Chapter 2211: The Past
Xia Ziheng stared at the report of Yu Hao’s recent whereabouts. "He went to the Blue Moon District recently?"
A man quietly replied, "Yes. He even made some trouble with Xia Ru, the patriarch of our branch family in the Blue Moon District. Yu Hao forced Xia Ru to kneel to him in public."
"When?" Xia Ziheng demanded.
"Just three days ago. From the residues of the battle that took place, it should have happened at the same time when the sect master was attacked."
Xia Ziheng looked towards the Xia family’s branch family in the Blue Moon District, and then said, "Order Xia Ru to come here. Wait, no." The Semi-Progenitor looked at the man. "Go collect Xia Ru yourself, and keep track of how long it takes you to get back here again. Bring Xia Ru to me as well."
"Understood." The man then vanished.
Xia Ziheng's eyes flickered as he looked around. The sect master was missing, and no one knew if the man was dead or alive. Who had attacked him? Realmless might have been the ones to take action, but Realmless only moved for money, which meant that they had been hired to attack the sect master of Shenwu’s Sky. It must have been expensive to pay for such an assassination, which meant that the person paying must have a significant background. This made Yu Hao a very unlikely suspect. Unless… could it be someone supporting the young man?
However, was there anyone aside from Grandmaster Gu Yan supporting Yu Hao?
Xia Ziheng suddenly felt that Yu Hao's return had been a bit too abrupt and riddled with troubles.
As soon as Yu Hao appeared, he had not only managed to push Shenwu’s Sky to try to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over to their side, but he had also managed to force the Celestial Frost Sect to start making some moves. Finally, he had gotten involved with Virtue Archives. On the surface, none of these individual events seemed to have been caused by Yu Hao, and he appeared to be a passive actor on the stage who merely wanted to get revenge on Xia Zhitong and a few others. However, it was starting to look like Yu Hao’s return might be more complicated than people had initially believed. All it took was connecting a few lines.
Xia Ziheng refused to believe that Xia Xing's attack was a mere coincidence.
Far away in Virtue Archives, Lu Yin had no idea that Shenwu’s Sky had already started investigating Xia Xing's disappearance. While they were the first to learn about their sect master’s disappearance, it was just a matter of time before word leaked and Lu Yin learned of it.
However, Lu Yin knew that when he heard word of what had happened to Shenwu’s Sky’s sect master, the entire Perennial world would know of it as well.
While waiting for news, Lu Yin continued as before, teaching classes and helping students open sourceboxes. It was as though nothing at all had happened.
At the border of Huaiyuan, the man who Xia Ziheng had sent out returned with Xia Ru, and that informed the Semi-Progenitor of the time that was needed to make such a journey.
Xia Ru maintained an absolutely respectful attitude while in front of Xia Ziheng. This man was the ancestor of the largest branch family of the Xia family, and on top of that, the man was also a Semi-Progenitor. Xia Ru had never dreamed that he would ever exchange words with such a person.
Xia Ziheng observed Xia Ru. This man was a typical patriarch of a branch family, and it only made sense that he was trembling before a superior. This was the way of the Xia family; the branch families could never stand up to the main family. All members of the Xia family ultimately served the main family.
"There’s no need to be nervous. You’re Xia Ru, right?" Xia Ziheng asked casually, while speaking as gently as possible.
Xia Ru took a deep breath. "This lowly Xia Ru greets Ancestor Ziheng."
Xia Ziheng said, "I asked you here to ask you some questions. There’s no need to be so nervous."
Xia Ru remained completely respectful. "Please tell me, Ancestor, and this lowly one will tell you all I know."
Xia Ziheng nodded. "Tell me, has Yu Hao ever visited your home?"
Xia Ru instantly grew pale, and he stared at Xia Ziheng with anxious fear. "Ancestor Ziheng, he- he did just recently."
"Tell me the specific details, especially exactly when he visited you and the exact words that were spoken between you two," Xia Ziheng instructed.
Xia Ru gulped. How had this matter attracted the notice of Semi-Progenitor Ziheng? What did a Semi-Progenitor care about such things? Could the man know about Xia Ru’s fling with Xia Zhitong? That should not be the case. After all, how could people like Xia Ru and Xia Zhitong be worthy of a Semi-Progenitor’s notice?
"What?" Xia Ziheng’s expression turned harsh. "You don’t want to speak?"
Xia Ru quickly replied, "Of course I do, but this lowly one was simply trying to organize my words carefully, as I don’t dare to risk misspeaking."
The excuse calmed Xia Ziheng’s anger, as this was the proper attitude that minor member of a remote branch of the Xia family should show: utter respect and fear that led to obedience even in the face of death.
Xia Ru somberly shared everything that happened on the day that Yu Hao had visited the Blue Moon District, and he made sure not to miss a single word or gesture that had taken place. Everything was reported accurately and clearly.
Xia Ziheng quickly obtained a clear image of what had transpired the day that Yu Hao had confronted Xia Ru. Sure enough, the exchange overlapped with when they had determined that Xia Xing had been attacked. After also taking into account the time needed to travel between the two locations, it was impossible for Yu Hao to have been one of the attackers. The only way for him to have done such a thing would be if he could cover such a distance almost instantly, but that was something that only Semi-Progenitors could accomplish.
Also, Xia Ziheng was able to confirm through Xia Ru’s account that Yu Hao was definitely the one who had made the visit.
Yu Hao was still just an Envoy, so it was completely impossible for him to be involved.
Still, even if Yu Hao had not been involved with the attack, that did not rule out the possibility of him leaking word of Xia Xing’s visit to the Middle Realm.
One day later, Xia Ziheng arrived at Virtue Archives, and he immediately went to see Yu Hao, which naturally roused Headmaster Wen’s attention.
"Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, I already told you everything that I wanted to say last time: unless sect master Xia Xing gives me his word, I won’t believe your promises," Lu Yin said bluntly when Headmaster Wen arrived.
Xia Ziheng glared at “Yu Hao.” "Our sect master is going to speak to you and deliver a promise, but there’s something that I need to ask you about."
"Xia Ziheng, what is this all about? Prof. Hao Yu has already made his position clear, so all that remains is for Xia Xing himself to come here," Headmaster Wen interjected impatiently.
Xia Ziheng continued to stare at “Yu Hao.” "Prof. Hao Yu, you recently visited the Xia family branch in the Blue Moon District. Do you have some conflict with that part of the Xia family?"
Headmaster Wen glanced over at “Yu Hao” in surprise.
Lu Yin did not try to avoid the question. "That’s right."
"Tell me about it clearly," Xia Ziheng demanded.
Headmaster Wen frowned. "Xia Ziheng, is there really a need for a Semi-Progenitor like you to come all this way just because of such a minor scuffle? When did your Xia family start to appreciate your branch families so much?"
Xia Ziheng replied, "Branch family or main family, it doesn’t matter to my Xia family. All members of my family are regarded as important."
Headmaster Wen started laughing quite loudly. He acted as though he had just heard the most hilarious joke in the entire universe. The laughter caused Xia Ziheng to become quite upset, as he had already been in a bad mood to begin with because of what had happened to Xia Xing. "Wen Lai, what is the meaning of this? Are you mocking my Xia family?"
Headmaster Wen laughed so hard that he struggled to catch his breath. "This really has to be the biggest joke in the Perennial World! No, it's the biggest joke in human history! Your Xia family regards the branch family members as important? Hahahaha!"
Lu Yin also wanted to laugh, as when it came to abusing branch families, if the Xia family claimed to be second, then no one would dare claim to be first. No, that was not quite right, there was one: the Daynight clan. The Nightking clan had literally enslaved the Dayking clan. However, strictly speaking, the Dayking clan was not a branch family, but rather part of the Daynight clan’s main family, though they had simply failed to compete with the Nightking clan.
There was a bang as Xia Ziheng smashed the stone table into dust out of rage. "Wen Lai, are you laughing at my Xia family?"
Headmaster Wen let out a long breath, but he could not completely remove the smile from his face. "If your Xia family really valued your branch families, you would have never been overwhelmed by the Celestial Frost Sect, and there would be another name heralded in your Xia family's history: Xia Shang."
Xia Ziheng's pupils shrank. Xia Shang, which was Progenitor Chen’s real name, was forbidden within the Xia family, and none of their members dared to mention the name.
"No, not at all. I was just misremembering. Xia Shang’s name hasn’t been removed from the Xia family’s genealogy. You guys were making threats when that was mentioned. You actually did remove his name from the family, and you even did your best to kill him. It was only after he became a Progenitor and took control of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas that your Xia family decided to return his name to your family records without his consent. Even more ridiculous is that after the incident with Progenitor Nan, you tried to remove his name again! If not for the Lu family’s interference, you really would have done it too! It’s so ridiculous!" Headmaster Wen started laughing again.
Lu Yin smirked. Did all of this really happen?
Xia Ziheng's face flushed red. This whole matter had completely humiliated the Xia family. It was also why Xia Shang’s name had become forbidden within the Xia family.
"It was only because the Lu family stepped up to protect Xia Shang that you weren’t able to remove his name from the family records. After that, to protect his reputation, your family did your best in the war against the Sixth Mainland. Later on, to prevent younger members of your family from learning about any of this, your family did its best to keep everything hidden. Not to mention the issues between your family and Progenitor Chen, even now, your family’s descendants still believe Progenitor Chen to be their ancestor. The greatest Progenitor that your Xia family has ever produced."
"Shut up!" Xia Ziheng charged forward, but Headmaster Wen's eyes grew cold, and he waved his hand. An endless Literary Prison instantly trapped Xia Ziheng.
"Xia Ziheng, you are in Virtue Archives, not Shenwu's Sky!"
Powerful killing intent filled Xia Ziheng’s eyes. "You’re mocking my Shenwu's Sky!"
Headmaster Wen laughed again. "All I did was tell the truth of what your family’s done. Are you afraid of people speaking the truth?"
Xia Ziheng clenched his fists, but he did not take any further action. He glared at Headmaster Wen, looking as though he wanted to engrave this moment in his mind.
A wave of Headmaster Wen's hand dismissed the Literary Prison. "Forget it, I don’t need to talk about the past. Still, Prof. Hao Yu is a member of my Virtue Archives, so I must be present for anything that might come up."
Xia Ziheng’s hands finally relaxed, and a dangerous glint flickered in the depths of his eyes. The Semi-Progenitor then turned to look at “Yu Hao,” and the man’s voice calmed down dramatically. "Tell me, why did you go to make trouble for Xia Ru?"
Lu Yin forced the story that he had just heard from his mind, despite his curiosity. "How can someone as insignificant as Xia Ru warrant Semi-Progenitor Ziheng coming here to ask me about him?"
Xia Ziheng started to lose his patience. "The sect master of Shenwu's Sky will come here to give you his word, but you need to cooperate with me before that happens. Xia Ru got involved with that bastard, Lu Xiaoxuan, when the survivor of the Lu family was escaping back then. You look quite suspicious, going after him like that."
Lu Yin asked, "Lu Xiaoxuan? Isn’t he the one who caused all that trouble on Dragon Mountain a few decades ago?"
Xia Ziheng replied, "If you know that much, then you'd better explain yourself clearly."
Lu Yin found it quite funny that the man was using such an excuse to threaten him, but it was true that Yu Hao had previously interacted with Xia Ru. "Fine, I’ll tell you."
Lu Yin quickly shared the story behind why “Yu Hao” had gone after Xia Ru, which included everything that had happened years ago. For cultivators, let alone a few days later—a few years or even a few hundred thousand years could not impact their memories. As long as one thought back, they would be able to remember what had happened.
Xia Ziheng compared the stories told by “Yu Hao” and Xia Ru, but there were no discrepancies.
The two recounted the exact same words, actions, and timings of what had taken place.
"Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, do you have a problem with me going after him?" Lu Yin asked.
Xia Ziheng was completely unconcerned with whether Xia Ru lived or died. "Since you two have such a connection, then deal with him however you want."
Lu Yin’s gaze turned icy. "I’m going to kill him."
Xia Ziheng frowned. "You can’t do that for now. Like I said, there’s a connection between Xia Ru and Lu Xiaoxuan. Right now, on top of Shenwu’s Sky, everyone else is also keeping an eye on him, so he cannot be killed. However, I can promise you that as soon as he no longer holds any value, you can do as you wish with him."
Headmaster Wen sneered with contempt.
Xia Ziheng shot a cold glare at the headmaster, as he knew that the headmaster was still snickering at the Xia family. After all, Xia Ziheng had just admitted that Xia Ru held limited use to the Xia family, despite what Xia Ziheng had just claimed about the value of every member of the Xia family. As far as the Xia family was concerned, they could do and say as they wished, but others could not bring such hypocrisy up. This was the Xia family.
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