Tuo Ao’zhi’s gaze turned freezing cold. "You!"
But Chu Ruo remained fearless. "Is it because of your misleading words that Zhi’er and her sister hate Nan Menghua and Muxue so much? You keep calling those people hypocrites, but you... you are no better!"
*Crash!*
Tuo Ao’zhi smashed the table beside him. "Do not compare me to those people! You know nothing!"
"Heh," Chu Ruo let out a cold laugh. "I originally thought you were different from them. I only want the answer—was it you back then? Did you do something to Nan Menghua..."
"No! The drugging incident back then was a conspiracy between Bai Ji and her!"
The words burst out of him, clearly forced out by his agitation. Chu Ruo froze. "You... you..." She hadn't expected this answer. Nan Menghua and Bai Ji conspired to use an aphrodisiac? On whom? Certainly not themselves. That left only Bai Xue. She had previously speculated whether the little snake-scorpion’s father might be the man standing before her. Was everything she thought wrong?
Having let the truth slip, Tuo Ao’zhi found it difficult to take back. He looked somewhat helpless. "Why must you insist on knowing everything? Zhi’er’s father is dead; speaking of it now is useless."
"The reason you lied and pushed everything onto a dead man was to resolve the grudge between Zhi’er and Muxue, wasn't it? Senior, I implore you to tell me the truth of what happened back then."
"Fine, fine." He looked at Chu Ruo and let out a short laugh. "Perhaps it is heaven's will that you should know. I can only tell you what I saw. As for the rest..." He stood with his hands behind his back and began slowly. "What I said before was true. the four of us were sworn siblings and traveled together. You also guessed correctly—I did indeed harbor feelings of admiration for Bai Xue."
*Wait, Muxue is my little snake-scorpion, but the other woman was also named Bai Xue. Hearing someone else call out 'Xue’er' feels so wrong,* Chu Ruo thought. "Then what about Bai Xue?"
He didn't answer directly but continued his recollection. "It happened one night. As usual, we stayed at an inn. After dinner, I was sitting quietly in my room practicing my internal arts. For some reason, I suddenly felt a wave of dry heat. My entire body felt as if it were tossing in a heatwave; I was completely out of control."
This reaction sounded exactly like being drugged. "So someone..."
Before she could finish, Tuo Ao’zhi nodded. "Then, a woman entered the room. I clearly tried to push her away, but she was unusually forward. By then, I had lost all reason. I didn't even know who was who. In the end, a grave mistake was made."
Chu Ruo’s mouth hung open. "Was it Bai Xue?"
A heavy sigh escaped him. Chu Ruo felt the tone was off. Had she guessed wrong? "Could it be..."
"It was Third Sister," he confirmed. "When I woke and found her by my side, I was filled with regret. She happened to be awake as well and was naturally beyond furious. I knew my sin was heavy, but I still carried the hatred of my tribe. I couldn't die yet. I swore in my heart that once my revenge was complete, I would atone with my life."
"What about Bai Ji and Bai Xue?" It didn't make sense. Nan Menghua was "unusually forward"? What was her goal? A woman like her, no matter the reason, wouldn't just go around seducing people. This sounded incredibly fishy.
"Third Sister and I started fighting, which naturally drew the others. To my surprise, Third Sister wanted to kill Bai Ji as well. I was completely bewildered until I heard them arguing during the fight. Only then did I learn one thing: Third Sister... she actually harbored feelings for Bai Xue as well."
!!! This was a staggering piece of news. Nan Menghua actually loved someone, and it was a woman! And it just so happened to be Phoenix’s aunt! "Then... then what exactly happened?" Chu Ruo’s shock was beyond words.
"Heh, who would have thought? Third Sister loved women, and her daughter fell in love with her own disciple. Master and apprentice—defying the world’s conventions. It seems this rebellious streak is truly in their blood."
*...And the person her daughter loves is me, who is also a woman. My Muxue doesn't just like her disciple; she likes women. You’d be even more shocked if you heard that,* Chu Ruo thought. But now wasn't the time. "And then?"
"Third Sister’s condition wasn't good at the time. If I estimate correctly, she had been drugged with an aphrodisiac herself, so her cultivation was greatly diminished. Bai Ji was a brilliant physician, but his martial arts were a level below the rest of us. They fought, and Third Sister was red-eyed with a murderous intent to kill him, but she was unsteady. From Bai Ji’s mouth, I learned that Third Sister loved Bai Xue, but she saw my feelings for her. Bai Xue likely favored me as well, so she... she wanted to possess Bai Xue."
"What on earth? She planned to drug Bai Xue???" Was she even human? What kind of freak was Nan Menghua? How could she do such a thing to the person she loved? If she couldn't have her heart, she’d take her by force? How did this woman become so twisted? Or perhaps her former Protector was right—Nan Menghua had always been depraved.
"Bai Ji said she was caught in her own trap. In any case, I only heard the gist of it then, and my heart was still full of doubts."
"What about Bai Xue? What did she say?"
Another sigh. "After such a thing happened, she felt it was all because of her. Perhaps she felt guilty. Even though Third Sister had improper thoughts about her, Third Sister had still... In short, she couldn't face us. She left then and there, and we never heard from her again. I separated Bai Ji and Third Sister, but our bond was severed. Afterward, at the Martial Arts Assembly, there was constant chaos among the sects, and the selection of the Alliance Leader was abandoned. My cultivation was still shallow then, and I didn't want to offend the Shaolin Sect, so I didn't fight for the token. Instead, I chose to continue traveling the world. But in my heart, I could never let go of what happened that day."
Tuo Ao’zhi took a sip of tea and continued, "Some time passed, and I heard that the Young Palace Master of the Hundred Flowers Palace had given birth to a daughter. That child was Nan Muxue. The timing... matched that night perfectly."
Chu Ruo interrupted immediately. "Then Muxue is your daughter..." *Muxue... Muxue (暮雪)... Adoring Xue (慕雪)... Why didn't I realize it sooner?*
"My heart was in turmoil. If she was my child, I would naturally take responsibility."
"The timing matches, so she should be..."
He took up the thread. "I went to find her. She was as volatile as ever, drawing her sword to kill me. But she was no longer my match. When I asked about the child, she only sneered. She said yes, then said no, and finally said she would never tell me. She said the child belonged to the Hundred Flowers Palace and that we should never meet again, or she would take my life. I felt guilty. I had heard a bit about the origins of the Hundred Flowers Palace; this child would be its future. I only hoped for a chance to see her again. Later, I returned to the Demon Realm and focused on managing the Heavenly Demon Palace. A few years later, I came out again on business and met Zhi’er’s father once more. Only then did I learn the truth of that day."
"Bai Ji... did you cripple his martial arts because of that day? Why didn't you do it then?"
"When I met him again, he had already married and had Zhi’er. What I didn't expect was that he had changed his appearance."
"Disguise? Isn't it normal to use disguises when traveling the martial world?"
"No. Ordinary disguises use masks. But he... he literally shaved his bones and cut his flesh to change his entire facial structure, turning himself into a completely different person."
*Isn't that just plastic surgery? As expected of a family of divine physicians; they really know how to play,* Chu Ruo thought. "Why did he do that?"
"To hide from someone—Third Sister. He said she had been searching for him, vowing to kill him. He said he had lived in fear for years. Although he had turned over a new leaf, his heart was always heavy. Now that he saw me, he could finally speak the words buried in his soul."
Chu Ruo listened quietly this time. Tuo Ao’zhi paused. "Actually, we didn't bring it up at first. But I was thinking of Third Sister’s child. After a few drinks, I mentioned it to him. He told me the child wasn't mine. He also said... Third Sister was not a virgin."
??? "She... Nan Menghua wasn't? Then..."
"I thought back carefully to that night. I remembered there was indeed a stain on the bedsheets, white as snow. But seeing Bai Ji being so secretive and insistent that the child wasn't mine, I had a hunch. I shouted at him, and he finally confessed, telling me everything. Third Sister wanted to possess Bai Xue, but her plan was to drug *me*, and then bring Bai Xue to witness it. That way, Bai Xue would think I was a beast and give up on me. She would then take the opportunity to comfort her... She didn't just want Bai Xue’s body; she wanted her heart."
"But she ended up calculating herself into the mess. Bai Ji must have interfered, right?"
"Our martial arts were among the best even then. Bai Xue was a Shamaness of the Miaojiang; none of us could be handled with ordinary drugs. And Bai Ji had seen through her intentions long ago. He agreed to give her the drug and cooperate with her act, but his condition... was to have Third Sister."
"Huh?" *Zhi’er’s father was such a lecher? But more importantly, Nan Menghua agreed to this? What were they all thinking? Even Nan Menghua’s former Protector loved her... it’s truly incomprehensible.*
"I don't know what Third Sister was thinking, but with her personality, for someone like her to agree to such a condition... perhaps her love for Bai Xue was truly extreme."
Chu Ruo scoffed. To be loved by such a person was the worst luck imaginable. Who would want such "blessing"? What kind of twisted thoughts were those? Seducing a rival to make the beloved lose hope, then drugging the beloved, and selling one's own body in the process? One could only say it was a curse to be loved by someone like that.
"Third Sister got the drug, and everything was supposed to go according to plan. But she didn't expect that Bai Ji never drugged Bai Xue, nor did he bring her to stop us when the drug took effect. Instead, he put the aphrodisiac intended for Bai Xue into Third Sister’s own food."
"Why did Bai Ji do that?"
"A karmic debt. He said that after he had Third Sister, he did give her the drug, but he became increasingly jealous. He wanted to destroy everything. He was unwilling—why should he only have her once and then watch her be with the person she loved? He went to Third Sister, told her he truly loved her and wanted to be with her, and urged her to stop. But..."
"But with Nan Menghua’s personality, she only endured the humiliation to get the drug. She will get what she wants and discard what she doesn't care about like trash. Bai Ji was only useful to her; once she succeeded and got Bai Xue as she wished, the first person she would have killed was Bai Ji."
"Yes. Third Sister wounded him and insulted him. In that moment, he was blinded by rage. A thought kept burrowing into his mind: if he couldn't have her, then Third Sister shouldn't have her love either. He took his revenge, and in the end, a mistake was made. He thought that with this result, Bai Xue would feel the incident happened because of her and leave out of guilt. Furthermore, Third Sister was no longer pure, so they couldn't be together. At that point, as long as he didn't mind, he could surely be with her. Unfortunately, he was wrong."
Chu Ruo frowned. "Zhi’er has such a good personality; how could her father be such a..." *How could he be such a scoundrel? Even if Nan Menghua brought it on herself, Bai Ji sounds like a piece of work too.*
"When I finished listening, I was fuming. I was about to end him with a single palm strike. He only gave a bleak smile, saying he knew his sins were heavy and this day would come sooner or later. He only begged me to look after his wife and daughter. I thought of Zhi’er and his wife and couldn't bring myself to do it. So, I only crippled his martial arts. I just didn't expect that he would die a few years later anyway."
Chu Ruo stumbled out of the room. Her heart felt stifled. She had to confirm one thing. She pushed open a door. "Ruo’er?"
It was that very gentle voice. She walked over, and in that moment, she actually collapsed. The other person immediately rushed over in alarm, catching her in her arms. "Ruo’er, what—"
She opened her mouth and called out to her, "Zhi’er..."
***
