Was there anything for Long Feiye to regret? He’d only come for the truth, so he wasn’t afraid of the consequences. He and Han Yunxi had attacked from behind, then lured Bai Yanqing up here to avoid the spectators down below. None of this was in vain. No matter what Bai Yanqing said, he was prepared to accept it.
He only wanted to find out the truth about the past and just who was right or wrong between East and West Qin. Or perhaps the truth was as they’d guessed, intentionally instigated by both sides. What the Wind and Black Clans might have done the was under question--and even the actions of the neutral Li Clan, who had dispersed a massive army just like that.
“Go ahead and talk!” Long Feiye answered icily. Of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to trust Bai Yanqing’s words, but he wanted to get some hints from his answers.
Bai Yanqing only smiled coldly. Even though he couldn’t announce the truth to the world, he could still speak his piece as long as both Long Feiye and Han Yunxi were present. He was going to make them regret everything!
“Fine, then listen up, you two!” Bai Yanqing grew serious. Both Long Feiye and Han Yunxi remained silent as they waited. Nearby, Baili Mingxiang was listening quietly on the ground as well.
“Back then…” Bai Yanqing seemed intent on drawing out the suspense. He even added a meaningful pause to give Long Feiye a look. Silence stretched around them as the atmosphere grew tense. Bai Yanqing’s mocking look only intensified as the seconds passed.
After a while, he continued. “Back then, the flooding disaster at Sandy River was actually…”
“No need to say any more!” Han Yunxi suddenly interrupted.
Long Feiye didn’t care what the truth was as long as it was told, but Han Yunxi didn’t want to know at all. Long at Three-Way Black Market, she had resolved to ignore whatever happened between East and West Qin in the past!
Bai Yanqing was astonished. Long Feiye glanced at Han Yunxi, but didn’t stop her.
“Han Yunxi, you…” Bai Yanqing didn’t understand what she meant.
Han Yunxi narrowed her eyes and said, “Long Feiye, kill him!”
If Long Feiye didn’t know the truth about Han Yunxi’s transmigration, he might have asked why she didn’t want to know the truth. But since he knew she wasn’t actually the “West Qin princess,” he understood her resolve. If she didn’t care, why should he keep persisting? In his heart, there was no inherent value in knowing the truth or not. It wouldn’t affect any of his decisions.
“As you say!” Long Feiye said and raised his sword.
Bai Yanqing was flabbergasted. Between these two, one was the West Qin princess while the other was the East Qin crown prince! Even if they could ignore their hatred to love each other, how could they give up on hearing the truth? Long Feiye might not hate Han Yunxi, but how could he not despise the West Qin faction? Han Yunxi might not hate Long Feiye, but how could she forget how the East Qin factions had murdered her West Qin cohorts in the past?
“You--you two really don’t want to hear the truth?” he demanded.
“The truth?” Han Yunxi countered aggressively. “Who cares, let it die!”
Bai Yanqing was too stunned to speak. If Han Yunxi and Long Feiye didn’t care whatsoever, then what was the point of their challenge to him?
“Bai Yanqing, you really want to tell us, don’t you? Sorry, but you won’t get a chance!” Han Yunxi said before murmuring to Long Feiye. “Do it!”
Long Feiye immediately attacked with a slash. Although Bai Yanqing avoided the blow, the sword qi still left him spitting up a mouthful of blood as he tumbled to the side. He didn’t forget to attack with poisons as he evaded more blows, but Han Yunxi nullified them all.
“Long Feiye, you’ve brought shame to your East Qin ancestors!” Bai Yanqing cursed.
Han Yunxi was a woman, so she could be allowed to act willful. But how could Long Feiye give up so easily as a man, when he’d accepted and shouldered his fate since childhood?
“Who cares...let it die,” Long Feiye echoed. Although his tone was less imperious than Han Yunxi, it was filled with an incomparable chill. Once again, he slashed at Bai Yanqing, who rolled to the side. His internal organs were almost shattered from the aftershock of the blast as blood trickled from his lips.
At last, he unsheathed his sword as well, but there was no time to counterattack. Long Feiye’s successive slices were filled with an unrelenting speed that never stopped. Bai Yanqing was overwhelmed by the onslaught and dodged them as he shouted towards Han Yunxi, “Han Yunxi, the Wind Clan didn’t betray West Qin! Back then, the Black Clan colluded with the East Qin crown prince to destroy the dam and preserve the iron ore mines! It was East Qin who abandoned the people of the world, it was East Qin who ordered the Black Clan to send their troops against the Wind Clan! East Qin was the one that let West Qin and the entire world down!”
Neither Long Feiye nor Han Yunxi spoke. Instead, a stronger blast of sword qi attacked Bai Yanqing.
“Han Yunxi, the entire West Qin Dynasty was destroyed with no survivors! How could you accept this? All of that was East Qin’s fault! The East Qin Dynasty long had ambitions of swallowing West Qin whole! Don’t you see?”
“Han Yunxi, Long Feiye should know the truth most of all! He’s been lying to you this entire time!” Bai Yanqing had hardly spoken when Long Feiye’s sword awn struck him across the abdomen, sending him flying backwards. Multiple trees went crashing to the ground from the effects of the blow while Bai Yanqing’s body fell next to a cliff. He was covered in blood, but still persisted in speaking.
“Han Yunxi, it’s true that this old man is ambitious! But back then, the Wind Clan had no intent to betray! Long Feiye wants to use you to tidy up the Di Clan, can’t you tell?”
A passerby who witnessed this scene might really think that Bai Yanqing was a loyal subject who was coaxing his sovereign unto death. But Han Yunxi never answered him. All the while, she was concentrating on helping Long Feiye dispel Bai Yanqing’s poisons.
“Han Yunxi, do you know how many spirits of West Qin died unjustly? How many more are waiting for you to avenge them and restore their names?”
“Han Yunxi, this old man can die, but you can’t refuse to believe the truth of the past!” Bai Yanqing clutched his chest with one hand while propping himself off the ground. It looked like he wasn’t going to dodge any more strikes.
The way he spoke almost sounded like the truth. If Han Yunxi hadn’t experienced so much with Long Feiye already, she might even believe him.
“Kill him,” Han Yunxi said. Her mind hadn’t changed. With Bai Yanqing like this, he had to die no matter what! He was so crafty that it’d be strange if he didn’t try to provoke them before his death! But once they decided to forget about the truth and just move on, he couldn’t affect them no matter how he tried!
Long Feiye raised his sword. Instead of waving it around, he was going to stab their target directly. Behind Bai Yanqing was a cliff, which meant he had no chance to dodge.
“Wait!” Bai Yanqing cried out at the last second.
As if they’d wait for him! But then Bai Yanqing cried, “Han Yunxi, I’m your father! You can’t treat me like this!”
Long Feiye’s sword faltered in mid-air.
Han Yunxi was the direct descendant of the Poison Clan along with Bai Yanqing. They had guessed as much long ago, but since Han Yunxi never looked into it, he never asked for any details. Now Bai Yanqing’s declaration stopped his sword.
“You knew who I was, but never acknowledged me! What motives were you harboring? You were clearly planning to use me!” Han Yunxi raged back. Long Feiye had long informed her of Lady Helian’s status as a spy. She had entered the Han estate long ago--which meant that Bai Yanqing knew of Han Yunxi for years.
“Speak, were you the one who caused my mother’s death?” Han Yunxi demanded.
Bai Yanqing began to garner sympathy points. “Daughter, your mother’s death has been the most painful event of my life. No matter what, you have to believe me when I say that I wouldn’t have done something so heartless!”
“Then why didn’t you acknowledge my existence?” Han Yunxi asked.
“I had my own secret troubles, ah! Yunxi, come here. Let your father give an explanation! Come here first, trust your father. Long Feiye is the one using you, don’t be fooled by him!” Bai Yanqing coaxed.
But Han Yunxi only asked, word for word, “Long Feiye, I only trust you in this world. Why are you still hesitating?”
Long Feiye understood and pointed his sword at Bai Yanqing once more. The man grew alarmed and cried, “Han Yunxi, no matter what, I’m still your father! Your biological father!”
“No you’re not! You’re not!” Han Yunxi shouted back.
Bai Yanqing was about to argue when Long Feiye stabbed him in the heart!
“Old sect leader!” Abruptly, Shi Jiuxia’s voice rang out.
“Be careful of poison!” Han Yunxi pulled Long Feiye aside as Shi Jiuxia’s poison powder scattered into the air.
Shi Jiuxia stared paralyzed at Bai Yanqing’s wound in disbelief. “Old sect leader! Old sect leader!”
Bai Yanqing was on his last breath. He gripped the blade buried in his chest and tore it out of his body, splashing his torso with blood. With difficulty, he climbed to his feet and cursed Han Yunxi. “Patricide will incur divine punishment on you!”
Han Yunxi froze, her face pale. In her mind, Bai Yanqing wasn’t her real father, nor was he worthy of bearing the name, but...she couldn’t change relations of flesh and blood. At the same time, Long Feiye snatched at the air and recovered his sword. His other foot kicked Bai Yanqing’s body into the air until he fell into the abyss below.
“Old sect leader!” Shi Jiuxia screamed.
Picking up Han Yunxi, Long Feiye dove down after him to give chase. For a man like Bai Yanqing, they had to see the body first before they were sure he was dead. Halfway down the cliff, they spotted Bai Yanqing’s body suspended on a length of tree branch overlooking the abyss. Long Feiye examined the corpse and confirmed that it wasn’t breathing. He glanced at Han Yunxi, who remained silent. Without hesitation, he sliced through the branch and declared, “This has nothing to do with you. I killed him!”
He watched Bai Yanqing’s corpse vanish into the abyss before bringing Han Yunxi back up. There, Shi Jiuxia was kneeling in shock by the cliff while Xu Donglin was still unconscious. Baili Mingxiang sprawled on the ground, her face as white as a corpse’s. Han Yunxi had recovered enough to walk to the woman’s side and start treating her poison. Afterwards, she sat straight on the ground.
Everything today had gone as planned, but she still felt uneasy in her heart. Long Feiye stood by her side while staring at Shi Jiuxia. Although there were plenty of unfinished business, he would give Han Yunxi all the time she needed first. After all, “patricide” was a heavy burden to bear.
Although the situation had calmed down, no one could expect what was happening at the very bottom of the canyon…