The door creaked open. Sunlight pierced the dark cold room. The young man sat motionless against the wall. With ice clinging to his hair and eyebrows, he looked just like a frozen corpse.
Two guards stepped aside as one old man entered the cell.
He wore a deep blue robe with a silver cloud emblem. He looked down at the battered youth. Deep sympathy filled his wrinkled face.
The old man knelt on the floor. He placed two fingers against the man's dantian. Pure spiritual qi surged forward instantly. It removed the seal on the dantian.
He carefully guided his qi through the young man's body, removing the cold energy from his body and bones.
"Chen Xuan..." the old man murmured, looking at the young man's state.
The young man slowly gained consciousness. His frozen eyelids fluttered weakly at first before slowly opening. His dark eyes were completely red from absolute and unyielding rage.
The old man sighed heavily. He knew the reason behind that. "So much happened in my absence... I have failed here."
His hoarse voice was filled with immense and bitter regret. It sounded exactly as if a massive stone rested directly upon his chest.
Chen Xuan pushed his trembling hands against the cold floor. He forced himself to stand up.
The old man took a pill from his storage ring. "Here, take this."
The young man did not raise his hand to accept the pill. He spoke in a hoarse and weak whisper. "Elder, how is she?"
The old man closed his eyes. He shook his head slowly. A deeply pained expression twisted his weathered face.
Chen Xuan felt his heart shatter. His voice was completely hollow. "Just take me there first."
"Okay," the Elder nodded.
Seeing Chen Xuan not accepting the pill, the elder waved his hand. He wrapped him in layer of Spiritual Qi. It slowly healed his injuries while carrying him away from the icy peak.
They soon landed in a quiet courtyard. Spirit willows swayed softly under the bright sky. The central lotus pond was full of vibrant life. Yet this beautiful place only made the heavy sorrow feel much worse.
They entered a quiet room where a few servants stood watch. The servants silently bowed and exited the room right away.
A wooden bed sat against the stone wall. Someone lay completely still under a very thin blanket.
"Chen Xuan, I will wait outside," the elder said gently. He stepped out and closed the wooden door.
Chen Xuan walked to the bed with heavy steps. He sat down near her body. He looked at Aunt Wu.
Her gentle face had few visible dark veins. She looked like she was just sleeping. But there was no breathing.
Chen Xuan closed his eyes and lowered his head until it rested near her cold hands.
A few moments later, quiet sobbing sounds echoed in the empty room.
…
Chen Xuan arranged her funeral himself that afternoon. She had no other relatives in the world. Her husband had perished when she was still young.
Evening arrived. The sky turned the color of bruised purple.
Chen Xuan sat quietly on a stone bench beside the lotus pond. He stared blankly at the water.
The Fourth Elder walked over and sat beside him.
"Chen Xuan, I have failed you," the old man repeated softly.
"No," Chen Xuan replied in a hollow voice.
"I think I am the one who failed here. I should have taken her away with me. I never thought Chen Bo and Chen Ming would go this far. In the end, it was my fault."
"Do not blame yourself. It's not good for you. She would not want to see you like this," the old man tried to comfort him.
Chen Xuan gave no response. He just kept staring at the water.
The Elder sighed. "She would have preferred you to marry soon and visit her tomb with your childrens."
Chen Xuan felt bitterness in his heart after hearing that.
The elder continued, "So for her sake, you cannot let sadness consume you. It will obstruct your future path."
"Fourth Elder," Chen Xuan spoke slowly. "Liu Ruyan and I have already decided to break our engagement. I actually came back to the estate to deliver this exact news. But..."
He stopped speaking. He had planned to announce it to the clan, then travel to the Liu Family to personally convince Uncle Liu to accept the decision.
Instantly regretting that he had ever brought up the topic of marriage, the old man stared at Chen Xuan in complete and utter disbelief. "Broken?"
She could have broken it three years ago when she reached the Core Formation realm and became the Holy Maiden of the Mystic Jade Sect. But she did not do it then, the old man thought.
Despite the entire Liu Family opposing this marriage, her father, Liu Changtian, refused to break the marriage agreement.
Many people in the Chen Family were confused about why Liu Changtian would marry his talented daughter to someone like Chen Xuan because of a so-called promise with an old friend.
The old man frowned. "What exactly happened?"
Chen Xuan shook his head. "Elder, please do not ask anything else. Just relay this news to the clan for me."
The old man studied the boy's exhausted face. "Alright. If that is what you want."
He then took out a very worn wooden box from his spatial ring. He placed it gently on the cold stone table directly between them.
"These are the final things she handed to the servants," the old man said quietly. "She wanted you to have them."
After saying those final words, the old man turned around and walked away.
Chen Xuan sat alone and stared at the wooden box. He slowly reached out his bruised hand to open the box.
He looked quietly at the items inside. A bright green jade pendant rested right on top. Beneath it lay a smooth jade slip.
A neatly folded set of red wedding robes sat in the corner. Beside the beautiful clothes was a simple rolled up scroll.
Chen Xuan picked up the jade slip. He injected a tiny sliver of his spiritual qi into it. Aunt Wu's warm and familiar voice instantly echoed inside his mind.
"Xuan'er, I am leaving this message because I fear I will not be able to say a proper goodbye. I will hand these things to the people of the Fourth Elder."
"The green jade pendant is a gift from Lady Yun to me. Because of your mother's untimely death, you never got anything to keep as her memory. So I am giving this back to you now."
He touched the green jade pendant gently. His eyes grew incredibly misty.
"This wedding robe is a gift I personally prepared for Liu Ruyan. I was not able to buy the best materials. Still, I wanted to give her something as an elder to bless your future union."
Chen Xuan felt a painful lump rapidly form in his throat. He gently lifted the red wedding robe, feeling the fabric that was soft as a feather.
It was woven entirely from Crimson Cloud Silk. This was an expensive material frequently used by wealthy Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Yet to him, this simple piece of clothing felt completely priceless.
"Lastly, there is a blank scroll in the box. I do not know much about it. It was something my husband found a very long time ago. I always knew it was some kind of treasure. I never tried to sell it because it is the absolute last memory of him. I am giving this to you. You can even sell it if you do not find any use for it."
The voice paused for a second.
"Xuan'er, do not feel alone, because you are not alone. Build a warm family, and live well."
By the time her voice disappeared from his mind, his eyes were already filled with tears. A single hot tear fell directly on the bright red wedding robe.
"This wretched clan..." Chen Xuan whispered. His voice trembled with a terrifying anger.
His father bled and died for the Chen Family. He secured massive resources and glory for them. Yet after his death, the clan elders did absolutely nothing for his only son.
They threw him into a corner to rot. Now, they had even taken the life of his closest remaining family.
"I will not let them get away with it," he said in a heavy voice. "They will pay the price. I will do anything to make sure they do."
He took a very long and deep breath of the cold air. He forcefully suppressed his wildly chaotic and dark emotions.
He carefully folded the red wedding robe and placed it back into the wooden box.
"I will not disappoint you," he said in a low voice. "I will have a warm family. Aunt Wu, please rest in peace. I will build my own family, way better than this rotten clan."
A strong determination rose within his heart. Right at that exact moment, the scroll sitting in the box began to tremble.
A bright golden light erupted from it as it unfurled. The previously blank surface suddenly filled with complex, flowing characters.
Chen Xuan did not recognize the language. Just looking at them gave him an ancient and majestic feeling.
Before he could even react, the golden scroll shrank into a tiny streak of pure light.
It shot directly toward his forehead. The artifact pierced his skin without leaving a mark and plunged straight into his Sea of Consciousness.