Chapter 35: Background
The fires at the Medicine Room and the Southern Courtyard both started in an extremely suspicious manner. It was clearly arson, yet none of the nearby people saw any suspicious figures. Even a Xiao Sect man who had been guarding the entrance of the Medicine Room the whole time saw no one entering or leaving.
Fortunately, the fires were not too intense and were quickly brought under control. Xiao Yunhai issued a few quick orders, then urgently called for Xiao Gu and rushed back to Xiao Yulong's small courtyard.
Pushing open the door, Xiao Yunhai hadn't even opened his mouth to call Xiao Yulong's name when he was struck as if by heavenly thunder, frozen in place.
Xiao Yulong was no longer on the bed. Instead, he lay crookedly on the ground like a dead dog. He was drenched in blood, with thick, blackish-red marks on his wrists and ankles, and all his limbs were twisted. His entire face was smeared with blood. Only remnants of flesh remained on both sides of his head where his ears had been. His nose and upper lip were gone. Bubbles of blood frothed from his mouth, and a mixture of red, white, and black liquid seeped from the dark hollows of his eye sockets... His lower body was completely stained crimson.
Xiao Gu's whole body trembled. His legs gave way, and he half-knelt to the ground. He had practiced medicine his whole life and had seen countless major and minor injuries, but never had he witnessed such cruel, bloody, and utterly horrifying sight. From Xiao Yulong's current complexion, he could tell the young man wasn't dead yet—his life signs were not weak at all—but such a state was far more miserable than dying a hundred or a thousand times.
Xiao Yunhai trembled all over, his heart and guts nearly shattered, his face drained of all color. As if faintly sensing someone's approach, Xiao Yulong's body twitched. From his blood-bubbling mouth escaped a desperate moan as harsh as sandpaper scraping...
Xiao Yunhai's body jerked violently. He staggered forward a step, then suddenly erupted into a mad roar: "Who!!! Who is it!!! Who!!!"
"Come out! I'll slice you into ten thousand pieces! Kill you a thousand times over! Destroy your entire bloodline!"
Xiao Yunhai's roar contained boundless hatred and madness, as if he had suddenly gone insane. He felt his chest about to explode, every blood vessel in his body ready to burst. Staring at his own son lying on the ground, crippled beyond recognition, neither human nor ghost, he wished he could burst into loud sobs, or better yet, truly go mad on the spot!
"Who! Who is it! Come out! Come out... Ah!!!!!"
With a final, heart-wrenching howl, Xiao Yunhai charged forward two steps and smashed the back window of the room to pieces. Then he noticed two lines of blood-red characters on the wall beside him—written with his son Xiao Yulong's blood.
"Old Dog Xiao! To celebrate your dog son's imminent ascension to the head of the Xiao Sect, I present this special gift. I hope you'll accept it."
"Urghhhh!!"
Xiao Yunhai slammed his fist into the wall with the blood writing, shattering it. He let out one more agonized roar, spewed a jet of blood from his mouth, then rolled his eyes back and collapsed heavily to the ground.
After mutilating Xiao Yulong, Xiao Che returned to his room. He put the clothes Xiao Lingxi had made for him and all his savings into the Heavenly Poison Pearl. He didn't have much—a total of 1,800 Yellow Mysterious Coins.
Before leaving, he hesitated, then also put the blanket he and Xia Qingyue had shared into the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
"The place I've lived for sixteen years... I probably won't be coming back," he murmured.
Xiao Che looked around with some reluctance. Of course, it wasn't the Xiao Sect itself he was reluctant to leave, but the countless memories here with Xiao Lingxi. Before he turned eleven, this wasn't just his room—it was Xiao Lingxi's room too. Back then, they stayed by each other's side day and night, almost every moment together...
He lingered for a long time before returning to his stealth state and climbing over the wall into the rear mountain area.
The Star Concealment Pill still had about an hour of effectiveness left. He had used it mainly to see Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi and confirm their safety. A mere Xiao Yulong wasn't worth wasting a Star Concealment Pill on. Although he had found two Star Concealment Herbs on his very first day back from rebirth, he was certain that such rare heavenly treasures probably numbered no more than ten in the entire Tian Xuan Continent.
Mutilating Xiao Yulong was just a bonus—collecting a bit of interest for everything his grandfather and little aunt had suffered... just a bit of interest!
The one he truly wanted to kill was Xiao Kuangyun! But as he was now, even with the Star Concealment Pill's miraculous ability, he simply couldn't kill Xiao Kuangyun. He didn't know Xiao Kuangyun's profound strength, but even if the man were an idiot, he came from the Xiao Main Clan and was surely several levels above Xiao Yulong.
He couldn't do it now, but one day he would make himself able to. This debt, he swore to collect ten million times over! He was no longer the cowardly, inferior Xiao Che of before. A bigger part of his will was Yun Che, who had once stood alone against the world's heroes! They had forced his master to death, so he swore to make all the sects pay with their lives! And since they had hurt his loved ones, he swore to make the Xiao Sect and Xiao Kuangyun regret it for the rest of their lives!
His methods of mutilating Xiao Yulong were extremely cruel—enough to make most people who saw the scene break out in cold sweats and have nightmares. But in his eyes, that wasn't even cruelty. It was the price those who touched his reverse scale had to pay!
The Xiao Sect was now in chaos. The shrill alarms rang endlessly. And that was exactly what Xiao Che wanted. He had mutilated Xiao Yulong and set fires inside the Sect to force a full Sect-wide summoning order. Under that order, everyone guarding the rear mountain would have to return.
As expected, he hadn't gone far when he saw four Xiao Sect members rushing toward him anxiously, passing him like the wind and heading straight for the main compound.
Xiao Che quickened his pace and headed straight for Sigou Gorge in the rear mountain.
Sigou Gorge was where the Xiao Sect confined disciples who had committed offenses. It was dark and damp, sweltering in summer, freezing in winter. Fortunately, the entrance was narrow, so not many fierce profound beasts could get in.
In Xiao Che's memory, not many people had been locked in Sigou Gorge, and the longest stay hadn't exceeded two months. But the Xiao Sect knew perfectly well that Xiao Lingxi had been framed, yet they still confined them for fifteen years...
Fifteen years... How many fifteen years did a person have? Xiao Lingxi was only fifteen now. If she were locked up here the whole time, the most beautiful years of her life would be spent in darkness, cold, and loneliness... What a cruel punishment.
Deactivating his stealth, Xiao Che stared at the entrance of Sigou Gorge, his hands clenched tightly. How could he allow his grandfather and little aunt to be confined in this place forever? But as he was now, he had no way to rescue them. He could only watch, endure, and hate...
Taking a deep breath, he walked forward. Without stealth, his footsteps naturally carried sound. The noise caught Xiao Lie's attention inside the gorge. He looked warily outward, and when his gaze met Xiao Che's, he was stunned. "Che'er!"
"Ah!" A girl's startled cry came, followed by hurried footsteps. Xiao Lingxi's figure soon appeared beside Xiao Lie. Her face was slightly haggard, her hair a bit disheveled. The moment she saw Xiao Che, she covered her mouth with her fingers and froze. In an instant, tears began to well up in her eyes...
"Xiao Che!" she cried out, rushing over and throwing herself onto his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him, sobbing loudly. She had thought she'd be locked up for fifteen years and Xiao Che had been expelled from the Sect, meaning she wouldn't see him for at least that long. But now, like a dream, he had appeared before her again.
Xiao Lie walked over, his face full of emotion. "Che'er... you... how did you come? Did the Xiao Sect let you back?"
Xiao Che shook his head, gently patting Xiao Lingxi's soft back. "I sneaked back. But don't worry, Grandfather. Something big happened inside the Sect just now. Everyone was called back. No one will find me."
"..." Xiao Lie nodded. He didn't even ask what the big incident was, because his heart was already dead to the Xiao Sect. Even if the entire Sect was wiped out, he wouldn't be much moved.
There were several caves in Sigou Gorge, some deep, some shallow. Their furnishings were very simple. The only things worth looking at were the few cold stone tables.
Xiao Lingxi cried as if the world were ending. Xiao Che didn't stop her, letting her vent all her grievances, fears, worries, and confusion. Otherwise, staying here too long might make her fall into depression... After all, she was just a fifteen-year-old girl.
By the time she stopped, she had nearly cried herself unconscious.
Xiao Che sat across from Xiao Lie at the stone table. Xiao Lingxi leaned against his side, clutching his arm with both hands, her head resting on his shoulder. She didn't care that Xiao Lie was right there and refused to let go, afraid that he would disappear from her world again.
"After you two were locked up, did they do anything?" Xiao Che asked worriedly.
Xiao Lie shook his head and gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. That Fairy Chu from the Bing Yun Fairy Palace hinted that she would protect us until the Xiao Main Clan left. With that threat, how dare they harm Lingxi and me? And after the Xiao Main Clan people left, they grew even less daring. After all, I still hold the title of the number one expert in Liuyun City, heh."
"Good." Xiao Che nodded, silently grateful to Xia Qingyue's master.
"Xia Qingyue is a good wife. In the end, she didn't tear up the marriage contract," Xiao Lie said with some melancholy.
"..." Xiao Che nodded silently.
The three fell silent. After the disaster that had befallen them today, their fates would be completely overturned. They had a thousand words to say, yet didn't know where to begin...
"Grandfather, I want to know..."
"You want to ask about your biological parents, don't you?" Xiao Lie said calmly, following his train of thought.
"Yes." Xiao Che nodded, his gaze fixed on Xiao Lie. "I believe I wasn't just picked up out of nowhere. Grandfather, you must know something, right?"
Xiao Lingxi also looked up at Xiao Lie with surprise.
Xiao Lie stared at Xiao Che silently for a long time. Then he let out a soft sigh and slowly closed his eyes.
"I thought this secret would stay in my heart forever, never known by a second person... Now, the Xiao Sect has no place for you, and you've grown up. It's good for you to know. Returning to one's roots is also a child's duty..."
"Your biological father's surname is Yun..."