CHAPTER 44
THE END OF AN ARC: BENEATH THE MOON ALL SCHEMES ROT.
The Yan Clan Palace.
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The sky had darkened, and numerous stars dotted the vast expanse above like scattered silver. A waxing crescent moon hung like a mocking smile over the residence, illuminating the tranquil night. However, the peace was a lie; a storm lurked on the horizon, the heavy pressure of a menacing thunderstorm rolling in from the distance.
A storm was brewing.
Usually, by this hour, the world would have belonged to endless silence and the night creepers. Yet, the Yan residence was currently abuzz with restless energy, not a soul was asleep.
The series of events that had transpired during the day left the clan uneasy. They had departed with valor, heads held high, but had returned defeated. Avoiding each other's gaze in shame. Throughout the estate, whispers of the day's failure circulated like a plague. In sealed chambers, elders argued in hushed voices. Young disciples clenched their fists in shame and fury.
However, to the extreme north of the Yan Clan's residence stood a grand palace.
The Matriarch's residence.
Layer upon layer of eaves rose toward the sky like dragon scales, cold moonlight reflecting off ancient stone. This was the seat of true authority — the place where life and death were decided with a word.
In a brightly lit room on the third floor, a graceful figure walked in quickly, settling herself onto a plush, red velvet bed, besides an unconscious Yan Feitian. This figure appeared to be Yan Youmei, but the soul within was none other than Yan Rouxi.
Yan Rouxi now wore her daughter's body like a perfectly tailored mask.
Her eyes showed deep contemplation as she sat. Suddenly, restlessness overtook her. She moved towards the window, overseeing the entire Yan Clan estate, her mind taking a trip down memory lane.The wind brushed past her face.
And with it came memories she could not bury.
In the early hours of that very day, she had taken her Yan Youmei and Yan Zhen to the Soul Stealer, Kuang Luosheng. There, she had mended the gap in Yan Zhen's soul and ruthlessly sacrificed Yan Youmei's soul and seized her body.
For what cause?
It wasn't entirely about power. In the grand scheme of things, the roots of this matter ran much deeper.
Thirteen years ago, she had witnessed the descent of Lu Xietong into the mortal world. Her plans then had been simple. She needed no soothsayer to inform her that the babe would be extraordinary. She had planned to seize the child, secretly raise her, and use her to achieve her ultimate ambition:
"To take over Yin-Yang City and become the number one power throughout the entire domain."
However, that dream was short-lived. Like a puff of smoke, it vanished before her eyes as Yang Jiang descended like a wrathful wreath and snatched the child instead, grievously injuring Yan Rouxi in the process.
Because of those injuries, she had been forced to cede most of her authority to Yan Youmei, using her weakened condition as an excuse to publicly denounce the Yin-Yang Dynasty as tyrants.
But Yan Youmei, who had always been a thorn in her flesh, became increasingly unruly after ascending into the position of matriarch. She severed heads daily for no good reason. At that rate, half the clan would have been beheaded in just a few more decades.
Yet the world called her Yan Rouxi's daughter.
How laughable.
Yan Youmei had never been her blood.
She was the daughter of a concubine — adopted only because Yan Rouxi had once been barren and she had taking a liking into the baby back then. That act of mercy became her greatest regret.
A few years later after adopting Yan Youmei she had given birth to a daughter of her own.
And that daughter… was murdered.
Though the world labeled it an accident, Yan Rouxi knew the truth. Yan Youmei had orchestrated it herself.
At first, Yan Youmei had gotten along well with her new sister. But as they grew up and Yan Rouxi's daughter married, Yan Youmei began to feel threatened. The jealousy festered, especially after Yan Rouxi's daughter gave birth to two sons.
Envy, combined with Yan Rouxi's clear favoritism toward her own flesh and blood sealed the crime, pushing Yan Youmei to do the unspeakable.
To protect what was left of her lineage—her daughter's two sons, Yan Zhen and Yan Feitian—Yan Rouxi had taken drastic steps.
To the outside world, they died alongside their parents. In truth, Yan Rouxi hid them away, scattering them among commoners, erasing all traces of their existence.
The young Yan Zhen had been traumatized and had loosed his memories and as a result currently had no recollection of the tragedy. It was even more so of a blank slate for the baby, Yan Feitian.
To ensure their survival, they had to live separately, only returning to the clan as "nobodies" once the river of time had faded the memories and appearances of the parents from everyone's minds. Yan Rouxi had adopted her own biological grandson Yan Zhen while Yan Feitian had been brought in as an ordinary disciple.
Brothers by blood, strangers by fate.
Two brothers lived as strangers until this very date.
Her attempts to secretly expose Yan Youmei failed. Evidence vanished. Witnesses died. The woman was cunning beyond expectation.
Hence, she had instigated Yan Youmei to act against Yan Feitian, hoping to herself an opportunity to expose the woman. However, Yan Youmei was too cunning; she never took action herself.
To prevent any further "accidents" after her exposure plan failed, Yan Rouxi had to make everyone believe Yan Feitian had died during the ambush.
The web grew denser. Every lie birthed another. The matter had become increasingly complex and tangled over time from there on.
Yan Rouxi's brows furrowed instinctively as her thoughts kept flashing back to the past. Her eyes became unfocused as she stared out the window, quickly drowning back into the sea of memories.
Somewhere amidst the chaos with Yan Youmei, she had crossed paths with Kuang Luosheng, the Soul Stealer, and secretly began working with him.
Kuang Luosheng had made a deal with her: he would help her deal with the Yin-Yang Dynasty and assist in stealing Yan Youmei's body. In return, she would owe him an unconditional favor.
Yan Rouxi agreed.
Kuang Luosheng had always been eccentric. Although she had agreed to the alliance, she still held a contingency plan to restrain him if needed, and this proved to be wise.
Hidden within the Yan Clan archives was a controversial book that the Yan ancestors had accidentally stumbled upon generations ago. Its eerie nature had led to the book being abandoned and forbidden.
It was known as the "Codex Tera."
A book as thick as an index finger, yet it weighed a mountain. Its cover was a chilling shade of purple, with the name of the book smeared across it in a liquid that looked disturbingly like fresh blood. Its pages were thin and yellowed with age.
From it, she learned how to restrain Soul Stealers.
By forging replicas of objects saturated with their aura. Creating a replica of the bone bell around Kuang Luosheng's neck was her best option.
Hence it became her hidden leash, a tool she had just used to restrain him when he tried devouring Yan Feitian's soul.
Sigh...
She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding until now. She turned her head to look toward the room she had just left. In there lay an unconscious Yan Feitian, worry lacing her eyes as she thought of him.
"Much ado about nothing..." she muttered, almost in a self-mocking manner.
The Yan Clan had lost.
The Yin-Yang Dynasty would not let this humiliation go unanswered.
Her expression darkened as thunder echoed loudly in the distance.
"All of this," she said softly, venom threading her words, "started because of that little girl."
The wind surged, rattling the windows as the storm finally arrived.
"I wonder…" she whispered, voice hollow,
"what has become of you now."
Far away, thunder roared again.
The storm was here.