Even after reaching the third tier, Si did not ease up on his training. Instead, he doubled down, cultivating even during the daylight hours when there were no bodies to bury or clean. This drew glances from those around him, but they dismissed him as another slave who had lost his mind and paid him no attention. As long as he dug, stripped, and buried the corpses when they arrived, the others cared little for what he did in the meantime.
Four months into his radical cultivation, whispers began to spread. Slaves in other corners of the Bi clan nicknamed him mùdì qíngrén—Grave Lover. Even the soldiers and household maids of the main house were aware of him, and rumors hinted that the Bi family themselves had heard of the infamous Grave Lover. Surprisingly, Si considered this a welcome development. In his past life, it was precisely such rumors and gossip that drew the attention of the one person who had hurt him most—physically, mentally, and sexually—yet had become the reason he ascended as patriarch of the Bi clan. He bore no resentment for her; she had been among the few to mourn him sincerely during the minor mishap in his revolt to dethrone the Yunhe royal family. If he could meet her again sooner rather than later, it would be to his advantage.
Regardless, he paid the gossip no heed and continued cultivating day and night. When he was not a slave cleaning and burying bodies, he was a devoted cultivator. On other days, he became a disciplined instructor, correcting Bao's flaws and teaching him how to maximize the scant resources available to a cultivator without backing. By the time he joined the Bi family military, he would no longer see his friend as often, so Si was adamant about building a solid foundation for Bao. This left a deep impression on the younger man. Si was no longer merely a best friend; he had become the big brother Bao had never had.
Bao began going out of his way to understand this new Si, even sneaking close to the burial grounds at night to observe him. This pattern continued diligently for six months.
—28 Weeks Later, 16th Day of the 7th Month—
Ka! Ka!
Ka! Ka!
Bao jolted back in fear as the thick layer of ice encasing Si for hours—through the night and into dawn—began to fracture. Cracks erupted first around his joints, then across his entire body, followed by a terrifying yet fleeting emerald glow in his eyes before they dimmed.
"Fourth tier of the foundation realm. I am finally an esteemed foundation realm cultivator," he murmured between gasps, his skin trembling.
Si was paler than ever, a few strands of hair turned white, and his breathing had slowed permanently—the adverse effect of cultivating extreme yin qi. In his past life, his superiors had called him Ice Doll for his appearance, his slow emotional expressions, and distant demeanor. Yet it was also these traits that drew the attention of the person now walking toward him.
Lady Lian of the Bi family was thirty-two, yet time seemed reluctant to leave its mark. Her beauty did not strike like lightning; it lingered, like the final note of a zither echoing through an empty hall. The longer one looked, the harder it became to look away. Her features were refined but not fragile. Almond-shaped eyes, long and steady, carried a quiet authority that even seasoned retainers dared not meet. Her skin held the pale clarity of untouched porcelain, contrasting with hair dark as wet ink, coiled into an elegant knot secured with a single jade pin. She never adorned herself excessively; a simple robe of muted violet sufficed.
Memories surged in Si's mind, his emotions tangled. Seeing a figure he could neither love nor hate freely was never easy.
"Please, slow down, my lady!" cried a boy of eighteen chasing after her. Si instantly recognized him.
Yan Cheng.
Hostility replaced any other feeling in Si's eyes upon seeing the familiar blond-faced boy toy of Lady Lian. 'To think this fellow is actually as useless as they said!' In an instant, Si gauged his cultivation: sixth tier of the foundation realm.
A year ahead of this, when they first met in his past life, this boy had already been at the sixth tier. Talentless in every way, his only gifts were a pretty face and a cock which Lady Lian had grown accustomed to until Si's arrival. His elegant beauty, slow reactions—misread as calm confidence—and quiet nature had stolen her heart, recalling the kind of men that made it skip in her youth.
Jealousy and fear of being replaced drove the boy to challenge Si to a duel—and he lost his life. This victory propelled Si's fame, both within and beyond the Bi family. Defeating a cultivator a tier above oneself was rare, and doing so dominantly at three years younger captured hearts, Lady Lian's included.
From then on, Si endured repeated molestations and sexual abuses, until indulgence transformed into a secret affair. Lady Lian had literally abused him into loving her, becoming the first of many married women he would seduce over his three-century lifespan.
In this world, maturity came fast; the legal age of marriage was fourteen. Even Lady Lian's first son had married at that age. Now, you may wonder how she dared do all this under her husband's nose. The answer was simple: resentment.
Married into the Bi clan as Bi Xian's second wife at fourteen, she had been promised a seat atop Yunhe's political scene. She had rejected younger suitors who wanted her as their first wife for him. Yet the clan's decline began soon after. Decades of fighting and blame left Lady Lian with deep resentment toward her husband for the mediocre life forced upon her under the guise of fake promises.
Unable to attract high-status men due to her marital status and the family's fall, she turned her attention to the Bi clan military, choosing her personal guards and playthings carefully. Si rose from a mere sex toy to a man worthy of her trust and the means to seize the Bi clan for himself because of his might. In him, she saw hope—the hope of living the life she had once dreamed. She placed everything on him. It was safe to say she had been one of the first to believe in him. That may be why Si kept her by his side throughout until the Yunhe revolt incident.
Si could still recall the weight of that news on his heart back then. Though he could not cry for her, he had felt the loss of someone important.
'And now, fate has brought us back together… My lady… This time, we shall part no more.'