In any case, no matter what the truth is, it’s always their Demon Sect that bears the blame.
At this moment, everyone turned to look at Hua Yan.
Hua Yan then remembered that if she hadn’t secretly sneaked into Nian Yi’s room and found the letter and the “Illustrated Compendium of a Hundred Herbs,” no one would have known the name Huai Yi.
She spoke loudly, “Huai Yi was Nian Yi’s first wife. Before he married into the Yin family, he had another wife…”
But Nian Yi suddenly interrupted her, “You don’t need to say anymore.”
Hua Yan originally intended to stop talking but couldn’t understand, “Why do you want to keep it a secret? There must be a reason why you caused the death of the Yin family. Why can’t you say it?”
Yin Xi immediately questioned, “What reason?” Her tone paused, with some absurdity and irony in her voice, “Are you suggesting his first wife’s death is related to our Yin family? So to seek revenge, you killed my entire family?”
Nian Yi did not respond; he just quietly closed his eyes.
“That woman was named Huai Yi? So you changed your name to Nian Yi to remember her?” The desperation in Yin Xi’s voice was almost unmistakable. She had never been good at hiding her emotions, and it was even worse now. “I thought you were truly heartless, but it turns out you had feelings? You can love someone? You deceived my sister so cruelly!” The painful and incredulous look on her sister Yin Lian’s face at the time of her death was still vivid in her memory.
When Jiang Nian was in her family, he never mentioned his deceased wife, as if that person had never existed.
In daily interactions, he never showed the slightest hint of hatred.
Yet, his actions were so vicious.
In fact, if she hadn’t escaped by staying out that night, she would have also died at home, becoming a restless spirit like the others.
She couldn’t believe that her refined and delicate brother-in-law was indeed the murderer. She changed her name and roamed everywhere to track him down for a long, long time.
When she found Nian Yi, she still refused to believe it.
He was running a clinic, treating people, and even established a medical valley, attracting physicians from all over the world. His expression remained calm and serene, showing no signs of having once massacred a family.
The patients who came and went were grateful to him for his tireless treatments and his extraordinary medical skills.
How could someone have two faces? Was he the same when he poisoned her entire family?
Nian Yi shook his head and said, “That has nothing to do with you. If you want revenge, come and kill me.”
Yin Xi truly didn’t understand. At this point, how could he still be so composed?
She finally couldn’t hold back, pushing him forcefully, “What makes you think it was our Yin family that caused your first wife’s death!”
Nian Yi was pushed to the ground, the collision making a sound that set teeth on edge. His face turned pale immediately, his lips trembling as he struggled to speak. After a while, he propped himself up on the ground and slowly raised his head, saying, “…because I heard it directly from your father himself.”
Yin Xi froze and said, “Don’t think you can make baseless accusations just because the dead can’t defend themselves now!”
Nian Yi remained silent, only breathing weakly, a trace of mockery appearing on his calm face.
Yin Xi didn’t know whether to believe him or not, just as she didn’t know if she would rather he be heartless or have a reason—either way, it might make her feel a little better.
She finally asked, “What did my father say?”
“That woman has been dealt with cleanly, make sure the son-in-law doesn’t find out about this, lest it upsets Lian’er,” Nian Yi recited word for word, his tone and voice eerily mimicking someone else.
It was her father’s tone.
Yin Xi was shocked. She was too familiar with her father’s voice; she could almost imagine the expression on his face as he said those words.
She was dazed for a moment, but even so, it wasn’t enough to convince her.
“You do a good imitation of my father’s tone.”
Nian Yi continued, “Why would I lie to you? Not long after your sister met me, someone came to ask if I was married. After that, she disappeared. When your father approached me, I was already suspicious, and it wasn’t until I heard him speak that I was certain.”
Yin Xi, recalling those events, couldn’t help but feel a little panicked.
She remembered her sister once telling her that she had met him in a pharmacy. At that time, she was just passing through a small town and heard that a doctor named Jiang was highly skilled. Because of her status as a member of the Yin family, she was dismissive and went to challenge him. Unexpectedly, she was smitten at first sight. As a young lady, she couldn’t approach him directly, so she told their father about him. Initially, her father refused, but her sister pleaded, insisting she wouldn’t marry anyone else. Shortly after, her father brought Jiang Nian home. By then, Jiang Nian was alone, and her father valued him greatly, saying he would pass all his medical knowledge to him since he had no sons. Her sister was overjoyed, clinging to Jiang Nian day and night, and the entire household treated him as the future son-in-law.
It was impossible to reconcile this with what Nian Yi had said.
Yin Xi’s chest heaved, the turmoil within causing her pain. She forced herself to hold back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
“Even if…you wanted revenge, why did you have to kill my entire family!” Yin Xi said through gritted teeth, “You should know my sister’s nature. She couldn’t have known. She loved you so much…”
Nian Yi suddenly interrupted, his voice harsh, “I would rather she had never loved me!”
His tone finally changed, no longer calm but cold and sharp.
“Why shouldn’t I kill? Your family is whole, happy, and reunited, while she is alone in the cold earth. Your father had people imprison her until she died, then released her body. Do you know where I found her corpse? Those people, afraid of being discovered, dismembered her and hid the pieces among the bodies in the public morgue. It took me a long time to piece her back together. This is what your father told me before he died. I tricked him into thinking there was an antidote for the Blood Phantom’s poison, but I never made one.”
Yin Xi had never seen Nian Yi like this. Even when the doctors in the valley were injured, his anger remained controlled and composed.
But now, his eyes were bloodshot, and his suppressed malice and bitterness were fully revealed: “Your father willingly gave his life for an antidote for your mother and sister, but how could he expect to get it? How could I let him? He should experience the pain of losing a loved one.”
“Enough!” Yin Xi snapped out of her shock, feeling that the person before her was a stranger.
She had known him for over ten years, but it felt like she was meeting him for the first time today.
Yin Xi’s mind was in turmoil.
Even though she had considered that Nian Yi might have a reason for his actions, she never imagined her own family could be involved in such evil. Her father, to her, was like the heavens—always stern and dignified, yet loving and doting on her and her sister.
“It must be a mistake. It can’t be my father…”
Nian Yi coldly retorted, “I wish I were wrong. If only her decaying body hadn’t been laid out before me… Every injury she suffered while gathering herbs, I knew them all. I could never mistake her, even in death.”
His words were resolute and final.
Yin Xi couldn’t tell if it was true, but the reality of a blood feud was undeniable. After a long silence, she said, “Even if my father deserved to be punished, my mother, sister, and all those in the household were innocent! You stayed in our house for so long, acting… We treated you like family… Didn’t you feel anything?” She felt an overwhelming bitterness.
Yin Xi didn’t even know what she was hoping for.
She could kill him right now. No one would stop her, no explanations would be needed, and she wouldn’t have to worry about his reputation leading to repercussions. She didn’t even have to worry about his guards. But she still wasn’t willing…
She wasn’t willing to let Nian Yi die just like that!
She had lived in trembling hatred, watching his reputation grow day by day. She had racked her brain to poison him, trying to catch him making a mistake, trying to expose his true nature. But in the end, all she found was a minor error in a test—because Xue Tingshan, out of greed, hadn’t destroyed the flawed formula and had covered up the results.
Finally, after much effort, she collaborated with someone named Yu Ye to create this opportunity. She could finally expose Nian Yi’s evil deeds in broad daylight, in front of many disciples from various sects. But…
Suppressing the bitterness in her nose, Yin Xi said, “Why are you this way? You were the one who said a healer should have a Buddha’s heart. You can’t even heal yourself; how can you heal others?”
Nian Yi’s body trembled. He gave a distracted smile, “So what should I do? Let go of my hatred, choose to forgive, and grow old with your sister? Unfortunately, I am human, not a Buddha. I can’t do that.”
He began to laugh slowly, a sorrowful and bitter laugh.
Nian Yi eventually looked down at his own hands again. Those once clean hands were no longer clean.
No matter how many times he washed them, until his skin cracked, they were still stained with blood.
He laughed until it hurt, clutching his chest, coughing up blood. The bright red drops fell on the ground and his clothes, quickly darkening. Nian Yi touched the bloodstain with his fingers. The blood on his white clothes was so glaring. He suddenly couldn’t hold back any longer, bending over and clutching his collar, crying in despair.
If he could, he would only wish to return to that small town and see her from afar one more time.
To dream again of the days when they traveled together, practicing medicine and gathering herbs was too much to hope for.
Back then, she held his hand, dimples showing as she smiled gently, “Once we settle down, let’s build a medical valley in a suitable place, shall we? We can shelter many patients, treat those strange and difficult diseases, and find many more doctors to discuss treatments together. This way, the number of untreatable diseases will become fewer and fewer.”
“Ah Nian, we agreed on this.”
The audience fell silent, and on the high platform, only Nian Yi’s lonely sobbing could be heard. Though it was broad daylight, it felt like the dark of night, filled with the wails of lost souls, a scene of utter desolation.
He cried uncontrollably, losing all self-restraint, gradually curling up, his face twisted in agony. Tears streamed down his cheeks like broken pearls, draining his remaining strength, exposing his fragility and sorrow completely. It was hard to recognize him as the usually composed and unwavering Valley Master.
No one knew why he suddenly started crying, including Yin Xi, who stood on the platform.
Hua Yan clutched her rapidly beating heart, momentarily stunned. She had never seen anyone cry with such profound despair, making her wonder if humans could possess such intense and abundant emotions.
She suddenly remembered that night when she heard the sound of the flute outside Nian Yi’s courtyard, and the crying now was just as hoarse and torn.
What had he said then…
“I’ve done many wrong things and am no longer the person she loved.”
“So I don’t have the face to see her, but I’m dying and will eventually have to see her.”
“She was a very gentle, kind, and cheerful person… I’ve never met anyone so good in my life.”
A gentle, cheerful, skilled artist, knowledgeable about herbs, kind-hearted woman who also practiced medicine and loved him. They must have shared the same dream of healing and saving people when they met. But in the end, they were separated, not just by death but also by growing apart, becoming unrecognizable from their past selves.
No wonder he would say such things.
Hua Yan felt a heaviness in her chest. She turned to look at Lu Chengsha, only to find him looking back at her.
He still half-understood the situation, but he could sense the strong and deep emotions. Suddenly, Lu Chengsha reached out his arm and gently clasped Hua Yan’s hand.
So gently, so carefully.
Hua Yan noticed and turned her hand to grasp Lu Chengsha’s.
***
On the platform, Yin Xi saw Nian Yi crying like this and felt bewildered. “Why are you crying…”
Indeed, she had hoped to see him cry, to see him repent in agony, to see him regret his actions, to see him beg for forgiveness, even though she had no intention of forgiving him. But now, she didn’t even know why he was crying…
Yin Xi squatted down, her emotions in turmoil. Seeing his grief, she felt no satisfaction at all.
She slowly extended her hand but suddenly sensed something was wrong. Nian Yi’s sobs grew weaker, as if he was exhausted. However… Yin Xi grabbed him abruptly, only to see the short blade embedded in his chest, the blade fully buried, with only the end of the hilt visible.
Blood had already dyed his entire chest red.
Yin Xi lost control and screamed, “How dare you! Who gave you permission to die? Jiang Nian—Jiang Nian!” She frantically took out medicine to stop the bleeding.
Nian Yi, barely breathing, exhaled weakly and said in a broken voice, “Living… is so tiring…” It seemed he had held on long enough. His eyes closed tightly, and with his body covered in blood, he peacefully lost all breath and consciousness.
Mournful wails began to rise. The disciples of Compassion Valley couldn’t hold back their tears.
Someone, no one knew who, began to toll the bell of the valley.
Each toll echoed in their ears.
Yin Xi looked at Nian Yi’s body and realized she had finally avenged her family. She could now console the spirits of her family in the heavens. Even with Nian Yi dead, she could possess the entire Cixin Valley. Yet, it felt as though a part of her heart had been shattered, leaving her with no anchor.
She remembered the faces of her parents and sister, the gruesome scene in her home, the years of meticulous planning beside Nian Yi, and the first time she met him. He stood under a tree, the clear sky warm with sunlight. The wind rustled, leaves danced, and he caught one in his hand, turning to her with a sudden smile.
Back then, she knew nothing.
Yin Xi suddenly lowered her head, shoulders shaking, and began to cry loudly.
***
Hua Yan couldn’t bear to watch anymore. She held Lu Chengsha’s hand and walked away.
Lu Chengsha let her lead him out. The crowd was thick, and no one noticed them walking against the flow, holding hands discreetly.
The bright sunlight stung her eyes slightly, and Hua Yan raised a hand to block it.
Lu Chengsha moved slightly forward to shield her from the glaring light.
Hua Yan suddenly said, “Great Hero Lu, have you learned something?”
Lu Chengsha, puzzled, replied, “What?”
Hua Yan stood on tiptoe and grabbed the collar of his black robe. Lu Chengsha’s head tilted down, hearing her mutter, “Stop thinking so much. It’s more important to make you mine first.”
In the next moment, her lips pressed against his.