In the cold depths of night, when ordinary people slept soundly, a spacious hall in a corner of the Wuyu Palace blazed with light. Originally a summer pavilion, it had been sealed off with thick wooden planks after Mu Ming fled with his son. The once-elegant windows and doors were now nailed shut, giving the place an eerie atmosphere reminiscent of a massive coffin.
You Guanyue hadn’t had time to tidy up. The hall stood empty and desolate, surrounded by seven or eight tall jade screens. Only three or four circular chairs occupied the space.
Mu Qingyan sat in one of these chairs, while Sun Ruoshui was seated several steps away. When she first arrived, Sun Ruoshui had tried to move closer to her son, but a single glance from Mu Qingyan prompted two armed maids to forcefully keep her in place.
Sun Ruoshui whimpered for a while, but seeing her son unmoved, she bit her lip and resigned herself to her position. Once again, she realized how different her son was from his father, Mu Ming.
“You’ve finally eradicated the Nie family’s curse that plagued us for generations,” she began. “Our ancestors would be proud. Ah your mother left you as an infant, causing you so much hardship. I won’t speak of my struggles. Hate me if you must, but please take care of yourself. Knowing you’re safe and healthy is all I need.”
She rambled on, but Mu Qingyan remained indifferent, his thoughts seemingly elsewhere, ignoring his mother’s ‘concern’.
Seeing this, Sun Ruoshui seethed inwardly. However, being a perceptive and patient woman, she knew better than to give up. After all, it wasn’t by chance that Nie Hengcheng had chosen her to impersonate Scholar Sun’s daughter and approach Mu Ming. Even the good-natured Mu Ming wasn’t foolish enough to fall for just any beautiful, pitiful woman.
For two or three years after joining Mu Ming, she never overstepped her boundaries. She refrained from acting coy or using her beauty to seduce him. Instead, she only occasionally sought his guidance in reading and writing, sometimes sharing her feelings of loneliness and fear as an orphan. It wasn’t until the fourth year that Mu Ming finally lowered his guard.
She knew her son would be ten times more difficult than his father, but what of it? She had all the time in the world. If not a day, then a year; if not a year, then a decade. Given enough time, even the deepest resentment would fade. Moreover, they were mother and son – surely he wouldn’t keep her imprisoned forever.
She continued her plea: “People say I abandoned you and your father for wealth and status, but they don’t know my suffering. Nie Zhe, that beast, may have looked human, but he had unspeakable vices. Living with him was a daily torment…”
“You only learned about Nie Zhe’s preference for men later, didn’t you?” Mu Qingyan suddenly interjected. “While Nie Hengcheng was alive, Nie Zhe didn’t dare reveal his true nature. Even after Nie Hengcheng’s death, before he seized power, Nie Zhe restrained himself. It wasn’t until Zhao Tianba and Han Yisu were defeated at Qingluo River, and the Nie faction fell under his control, that he began to indulge secretly. Only after capturing Elder Yuheng, buying off Elder Tianqu, and appointing Hu Fengge as Elder Tianji did he feel secure enough to openly keep male companions. Before that, even if he couldn’t maintain his inner facade, he still treated you, his secondary wife, with outward affection.”
Mu Qingyan’s gaze was as cold as the moon. Sun Ruoshui felt exposed under his scrutiny as if she were being interrogated naked. She hadn’t expected her son to have investigated the past so thoroughly.
“Lady Sun, save your breath. You’ll have your chance to explain later,” Mu Qingyan said dismissively, averting his gaze.
At that moment, You Guanyue arrived. Behind him, two burly men carried a reclining chair. The person on the chair emitted a strong smell of blood mixed with the stench of rotting flesh and groaned in agony.
Sun Ruoshui looked up and nearly died of fright. Nie Zhe was barely half a man now.
To stop the corrosive effects of the Bone-Eating Heavenly Rain poison, Yu Huiyin had amputated one of his arms and legs. Due to delayed treatment in the underground cave, the poison continued to slowly eat away at his body. The doctor had no choice but to remove half his shoulder and his thigh up to the groin.
Moreover, his cheek had rotted away, leaving a large, bloody hole. Countless small, festering holes covered his ribcage. He looked like a tortured ghost from hell, utterly horrifying and pitiful.
Unaware of the full story, Sun Ruoshui assumed Mu Qingyan had reduced Nie Zhe to this inhuman state. Terrified, she nearly collapsed, stammering, “You… you may hate him, but why not just kill him? Why… why…” Her teeth chattered, unable to continue.
Ignoring her, Mu Qingyan approached Nie Zhe. “I’ve sent for the Ghost Doctor Linshu. Your life can be saved, so stop pretending to be dead. I know you’re awake and lucid.”
Nie Zhe slowly opened his eyes. “Ask what you will.”
“Talking to you is far more straightforward than talking to Lady Sun,” Mu Qingyan smiled. “Given your injuries, I’ll speak, and you can nod, shake your head, or grunt in response.”
Nie Zhe let out a cold grunt.
“Over a year ago, I challenged you for the position of Sect Leader,” Mu Qingyan said, pacing with his hands behind his back. “Though I feigned fear, I had already gauged your skill level and knew you were no match for me. I was certain of victory. Unexpectedly, I was not only injured but also poisoned. People praised your Five Poisons Palm technique, forcing me to retreat wounded.”
Nie Zhe rolled his eyes.
“But something felt off,” Mu Qingyan continued, frowning as if recalling his confusion. “During the duel, I sensed that I had been poisoned first, slowing my movements, before you struck me. But how was I poisoned? I was extremely cautious in your territory, allowing no one to poison me.”
“I had never encountered the real Five Poisons Palm before. I’d only heard that at its highest level, even the palm wind carried poison. I assumed you had been hiding your true skills, unknowingly poisoning me with your palm wind. As the loser, I had no choice but to accept defeat.”
“After escaping the Hanhai Mountains, I encountered someone who truly practiced the Five Poisons Palm – though not very skilled, it was genuine. After exchanging about 80 moves with him, my suspicions grew,” Mu Qingyan turned to look at Nie Zhe on the lounge chair. “His technique was completely different from yours. I began to doubt the authenticity of your Five Poisons Palm. Yesterday, when we fought again, my suspicions were confirmed – you never practiced the Five Poisons Palm at all.”
Nie Zhe’s blood-caked face grew even more unsightly, while Sun Ruoshui beside him looked even worse.
“Since you never practiced the Five Poisons Palm, let alone poisonous palm wind, where did the poison in my body come from?” Mu Qingyan stared intently at the pair. “There’s only one possibility: someone poisoned me in advance, timing it perfectly to create the illusion that I was defeated by your Five Poisons Palm. But I was extremely cautious around you, so how did you manage to poison me?”
“You’re so clever. Is there anything in this world you can’t figure out?” Nie Zhe sneered, his voice hoarse from the poison burning his throat.
“It’s not hard to guess,” Mu Qingyan coldly looked at Sun Ruoshui. “Four years ago, I left Busi Temple, aiming for the Sect Leader position. After that, no matter how affectionate you two claimed to be, I didn’t believe a word. Except for one time…”
A murderous glint appeared in his eyes. “Two days before the duel, Lady Sun said she had a relic from my father to give me. I didn’t want to see her, but she said it was a sword my father had forged for me…”
Mu Ming, uninterested in power, had devoted his time to various studies including reading, painting, carving, and calligraphy. After Sun Ruoshui gave birth to their son, Mu Ming personally forged a sword for his beloved child.
At that time, Mu Ming was in his prime, focused, and at the peak of his physical and artistic abilities. The sword he forged was like a clear spring, sharp enough to split a hair, named ‘Fu Ying’, comparable to the ancient divine swords in the Sword Cave.
Shortly after forging the sword, he was attacked and forced into hiding to recover.
While in seclusion on Huanglao Peak, Mu Ming wanted to forge another sword for his son, but after his injury, he couldn’t create one that satisfied him. He often lamented that if only he could find ‘Fu Ying’ again.
Unfortunately, ‘Fu Ying’ was never found before Mu Ming passed away.
Thus, when Sun Ruoshui used the sword as bait, Mu Qingyan, despite knowing better, couldn’t suppress his desire.
“After retrieving ‘Fu Ying’, I examined it thoroughly and found nothing unusual,” Mu Qingyan said. “But still uneasy, I discarded the scabbard…”
Nie Zhe suddenly cackled, “No wonder you survived. You threw away the scabbard!”
“So, you had Lady Sun put the poison on the scabbard?” Mu Qingyan calmly asked.
Sun Ruoshui, pale and trembling, stuttered, “No, no, it wasn’t me, it wasn’t me…”
“It wasn’t poison,” Nie Zhe’s face twisted into a grotesque smile. “I knew you were too clever for ordinary poisons – it was Suzi incense! Colorless and odorless, harmless on its own, but when combined with Qianxun wood, it becomes deadly poison. I soaked both the sword and scabbard in Suzi incense for days, then had you sit on a chair made of Qianxun wood on the day of the duel. How could you not fall into the trap!”
Growing more pleased with himself, he continued, “Ha ha ha ha, you should have thrown away the sword too. The blade is made of fine steel, difficult for Suzi incense to adhere to, but the hilt is wrapped with gold and silver threads. You still fell for it…”
Mu Qingyan lowered his eyes: “Indeed, I should have discarded it all, but I couldn’t bear to part with the sword my father had worked so hard to forge.”
Nie Zhe, extremely satisfied despite his excruciating pain, said, “You never expected that what nearly killed you was the sword your father forged, delivered by your mother! Ha ha ha, truly the fate of a star-crossed orphan destined to lose his entire family!”
Sun Ruoshui, tears streaming down her face, pleaded, “No, no, I didn’t know the sword was poisoned. Yan’er, believe your mother…”
“No, you knew,” Mu Qingyan interrupted. “On the day of the duel, to avoid raising my suspicions, Nie Zhe replaced several chairs with Qianxun wood. I would have been poisoned no matter where I sat. Nie Zhe and others who hadn’t touched Suzi incense could sit safely. But you not only refused to sit down, you even pretended you couldn’t bear to watch our duel and left early.”
“Given your hostility towards Nie Zhe, and how his male companions often mocked you, someone of your character would have eagerly watched me beat Nie Zhe to death. Thinking back, it must have been because you had come into contact with Suzi incense when delivering the sword, and feared certain death if you touched Qianxun wood.”
Sun Ruoshui fell to her knees, weeping profusely: “Yan’er, forgive your mother. I’m a coward by nature, forced by this scoundrel. He’s inhuman, I was afraid…”
“Lady Sun, don’t be so modest,” Mu Qingyan said calmly. “You’re a top-tier spy from the Tiangang Dishacamping. Your courage isn’t so small. Even if Nie Zhe threatened and forced you, if you truly wanted to warn me, you could have found a way – a glance, a word. But you didn’t.”
Sun Ruoshui was left speechless.
“But this is truly strange. Why did you poison me?” The young man ignored his kneeling birth mother, frowning to himself. “By then, you and Nie Zhe had been at odds for years, your situation worsening daily. It was only after I left Busi Temple when Nie Zhe wanted to act like my privileged elder, that you regained a life of luxury.”
“No matter how weak our mother-son bond, as long as father’s last wishes stood, I would have ensured you lived a comfortable, wealthy life. By any calculation, you should have hoped for me to defeat Nie Zhe. So why help him poison me?”
“What leverage did Nie Zhe have over you that forced you to poison me?” He pressed relentlessly.
Sun Ruoshui trembled like a sieve, her face ashen, saying nothing.
Nie Zhe pondered: “So you’re not here to settle the poisoning score? You… you’re here to investigate something else.”
Mu Qingyan looked up at the ceiling, his voice gloomy: “Father once said that Lady Sun carried me for ten months and endured hours of labor to give birth to me, a kindness I shouldn’t forget. If Lady Sun had only tried to kill me, I would have merely kept her under watch.”
He turned to Nie Zhe, “May I ask, Acting Sect Leader Nie, what reason did you use to force Lady Sun to poison me?”
“No, no, you can’t, you can’t…” Sun Ruoshui became agitated, frantically waving her hands at Nie Zhe.
Nie Zhe ignored her, staring enviously at Mu Qingyan – his tall, slender form, muscular arms, powerful waist, handsome and melancholic face, crisp and alluring aura, perfect like a young deity.
Meanwhile, he was slowly dying in constant rot and stench. He said maliciously: “If I tell you, what benefit do I get?”
Mu Qingyan smirked: “Even if you don’t say it, I can guess.”
Nie Zhe was stunned.
“Father created the ‘Innate Qi Preservation Breathing Technique,’ and after years of recuperation, he was gradually recovering,” Mu Qingyan said. “But one day, his condition suddenly worsened, and he passed away six months later. On his deathbed, father said he had practiced the technique incorrectly, causing all his efforts to be in vain, leading to his incurable injury.”
“But as I’ve delved deeper into the ‘Innate Qi Preservation Breathing Technique’ over the years, I’ve realized how gentle and balanced it is. Even if practiced incorrectly, at worst it would have no effect. How could it backfire and cause death?”
Mu Qingyan slowly walked to Sun Ruoshui’s side, his eyes filled with intense malice.
He grabbed her hair, pulling her up to question: “Lady Sun, let me ask you, how did father die? You had the heart to poison me, did you also poison father?”
“Father believed that mother-son affection was innate and thought I was pitiful without a mother’s care. Seeing that I discarded everything you sent each year, he would keep a few items as mementos for me out of kindness – did you take advantage of this to poison the things you sent? Did you kill Father?! Did Nie Zhe then use this to force you to poison me?!”
As he said the last sentence, he violently threw his birth mother aside.
Seeing the cold murderous intent in her son’s eyes, Sun Ruoshui broke out in a cold sweat.
She had faced many crises in her life, but none as dangerous as this.
On his deathbed, Mu Ming had guessed it was his ex-wife who had poisoned him, but he never mentioned it. Instead, he urged his son to leave the Hanhai Mountains early, stay away from power struggles, and live freely. He even asked his son to take care of his ex-wife in her old age.
Sun Ruoshui could only hate that Mu Qingyan wasn’t as kind and benevolent as his father but instead was vengeful and ruthless. As soon as his father died, he came out to compete for the Sect Leader position – though, to be fair, until Mu Qingyan emerged four years ago, no one in the entire sect knew his true nature.
Sun Ruoshui knew well that Mu Qingyan and his father shared a deep bond. While he might overlook her other misdeeds, if he learned the truth about Mu Ming’s death, a quick death would be the best she could hope for.
Unable to defend herself, she remained silent. Nie Zhe, however, burst into laughter: “Didn’t expect that, did you? Your mother poisoned your father! Ha ha ha ha, what a joke! The illustrious Mu family of the Li Sect, two hundred years of history, produced a weakling like Mu Ming. He spent his entire life swallowing his pride and being manipulated, only to die an unclear death in the end. Ha ha ha ha…”
Sun Ruoshui suddenly stood up, screaming, “It was Nie Zhe! Nie Zhe ordered me to kill your father! You can’t blame me, truly you can’t. He forced me to do it! If I didn’t poison your father, he threatened to have me violated! Yan’er, you must believe your mother. I didn’t mean to…”
Nie Zhe’s expression changed as he cursed, “You fickle whore! When did I ever tell you to poison Mu Ming? You’re trying to shift the blame! Look at your sagging flesh – I wouldn’t touch you even if I were paid!”
As Sun Ruoshui heard Nie Zhe’s vulgar words and saw her son’s cold, disgusted, murderous expression, her mind was in chaos. If not for Nie Zhe, she would never have abandoned the infant Mu Qingyan to become a secondary wife. If not for Nie Zhe, when Mu Ming returned for his son, she could have followed him to Busi Temple on Huanglao Peak.
Life at Busi Temple may have been austere, but it would only have been for a few years. Once Mu Qingyan grew up and reclaimed the Sect Leader position, she would immediately become the revered Madame Dowager of the Li Sect, enjoying endless power and wealth.
It was all Nie Zhe’s fault. Yes, it was all Nie Zhe’s fault!
In a fit of rage, she yanked out her hairpin and lunged at Nie Zhe, aiming for his throat.
With a thud, Nie Zhe’s laughter was cut short as blood sprayed from his throat.
Though reduced to a half-human state by the Bone-Eating Heavenly Rain, he was still a martial artist with considerable skill. Using his remaining strength, he countered with a palm strike. With a loud smack, Sun Ruoshui was hit squarely in the chest and sent flying, landing unconscious on the ground.
In the silent, abandoned hall, only the hissing sound of air escaping from Nie Zhe’s throat could be heard.
Mu Qingyan watched the scene coldly. “…Everyone, please come out now.”
Several people emerged from behind the tall jade screens – Elder Yuheng Yan Xu, Elder Tianji Hu Fengge, Yu Huiyin, and You Guanyue, who hadn’t left earlier.
Yan Xu and Yu Huiyin had intended to speak on Nie Zhe’s behalf to spare his life, but after hearing everything, they could only shake their heads and sigh, unable to utter a word.
Hu Fengge looked at the barely breathing Sun Ruoshui on the ground, her expression complex. She knew that while other crimes might be excused, poisoning Mu Ming left Sun Ruoshui with no hope of survival.
You Guanyue’s face was bitter as he inwardly lamented – he hadn’t wanted to know so many of his lord’s private matters.
“You’ve all heard everything,” Mu Qingyan said. “I will now deal with these two. Please refrain from interfering.” With that, he turned to leave.
Lao Yan stood dazed for a moment before suddenly chasing after Mu Qingyan, grabbing his sleeve. “Young Lord, listen to this old man. A man must hold absolute power!”
“In terms of character, looks, and ability, Nie Zhe doesn’t even measure up to your father’s little finger. Yet Sun Ruoshui was still willing to remarry him. What do you think your mother was after? Nie Zhe’s delicate, feminine appearance? No!”
“Let me tell you, it’s because your father was content to stay out of power struggles. No matter how Elder Chou tried to persuade him, he refused to compete with Nie and his nephew for the Sect Leader position. That’s why Sun Ruoshui gave up on him and turned to Nie Zhe!”
“A man must have power. Without it, not only will you be controlled by others, but you won’t even be able to protect the women in your life or your own life! Hey, hey, I’m not finished yet, Young Lord, Young Lord…”