Chapter 1491: Here to Wash Away the Shame

Hai Ruyue knew how formidable her son had become. Li Wuhua had told her that Xiao Tianzhen was already someone he could scarcely hope to match. Li Wuhua could neither afford to provoke him nor stop him, and even the whole of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion would not casually make an enemy of him.

After her son became famous in a single battle, even the Sect Leader of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion had come over in a state of nervous alarm to ask what was happening, afraid something might go wrong.

Put another way, because Li Wuhua had failed to control his selfish desires back then, he might now bring an enormous disaster down on Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion. Everyone had seen what happened in the Qi capital. With the backing Xiao Tianzhen possessed today, even a force as large as Xiaoyue Pavilion had suffered a loss without managing to stir up the slightest wave afterward.

After the events in the Qi capital, the name of the Ghost Doctor had grown more formidable than ever, and fewer still dared provoke him lightly.

Xiao Tianzhen too had shaken the world with his name in that battle.

Of course, that was only from the perspective of most people. Those who had truly reached a certain level would hardly place the Ghost Doctor in their eyes.

But Hai Ruyue and the people around her belonged to that overwhelming majority.

When she heard that her son had become famous beneath Heaven, Hai Ruyue had felt both grief and pride.

She grieved because she had failed in her duty as a mother and had wronged her son.

She was proud because her son had finally made something of himself.

“Mother, don’t cry!”

The child in her arms reached up to wipe away her tears.

Hai Ruyue cried even harder. She passed the child to Li Wuhua and tried to go forward, but Li Wuhua seized her arm and refused to let go. No matter how tearfully she pleaded, he would not watch her walk forward and put herself in danger.

With no other choice, Hai Ruyue could only sob toward her eldest son, “I wronged you. Zhen’er, I wronged you!”

Wuxiang’s clenched fists trembled. He shouted furiously, “Shameless bitch, shut your mouth! I have no mother like you. You think you’re fit to call yourself my mother? You shameless bitch brought disgrace upon every ancestor of my Xiao family. The fact that I can return today means Heaven still has eyes and has not allowed the Xiao line to perish!”

He raised his head and cried out in grief, “Even Heaven could no longer bear to watch. It sent me back to wash away the shame of the Xiao family!”

“Ah...”

Hai Ruyue suddenly covered her face with both hands and let out a heart-rending wail.

Words like these from her own flesh and blood hurt more than being killed. Every word was a blade cutting into her heart and boring through her bones.

She too had bitterness she could not explain.

But before this son, what could she possibly say?

Li Wuhua did not want his own son to witness this scene. He used his art to make the child fall asleep, then said in grief, “Whatever else she may be, she is still your biological mother. She sacrificed countless things for you back then. No matter what wrongs you think she committed, you have no right to speak to her this way.”

Wuxiang laughed coldly. “What an adulterous pair. You really do cherish each other.”

Li Wuhua glanced at his wife, who was already weeping like rain, and said painfully, “Xiao Tianzhen, if you retain even a shred of reason, then you should remember what condition your father was in all those years ago. He was a man already sick beyond cure, kept alive only because a group of cultivators prolonged his life. What normal woman would willingly marry him?”

“There were many things your mother had no control over. There were many things she was forced into.”

Wuxiang snapped, “And you? Were you forced too?”

“...”

Li Wuhua had no answer.

Hai Ruyue sobbed, “Zhen’er, I had no choice back then. I truly had no choice. I only wanted to find a road to survival for the two of us, mother and son. If you hate me, then blame everything on me. Whatever resentment you have, direct it at me.”

“For the sake of all those years I struggled to raise you, let them go.”

She had already stopped calling herself “Mother.” She did not dare.

After speaking, she tried to kneel.

Li Wuhua caught her and refused to let her.

What mother knelt before her own son?

Wuxiang trembled even harder with rage.

He remembered how she had treated him then, and compared it with how fiercely she now protected this father and son. The contrast nearly made his lungs explode.

His voice turned savage. “Don’t worry. For the sake of all those years you raised me, since you love being the ruler of Jinzhou so much, I’ll let you keep ruling it.”

“I won’t kill you.”

“I’ll only kill your adulterer and your bastard spawn.”

“In any case, a wanton bitch like you never has to worry about finding another man!”

The words were vicious, but they were not entirely without basis.

Li Wuhua was not the only man Hai Ruyue had ever given herself to.

After Wuxiang left, he had continued to keep an eye on this side and heard certain rumors. In order to retain control of Jinzhou, Hai Ruyue had supposedly become involved with certain important men there. Those men later died one after another at Li Wuhua’s hands, which only made the rumors seem more credible.

“No!”

Hai Ruyue suddenly saw her son’s figure flash like a ghost.

She let out a piercing scream and threw her arms wide, trying to block him.

Seeing her do that only enraged Wuxiang further.

His strike became even more merciless.

Li Wuhua swept one arm outward and flung Hai Ruyue aside. With his other hand, he carefully controlled his strength and sent his son flying away, then turned his palm and staked everything on one desperate clash.

For an instant, Wuxiang thought he was seeing things.

He vaguely saw a figure catch the child behind Li Wuhua.

Bang!

A thunderous impact rang out.

Li Wuhua sprayed a mouthful of blood. His face went deathly pale in an instant, and his body swayed, almost collapsing.

Wuxiang himself was blasted backward.

After regaining his footing, he shouted sharply, “Who are you?”

Li Wuhua, who had nearly fallen, turned as well.

A moment earlier, he had sensed a vast surge of spiritual power from behind him, helping him block what should have been a fatal strike and even steadying his body.

When he turned, he found a stranger standing there.

The newcomer was obviously wearing a false face.

Li Wuhua was shocked and uncertain, but one thing was clear: the man had come to help him.

The mysterious man returned the child to him.

Li Wuhua hurriedly took his son into his arms.

Hai Ruyue, who had staggered aside, only regained her footing after the violent astral wind passed. Only then did she realize another person had appeared.

The mysterious man stepped forward and said slowly, “He is your mother’s greatest support within Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion. If you kill him, and a dignified elder of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion dies because of this, do you think your mother will still be able to hold Jinzhou?”

“Must you see her reduced to a miserable end before you are satisfied?”

“I allowed you to go this far. I even allowed you to injure him severely. You’ve vented some of your anger.”

“For the sake of how difficult it was for your mother to protect you back then, stop here. Let them go.”

Wuxiang had become extremely vigilant.

After exchanging a single move, he already knew the other man’s cultivation was not something he could contend with.

He knew his own strength. Among Golden Core cultivators, he could essentially find no opponent.

Measured by that standard, the realization shocked him.

Could this be a Nascent Soul cultivator?

“Who are you?” Wuxiang demanded. “Why are you interfering in my family affairs?”

The mysterious man replied, “I have no desire to interfere. I merely happened to pass by and could no longer bear to watch.”

“She is still your mother. Why must you be so ruthless? Will you only be satisfied after tormenting her for the rest of her life?”

“Li Wuhua was not wrong about everything. Back then, your mother too had many things she could not control.”

“Put yourself in her place. When you were weak, even you knew to swallow your anger and keep silent. She was a woman trying to hold up an entire household, surrounded by people eyeing it like tigers, while still needing to protect you. What exactly did you expect her to do?”

“Even if resentment remains in your heart, you should understand one thing. Without your mother, you would never have ended up following the Ghost Doctor. Without the Ghost Doctor, you would never possess your achievements today.”

Wuxiang erupted, “Sophistry! If my master hadn’t taken me away, once this adulterous pair produced their bastard, you think they would still have allowed me to live?”

“I would probably have died without even knowing why.”

“Heaven refused to let the Xiao family perish!”

Li Wuhua’s lips tightened.

Some things were understood without being spoken.

Back then, if Hai Ruyue had truly given birth to his son while Xiao Tianzhen was still there, then Xiao Tianzhen might indeed have suffered a sudden and unexplained death.

On that point, Xiao Tianzhen was not wrong.

Wuxiang pointed at Hai Ruyue and roared again, “Does this shameless bitch not understand what it meant for me if she became pregnant with that bastard?”

“She understands better than anyone!”

“This shameless bitch meant to send me to my death!”

“No!”

Hai Ruyue screamed, crying uncontrollably. “I would have sent you away. I had already planned it. I would have begged Master Dao in Nanzhou. I would have sent you to Nanzhou!”

At the words “Master Dao,” the mysterious man glanced sideways at her.

Wuxiang was beside himself with rage. “Who would believe a word from a venom-hearted bitch like you?”

The mysterious man finally barked, “Enough!”

“I don’t care what you think, and I’m too lazy to waste more words on you.”

“Since I have already stepped forward today, this matter ends here.”

“Otherwise, don’t blame me for taking your life!”

“You should know you aren’t my opponent. Killing you would be effortless.”

“You’d better not anger me.”

“No! Don’t...”

Hai Ruyue lowered herself.

With a thud, she actually knelt before Wuxiang.

“Zhen’er, leave. I’m begging you.”

“Please show mercy and spare us!”

She was already crying so hard she could barely speak.

That kneeling figure made Wuxiang slowly clench both fists.

From behind the hanging cloth of his hat, his eyes remained fixed on Hai Ruyue’s face.

Hai Ruyue was no longer young.

At least, she was no longer the woman he remembered.

Her figure had grown much fuller, and many fine wrinkles had appeared around the corners of her eyes.

The beauty of her younger years was gone.

Wuxiang glanced at the mysterious man again.

He knew that with this person standing here today, there was no hope of succeeding.

He raised one hand toward his hat.

He intended to remove it and reveal his true face, to let Hai Ruyue see clearly and remember forever the grotesque appearance of the son she had wronged.

This fellow truly intended to make Hai Ruyue suffer for the rest of her life.

The mysterious man, who had been watching him, spoke again.

“You’d better not remove it.”

“Hei Li is in a small town twenty li away.”

“If you dare act recklessly again, if you still refuse to leave, I’ll take Hei Li’s and Wuxin’s heads and let you understand the consequences of acting without restraint.”

Wuxiang’s hand froze.

The other man even knew where his master and senior brother were.

His heart tightened.

This time, true fear took hold.

He clenched his teeth and hesitated for a while.

In the end, he turned and left, flashing away into the distance.

“Zhen’er!”

Hai Ruyue collapsed onto the ground, tears blurring her eyes.

Li Wuhua placed the child on the edge of a flower bed and raised his sleeve to wipe the blood from his mouth.

His steps were somewhat unsteady from his serious injuries.

He walked over to the mysterious man and cupped his hands. “Benefactor, thank you for intervening and saving my family’s lives. May I ask Benefactor’s honored name, so that I may repay this great kindness?”

The mysterious man looked back at him. “You brought this trouble on yourself. What great repayment are you talking about?”

“Forget repayment.”

“The Prince does not want Jinzhou changing hands and falling into disorder, so he ordered me to come lend a hand.”

“Someone will restrain Xiao Tianzhen. He will not come trouble you again.”

“What happened here today is not to be mentioned to anyone, including Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion. Otherwise, no one will be able to save your family.”

“If anyone asks what happened here, say Xiao Tianzhen did it, and that he stopped because his mother begged him.”

Hai Ruyue had already broken down emotionally after watching Xiao Tianzhen leave.

She continued crying and had not heard clearly what was being said.

“The Prince?”

Li Wuhua, however, froze.

He tested the waters. “Prince Yong?”

The mysterious man merely stared at him without answering.

Nor did he deny it.

Li Wuhua immediately understood.

Who else could it be besides Shang Chaozong?

He hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed again and again. “Benefactor, rest assured. I understand what matters. I will remember this and would never dare reveal even half a word to anyone.”

Whoosh!

By the time he raised his head again, the mysterious man was gone.

[End of Chapter 1491]