Chapter 94: Chapter 93: Retribution
"How did it come to this? How should I know? How could I possibly know!" Qin Hongyuan’s face was streaked with tears. Disheveled and dressed in rags like a beggar, he looked nothing like the commanding figure he once was.
"It’s all because of Phoenix Lake... because of that animal! Yes, if it weren’t for that beast who deserves to be cut into a thousand pieces, how... how could my Qin Family have ended up like this?!"
Qin Hongyuan’s voice was hoarse, like a cuckoo crying blood with every word.
"Really?" Qin Li narrowed his eyes, a faint, unreadable smile playing on his lips as he watched Qin Hongyuan. Before coming here, he hadn’t gone to find Hu and the others. Instead, he had returned to the slums to see Watermelon, who had already undergone Nirvana once. To Qin Li’s surprise, after his first Nirvana, Watermelon’s strength had already reached the third tier of the Profound Level! However, his second Nirvana was fast approaching. Having experienced the feeling of his soul being scorched once before, Watermelon now trembled at the mere mention of the word, begging Qin Li to save him. But Qin Li had no guarantees. The Ancient Pill Formula Secret Manual left by Prince Wu did list a few elixirs that could enhance Spiritual Power. At this point, it was a desperate gamble. Whether Watermelon lived or died would depend on his own fortune.
According to Watermelon, the Qin Family hadn’t been wiped out by the powerful experts who returned from Phoenix Lake at all. They had been killed by a group of men in black!
Thus, Qin Li completely ignored Qin Hongyuan’s sworn oaths and desperate expression.
"Of course it’s true! Why would I lie to you? Don’t forget, I’m your grandfather! The blood of the Qin Family flows in your veins!" Qin Hongyuan hissed in a low voice.
On the day of the incident, Qin Hongyuan had no time to escape. But the Qin Family had a secret room more than fifty meters underground. Sensing something was wrong, Qin Hongyuan immediately ducked inside and hid. He didn’t dare to emerge until three or four days later, only to find that his entire family had been slaughtered. He had spat out a mouthful of blood and nearly died from the shock.
After that, Qin Hongyuan disguised himself as an elderly beggar, hiding around the perimeter of the Qin Family estate. He contacted a few trusted subordinates who hadn’t been there on the day of the incident and had them send all the family wealth he had managed to take with him into hiding to Qin Feng and Qin Hu in the Imperial Capital. Although some members of the Qin Family were still scattered about, the family itself was finished.
’To restore our glory, we’d have to eliminate our enemies. But how could the current Qin Family possibly have the strength for revenge? Rely on Qin Feng and Qin Hu? I’ve never even considered it. It’s better to just preserve the Qin Family’s bloodline!’
Qin Hongyuan often returned late at night, sitting here in a daze until dawn before leaving. He never expected to run into Qin Li today. If he hadn’t, Qin Hongyuan might have even forgotten he had this grandson.
"If you had told me the truth, Qin Hongyuan, perhaps I could have helped you get revenge. But even now, you’re still spouting nonsense at me. Forget it. I’m leaving. Take care of yourself." With a disappointed look, Qin Li turned to leave. Even without Watermelon’s information, Qin Li found it hard to believe that a great house like the Qin Family could be annihilated so silently.
"You... you little brat! You dare call me by my full name! I... I’m so angry I could die!"
Qin Hongyuan pointed at Qin Li with a furious expression, then his head drooped in despair. "What’s the use of telling you? You can barely protect yourself, and you’re bitter enemies with Qin Feng and Qin Hu. You, help the Qin Family get revenge? What a joke... But since you want to hear it... *sigh*... I might as well tell you. It’s not like I can talk about this with anyone else. Speaking of which, this is all because of the sins committed by the Qin Family’s ancestors!"
As he spoke, Qin Hongyuan sat down on a cold stone. This place had once been the Qin Family’s garden. Images of chirping birds, fragrant flowers, and shimmering lake water flashed through his mind one by one, and his eyes grew moist again.
"Many years ago, the founder of the Qin Family was a butcher. That’s no secret; many of the old families in Yellow Sand City know about it. What they don’t know, however, is how the Qin Family rose to power!"
Qin Hongyuan’s voice was low, bearing a striking resemblance to Qin Hengtian’s. He continued, "Back then, Yellow Sand City was just a large, somewhat desolate town, nowhere near as prosperous as it is today. The adventurers who appeared here back then were mostly very powerful. One year, a Celestial Level expert came to stay with the Qin Family. He ordered my ancestor around and treated him like dirt. My ancestor, however, was a man who would seek revenge for the smallest slight. That Celestial Level expert returned from the Execution Ground, gravely injured, and stayed with the Qin Family again. He never imagined that my butcher ancestor would have the guts to use a dose of extremely potent Enchanting Medicine to knock him out... and then, slice by slice, flay him alive!"
Even though he had already heard the story once from Qin Hengtian, hearing it again now still sent a chill down his spine. Qin Li could almost picture the scene: a Celestial Level expert, tortured to death by a thousand cuts in his sleep. What an unjust and pathetic way to die!
’This just goes to show: a gentleman is easy to deceive, but a villain is hard to guard against.’
"Then, on his body, my ancestor found several combat skills and Heart Methods, as well as two elixirs. It was these things that led to the rise of my Qin Family, creating two Celestial Level ancestors and transforming the Qin Family from nobodies into a great house! The hateful part is that someone at Phoenix Lake framed the Qin Family, drawing everyone’s attention to us! And those nine men in black were drawn here as well. At first, they wanted to negotiate with my family. They demanded ninety percent of the treasures from Phoenix Lake, with ten percent going to the Qin Family. In return, the Qin Family would be under their protection."
At this, Qin Hongyuan gritted his teeth, his body radiating a monstrous hatred. "My Qin Family hadn’t obtained any treasures at all, but we didn’t want to miss such an opportunity. You have to understand, every single one of those nine men was a High Tier Celestial Level expert! In front of them, our family’s Qin Hengdi couldn’t muster the slightest will to resist. So, we had no choice but to present all of the Qin Family’s Heart Methods and combat skills. We never expected that when the men in black saw one of the combat skills, their expressions would change drastically. They immediately demanded that our ancestor demonstrate the Qin Family’s Ultimate Skill..."
As he reached this point, Qin Hongyuan’s face became utterly ferocious, and tears of blood streamed from his eyes.
By now, Qin Li had already guessed most of the story. He listened as Qin Hongyuan continued in a choked, tearful voice, "After our ancestor performed it, the men in black repeatedly said ’Good, good,’ and that the combat skill was indeed an Ancient Combat Skill... Thinking back on it now, they must have said that because they were filled with absolute hatred!"
"Those men in black... they were the descendants of the Celestial Level Martial Artist who was killed back then, weren’t they?" Qin Li asked.
"That’s right. Some were his descendants, others his friends. They came here for two reasons: one was for the Ancient Ruins at Phoenix Lake, and the other was to search for their companion who went missing all those years ago. By a bizarre twist of fate, they ended up at my Qin Family’s doorstep! Tell me, if we hadn’t been framed first, how could those men in black possibly have found us? How could they have found us?!"
Qin Hongyuan’s crazed roar echoed far into the silent night sky.
"This is retribution," Qin Li said coldly.
"Yes, it’s retribution! Heheheh... it really is retribution! But damn it, why wasn’t the retribution dealt to the one who framed us?! Why? WHY?" Qin Hongyuan was like a madman, finally venting nearly half a year of pent-up fury in front of Qin Li.
"Heh. When your Qin Family’s ancestor was slaughtering someone else’s kin, did he ever think of this?" Qin Li’s voice grew even colder. After learning the true reason for the Qin Family’s destruction, he suddenly felt as if everything was preordained by fate.
"Qin Li, you little beast! Don’t you dare gloat! Don’t you forget, the blood of the Qin Family flows in your veins too!" Qin Hongyuan roared, glaring at Qin Li.
Then, with fresh tears streaming down his face, he mumbled, "Retribution... this is truly retribution!"
"Retribution?"
A cold sneer slowly formed on Qin Li’s lips. He suddenly asked, "Qin Hongyuan, my mother... she wasn’t your biological daughter, was she?"
"What..." Qin Hongyuan stumbled back several steps, his eyes wide with terror as he stared at Qin Li in disbelief. "Who... who told you that?! Nonsense! Utter nonsense! Qin Li, don’t even think about denying that you are a descendant of the Qin Family!"
"Heh, one of your ancestors told me, of course," Qin Li said, looking at Qin Hongyuan with a scornful smile. "It seems my guess was correct. No wonder you were always so cold to my mother and me!"
"You’re full of shit! You little beast!" Qin Hongyuan cursed, his rage uncontrollable. "That’s right, I’ve never had a shred of goodwill for you! If it weren’t for you, you little beast, the Qin Family would have been related to the imperial family long ago! So yes, I hate you! And I hate your good-for-nothing father even more! He single-handedly ruined the Qin Family’s bright future! But Han Yue... Han Yue was still the daughter I doted on since she was a child. I never treated her like an outsider! I always thought of her as my own daughter! Wuwu... Who knew... who knew she would actually... that she would do that to me! Huh?"
Qin Hongyuan abruptly staggered back several more steps, trembling violently. He pointed a finger at Qin Li, his eyes filled with horror. "You... what did you just say? One of my ancestors told you? It was you... The one at Phoenix Lake who framed the Qin Family... it was you! It must have been you!"
Qin Li let out a few cold laughs and mimicked Qin Hongyuan’s tone. "Retribution!"
"AAAH!" Qin Hongyuan let out a wretched cry of ultimate grief and indignation.
"So it’s true... what goes around comes around. Retribution is inescapable! Back then, I slaughtered her entire family, took her, and raised her as my own daughter. I never imagined... that her son would be the one to destroy my Qin Family, to cause my entire family to be massacred... Haha, haha, HAHAHAHA! The heavens are truly just! Truly just! You damned, thieving heavens... I’ll fuck your ancestors!"
With tears streaming down his face, Qin Hongyuan collapsed onto the rubble, wailing, his cries heart-wrenching. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more Chapters. Support the author and read the official version!)
