Qi Yan's Past

Ye Qingwu sat by the table with a cup of tea in front of her, looking as though she were waiting for her.

Without looking up, she simply gestured for Lin Zhiyue to sit opposite her. She pushed the teacup slightly to the side and waited until Lin Zhiyue was settled before speaking. “You probably already know that your master came from the reclusive Qi family. Qi Sui is his half-brother. Born with a Lightning Spiritual Root, Qi Sui held a status in the Qi family far superior to your master's. The fire that later destroyed the Qi family was set by Yanchen.”

Lin Zhiyue frowned. Her master would not do something without a reason—which left only one answer: the Qi family had wronged him first.

“Do not think your master was cruel,” she said. “What the Qi family did to him back then was far more ruthless.”

Lin Zhiyue did not interrupt, listening quietly.

“Yanchen was born to the primary wife of the Qi family. Yet, he was never valued since childhood because his tested spiritual root was merely an ordinary fire spiritual root. The Qi family had always used the pretext of breeding outstanding descendants to search everywhere for exceptionally talented women, abducting them to bear children. Yanchen's mother... was one of those they dragged back.

“Because of this, Qi Yan's mother was discarded like trash, while his brother Qi Sui—who was two months younger than Yanchen—was born with an extraordinary Lightning Spiritual Root.

“His stepmother, Madam Ren, treated him with harsh cruelty, and no one in the Qi family took him seriously. The suffering he endured was far beyond anything you could imagine.”

Ye Qingwu paused, her gaze drifting toward the distance as if staring at a scene from a long time ago.

“But the Qi family did not know that he was never a mere ordinary fire spiritual root. He possessed a Flame Spiritual Root—born of fire, awakening on the brink of death, and returning to the origin of flames from the ashes.

“Back then, Yanchen nearly died at the hands of the Qi family. It was only on the edge of life and death that he awakened his Flame Spiritual Root.”

Lin Zhiyue's fingertips curled slightly. She suddenly understood.

“Our master brought him back to Tiance Palace, but the hatred he had accumulated since childhood ran too deep. His personality had already become obsessive, and his methods grew increasingly ruthless.” Ye Qingwu's voice dropped a fraction. “The moment his cultivation broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage, he returned to the Qi family alone. He killed his stepmother, Madam Ren, destroyed Qi Sui's spiritual root, and injured several elders.

“However, the Qi family secretly reared a group of hidden guards, all at the Golden Core stage or above, who excelled at concealing their movements and handled the family's dirty work. Qi Yan was cornered and besieged by several Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. He almost... failed to make it out alive.”

“Was it Grandmaster who saved him?” Lin Zhiyue asked softly.

Ye Qingwu nodded. “By the time my master arrived, Yanchen was already at his limit. He managed to snatch Yanchen out of there.

“My master never left loose ends in his actions, so he ordered Yanchen to burn down the Qi family. The fire of a Flame Spiritual Root can only be extinguished by rain from the heavens. The sins the Qi family had accumulated in the Sanglan Realm over the years were thus turned to ashes.”

She paused here for a moment.

“When Yanchen was brought back to Tiance Palace, he had only half a breath left. Instead of treating his injuries first, my master subjected him to eighty-one strikes of the Heavenly Thunder Whip. He said that if Yanchen continued down this path, he would eventually lose himself to slaughter.”

“Only when Yanchen was beaten to the brink of death did my master finally soften his heart and step in to heal him.”

“But that whipping did not change his nature. His actions grew swifter, and his strikes became even more brutal. Unlike ordinary sword cultivators who kill with a single slash to the throat, when his saber fell, it would often hack a person in half. His cruel methods once frightened several disciples to tears. Grandmaster tried many ways, but none could suppress his hostility.”

“It was not until the day Yanchen broke through to the Soul Transformation Stage that the Heavenly Dao bestowed a sliver of opportunity—only by sealing away his past emotional memories could he cultivate his mind and character. Grandmaster went to great lengths to seal his memories into a book specially made of Lingxi paper.”

After she finished speaking, the room fell into a long silence.

The wind swept through the corridor, brushing against the wet ink on the writing desk before dispersing.

Lin Zhiyue stood in place, silent for quite a long time.

After thanking Elder Qingwu, she returned to her room, where Cen Xi'er was already asleep.

Only a small lamp was left lit in the room, its low glow spreading a small patch of warm yellow light between the edge of the bed and the floor.

Cen Xi'er lay on her side on the inner part of the bed, her breathing long and even.

Lin Zhiyue quietly took off her outer coat and lay down beside Cen Xi'er.

The bed was not particularly wide, but as they lay side by side, a small gap remained between them. She could feel the gentle rise and fall of Cen Xi'er's back with every breath.

She stared at the beams overhead, the wood grain blurring in the darkness into a shifting shadow of light and dark.

She closed her eyes and opened them again. The images from her dreams began to surge once more—the greyish-white void, the rustling sound of pages flipping rapidly, and that young man standing in a pool of blood, gripping a dripping saber.

Now that she knew who Qi Sui was and the full story behind the Qi family's destruction, those images finally became clear.

Blood, slaughter, violence—when applied to Qi Yan, she had once found them discordant, yet somehow fitting. She had never been able to explain that sense of contradiction, but now she finally understood.

She rolled over to face the wall, pulling the blanket up a bit.

The system's light screen suddenly flashed in the darkness, popping up a line of text: 【Congratulations to the host for completing the "The Truth of Memories" Story Quest. Reward: Premium Draw Ticket ×5 has been distributed.】

She looked at the text, but she couldn't summon the energy to feel happy. She had no habit of building her own joy upon the suffering of others.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder if her sense of morality was a bit too strong...

She remained silent in the darkness for a moment, saying to the system in her mind, “You really have no morals.” The system did not reply. After cursing it, Lin Zhiyue felt a wave of relief—as expected, one shouldn't internalize friction; it was better to externalize it!

Just as she was about to roll over again to completely turn her back on the light screen, the system popped up another line of text: 【Detected that the host has achieved the ten outfit sets collection achievement. The system is about to undergo an upgrade, estimated to take twenty-four hours. During the upgrade, the system will enter a hibernation state. Host, please take care of yourself. Countdown starting—】

The words on the light screen flashed twice, then went completely dark, even the faint glow along the edges extinguishing.

Lin Zhiyue waited in the darkness for a moment, and once she was sure the system was indeed inactive, she slowly rolled back over.

She closed her eyes. In her sleep, Cen Xi'er rolled over, pulling a corner of the blanket with her before it fell back down, brushing against the back of Lin Zhiyue's hand. The warm sensation lingered for a brief moment in the darkness.

Lin Zhiyue did not open her eyes, gently pulling her hand back under the blanket as her breathing gradually steadied.