Past Grudges, Lingering Obsessions

Flower Tea Hall.

When Su Yi arrived, only Old Madam Wen was seated there.

Her hair was snowy white, and though she was already eighty, her spirits were hale and vigorous. Sitting there, she naturally exuded the imposing air of someone long accustomed to a position of power.

"Third Young Master, there is no one here but you and me, so there's no need to bow to this old woman."

Old Madam Wen pointed to a chair at one side of the hall, her expression cold. "Sit."

Third Young Master!

That form of address made a trace of daze flicker through Su Yi's eyes.

In this life, he was an illegitimate son of the Jade Capital City Su Family, ranked third. Above him were an older brother and an older sister, and below him was a younger brother.

However, because he had been born of a concubine, and because his mother, Ye Yufei, had died early, he had been treated coldly from childhood to adulthood. His status was not even equal to that of a steward of the Su Family.

"Why has Old Madam summoned me?"

Su Yi shook his head inwardly and sat down casually, his bearing relaxed.

In the entire Su Family, only he knew that Old Madam Wen, Liang Wenbi, had been a maidservant of the Jade Capital City Su Family in her youth, and had served at the side of the Su Family's patriarch, Su Hongli, for a full thirty years.

And Su Hongli was Su Yi's father in this life!

"Why?"

Old Madam Wen's eyes were icy as she said, "Could the Third Young Master have forgotten everything that happened just now at the Longevity Banquet?"

"Others might think that Fu Shan, Nie Beihu, and Huang Yunchong came for that girl Ling Zhao, but I would never believe that!"

"Now, I only ask the Third Young Master this: do you have any explanation to give me?"

Her words were aggressive, her voice and expression both stern!

If it had been the former Su Yi, he would likely already have been cowed by Old Madam Wen's aura.

But now, how could he possibly be frightened by a little old woman?

However, Su Yi also had things he wanted to ask Old Madam Wen, so he did not fuss over this. Calm and unruffled, he said:

"If my guess is correct, they did indeed come this time on account of me."

Smack!

Old Madam Wen was clearly enraged. She slapped a palm onto the armrest of her chair, her aged face dark and terrifying as she said sharply:

"Third Young Master, do you still remember the words your father had me pass on to you when you married into the Wen Family a year ago?"

Without waiting for Su Yi to speak, she enunciated each word: "Dare act in the name of the Su clan, and you will be executed!"

"Dare step so much as half a step into Jade Capital City, and you will be executed!"

The atmosphere abruptly became incomparably oppressive.

These words, brimming with killing intent and cold cruelty, were indeed spoken by Su Yi's father, Su Hongli.

It was precisely because of this that, in the year since Su Yi had married into the Wen Family, let alone the people of Guangling City, even within the Wen Family, only Old Madam Wen knew his identity.

"Does Old Madam think I used the title of the Su Family's Third Young Master to make Fu Shan and the others come attend the banquet?"

Su Yi could not help but laugh.

Old Madam Wen's brows knitted tightly, and her expression grew colder still. "Was it not so?"

"Whether it was or not, you can go ask Fu Shan and the others. With the power you currently hold, finding out this little bit of information should by no means be difficult."

Su Yi's tone was casual. "And what I can tell you is this: I, Su Yi, will not use the Su clan's name to act now, and in the future... I absolutely will not either!"

His gaze was indifferent, yet deep within his pupils, a faint air of looking down upon all beneath him surged.

As the mighty Xuan Jun Sword Master, why would he need to borrow such a paltry false reputation to act?

Old Madam Wen was visibly startled, and could not help sizing Su Yi up again. An indescribable sense of unfamiliarity welled up in her heart.

It was as if the Third Young Master she knew had suddenly become another person.

After a moment of silence, she finally said, "I will investigate this matter thoroughly myself!"

Su Yi smiled and offered no further explanation.

"Although I temporarily do not understand why Fu Shan, Nie Beihu, and the others value you so highly, I have no choice but to say this: in the eyes of the Jade Capital City Su Family, characters like Fu Shan are like tiny ants on the ground. The Su Family would not need to act personally at all. With a single word, they would die without even a burial place!"

Old Madam Wen's expression was cold. When she spoke of the Jade Capital City Su Family, a trace of pride unconsciously seeped into her tone.

"So, I advise you to behave yourself. Otherwise, those connected to you will likely suffer disaster because of you!"

Su Yi recalled the situation of the Jade Capital City Su Family, and had to admit that Old Madam Wen's words were not exaggerated.

Jade Capital City was the imperial capital of the Great Zhou.

And the Su clan ranked among the four top aristocratic families of Jade Capital City!

By comparison, Guangling City was merely one of Cloud River County's nineteen cities. Characters like Fu Shan and Nie Beihu were indeed far from enough to be looked at in front of the Su Family.

It could be called a difference between heaven and earth!

What a pity that Old Madam Wen did not understand: Su Yi had never intended to borrow anyone's power to act at all!

Not to mention Fu Shan—even the Jade Capital City Su Family was, in his eyes, merely a small worldly power. There was no great difference.

"Fu Shan is indeed far inferior compared to the Su Family, but at today's Longevity Banquet, the Wen Family needs to rely on Fu Shan to hold up the scene."

Su Yi said calmly, "Old Madam, from the looks of it, I'm afraid it's very difficult for you to receive any help from the Jade Capital City Su Family now."

A single sentence, yet it seemed to stab into the old lady's sore spot, and her expression instantly turned ugly.

Seeing this, Su Yi said no more.

The former Old Madam Wen had, in the end, merely been a maidservant of the Su Family.

On top of that, she had long since stopped serving the Su Family all these years. How could the Su Family possibly still keep a maidservant like her in mind?

Old Madam Wen took a deep breath, her face showing ridicule as she said, "I didn't expect that after only one year of marrying into my Wen Family, Third Young Master's tongue would have become so impressive."

Su Yi heard a trace of embarrassed anger in her words and smiled unconcernedly. "Old Madam, people change. I came this time because there is also something I wish to ask you."

Old Madam Wen's brows furrowed slightly. "It has to do with the Su Family?"

Su Yi nodded. "That's right. I want to know, regarding my becoming the Wen Family's son-in-law, whose idea was it?"

Old Madam Wen was silent for a moment, then said, "It was the Little Mistress's suggestion, and your father's decision."

"You Qingzhi?"

A cold gleam flashed deep within Su Yi's eyes.

The "Little Mistress" Old Madam Wen spoke of was the fourth wife his father, Su Hongli, had married. Her name was You Qingzhi.

"That's right."

Old Madam Wen nodded. She was not surprised that Su Yi would call the other party by name.

Back then in the Su Family, everyone knew that the one Little Mistress You Qingzhi looked down on the most was Su Yi, this son of a concubine!

"With her personality, when she learned back then that I had lost all my cultivation, why didn't she kill me to silence me? She should have known better than anyone that my heart was full of hatred for her. If she didn't kill me, I would remain a Hidden Danger sooner or later."

Su Yi was somewhat puzzled.

Old Madam Wen could not help but sneer. Her gaze toward Su Yi was filled with pity. "Third Young Master, your mother died early, and even your father regarded you as a sinful son and never cared about you. Add to that the fact that after you lost all your cultivation, you were no different from a cripple—were you even worthy of the words 'Hidden Danger'?"

After a pause, she continued, "But no matter what, the Su Family's blood flows through your veins. If the Little Mistress killed you, it would certainly provoke your father's dissatisfaction and rejection. That would be more loss than gain. Someone as supremely clever as the Little Mistress naturally would not do such a foolish thing."

Su Yi fell silent for a while.

Speaking of it, the fate of him, this concubine-born son of the Su Family, had truly been miserable enough.

When he was four, his mother, Ye Yufei, contracted a serious illness and ultimately passed from this world.

From then on, his situation became extremely awkward and difficult.

His father, Su Hongli, simply did not like him, and paid him no attention at all.

As a result, throughout the entire Su Family, no one dared get close to him, leaving him to suffer cold neglect.

And as he grew older and came into contact with more and more things, he began to suspect that the murderer who had killed his mother, Ye Yufei, back then was none other than his father, Su Hongli!

This made his heart both pained and resentful.

In the end, four years ago, he chose to go to the Green River Sword Mansion to cultivate, attempting to set foot on the path of the Martial Dao and make himself stronger.

But after only three years, because he had awakened the memories of his previous life, he lost all his cultivation. In the end, under arrangements made by the Su Family's power, he became this Wen Family son-in-law...

The me of the first seventeen years really did live far too stifled a life. Su Yi sighed inwardly.

When he had sorted through his memories before, he discovered that in this life, his hatred toward his father Su Hongli and the Little Mistress You Qingzhi had long since become an obsession in his heart.

This obsession should naturally be resolved by the current me.

Su Yi's eyes regained their calm.

If an obsession was not dispelled, it would surely affect his future path to attaining the Dao!

"Oh, right. A while ago, I just heard about a major event that shook Jade Capital City."

Old Madam Wen suddenly spoke, her eyes playful. "Your younger brother, Su Boning, though only sixteen, is already a Qi Gathering Realm 'Transformed Astral' stage expert and is regarded as one of the Eight Excellences of Jade Capital."

"The Great Zhou imperial family has already agreed that as long as your younger brother steps into the Furnace Nourishing Realm before the age of eighteen and becomes a Martial Dao Grandmaster, they will send him to the Great Zhou's number one sacred land, the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect, to cultivate!"

Su Yi was taken aback, and the image of a handsome youth in jade robes surfaced in his mind.

Su Boning.

The son of the Little Mistress You Qingzhi, the youngest son beneath Su Hongli's knees, and also regarded among the Su Family's direct-line disciples as an unrivaled prodigy with the greatest Martial Dao talent!

Although You Qingzhi was Su Hongli's fourth wife, she was, after all, the principal wife. Therefore, Su Boning was born of the main line.

By comparison, Su Yi's mother, Ye Yufei, had been a concubine, so Su Yi was naturally a son of a concubine.

In short, back then in the Su Family, no matter in what regard, though Su Yi, this son of a concubine, was the elder brother, he simply could not be mentioned in the same breath as Su Boning.

A Martial Dao Grandmaster at eighteen? This counts as an unrivaled prodigy?

Su Yi found it secretly amusing.

He naturally knew that Old Madam Wen had deliberately brought up this matter to provoke him.

But she was destined never to imagine that, in his eyes, eighteen-year-old Martial Dao Grandmasters could be grabbed by the handful across the Great Wilderness Nine Provinces. There were far too many of them, and they were simply nothing worth caring about.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

Su Yi rose, deciding to go.

He had already confirmed a few things and had no intention of staying any longer.

"Wait."

Old Madam Wen called him back. "Third Young Master, before you leave, this old woman has something to show you."

As she spoke, she took a silver jade talisman from her sleeve and held it up for Su Yi to see. "Does Third Young Master know what this is?"

The jade talisman was roughly three inches in size, silver throughout, like jade yet not jade, with a faint layer of radiance shimmering over it.

Su Yi's gaze was instantly drawn to it.

P.S. Ahem, the collection count is about to break three thousand. Once it does, I'll keep adding more chapters at six tonight~