vstars Chapter 172 The Shocking Truth
Chapter 172 The Shocking Truth
Xie Wanxun was startled. She looked at Xia Rujing, sized her up, and then stroked her chin, asking, "Why?"
Xia Mengqi took a deep breath, her eyes slightly red, as if she was about to cry.
However, she straightened up and still voiced her speculation: "After failing to find out about my sister in the black market, I focused my attention on my master and asked the people of the Shadow Pavilion to inquire about him."
"Doubting your master? Xia Mengqi, such behavior is truly contrary to the rules of respecting one's teacher," Xie Wanxun said with interest.
Xia Mengqi was not annoyed. She sighed and said, "My master is very good to me. People in the sect once suspected that I was my master's daughter. However, my mother is not my master. Her name is Xia Ruan, and she is my master's older sister."
Xie Wanxun's eyes widened. She clearly hadn't expected Xia Mengqi to be Xia Rujing's niece, as the two looked completely different.
"I don't resemble my master at all because my mother and master are half-sisters, so they don't look alike. My appearance is completely different from my master's. This is all information that the Shadow Pavilion has gathered. They also found out that my mother left Hundred Herbs Valley after she came of age and married my father. My mother and master haven't seen each other since, and it seems that they had some kind of conflict."
"The people of the Shadow Pavilion have no way of knowing what happened between my mother and my master. However, I once secretly read a letter that my master sent to my mother. At that time, I couldn't read. After accidentally finding this letter, I gave it to my sister and asked her to read it to me. My sister read the first half of the letter, which contained my master's greetings to my mother. However, my sister stopped reading after reading a part of it. The last sentence she read was, 'If only you and I weren't sisters.'"
“So, Master and Mother must have had some kind of conflict.” Xia Mengqi’s tone was very certain, and Xie Wanxun nodded in agreement. Xia Mengqi, having received confirmation, continued.
"Four years ago, my home was attacked by a group of demonic cultivators. My parents were killed by them, and my sister disappeared without a trace. She may have been taken away by the demonic cultivators. I wandered around for a month before my master brought me back to the sect. She discovered that I had an exceptional talent for alchemy, so she accepted me as her personal disciple."
“My master is very good to me. She makes all the disciples obey me because I am the eldest disciple. Moreover, she will fulfill many of my requests. Even if it is an eighth-grade herb, she will do her best to find it for me. My alchemy skills have improved rapidly, which is inseparable from my master’s cultivation.” Xia Mengqi’s eyes were filled with gratitude, but she never dared to look at Xia Rujing.
“However, when I told my master that I wanted to investigate the truth about my parents being killed by demonic cultivators and the whereabouts of my sister, my master did not grant my request. She simply said: ‘Let bygones be bygones. Your task now is to focus on refining pills.’”
“Before I learned that my master was my mother’s younger sister, I didn’t take her words to heart. Later, when I found out, I asked the Shadow Pavilion to find fellow Daoists who knew my mother to find out what happened back then. But we found,” Xia Mengqi’s eyes turned cold, “that all of my mother’s fellow Daoists died one after another after my mother’s death. When the Shadow Pavilion went to investigate, not a single one of my mother’s fellow Daoists was still alive, not even those in the Nine Cauldrons Division who were close to my mother. So, I suspect that this matter is related to my master. My master is my mother’s younger sister, and she probably knows what happened back then.”
Xia Mengqi stopped speaking, panting heavily, as if saying those words had exhausted her strength.
Xie Wanxun gently patted Xia Mengqi's back to help her calm down.
"So, you suspect that Sect Leader Xia is the culprit behind your family's tragedy?" Xie Wanxun asked.
"No!" Xia Mengqi suddenly jumped up, her eyes flashing with reluctance and pain. She shook her head: "Master is just an insider. She can't be the murderer. My mother is her sister. Master treated me like her own daughter and raised me. She...she wouldn't do anything to my family."
Xie Wanxun glanced at Xia Mengqi with pity. She knew that Xia Mengqi didn't understand that the closer someone is to you, the deeper the hurt can be. Xie Wanxun, on the other hand, had been betrayed and killed by someone close to her, and she didn't want anyone else to suffer the same fate.
"I understand, I will help you." Xie Wanxun stood up and opened the barrier.
Xia Mengqi recovered and looked up, asking in confusion, "Can you help me find someone to investigate and find out the truth?"
“Instead of relying on other people’s information, it’s more direct to ask the parties involved.” Xie Wanxun’s confident voice rang out as she walked toward Xia Rujing.
Xia Mengqi quickly stopped Xie Wanxun, saying anxiously, "Wanxun, don't wake Master up. I don't want her to know that I suspect her."
Xie Wanxun bypassed Xia Mengqi and came to Xia Rujing. She turned to Xia Rujing and said, "Don't worry, I won't wake her. I have my own way of finding out what happened back then, but it will require the use of a secret technique of the Demon Clan. You mustn't try to learn it from me."
Xia Mengqi closed her eyes, raised her chin, and snorted softly: "Who cares about stealing the secret techniques of the demon race? I am a righteous cultivator. But this method should be harmless to my master, right?"
"of course."
Xie Wanning placed her hand on Xia Rujing's head, and crimson flames appeared on her hand.
This is Phoenix Fire; you can use it to view other people's memories.
Xie Wanxun had only used it to view Wu Ying and Shen Yuan's memories before; this was the first time she had used it to view a cultivator's memories.
A tiny flame shot into Xia Rujing's head, and Xie Wanxun was able to see Xia Rujing's memories as he had wished.
However, her brows furrowed more and more, her face grew increasingly gloomy, and she even clenched her hands tightly.
When Xie Wanxun opened her eyes again, she took a deep breath. She had to admit that this was the most shocking thing she had ever learned in her more than 20 years of life, both past and present.
Xia Mengqi's mother, Xia Ru'an, and Xia Rujing are half-sisters. Xia Ru'an has better cultivation talent and is more likely to become the head of the Nine Cauldrons Division.
The two sisters initially had an excellent relationship and never argued about the succession to the sect leader. However, both sisters fell in love with the same man, Xia Mengqi's father, Fu Yunchen.
Fu Yunchen is the sect's junior disciple, a gentle and patient man who is well-liked by Xia Rujing and Xia Ruan. The two begin to quarrel and have conflicts because of Fu Yunchen.
However, Fu Yunchen preferred the calm and elegant Xia Ruan, and the two naturally became Daoist partners.
Driven by love turned to hate, Xia Rujing directly drugged Yun Chen with an aphrodisiac, leading to a night of debauchery.
After waking up, Fu Yunchen was filled with remorse. He only loved Xia Ruan and would not accept Xia Rujing. He insisted on being with Xia Ruan.
After learning what had happened, Xia Ruan developed a strong aversion to Xia Rujing, and the two sisters became estranged from then on.
In order to win over Fu Yunchen, Xia Rujing devised a plan to alter the sect leader's will, appointing herself as the leader of the Nine Cauldrons Division. After taking power, she even murdered those in the sect who supported Xia Ruan.
Finally, with the help of their fellow Daoists, Xia Ruan and Fu Yunchen escaped from the Nine Cauldrons Bureau and found a secluded paradise where no one knew about them, where they lived in peace and contentment.
Unexpectedly, Xia Rujing found their location and sent a letter threatening Xia Ruan to hand over Fu Yunchen, because Xia Rujing was already pregnant with her and Fu Yunchen's child.
Xia Mengqi's older sister, Xia Mengchu, did not read the second half of the letter, probably because it contained Xia Rujing's threats against Xia Ruan, and she was worried that her younger sister would be negatively affected, so she did not tell her the truth.
After seeing the letter, Xia Ruan did not return to the Nine Cauldrons Division, but instead planned to escape. Unexpectedly, Xia Rujing directly contacted the Demon General Shen Yuan. Xia Rujing provided Shen Yuan with herbs, and Shen Yuan provided Xia Rujing with puppets. Xia Mengqi's parents were killed by the puppets, and her sister Xia Mengchu was captured by the puppets and used as a test subject for Shen Yuan's medicine.
Later, Xia Rujing adopted Xia Mengqi. Her goal was simple: she wanted Xia Mengqi to excel, to be spoiled, and to believe she was pampered. Ultimately, Xia Rujing would personally destroy Xia Mengqi, making her understand the pain of losing everything.
Xia Rujing always knew Xia Mengchu's whereabouts perfectly well.
Thinking of this, even Xie Wanxun felt a chill run down her spine. She looked at Xia Rujing and felt that this woman was too vicious.
Furthermore, what concerned Xie Wanxun was that Xia Rujing's second disciple, Lü Siyan, was Xia Rujing and Fu Yunchen's child. Why didn't Lü Siyan take either her mother's or father's surname?
Before Xie Wanxun could figure it out, Xia Mengqi's voice rang out.
"Wanxun, what do you know?"