Chapter Two: The Ins and Outs

"Revenge? Are you joking with me, Sister Yue? What's going on? Explain it to me carefully."

Duàn Yì realized that things might not be as he thought. His initial excitement and joy diminished significantly, replaced by nervousness. He quickly asked for an explanation.

Hearing this, Yuè Jiāo Nú knew that suddenly revealing such matters was too much for a young man raised in a mountain village to bear. However, since he was the direct descendant of the Old Palace Master, he had to face it. Thus, she slowly began to explain the whole story.

It turned out that Duàn Yì's mother was no ordinary person. She was the Young Palace Mistress of the Moon Worship Palace, a top martial arts force in Huáizhōu, Great Xia. Her name was Yán Fāngfēi.

Her martial arts talent was said to be a once-in-a-century occurrence. By the age of twenty, she had defeated everyone in the Moon Worship Palace except her own mother and had cultivated the palace's ultimate divine skill, the Bright Jade Skill, to the sixth level. Everyone in the palace regarded her as the sole candidate for the next Palace Master.

However, sixteen years ago, Yán Fāngfēi went out to explore the world and met an ordinary scholar. They fell in love and became inseparable, even secretly pledging their lives to each other.

In Duàn Yì's opinion, apart from the Bright Jade Skill being a bit eye-catching, it was a beautiful story – a talented scholar and a beautiful woman, a perfect match.

However, the truth was far from it.

It turned out that the Moon Worship Palace was a martial arts sect composed entirely of women. The Palace Master held the highest status, and the other women all bore the surname Yue, with "Nü" as their suffix, such as Yuè Jiāo Nú, Yuè Bì Nǔ, Yuè Xīn Nü, and so on.

Duàn Yì's maternal grandmother, Yán Susu, was an old woman akin to a "Miejue Shitai" (a stern, ruthless abbess). She must have suffered emotional trauma in her youth, becoming pregnant out of wedlock and giving birth to Duàn Yì's mother, Yán Fāngfēi. Afterward, she strictly forbade anyone in the palace from marrying or even discussing romantic relationships, including her own daughter.

As a result, Yán Fāngfēi not only knowingly disobeyed but also chose an ordinary man who knew nothing of martial arts as her husband. This enraged Yán Susu, who then relentlessly pursued her daughter and son-in-law.

Later, the Moon Worship Palace found Duàn Yuè and Yán Fāngfēi, only to discover that Yán Fāngfēi had already given birth to Duàn Yì, making the situation irreversible.

Moreover, Yán Fāngfēi's stance at the time was extremely resolute; she would rather cripple her own martial arts than leave her husband and son. Yán Susu had no choice but to let Duàn Yì's family go.

After all, they were mother and daughter, with deep affection, and there was even a grandson. How could she truly kill them?

Upon hearing this, Duàn Yì finally understood why his mother, who should have been in good health, was so frail and sickly. It was all because she had been forced to cripple her own martial arts back then. He felt no goodwill towards the Moon Worship Palace.

Duàn Yì was not good at hiding his emotions. With a grudge formed in his heart, his gaze towards Yuè Jiāo Nú turned cold.

Although Yuè Jiāo Nú wasn't very intelligent, she noticed the change in Duàn Yì's attitude. She gave a wry smile and continued, "Young Master, please don't rush. Let me finish speaking."

After letting Duàn Yì's family go, Yán Susu returned to the Moon Worship Palace and stripped Yán Fāngfēi of her title as Young Palace Mistress. She then extensively promoted outstanding disciples of the same generation, seemingly intending to select the next Palace Master from among them.

Among them was a woman named Yuè Bì Nǔ. Although her martial arts aptitude wasn't very high, she was very good at pleasing people and always did things that aligned with Yán Susu's wishes, thus gaining increasing favor.

She not only received instruction in the Moon Worship Palace's profound martial arts but also gradually gained a status different from ordinary disciples. Using this, she rallied and promoted a group of people, forming a considerable faction.

However, the crucial issue lay ahead. The Moon Worship Palace possessed a supreme internal martial art, the Bright Jade Skill, which was incredibly powerful and only passed down to the Palace Master. Despite Yuè Bì Nǔ gaining Yán Susu's trust and promotion, and learning many profound martial arts, she was consistently unable to inherit the Bright Jade Skill. This sowed seeds of suspicion in her heart.

After several inquiries and subtle probing, coupled with her usual skillful deception, Yán Susu, in a moment of carelessness, revealed her true intentions to Yuè Bì Nǔ.

She had always hoped that her daughter would one day change her mind and return to the Moon Worship Palace to take charge.

Although Duàn Yì's mother, Yán Fāngfēi, had crippled her own martial arts, it wasn't beyond recovery. Yán Susu had a way to restore Yán Fāngfēi's martial arts, even elevate them further, merely waiting for her daughter to yield to her.

Upon learning this news, it was like a bolt from the blue for Yuè Bì Nǔ. Anyone who believed a position was rightfully theirs, only to find out it never belonged to them, would naturally feel resentment, and she was no exception.

Furthermore, there was another significant reason: Yuè Bì Nǔ was infatuated with Qū Dōng Liú, the sect leader of the Golden Cauldron Sect, a major power in Wei Prefecture, Hebei Province. They were secretly in contact, waiting for Yuè Bì Nǔ to ascend to power so they could openly amend the sect rules and be together. However, with her succession hopes dashed, they could never be together openly.

For this reason, Yuè Bì Nǔ harbored malicious intent. She colluded with Qū Dōng Liú and, leveraging the influence she had cultivated within the Moon Worship Palace over the years, rebelled against Yán Susu. She even used Yán Susu's long-standing trust to betray her.

The outcome was as Duàn Yì saw now: the legitimate Moon Worship Palace was overthrown. Before committing suicide, Yán Susu instructed Yuè Jiāo Nú to find Yán Fāngfēi, so she could recover her martial arts and take revenge on Yuè Bì Nǔ and Qū Dōng Liú.

Yuè Jiāo Nú fought her way out, came to Yuxi Village, found Duàn Yì, and that led to the scene at the beginning of the story. This was the entire sequence of events.

After listening, Duàn Yì's mind raced. He remained remarkably calm, not overly worried about their dire situation. Instead, he asked, "Do you have any way to restore my mother's crippled martial arts?"

This was a crucial point. Setting aside the matter of revenge, if he could gain some strength through this, wouldn't that be wonderful?

It wasn't that Duàn Yì was cold-blooded. Not to mention the soul of a transmigrator.

For the past fourteen years, little Duàn Yì's only family had been his father and mother. He had never met or spent any time with this nominal grandmother. Although they shared blood, there was no familial affection. It was unrealistic to expect him to shoulder the heavy responsibility of revenge immediately.

Therefore, he was more focused on himself.

"The Old Palace Master had a connection with the Blood Head Monk of the South Sea in the past. This Blood Head Monk is famous for his Divine Light Skill, which allows one to cripple their own cultivation and start anew, even reaching a higher level. This complete Longevity Lock is the token of their association.

As long as the Young Palace Mistress takes the Longevity Lock to find the Blood Head Monk, she can obtain the Divine Light Skill, thereby restoring her martial arts and avenging the Old Palace Master."

What Yuè Jiāo Nú knew was what Yán Susu had told her in their final moments, so she was very certain.

Upon hearing the name "Divine Light Skill," Duàn Yì's long, slender eyebrows shot up.

First the Bright Jade Skill, then the Divine Light Skill. What kind of world was this? A chaotic martial arts free-for-all?

And who was this Blood Head Monk? The name sounded strange.

However, this question was not important at the moment. Duàn Yì asked the crucial point again, "Do you know where the Blood Head Monk is? If we go to find him and show him this complete Longevity Lock, can we obtain the Divine Light Skill?"

"This Longevity Lock is the token. As long as it proves your relationship with the Old Palace Master, the Blood Head Monk will certainly not refuse.

However, to be honest, Young Master, the Old Palace Master did not reveal the Blood Head Monk's whereabouts before her death. And he has been out of contact in the Jianghu for nearly ten years.

I believe the Young Palace Mistress might know his whereabouts, but I don't know if she mentioned it to you?"

Yuè Jiāo Nú asked with anticipation. Although she could see that Duàn Yì had no martial arts foundation at all and was just an ordinary village youth, perhaps the Young Palace Mistress might have revealed some crucial information.

However, when Duàn Yì heard this, his heart sank. His mother, enduring her illness daily and working hard to support him, a growing boy, was already difficult enough. How could she possibly tell him such things?

She hadn't even taught him a single move, let alone spoken to him about these matters of the Jianghu.

Finding a Blood Head Monk who had disappeared for ten years within the Great Xia Dynasty was even more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.

This Divine Light Skill was completely tantalizing, something they could hear about but not see, let alone touch.

Seeing Duàn Yì shake his head like a rattle, Yuè Jiāo Nú's face also showed disappointment.

For a moment, in the dim room, Duàn Yì and Yuè Jiāo Nú sighed and faced each other with worried expressions.

Duàn Yì sighed because he had missed out on a peerless martial art. Others might not know the true nature of the Divine Light Skill, but didn't he? The disappointment in his heart was imaginable.

Yuè Jiāo Nú was frustrated because her hope for revenge was dashed.

Facing behemoths like the Moon Worship Palace and the Golden Cauldron Sect, their strength was truly minuscule. Now that their last hope was gone, were they truly going to stand by and watch their sworn enemies live in happiness?

After a good while, Duàn Yì finally composed himself and asked Yuè Jiāo Nú to rest in the adjacent room, and they would discuss it again tomorrow.

Seeing that it was getting late, Yuè Jiāo Nú took her leave.

Duàn Yì tidied up and prepared to rest as well.

Before turning off the lights, he noticed the Longevity Lock on the wooden couch.

The two halves of the Longevity Lock together were only about half the size of his palm. It was a silver metal artifact, but surprisingly light, and inscribed with the words "long life and prosperity."

In Duàn Yì's memory, he had worn one half of it since he was old enough to remember. Today, he had finally seen the other half, which could be considered a unique kind of completeness.

With this thought, Duàn Yì tried to fit the two halves of the Longevity Lock together. Unexpectedly, as the broken edges met, a powerful suction force emanated from the lock, clinging together tightly like magnets, fitting perfectly. No matter how Duàn Yì tried to pull them apart, they wouldn't separate.

"What?"

As the anomaly occurred, Duàn Yì had no time to be surprised. His vision went black, and he fainted. Meanwhile, the Longevity Lock in his hand emitted a faint, dark glow that flashed and then vanished.