Chapter 106

Lan Xichen asked, "What letter?"

Jin Guangyao replied, "A threatening letter. It mentioned... those matters, and that in seven days, they would be made public. It gave me the choice to either commit suicide to atone for my crimes or... await my demise."

Everyone understood. Jin Guangyao, of course, couldn't simply sit idly by and await his doom. It was better to strike first rather than face public disgrace and ridicule from the righteous clans. By then, even if the other party truly spread his past misdeeds everywhere, after a major siege, the clans would be too weakened to cause him any further trouble.

Unfortunately, fate was against him, and Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had ruined his plans.

Lan Xichen said, "Even so, you can't act so ruthlessly and kill without a second thought! You..."

He couldn't even muster a reason to defend him!

Jin Guangyao retorted, "What else could I do? Wait for the matter to be exposed and spread far and wide, wait until I become the laughingstock of the righteous clans for a century, then kneel and apologize to the world, offering my face for them to trample, begging for their forgiveness? Second Brother! There's no other way—either they die, or I do."

Lan Xichen showed a hint of anger and took a step back. "Isn't this all because of you... because you did the deeds mentioned in the letter! If you hadn't done them, how could anyone hold anything over you?"

Jin Guangyao said, "Second Brother, hear me out. I don't deny that I did those things..."

Lan Xichen interrupted, "How could you deny it? The evidence is all there!"

Jin Guangyao replied, "That's why I said I don't deny it! But killing my father, my wife, my son, my brother—if it weren't absolutely necessary, why would I do it? Do you really think I'm that unhinged in your eyes?!"

Lan Xichen's expression calmed slightly. "Fine, I'll ask you a few questions, and you can address them one by one."

Lan Wangji interjected, "Brother!"

He drew Bichen, and Lan Xichen, seeing that he seemed intent on immediately ending Jin Guangyao's life, quickly said, "Don't worry. He's injured and disarmed, already in a vulnerable position. With so many people here, he can't pull any stunts." Just then, Wei Wuxian kicked Su She, thwarting his covert actions. Lan Xichen added, "You handle that side. I'll deal with this."

Lan Wangji, hearing Su She's roar, walked over. Wei Wuxian knew that Lan Xichen still held some lingering affection for this sworn brother, clinging to a faint hope and insisting on giving him a chance to speak. Coincidentally, Wei Wuxian also wanted to hear what Jin Guangyao had to say, so he listened attentively. Lan Xichen began, "First, your father, the former Jin family head, did you really... resort to that method..."

Jin Guangyao cautiously replied, "I'd prefer to address that question last."

Lan Xichen shook his head and continued, "Second, your... wife..." He seemed unable to bring himself to say it and quickly changed his words. "Your sister, Qin Su, did you really know the nature of your relationship and still marry her?"

Jin Guangyao stared at him, tears suddenly streaming down his face.

He said in agony, "...Yes."

Lan Xichen took a deep breath, his face ashen. Jin Guangyao whispered, "But I was left with no choice."

Lan Xichen scolded, "How could you claim to have no choice?! It was your marriage! You could have just not married her! Even if it hurt Qin Su's feelings, it would have been better than ruining a woman who truly loved and respected you, who never looked down on you!"

Jin Guangyao cried, "Didn't I love her just as much?! But I had no choice, no choice at all! Yes, it was my marriage, but was it really as simple as saying 'I won't marry' and that would be the end of it?! Second Brother, you need to be realistic. I went through tremendous hardship and effort to get Qin Cangye to agree to the marriage. The wedding date was approaching, and finally, both Qin Cangye and Jin Guangshan were completely satisfied. And you want me to abruptly call off the wedding? What reason could I give? How could I explain it to those two?!"

"Second Brother, do you know how I felt when Madam Qin secretly came to me and told me the truth, just when I thought everything was perfect?! Even if a bolt of lightning had struck me down, it wouldn't have been more terrifying! Do you know why she didn't go to Jin Guangshan but approached me in secret? Because she was raped by Jin Guangshan! That 'good father' of mine didn't even spare the wife of his long-time subordinate, and he didn't even remember when he had another daughter! For so many years, she didn't dare tell her husband, Qin Cangye, about this. If I had suddenly called off the wedding and they had sensed something was wrong, causing a rift between Jin Guangshan and Qin Cangye, who do you think would suffer the most in the end?!"

Although it wasn't the first time they had heard of Jin Guangshan's despicable actions in this regard, everyone present still felt a chill. Disgust and coldness—it was hard to tell which was stronger. Lan Xichen said, "Then... even if you were forced to marry Qin Su, you could have neglected her. Why did you... and why did you have to have Ah Song, only to kill your own son later?!"

Jin Guangyao, clutching his head, said hoarsely, "...After the wedding, I never touched Ah Su again. Ah Song... was conceived before the wedding. At the time, I was afraid that delays would lead to complications..."

So he had consummated the marriage with Qin Su early.

If not for that, he wouldn't have accidentally slept with his own sister. Now, he didn't know whether to hate his father, who was nothing like a father, or himself for being so suspicious and anxious!

Lan Xichen sighed and said, "Third, don't try to evade. Answer me truthfully—was Jin Zixuan's death really something you planned?"

Hearing his father's name, Jin Ling, who was supporting Jiang Cheng, widened his eyes in shock.

Lan Wangji slightly raised his voice and asked, "Brother, do you believe him?"

Lan Xichen's expression was complicated as he said, "I naturally don't believe that Jin Zixuan accidentally stumbled upon the ambush at Qiongqi Path, but... let him speak first."

Jin Guangyao knew that stubborn denial would not be believed. He gritted his teeth and said, "...Jin Zixuan, it's true that I didn't just happen to run into him."

Jin Ling immediately clenched his fists.

Jin Guangyao continued, "But I absolutely did not intentionally plan everything that followed. You don't need to think of me as some mastermind who plans every detail. Many things are simply beyond control. How could I have known that he would definitely die alongside Jin Zixun by Wei Wuxian's hand? How could I have foreseen that Wei Wuxian would lose control and that the Ghost General would go on a killing spree?"

Wei Wuxian shouted in anger, "Then why did you say he wasn't someone you just happened to run into? You're being contradictory!"

Jin Guangyao replied, "I don't deny that I deliberately told him about the ambush at Qiongqi Path. But I only thought that since he and you have always been at odds, and he happened to run into trouble with his cousin, he would suffer a bit. How could I have predicted that you, Wei Wuxian, would simply kill everyone present?"

Wei Wuxian, furious, laughed bitterly, "You really..."

Suddenly, Jin Ling shouted, "Why?!"

He stood up next to Jiang Cheng, his eyes red, and rushed to Jin Guangyao, yelling, "Why did you do this?!"

Nie Huaisang quickly grabbed Jin Ling, who seemed ready to fight Jin Guangyao. Jin Guangyao retorted, "Why?"

He turned to Jin Ling and said, "A Ling, can you explain why? Why is it that no matter how warmly I smile at people, I can't earn a single kind look, while your father, who was so arrogant, had everyone flocking to him? Can you tell me why, as sons of the same man, your father could leisurely stay at home with his beloved wife and play with his child, while I didn't even dare to spend too much time alone with my wife, and even the sight of my own son filled me with dread? Why was I, by my own father, so naturally assigned to such a task—to ambush an extremely dangerous person who could go berserk at any moment and unleash a massacre with fierce ghosts and fierce corpses?

"Why is it that even though we share the same birth date, Jin Guangshan could throw a grand banquet for one son while watching his men kick the other son down from the highest level of Jin Lingtai, all the way to the bottom?"

Finally, he revealed the deep-seated hatred he had been hiding, not for Jin Zixuan, nor for Wei Wuxian, but for his own father.

Wei Wuxian said, "Stop with the excuses! If you hate someone, go kill them! Why target Jin Zixuan?!"

Jin Guangyao calmly replied, "As you can see, I killed them all."

Lan Xichen said, "And in that manner."

Jin Guangyao, with tears in the corners of his eyes, knelt upright on the ground and smiled, "Yes. An old stallion who spreads his seed everywhere deserves such a death, right?"

Lan Xichen exclaimed, "A Yao!"

After scolding, he remembered that he had already severed ties with Jin Guangyao and shouldn't call him that. Jin Guangyao, however, seemed unfazed and said calmly, "Second Brother, don't assume that just because I can now curse him so harshly, I never had any expectations for my father. There was a time when I would carry out any of his orders, no matter how foolish or hateful—betraying the Wen Sect Leader, protecting Xue Yang, eliminating dissenters. But do you know what made me completely lose hope? I'll answer your first question now. It wasn't that I could never measure up to a single strand of Jin Zixuan's hair in his eyes, or the few holes in Jin Zixun's body. It wasn't that he brought back Mo Xuan Yu, nor that he later tried to undermine me. It was something he once said while out carousing, to a wine girl by his side.

"'Why wouldn't such a lavish family head spare even the slightest effort to redeem my mother? Simple—because it's troublesome. My mother waited for so many years, weaving countless excuses for him in front of me, imagining so many difficult situations for him. The real reason was simply two words: troublesome.

"'He said: "Especially women who have some education, they always think they're superior to other women, making all sorts of demands, impractical and overthinking. The most troublesome. If I redeemed her and brought her to Lanling, who knows how she would pester me endlessly. Let her stay where she is. With her looks, she can probably stay popular for a few more years, and she won't have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of her life.

"'Son? Ah, let's not mention it.'"

Jin Guangyao had an excellent memory, and as he recounted this word for word, others could almost imagine Jin Guangshan's drunken expression as he spoke. Jin Guangyao laughed, "Second Brother, you see, this son of his is worth just four words: 'Ah, let's not mention it.' Hahaha..."

Lan Xichen's expression was pained as he said, "Even if your father... but you..."

He couldn't find the right words and sighed, "What's the use of saying all this now?"

Jin Guangyao, still laughing, spread his hands and said, "No choice. I've done all these terrible things, yet I still crave people's pity. That's just the kind of person I am."

As he said the word "person," his wrist suddenly flipped. A red qin string wrapped around Jin Ling's neck.

Jin Guangyao, with tears still in the corners of his eyes, said in a deep voice, "Don't move!"

This was completely unexpected. Jiang Cheng roared, "Wei Wuxian! Didn't you already confiscate his weapons?!"

In his panic, he shouted directly at Wei Wuxian, his tone exactly like when they were teenagers. Wei Wuxian also shouted, "I did take away all his qin strings!"

Surely Jin Guangyao's cultivation hasn't reached the level where he can materialize objects out of thin air!

Lan Wangji, however, saw through the trick at a glance and said, "He hid it inside his body."

The others followed his gaze and saw a red stain spreading on Jin Guangyao's white robe near his side. The qin string was red because it was soaked in blood. Wei Wuxian naturally hadn't been able to find it earlier, as Jin Guangyao hadn't hidden it on his person but inside his own body. After a speech that stirred Lan Xichen's emotions and diverted everyone's attention, and after provoking Jin Ling to rush forward and get close to him, Jin Guangyao took the opportunity to pierce his abdomen with his fingers and pull out the qin string.

Who would have thought that Jin Guangyao would go to such lengths to keep this final trump card? The thin metal string, though extremely fine, was still a foreign object buried within his flesh, moving with his body. The sensation couldn't have been pleasant.

Jiang Cheng cried out in distress, "A Ling!" Wei Wuxian instinctively moved, but someone grabbed him immediately. Turning, he saw it was Lan Wangji, which steadied him and kept him from panicking. Jin Guangyao, holding Jin Ling, stood up and said, "Jiang Cheng, there's no need to be so upset. After all, A Ling is someone I've watched grow up. My position remains unchanged: we go our separate ways, and in time, you'll see A Ling unharmed."

Jiang Cheng shouted, "A Ling, stay still! Jin Guangyao, if you need a hostage, take me!"

Jin Guangyao said bluntly, "That's not the same. Jiang Cheng, you're injured and can't move well. You'd just slow me down."

Wei Wuxian, his palms sweating, said, "Jin Guangyao, have you forgotten something? Your loyal subordinate is still here."

Jin Guangyao glanced at Su She, who was being held at sword-point by Lan Wangji's sword, Bichen. Su She rasped out, "Family Head, don't mind me!"

Jin Guangyao also immediately said, "Thank you."

Lan Xichen said slowly, "Jin Guangyao, you've lied again."

Jin Guangyao replied, "Just this once, and it won't happen again."

Lan Xichen said, "You said the same thing last time. I can't tell which of your words are true anymore."

Just as Jin Guangyao was about to speak, a deafening thunderclap roared. Though distant, it felt as if it were right beside them, making Jin Guangyao shudder and swallow his words. Immediately after, three eerie, loud bangs came from outside the temple door.

The sound was less like knocking and more like someone was bashing a head against the door. It didn't sound like a human arm pounding but rather as if someone was holding another person's head and violently smashing it against the door. Each bang grew louder, and the temple door's latch cracked more with each strike. Jin Guangyao's expression twisted more with each sound.

On the fourth strike, the latch finally broke. A dense curtain of rain and a dark figure burst through the shattered door.

Jin Guangyao's body shook as if he wanted to dodge, but he quickly held back. The figure wasn't heading for him but for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. The two calmly parted for a moment before naturally standing shoulder to shoulder again. Turning to look, Wei Wuxian said, "Wen Ning?"

Wen Ning had crashed into the Guanyin statue inside the temple, hanging upside down for a moment before falling to the ground with a thud. He then said, "...Young Master."

Seeing him, Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling's expressions turned grim. Nie Huaisang, however, shouted, "Big Brother!!!"

Aside from Wen Ning, who had flown in, another taller figure stood at the temple entrance. His silhouette was rigid, his face ashen, and his eyes lifeless.

It was the Crimson Frost Duke, Nie Mingjue!

He stood like an iron tower in front of the Guanyin Temple, blocking everyone's path in the pouring rain. His head was firmly attached to his neck, and dense black stitches could be seen around his neck. Someone had sewn his head back onto his headless body with a long thread!

Lan Xichen said, "...Big Brother."

Jin Guangyao also murmured, "...Big Brother..."

In this temple, three people had called Nie Mingjue's corpse "Big Brother," but their tones were entirely different. Jin Guangyao's face was filled with overwhelming fear, and his entire body trembled. Whether in life or death, the person Jin Guangyao feared the most was undoubtedly his fiery-tempered, unforgiving sworn brother.

His body shook, and so did his hand, which tightly held the blood-soaked qin string. In that instant, Lan Wangji suddenly drew Bichen and slashed down.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Jin Ling, catching something in his hand. Jin Guangyao felt his arm go light and was momentarily stunned. Looking down, he realized his right hand was gone.

His right hand had been cleanly severed from the forearm. What Lan Wangji had caught was the hand that had been gripping the deadly qin string.

Blood gushed out instantly, and Jin Guangyao turned pale from the pain, unable to even scream. He staggered back a few steps, unable to stand steady, and collapsed to the ground. Su She, however, let out a scream. Lan Xichen seemed to want to help him for a moment but ultimately didn't dare to act.

Lan Wangji pried open the fingers of Jin Guangyao's severed hand, and the qin string loosened, freeing Jin Ling from danger. Jiang Cheng was about to rush forward to check if Jin Ling was injured, but Wei Wuxian beat him to it, grabbing Jin Ling's shoulders and carefully examining him. After confirming that the skin on his neck was intact and unharmed, Wei Wuxian finally let out a sigh of relief.

Lan Wangji had always held back a third of his strength when drawing his sword in the past, but the situation just now was truly critical. That string was extremely sharp, and in the hands of someone skilled in the String Killing Technique, it could slice through flesh and bone as effortlessly as chopping vegetables. Compounding the danger, Jin Guangyao's hand was trembling. If he had trembled for just a moment longer, or worse, if he had forgotten he was holding onto someone with the string and had run away... If Lan Wangji hadn't acted decisively, swiftly and accurately severing Jin Guangyao's right hand that held the string, Jin Ling might have already been decapitated, with blood spurting several feet high!

Jin Ling was directly sprayed with blood from Jin Guangyao's severed hand, staining most of his body and part of his face. He stood in a daze, barely grasping what had just occurred. Wei Wuxian, however, clutched him tightly and said, "Stay away from dangerous people next time, you brat! Why were you standing so close just now?"

If Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan's only son had also been lost in front of him, Wei Wuxian truly wouldn't have known what to do.

Jin Ling was not used to being hugged like this by others, and his pale face immediately flushed red. He struggled vigorously against Wei Wuxian's chest. Wei Wuxian grabbed him and hugged him even more forcefully a few times, then patted his shoulder heavily and pushed him toward Jiang Cheng, saying, "Go! Don't run around anymore, go stand by your uncle!"

Jiang Cheng grabbed the still somewhat disoriented Jin Ling and, looking at Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji standing together, hesitated for a moment before saying to Lan Wangji in a low voice, "Thank you."

Though his voice was low, it was not ambiguous.

Jin Ling also said, "Thank you, Hanguang Jun, for saving my life."

Lan Wangji nodded slightly, saying nothing. Bichen was tilted toward the ground, its clear and bright blade not stained with a single drop of blood, which quickly slid off completely. He then turned the sword to face Nie Mingjue, who was standing at the entrance. Wen Ning slowly got up, reattaching his own broken arm, and said, "Be careful... his resentment is extraordinary."

Author's note: So, premarital relations can be deadly (not really).