“Little Tian, did Snow Owl ever tell you why the Weisheng family went into seclusion?”
Tian Yuxue raised an eyebrow slightly: “Because of the war, of course. During the Great Wild era, war raged everywhere. A lot of people died, and many prominent families were wiped out.”
Sang Dai asked again, “Is it really because of that?”
Tian Yuxue sensed that something was off. She stopped being playful and lowered her voice: “I think Snow Owl might have mentioned it. I only remember that much. I don’t really like listening to what it says; it always asks me to help it find people. I… I think it was like that…”
“Do you know about the Weisheng family’s contract seal?”
“I know. The Weisheng family has always been passed down through a single line. It’s because the Weisheng contract seal can only be passed to a newborn bloodline.”
What she said was something Sang Dai had already guessed.
“Anything else?”
“The Weisheng contract seal…”
Tian Yuxue lowered her eyes, carefully recalling what Snow Owl had said during her time in the Snow Realm. It had been so many years, and she often fell into a deep sleep, so many of her memories were a bit blurry.
“I remember some things.” Tian Yuxue suddenly looked up, speaking seriously: “Snow Owl told me that the Weisheng contract seal can only be passed down through one line because the Guixu only allows it to be given to one person. It’s related to Guixu.”
As expected, it was just as she had thought.
The Weisheng contract seal naturally contained the purest Guixu spiritual power. It protected Sang Dai from the Four Sufferings, and Snow Owl’s heart also retained the Guixu spiritual power from the Great Wild era. As Sang Dai grew stronger, the Weisheng contract seal became stronger as well.
Perhaps the Weisheng family’s seclusion during the Great Wild era wasn’t really because of the so-called war, but for some other reason. The uniqueness of the Weisheng contract seal had forced the family to hide, avoiding the outside world.
But Tian Yuxue seemed unable to remember these details.
Tian Yuxue looked at her eagerly: “Dai Dai, why are you suddenly asking this? What’s going on with the Weisheng contract seal?”
Sang Dai shook her head and asked, “Do you know my mother?”
“Weisheng Xuan?” Tian Yuxue slightly furrowed her brows: “I don’t know much about her. When I went there, she was already dead, and she hadn’t even left Xiaoyue. Lord Bai Yu died outside the door, and she was lying in the yard.”
Sang Dai lowered her head, and her voice grew dull: “Do you know the cultivation method of the one who destroyed her family?”
Tian Yuxue felt a bit embarrassed: “Dai Dai… you know, I’m not very diligent in my cultivation, and I don’t often go out into the world, so I don’t recognize many cultivation methods. I only know that Lord Bai Yu died from a blade wound. I couldn’t see any external injuries on Weisheng Xuan, but her heart pulse was broken. It seemed like someone used spiritual power to shatter it in one strike.”
Ying Heng had told Sang Dai that Weisheng Xuan had a very high cultivation level and could shatter the heart pulse of a high-level cultivator with a single strike. The person who did that certainly wasn’t weak.
“Other members of the Weisheng family also died from blade wounds, but there are so many sects that practice swordsmanship, I couldn’t recognize which sect’s techniques they used. I could only bury them all.”
“Do you know where the Weisheng family is?”
“At Fuguang Ridge, Kunshan.”
Sang Dai lowered her gaze and absentmindedly traced the tea cup, her mind heavy with thought.
As the night grew darker, the jade token at Tian Yuxue’s waist suddenly glowed.
The young girl quickly pressed it out, clinging to Sang Dai’s arm and acting coquettishly: “Dai Dai, let me sleep with you tonight?”
“…I don’t think Ji Cang will agree. He doesn’t allow you to stay overnight outside.”
“Who cares about him? He can’t come in, and Su Xuan won’t let him in.”
“You’re bold, aren’t you? If you’re so capable, don’t use my spiritual veins to curry favor.”
A cold voice rang out.
Tian Yuxue stiffened.
A young man in a dark red robe stood under the tree by the courtyard door, holding a jade token in his hand.
And at his side…
Tian Yuxue immediately exploded: “Su Xuan! I gave you so many spiritual veins, and now you betray me!”
Su Xuan raised an eyebrow and walked over, casually wrapping his arm around his sword cultivator’s waist: “He promised to give me another one, so I let him in.”
Exchanging one spiritual vein seemed like a good deal to Su Xuan.
Tian Yuxue fumed, having just used the jade token several times to call Ji Cang, and now she was intimidated by him.
She quickly tried to shrink behind Sang Dai, but the person who had been standing by the tree was suddenly in front of her, grabbing the back of her collar.
Tian Yuxue covered her throat: “Cough, cough, Ji Cang, you’re going to strangle me!”
Ji Cang sneered: “The ungrateful white-eyed wolf deserves to be strangled and fed to the snakes.”
Sang Dai couldn’t stand it and stepped forward to rescue Tian Yuxue: “Stop being so harsh, Little Tian has a pure and gentle nature. Why do you always bully her?”
Ji Cang laughed, though there was no humor in it.
Her purity was indeed true—there was no one dumber than Tian Yuxue.
But where did she get the idea that she was gentle? Tian Yuxue slapped him several times a day.
He yanked Tian Yuxue, who was trying to shrink behind Sang Dai, and looked coldly at both of them: “I have no intention of disturbing you two. I’m just here to take her back. Since you’re her friend, I’ll pass on a message to you. Someone in the Demon Realm already knows that Ying Heng didn’t die and has come to the Beast Realm, even planning to spread the news. I’ve killed some of the more troublesome ones. Ying Heng had been in disguise for a long time. Do you know why the Demon Realm found out?”
Sang Dai and Su Xuan’s expressions changed instantly.
Tian Yuxue sensed the heavy atmosphere and stopped hitting Ji Cang. She asked softly: “So what if they know? He didn’t die, so what? He’s Dai Dai’s master.”
Three pairs of eyes stared at her in unison.
Ji Cang laughed in anger: “I told you, you’re an idiot.”
“Damned Ji Cang, you insulted me again!”
Tian Yuxue’s words instantly provoked her. She jumped up, intending to slap him, but Ji Cang swiftly restrained her in his arms, cutting off her outburst.
His voice was deep as he spoke to Sang Dai and Su Xuan: “Ying Heng’s crime has yet to be cleared. He is still a sinner in the four realms. Someone knows he’s still alive, and they’re deliberately spreading the news. If this matter escalates and the Immortal Alliance learns of it, you know, Sang Dai, your Beast Realm will become the target of the other three realms.”
“Although I am the Demon Lord, I’ve been helping you hide this matter out of selfishness due to Tian Yuxue’s and your relationship. But if, in the end, the demon cultivators demand that I deal with this criminal, I will have no choice but to declare war on the Beast Realm.”
“Similarly, Fu You, as the Lord of the Nether Realm, will do the same. You know, no matter how great a monarch’s power, once they lose the people’s support, they can no longer sit on the throne.”
At that time, even if the people of the Beast Realm don’t demand Ying Heng’s death, the other three realms definitely will.
If Sang Dai and Su Xuan want to protect him, they will surely become the target of all.
Ji Cang lowered his gaze: “I’ll stop here. I’ll help you hold things down for a while in the Beast Realm. The people spreading the news are certainly not only in the Beast Realm. Fu You in the Nether Realm might be able to suppress things, but the Immortal Realm has no such help. Shen Ciyu has not yet succeeded as the leader of the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance. A sword sect leader doesn’t have that kind of power.”
“We know Ying Heng is innocent, but only we know. The rest of the world doesn’t, and to them, Ying Heng is a criminal.”
Ji Cang left, leaving only Sang Dai and Su Xuan in the small courtyard.
Su Xuan pulled her to sit at the stone table, wrapping his large hand around her slightly cold one and rubbing it gently: “Dai Dai, I’ll have Liu Lixue send someone to investigate the Beast Realm. As for the Nether Realm, Fu You must know by now. If he wants you to bring Ling Yin out, he won’t sit idly by. For the Immortal Realm… you should send a message to Shen Ciyu, ask him what he thinks?”
Su Xuan expected Sang Dai to panic, but in fact, she remained calm.
The sword cultivator slightly raised her eyes: “Su Xuan, I’m not the same person I was before. I know now that innocence is for yourself. When everyone thinks you’re guilty, even something that’s black can be called white. Until the truth is found to prove my master’s innocence, this matter will eventually come to light.”
“It’s just a matter of when.”
“And now, someone is helping to push this matter forward.”
Sang Dai could already guess who it was. She said, “It’s Shi Yao and Bi Fang.”
When Ying Heng came to save her, Shi Yao, Bi Fang, and Madam Shi were all there.
Ying Heng hadn’t disguised himself at that time; he always used a disguise, and the only one who could recognize him might be Shen Ciyu, who had a somewhat close relationship with Ying Heng. But Shen Ciyu would never do such a thing; he would never tell anyone.
Then there was the Divine Healer Valley and the Beast Hall. The Divine Healer Valley wouldn’t speak, especially since if they hated Ying Heng, they wouldn’t have saved him back then.
The people from the Beast Hall wouldn’t say a word either. They were loyal to Su Xuan, all chosen by him for their loyalty.
The person behind this seemed not to want to harm her. They likely wouldn’t expose this matter to make Sang Dai the target of a siege. Instead, it seemed they were guiding Sang Dai to uncover one truth after another.
So, it had to be Shi Yao and Bi Fang.
Su Xuan said coldly: “We should have killed that bird back then.”
But he was in a hurry to find Sang Dai, and at that time, his bones felt as if they were being crushed, leaving behind such a great disaster.
Sang Dai turned her hand to grasp his, gently pinching the little fox’s face: “Don’t think about the past, Su Xuan. How is Master doing?”
“Today, Liu Lixue healed the old wounds on his soul. After resting for a while, he should be almost fully recovered.”
Sang Dai let out a sigh of relief. She trusted Liu Lixue’s medical skills. Once the spiritual root was integrated, he would be able to help Ying Heng heal those wounds on his own.
She took Su Xuan’s hand, “Is the Beast Realm busy?”
“It’s not busy. I’ve taken care of things today.”
“Then, can you go somewhere with me?”
“Where to?”
“Weisheng family, Kunshan.”
Sang Dai gazed into the distance, in the direction where Kunshan lay.
“I need to find something. Su Xuan, I have a feeling it’s there.”