Past Events

Inside the An Family residence's main hall.

Everyone in the An family, along with Master Ciren, was present.

They all waited quietly.

Meanwhile, An Ruifeng was wracking his brains.

"Master, can't you remember anything yet?"

Song Cui was somewhat anxious.

According to Master Ciren, if they could find the one who had seized the soul, there might be a chance to restore An Mingxu to how he had been before.

Of course, there was also a strong possibility that An Mingxu's earthly soul was already gone.

After all, so many years had passed. Perhaps it had already been refined away by that Monster.

After all, those demonic-path cultivators most enjoyed using human souls to forge magical artifacts.

An Ruifeng frowned. "All my life, I have treated others with kindness."

"Even in business, I have rarely made enemies."

"Besides, that was more than ten years ago. I can't recall it all at once."

"During those years, did you ever have any grudges with anyone?"

"Third Madam just said that the young master was to go to Xuanqing Temple in a few days to become a monk and cultivate?" Master Ciren suddenly asked.

Though Song Cui's face was anxious, she still answered, "Yes, Master."

"His father made a vow back then, so he planned to send Mingxu off to become a monk in a few days."

"How about this? Let the young master cultivate with me when the time comes."

"Ah?" Song Cui was rather startled.

"I see that this young master has yet to sever his mortal ties. Let him cultivate under me for the time being, and not go to Xuanqing Temple just yet."

"Big Sister, hurry and thank Master Ciren!"

Song Chengan hurriedly reminded her.

Though Monk Ciren appeared to be a solitary man with neither kin nor companion, Song Chengan felt that in terms of cultivation level and seniority, very few people in Xuanqing Temple could compare to him.

"Song Cui thanks Master Ciren!"

"Master, can't you remember anything yet?"

Song Cui asked.

An Ruifeng waved his hand.

"Let me think. Don't interrupt."

"Father, have you forgotten about Miss Xue?"

An Mingxin truly could not hold it in any longer and spoke up.

The moment he said this, the First Madam immediately shot him a glare.

When An Ruifeng heard that, he slapped his thigh.

"Right, right! Miss Xue!"

"Miss Xue?"

Song Chengan was immediately puzzled upon hearing this.

It was a name he had never heard before.

"Miss Xue's name was An Xue."

"She was the daughter of a cousin from my own branch of the family."

"Eleven years ago."

"Miss Xue reached marriageable age, and that cousin of mine found her a family in the city."

"You probably know that the An family's main lineage came from the villages below. It was only because my branch had better fortune and produced a clever ancestor who passed the imperial examination that our branch rose to prominence and entered Lingqiu City."

"Let's continue with Miss Xue."

"Her parents' household was not well-off, and they did not want Miss Xue to keep living that life of facing the yellow earth with her back and the sky with her face in the village. So they made inquiries in the city and found her a husband."

"That family also lived a hard life, but their son was clever and had been known for his talent since childhood."

"At first, that man was unwilling, likely because he thought Miss Xue's family background was too meager."

"But later, somehow, he learned that Miss Xue and I were from the same family. He changed his tune and agreed to marry Miss Xue."

"I opposed it at the time, and my cousin's parents opposed it as well."

"At first, we truly thought this young man could be entrusted with her, but after seeing that he despised the poor and fawned on the rich, we felt he would not do."

"But our opposition was useless. For some reason, Miss Xue developed feelings for him."

"She insisted on marrying him no matter what."

"In the end, we had no choice but to agree to the marriage."

"After they married, because my cousin and I had been close since childhood, we often helped support them."

"Their life improved, and not long after, Miss Xue gave birth to a son and a daughter."

"But the trouble was that the man was not steady or dependable."

"Before their life had improved for long, he became addicted to gambling."

An Ruifeng said.

But at that moment, the First Madam tugged at him.

An Ruifeng waved his hand. "Even with Chengan here, I must say this."

"Gambling must never be touched. No matter how great a family fortune is, it cannot fill that bottomless pit."

"I heard that the Gambling House dice were filled with mercury, making sure you could never win."

Song Chengan twitched the corner of his mouth.

An Ruifeng felt just like those elders from his previous life.

They loved lecturing the younger generation whenever they had nothing else to do.

It was terribly annoying.

But when he thought about the things he had done before.

A few lectures were only fair.

"Let's continue with Miss Xue."

"After her husband became addicted to gambling, life became difficult."

"But fortunately, I supported them, so they could barely get by."

"But the trouble was that there was no bottom line to how rotten that man could become."

"Before long, Miss Xue came to our house weeping, saying that her son and daughter had both died."

"It gave us a terrible fright."

"Later, after making inquiries."

"We learned that the man had somehow become infatuated with a courtesan."

"And for that courtesan, he had strangled his own son and daughter to death."

"When I heard of it, I was naturally enraged. I ordered men to seize that scholar and brought people to arrest the woman as well."

"I was determined to send that adulterous pair to the Government Office and charge them with murder."

"At first, we thought this woman was merely a wicked person who toyed with men's hearts. Who would have thought that she was actually a Monster..."

"A Monster?"

"That's right."

"At first, when we arrived, the woman refused to admit it and merely looked around and spoke of other matters."

"The people of the brothel even protected her, but fortunately, we had brought many people with us."

"When the woman saw that we were dead set on dragging her to the brothel to answer for her crimes, she revealed her true form. She was actually a Monster and injured quite a few people."

"But fortunately, there was an expert among the crowd of onlookers. In the end, that expert stepped in and drove the woman away."

"What happened to that Monster afterward?" An Mingxin asked.

An Ruifeng said, "I don't know. That expert returned in the end and said the Monster had fled toward Mount Luo and vanished without a trace."

"He said that Monster might have come from Mount Luo."

"At the same time, he told us not to go to Mount Luo without cause. Mount Luo harbored a great demon."

Mount Luo harbored a great demon?

Upon hearing that, Song Chengan could not help thinking of First Boss Bai.

"What about that man?"

Song Chengan pressed.

"Because the matter was too heinous, that man was sentenced that very year to execution after the autumn assizes."

"The only person I feel I offended during those years was connected to this matter."

"Master, do you think that Monster did it?"

"That Monster was so skilled at bewitching people's hearts. I fear it was responsible for the soul-seizing."

Monk Ciren pressed his palms together. "According to Benefactor Song's account, there is a high chance that the young master's soul was taken by that Monster."

"Once we find that Monster, everything will become clear."

"I simply do not know who that expert was who drove the Monster away back then."

An Ruifeng said, "He was no outsider. He was Mingxin's master."

"Immortal Master Zuo of the Tianmen Sect."

"My master?" An Mingxin was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

He had only heard his mother tell this story, yet he had never expected that expert to be his own master.

"That's right. It was after that incident that Immortal Master Zuo came to visit the An family and saw that you had a fated opportunity for cultivation."

Song Cui was somewhat puzzled. "I had already joined the An family by then. How do I have no memory of this at all?"

An Ruifeng was somewhat embarrassed.

Could he say that he had felt there was no need to tell a concubine such things?

He was accustomed to making every decision himself.

At most, he would occasionally discuss matters with the First Madam.

After all, the First Madam had followed and served him since he was very young.

The First Madam took over the conversation. "The master was worried that the family would be frightened, so he did not mention it."

Song Chengan said.

"Where is Miss Xue now?"

"Miss Xue should know something about that Monster."

"Miss Xue lived with the An family for a time afterward, then returned to the village."

"Later, she took in an outsider fleeing famine as a live-in son-in-law."

"An Family Village?"

"Precisely."

"We will set out for An Family Village at once."

Song Chengan said.

An Family Village was not far from Lingqiu City, only half a day's walk away.

"All these fields belong to the An family."

Song Chengan said as he looked at the endless rice paddies in the distance.

"They were acquired little by little over several generations."

"They are the foundation of a Lineage's strength."

An Ruifeng smiled.

Song Chengan clicked his tongue.

He had never had much concept of what several hundred mu of prime farmland meant before, but now he saw it stretched out in one unbroken expanse.

One An family alone had so much.

Who knew how much the Five Great Families possessed.

He had heard Xuanqing Temple was no less impressive.

Who knew how much farmland was left for the common people.

"First Master!"

"First Master!"

All along the way, people everywhere greeted An Ruifeng.

"This is Uncle An Yuan. All matters in the village are managed by him."

"Uncle An Yuan, take us to find Miss Xue."

The man called Uncle An Yuan was an elderly man in his sixties or seventies, holding a smoking pipe in his hand.

"Shengnian, is Miss Xue here?"

"We have something to ask her."

Sitting in the courtyard was a dark-faced, honest-looking man.

The moment he saw An Ruifeng, he hurriedly rose to his feet.

"Miss Xue is inside the house!"

"First Master, wait a moment. I'll go call her!"

Song Chengan and the others met that Miss Xue.

She was around forty years old, with faint wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

Her former splendor had faded, yet it was clear that in her youth, she had been a striking beauty.