After moving out of the way and returning to the Divine Sect Seminary, Ye Que shot Qian Shuxiao a look. “You better give me one…”

Qian Shuxiao threw a jade pendant at him before he could finish his sentence.

Ye Que caught the pendant with ease and looked at it. “Why is this pendant with you?”

Ye Que remembered vividly that this jade pendant was something his mother left behind. Several days ago, he had personally delivered it to Ye Zhengru. How did it end up in Qian Shuxiao’s hands?

“Old General Ye’s housekeeper delivered it to me. It’s his private housekeeper; you’ve met him,” Qian Shuxiao explained. “The day after your meeting, he secretly came here in the evening to see you. But you were in the midst of your close-door meditation then, so he handed it to me. He also left a message.”

“What is it?” Ye Que frowned.

“Tell Ye this: River Soldiers.” Qian Shuxiao counted on his fingers as he spoke. “Five words, that’s all he said.”

“That’s all? Five words?” Ye Que looked confused. There was neither a head nor a tail to these words. He was sure it wasn’t the entirety of the message.

“He must have more to say but after saying those five words, a black flame suddenly appeared in the pit of his stomach and instantly burned him into ash.” Qian Shuxiao fished out a small pouch from his spice bag—the Yin-and-Yang Pouch he won in the Mortal World Pavilion auction—and handed it to Ye Que.

Ye Que accepted the pouch and opened it. Inside was fine ash. He pinched and rubbed the ash with his fingers before putting them at the tip of his nose for a sniff. His expression gradually cooled. “Not only it’s a black fire appearing in the pit of his stomach, but there’s also this scent. It can only be the result of Dark Venom.”

“Why would it appear in the General’s Manor?”

“The Devil Race is the only one who uses the Art of Venomous Curses like Dark Venom!”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Don’t tell me there are members of the Devil Race in Luoyang City!” Ye Que thought in great shock. For the first time, panic colored his expression.

The Demon Race and the Human Race had shared a bloody history of immense hatred for generations. One would not give up until the other was exterminated. However, the Devil Race was a race that treated both the Demon and Human Races as food and preyed on humans. It was evidently frightening.

Ye Que had seen Ye Zhengru’s private housekeeper and knew the latter’s cultivation was at least in the Starburst Realm. It was obvious how powerful the Devil was, to be able to conceal himself in the General’s Manor and covertly plant venom-based poison inside the body of a Starburst Realm expert.

After closing his eyes and thinking deeply for some time, Ye Que gave Qian Shuxiao a solemn look. “Keep this between us. You mustn’t mention this to others, especially the housekeeper’s cause of death. From today onward, you mustn’t take even a single step inside the General’s Manor no matter what.”

“What’s wrong?” Qian Shuxiao asked.

“Don’t ask. You just have to obey me,” Ye Que said decisively.

“But I’ve already sent two groups of men to investigate the General’s Manor,” Qian Shuxiao said awkwardly, “and the first group didn’t enter the manor. They reported that the manor appeared normal from the surface but upon closer look, and they discovered the guards were changed after the Old General died. The current guards are all new faces. Some of them aren’t even from the Ye family’s army.”

“What about the second group?”

“Yet to return.”

“Find a way to tell them that the mission is canceled. They’re not to provoke the General’s Manor anymore.”

Then, Ye Que picked up the pouch filled with dust and walked out alone. “Go back to Qian Manor tonight. Stop staying in the seminary; it’s not safe here.”

After leaving the seminary, Ye Que walked aimlessly on the streets and made a full circle around Luoyang City. It wasn’t until the sky darkened that he stopped. He had pondered deeply during his walk.

He recalled his harsh life with his mother and remembered why he came to Luoyang. He thought of his years cultivating in the Qingqiu in his previous life, the fleeting youth when he ascended to the Celestial World, as well as the bloody spectacle in his many years of campaigning against the Demon World. Of course, the memories he recalled most vividly was the past several months after returning to his youth, despite how brief they were.

He was very glad to have met the Qian siblings and the people who fought courageously next to him in the Mortal World Pavilion.

These people gave him a sense of reality and constantly reminded him that he wasn’t the Demon-slaying Asura who dominated the Three Realms. He was the current Ye Que, the Leader of the Divine Sect.

Of course, he didn’t forget his conversation with Ye Zhengru several days ago. He had told Ye Zhengru a story and settled a cherished desire of his. He and his “father” also had bodily contact for the first time.

Ye Zhengru had patted him on the shoulder twice, neither too strongly nor too gently. It was a feeling he had never experienced.

It was both warm and powerful. He felt very secure inside.

However, all these went up in smoke in a single night.

“You all killed him before he could fulfill his promise and compensate my mother,” Ye Que muttered to himself while sitting by the Luo River outside the city. “If anyone’s killing him, it should be me! How dare you people jump the queue?”

“His life belongs to me. Without my permission, no one’s allowed to claim his life! How vile!” Ye Que pounded his fist on the ground, causing a tremor with his force.

“All he did was to listen to my story. I haven’t heard theirs; how they met and why did they end up having me. All we had was one conversation, just one. All we did was exchange a few words.”

Ye Que’s words unexpectedly revealed a hint of guilt toward the man that he had once dreamed of torturing and killing.

Perhaps it was because they were father and son.

He could hate Ye Zhengru his entire life. He could torture and kill Ye Zhengru in his dream. He could curse Ye Zhengru to have a painful and spiteful death.

But others couldn’t!

Because Ye Zhengru was his father!

For the first time since returning to his youth, Ye Que was grieving. It was a state of mind that emerged from the depths of his blood. It was uncontrollable and irresistible. The only thing he could do was to endure in silence.

He stood by Luo River, allowing the cool wind at night to brush across his cheeks.

From afar, a burning wooden boat drifted over. The fire licking the boat alternated between burning and extinguishing.

People in Luoyang believed that in the nether world, a deceased must cross a river of Yin, where not even a goose feather could float. The burning ship was meant for the deceased to cross that river safely and reach paradise.

“River-crossing boat?”

“I wonder if anyone set a boat on fire for you.”

“When Mother passed away, I burned a boat. Now that you’re gone, you wouldn’t be able to meet her if I don’t burn another. I suppose she’ll be very upset.”

“Turbid!”

With a slash of his finger-sword, the 13 Mother and Children of Spring and Autumn Swords inside his body emerged.

13 Spirit Swords revolved around a weeping willow by the river. Sword Qi danced madly, causing wood shavings to swirl in the air. Soon, the willow tree was shaved down to a long and narrow wooden boat.

With both hands, Ye Que carried the boat and pushed it into the water. With a swipe of his fingers, the wooden boat ignited violently in a flash. The boat slowly drifted away along with the flow of the river and gradually faded into the night.

“In the world of the living, you chose righteousness.”

“In the nether world, I hope you’ll repay your debt of devotion.”

After returning to the courtyard of bluish-green bamboo in Qian Manor, Ye Que broke his unchanging tradition of cultivating and instead ordered someone to fetch Qian Shuxiao.

Looking at the once frivolous Young Master who had transformed into a hot-blooded youth who wholeheartedly preached cultivation to the people, Ye Que took in a deep breath. Only then did he say, “I’m leaving Luoyang. I’ll jot down the remainder of the cultivation methods of the Divine Sect Seminary tonight. I’ll also be leaving you some other Taoist techniques, sword skills, saber skills, formations, and so on. I’ll write down everything I can think of that will be suitable for you all. You must take good care of them. It’s best if you don’t keep it on you lest you lose them somewhere.”

“Where are you going?”

“The ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum.”