Chapter 102: A Gentleman Avenges, from Morning to Night

Saying this, Yin Buqi picked her up and pressed her against the vanity.

He leaned forward, bent his body, and roughly kissed the lip balm he had just applied to her.

Her undergarment was loosely pulled apart, and Jiang Niannian’s back pressed against the vanity mirror.

Tears unconsciously formed at the corners of her eyes, and she was short of breath.

After the kiss, Yin Buqi pulled back slightly, and with a low laugh near her ear, he said, “I finally understand the saying, ‘From now on, the king no longer holds court in the morning.'”

Yin Buqi caressed her face and said, “From today on, I’ll have the physician prepare some tonic medicine for you every day. Niannian, your health is too weak.”

“…”

Jiang Niannian felt a headache coming on.

She had been tangled up with him the night before, and now she had to wake up and drink medicine.

It really wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

And besides, wasn’t it because someone had no self-control?

However, after their dual cultivation, she did notice some improvement in her abilities.

Just then, a respectful voice came from outside the door: “Young Master, Shi Jing has been locked in the water prison for two days. He keeps saying he wants to see you. What should we do?”

As soon as the voice fell, Yin Buqi lowered his eyes, and his gaze darkened, as if displeased.

Jiang Niannian froze.

“The Lord of Fate has come too? Why is he locked in the water prison, and why is he kneeling?”

“Because of the death omen he spoke of, I had my cultivation crippled, my spiritual roots shattered, and I was locked in that small, dirty bamboo house on the back mountain to be humiliated,” Yin Buqi said, turning his face to look at Jiang Niannian, his lips curling into a cruel smile.

“Do you think he should be kneeling?”

Yin Buqi, dressed in a black brocade robe, his jade-colored fingers clutching the robe’s hem, looked ominous and brutal.

“He should,” Jiang Niannian nodded.

Yin Buqi had suffered so much in his childhood, and when tracing it back to the source, it was indeed because of Shi Jing’s words.

However, having him kneel in the water prison for two days was a light punishment.

She wasn’t exactly speaking up for Shi Jing; she was just asking casually.

She added, “Isn’t there a saying, ‘A gentleman avenges, from morning to night’?”

“Pfft.” Yin Buqi laughed, holding her waist, the gloom from earlier completely gone.

“Niannian, a gentleman avenges, ten years are not too late.”

“Ah… you… don’t laugh!” Jiang Niannian glared at him, flustered and angry.

After laughing, he leaned into her ear and asked softly, “Do you want me to kill him?”

“I don’t know…” Jiang Niannian shook her head.

“He is your enemy, part of the source of your pain. You can torture him however you want.”

Jiang Niannian paused, then continued, “But what I hope more is that you can let go of the past’s restraints and hatred, and live a better life, be happier every day.”

Yin Buqi stared at her, his thin lips curving upwards, red eyes glowing with intense warmth.

“Niannian… I really like you so much.”

He looked at the woman in his arms, her every movement and every word stirring his heart.

Jiang Niannian became a little uneasy under his gaze, fearing he would do something shameful again.

She pushed him away and said, “Doesn’t he have something to say? Why don’t you listen first before deciding?”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you,” Yin Buqi said, gently rubbing her face.

“I’ll go see him now.”

“Should I go with you?”

“No need. The water prison is too cold, messy, and dirty. It will spoil your eyes.”

“Alright, then tell me what happened when you return.”

…

In the water prison.

The walls were so thick that no light could penetrate.

The walls were covered in deep purple filth, dark, damp, and terrifying.

Yin Buqi walked in leisurely, his black robe blending with the darkness of the water prison.

The servants hurriedly lit the candles inside the prison, casting his figure in sharp contrast.

His pale skin glowed under the candlelight.

His silhouette was bleak and cold, and his hair, dark as silk, shone with a faint glow.

He quietly stared at the man locked in a cage, his hands and feet chained, kneeling on the ground.

The man’s white robe was torn and tattered, soaked with dirty blood up to his knees, suggesting he had been tortured.

The man had no expression, his eyes staring blankly at the ripples in the water beneath him.

It was Yin Buqi who spoke first.

“The so-called Lord of Fate, who is said to understand the past and the present, and can converse with the Dao, is really in such a pathetic state now.”

“You’ve come,” Shi Jing said weakly, his chest faintly rising and falling.

Yin Buqi smiled, waved his sleeve, and the iron cage opened with a creak.

Yin Buqi walked forward silently, his black and gold brocade robe clinging to his slender frame, like a jade bamboo—quiet, tall, and elegant.

“Young Master, it’s dirty ahead…”

“It’s fine,” Yin Buqi waved his hand, signaling the servant to retreat.

His shoes splashed through the blood.

He stood in front of Shi Jing, lifting one foot and raising Shi Jing’s chin to force him to look up at him.

“When you encouraged others to cripple my cultivation back then, did you ever think it would end like this?”

He looked at Shi Jing’s bloodied face and smiled.

“Lord of Fate, do you know what this is called? It’s called karma, the Dao’s retribution.”

Yin Buqi’s gaze darkened, and all the unbearable nightmares seemed to resurface—the death of his mother, the humiliation from his sect, the monthly bloodletting, and the countless nights of cold and pain all over his body.

So many years had passed, but the harsh voices still echoed in his ears: “How could I, Yin Ruoxu, have such a filthy thing like you?”

He was born of evil blood, and he himself was sin.

All the memories seemed to collapse in his mind, chaotic and twisted, before finally settling into a strange calm.

“I did that… for your own good.”

“For my good?” Yin Buqi laughed coldly, looking up.

He laughed more and more recklessly and kicked Shi Jing.

“In this sect, there are many things that look beautiful on the outside but are rotten inside. And you dare to say you did this for my good?”

Shi Jing sighed softly.

“Your mother didn’t die suddenly. She chose it willingly.”

Yin Buqi’s red eyes cracked open with numerous dark gaps, releasing a cold, ominous mist.

“What did you say?!”

“Say it clearly!”

Shi Jing glanced at him, then softly said, “It started fifty years ago. At that time, you weren’t born yet. I was heavily injured while searching for a secret treasure, and your mother, Huo Yueqing, saved me. Yueqing was a kind-hearted girl, and she brought me back to Qingqiu to heal.”

“During the healing process, I naturally met Yueqing’s sister, who is also Tang Muruo’s mother, Huo Yuelian.”

Yin Buqi said, “Keep going.”

Shi Jing’s face grew paler, and he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he spoke softly, “You were right. I am Tang Muruo’s father.”