Chapter 51: The Past of Qinghe Town (Part 1)

“Ahhhhhhh! It’s all Yin Ruoxu’s fault! Why doesn’t he just die? I want him to die with me! I want his blood to pay for this!”

The Yin spirit screamed, blood constantly flowing from her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears, smearing her makeup.

The pale skin peeled away, leaving only a charred corpse.

The corpse glanced at everyone, then suddenly, like a puppet with its strings cut, regained some clarity and began to laugh.

Her voice was no longer clear, now coarse and grating, like sandpaper scraping across a table, making everyone feel strangely uneasy.

“Sha… yu…”

A tear slid down her charred face, and she seemed to experience a sense of relief.

“Let… it… go…”

Unlike her previous ferocity, her expression now was gentle.

Those were her final words.

Shark? Kill fish? Foolish fish?

(T/N: The word   “Sha… yu…” said by the Yin spirit carried an ambiguous meaning because ‘Sha’ can have different meaning based on how the word is said. ‘shā yú’ means shark, ‘ shā  yú’ means kill fish and ‘ shǎ  yú’ is foolish fish.)

Let it go?

What did she mean?

Everyone was bewildered by her words.

Nevertheless, this bizarre event finally came to an end.

“Ahhhh! What kind of monster is that?” Tang Murou woke up, saw the corpse on the ground, and fainted again in fright.

Everyone: “…”

“Let’s go.”

Yin Buqi sheathed his sword and, holding Jiang Niannian’s hand, prepared to leave.

Yin Ci stood still, unmoving.

Jiang Ziyou said, “Junior Brother, we should go. It’s been three days with no word from us. Master will be worried.”

“I… there’s something I want to understand…” Yin Ci awkwardly spoke from behind, “Could my father really have…”

Song Shi interrupted him with a sarcastic tone, “If you want the truth, just use a soul-searching technique. Why all the hesitation?”

A cultivator said, “To use soul-searching, you need to be at least at the Void Refining stage. Among us, the only one at that stage is… Yin Buqi.”

“Big Brother Yin…” Yin Ci looked up and met Yin Buqi’s eyes.

His red pupils were deep, cold, and indifferent, carrying a chilling sense of disdain.

He surely wouldn’t help.

Yin Ci slowly withdrew his expression and walked towards the exit with his head down, only to be stopped by a hand.

“Didn’t you want to search the soul? Why are you leaving?”

“Brother Yin!” Yin Ci cried out in surprise, rushing into his arms and babbling excitedly.

“Get off me, you’re so loud.”

Yin Buqi pushed him away impatiently, then slowly crouched down.

His cold fingers gently touched the forehead of the corpse.

After a moment of dizziness, the truth of the past began to flood into his mind…

…

A long time ago, in Qinghe Town, the river was clear, filled with Jinling Green Blossom.

It often rained on both sides of the river, drenching clothes and casting a light mist over the area.

The houses on either side weren’t as old as they are now—gates were painted red with gold lacquer, and willows were planted by the doors.

A young girl in a pale yellow dress sat by the creek, combing her fluffy hair in front of a mirror.

Then, she took out her white jade flute and began to play a tune.

She bore a striking resemblance to Jiang Niannian, though she was gentler in appearance, a beauty nurtured by the water town.

A line from a poem, “The beauty by the wine shop counter is like the moon, her fair wrists gleaming like frost and snow” would not be an exaggeration.

This was the Yin spirit’s appearance when she was alive.

The clear river of the town flowed day after day.

The women washed clothes there, and children played in the water.

At sunset, golden ripples like fish scales shimmered on the river’s surface.

Men herding cattle, going to market, carrying goods, or working in the fields passed by, whistling at the women singing fishing songs by the river, only to be scolded as “scoundrels” and splashed with water.

As the noise gradually faded, only a faint sobbing sound could be heard from a corner.

That was the town’s only orphan, called Little Yu.

His mother died in childbirth, and after that, his family fell into ruin.

All ten or so members of his household perished in a great fire.

For the Wei people, even if a limb were cut off, it would grow back.

But fire was fatal to them.

That night, the oil lamp, left burning, claimed the lives of his entire family.

Little Yu survived by sheer luck, protected by the adults.

At eight years old, Little Yu crouched by the water, curled up in a ball.

His clothes were torn, his face bruised, and his eyes swollen from crying.

He kept asking his reflection in the river, “Why do I have to live in this world?”

“Hey, how did that oil lamp just tip over all of a sudden?”

“Our Wei clan fears fire the most. How could they be so careless? An entire family gone, just like that…”

“This poor child lost his mother at birth… Could it be that he cursed them all to die? Such a tragedy!”

People passing by pointed and whispered, but none dared approach, fearing they might catch something unclean.

Hearing this, Little Yu ran back to the burnt remains of his home, tears streaming down his face.

The house was blackened and charred, only a bare courtyard and a scorched room remained.

Little Yu shrank into a corner, filled with sorrow.

As the sun set, a soft voice called out, “Little Yu, crying all by yourself again?”

Her voice was like heavenly music, soft and lilting.

Little Yu looked up to see Shen Susu, the girl from the neighboring courtyard.

She was beautiful, kind, and capable, and everyone liked her, affectionately calling her Sister Su.

She leaned on the wall, smiling gently, her dimples showing.

“Waah—” Little Yu’s low sobs turned into loud wails, filled with unspeakable grievances.

“Sister Su! Everyone bullies me because I don’t have parents!”

“I’m not a curse! I didn’t kill my parents! I didn’t! I didn’t!”

“Sob… Sister Su—”

Shen Susu didn’t scold or console him, just waited for Little Yu to cry himself out before speaking softly, “Are you hungry from all that crying? I’ve saved some delicious chicken legs for you.”

At the mention of chicken legs, Little Yu’s stomach growled.

Ever since becoming an orphan, he hadn’t had a proper meal, hunger being a constant companion.

At first, he had locked the gates, letting no one in and crying in the corner.

Shen Susu would always climb over the wall with a ladder, wait for him to finish crying, and then bring him food.

Little Yu knew how kind she was and thought to repay her someday.

Feeling shy, he nodded and said, “Thank you, Sister Su.”

Shen Susu wrapped the chicken legs in paper and tossed them down to him.

Little Yu hurriedly picked them up and ate them with great relish, his mouth covered in grease.

“Slow down, no one’s going to take them from you,” Shen Susu giggled, making Little Yu blush.

Shen Susu asked, “Who hurt your face?”

“It was Zhang Dahu and Li Goudan. They made me crawl under their legs, bark like a dog, and kicked me in the head…”

“Those two again. I’ll have a good talk with their mothers tomorrow and make sure they discipline them,” Shen Susu frowned, a bit annoyed.

Little Yu wiped away his tears and lowered his head sadly.

“Sister Su, am I really that useless…”

Though he hated Zhang Dahu and the others, he was also scared of being beaten. Every time they bullied him, he could only cry in a corner, too afraid to fight back.

“Who said that?” Shen Susu comforted him.

“Our Little Yu is the kindest. When you grow up, you’ll be a fine person.”

“But I’m not brave at all…”

“Little Yu, do you know that kindness is rarer than bravery? Bravery is often a moment of impulse, but kindness is usually a difficult choice.”

Shen Susu smiled warmly.

“If possible, I would much rather you grow up to be a kind person.”

Gripping the chicken leg bone tightly, the boy nodded earnestly, “Don’t worry, Sister Su. When I grow up, I’ll definitely repay you!”

Then, scratching his head, he added, “Sister Su, you shouldn’t climb over the wall anymore. It’s too dangerous. If you come, just knock three times on the door, and I’ll know it’s you.”

Shen Susu nodded, “Alright.”