Chapter 172 - 146: Lineage and Family Background (Part 2)

Chapter 172: Chapter 146: Lineage and Family Background (Part 2)

"Isn’t that so?"

Xie Yuan’s heart skipped a beat.

At least on the surface, and in the storytellers’ tales, the emperor was wise and mighty, bestowing his complete trust upon the King of Pingxi without a hint of suspicion over his great achievements. But the King of Pingxi, a man of common birth, was said to be insatiably greedy and wildly ambitious. In the end, his rebellion was exposed, and the emperor had him captured and, with tears in his eyes, executed.

Although everyone found it a bit abrupt for the ever-loyal and valiant King of Pingxi to suddenly rebel, it wasn’t a story. It was fact.

’So there was a conspiracy behind it?’

Mu Chaoyun gently shook her head.

"The common folk call the incident that nearly swept the nation the ’Rebellion of the King of Pingxi.’ But in the eyes of those who know the truth, it should be called the ’Rebellion of the Eight Sects.’"

"The Rebellion of the Eight Sects..."

Xie Yuan repeated in a low voice.

"But let’s first talk about Situ Qin’s mother. She was also a major figure."

Mu Chaoyun turned to him and said,

"Situ Qin’s mother was the Stove Sect Saintess."

"The Stove Sect?"

Hearing the rather peculiar name, Xie Yuan was completely baffled.

"The Stove Sect came from the Western Regions. Over there, it’s called the Holy Sect. In the Central Plains, it’s called the Demon Sect."

Mu Chaoyun said calmly,

"It’s the one at the very top of the pecking order—the Demon Sect, which ranks even above the ’Two Major Sects,’ Prajna Temple and Xuanzhen Sect. Its proper name is the Stove Sect."

Xie Yuan was stunned once again. ’Situ Qin’s mother was the infamous Demon Sect Saintess?’

’Her father was the legendary, household name, the King of Pingxi, and her mother was the Saintess of the world’s number one Major Sect?’

’No, wait, what kind of family is this?’

’And Princess Pingxi was the Demon Sect Saintess?’

He had never heard that before. He had only heard in stories that she once held the title of the most beautiful woman in the world, a beauty that could bring chaos to the realm.

’And the Stove Sect, what a strange name...’

A flood of questions rose in his mind, leaving his thoughts in a jumble. He couldn’t help but start with the simplest one:

"So it’s the Demon Sect... but why is the name so strange? Everyone knows the Demon Sect, but I’ve never heard of the Stove Sect."

"’Stove Sect’ is a translated name. In the Western Regions, its original name was likely the Luminous Sect or the Divine Fire Sect. Many years ago, when it spread to this land, the people of the Central Plains called it the ’Kitchen Stove Sect’ to belittle it, as if its only purpose was cooking. But the Stove Sect proved to be quite capable. They turned the tables and directly adopted the name ’Stove Sect,’ imbuing it with the meaning of being the people’s hearth and the source of their food. With this, it spread rapidly among the common folk.

"The Stove Sect took root among the common people, like weeds that can’t be burned away and grow back with the spring breeze. For millennia, the dynasties of the Central Plains and the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism have tried their best to eradicate it, but they’ve never succeeded. In fact, behind every dynastic change and period of great chaos, the shadow of the Stove Sect can always be found. Although the Central Plains’ Stove Sect has gradually diverged from the Holy Sect of the Western Regions over the years, its strength is still supreme among all factions. In times of peace, the Stove Sect recedes into the shadows, and no one knows just how vast its true scale is.

"Situ Qin’s mother, Princess Pingxi, was the Saintess of the Central Plains’ Stove Sect. It’s said that while the King of Pingxi was conquering the Western Regions, he also dealt a heavy blow to the Holy Sect there. It just so happened that he captured the Saintess of the Central Plains’ Stove Sect, who was there on a liaison mission. One thing led to another, and somehow, the two of them developed feelings for each other. The Saintess completely disregarded her duties to the sect and contentedly stayed by the King of Pingxi’s side.

"After Xue Ming River was enfeoffed as a king, the two married in the Capital City and settled down. They had a daughter whose status was as noble as a princess’s—that was Situ Qin.

"However, not long after, the incident of Xue Ming River’s rebellion occurred. But by then, he had long grown weary of war. He finally had a family and a beloved daughter. He hadn’t even had time to enjoy a peaceful life, so how could he possibly rebel?"

"Was it the Demon Sect Saintess’s bewitchment? Perhaps she was on a mission when she got close to the King of Pingxi... Or was it the emperor’s suspicion? ’If you want to condemn a man, you can always find a reason,’ right?"

Xie Yuan speculated.

Mu Chaoyun said faintly,

"Your guesses are all reasonable, but none are correct. It was because the Eight Great Families joined forces to pressure the palace, forcing the emperor to find a pretext to kill Xue Ming River. At that time, the world was a hair’s breadth away from total chaos, and the Eight Great Families made no attempt to hide their intentions."

"The Eight Great Families? Why? Was it because Xue Ming River was too much of a threat?"

Xie Yuan frowned.

"You’re right. Xue Ming River was not only a master strategist who single-handedly crushed foreign enemies, pushing the prestige of the court and the imperial family to its zenith, but he was also a top-tier martial artist himself. First on the Flying Dragon List before the age of forty, it was only a matter of time before he became a Grandmaster. Moreover, he was famously uninterested in fame or fortune, shared a deep brotherly bond with the emperor, and was unwaveringly loyal.

"The Eight Great Families are not just Martial Dao clans; they are immense powers that have been rooted in various regions for a thousand years, and their relationship with the imperial court has always been delicate. How could they tolerate the imperial family having an invincible general who was also on the verge of becoming an invincible Grandmaster? At that time, imperial power was just one step away from its absolute peak. What would happen next was self-evident.

"And so, on that occasion, the Eight Great Families submitted a joint memorial to the throne, exposing the King of Pingxi’s collusion with the Demon Sect Saintess and his intent to rebel, and they requested his execution."

"And the emperor... actually agreed?"

"What choice did he have? Back then, the Eight Great Families were all stirring up trouble. The Great Li dynasty was on the brink of a full-scale civil war. Meanwhile, the foreign states of the Western Regions had already gotten wind of the situation and had amassed troops in the West Desert, eyeing the border like hungry tigers. If the emperor had refused, the Great Li dynasty would have likely been destroyed. At the end of the day, the imperial family is just a slightly larger noble family.

"In the end, the emperor prioritized the greater good, and Xue Ming River did as well. He offered his neck to the executioner, and only then was peace restored to the world.

"Princess Pingxi went mad. She returned to the Stove Sect, and only then did people realize the terrifying ferocity of the Demon Sect Saintess—a ferocity that had been suppressed by the King of Pingxi all along.

"She first killed a group of high-ranking Stove Sect members who questioned the Saintess’s loyalty, thereby seizing absolute control. Then, she mobilized the entire sect and unleashed a massacre upon the Eight Great Families, causing rivers of blood to flow and striking fear into everyone’s hearts. Many branch families erased themselves from their genealogies overnight, and the named members of the main families dared not step foot outside their ancestral homes. The entire cultivation world of the Great Li dynasty was overshadowed by the demonic might of this one woman, and there were even signs of uprisings and rebellions cropping up everywhere.

"It wasn’t until several years later that she suddenly vanished without a trace, and the Rebellion of the Eight Sects finally came to an end. Some say she died for love, some say she died from qi deviation, and others say she was killed in an internal struggle within the Stove Sect. In any case, she was never found again.

"As for the imperial family, no matter how much they resented the great families, they hadn’t dared to act when the King of Pingxi was alive, and they were even more forced to swallow their anger after he died. Although anyone with a discerning eye knew that the Stove Sect’s slaughter of the great families was a cooperative effort with the imperial family, it ultimately didn’t harm the families’ foundations. It merely allowed the imperial family to vent their frustrations. But without the King of Pingxi, the imperial family lost its one chance to eliminate the scourge of the powerful clans. In the end, they could only return to the old way of ruling the world alongside the great families.

"Xue Qin took her mother’s surname. On the surface, she left the imperial family, but in reality, her status is revered, placing her above all Empresses. A holy decree was issued from within the palace: if anything were to happen to Situ Qin, the emperor would settle all old scores once and for all.

"However, with a Grandmaster protecting her, it wouldn’t be easy for anything to happen to Situ Qin.

"The most famous of them is the Flying Dragon List Master, Li Tai. He was once the vanguard general under the King of Pingxi, a man who roamed the West Desert and transformed it from a land of chaos into an oasis paradise. He once fought his way through three kingdoms of the Western Regions in a single day and night, pursuing his targets for a thousand li to capture their three royal families. He was given the title ’Flying General.’ But after the King of Pingxi’s death, Li Tai became completely disillusioned with the imperial court. He retired from both the court and the martial world, and now only stands guard by Situ Qin’s side."

Xie Yuan was stunned for a long while before he blinked, his expression complicated.

’So the Flying General Li Tai is the same Flying General from the storytellers’ tales...’

’And Situ Qin’s background is this immense...’

No wonder all those second-generation nobles are so meek and subservient around Situ Qin, yet also filled with ambition. If one of them could win her over, they would inherit the formidable military power left by the King of Pingxi and the special treatment granted by the emperor, instantly becoming one of the most powerful families in the Great Li dynasty.

’And I’m the one who convinced a girl like that to climb over an official’s wall... Feels pretty good, actually.’

Situ Qin’s lineage was so complex; she was probably surrounded by a constant storm of conflict.

Xie Yuan felt a surge of sympathy and pity for her, and even more anger on her behalf. No wonder she treated the Eight Great Families with such disdain. Now, Xie Yuan completely understood. He even felt a sense of shared hatred.

"An orphan girl like her is still being targeted by assassins, but the assassins themselves are strangely weak."

Xie Yuan said, shaking his head.

Mu Chaoyun, who seemed to know everything, analyzed,

"It could have been a casual probe, or perhaps an attempt to frame someone else and divert trouble. The internal complexity of a single great family is already hard to imagine, let alone eight of them. Forcing the King of Pingxi’s execution was probably the first time they had joined forces in a thousand years."

Xie Yuan nodded silently and sighed.

"Miss Mu, you recount these secrets as if they were family heirlooms. You truly know so much."

Mu Chaoyun said faintly,

"The heritage of the Mu family of Beidu Mountain is no shorter than that of the Eight Great Families. We are just hidden from the world, not rooted in secular affairs."

Xie Yuan nodded again, a strange look on his face.

’The way she said that... does she have a subtext of "My background is also a big deal"?’

The heavy mood from hearing the secret story lightened slightly, and he even found it a little amusing.

But then he immediately grew hesitant again, his mood turning solemn.

’Given our relationship now, it’s not like I can’t ask.’

"Miss Mu, your family..."

Xie Yuan asked softly.

Mu Chaoyun’s hand, which was holding her teacup, trembled slightly, spilling a bit of hot tea onto her skirt.

She calmly set down the cup, gently wiped her skirt, and only spoke after a moment:

"On Beidu Mountain... there is no longer a Mu family."

Xie Yuan opened his mouth, unsure of what to say next, when he heard her continue,

"My clan was hidden from the world, known by few. We never entered into disputes with others, and outsiders could not find us. But one day, a stranger came. He demanded the Black Celestial Book, and when he didn’t get it... then... then..."

Mu Chaoyun closed her eyes slightly, her voice hoarse.

"My father, my uncle, everyone... they all died.

"The Mu family is founded on divination. We have always sought fortune and avoided calamity, a tradition passed down for a thousand years, yet no one foresaw this disaster. No one even knows who that man was. Besides myself, the Mu family had three other Grandmasters, yet not one of them was his match. Even when they joined forces within our family’s great formation, they were still no match for him.

"A person like that couldn’t possibly be nameless. But I don’t know. Even now, I don’t know who he is, or how he even heard that my clan possessed the Black Celestial Book..."

Mu Chaoyun’s voice was tinged with pain, and she choked up slightly. After a long moment, she composed herself and opened her eyes.

She gazed at the flowerbed outside the window and said in a low voice,

"Before, besides reading and practicing my skills, I loved to tend to flowers. I had a flowerbed just like this in my courtyard, but the flowers bloomed much better than yours... Now, it’s gone too.

"If my father and the others hadn’t fought to the death to hold back the enemy, allowing me to escape with the Black Celestial Book, and if I hadn’t had a sudden breakthrough to become a Grandmaster, I’m afraid the Mu family would have been completely annihilated, buried silently in the depths of Beidu Mountain without a single survivor."

As Mu Chaoyun recounted the tragic annihilation of her clan, her face was calm, but her eyes were hazy, like a thick fog settling over a clear lake.

Xie Yuan sighed inwardly. He silently refilled Mu Chaoyun’s cup with hot tea and quietly sat with her as she stared into the distance.

Mu Chaoyun gazed out the window, lightly raised her cloud-like sleeve to wipe the corner of her eye, and then said calmly,

"Once my injuries have healed, I should be leaving in a few days. I have to investigate. I must find out who that man is, and then, I will have my revenge."