Chapter Ten: The Truth

Ghost Infant Zhou Yu looked at the person before him with a hint of confusion. If he recalled correctly, this was his first time meeting Shen Chang’an, and also the first time learning he had a junior disciple.

“You want to kill me?” Zhou Yu’s sinister eyes darted about, his gaze toward Shen Chang’an filled with bewilderment.

Shen Chang’an nodded, casually tossed away the scabbard, and spoke softly, “That’s right. I’ve come to kill you—more precisely, to shatter your soul, so you may never reincarnate.”

“Heh! Has that beast from the Qian family bribed you? Are you really here to murder me for their sake?” The Ghost Infant feigned furious outrage.

Shen Chang’an’s expression remained calm, but the fire in his eyes burned ever brighter.

“Ever since Master told me about you, I’ve harbored nothing but suspicion. Your excuses are too clumsy, embarrassingly so. You claimed Lord Qian practiced evil arts and harmed you, but I saw him—he’s barely versed in martial skills. You said he defiled Xu Qiao’er and forced her to marry him, but the wedding invitation arrived only after you had been ruined. And what puzzles me most is that invitation… How brazen would an evil cultist have to be to send such a humiliating invitation to Qingping Palace?”

Qingping Palace was a temple officially recognized by the Great Qian.

No matter how weak their power, they possessed a certain authority—they could contact the local Demon Purging Bureau directly and report any evil cultists or demons.

If Lord Qian were truly a cultist, daring to send that invitation to Qingping Palace would mean, within half a day, the Bureau’s banner officers would swarm his estate and bury the entire Qian family.

“I never believed your story. So, last night, I visited Lord Qian’s quarters and asked him for the truth.”

As he spoke, Shen Chang’an pointed his blade at Zhou Yu, speaking slowly, “You are nothing short of a beast.”

The truth was simple. Years ago, Xu Qiao’er fell for the honest, humble Lord Qian, not the dashing Zhou Yu.

No rule said a beauty must love a handsome man, especially when Zhou Yu was self-absorbed and arrogant. Xu Qiao’er detested such frivolity; it was Lord Qian’s steadiness that won her heart.

The rest of the tale was nearly the opposite of Zhou Yu’s claims. He was the one who violated Xu Qiao’er, tried to use dark arts to torment Lord Qian, but failed—his spell backfired, his meridians shattered, leaving him crippled and fleeing wretchedly back to Qingping Palace.

Xu Qiao’er, driven to despair and contemplating suicide, was persuaded otherwise by Lord Qian, who knew that if her ordeal became public, life would no longer be possible for her. So he chose to marry her, concealing the truth. He sent the invitation to Zhou Yu as a gesture, hoping to resolve the matter peacefully.

But Zhou Yu, arrogant and unable to endure any humiliation, snapped upon seeing that invitation. He unleashed evil sorcery, resulting in today’s calamity.

All of this, one could say, was Zhou Yu’s own doing.

“Hehehe…” Hearing his lies exposed, Zhou Yu erupted into a series of eerie laughs. “Little brother, you’re much smarter than our muddled master. All these years, he still believes my ghost stories—how foolish…”

“The foolish one is you…”

Shen Chang’an interrupted, murderous intent flaring in his gaze. “Did you really think Master couldn’t see through your lies? That he knew nothing?”

“I said your lies were so poor that even I could see through them, let alone Master, a veteran of the world. If he truly believed your tale, that invitation would never have reached your hands.”

“You hid inside Xu Qiao’er for years. Master knew exactly when you’d emerge, calculated the timing, and arrived accordingly. If he believed your story, why would he care for Xu Qiao’er’s fate?”

“And most crucially, did you not notice Master brought me along?”

Zhou Yu was stunned, looking at Shen Chang’an in confusion. “You? What of it?”

Shen Chang’an sighed, replying slowly, “You are Master’s cherished disciple, and I am as well. He had no reason to bring me to my death. If he brought me, it means he was absolutely certain you couldn’t harm me. Yet, he’s old, slow, and against a ghost infant like you, half a day’s fight wouldn’t scratch you. Where did his confidence come from to guarantee my safety?”

“That’s because, from the start, he planned to trade his life for yours! He wished to use his soul to cleanse the evil from you, granting you rebirth—while he himself would perish, his soul forever lost!”

“For your sake, he risked everything. Yet you wouldn’t even spare Master… Brother, now you understand why I must kill you?”

Ghost Infant Zhou Yu, upon hearing this, began to clap softly, then chuckled, “I thought Master’s new disciple would be a genius like myself, but it turns out you’re a fool intoxicated by morality.”

“Like you?” Shen Chang’an raised a brow, his lips curling with contempt, enunciating every word, “What are you, to even compare with me?”

As he finished, his hand swept into his robe, scattering a handful of talisman papers into the air, which ignited instantly with a series of sharp cracks.

Zhou Yu felt his body suddenly grow heavy, his once-impressive speed stifled, unable to move as before.

“Qingping Palace’s Evil Suppression Talismans—do you fancy them, brother?”

Zhou Yu felt as though he’d sunk into a mire, the world once easy to traverse now thick with mud. It took all his strength to cover ground that once cost him barely a fraction of his effort.

“Dozens of talismans! Where did this brat get so many treasures? Did Master give him all of Qingping Palace’s relics?” A surge of jealousy rose in Zhou Yu’s heart.

Shen Chang’an advanced slowly, drawing more talismans from his robe and wiping the blade of his Yanling Knife again and again.

Each talisman passed over the knife, it gleamed brighter, and by the time Shen Chang’an stood before Zhou Yu, the blade shimmered like autumn water, rippling and reflecting light.

“Thirty-six Ghost-Slaying Talismans in all. May you find peace on your journey, brother!”

“Shen Chang’an!”

The Ghost Infant screamed, evil energy erupting, breaking through the talisman’s suppression. His claws lunged for Shen Chang’an’s throat.

But at that moment, Shen Chang’an’s Yanling Knife flashed!

The sky’s colors and water’s light have no equal, and for you, I gather the Milky Way with my hands!

The blade’s brilliance split the air in an instant, thirty-six Ghost-Slaying Talismans detonating, their power crashing into the Ghost Infant’s soul, tearing it apart in thirty-six directions.

In a heartbeat, Zhou Yu’s ghostly form was rent to pieces, dissolving into sparks of light.

Shen Chang’an slowly sheathed his knife and whispered, “Brother, may you journey well.”