Chapter Twelve: The Little Girl Behind the Dark Deeds

Jiang Yue was furious and aggrieved. As a rare treasure everyone cherished, she possessed an extraordinary pride. Wang Li’s brusque attitude was difficult for her to accept.

“I am Jiang Yue, and Jiang Yu is my nine hundred and thirteenth elder sister!” Jiang Yue gritted her silver teeth, uttering a statement that made Wang Li want to laugh, just to assert her identity.

At the mention of Jiang Yu, a vague image surfaced in Wang Li’s mind: a rosy-cheeked girl with small, dark, gleaming hands, an innocent smile on her face, yet uttering ruthless threats to wipe out entire families. He vaguely recalled, perhaps ten years ago, that Jiang Yu had come to see him with his mother. He had remarked that her hands were too dark, and Jiang Yu had laughed, saying she would annihilate the Wang clan's descendants for eighteen generations.

Time had dulled the memory; Wang Li had been young then and couldn’t quite recall the details. He vaguely remembered his mother pinching Jiang Yu’s little cheeks lovingly, saying, “Yu’er is so adorable, but you mustn’t say such things again. You and Li’er are one—how could you destroy yourself?”

It was only much later that Wang Li realized Jiang Yu, a girl whose hands were as dark as her heart was venomous, had been betrothed to him since childhood. The royal Jiang family of Great Wei, seeking to secure their rule, had favored alliances with subordinate families since the founding of the nation ten thousand years ago. The current Emperor of Wei was especially prolific, having fathered over a thousand princes and princesses in his five centuries on the throne. With so many children, marriage alliances became less selective, and even Wang Li—a child from the military family who might die young—was “assigned” a princess.

The royal family’s alliances with subordinates bordered on the fantastical. Most ministers in court were either sons-in-law or in-laws of the emperor. Given the longevity of cultivators, generational gaps abounded: ancestors marrying tenth-generation relatives, grandmothers wedding eighth-generation grandsons—such occurrences were common, leaving people speechless.

Wang Li was equally exasperated, reluctant to accept this engagement. He disliked these alliances formed for ulterior motives, and though he was young, the generational mismatch made him uneasy. By lineage, he was the emperor’s great-great-grandfather; suddenly becoming his son-in-law felt absurd.

But even that wasn’t the most ridiculous part. The royal family’s marriage contracts were bound by vows to the Great Dao, irreversible once made. At some forgotten moment, Wang Li had unwittingly pledged himself to Jiang Yu, forming a marital bond—only waiting to come of age and wed.

Some had tried to resist these alliances, but all were erased. Unless one party died unexpectedly and the vow was nullified, the marriage contract could not be dissolved.

Previously, Wang Li hadn’t given the matter much thought. Now, with his soul restored and faced with his future sister-in-law, resentment stirred within him.

He could guess Jiang Yue’s motive. Jiang Yu was a rare cultivation prodigy in the royal family; at seven, she was discovered to possess a heavenly-grade water spirit root, and entered the Five Elements Pavilion, one of the Eight Great righteous sects, for training. Later, she was chosen by the sect master, Master Tianmu, as a personal disciple, becoming the Pavilion’s candidate for Saintess.

The Five Elements Pavilion, predominantly female, allowed disciples to seek partners, but its Saintess—future sect leader—could not seek partners outside the sect. The greatest obstacle to Jiang Yu’s ascension was Wang Li, her betrothed, who was a registered disciple of Pure Yang Temple.

Jiang Yue was likely here to take him to the Pavilion, to resolve the issue hindering Jiang Yu’s path to Saintess. Of course, it was also possible Jiang Yue simply wanted to see if he was dead.

“Heh. Why doesn’t your sister come herself, sending a little brat like you instead? She truly is heartless!” Wang Li said with a mocking smile.

“Hmph!” Jiang Yue trembled with anger, retorting coldly, “I know exactly what you’re thinking. My sister instructed me that if you refuse to come, I’ll ask my master to have you expelled from Pure Yang Temple!”

“Then you’ll have no choice but to come, whether you want to or not!”

Wang Li was genuinely amused. “Who is your master? Who dares meddle in Pure Yang Temple’s affairs?”

Even if Pure Yang Temple would consider Jiang Yue’s master, Wang Li’s current value meant the temple would never let him go.

He waited to see the little girl get embarrassed.

Jiang Yue’s lips curled in pride. “My master is one of the few Earth Immortals in the world, with profound Daoist arts. There’s nothing he cannot accomplish in Pure Yang Temple!”

Wang Li waved impatiently, “Don’t boast, or you’ll hurt your back. Just tell me your master’s name. I doubt anyone can dominate Pure Yang Temple.”

Jiang Yue stepped forward, puffed out her chest, and declared arrogantly, “Listen well! My master is the abbot of Pure Yang Temple, the greatest legend of the cultivation world in the past millennium, Master Liuguang of Pure Yang!”

“Hehe, so? Are you scared now? Is it so difficult for the abbot to expel you?”

Wang Li feigned shock, turning to Liu Wanjin. “What’s going on… When did the abbot accept such a dim-witted disciple?”

“Can you speak properly? What dim-witted disciple? She is the abbot’s direct granddaughter and his personal disciple!” Liu Wanjin’s face was streaked with dark lines.

“The abbot truly has a keen eye!” Wang Li gave a thumbs-up.

He wondered if Master Liuguang was blind, accepting such a girl—was it simply because she was his granddaughter?

“Wait, the abbot’s granddaughter? She’s surnamed Jiang, but the abbot’s name is Qi Mingzheng… Huh, have I uncovered something remarkable?”

Liu Wanjin’s face darkened further. “The abbot comes from the royal family of Great Wei. The Jiang line, when living outside, takes the surname Qi. The Jiang and Qi families are one. What’s wrong with his granddaughter being surnamed Jiang?”

“Uh… Is that how it works?”

Wang Li was bewildered.

“Ancient matters—best not discussed.”

Wang Li glanced at Jiang Yue, his lips curling in a provocative smile. “Liu Steward, what if I go to the abbot now and say I want to resign as the transmission steward, and move to the Five Elements Pavilion to pursue happiness? Would the abbot expel me?”

“Don’t even think about it. The abbot would never allow you to join another sect.”

Liu Wanjin’s face was even darker.

Wang Li was obviously doing this on purpose, deliberately embarrassing Jiang Yue.

But Liu Wanjin had always disliked this spoiled little princess. He didn’t want to interfere, so he simply turned and left.

Jiang Yue was bewildered, but seeing Liu Wanjin’s expressionless face depart emboldened her. With a “whoosh,” she drew her short sword, pointing it at Wang Li.

“Tell me: will you come with me, or shall I knock you out and deliver you to my sister?”