walked out of Pine Glyph Alley, then hired a horse-drawn carriage, proceeding north along Auspicious Lane.

An hour later, the carriage stopped by the northern city gates.

Su Yi exited the carriage, took out a piece of gold, and gave it to the driver. “Wait here.”

Then, as the carriage driver practically went mad with delight, he walked off on his own.

North of the Jade Capital, there was a ridge called the “Green Prayer Mountains.”

Su Yi’s only impression of them dated back to when he was four years old. After his mother, Ye Yufei, passed away, a group of servants led him here to bury her on one of the Green Prayer Mountains. 

Whoosh~!

As soon as he arrived, another downpour started. The dense curtain of rain splattered against the trees and grasses. 

Su Yi opened his oil paper umbrella and, relying only on his indistinct early childhood memories, forged straight ahead.

Before long, he stopped halfway up a mountain.

Here, in a field of overgrown weeds, lay a tomb. A white cypress had been planted beside it.

There was no grave marker. It was just an unadorned grave covered in weeds.

Su Yi looked at the grave. He felt as if he were four years old again.

It was pouring rain then too. From beginning to end, even after Ye Yufei was in the ground, Su Hongli never made an appearance.

Not one member of the Jade Capital’s Su Family came.

Su Yi remembered kneeling here in the mud and rain, staring at the grave in a daze. Not even a single tear fell from his face.

He was so young that he still didn’t understand. He didn’t know what death meant.

It was only when the servants led him away that he panicked and cried out, “I want to go with my mother!”

The servants burst into laughter. They said, “Your mom is already dead! If you want to go with her, you’ll have to die too.”

Then, without any concern for his emotions, they grabbed him, turned, and left. No matter how much he wept, wailed, and struggled, no one tried to comfort him.

From that day forth, he became someone no one in the Su Family cared enough to ask about. Cold-shoulders, suppression, mockery… His entire childhood was nothing but one long stretch of darkness. 

Su Yi couldn’t help but sigh.

Even though he’d reincarnated to cultivate anew, when he thought back to his past, inexplicable grief welled within his heart.

He remembered Ye Yufei as an extremely strong and gentle woman. Although she was under house arrest and despite her sickness, she’d never once revealed her sadness in front of him.

Su Yi stood there in silence for quite some time, then waved his hand.

Invisible sword qi swept forth, tearing the weeds around the grave up by the roots. A fierce gale blew past, and soon, the ground was clear.

“On the fourth day of the fifth month, I’ll visit the Su Family to collect offerings. Then, on the fifth, I’ll come back to see you again,” said Su Yi.

With that, he walked back down the mountain carrying his oil paper umbrella. 

In his past life, he was the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force, the sovereign of the Nine Provinces of the Wilds.

But all of that was in the past.

In this life, he was Ye Yufei’s son!

And as her son, he naturally had to avenge his mother. He had to end this grudge and clear his emotional blockage!

Immediately after leaving the ridge, Su Yi stopped, then glanced into the distant curtain of rain.

A tall, severe figure stood beneath a tree, both hands behind his back. He was looking at Su Yi too, watching him descend from the mountain.

Thunder rumbled, and lightning streaked overhead, reverberating throughout the wilderness, shaking the heart and startling the soul.