Hui Kai turned his head and looked at the woman. She raised her head and clenched her teeth. "To answer you, sir: Song'er is Hui Kai's son."
Hui Kai was shocked and wanted nothing more than to slap the woman dead. Damn her, she’s framing me!
The others were also horrified. "Madam, you cannot speak such nonsense!"
"Madam."
"Madam!"
Elder Qiu watched in silence. The woman did not cultivate the Path of Dispassion and was simply protecting her child.
Lu Yin said, "You heard her. A mother would not mistake who is the father of her child.
"This is troubling... What do you think should be done? Wei Qi is dead, while Wei Song is not the city lord's son. I cannot do nothing after coming here. It would be hard to explain this to my people in Canglan Valley when I return."
As he spoke, Lu Yin’s eyes grew cold as he turned to stare at Hui Kai. "Either the people in this manor die, or you die. No matter how you put it, you are the former city lord's junior brother, aren’t you?"
Hui Kai was terrified. This man was targeting him!
Inside the manor, a crowd hurried to beg for mercy. Of course they would prefer Hui Kai to be the one to die.
Hui Kai looked up at Lu Yin. Seeing the icy eyes staring back, his whole body went stiff. How had things come to this?
As a disciple of Bing Xu, Hui Kai had once roamed his civilization freely, never imagining that a day would come when another would hold his life in their hand, let alone for such a ridiculous reason. If he died, what would the outside world say? Would it be said that he had died by Lu Yin's hand, or that vicious woman’s?
He did not even know whom to hate.
The cold wind cut like a blade. Snow fell into the courtyard of the mourning hall, slowly covering the bloodstains.
This was the most desperate instant of Hui Kai’s life. Looking up at Lu Yin's gaze, despair completely closed in upon the man.
Lu Yin raised his hand and moved closer to Hui Kai. Overwhelming pressure surged like an astral river flowing backwards, shattering the void. Hui Kai did not dare to move a muscle. The universe seemed to be collapsing upon him as his life slipped away.
He blankly stared upwards. "I- my master is Bing Xu."
The others knelt on the ground. Bing Xu? If not for Ji He interfering, Hui Kai’s master would have died.
Elder Qiu watched with sympathy. If Hui Kai had not arrived, he would not have gotten involved in this matter. He had only appeared to show off his power.
Just as Lu Yin's hand was about to make contact with Hui Kai, it stopped. Not only that, but the pressure also abruptly vanished.
Snowflakes danced across the ground. When everyone looked over, Hui Kai was gone, and so was Lu Yin. Only Elder Qiu remained standing in the same place.
Outside of Shanfeng City, Hui Kai knelt on the ground while gasping for air. That instant of existing between life and death had left his back drenched with sweat. He looked up to see Lu Yin calmly observing him. The man looked like a giant.
Hui Kai bowed low. "Thank you for not killing me, sir. Thank you for not killing me."
Lu Yin said, "I never said that I wouldn’t kill you."
Hui Kai shuddered.
"I just have a question. If you answer me well, I might not kill you."
Hui Kai seized this opportunity as a lifeline. "Please ask, sir! If I know the answer, I will tell you anything!"
Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Even if doing so means revealing your master, Bing Xu's, secrets? It could bring death down upon you."
Hui Kai clenched his teeth. "If I know, I will tell you anything."
Nothing mattered more than staying alive at this moment. As long as Hui Kai could make it through this, anything was acceptable. He did not want to die, not even one second sooner than necessary.
The less that one tasted death, the more that they feared it. Hui Kai was the disciple of an Immortal. He had not lived enough, and he had not indulged himself enough.
Lu Yin's calm voice continued, "How many disciples does Jiu Wen, the sect master of the Sect of Dispassion, have?"
Hui Kai's pupils shrank as he stared at Lu Yin in shock.
Lu Yin met the man’s gaze in silence, though his eyes grew ever colder.
Hui Kai continued to stare at Lu Yin for a moment, his eyes flickering.
"Do you not want to answer?"
Hui Kai clenched his teeth. "I do not know how many disciples Sect Master Jiu Wen has had in total. I only know of six."
"Tell me about them."
"The Zeng family, the Shahe clan, Duhou Manor, the Stonewall clan, the Nanshan clan, and the Xu family. There are a total of six factions, descendants of his disciples. I don’t know anything about them. Aside from the Stonewall clan, all of them are gone."
Lu Yin looked at Hui Kai. "Gone?"
"Yes, they are all gone."
The man knew exactly what Lu Yin was asking about. If this were nothing more than casual curiosity, the man would not have gone to such lengths. His claim of visiting Shanfeng City for revenge was a lie. It was nothing more than an excuse to ask this question.
This question was worth doing that much for.
Hui Kai had no choice. If he did, he would have never spoken. His master could not help him.
"Apart from the Stonewall clan, the other five were all exterminated. They were destroyed by Sect Master Jiu Wen," Hui Kai slowly explained.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed as he stared at Hui Kai.
Since he had already gone so far, Hui Kai no longer hesitated. "Jiu Wen has always been the sect master of the Sect of Dispassion. But no one knows what method Ji He used to gain Ancestor Hong Xia’s support in the past, allowing him to even take that position. Ji He is Ancestor Hong Xia's disciple, and others like my master and He Xiao are also Ancestor Hong Xia's disciples. Normally, Jiu Wen could not have won that position.
"Not only that, but it has also been said that Ji He caused one of Jiu Wen's disciples to betray him. Supposedly, that disciple gave Ji He leverage over Jiu Wen, forcing him to step aside. That created an enormous uproar, and yet it only lasted for a single day.
“One day later, aside from the Stonewall clan, the families of Jiu Wen’s other five disciples were all dead. Blood ran like rivers. The clans were wiped out. Not a single person escaped." Terror filled Hui Kai's eyes. "Many people saw Jiu Wen standing in a sea of blood, smiling at Ji He. At that moment, that image became the nightmare of countless people.