Chapter 87: The Forgotten Truth

"No, it's not. It's not..." She clutched her head, her face full of agony as she denied it.

Yet that truth, which she had denied for many years, was ruthlessly exposed by Lin Qingyue.

A scene from back then surfaced in her mind once more.

Her sister, Hong Qin, had come out specifically to find her because she was worried.

She had urged her, saying: "Hong Yao, you have been a wife to him for ten years, is that not enough? All these years you have worked like a beast of burden in their home, your hands are calloused, and you don't even have a decent set of clothes."

"You always say he loves you, but he is indifferent to you, focused only on pursuing fame and seeking wealth and status. Even if he has love, the portion he gives you is far too little, nowhere near enough to match everything you have given him!"

"Hong Yao, come back to the mountains with me; cultivation is the proper path we should follow."

But Hong Yao had still refused, saying: "Sister, you have never loved someone; you don't know that love can settle and deepen. My love for him grows with each passing day. I believe he is the same. He said he went to seek fame because he wanted me to have a better life. In the future, he will even request a title of honor for me."

"Actually, mortal men are often unfaithful; having three wives and four concubines is common. But he is different; he has only me as his wife, and because of me, he cannot even have heirs. Yet he has never looked down on me for it. Is this not love?"

"Sister, human lifespans are very short. At least let me accompany him through this one life. Once this life is over, I will obediently return to the mountains and cultivate with you. I will never step into the mortal world again."

Her sister was so angered by her that she flicked her sleeves and left.

Hong Yao had always assumed her sister had returned to the mountains.

That was until she was betrayed by her husband, beaten back into her original form, and locked in an Iron Cage.

Her sister heard her wails and rushed to save her.

Only then did she realize that her sister had been worried about her all along and had never left.

That night, her sister gave her all to save her from the demon hunters, but her sister herself became trapped in the prison.

At the very last moment of her life, her sister was still shouting: "Hong Yao, run! Don't worry about sister! Run quickly, run back to the mountains, and never, ever come out again!"

"Sister!"

"Be obedient, go! Don't look back, don't look at me!"

"Sister..."

When those memories she had deliberately forgotten surged forth like a tidal wave, the heart of the woman in red felt as if it were being torn apart.

She collapsed to the ground, pounding her chest with all her might: "It was me, it was me who caused my sister's death. I am a stupid, incompetent, cowardly piece of trash! I watched as my sister was murdered, yet I could only run away in a panic..."

That time, Hong Yao had been beaten back to her original form, lacking even the ability to protect herself, let alone take revenge.

Thus, she could only suppress the resentment in her heart, day after day, working hard to cultivate.

But whenever she closed her eyes, the scene of her sister being skinned and butchered alive would appear in her mind, leaving her restless day and night, unable to find peace.

Until one day, she saw that Red Lacquer Yao Zither in the cave.

It was her sister's zither; her sister had loved zither music since she was young.

Once, a passing zither player stopped to rest at the foot of the mountain and took out an ancient zither, playing a beautiful melody.

Her sister loved it immensely and longed for a zither just like it.

But her sister was born with an aversion to the human world and was never willing to go near it.

Her younger sister, Hong Yao, was different; though she was lazy in cultivation, she was lively and bold.

To get her sister the zither she longed for, she snuck down the mountain.

Later, the zither was brought back, but the younger sister's heart could never return.

Years passed, and the zither she had given her sister was wrapped in red silk, kept very well.

Now the zither remains, but where is the sister who played it?

Hong Yao stroked the smooth, delicate body of the zither, and her thoughts suddenly became chaotic: "The one who should have died was the younger sister, Hong Yao, not the older sister. Sister cannot die, Sister... I am the sister, I am Hong Qin!"

Just like that, she had always believed herself to be the sister, Hong Qin.

She mimicked her sister's ways and cultivated diligently. She even learned to play the zither, just like her sister.

It was just that her cultivation progress was too slow; it took a full 12 years to achieve even a little success. Yet, when encountering powerful demon hunters, she still could not fend them off, nor could she find a way to kill the heartless man from back then.

At this moment, as she recognized her true identity as Hong Yao and realized that Hong Qin had long since died, tears flowed silently from her eyes:

"Yes, I am Hong Yao, the stupid and damnable Hong Yao who caused my sister's death. But I cannot die yet; my sister's revenge has not been avenged, how can I die?"

With a wave of her wide red sleeves, the screen behind her shattered with a bang, revealing an iron cage half a person's height.

Inside the cage was a gray wolf with its limbs bound and its mouth gagged.

Meeting Dongfang Qi's gaze, he felt some guilt and unease: To actually fall into the hands of a Demon Fox, will His Highness be disappointed in me?

Another Xuxuhu stood beside the cage, holding a large blade, the tip pointed at the wolf's head inside the cage, ready to strike at any moment.

Dongfang Qi glanced indifferently at Xie Shouzheng: "Release him."

Hong Yao said: "I originally did not want to provoke the Profound Mirror Division, but you insisted on causing me trouble, and I had no choice. Since you broke my Array today, I can only admit defeat. I am willing to let the people outside go, and I can even release this Wolf Demon."

"But as a condition of the exchange, you must not make things difficult for me and the two Xuxuhu. Otherwise, we would not mind burning together in a blaze of destruction!"

Dongfang Qi asked: "If I let you go, will you turn over a new leaf and return to the mountains?"

Hong Yao remained silent, saying nothing.

Dongfang Qi knew she wouldn't: "You still want revenge? Even if you leave Fengnian County, you will still use crooked, evil methods to increase your cultivation, and then go to take revenge on that man?"

For some reason, when he mentioned "crooked, evil methods," he vaguely felt that Lin Qingyue had glared at him.

Hong Yao said stubbornly: "Of course I must take revenge! I cannot let such a person live on perfectly fine!"

Dongfang Qi asked: "So, you would sacrifice more innocent people just to kill one?"

Hong Yao lowered her eyes and sighed: "I have no other choice."

"The one you want to kill is just a mere Fifth-rank Official, isn't he?" Dongfang Qi suddenly changed the subject: "If we help you take revenge, after it is done, would you be willing to turn yourself in to the Profound Mirror Division?"

"Although you killed the Fengnian County Magistrate, you have grievances you can state, and it could be handled leniently. But if you insist on using killing to stop killing, or even harming Plebeians and endangering the country, then I guarantee you will surely die!"

Hong Yao looked at Dongfang Qi suspiciously: "You aren't trying to trick me, are you?"

"Trick you? There is no need." It was Lin Qingyue who answered.

Her figure flickered and vanished; before Hong Yao could react, she had already flashed to the side of the cage, kicked the Xuxuhu away, shattered the Iron Cage with a palm strike, and dragged Xie Shouzheng out.

Xie Shouzheng was finally freed, and he was so moved he could hardly speak: "Deputy Envoy Lin, it is fortunate I had you. Otherwise, I fear I would have perished at the hands of that Demon Fox today!"

Lin Qingyue glared at him helplessly: "It was your own negligence. That Demon Fox's strength was not equal to yours to begin with; had you not underestimated the enemy and fallen for their tricks, you would not have been forced into your true form and trapped within that cage."