Chapter 23: A Family Massacre: Ye Yunzhi’s Story
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As soon as Ye Yunzhi left the mountains, she rescued Su Junqing, who had been bitten by a poisonous snake. Romance bloomed between them, and they married in secret. Ye Yunzhi did not dare tell her family.
After the wedding, Su Junqing treated Ye Yunzhi exceptionally well. When she became pregnant, every day, he urged her to bring him home to meet her family. Ye Yunzhi also missed her family terribly, so eventually, she took Su Junqing to visit them. It never occurred to her that she was not bringing home a good husband, but a devil whose mind was filled with wicked schemes.
Su Junqing was wildly ambitions. A long time ago, he had discovered the location of the valley where the Ye Clan lived in seclusion. However, the Ye Clan had constructed a magical barrier around the valley. When he could not find a way to enter their territory, he assigned men to keep watch on the surrounding area.
The moment Ye Yunzhi left the mountains, Su Junqing was immediately informed. To gain her trust, he pretended that a poisonous snake had bitten him. It was all because he wanted her to bring him into the valley. Ye Yunzhi never suspected his intentions and threw caution to the wind when she told Su Junqing how to enter the valley.
Su Junqing brought assassins with him and surrounded the valley. He threatened the family, trying to force them to hand over the treasure map, but the Ye Clan would rather die than submit to his demands. In the violent confrontation that ensued, the entire family was slaughtered. Only Ye Yu was left alive. Subsequently, he was poisoned with Soul Departure.
When the guards saw that he was unconscious, they slacked on their watch. Ye Yu took this as an opportunity to escape. However, he fainted on the journey, so a slave trader seized him with the intention of selling him at the slave market. This helped Ye Yu evade capture by the imperial guards. In the end, he was purchased by Ye Jiuge.
When Ye Yu spoke about how his family had been killed, his beautiful eyes became bloodshot. The deep hatred on his face was unmistakable.
“Your entire family was murdered by Su Junqing. What about your sister?” asked Ye Jiuge.
“I don’t know. I have not seen her since I was caught.” Animosity laced Ye Yu’s cold face. If his sister had not trusted this evil man, the family would have avoided this tragedy.
“Women!” Ye Jiuge recalled a very famous saying: the tears women cry after marriage are the result of their foolish decisions before marriage.
Ye Yunzhi had not made foolish decisions because water occupied her mind, but sulfuric acid. Otherwise, she would not have been entirely out of her mind and fallen in love with an ingrate.
“Miss Ye, I will never forgive him for massacring my entire family. If you help me avenge them, I am willing to give you the treasure map.” Ye Yu looked up at Ye Jiuge. He believed that a physician who could neutralize Soul Departure could help him exact his revenge.
“I am guessing that your treasure map is incomplete,” Ye Jiuge said with a raised eyebrow. Otherwise, why would the Ye Clan hold onto it without retrieving the treasure?
She had not yet located her grandfather, and Ye Yuxuan was waiting for an opportunity to bleed her dry. She did not wish to attract any more trouble for a worthless treasure map. To be honest, if Dongfang Jianming and the Su Clan were not coveting the map so much, she hardly would have given it a second glance.
When Ye Yu saw that Ye Jiuge felt it might be too inconvenient to help him, he immediately said, “Although that treasure map is only an incomplete piece, the secret treasure’s location is recorded on it. Whoever obtains the secret treasure will be the supreme leader of the Lei Kingdom.”
“Even if you are telling me that I would be the supreme leader of the world, I am not interested.” Ye Jiuge was not this ambitious.
Ye Yu panicked. He was forced to show his hand, “These last years, the Ye Clan has been studying the treasure map. We have confirmed that the secret treasure is located in the Hongyue Secret Realm.”
“Are you certain that it was the Hongyue Secret Realm?” Immediately, Ye Jiuge’s expression turned serious.
The Hongyue Secret Realm was the largest hidden land that humankind had discovered. It could only be accessed once every decade. Every time it opened, countless highly-skilled spiritual practitioners entered to seek a favorable opportunity.
Her grandfather had found the Purple Lightning Wood in the Hongyue Secret Realm.
If she could enter that place, perhaps, she would discover clues regarding his whereabouts.
“My words are absolutely true,” Ye Yu said without any hesitation.
Ye Jiuge fell silent. She called out to Zi Shang in her mind and asked, “What are your thoughts on this?”
“Since you have the same enemies, if you help him, you will be helping yourself,” Zi Shang said calmly.
“It is easier said than done. I am afraid that with the treasure map in my hands, the Su Clan and the Crown Prince will not be the only ones troubling me.”
After hearing about the Ye Clan’s massacre, she had concluded that without sufficient capacity to protect herself, obtaining the treasure map was equivalent to committing suicide.
“With my presence, what are you afraid of?” Zi Shang said smugly.
“Tch! You would be more convincing if you didn’t have to hide in the imprint!” Although Ye Jiuge scoffed at Zi Shang’s vanity, her heart quieted down considerably. She told Ye Yu, “All right. I will help you seek revenge. However, we will not be able to overthrow the Su Clan and the Crown Prince easily. We need to devise a foolproof plan.”
“As long as I can exact my revenge, regardless of how long it takes, I will wait.” Ye Yu finally heaved a sigh of relief. He could not help but show the exhaustion on his face. Although the Soul Departure had been neutralized, his body was still frail.
“First, rest. We will discuss your revenge later,” Ye Jiuge assured Ye Yu then left the East Room.
When she arrived at the central room, she called Qing Mama over and asked, “Qing Mama, have you heard about the Su Clan’s son, Su Junqing?”
“There are no decent men in the Su Clan. Why are you interested?” Qing Mama said with furrowed brows.
“Don’t be mistaken. I have heard that Su Junqing is married to a great wife, so I am just asking out of curiosity.” Ye Jiuge pretended to be indifferent towards the topic.
“Where did Eldest Miss hear this news? Although Su Junqing has taken countless concubines, he has not married a proper wife yet.” Qing Mama asked, baffled by this information.
“Are you certain that he is not married yet?” Ye Jiuge was stunned. Earlier, Ye Yu had undoubtedly mentioned that Ye Yunzhi and Su Junqing were married. She had even become pregnant. Even though Ye Yunzhi seemed like a complete fool, it was impossible that she could be unsure whether or not she was married.
“Look, Su Junqing is a son of the Su Clan and its future head. In the capital, he was famous for being a talented, handsome young man. If he were married, do you think I would be unaware of this?” Qing Mama chuckled involuntarily.
“Oh. Maybe, I was mistaken!” Ye Jiuge smiled as she secretly despised Su Junqing.
For the kind of bastard who cheated someone out of their possessions and heart then massacred their entire family, ten thousand deaths would not be enough to repent.
“Eldest Miss, I heard that Su Junqing is handsome and has attracted attention from many young girls. You should stay away from him,” Qing Mama warned worriedly.
Eldest Miss had already experienced failure in her relationship with the Crown Prince. She did not wish to see Eldest Miss hurt by another terrible man.
“Qing Mama, do not worry. Even if all of the men in this world were wiped out, I would never be attracted to that horrible bastard, Su Junqing.” Ye Jiuge felt that Qing Mama was going to continue nagging, so she quickly changed the topic, “By the way, after Su Yufeng was confined to her residence, did she stir up any trouble?”
“She seems well-behaved these days. On the contrary, Second Miss has made a few trips to the Su Residence to request help. However, I have heard that the head of the Su Clan was at a spiritual retreat progressing in his cultivation to be a Great Master, so all her efforts have been futile.”
As Qing Mama spoke, she was both happy and worried: happy because right now, no one could support Su Yufeng, and worried that, once the head of the Su Clan progressed to the next stage successfully, his clan’s power would increase. Then, Su Yufeng would be even more arrogant.
Just when Ye Jiuge was about to reassure Qing Mama, Zhen Zhu walked in anxiously and announced, “Eldest Miss, things are not going well.”