Chương 153: The Bloodstained Letter

Zhang Huaijin possessed a skin thick enough to weather any storm, and he showed not the faintest trace of embarrassment.

"You are both rare beauties, and I am merely a mortal man. When faced with such loveliness, is it not natural to wish to see…" Ning Nanzhi remained silent, offering no reply. Yun Pinyu pressed on without hesitation.

"Then why weren't you looking at me?" Huaijin found himself momentarily speechless. He cleared his throat softly before answering, his tone measured.

"I was looking. You just didn't notice."

"How shameless!" Yun Pinyu was frank to the point of bluntness, showing no fear of offense. Huaijin's expression stayed calm. But he chose to disengage, offering Yun Pinyu no further response. Ning Nanzhi, well acquainted with Yun Pinyu's forthright nature, tugged gently at her companion's sleeve. Her voice dropped to a near-whisper, barely audible, "Pinyu, must you speak so bluntly? Uncle asked us to receive him properly."

Yun Pinyu waved off the concern with characteristic nonchalance, sending a private voice transmission to Ning Nanzhi.

"Don't worry. He's not that narrow-minded." Watching the two of them whisper in hushed tones, Huaijin let his eyes drift shut. If his guess was correct, Yun Zhaoxi would soon present him with a token of thanks. And Huaijin was still weighing whether to deliver the silk letter left behind by Yun Chaoge into Yun Zhaoxi's hands. This matter touched upon the Golden Core clan, the Zheng family. With this thought in mind, Huaijin turned his gaze toward Yun Pinyu.

"Miss Pinyu, may I ask if you know Zheng Qinyun?" The question had barely left his lips when… Yun Pinyu shot to her feet like a startled hare, her eyes blazing with hostility as she fixed him with a glare.

"What game are you playing? Are you hoping to use our Yun family's connections to curry favor with the Zheng clan…" Huaijin raised an eyebrow. Her reaction told him everything he needed to know. It was clear that after Yun Chaoge's passing, the rift between the two families had only widened.

After all, if that elder of the Yun family succeeded in breaking through to Golden Core Realm, the Zheng family would be the one to suffer most, they would be forced to surrender a portion of the resources they currently hoarded.

"Not at all. I was just asking out of curiosity." The Zhang family was, after all, just a Tier 2 power. Probing the inner workings of a Golden Core clan was no simple matter. At this moment, Ning Nanzhi spoke up, her voice thoughtful.

"Fellow cultivator Huaijin, do you know something?" Her eyes rested on him with quiet intensity, as though she had already glimpsed the shape of his thoughts. Huaijin would not have asked such a question for no reason. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Yun Pinyu caught on quickly as well.

"Do you know how my uncle died? Was it the Zheng family's doing?" Fury blazed in Yun Pinyu's eyes, raw and uncontained. Huaijin's expression remained unchanged. He shook his head slowly.

"I do not know." But inwardly, he had confirmed his suspicions, the Yun family had clearly harbored their own doubts all along. Yun Chaoge's death had been far too convenient, far too suspicious. And over the past few decades, the Zheng family had worked tirelessly to grind down the Yun family at every turn. The enmity between the two houses ran deep and bitter. The same pattern held true across other prefectures.

Any Tier 3 clan showing even a hint of potential to produce a Golden Core cultivator found itself ruthlessly suppressed by the Zheng family. And beneath the Zheng clan's heavy hand, the various Tier 3 powers simmered with quiet resentment. Seeing Huaijin's reluctance to speak further, Ning Nanzhi reached out and gently pressed Yun Pinyu's arm, calming the storm of her emotions. The stone table in the pavilion was filled with exquisite delicacies, spirit fruits glistening like gems, and an array of drinks.

Yun Pinyu wrestled her temper under control, snatched a pastry from the table, and crammed it into her mouth with unladylike vigor. Her chest rose and fell in deep, uneven breaths, the swell of her anger still evident beneath the surface. Ning Nanzhi, meanwhile, took up the thread of conversation, speaking in measured tones as she gave Huaijin a concise account of the conflicts that had played out between the Yun and Zheng families over the past decades.

After Ning Nanzhi finished, Huaijin asked, "You're from the Guiyun Ning family?" She inclined her head.

"That is correct."

"Then you are an array master?" Huaijin pressed, a note of interest creeping into his voice.

"She's a Tier 2 upper grade array master. As genuine as they come." Before Ning Nanzhi could elaborate, Yun Pinyu cut in enthusiastically, still chewing, nearly choking on her mouthful of pastry.

"Nanzhi's talent for Array formations is, I dare say, the greatest the Ning family has ever produced!" Huaijin's eyes settled on Ning Nanzhi. The Guiyun Ning family stood as the most formidable power in the entire Guiyun Prefecture! In their heyday, they boasted eight Tier 3 cultivators. Now, their fortunes had waned, only four remained. But what the Ning family took greatest pride in was their mastery of array formations. The Ning lineage had known glory in ages past as well.

One of their ancestors, a late stage Tier 3 cultivator, had once forged a Tier 4 low grade formation, earning fame across the region. And the very formation protecting the Ning family's ancestral home was that same Tier 4 low grade wonder. Among all Tier 3 powers, they stood alone at the peak of formation masters.

"So your two families are bound by marriage as well?" Huaijin let out a low breath.

"No wonder the Zheng family is dead set on destroying you." The Zheng family held sway over four prefectures in Bing Province. If the Yun and Ning families joined forces, they would command the factions of two entire prefectures. No wonder the Zheng family viewed them as a threat. Ning Nanzhi and Yun Pinyu exchanged a glance but offered no rebuttal. Because what Huaijin said was true. Learning that Ning Nanzhi was a Tier 2 upper grade array master, Huaijin found himself drawn to her all the more.

Her temperament was gentle, she was a prodigy and she was pleasing to the eye, everything that stirred Huaijin's appreciation. His heart, which had lain dormant for nearly sixty years, gave a faint, almost imperceptible stir. Certainly, it had nothing to do with her mastery of formations. And nothing whatsoever to do with her beauty. —— The three fell into easy conversation, the relationship between them gradually growing closer. At its heart, this owed much to Huaijin's own remarkable abilities.

He was also handsome and charismatic. Neither woman disliked him. When beautiful people meet, there's plenty to talk about. Time slipped away, and before any of them realized it, an hour had passed. Then, Yun Zhaoxi's form materialized before them, solidifying from the air like a figure emerging from mist. He observed the three engrossed in conversation, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Looks like things are progressing well between them." Huaijin spotted Yun Zhaoxi and rose to his feet.

"Fellow cultivator Huaijin, I hope you will forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality!" Yun Zhaoxi's tone was warm, courteous. Yun Chaoge's remains had been properly interred by now.

"You are too kind, Senior. I am the one imposing on you." The two exchanged pleasantries with studied courtesy. Yun Zhaoxi was about to produce the gift he had prepared when… Huaijin suddenly withdrew an object from his storage ring. It was the silk letter Yun Chaoge had written before his death. Without any explanation, Huaijin placed it directly into Yun Zhaoxi's hands. Yun Zhaoxi's eyes fell on the bloodstains that speckled the silk, and he drew in a long, ragged breath. He quietly read the letter's content.

"Zheng Qinyun of the Zheng family..." Yun Zhaoxi's voice came flat and cold as winter iron.

"This was found on Senior Chaoge's remains." Huaijin sighed softly. Yun Zhaoxi gave a slow, heavy nod. He could still recognize his younger brother's handwriting, even after all this time. He did not ask why Huaijin had kept silent earlier. Nor did he raise any objection to the legacies Yun Chaoge had left in Huaijin's hand. If not for those gifts, Huaijin might never have brought Yun Chaoge's remains back to them. This much was clear, Huaijin was a man of good character, one who understood the weight of gratitude.

Had any other cultivator discovered the remains, the outcome might have been very different indeed…