"What exactly is the so-called truth?"
"What exactly happened to Bibi Dong?"
The sunlight outside the restaurant was so bright it was almost blinding.
The golden light fell on Qian Renxue, but instead made her body stiffen.
She stood there, staring intently at the old man before her.
That grandfather who was once as great and omnipotent as a god in her heart.
Qian Daoliu's tall figure was shrouded in shadow, and his face, which always carried both majesty and kindness, was now filled with only a deathly grayness.
His lips moved a few times, each word seemingly squeezed out with all his might from deep in his throat.
" Xue'er..."
"Some things are better left unknown than known."
"You're still young..."
His voice was hoarse, filled with endless exhaustion.
"Don't... don't let those dirty pasts taint you."
Qian Renxue smiled.
His smile looked worse than his tears.
"A sordid past?"
She stepped forward, and the last trace of confusion in her beautiful eyes was replaced by resolute madness.
"She, Bibi Dong, has already uttered the words ' Qian Family Family' as if it were a curse!"
"My seniors also said that my understanding of the truth is too narrow!"
"Now, even you're going to use such words to brush me off?"
Qian Renxue's voice suddenly rose, carrying a tremor and pleading tone that she herself was unaware of.
"Grandfather!"
"I am your granddaughter! And her daughter too. Don't I even have the right to know the truth?"
"Or is the truth really so shameful that it can't be brought to light?!"
Qian Daoliu's body trembled violently at her question.
He abruptly closed his eyes, a deep, bone-revealing pain appearing on his face.
Can't stand the light?
It's more than just something that can't be brought to light.
That was a sin that would nail the Angel Clan race to the pillar of shame, condemning them to eternal damnation.
That was the biggest and most irreparable failure he had ever experienced as a father.
Qian Daoliu slowly opened his eyes. For the first time, his cloudy eyes no longer held the tenderness he showed when facing his granddaughter; instead, they held only a heavy, almost overwhelming sorrow.
"Qualifications?"
He repeated the word in a low voice, his tone filled with endless bitterness.
" Xue'er, what you want isn't a qualification, but a knife."
"A knife... powerful enough to pierce through yourself and all the beliefs in your heart."
Qian Renxue's heart sank suddenly.
She didn't understand.
She didn't understand what her grandfather meant.
Only Qian Daoliu's sorrowful voice continued to echo Youyou.
"You've always been proud of your father, haven't you?"
Qian Renxue nodded subconsciously.
Her father, Qian Xunji, the previous Pope, was once a prodigy who died fighting for the glory of the Spirit Hall.
This is her story about her father.
It is one of the sources of her glory and pride as a descendant of angels.
"That truth..."
Qian Daoliu's gaze shifted into the distance, as if piercing through time and space to see that unbearable scene.
His voice was low and deep, like a dream.
"... will destroy everything you have about him in your heart."
"It will let you know what kind of person your proud father really is in your mother's eyes..."
Qian Daoliu's voice choked at that moment. He almost gritted his teeth to pieces before uttering those words in a tone of near self-loathing.
"... You're not even as good as an animal!"
Every word Qian Daoliu was like a heavy hammer, striking Qian Renxue's heart.
Make her stop breathing, make her feel cold all over.
Even worse than an animal?
No!
impossible!
"You're talking nonsense!"
Qian Renxue screamed, her face ashen white.
"Father was a hero who died fighting for the Spirit Hall! Why are you slandering him like this! Bibi Dong's words are unreliable, but are you going to...?"
"I slandered him?"
Qian Daoliu suddenly turned his head, his eyes flashing with a terrifying light, interrupting her words.
" Xue'er! Why do you think I've never stopped her all these years?!"
"Why do you think I would pass the Pope to someone outside my family? To allow her to control the hard work and dedication of countless generations of our Qian Family?!"
He pointed to his chest, his voice trembling violently with emotion.
That's because...
Because this is something that Qian Family owe her!
Because of your presence, she is constantly reminded of everything that happened that day!
That day was a nightmare she could never escape for the rest of her life! It was the root of all her suffering!
Qian Daoliu couldn't utter a single word of those words.
He just clenched his teeth tightly, his face contorting violently with extreme pain.
Qian Daoliu looked at Qian Renxue's expectant yet fearful face, and felt a pang of pain in his heart.
In the end, he couldn't bear it.
He stepped forward, wanting to help the other person up.
" Xue'er, please don't ask anymore, I'm begging you..."
However, Qian Renxue dodged his hand abruptly, like a startled rabbit.
Her eyes were already moist, tears welling up, but her deep-seated pride held them back, preventing them from falling.
She pointed in the direction of the hotel, to the place where she had just been expelled, the boundary between heaven and hell.
"You heard what you said, senior!"
"You saw the look in Bibi Dong's eyes at the very end!"
"Worse than an animal... worse than even an animal!!"
Qian Renxue roared, repeating verbatim Qian Daoliu's words about her father!
These words were like a dagger, first piercing her own heart, then stabbing deeply into Qian Daoliu's chest.
"My father, whom I've been proud of for twenty years, a hero who died fighting for the glory of the Spirit Hall... in the eyes of all of you who knew the truth, he was nothing more than a beast!"
"And me!"
"My daughter, who carries his blood, has been like a complete fool all these years!"
"Living in the enormous lie you've woven!!"
"Now you want me to stop asking?!"
Qian Renxue suddenly raised her head, all the confusion, pain, and grievances in her eyes burning away at that moment.
Ultimately, it transformed into an unprecedented, pure, and utterly extreme obsession and madness!
She knew that asking any further wouldn't yield any results.
Since that's the case!
"Good!"
"You won't talk!"
"I'll go check it myself!"
With a declarative tone, she made her vow to Qian Daoliu and to the heavens and earth.
"Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will dig out that so-called truth!"
"I want to see! What on earth has driven that woman Bibi Dong to such madness!"
"I want to see! What exactly did my father do to deserve such treatment from you, his father, who would describe him as 'worse than an animal'!"
The moment the words left his mouth.
Buzz--!
A clear ringing sound rang out, followed by a burst of holy light!
A pair of pure white angel wings, seemingly formed from the purest light in the world, suddenly bloomed from her back!
This is a gift from her seniors! It's proof of her Martial Soul Evolution! It's a symbol of her glory!
But at this moment, these sacred wings are carrying a mad soul about to fall into the abyss!
Its wings suddenly flapped!
A strong wind whipped up dust.
Qian Renxue's figure transformed into a white streak of light, without glancing back at her grandfather.
He turned abruptly and flew resolutely towards the Spirit Hall's oldest library, which held countless secrets!
She's going to find the answer!
Even if that answer would tear her to shreds!
" Xue'er--!"
Qian Daoliu finally woke up and subconsciously reached out, trying to grab the departing white light.
But in the end, it could only droop helplessly, letting the light disappear into the horizon.
" Xunji... the sins you've committed, will Xue'er ultimately have to pay for them...?"
The wind in Spirit City seemed to become noisy at this moment.
Just as Qian Renxue transformed into a streak of light and rushed towards the forbidden area, at the city gate...
A middle-aged man, dressed simply, with a stern face and a slightly stiff expression, slowly raised his head and looked up at the magnificent, breathtaking Pope Palace in the distance.
A very complex light flickered in his eyes.
There was nostalgia, resentment, and humiliation, but more than anything, there was an excitement and arrogance that had been suppressed for far too long and was finally being released.
He straightened his back, a stiff but smug smile on his face.
" Spirit City..."
"I, Yu Xiaogang, am back!"