He Wasn't Him

The man in black wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, only then realizing that the cloth covering his face had somehow vanished.

He hurriedly raised an arm to hide his face, but noisy footsteps were already sounding outside the courtyard.

Before long, Song Ping and his daughter arrived with a group of guards. The roof had been wrecked by the fierce fighting.

"Big Brother Luo Xing, are you all right?" Song Xue asked with concern, looking up at Li Xingluo.

Only the ruins of the house remained. Li Xingluo stood atop a pillar on the left, while the man in black knelt on one knee on the only beam still standing.

Li Xingluo gave a slight shake of his head, his gaze remaining fixed on the man in black opposite him.

Song Ping and his daughter naturally followed Li Xingluo's gaze to the man in black.

The guards drew their weapons and surrounded the entire courtyard. An odd silence settled over the scene.

"At this point, why keep up the pretense?"

Even without Li Xingluo's prompting, Song Ping had long sensed that something was wrong. Song Zhu, the one truly handling the Song Clan's affairs these days, hadn't shown up despite all the commotion. It was strange no matter how he looked at it.

Song Ping pushed his wheelchair forward a little, drawing closer to the beam where the man in black stood.

"Second Brother, is that you?"

At these words, Song Xue was stunned. Every guard present was equally dumbfounded.

"Father, what are you saying? He... he's Second Uncle?"

Song Xue could hardly believe her ears. As if seeking confirmation, she stared up at the man in black on the beam.

Knowing there was no point keeping up the act, the man in black lowered his arm and slowly straightened.

In the moonlight, Song Xue saw his face—the face she knew better than any other.

Song Xue slowly shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. This didn't fit with everything she knew.

"Second Brother, it really is you." Song Ping spoke with disappointment.

The man in black suddenly burst into laughter. He offered no defense, only revealing a look of resentment.

He turned all his accusations on Li Xingluo. "It's all because of you. If not for you, everything would have been perfect."

Li Xingluo only smiled without replying. He had nothing to say to someone so twisted.

From the very first time they met, Song Zhu had constantly targeted him. Even after being exposed, he was still picking a fight.

"Second Brother, why did you do this? I've suspected you before, a long time ago. But I kept telling myself that I must have been mistaken. This time, though, only you and I knew the route Xue'er would take when she came home, yet she ran into the Sand Bandits on the way.

"I was sure Father's illness had something to do with you. I just never thought you'd go after Xue'er, too. You watched her grow up. How could you bring yourself to do it?"

Song Ping's voice was nearly hoarse, full of the anguish of watching someone go astray.

Hearing her father's words, Song Xue stood rooted to the spot, dazed. She couldn't understand why the Second Uncle who had doted on her since childhood had become someone else.

He had become someone she no longer recognized. Why had all this happened? Song Xue fixed her gaze on Song Zhu, wanting to hear the reason from his own lips.

As Song Ping demanded to know why Song Zhu had done this, Li Xingluo supplied the answer.

"Because he isn't one of the Song Clan. Naturally, he doesn't care whether the Song family lives or dies."

Li Xingluo's words were as shocking as a thunderclap, stunning everyone present.

Song Ping and his daughter both turned to Li Xingluo, then looked over Song Zhu.

"Sir, what do you mean?"

"Did you really think the person standing before you was Song Zhu?"

"Isn't he?"

"He isn't Second Uncle? How is that possible? How could I not recognize his face?"

Song Xue challenged him, and Song Ping was just as confused. How could they fail to recognize his own younger brother, his daughter's uncle, after all these years?

Before Li Xingluo could explain to Song Ping and his daughter, the man in black admitted it himself.

"How did you know?" the man in black asked, then suddenly paused, as if remembering something.

"Right, I forgot you're an Alchemist too," Song Zhu said, as if waking from a dream.

Li Xingluo pointed at the man's face and offered another explanation. "Sorry, but your face..."

The man in black touched his face, suddenly realizing something. The corner of his eye caught a damaged spot on his right cheek. That was...

"I have a question now."

"What question?" the man in black asked.

"Was it worth paying such a price for the Song Clan? As far as I know, the pills that let you change your appearance aren't cheap. If your Dou Qi hadn't been damaged and given you away, I wouldn't have thought of it."

Li Xingluo's words shocked Song Ping and his daughter once more. Pills that changed one's appearance?

Even if it was disguise, the fact that the pills could replicate someone's appearance so perfectly, without giving anything away, made Li Xingluo quite curious.

The man in black, no longer able to control the Dou Qi in his body, let out a scream. A cloud of black mist enveloped him.

Everyone tensed, staring at the cloud of black mist, afraid the man inside might escape.

The black mist slowly dispersed, revealing the man in black's true face.

"It's you..." Song Ping blurted out, pointing at him.

Song Xue's eyes widened as well, and she instinctively stepped backward, unwilling to believe what she was seeing.

Li Xingluo couldn't help feeling curious. They seemed to know this person, too. What was going on?

"Uncle, are you all right?"

The way he addressed Song Ping as "Uncle" left Li Xingluo feeling awkward. He took a careful look: the man did bear some resemblance to the one from before. Could it be? This family was a real mess.

Li Xingluo felt like a bystander watching the drama unfold. This wasn't his moment.

"You... you're still alive." Song Ping's raised hand trembled slightly, disbelief in his voice.

"Of course I'm still alive. I didn't think Uncle would still remember me."

It felt like he'd stumbled into someone else's family secrets. Li Xingluo didn't know whether to stay or leave.

Song Ping looked stricken with guilt, tears welling in his eyes.

"Yu'er, what happened back then wasn't what you think. Come down, and we'll talk this through, uncle and nephew."

Song Yu burst into laughter, then glared viciously at Song Ping, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Uncle, let me call you that one last time. Stop putting on that hypocritical act. I'm not a fool anymore. I know who's good and who's bad."

Song Ping was clearly flustered. He fell straight out of his wheelchair, landing face-down in a thoroughly undignified heap.

Seeing this, Song Xue hurried forward to help Song Ping up and settled him back into his wheelchair.

"Yu'er, you were young back then. It wasn't what you think."

"Hahaha! Song Ping, stop pretending. It's sickening. If it hadn't been for you back then, how could I have... Forget it. It's all in the past. You've won tonight. I only hate that fate was so unfair. I was this close to succeeding, and then I ran into you."

Song Yu roughly wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth, gathered his Dou Qi, and lunged savagely at Li Xingluo.

"Don't!" Song Ping shouted.

Li Xingluo shook his head. He hadn't wanted to get mixed up in this mess in the first place. If he'd known, he could have knocked Song Xue out and taken the Seven-Colored Immortal Orchid. Why had he gotten involved in all this?

But that would have gone against Li Xingluo's principles. For the sake of the Seven-Colored Immortal Orchid, he had been dragged into someone else's feud.

As Song Yu neared Li Xingluo, he withdrew his Dou Qi and let his body hurtle toward the Wind Spirit Split-Form Sword in Li Xingluo's hand.

He wanted Li Xingluo to take the blame? Not a chance. Li Xingluo simply stuck out one foot and sent Song Yu flying, where he crashed to the ground.

Honestly, why fly right at him to die? If he wanted to die, he could do it himself!