The eyes of Yun Xi and the other three swept over the newcomers from the Yin family. Just one look was enough to confirm that these people were indeed Yin Yong's relatives. The resemblance in their features couldn't be faked.
Yin Yong's father stepped forward as the family head. His voice trembled slightly as he said,"Honored guests, we heard that you've met my youngest son. May I ask… is he doing well?"
Yu Qingcheng frowned and replied, "Your son is still alive. He was the one who sold us the ancestral home in Taoyuan Village. He also told us all his family members had passed away, which is why he left the village to make his way in the world."
At those words, Yin Chuan was the first to jump in. "Father, why are you even asking about that ungrateful wretch? He's so heartless he told people we were all dead! Is that still considered human?"
Yin Shan's brow furrowed as well, his face dark with displeasure. Their wives looked furious too. After all, no one would take kindly to being declared dead by their own kin. The air grew heavy with tension.
Yin Yong's mother turned a little pale. She mumbled under her breath, "How could Xiao Yong say such a thing? Does he really hate us that much?"
Yin Chuan immediately snapped, "What does he have to hate us for? Did we ever short him on food or clothing? We even let him attend private school for a year! He was the one who couldn't focus on his studies and came back to farm.
As for marriage, the family was already making arrangements for him. What more could he want? He stole the silver we scraped together with great difficulty and ran off. We never forced him to do anything.
And now I find out he even took the deed to the old house? No wonder Father was so eager to split the household. He must have seen this coming all along!"
As he finished, Yin Chuan threw a pointed look at his father.
The old man sighed and said, "Honored guests, this is my failing as a father. I didn't teach my son well, and now he's made such terrible choices..."
But Liu Haotian didn't let him finish his self-recrimination. He raised a hand and cut him off. "Old man, if your son did something wrong, then go find him and deal with it yourself. Right now, we're here to talk about the house. We bought that property for one hundred taels.
From what I'm hearing, you don't intend to give up the ancestral home. That's fine. Just return our silver. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
A sharp gasp echoed among the Yin family. Clearly, that amount was far beyond what they could afford.
Yin Yong's father looked lost. "Honored guests… our old home isn't worth that much silver..."
Yu Qingcheng chuckled. "But your youngest son sold it to us at that price. He praised Taoyuan Village to the heavens, said it was perfect for retirement. Otherwise, why would we have paid so much?"
The old man's face wrinkled into a pitiful grimace. "We're just ordinary farmers. How could we possibly come up with such a large sum?"
Negotiations stalled immediately. One side had made their position clear: either hand over the house or return the money. The other side didn't want to give up the ancestral home, but also couldn't afford to repay the silver.
The village chief sighed and stepped in to mediate. "Honored guests, it's true that the old couple doesn't have that kind of money. But surely you can't bear to see them made homeless, can you? I may have a compromise, if you're willing to hear it."
Liu Haotian nodded. "Go on."
Encouraged, the village chief said, "Taoyuan Village is big. You can choose a different plot of land. The Yin family will build you a new house there—materials and labor all on them. Once it's done, we'll issue a new property deed. Let the old couple keep their ancestral home. What do you think?"
Yu Qingcheng tapped her nails against each other and asked, "And how long will that take? Don't think we'll accept some shabby mud-brick hut. We want a proper house—good bricks, tiled roof, the works."
The chief did a quick mental calculation. "By your standards, it'll take at least a month to build. Will you stay here in the meantime and only leave after inspecting the finished house?"
This time, it was Liu Haotian who made the decision. "Fine. We'll stay at the old house for now. Once the new one's built, we'll see."
The Yin family visibly breathed a collective sigh of relief. Building a new house was far cheaper than coughing up one hundred taels. They quickly and respectfully invited Yun Xi and her companions back into the ancestral home.
Soon, the entire group returned to the Yin household. Curious villagers gathered to eavesdrop. In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, news spread through the entire village: the Yin family's old house was now housing honored guests.
Some villagers were so curious, they came by in person just to get a look at the newcomers.
As the group stepped into the Yin family home, they were greeted by the youngest daughter of the family and her husband. The father explained that the daughter had come to visit them that very day.
The four cultivators exchanged a glance but didn't question it. Once inside, Yin Shan and Yin Chuan prepared to take their leave, only to be stopped by Yun Xi.
"Please, stay a moment. Yin Yong left a message for you. Hear it before you go."
Reluctantly, the two families paused. Yin Chuan let out a cold snort. "What message could he possibly have for us? As long as he doesn't come back and bring disaster to the rest of us, we'll count ourselves lucky."
Yun Xi smiled sweetly. "Disaster never came from Yin Yong. It came from you—your own ugly, greedy hearts."
For a moment, everyone's expressions twisted. They couldn't accept what she was saying.
But Yun Xi ignored their reactions and began to recount, in chilling detail, how each member of the Yin family died. Her voice remained calm, utterly indifferent to their widening eyes and growing horror.
When she finished, Yu Qingcheng added coldly, "You're already dead. Do you remember now?"
The old couple's faces turned vacant. But Yin Chuan flew into a rage and lunged at Yin Fansi, his elder brother's son. Spittle flew from his mouth as he roared, "You heartless beast! You stole my treasures and killed our whole family!"
Yin Fansi shouted back without flinching, "You're the cruel one! You were willing to trade our whole family's lives just to live in luxury. If that's the case, why shouldn't I fight back?"
"Spit! You couldn't stand to see us doing well. You were jealous, that's all! We paid our price for those good days!"
Xia You added fuel to the fire with a smirk. "He's right. He used his little sister and her husband's lives to buy that luxury. But he didn't harm you."
That was the final spark. Yin Hua'er and Scholar Xin, who had been too stunned to speak, erupted with rage. They joined the argument. Within moments, the old Yin household was full of yelling and accusations.
More villagers gathered, drawn by the escalating chaos.
Liu Haotian waved his sleeve, opening the courtyard gate wide to let the crowd in. Now they had front-row seats for the drama.
But as time passed, the villagers' expressions began to change. Their faces twisted. The crowd was no longer whispering in amusement. From the Yin family's furious shouting, they had picked up on something terrifying—they were all dead. Every last one of them had become sacrifices to fulfill someone else's wish.
Just then, the village chief appeared in front of Yun Xi's group, his face twisted with fury. "What do you think you're doing? Why are you ruining the peace of Taoyuan Village?"
"Peace?" Yun Xi laughed coldly. "Everyone in this village is already dead. Is there really any point in maintaining this illusion?"
The village chief's dark face took on an eerie distortion. His voice turned icy. "Of course there is. The immortal promised me—as long as I sacrifice you, Taoyuan Village will go back to the way it was!"
Liu Haotian glared at him and snapped, "Stubborn fool."