Though fear gripped her heart, Ji Rong quickly defended herself, “Brother Xueying, you’ve misunderstood! That time, it was one of my family’s servants who struck down that little beggar behind my back. I only learned of it later.”
“There’s no need to explain before me,” Dongbo Xueying’s voice was cold as ice. “I command you to stay away from my younger brother—this is an order!”
He judged only by facts.
He did not listen to others’ hollow words. According to Longshan Pavilion’s investigation, Ji Wuhai, Ji Rong, and their entire family were skilled in deception.
“I…” Ji Rong hesitated, tears welling in her eyes.
“You have only three days,” Dongbo Xueying turned and walked away, “If you fail to comply after three days, I will ensure it myself. But my methods… will be rather direct!”
At the age of eight, he began obsessively training with the spear every day. During this process, Dongbo Xueying had repeatedly collapsed and wept, yet he persisted. Through this relentless trial, his willpower had become terrifyingly strong. How could someone like Ji Rong, a mere girl, possibly sway such an unyielding heart? Even someone like Kong Youyue, who had deceived him and betrayed his trust, had only provoked Dongbo’s anger, and he had decisively severed the emotional ties without hesitation.
Dongbo Xueying always acted directly and decisively. He was ruthless to himself, and even more ruthless to his enemies!
“Yes,” Ji Rong lowered her head as she watched Dongbo Xueying walk away.
She walked slowly toward Qing Shi’s residence.
She was thinking—what should she do?
“Dongbo Xueying deeply cherishes his younger brother. Perhaps I can find a way to win Qing Shi’s full allegiance, making Dongbo hesitate?” Ji Rong pondered. “No, Dongbo Xueying is a man of extreme decisiveness! He won’t be swayed by such petty tricks. He might easily conceal it from his younger brother and secretly wipe out our entire Ji family!”
“What should I do?”
“I haven’t even discovered what immense wealth Dongbo Xueying’s parents left behind! He hasn’t even earned any significant merit!” Ji Rong mused as she walked.
Rely on Qing Shi?
Yet in terms of affection, Qing Shi and his older brother were far closer! Even if Qing Shi stood by her side for now, he would ultimately side with his brother.
“Damn it, damn it…” No matter how Ji Rong thought about it, she couldn’t figure out a way to remain by Qing Shi’s side.
Because Dongbo Xueying acted directly—through sheer force.
Dare to disobey?
He would eliminate you outright! The Scimitar Alliance had once been feared by all the nobles of Yishui City, yet Dongbo Xueying, at the age of fifteen, had single-handedly destroyed it. Now, he was even more terrifying than back then.
“I have no choice but to give up.”
Ji Rong quickly made her decision.
……
“Ji Rong, you actually came to see me! I’m so happy. Sigh, you know, we got into big trouble when we went out yesterday. My brother forbade me from leaving the castle for three days, so I won’t be able to see you during this time.”
Qing Shi exited the main tower of the castle, walking side by side with Ji Rong along a stone path within the castle grounds, speaking as they walked. “It’s not my brother’s fault. That dead noble clearly had a powerful background! I didn’t intend to kill that noble youth either. I just couldn’t precisely control that wide-area spell. Who could’ve guessed that noble brat would be so unlucky as to be struck by lightning!”
“It’s not your fault,” Ji Rong comforted him. “If we hadn’t fought back, you would’ve died, and I would’ve faced a tragic fate. I can’t even bear to imagine what would’ve happened if I had been captured.”
“No one will harm you,” Qing Shi gripped Ji Rong’s hand firmly. “I promise.”
Ji Rong smiled faintly but said nothing.
“Is something wrong? You seem down,” Qing Shi sensed his girlfriend’s mood and asked, “Is it because of that noble’s death yesterday? Don’t worry, my brother is handling everything. He’ll surely resolve it properly.”
“No, it’s not that,” Ji Rong replied.
“Then what is it?” Qing Shi pressed, “Tell me, maybe I can help.”
“Qing Shi, let’s break up,” Ji Rong suddenly said.
Qing Shi froze.
He felt as if a bucket of icy water had been poured over his head, leaving him completely stunned.
“Are you joking?” Qing Shi forced a smile. “This isn’t funny at all.”
“It’s true, let’s break up,” Ji Rong looked at Qing Shi.
Looking into Ji Rong’s eyes, Qing Shi realized—this wasn’t a joke. It was real!
“Why?” Qing Shi couldn’t understand. “Yesterday we were still fine, still happy. Even though we had that conflict with the noble, how does that relate to our relationship? Why would you suddenly want to break up?”
“Because I’ve fallen for someone else. Is that not allowed?” Ji Rong said.
“Tell me the real reason. Say it!” Qing Shi stared at Ji Rong, growing anxious.
Ji Rong lowered her head.
Silence.
“Say it!” Qing Shi was nearly frantic with anxiety.
“You consider your older brother your most important relative, right?” Ji Rong said.
Qing Shi furrowed his brow.
Suddenly, he felt a premonition.
“My brother investigated some things about me,” Ji Rong said. “He believes I’m not a good girl, that I’m not worthy of you. He’s already issued an ultimatum, ordering me to stay away from you.”
Qing Shi was stunned.
“He opposes us! Can you defy his will?” Ji Rong looked at him.
“I, I…” Qing Shi gritted his teeth. “Who I love is my choice. My brother can’t stop me!”
“Don’t lie. You know how close you are with your brother! You won’t love someone unless my brother approves and gives his blessing!” Ji Rong said.
Qing Shi panicked.
If his older brother completely opposed this relationship, what should he do?
“There must be some misunderstanding. Why would he stop us? He investigated you and thinks you’re a bad person? What exactly did he find?” Qing Shi asked urgently. “There must be a misunderstanding.”
Ji Rong scoffed, “It was when I was ten, still very young. I was walking through Yishui City with my servants when a little beggar bumped into me and dirtied my beautiful clothes. Of course, I was upset and felt gloomy, so I returned home with my attendants. After I left, one of my servants beat that beggar, and apparently even killed him. I felt terrible when I learned of it, but the deed couldn’t be undone.”
“But your brother believes I ordered the servant to do it, that even at ten I was cruel-hearted and not a good person,” Ji Rong’s eyes brimmed with tears. “What could I do? Besides, I came to Xueshi Mountain at eleven to apprentice under Master Bai Yuan! I’ve lived on Xueshi Mountain all these years. Don’t you know what kind of person I am?”
“But your brother believes I’m not a good girl and ordered me to stay away from you,” Ji Rong lowered her voice. “Your brother was already the strongest warrior in Yishui City when he was young, and now he’s even more unfathomable. I dare not offend your brother, and our Ji family dares not offend him either. So… we can only break up.”
Qing Shi anxiously said, “How could it be like this? How could my brother do this?”
If Dongbo Xueying opposed it, the Ji family would certainly back down.
“You stay here, I’ll go talk to my brother!” Qing Shi said immediately. “Wait for me, I’ll definitely convince him.”
“It’s useless,” Ji Rong shook her head.
“You wait here for me.”
But Dongbo Qing Shi had already turned and left, rushing immediately toward the training ground.
……
Inside the training ground.
Qing Shi barged in directly. Within the training ground, Dongbo Xueying, clad in black, was a blur as he practiced his spear techniques. Snowflakes swirled around his spear shadows, appearing ethereal and intangible, lacking the previous fierce aura, instead seeming to merge with the heavens and earth.
“Brother,” Qing Shi couldn’t wait and called out.
Swish.
The spear shadows vanished. Dongbo Xueying stopped, retracted his spear, and turned with a smile toward his younger brother. “Ah, Qing Shi, what’s the matter?”
Before his older brother, Qing Shi’s boldness waned. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and asked, “Brother, did you tell Ji Rong to stay away from me?”
Dongbo Xueying was momentarily taken aback.
So this Ji Rong still hadn’t given up? He had given her three days to break up with his younger brother, yet she had acted so decisively.
“Yes, it was me,” Dongbo Xueying admitted.
“Why? Why would you do this?” Qing Shi barely contained his anger, wanting to hear his brother’s explanation.
“She’s not suitable for you,” Dongbo Xueying said.
“Not suitable? Just because of a beggar’s death when she was young?” Qing Shi asked.
Dongbo Xueying frowned but still said, “Because of a simple collision, she had her servants secretly torture and kill a young beggar. How old was she then? With such a nature, how could she be suitable for you?”
“Haha, that’s ridiculous, Brother! She was only ten back then. That was six years ago. How can you be so sure your investigation is accurate?” Qing Shi said. “It was the servants who acted, and as you said, it was done secretly! How can you be certain Ji Rong gave the order and not the servants acting on their own?”
“There’s other evidence,” Dongbo Xueying frowned. With a flip of his hand, a scroll appeared in Dongbo Xueying’s hand. He flipped through it and pulled out a single page.
This page contained the final conclusion.
It was Longshan Pavilion’s suspicion that they were followers of a dark deity! This could not be revealed to his younger brother. His younger brother was already emotionally agitated. If he told Ji Rong, the Ji family would immediately become alert!
“Look, this is the intelligence Longshan Pavilion gathered on the Ji family. Read it yourself and decide whether she is suitable to be your wife,” Dongbo Xueying handed the scroll to his younger brother.
Dongbo Qing Shi angrily accepted it.
He carefully flipped through it.
Much of the content was what Ji Rong had already mentioned—being cast out by her uncle, temporarily residing with her mother’s family, being bullied and looked down upon in childhood, and so on. But there was also much he didn’t know. For instance, Ji Rong’s father, Ji Wuhai, was actually the hidden hand behind the destruction of his uncle’s family and his mother’s family, the Yan clan. Many members of his uncle’s family and the Yan clan had died tragically, all pointing toward Ji Wuhai!
As Dongbo Qing Shi read, he himself began to feel disgusted toward Ji Wuhai.
“I’ve finished reading,” Qing Shi closed the scroll.
“Well?” Dongbo Xueying asked.
“It’s nothing impressive,” Dongbo Qing Shi angrily replied. “The intelligence is detailed, but first, can intelligence always be absolutely true? Second, even if it’s true, it’s Ji Wuhai, Ji Rong’s father, who is guilty! What does this have to do with Ji Rong? When Ji Rong’s family temporarily resided with the Yan clan, they were constantly bullied. Her father didn’t care for the family at that time, drowning his sorrows in wine. Later, he awakened and went out to conduct business for a year before returning. Then he sent his daughter to apprentice under the master! Ji Rong had little time with her father.”
“Moreover,”
“Ji Rong had a pitiful life before she turned ten. Her father returned with great wealth, and she lived as a noble girl for nearly a year before coming to apprentice under the master,” Dongbo Qing Shi angrily said. “She only lived a slightly luxurious life for nearly a year. Other than that, she was either being bullied or living the life of a mage under the master’s tutelage. She’s pitiful, not wicked!”
Dongbo Xueying frowned.
According to Longshan Pavilion’s deduction—
How easy is it to earn great wealth? Longshan Pavilion believed that during the time Ji Wuhai’s family was bullied and looked down upon by the Yan clan, their life was unbearably tragic. That was when they became followers of a dark deity! And likely extremely zealous followers, gaining the trust of high-ranking officials in the dark deity’s sect. Coupled with Ji Wuhai’s genuine talent in business, the dark deity’s forces began to help and support him. They first sent him out to conduct business, giving him a sufficient reason to earn great wealth, then allowed him to return.
But all of this was merely deductions by Longshan Pavilion’s intelligence experts based on faint clues.
There was no sufficient evidence!
“She has always lived in the Mage Tower, with me. Don’t I know what kind of person she is? Even if her father is a villain, we can simply ignore him in the future. Does the Dongbo family fear a mere merchant?” Qing Shi continued, “Brother, I don’t know about her father, but Ji Rong herself is absolutely innocent! She’s the first girl I’ve ever liked, and likely the last. Please don’t be so ruthless, okay?”
Dongbo Xueying’s expression slightly changed.
“She’s the last,” this Ji Rong had ensnared his younger brother quite thoroughly.
Dongbo Xueying spoke seriously, “Qing Shi, Longshan Pavilion’s intelligence is highly credible. They dare to write it down only when they have sufficient confidence!”
“She has lived in the Mage Tower since childhood until now! Don’t I know what kind of person she is?” Qing Shi angrily retorted.
“Mages are extremely intelligent people. Even as youths and maidens, never underestimate them,” Dongbo Xueying said, recalling how he had recently been deceived by Kong Youyue.
“I believe in her,” Qing Shi said.
“Enough!” Dongbo Xueying coldly said, “You must break up, but I can give you three years. Within three years, you must separate. I will have Master Bai Yuan send Ji Rong back home! Within three years, we will observe the Ji family’s true nature. If Ji Rong is truly a good girl, I will not stop you from being together in three years. But if her true nature is exposed, you will then understand my thoughts.”
Dongbo Xueying also felt that with Longshan Pavilion’s strength, if they already suspected Ji Wuhai, three years would be enough to uncover the truth.
And setting three years was also to avoid making his younger brother too resistant.
If he completely cut off his younger brother’s hope, with his younger brother’s deep feelings for Ji Rong, he might go mad.
“Three years?” Qing Shi widened his eyes. “Three years? That’s too long! You’re going to drive her away? Brother, how can you be so ruthless to her? And you say we must break up? This is my and Ji Rong’s matter. Can you just say break up and it’s done?”
“You must break up!” Dongbo Xueying didn’t expect his younger brother to be unable to endure even three years, and he also became angry. He absolutely could not tolerate his younger brother being with a follower of a dark deity. If she truly was a follower of a dark deity, it would be pushing his younger brother toward the abyss. Who knew what a follower of a dark deity might do? He would regret it bitterly later!
“You must break up!” Dongbo Xueying said coldly.
“No!” Qing Shi shouted in anger.
“No one can resist. You know that with one word from me, Master Bai Yuan will drive Ji Rong away, and the Ji family will have to leave Yishui City,” Dongbo Xueying coldly said. “So whether you listen or not, you must obey. This matter allows no further recklessness from you.”
“You, you…”
Qing Shi felt his blood rushing to his head, his eyes turning red, his heartbeat racing.
His older brother indeed had the power to directly and forcibly destroy his relationship with Ji Rong. His strength was utterly incapable of resistance.
His voice trembled as he looked at Dongbo Xueying, his eyes making Dongbo Xueying’s heart quiver. He hoarsely growled, “Brother, you are my older brother! I’ve always been proud of you since childhood. Although I can’t even remember our parents anymore, I’ve always believed I had the best older brother in the world! But I was wrong. I never expected you to be like this. You’ve disappointed me so much. I never thought my older brother could be like this.”
“You’re just an arrogant fool!”
“You’ve disappointed me so much!”
When the person most important in one’s life, the person one is willing to protect with one’s life, speaks such words.
Dongbo Xueying felt his heart wrench.
Was his younger brother disappointed in him, his older brother?
“I never expected you to be like this! I never thought my older brother could be like this!” Qing Shi, already in tears, turned and ran out. At the door stood Zong Ling, who had obviously come over after hearing the brothers’ argument.
Qing Shi, tears streaming down his face, ran past Zong Ling in a blur.
……
Dongbo Xueying’s heart ached. His usually steady hands trembled slightly, his palm muscles involuntarily twitching and aching.
The heart truly ached.
Truly…
“I’ve always been proud of you since childhood!”
“But I was wrong!”
“I never expected you to be like this! I never thought my older brother could be like this!”
His younger brother’s voice echoed in his ears.
Dongbo Xueying’s breathing became somewhat ragged. At this moment, Zong Ling approached and asked, “Xueying?”
“Keep an eye on Qing Shi. Remember, absolutely do not allow him to leave the castle for these three days. If he insists on going out and you can’t stop him, come tell me. I’ll stop him myself!” Dongbo Xueying said.
Zong Ling looked at Dongbo Xueying’s body.
In the past, when Dongbo Xueying stood there, he gave the impression of an unshakable mountain, like an unyielding spear—steadfast and awe-inspiring, the aura of a true The Strong One.
But now, Dongbo Xueying’s posture seemed to have bent. That unshakable aura was gone, appearing fragile?
“Xueying?” Zong Ling looked at Dongbo Xueying’s face.
Dongbo Xueying’s face was pale, his eyes seemingly… filled with tears?
“I heard everything just now. Don’t be sad. Qing Shi hasn’t experienced much hardship. When he grows older, he’ll understand your intentions,” Zong Ling comforted him. “You’ve always cherished him. To secure him a good master, you destroyed a mountain without regard for your life. He’ll understand your kindness toward him in the future. Alright, alright, don’t be sad.”
“I’m fine. Just watch over Qing Shi.”
Dongbo Xueying turned and walked away.
……
On the rooftop of the castle’s main tower.
Dongbo Xueying sat alone, drinking wine, gazing at the vast sky and earth.
His younger brother was deeply hurt. This was the first time since childhood that his younger brother had been so deeply saddened.
As for his younger brother’s hurtful words, at that moment Dongbo Xueying had truly felt heartache. But now, all he worried about was his younger brother.
“It’ll get better after this,” Dongbo Xueying softly said. He wiped his eyes; they were slightly damp. “I didn’t expect that after so many years, I would still shed tears. Haha.”
Sip by sip, he drank the wine.
The mountain breeze blew.
Dongbo Xueying didn’t know what he was thinking, just sitting there drinking.
Gradually, the sky began to darken, and night began to fall.
At dinner time, Dongbo Xueying went to eat. He had hoped to have a chance to see his younger brother, but… his younger brother didn’t come for dinner. After finishing his meal, he went alone to the study to read.
……
Night fell, the crescent moon hung high, faint moonlight spilling onto the earth.
Among the clouds high in the sky.
“Whoosh.”
A black alchemical airship had already arrived above Xueshi Castle.
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