Chapter 148 - Confession
Edited by RED
Xu Xiaomei lowered her head at Xu Qi’s scolding, rubbing her hands, not daring to look at him. She looked just like a little girl who had done wrong.
On the other hand, Qian Yin and Qian Yun’s faces were covered in tears at seeing Xu Qi. Qian Yun, who had always been naughty, even jumped right into Xu Qi’s arms and cried even harder, while Qian Yin slowly walked to Xu Qi’s side as she weeped, staring at him fixedly.
Xu Qi looked at Qian Yun and gently patted her back, saying, “Alright, don’t cry. It’s only been three years since we met, is this necessary?”
Hearing this, Qian Yun immediately jumped out of Xu Qi’s embrace and looked at Xu Xiaomei, saying with a weird tone, “Yeah, isn’t it only three years? Young Master always had a pretty woman by his side anyway, you wouldn’t remember about this pair of pitiful sisters.”
Qian Yin’s gaze toward Xu Qi turned a little bitter at her sister’s words.
Seeing this, Xu Qi instantly understood why these sisters were so rude toward Xu Xiaomei. However, he couldn’t be bothered to explain himself, afraid that he would make the situation even worse. He looked at the corpses outside the courtyard and hurriedly changed the topic, saying, “Where’s Xu Zi and the others? Don’t they know to clean up the mess? They’re getting out of hand.”
After seeing Xu Qi, Qian Yin returned to her usual gentle demeanor and said, “Young Master, I’ll go get them to clean up right away.”
Then, she turned around and went off to find the Constellation Guards. However, before she left, she shot a glance at Xu Xiaomei.
Qian Yun casually pointed her finger at Xu Xiaomei and asked, “Young Master, who is she? Why is she so unreasonable, and even struck me?”
“You’re the unreasonable one! Young Master ordered me to kill that person, why did you snatch the kill!? Hmph!” Xu Xiaomei quickly retorted.
“Who are you saying?!”
“You, of course! So what about it!?”
“Are you looking for a fight?!”
“Come on, I’ll even let your sister come at me together. I’m not afraid.”...
Qian Yun and Xu Xiaomei started arguing again, causing a headache to Xu Qi.
“Enough. Get out if you’re still arguing. If not, I’ll leave. What’s there to argue about? We’re all family. Mind your image!” Xu Qi reprimanded.
The two instantly kept themselves under control, but were still looking at each other, showing silent hostility.
“Xiaomei, I’ll introduce you. This is our Xu Clan’s Qian Yun. She’s the younger sister, and the one from before is Qian Yin.”
“Qian Yun, she is Xu Xiaomei, my little sister. You can’t say that about her in the future.”
Xu Qi introduced them to each other. Xu Xiaomei didn’t express any thoughts to this, but Qian Yun gritted her teeth when she looked at Xu Xiaomei.
Xu Qi continued, “Alright, that was only a misunderstanding earlier. Shake your hands and forget about it. As the saying goes, no discord, no concord, right?”
Xu Xiaomei slowly to Qian Yun and offered her hand generously, smiling, “Hello, Little Sister Qian Yun, that matter from before was my fault.”
Qian Yun was dissatisfied at Xu Xiaomei addressing her as “little sister”, but she didn’t dare to act up with Xu Qi looking. She extended her hand and grazed Xu Xiaomei’s hand, saying, “It’s fine. I’m not that petty.”
At this moment, Qian Yun brought Xu Zi and the Constellation Guards to the courtyard. The Constellation Guards began disposing the corpses, while Qian Yun walked to Xu Qi’s side, looking at him without a word.
“Xiaomei, Qian Yun, stay here and supervise the Constellation Guards. Qian Yin, come with me. I have something to talk to you about,” Xu Qi said and turned to leave. Qian Yin hurriedly followed along.
Seeing as Xu Qi left, Qian Yun and Xu Xiaomei exchanged glances and humphed at each other at the same time, turning their heads to the side, ignoring the other.
Xu Qi brought Qian Yin to the hidden room at the study. Just as they entered the hidden room, Qian Yin jumped into Xu Qi’s embrace and started crying.
Xu Qi understood Qian Yin’s character. When there were others around, she wouldn’t do anything out of the ordinary not matter how much she missed him. Now that they came to this hidden room, there were only the two of them here. She completely let go of herself and vented the bottled up feelings in her for the past three years.
“Alright, tell me about what happened over these three years,” Xu Qi said with a smile, patting on Qian Yin’s back.
Qian Yin got out of Xu Qi’s arms. She wiped the tears off her face and said, “Three years ago, after you went missing, I formed the Dragon Clan according to the personnel structure Young Master used. I scattered them across the seven nations, working in various fields to scout for information and to complete assassination missions. Young Master won’t blame me for destroying the villa, will you?”
“Why would I blame you for that? According to the situation then, what you did was right. You spreading them across the seven nations was also to scout for any information on me, right?” Xu Qi smiled.
Qian Yin’s face reddened and nodded.
“Were there any huge findings?” Xu Qi asked.
“There weren’t any huge findings, but in Mirrorlink, the Sire, Lian Chengwei and his son, Lian Tianwei turned against each other for a woman. Lian Tianwei had left the capital, his whereabouts unknown. The Undying School had kept to themselves after the incident in the capital, too. The situation in the other nations were normal, except the nation of Ghosteem. There was a commotion at the Shadow Wind Sect,” Qian Yin explained slowly.
“Oh? A commotion in Shadow Wind Sect? What exactly happened? Tell me,” Xu Qi quickly asked.
“Two years ago, the Shadow Wind Sect’s School Master Yi Potian suddenly died to an unnatural cause. A war erupted between Shadow Wind Sect and the nation of Ghosteem’s ruler. It was rumored that the Ghosteem’s ruler was behind the death of Yi Potian. However, the Sire, Gui Dao, only had ordinary strength. He shouldn’t be able to kill Yi Potian, whose cultivation was leaps and bounds above his. In the end, the acting School Master of Shadow Wind Sect, Yi Kaifeng, came to a truce with Gui Dao, saying that it was a misunderstanding, and that it was someone else who murdered Yi Potian. The two came to an agreement, ending the war,” Qian Yin continued.
“Yi Potian was killed? How could this be possible? He was a very powerful man; who could possibly kill him?” Xu Qi exclaimed in shock.
“Yeah, I was puzzled over this matter, too, and sent Xiaowu’s group of four to Ghosteem. Alas, we weren’t able to find any substantial information on it even now,” Qian Yin agreed.
“Qian Yin, it’s not that I’m being overly cautious, but Yi Potian’s death was definitely not so simple. There are some matters I need to tell you about,” Xu Qi said seriously.
Next, Xu Qi told Qian Yin about what the granny in Woodblue Village told him, regarding the matters of the seven top schools having both an Inner and Outer School. Qian Yin was astonished at learning about this.
“Qian Yin, the Shadow Wind Sect’s School Master, Yi Potian, was probably the School Master of the Shadow Wind Sect’s Outer School. If something really happened to him, the Inner School would definitely have sent people out to investigate this matter. Why would they allow a war to break out between Shadow Wind Sect and the ruler of Ghosteem? It seems like there must be some trickery in this matter,” Xu Qi said.
Qian Yin nodded thoughtfully at Xu Qi’s words.
“Later, send word out to Xiaowu and the others to be very careful in the nation of Ghosteem. They mustn’t cause any troubles there, especially towards the matter of Shadow Wind Sect. It’s too easy to get into trouble in foreign territory,” Xu Qi instructed.
Qian Yin nodded again, and looked at Xu Qi. Her gaze was a little strange, asking, “Young Master, what’s the matter with that Xu Xiaomei? Is she really your sister?”
“Yes, why? Do you think she’s my wife?” Xu Qi teased.
Qian Yin confirmed to herself that nothing was going on between Xu Qi and Xu Xiaomei when she saw Xu Qi acting like this. She seemed to have thought of something and asked, concerned, “Young Master, what happened on the mountain outside the capital city three years ago? Where exactly did you go?”
Xu Qi sighed inwardly at hearing this. He was most afraid of her asking this question. He knew that Qian Yin was so concerned because she liked him. He didn’t know whether he should tell her about Lan Shu’er.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Qi placed his hand on Qian Yin’s shoulder and said, “Qian Yin, would you believe me if I told you that I’m already married and even had a child?”
“I would,” Qian Yin immediately answered, looking at Xu Qi.
“Alright then, I’ll tell you about what happened three years ago, and where I was during all this time,” Xu Qi said with a sigh.
Xu Qi then recounted to her how Mo Ling sneak-attacked him, causing him to fall from the cliff, and how he was later saved by Lan Shu’er, followed by their marriage, telling everything to Qian Yin.
Tears fell uncontrollably as she heard Xu Qi talk about his experiences. She didn’t utter a single word, only looking at him quietly.
Xu Qi asked gently, “Qian Yin, do you blame this Young Master?”
Qian Yin shook her head as tears continued falling, saying, “I don’t blame you, Young Master. I didn’t think you had actually suffered so much. I should have followed you to the capital then.”
“It’s fine. Everything has passed. Do you not blame this Young Master for marrying someone outside?” Xu Qi chuckled.
“What’s there to blame? I’m just a nobody to Young Master. I wouldn’t dare. Moreover, Lan Shu’er saved your life and was so kind to you. Anybody would marry her,” Qian Yin said.
“Really? You’re a nobody to this Young Master?” Xu Qi asked with a weird intonation.
Qian Yin jumped into Xu Qi’s embrace once more at hearing this. She hugged him tightly and asked softly, “Young Master, why didn’t you bring her back with you?”
Actually, Xu Qi had missed Lan Shu’er and Lan Xin dearly since he returned to the Xu Clan. Lan Daniu and the others, too, but it couldn’t be helped. He could only suppress such thoughts. Now that he heard Qian Yin asking about this, he explained, “It’s not that I didn’t want to bring her back, but she refused. She doesn’t have a shred of cultivation in her, and she said that she would wait for my return in Woodblue Village. The truth was that she was worried about becoming a burden to me.”
“From what you said, this Lan Shu’er is truly a great, sensible girl. Don’t let her down, Young Master,” Qian Yin said gently.
Xu Qi nodded.
“Young Master, did you know? That there is still another girl who is deeply worried about you,” Qian Yin asked.
“Ah? Surely not, this Young Master didn’t fool around outside. Don’t ruin my reputation,” Xu Qi immediately said, putting on a serious look.
Qian Yin slowly raised her head, looking at Xu Qi and said, “Cai Xiaoxiao.”
Xu Qi immediately recalled the scene when Cai Xiaoxiao was in Cai Wubo’s arms, covered in blood. He felt an ache in his heart, his body slightly trembling.
“How is she?” Xu Qi asked, feeling greater pain in his heart.
Qian Yin sensed the change in Xu Qi and said gently, “She’s fine, Young Master. She’s living well. She would always bring you up in our conversations when I meet her. She too has believed all along that you would return safely sooner or later.”
Xu Qi felt a little better at hearing this, but that bloody image of Cai Xiaoxiao kept coming up in his mind. He slowly asked, “How did you get to know her?”
Qian Yin told Xu Qi everything about her trespassing at the Cai Clan and finding Cai Xiaoxiao after Xu Qi went missing, and how she would frequently visit Cai Xiaoxiao.
Xu Qi sighed continuously as Qian Yin spoke. He felt tremendous guilt toward Cai Xiaoxiao.
“Young Master, how do you plan on handling Mo Ling?” Qian Yin asked. At this moment, she wasn’t informed in detail about the battle in Xu Clan recently. She thought Mo Ling was still back in Mo Clan.
“She came to Xu Clan with Mo Dingtian a few days ago,” Xu Qi said.
Hearing this, Qian Yin asked in shock, “Th-then how did Young Master deal with her?”
“Mo Dingtian committed suicide, and I personally stabbed Mo Ling in the heart,” Xu Qi revealed, his expression dark.
Qian Yin couldn’t help but tighten her arms around Xu Qi when she saw the look on him. She understood very well that Xu Qi was a sentimental man. There was no way for him to not have any kind of feelings for Mo Ling after living with her for ten years. Being the one to personally kill Mo Ling must have been terrible for Xu Qi.
“Qian Yin, what if I told you that I want to save her? What do you think?” Xu Qi asked.
“Save her? What do you mean, Young Master?” Qian Yin asked in surprise, looking at Xu Qi as her arms loosened.
Xu Qi sighed and told Qian Yin about him giving Mo Ling a Celestial Core Pill without her knowledge.
Naturally, Qian Yin knew of the Celestial Core Pill’s efficacy. She hurriedly asked, “Then where is she now?”
“She’s in my room,” Xu Qi answered plainly.
“Young Master, what if I say that I disagree? Are you still going to save her?” Qian Yin asked, her tone becoming cold. Obviously she had an unfavorable opinion towards Mo Ling.
Xu Qi saw the look on Qian Yin and sighed, saying, “I knew you would disagree, but I really don’t want to let her die. If it wasn’t for the Celestial Core Pill, she would have died for sure after I severed her arm and stabbed her. Even so, that could be counted as her dying once.”
“Young Master, I know that you’re someone who values sentiments, but if you were to save her, how are you going to face Cai Xiaoxiao?” Qian Yin asked, slightly furious.
Xu Qi felt unpleasant in his heart at the mentioning of Cai Xiaoxiao, yet he wasn’t willing to watch Mo Ling die. At this moment, his inner feelings became extremely complicated.
Qian Yin couldn’t bear to watch Xu Qi feeling like this and said, “Young Master, I know it’s hard on you, but since Mo Ling could do something like that to you for Mo Dingtian’s sake, it’s not guaranteed that she wouldn’t do it again. This is her nature; it’s incredibly difficult to change.”
“But, Mo Dingtian is already dead,” Xu Qi reasoned.
“With Mo Dingtian dead, that’s all the more reason you can’t save her. If you did, even if she knew that Mo Dingtian committed suicide, I’m afraid she would blame you for that. You can’t do such silly things,” Qian Yin said resolutely.
“Forget it; we’ll put this matter aside for now. We’ll discuss this in the future,” Xu Qi said helplessly. He really didn’t know how should he deal with Mo Ling.
Hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Qian Yin’s eyes, even Xu Qi didn’t notice anything. Qian Yin bit her lips lightly, having come to a decision in her heart.