“After Minger broke through the barrier of the Imperial Realm, for some reason, we received a decree from the Imperial Capital.”
It ordered the entire Yunzhou Inspectorate to stand by and forbade us from assisting other provinces even if they were in trouble.
This effectively restricted most of our forces to Yunzhou’s borders.
“Later, we learned it wasn’t just Yunzhou; other nearby provinces were treated the same. Looking back, it seems Yuzhou was deliberately isolated. We suspect someone might have forged the Imperial Decree, because the late Emperor passed away shortly after.”
Xiu Yansheng’s face twitched involuntarily, a sense of inexplicable fear washing over him.
“That person’s power dominated the court.
At the very least, our Xiu family was no match for them.
However, we didn’t think much of it at the time, as Minger had just entered the Imperial Realm.
We were too busy celebrating to suddenly travel thousands of miles to Yuzhou.
So, the family head back then — my father — accepted the decree without any pressure.
“Shortly after, Minger told me he needed to go to Yuzhou for experience. Since no one took that decree to heart, no one connected the two events.”
He turned his gaze toward Xiu Jiming and added, “I think it is more appropriate for you to tell the rest.”
Xiu Jiming coughed and shook his head.
“My Dao heart limits me. I cannot speak of it. Please continue in my stead, Second Uncle.”
Xiu Yansheng sighed and fell into deep thought.
After a moment, he said, “At that time, this brat told the family his Tianyuan Reflection technique revealed a great destiny for him in Yuzhou. Then, he just packed up and left!”
Xiu Jiming’s expression became strange.
He hadn’t mentioned the main point back then.
Young and aggressive, he had just learned the Tianyuan Reflection and was increasingly curious about his own fate.
However, observing one’s own destiny required a much greater price.
He could only calculate minor influences.
Thus, the result he got was that his marriage affinity was in Yuzhou.
So, at age 16, driven by a mix of curiosity and hormones, he immediately wanted to see what his future wife looked like.
He just hadn’t expected everything that followed.
He gulped down two mouthfuls of tea, remaining silent for fear that others would notice his odd behavior.
Gong Xuance noticed his junior brother’s demeanor and began to chuckle under his breath.
Xiu Yansheng continued, “Everyone knows what happened next. Yuzhou was invaded by demons on a massive scale.”
The ones guarding Yuzhou were the Fox clans, led by several families with the surname Lin.
That battle was world-shaking, making all of Yuzhou tremble.
“At that time, various types of distress signals were sent to the Imperial Capital through different channels.”
We in Yunzhou received quite a few ourselves.
“However, we never received a positive response from the court. Their reply was always for the provinces to stay put and wait for the Central Army to arrive before taking action together.”
Xiu Yansheng sighed, finding it utterly absurd.
“I suspect that from that moment on, the late Emperor was no longer the late Emperor. Looking at the subsequent documents, His Majesty might have…”
As he reached this point, Xiu Yansheng’s expression darkened.
Xiu Jiming added, “Don’t worry, the old Emperor couldn’t have died then. You must know that Shi Chenxiao didn’t inherit the throne until more than 10 years later. If the old Emperor had died back then, the Great Yu Empire would have fallen into chaos long ago.”
Xiu Yansheng coughed twice and gave a kind reminder.
“Minger, how can you address the Saint by his personal name?”
Hearing this, Lin Ling and Xiu Jiming both curled their lips at the same time, showing great disdain.
Lin Ling thought Xiu Yansheng was deathly old-fashioned and a bit ridiculous.
Xiu Jiming, on the other hand, was thinking of Shen Zaixin’s behavior.
It was hard to imagine such a person being the Saint these old guys talked about.
Seeing their synchronized reactions, Gong Xuance couldn’t help but spray a mouthful of tea.
Xiu Yansheng once again looked at Gong Xuance with disapproval, feeling that the man lacked manners.
He coughed twice to bring everyone’s attention back to him before resuming the story of the Yuzhou Incident.
“Yuzhou was nearly half-conquered when we finally received the order to deploy.”
Since Yunzhou was closest, I led the Inspectorate to provide support.
“That was the final night when the Sunset Prefecture fell,” Xiu Yansheng said, his eyes falling on Lin Ling’s small face.
He continued in a heavy voice, “I saw it. A powerful Fox clan member, possessed by a demon, was frantically slaughtering the members of the Lin family in the Sunset Prefecture. You were among them, young lady.”
Lin Ling fell silent.
She thought of the memories that had surfaced in her mind when she saw Lin Shuyang.
Xiu Jiming turned to look at her, seemingly wanting to hear what she had to say.
Lin Ling hesitated.
She only had scattered fragments of those events.
Perhaps it was because her soul’s fusion with her previous life was not yet complete.
She could only vaguely confirm that it had happened.
The demon who had taken over a body seemed to have followed Lin Shuyang to find them as they were preparing to evacuate.
Lin Ling remained silent, thinking hard.
In her memory, she seemed to be following someone toward a teleportation array when she was intercepted by Lin Shuyang and a powerful expert.
The memory wouldn’t go any further, so she could only nod in confirmation.
Seeing her nod, Xiu Jiming’s expression didn’t change as he turned back to Xiu Yansheng.
“Second Uncle, you haven’t reached the main point yet. I was transferred to a special location by that person, which led to those events and caused my Dao heart to be damaged for nearly 20 years. That person is the most important part.”
Lin Ling looked at Xiu Jiming in confusion.
‘Just who is that person?’
Xiu Jiming looked at Xiu Yansheng. After a moment of hesitation, Xiu Yansheng said softly, “The Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Tang Guanyan.”
After saying this, Xiu Yansheng stopped and slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, they were full of exhaustion.
He looked at Lin Ling and said, “Miss Lin Ling, what follows is of great importance, so I must stop here. First, I must understand exactly how you survived before I can tell you more.”
Seeing Lin Ling looking a bit lost, Xiu Yansheng added, “If you cannot make the decision, you can find someone who can. I will be waiting for you here at the Heavenly Book Academy. Once you are willing to share your clan’s secrets, we can continue our discussion.”
Lin Ling shuddered and unconsciously gripped the armrests of her chair.
‘It was just getting to the critical part, and it stops right here?’
Lin Ling gritted her teeth in frustration.