Yi Lian and Bai Hua's cheeks turned red.
Clark asked:
"What do you mean by dual cultivation?"
Bai Hua whispered in Clark's ear.
Clark's face turned red with embarrassment:
"Really? But shouldn't dual cultivation be done with a female cultivator?
So he did it just for pleasure!!!"
Yi Fei heard that, and her face turned red with extreme anger:
"So it turns out, Father, that you do it for debauchery and nothing else!"
Bai Hua and Yi Lian quickly rushed to stop her.
Clark went to help Ling Ouchi stand up.
Clark teased the old man, saying to him:
"So it turns out you're weak before your daughter! From what I see, she beats you severely. Is she stronger than you?"
"She is not stronger than me, and she is not my real daughter either.
She is the daughter of the demonic sect leader!!!"
Clark replied:
"What? You mean she's not from the orthodox faction? And how do you have a friend from the demonic faction?"
Ling replied:
"There was a boy… they say it was a thousand years ago!!! There was a village full of cultivators, its livelihood and strength coming from the cultivators themselves.
In one of those villages, a person was born named Huang Bo Tai Fei.
His grandfather raised Tai Fei and wanted him to become strong to bring his grandfather joy.
But one day, news spread about the son of a demonic cultivator. Naturally, that mother was killed and her son disappeared.
But the son had vanished. Tai Fei's grandfather found him in a cave, and his joints were being violently severed in a way that wasn't even human.
And the perpetrator… was Tai Fei himself!
The grandfather scolded the boy, saying: 'We are a righteous faction; we know only justice.'
But those words didn't reach the boy, who was punished with indefinite imprisonment by his grandfather.
Days passed and the boy was still imprisoned, so he decided to escape through his window. It wasn't even locked, so he ran away.
He reached a dark alley beside their palace.
That was the moment he realized there were no morals in a world ruled only by strength and nothing else. And justice…
In his memoir, Tai Fei wrote:
'Justice is not defined by eloquent words or righteous acts.
The strong are the ones who define it.
No one will care about you or sympathize with you, even if you are the most righteous, pure, and noble human alive.
Do you think anyone cares about you, your fate, or the unjust judgment passed upon you?
No one cares, because in the end we were all insignificant cases no one would ever look at.'"
Clark asked:
"So what did he see that shifted the balance of his life and personality?"
"He saw his grandfather planning to betray and overthrow his cousin, because his cousin was the eldest and wisest of the grandchildren.
Such a murder was unjust.
Tai Fei cried bitterly that day.
And twenty years later, the grandfather was sentenced to inevitable death.
Don't think he entrusted me with his daughter or anything like that. She is actually my wife's daughter. Tai Fei raped her and made her pregnant.
I lived like a fool, thinking she was my daughter, and I loved her as if she were truly mine,
until her mother confessed on her deathbed that Tai Fei had raped her, and Tai Fei was her daughter's father.
I was shocked and went insane over this matter. I went into seclusion for ten years before coming out.
I blamed myself and pitied poor Yi Fei, and cursed Tai Fei, that bastard."
Ling Ouchi fell silent.
Clark spoke:
"Your story is tragic, Master Ling.
But what that friend said is true: he is a demon, and he doesn't need justification. He will do anything in pursuit of perfection and brute strength.
Let's look at it from a deeper perspective:
Your wife hid the truth.
So tell me, was she really a victim, or just a woman who was drawn to him and lifted her skirt to enjoy herself with him?"
Ling Ouchi quickly grabbed Clark by the neck to kill him.
Clark smiled and said:
"Calm down, old man, I'm only suggesting possibilities."
Ling Ouchi calmed down and stared at Clark.
"I mean, man… it's impossible for him to make her pregnant the very first time unless she had willingly slept with him.
A rapist doesn't 'sleep' with his victim. Think about it: neither your wife nor Yi Fei were the victims. The real victim from the very beginning… was you!!!"
Ling Ouchi was shocked, and his forehead trembled.
He struck the air with his withered hair, laughing:
"You're right! I've been living my whole life, nearly two hundred years…"
Clark was stunned:
"Wait! Since when have you been married, and when did this girl appear?"
Ling replied:
"I used a technique to maintain my youthful appearance, but later abandoned it and let things take their course.
Also, I married my wife long ago, and that incident happened twenty years ago!!!"
Clark replied:
"What about Tai Fei? Didn't you fight him or see him afterward?"
Ling Ouchi replied:
"I wasn't brave enough for that."
Clark asked in surprise:
"Is he really that strong?"
"Naturally! He also has a simple law for killing: if he feels you're annoying, you'll never see the sun again.
The former emperor was killed by him because he accidentally stepped on his foot. Tai Fei's reaction was violent, he ended his life without mercy."
Clark replied in horror:
"Who is this audacious man who dares to kill the emperor of the strongest nation?"
"Yes, he is terrifying. I saw in his face the experience of a man who had lived a thousand years!
I tried to drive him away, but everyone feared to offend or provoke him."
Clark replied in shock:
"What?! Who remains in this world to live a thousand years like the Great Exalted One or Ren Zu thousands of years ago?"
Ling Ouchi did not reply.
Clark realized there were still many unknowns in this world, and he was like a frog at the bottom of a well.
Clark shouted at everyone:
"Let's return to the capital!"
As they traveled, Jin came beside Clark.
Clark broke the silence between them and said:
"So you were eavesdropping?"
Jin replied:
"And what will you do if I was?"
Clark replied:
"I don't care."
Jin thought to himself:
"So will he leave for the Qin Kingdom? I don't think so, because the information and benefits here in Drangleic are not yet finished.
Also, if I can take control of this place, I'll benefit greatly.
I must control the minister's heart to make him give me everything, and then we'll see how Clark resists me."
Yi Lian asked:
"Will you two take this strange wolf with you?"
Both replied:
"Naturally! This wolf is extremely powerful. Even though his eye was destroyed, he restored it, meaning he can heal himself with his flames."
Yi Lian replied:
"That means he has extraordinary regeneration."
They all fell silent after that.
They walked through the forest.
Clark was deep in thought:
How can someone live for a thousand years? And his suspicious disappearance!
Also, if he was in the demonic path, how could he care about a romantic relationship that never mattered in the first place?
Unless he wanted to spread his lineage for some important purpose.
Had he reached the world that the Exalted Urban wanted to reach?
So many questions filled Clark's mind.
The questions continued until they reached the capital gates, the City of Stars once again.
But it was in ruins.
Jin was shocked, asking Clark:
"So the disasters have reached beyond the immortal subconscious? My God! Is there a human capable of such strength to create a merciless catastrophe?!"
Clark fell silent, saying in his mind:
"I did well telling the story, because I didn't reveal what happened with the Exalted One that made the great disasters chase him relentlessly!!"
They kept walking until they reached the middle of the city.
There they found Alyssa and the minister.
Alyssa hugged both Clark and Jin, pulling them together.
The two were disgusted, but the girl insisted, saying:
"Why did you scare me like that?!"
Both replied:
"There was no other choice!!!"
The minister asked curiously, excited:
"So what was the inheritance?"
Jin replied:
"There were two inheritances, not one."
The minister shouted:
"What?! Did you obtain something for the empire as well?"
Clark wanted to speak harshly, but Jin stopped him, saying:
"Leave it to me."
Jin spoke:
"Did we ever tell you that what we'd do had anything to do with you? Did we promise you anything from the beginning? No!!!"
The minister's face turned pale with shock.
Everyone was surprised by Jin's harsh words.
But Clark pushed Jin to speak himself, saying:
"The inheritance was destined for me from the very beginning. I obtained the strongest, while he got many of the Exalted One's techniques—or some of them, not all.
Also, as I told you that day, Minister—or I'll call you Francis instead of Minister—you tried to exploit us!
You tried to manipulate your words that day in the palace, portraying yourself as our savior."
(Weeks ago in the palace, when Clark woke up)
"I sent you the battalion to save you because you are very important to our nation. You are the true heirs who will save our state from the curse!"
(In the present)
"And so Minister Francis tried to manipulate us with mere illusions and burden us with his own problems!
They will exploit us and then throw us into the trash. The method won't matter. Why?
The answer is very simple: convince them they are heroes and noble so they lower their guard, then bring someone from outside the nation to kill them—just like the emperor did to get rid of us!
I look forward to seeing his shocked face, with Ling Ouchi and his disciples beside me! Ke ke ke!!!"
To be continued...