Jian Feng exhaled heavily. "I used to dote on her," he admitted. "But she's insane now. She'll do anything for cultivation." His hands curled into fists. "She was willing to sell her own daughter." He let out a bitter laugh. "And the patriarch didn't even care."
Mingyue wanted to press him for details. But the sight of him kneeling—completely defeated—made her pause. After a moment, she let out a quiet sigh. "Sit back at the table."
Jian Feng immediately obeyed, returning to his seat without hesitation. Once he was settled, she leaned forward slightly. "Explain." Her voice was steady but firm. "In detail."
Jian Feng sighed. "You should've already heard some of it from Mingyue," he began. "You know her mother was poisoned. She used to be the brightest talent in our family," he said, his voice distant. "But after an incident outside, she was poisoned. And from that moment on… everything changed."
Mingyue gave a small nod. She already knew the situation well. Her mother had been afflicted with IceFlame Poison—a venom so cruel it burned and froze its victims at the same time. For as long as Mingyue could remember, her mother had been cultivating nonstop, desperately trying to suppress it. But that was all it was—suppression. A vicious cycle. She absorbed qi endlessly, but it didn't strengthen her. It didn't push her realm forward. It only kept her alive.
Jian Feng let out a slow breath before continuing. "A few months ago, the Hua family made an offer—" His voice grew heavier. "They presented a 50,000-year-old ginseng."
Mingyue's fingers twitched. Even among cultivators, natural treasures of that caliber were rare. A ginseng that ancient could significantly bolster one's life force, possibly even offer a chance—a slim chance—to cleanse the poison. But the Hua family wasn't offering it for free. "In exchange," Jian Feng continued, "they wanted the family to turn a blind eye to the competition between Mingyue and Linghua."
[The target's anger is intensifying, mixed with pain and helplessness.]
Mingyue felt something sharp lodge in her chest. She didn't even need to ask the rest. She already knew. The patriarch had allowed it. He probably thought if she died, it would simply mean she wasn't strong enough. She understood his mindset— A sheltered flower will never outlast one that grows in the wild. The Xueqi family didn't need a fragile prodigy. They needed a trailblazer. Someone who could carve a new path. And what hurt the most wasn't that they tested her.
It was that her mother had agreed. Had traded her. For a possibility. Not even a guaranteed cure—just the chance of one. A bitter thought flickered in Mingyue's mind. 'Am I even her real daughter?' For a moment, she almost entertained the idea of being adopted. But then she remembered. Her little brother had been treated the same.
At that moment, all she wanted was to leave. Find somewhere quiet. Let herself breathe. But she couldn't. Not yet. She couldn't let Jian Feng suspect anything. So instead, she spoke. "You seem to care a lot about Mingyue." Her voice was calm, almost indifferent. "But didn't she hate you?"
Jian Feng wanted to ask about Mingyue's current whereabouts. But he knew—if she were in true danger, this woman wouldn't be sitting here so calmly. Instead, he let out a small, self-deprecating chuckle. "That's good," he murmured. "I hope she hates me." His smile was strained. "She's a diamond. A true genius. Even greater than her mother ever was." His fingers curled against the table. "I hope she escapes. That she leaves this family behind. That she finds her own happiness—away from this place." His gaze never lifted. He didn't dare look up. If he had, he would have seen it…
Mingyue's breath, heavier than before. The slight tremble in her fingers. The way her chest rose and fell in uneven rhythm. She took a slow breath. Forced herself to swallow down the storm brewing inside her. Silence hung between them. Behind her, Zan Lu stood quietly, watching. Piecing it all together. For the first time, he truly understood. 'So this is what life is like in a powerful family. What a rotten place.' He had always admired these great families. He had thought how lucky they were—born into wealth, granted talent, given every advantage a cultivator could want.
But at what cost? His fingers curled slightly. What use was a long life—what use was immortality— If you had nothing left to return to? A million years of solitude versus a hundred years with his wife. For Zan Lu, the answer was instant. Without hesitation, he would choose the latter. Even now, what truly motivated him was the thought of how to make his wife happy. How to provide her with a better life—one he could only achieve by following Mingyue.
Across the table, Jian Feng exhaled heavily, his emotions overwhelming him. "Mingyue is like my own daughter to me." His voice was raw, unguarded. "She probably doesn't remember, but from the moment she was born, I was the one who took care of her. I raised her. The same with Minghao." A faint, bitter smile crossed his lips. "But I bet she's forgotten all of it."
Mingyue wasn't convinced. She could barely think straight. If she weren't acting, she knew she would have already snapped. Why didn't he tell her anything? Why didn't he warn her? But she already knew the answer. Since the patriarch had approved of it, he must have ensured Jian Feng's silence. And the rest of the family? Who among them would dare defy the patriarch for her sake? She didn't need to ask. The answer was no one. Her voice came out steadier than she felt. "What about the artifact?" she asked. "Who stole it?"
Jian Feng let out a dry, hollow laugh. "Who else?" His lips curled into something between a smirk and a grimace. "After my sister got the ginseng… its effects were even better than expected." He shook his head. "She wasn't just cured. She broke through—straight to the Golden Core stage."
Mingyue's eyes narrowed. Jian Feng leaned back, looking exhausted. "It wasn't an artifact that was stolen," he admitted. "She took her life tablet and left the family for good. Moved somewhere else. And the patriarch?" Jian Feng scoffed. "He lost it. Locked down the entire city."
Mingyue felt like she was suffocating. Her mother… left? Just like that? Jian Feng continued, his voice laced with bitterness. "He's trying to find out if there are spies from other sects or families." His jaw tightened. "He's convinced this was all part of the Hua family's plan. That they'll come for us now, because Qingying knows too many of our secrets."
Mingyue could barely process it. Her mother had abandoned the family. Then what about— Before she could even form the thought, Jian Feng answered the question she hadn't asked yet. "Can you believe it?" he said, voice shaking with anger. "After selling her own daughter, she just left. Didn't even look back—not even for her own son." His hands curled into fists. "She implicated him too." His voice dropped lower. "But their father… wasn't so lucky."