Phoenix's Requiem

When Lin Zainan saw the dull gray-brown color of the beads, he frowned. They didn’t look special at all; indeed, they seemed no different from wooden beads one could find for a dime a dozen on the streets.

“Where did you get this?” Lin Zainan asked after not seeing anything special about the beads at first glance.

“I got it from the Slaughtering King,” Yun Ruoyan replied. She might not volunteer information to her grandfather, but she didn’t want to lie to him unless it was necessary.

“The Slaughtering King!” Lin Zainan looked at Yun Ruoyan, shocked.

“The man of legends himself?” Lin Qingxue sounded particularly excited, and her eyes were shining. She had loved to listen to stories about the Slaughtering King from Lin Bo when she was young. Rather than making her terrified, those war stories reeking of blood instead stirred up her passion.

“There’s only one Slaughtering King on the entire Chenyuan continent.” Much unlike her sister, Lin Qingchen’s tone and expression revealed a distaste for this man. Ever since she was a child, Lin Qingchen had been learning the art of medicine from Lin Zainan, treating the sick and bandaging the wounded. It was exactly because of this medical training that Lin Qingchen began to detest anyone that had anything to do with blood and death.

“When I went to the Liu family to play with Miss Liu, I heard her mention that the Slaughtering King himself attended the empress’ flower-viewing party,” Lin Qingxue volunteered. “I even heard that something happened between the Slaughtering King and Sister Ruoyan! Hehe, I’ve always wanted to ask her about it, but…”

Lin Qingxue glanced at her sister nervously. She could hear the displeasure in her voice, but Lin Qingxue herself was still a fan of the Slaughtering King.

Lin Qingxue was too young to have received an invitation, but Lin Qingchen was indeed invited to the flower-viewing party. However, she was unenthused by such gatherings, and had declined on account of illness. Honestly, staying at home and taking care of her magical beasts was far more interesting than trying to impress a whole bunch of people she didn’t care about!

Lin Qingxue then looked toward Yun Ruoyan, her ardent gaze filled with her soul-deep passion for gossip. As soon as she heard about this relationship between Yun Ruoyan and the Slaughtering King, she’d told Lin Qingchen right away. If her sister hadn’t stopped her, she would have immediately asked Yun Ruoyan about the matter and bragged about it to all her friends. After all, this was something that she thought was worth being proud of.

However, Lin Qingchen told her that the Slaughtering King often acted erratically. He might have wanted to marry Yun Ruoyan then, but who knew whether he would suddenly change his mind and decide to kill her instead?

As a result, it was better not to spread the news further, or even tell their grandfather about it lest he worry. This was why Lin Zainan, who rarely left the manor, only now heard about what had occurred between the Slaughtering King and Yun Ruoyan during the banquet.

His thoughts were almost the same as Lin Qingchen’s: the Slaughtering King would often take inscrutable actions, and it was better not to think too much about them. However, what Lin Zainan was more worried about was the response from the Rong family.

Although Rong Yuehong had been stripped of her cultivation by the Slaughtering King, Yun Ruoyan had played a significant role in the affair. The head of the Rong family, Rong Tianling, was a small-minded man. He wouldn’t be able to do anything about Li Mo, so he’d likely take things out on Yun Ruoyan instead.

“Grandfather, don’t worry. After all, I’m still the sole wife-born daughter of the Yun family. Even if he wanted to, Rong Tianling wouldn’t be able to do much to me without a valid reason!” Yun Ruoyan assured her grandfather confidently.

Lin Zainan didn’t ask precisely how Yun Ruoyan had obtained the qilin beads from the Slaughtering King. All he said was that, even though the beads looked like nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that the Slaughtering King owned would be useless. Perhaps it was an artifact that helped with cultivation?

Yun Ruoyan looked at the beads on her wrist. Suddenly, she was reminded that the annoying fellow seemed to have stopped bothering her for quite a while by now.

Presently, Li Mo was on the way back from the Yue kingdom. Ten days ago, he’d received news that a surviving descendant of the shamanic tribe from which the poison had originated had been found.

After receiving this news, Li Mo had hurriedly left for the Li kingdom once more. Finally, from the wizened old shaman himself, he found out about the origins of the poison that had plagued Yun Ruoyan and her mother.

The origin of this poison was even intimately connected with another affair that Li Mo would otherwise never have assumed was related!

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. In these two days, Yun Ruoyan had spent a significant amount of time in her grandmother’s quarters, knowing that her brother would immediately pay his respects to his grandmother as soon as he returned.

However, Yun Moxiao hadn’t shown up.

Early in the morning, while the moon was still high up in the sky, the Yun household was already bustling with movement. By the time the sun rose, everything had been prepared for the grand occasion, and all that was left was the guests’ arrival.

Compared to a normal day in the Yun household, the Yun matriarch’s residence was positively crowded today. Yun Ruoyan arrived even earlier than she did the last two days, but someone was already present.

“Mother, you look so lively dressed like this!” Madam An herself was standing behind the Yun matriarch and combing her hair.

The Yun matriarch didn’t like wearing red, but it wouldn’t do to wear garments that were too plain on such a grand occasion. As a result, she wore a deep, sapphire-blue pleated dress, on which had been painstakingly sewn a thousand characters for longevity. Her sleeves and skirt were lined with gold thread and embroidered with auspicious omens, indeed making her shine with positivity.

On the other hand, Madam An was dressed in a rich, red brocade. With her complicated, ornamental hairstyle, she even looked more the star of the show than the Yun matriarch was.

The Yun matriarch looked at her descendants gathered all around her: Yun Ruoyao, Yun Ruoyu, Yi Qianying, and a few other concubine-born granddaughters. They were all dressed vibrantly, each with dazzling hair ornaments of their own. Gathered together, their combined appearance made one’s head swim.

Yun Ruoyan stood quietly by a corner. Although she was dressed in a festive pale red skirt, she seemed far less flamboyant compared to the other girls all around her. Those who weren’t paying attention would surely neglect her at first glance, but if they were to look carefully, they would have been astonished.

Rather than having her dress steal the spotlight, it instead accentuated her natural beauty. She wore a gauze patch about the same color as her flesh, revealing a youthful, feminine face that looked like a dewy flower bud.

Her pale red dress outlined her supple, elegant form, introducing a few hints of maturity almost unbefitting her age. Somehow, she was able to meld it with her youthful innocence into a cohesive whole.

The Yun matriarch nodded in satisfaction as she looked at Yun Ruoyan before turning to Madam An. “It’s good that everyone’s dressed so vibrantly for a festive occasion.”

“Grandmother, long may you live.” Suddenly, a purple-robed youth walked in and bowed toward the Yun matriarch.

“Oh, Moyuan.” The Yun matriarch bade him rise as she asked, “When did you and your father get here?”

Yun Moyuan stood erect as he replied, “We rushed back late in the night. Father’s outside speaking with Uncle, but I couldn’t wait to greet you, Grandmother.”

The Yun matriarch only had a single son and daughter by birth, but three concubine-born sons and two such daughters. Among these three sons, one was Yun Moyuan’s father, Yun Feng, who was in charge of the family’s businesses.

Yun Feng was often travelling the kingdom. Because Yun Moyuan didn’t have an outstanding talent for cultivation, he had focused on learning about trade from his father, and frequently followed him on his trips. After exchanging a few additional pleasantries with the Yun matriarch, Yun Moyuan moved to stand with Yun Ruoyao and the rest of the members of the Yun family of his generation.

When his gaze landed on Yun Ruoyan, he was immediately enthralled. There were quite a number of beauties present: the girls in front of him, for example, were beauties among beauties. But the girl in the corner seemed to have an ethereal, distant charm—enticing him, but forever out of his reach, just like a mirage.

As if feeling his covetous gaze, Yun Ruoyan turned to him and revealed an expression of disdain.

When Yun Moyuan saw her expression, he couldn’t help but flush. He clearly wasn’t aware of the changes that had occurred to Yun Ruoyan in the few months that he’d been gone. As far as he was aware, Yun Ruoyan was still an ugly wench, the black sheep of the Yun family. How could she have any relation to this beauty in front of him?

“Sister Ruoyu,” Yun Moyuan finally shifted his gaze away from her and whispered to Yun Ruoyu, “Who’s that girl dressed in pale red over there?”

He was familiar with his uncles’ daughters, but not his aunts’.

“Cousin, be careful. That’s a fox demon who’ll drag your spirit away,” Yun Ruoyu reminded her cousin, having long noticed his starry-eyed infatuation.

“Sister, don’t joke with me! I’m serious.”

Yun Ruoyao turned to them and interjected, “That’s the same Yun Ruoyan you fought with just a few months ago, Cousin. Don’t you remember?”

“What? Her!” Yun Moyuan couldn’t help raising his voice.

Yi Qianying looked over and sneered imperceptibly.

Yun Moyuan rubbed his eyes with his sleeve before looking back at Yun Ruoyan. Finally, he thought he could see some of the features that reminded him of the ugly girl that he’d once despised. Was it really her? How could it be? Wasn’t she an ugly wench?!

Yun Moyuan’s disbelief expressed itself as a blank, vacant stare.

“It’s almost time for the guests to arrive,” the Yun matriarch announced. “Don’t wait for me; go have fun and mingle with your friends.”

“Cousin, aren’t you going to head out with us?” Yun Ruoyu tugged on Yun Moyuan’s sleeve, noticing that he was still a little dazed.

He finally broke out of his reverie. After giving Yun Ruoyan a complicated glance, he finally followed the crowd out.

“Ruoyan, why don’t you go play too? It’ll be boring to stay with me.”

“I’m not bored, Grandmother! I enjoy being by your side.”

“Oh, alright, you.” The Yun matriarch smiled as she gazed at her beloved granddaughter. She had long since forgotten about the hideous birthmark that covered her face, and couldn’t be more pleased to have such a lovely granddaughter by her side.

Madam An seethed with hatred as she looked toward Yun Ruoyan. Yun Ruoyan, don’t blame me for being heartless. I wouldn’t have to do this if it weren’t for you!