Chapter 230: Yijian Villa
Sushang stepped into the silent ruins of Yijian Villa. A light morning drizzle had saturated the earth, leaving the grounds slick and heavy with the pungent scent of wet ash. Charred roof tiles and blackened wooden stumps were all that remained of the once-elegant estate she called home. The beautiful, sprawling courtyards of her childhood had been reduced to a desolate graveyard of cinders.
Though her time living here occupied only a small fraction of her memories, the moment her boots touched the soot-stained soil, tears spilled uncontrollably down her cheeks.
"Oh! I think I just realized something," Lingshuang suddenly piped up, breaking the heavy silence as she trailed casually beside Rovel. "Junior Sister Suyi must have used Ink-Dyed Fragrance on me back then. That's how she tricked me into owing her a favor, which is exactly why I ended up taking Sushang as my disciple. Hiss... why am I only figuring this out now?"
She smacked her own forehead in delayed frustration. After the Master-slaying incident, Lingshuang had traveled alone into the desolate Northern Barrens. Along the way, she had supposedly been 'saved' by Qin Suyi, thus incurring a life debt.
But who was Cheng Lingshuang? She was the Supreme Sword God, a martial prodigy who had remained completely undefeated for over thirty years since birth. There was absolutely no logical scenario where Suyi—the disciple with the weakest martial arts among them—should have been the one rescuing her.
"Did you really have to bring that up right this second?" Rovel muttered, reaching out to lightly flick her forehead. He glanced at the grieving girl walking ahead of them. "Besides, you're a Sword God. How could you possibly be blinded by a mere Sword Intent?"
"Senior Brother, don't look down on that specific Sword Intent. It's incredibly peculiar," Lingshuang explained, shaking her head. "While its foundation belongs to the Taixu Five Essences, it completely bypasses the other four. The boundaries it touches simply don't fall within the normal scope of Taixu Sword Qi."
Rovel knew that much. The Xuanyuan Sword was a Divine Key, an ancient weapon capable of connecting with its wielder to manifest entirely different, often mind-bending effects. "I know that," he replied, keeping his voice low, "but the gap in raw strength between you two was massive. How did she actually fool you?"
"Hmm... I suppose her timing was just too flawless. That's why the inconsistency is only clicking for me now." Lingshuang pinched her chin thoughtfully. "Well, since Junior Sister Suyi scammed me, that means I don't actually owe her any favors. How about I just expel Sushang from the sect right now—Mmph!"
Rovel immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, muffling the rest of her terrible idea into a series of indignant whimpers.
Ahead of their comedic struggle, Sushang remained entirely absorbed in her own world. She ignored their bickering, her glassy eyes fixed forward as she handled the debris toward the innermost sector of the villa.
She arrived at a wide, open clearing—the very training ground where she had spent countless hours practicing her swordplay.
Every time she drew her blade, Suyi would transform. Her mother's usual gentle demeanor would vanish, replaced by a harsh, unforgiving strictness. Her father, Li Shen, would stand on the sidelines, his eyes filled with heartache, yet he never dared to intervene.
His martial arts were vastly inferior to his wife's. While Shen held the grand title of Yijian Villa's Master, everyone knew Suyi was the true authority behind the gates.
, her father was terrified of her mother. In his youth, Shen had made a catastrophic error by sheltering a friend involved in the criminal underworld, nearly dragging the entire Li family down with him. The family had exiled him, but as their sole heir, they eventually needed him back.
When Sushang was born, Shen used Suyi's prestigious identity as a Disciple of Red Kite to orchestrate his grand return, elevating Yijian Villa to unmatched fame. Suyi then taught him martial arts, skyrocketing his strength and cementing his status as a respected master. Shen knew he owed his entire life and reputation to her, so he submitted to her every whim. In public, Suyi let him play the leader, but at home, her word was absolute law.
"Wait, what was Sushang's father's name again?" Lingshuang mumbled, finally prying Rovel's hand off her face.
"Li Shen. He went by the moniker Yijian Qingxin," Rovel answered, recalling the intel he had gathered on the journey.
"Oh. Then he's definitely done for," Lingshuang stated, her expression entirely blank.
Rovel eyed her with deep suspicion, ready to cover her mouth again. "What exactly did you do this time?"
He couldn't help but wonder how the adorable girl who used to eagerly tug at his sleeve and call him 'Senior Brother' had turned into this deadpan menace.
"Some people came all the way to Mobei looking for me a while back. They said they were sent by that Li Shen guy," Lingshuang confessed without a hint of guilt. "They brought a bunch of expensive gifts, but since I didn't know them, I tossed the gifts out. Later, they sent some specialty pastries. I didn't want to waste food, so I ate them."
Rovel stared at her. Beside him, even Otto—who usually maintained a flawless mask of polite amusement—looked visibly dumbfounded by her sheer audacity.
"You... never mind," Rovel sighed, rubbing his temples. "At the very least, her father loved her deeply. That much is obvious."
The marriage between Shen and Suyi had always been a transaction. Suyi harbored an almost pathological emotional dependency on her master, Red Kite. Even after Red Kite's supposed death, that obsession never faded; it was merely transferred onto her daughter.
That was why Suyi forced Sushang through hellish training and shipped a five-year-old girl off to the frozen wastes of Mobei to study under Lingshuang—the one person who most resembled Red Kite in skill. She wanted Sushang to master the complete Taixu Sword Qi. She wanted her daughter to become the next Red Kite Immortal.
Rovel crouched down, his fingers brushing against the scorched earth. The rain had washed away a lot of evidence, but his eyes were sharp. The char patterns, the way the wood had splintered—this was an ordinary fire.
If Red Kite had truly descended and unleashed her fury, the sheer, apocalyptic heat of her flames would have vaporized the villa, leaving nothing but glass and ash. The fact that the structures were merely burnt down brought him a wave of relief. Fu Hua hadn't done this.
So who started the fire?
Rovel ventured deeper into the ruins. Perhaps his system-enhanced luck was working overtime, because amidst the rubble, right beside two heavily charred corpses, a glimmer of pristine jade caught his eye. It had been days since the blaze. Scavengers and looters had undoubtedly picked through the ruins, yet this single, valuable pendant remained untouched. It was nothing short of a miracle.
"That's... my father's jade pendant!"
Sushang gasped, spotting the object in his hand. She rushed over, snatching the cool stone from his palm. Her trembling fingers traced the familiar carvings, confirming her worst fears.
Rovel looked down at the two blackened bodies. They were burnt beyond all recognition. Qin Suyi and Li Shen.
The larger frame was wrapped protectively around the smaller one. Shen had held Suyi in his arms, sitting calmly amidst the roaring inferno. There were no signs of struggle, no frantic crawling toward the exits. They had simply waited for the end.
Rovel analyzed the blast radius. The burn marks were heaviest right here, radiating outward. The fire hadn't trapped them; it had started in this very room.
Did Li Shen actually set the fire himself?
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