CH 61

The bones had been left there for years with only a green mountain as its headstone, and a complete set could not be found, probably because wild wolves had taken some away. Chen Zimo knelt on the ground and picked them up one by one. “Jiugong , do you recognise these bones?” he asked.

Cheng Zhou looked at the stack of white bones, and his fingers trembled despite himself. “Zimo, you…” 

“Cheng Jiayao, the non-legitimate daughter of the Cheng family, was given to service the previous Emperor when he visited the Suxin Sect in the eighth year of the Zhenlong Emperor’s rule. She gave birth to a son the following year and named him Cheng Mo. In the eleventh year of the Zhenlong Emperor’s rule, a daughter of the Cheng family was accepted into the Suxin Sect as a core disciple in recognition of her contributions. In the eleventh lunar month of the same year, the legitimate daughter of the Cheng family, Cheng Jiazhen, fell to her death in Wangchuan Cliff, and her body could not be found,” Chen Zimo said, tonelessly reciting the records he’d seen in Lu City’s family register. He then took a piece of green cloth from his guard’s hands and wrapped the bones in it.

Cheng Zhou’s lips trembled. He couldn’t say anything.

That year, he had been travelling the world, and he wasn’t very clear about the things that happened then, but he knew for certain that the one who had been sacrificed to the Emperor was Cheng Jiayao, not Cheng Jiazhen. After their family’s massacre, he had been surprised when he saw Cheng Jiazhen in the Suxin Sect instead of Cheng Jiayao, but she refused to give him an explanation when he asked her about it. It wasn’t difficult to guess what had happened, however.

So the one who died at Wangchuan Cliff really was Cheng Jiayao. 

“You… when did you know about this?” Cheng Zhou asked with difficulty.

“A long time now,” Chen Zimo said, standing up. He put the wrapped bones into a coffin he had prepared in advance. “Around the time I was seven or eight. I don’t remember precisely when.”

He’d known since he was seven or eight? Cheng Zhou was stunned. That meant that he had known this even when Cheng Zhou had started teaching him martial arts. At that time, Cheng Jiazhen had been judged insane and locked into the Yeting Palace. He involuntarily took a few steps back. He’d always thought of Chen Zimo as a simple, honest and taciturn child, but knowing that he’d kept a secret like this in his heart all this time suddenly made him change his impression. Chen Zimo’s ability to endure, and his ability to scheme in silence – these were things to be feared.

“When I was young, I really just wanted Mother to treat me a little better. It didn’t matter if she beat me, or scolded me, or starved me. I didn’t hate her, because she was my mother. But in the end, she wasn’t. She was in fact the murderer who killed my mother. She killed the person who would never scold me or hit me, the person who would always let me eat, and ask me whether I was feeling hot or cold. And this was where she killed her,” Chen Zimo said, his tone dark as he caressed the bones in the coffin with loving hands.

Mother, your son came too late. You’ve slept under this cliff for much too long. If you were still alive, you’d definitely be like Chang mufei, making clothes for me, putting food on my plate, rubbing my bruises when I fell down, and cuffing my ears when I was naughty. Even when you got really angry and gave me a good beating, you’d turn around and cry secretly when I wasn’t looking…

“Jiugong, tell me what my mother was like,” Chen ZImo said, looking up at Cheng Zhou.

Cheng Zhou turned away, feeling embarrassed. However, he had nowhere to hide. He remained silent for a while before speaking. “Jiayao was a very timid girl. Every year, when I went home, I always saw her standing right at the very back.”

“Is that so…” Chen Zimo’s eyes were rather red now. “Jiugong, have you ever thought about how scared and pitiful she must have been when her own family members pushed her over the cliff?” 

… …

“I beg you, don’t kill me! I promise I’ll never say anything… or, I’ll leave with Xiao Mo – we’ll both go somewhere else, change our names completely – I beg you! Please… boohoo…”

… …

In the chill of the early spring air, the mountain winds howled, and a young girl’s sobbing could be heard echoing in the mountains. 

The Wind Wing had sent five people, and Chen Zimo had brought ten of his guards with him. Everyone was now listening to this secret part of the Cheng family’s history. Cheng Zhou covered his face, feeling like he had been stripped naked in front of all these people, with everyone pointing accusing fingers at him.

Chen Zimo gave his mother an honourable burial, then dragged the half-crazed Cheng Jiazhen to the front of the grave, intending to make a blood sacrifice out of her to his mother when Cheng Zhou snatched her away.

“Ktja sfjg, ktfc Aljsjb ofii boo atf miloo, Aljhtfc kjr cba atf bcf ktb qertfv tfg…”

“Vtf wluta cba tjnf yffc atf bcf ab qert tfg, yea la kjr lcrlrafcmf bc fcafglcu atf Vezlc Vfma atja ifv tfg ojatfg ab vb atlr,” Jtfc Ilwb rjlv. Lf ibbxfv ja Jtfcu Aljhtfc klat yibbvatlgras fsfr, tlr teuf jzf lc tlr tjcv. 

Cheng Zhou saw that things were not looking good. He had no choice but to take Cheng Jiazhen and run. He fled all the way to Jiangnan with her, looked for a group of his previous associates, then started to rally the martial artists against the Suxin Sect.

“Given that the Abbess Wuyin can do something as vicious as massacre an entire family, I doubt she’s the kind of person who would commit suicide just because a few people are screaming insults at her,” Chen Ziqi said, his lips curling in disdain as he walked out of Chaofeng Palace.

“Those sects are always prattling on about having the moral high ground, and their reputation is very important to them. Cheng Zhou’s methods will have some effect,” Dan Yi said, taking Chen Ziqi’s hand in his and walking slowly along the covered corridor with him.

These people behaved so shamelessly, but they still wanted to preserve their good reputation? Chen Ziqi found this very difficult to understand. 

Dan Yi laughed lightly. “This so-called reputation is something they cherish very dearly. You could say that it’s their Achilles heel,” he said.

Chen Ziqi understood now. “I understand that. Whatever someone cares about is precisely what you use against that person,” he said.

“… …” Dan Yi’s lips twitched in mirth. That actually did sound right.

“Awoo~” A few peahens were walking around languidly on the grassy banks of the small stream, but no peacocks came to display their tail feathers. 

“They haven’t been married off?” Chen Ziqi asked, leaning on the railing and looking curiously down at them. He thought about the two peacocks he saw the other day, then turned to look at Dan Yi. “Since male birds can be together with male birds, are you planning to get yourself a male bird or a female one?”

He suddenly felt a prick in his heart as he asked this question, but he didn’t know why. After he thought about it for a bit, he figured that he was probably upset because the little red bird probably wouldn’t let him touch his tail any more if he ran off with some unknown bird.

Dan Yi looked at him. “Men can also be together with men. Are you looking for a man or a woman?” he asked.

Was he looking for a man? When Chen Ziqi heard this, Dan Yi’s gorgeous face immediately came to mind. He was surprised despite himself. 

“Greetings to the Palace Master,” a sweet, girlish voice said. It came from behind them, and Chen Ziqi turned to look. A slender girl with a pretty face stood behind them, bowing in Dan Yi’s direction. She wore a green-coloured dress.

Dan Yi nodded coldly.

“Qing Luo is about to leave for the Crane Wing. What dance would the Palace Master like to see at the Yangchun Banquet?” the girl said. She had two servant girls trailing behind her, and seemed to be very familiar with Dan Yi, since she stayed to make conversation even after greeting him.

“If you can’t do the work of the Crane Wing, then get the Qing Clan to send another person here,” Dan Yi said, his face and gaze icy cold as he glared at her. 

Qing Luo quailed a little. “This subordinate apologises for having given the Palace Master offence,” she said, kneeling down immediately.

Dan Yi didn’t bother looking at her any more, and simply left with Chen Ziqi.

“Oh dear, the concubine wants some love but her husband has none to give. Such a pity,” Chen Ziqi teased, grinning at Dan Yi.

Dan Yi gave him a sideways glance. 

“She was just trying to get you to talk to her! Look at you, totally blind and deaf to her intentions,” Chen Ziqi said, still laughing gaily as he draped himself over Dan Yi’s shoulders and let himself be dragged along by Dan Yi.

He had to say, though, that Dan Yi’s blindness and deafness to that girl’s intentions made him very happy for some reason.

The Qing Clan had the blood of the divine bird, the Green Phoenix, running through their veins, though their blood wasn’t pure. They were always slacking around, and Dan Yi had recently decided to give them a position within the Crane Wing, telling the Clan Leader to pick someone to work there, the better to shut them up.

Chen Ziqi stared blankly at Dan Yi on hearing this. “Wouldn’t you be very compatible with those who have Green Phoenix blood?” he asked. 

Dan Yi pressed his lips together and didn’t answer.

“However, if you want to talk about blood compatibility, then I have divine dragon blood in my veins. I’m even more compatible than they are!” Chen Ziqi laughed. He took a deep breath right by Dan Yi’s ear, then watched as that ear slowly turned crimson. Before Dan Yi could move to retaliate, he kicked up his heels and fled.

The weather slowly turned warmer, and that part of spring that birds dedicated to finding mates passed as well. The female birds hadn’t found a good male bird to match with them, but the male birds had found mates in each other.

During Chen Ziqi’s stay in the Cloud Palace, he received the answer to the thing that he’d asked Wu Bujian to look into some time back. Dan Yi was the one who personally gave him this news, and at the time that he told Chen Ziqi this, Chen Ziqi had been faithfully practicing his martial arts. 

It transpired that the two veiled beauties in his residence, Yu Linglong and Yu Furong, were both disciples of the Suxin Sect!

Chen Ziqi was stunned. No wonder their surnames were Yu! The third generation of Suxin Sect disciples were all Yu-something. He stopped practicing immediately and took the piece of paper with the information he requested from Dan Yi.

These two sisters had originally been beauties specially raised by the Suxin Sect for the purposes of becoming the Emperor’s concubines. The Tiande Emperor had, for reasons unknown, sent them on to King Wan, and King Wan had then sent them on to Jianyang without touching a single hair on their heads.

“This is a hot potato that no one wants,” Chen Ziqi said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. 

King Wan definitely wouldn’t want these two girls. They were the disciples of a Qi Sect, and on top of that, they were presents from the Tiande Emperor. They were obviously sent to be thorns in his side, and one day, they might even stick the sharp end of a hairpin into his throat! Chen Ziqi, as King Wan’s loyal and unaspiring younger brother, was the perfect choice to send these two girls to.

“Why didn’t he give them to Berry Brown instead?” Chen Ziqi asked, frowning. Lu City was closer to the Suxin Sect’s lands, and if they were sent there, they were more likely to be spotted, which also meant a higher chance of word getting to the Abbess Wuyin. If the Suxin Sect found out that the girls it had specially given the Emperor had been unceremoniously re-gifted to someone else, this could easily create a rift between the Emperor and the Suxin Sect. That rift would have been useful to the Second Prince.

“Your Second Brother is burning with ambition,” Dan Yi said, giving Chen Ziqi a meaningful look.

Now that Chen Ziqi knew that the two girls were from the Suxin Sect, he started to feel rather worried. The Suxin Sect’s core disciples were all trained in martial arts, and it was very dangerous for Chang Er to remain in the mansion with them. If the two girls lost their temper after Chang Er scolded them, they could easily hurt his little fairy if they acted in concert. 

“If you’re worried, send them here. I’ll just make them plant some bamboo,” Dan Yi said, sneakily advancing his own agenda.

“That sounds good!” Chen Ziqi nodded.

He was now in a hurry to get back to his fief. There were the Yu sisters in his houyuan to deal with, and he expected the little chicks to have grown into young chickens by this time. He had to return to speak with the chicken sellers about selling his chickens to them.

Just as Chen Ziqi got back to his mansion in Jianyang, the manager of his chicken farm sent a letter to him, with a message that he didn’t know who this letter was from. 

Chen Ziqi took the letter and broke the wax seal.

“Clang!” A crisp, metallic sound rang out as something fell out from the envelope and fell onto the stone floor. Chen Ziqi bent down to pick it up. His expression changed into one of shock the moment he saw what the thing was.

It was a thin blade made of refined steel, with no handle, and a groove running along one of its edges.

“Wang ye, what is this?” the chicken farm manager asked curiously. 

“A bloodblade…” Chen Ziqi said, his brows were knitted tightly together.

Sending a blade in the morning, then murdering you and your entire family that same night. This was the modus operandi of the Bloodblade Tower!

—

The author has something to say: Mini-theatre 

“The Bloodblade Tower’s Advertisement”

Wuyin: I’ve been the leader of my sect for so many years, but I’ve never been able to conceive. When I went to the Bloodblade Hospital…

Director: Ahem. Abbess, I think you’re mistaken. This is about murdering people, not about fertility issues

Wuyin: Ahem. I’ve been the leader of my sect for so many years, and I’ve always wanted to murder some people, but I can’t do it because we go way back 

[The autumn wind blows, and the Abbess stares into the distance with a conflicted look on her face. She is having a professional dilemma]

Wuyin: Ever since I went to the Bloodblade Tower, I got them all killed in a flash! My status in the martial arts world has never been the same again (￣︶￣)

Passer-by: I can’t stay in this treacherous martial arts world any more QAQ