"Mother, you once promised this to me. Can you tell me matters of the past now? Especially, about my father?" Qing Shui usually gentle tone of voice hardened perceptibly into something steel-like despite him trying to mask it.
Shudders shook Qing Yi's body as bitterness arose in her heart as she sighed to herself, "Whatever will be, will be."
Looking at Qing Shui, Qing Yi gradually calmed down. However, what she didn't expect was that Qing Shui already had a rough understanding of about 70-80% regarding the whole situation.
" Qing Shui, you are already an adult, even if you didn't ask me, I still would have found a chance to tell you." Qing Yi sighed.
Qing Yi hesitated for a while and said, "Yan Zhong Yue, remember this name well, for it is the name of your father. Zhong Yue is a descendant of the Yan Clan from the Yan Jiang Country. The Yan Clan is considered a reclusive clan, one of the ultimate existences in the entire Yan Jiang Country, with deeply established roots and connections of more than a 1,000 years. The authority of the Yan Clan is so overwhelming that they could wipe out a clan directly with the ease of a flick of their finger, or a stomp of their foot on the ground.
Losing herself in her memories, Qing Yi softly continued.
"Your father possessed a direct bloodline and was one of the leaders in his generation." After speaking, Qing Yi smiled gently at Qing Shui, and continued, "If you see him, you would definitely recognize him, for you could be considered a spitting image of him."
"That year, we met by chance when he came to the western mountainous regions near our Qing Clan for cultivation. Do you believe in love at first sight? Sigh, that was what happened to us. However, elders from his clan strongly forbade us being together, saying that I was not worthy of his love, let alone being a part of the illustrious Yan Clan. Later on, your father defied them, left the Yan Jiang Country and willingly relocated here in order to marry me."
"Two years later, we had a daughter." Pausing momentarily to let the revelation sink in before she continued "That was your elder sister… However, the brief moment of happiness did not last, as soon after, the members of the Yan Clan found us. Your elder sister was only about 5 months old then, yet the elders of the Yan Clan were intent on tearing our family apart. They wanted Zhong Yue to leave with them as there was already another marriage arranged with the eldest daughter from the Xiao Clan.
"The authority of the Xiao Clan in Yan Jiang country was only preceded by that of the Yan Clan. The eldest daughter from the Xiao Clan had an extremely overbearing personality, and had long admired your father ever since they were young. More than just admire, it could almost be called an obsession. Thinking to forge an alliance through marriage, the Yan Clan naturally would not be opposed to it. After all, when two of the most powerful clan in the Yan Jiang country combined their might, even if there were disagreements with the other large clans, there was nothing that could overcome their joint alliance. Because of that, from their viewpoint of the greater picture, the Yan Clan decided to sacrifice the love between me and your father… To the Yan Clan, those who could not bring them any benefits at best could only be used as pawns and then discarded after." Qing Yi choked back a sobs as she continued.
"Your father did not agree, but how could the Yan Clan give up so easily? Using the destruction of the entire Qing Village as a threat, including my life, your father could only obediently submit in the end. But that was not the end of the matter. For insurance, they even took my baby daughter with them, and only left a single sentence behind before they left. "If you ever venture a single step into the Yan Clan, we would make your daughter suffer a fate worst than death."
"With that warning, they succeeded in what they set out to do. They broke apart our family, and to ensure the safety of your sister, neither me nor your father have ever attempted to meet all this years."
"Just when I truly felt that all hope in the world was wiped out, at the peak of depression and almost succumbing to insanity, it was then I felt the stirring of life in my womb… I was pregnant with you Shui`er… You are my hope and salvation, bringing me out from the darkness and back into the light. "
"Shui`er, my deepest wish is to visit the Yan Clan, but I do not want to go there snivelling, like a beggar. I want to visit there with exaltation and pride, to see my daughter again. All these years… I don't even know how she fared, don't even know if there was anyone there to love her." After this, Qing Yi could no longer control her emotions, tears freely cascaded down her face as she buried her head in Qing Shui's shoulder, trembling with each breath.
Qing Shui let out a breath that he didn't even realize he was holding. It turns out that his earlier assumptions were far from the truth. Never would he have imagined that it was the elders of the Yan clan had utilized such despicable means to force them apart, and to think that he even had a elder sister. He always thought that it was his father who had willingly abandoned them.
Embracing Qing Yi, he had unshed tears in his eyes. How much had Qing Yi suffered, all the mental torture, and yet she had to bear it alone as a lone woman.
"Don't worry mother, what they did to you, I will have them pay it back in full." Qing Shui stated quietly, like the calm before a storm.
That steel-like tone of voice was filled with certainty. The pressure that Qing Shui was emanating now was extremely oppressing. Qing Yi could clearly feel the vengeance in his heart.
"Qing Shui, don't take it seriously. All I want is for you to live your life out in peace and happiness, not in vengeance. Please be happy Shui`er, I don't want to see you embark on a path of no return, you have no idea the power the Yan Clan wields. The reason mother is telling you all of this is that this are the things you ought to know. But if you really went for revenge and something did happen to you, I don't know how I would live on. After all, all these things happened so long ago in the past, the scar on my heart had already numbed" Qing Yi attempted a weak smile as she looked at Qing Shui.
Despite this, from the words earlier still resonated within him. "My deepest wish is to visit the Yan Clan, in exaltation and pride, looking for my daughter." Qing Shui knew that Qing Yi would not give up so easily.
He could be sure that Qing Yi would definitely plan a visit to the Yan Clan. Even if it meant her death, she would still choose to go, even if she had to go there begging, she would still choose to go unhesitantly, all because of her very own daughter!
"Mother, don't you worry, I would never boast, and never lie to you. Five years. Give me five years, I will trample upon the entire Yan Clan. Definitely. Believe in me. Just five years is all I ask for. In these five years, I want you to live happily and banish the thoughts of visiting the Yan Clan. If you really did go and something happened to you, I will annihilate each and everyone with the surname of Yan. Pull them out by their roots and eradicate any traces of their existence. I'm a man of my words." Qing Shui was worried and as such, he had no choice but to stall for time. Only after he got stronger, would he be able to achieve his promises.
Qing Yi's senses were reeling from Qing Shui's words. When he had said that if anything happened to her, he would pull down the Yan Clan by their roots and completely massacre the whole of Yan Clan, she actually found herself believing his words. She unconsciously felt that Qing Shui would have the strength to do so in the future, but was unable to say why this was so.
After consoling Qing Yi, Qing Yi had visibly calmed down, but there was a blazing fire lit in her heart. Five years, Qing Shui told her to give him five years, Could they really visit the Yan Clan with their heads held high in five years?
Initially after Qing Shui was born, Qing Yi had fantasized that when he grew up and had some mastery in his cultivation, Qing Shui would be able to return to the Yan Clan to claim back his heritage and ancestry. But who knew that Qing Shui was born with a sickly constitution and was unable to make the slightest progress in cultivation?
It was all wishful thinking on her part as soon after, she realized that how could the Yan Clan care for a bastard child with no talent in cultivation? There was plenty of other geniuses in the Yan Clan after all. It was also extremely common for the descendants of Yan Clan to fling with other women, leaving behind bastards, and not to mention that relations in such a huge clan would obviously be weak and strained, everything was based on pragmatism and benefits.
It was then, Qing Yi had decided that she just wanted Qing Shui to lead a peaceful life inside the Qing Village. After he had grown up and started his own family, then she would depart alone to the Yan Clan to seek news about her daughter, and to see the person that she had always loved.
Indeed, Qing Shui was partially right about some of the things. From this, he could conclude that it was lucky he had not chosen to give in to depression back then.
Everytime he saw the hopeless expression in Qing Yi's eyes, Qing Shui could feel waves of needle-sharp pain assailing his heart. The heavens were fair, they had saw fit to grant him affinity with the Yin-Yang Pendant, in return, he would cultivate with his life at stake, in the hopes of clashing with the Yan Clan one day.
In reality, this goal was set by Qing Shui long ago, only now after hearing the full story, did he affirm his decision and continue looking forward. Qing Shui understood that he must not let hatred cloud his mind or heart. He knew that the two destructive emotions would only delay him from his objectives.
"Mother, everything will get better, don't worry anymore. In the future, just leave these matters to me. One day, I so swear, I will let everyone in this world know of my name, and that you are my mother."