Chapter 11: Shangguan Shiyu

Huangsha City had a strange name, because all around it stretched endless primal forests, abundant with life and riches beyond measure.

It was said over a thousand years ago, Huangsha City was just a small village. Forests surrounded the area, with only one patch of desert spanning a hundred miles. The small village was built on an oasis within this desert, called Huangsha Village.

Later, more and more adventurers gathered here searching for treasure, using Huangsha Village as a waystation. Thus, it gradually grew. By the time the Azure Dragon Kingdom overthrew the former dynasty and established itself, the once-small village had become a large town with over a hundred thousand permanent residents!

Another century passed, and it grew into the largest city in the south of the Azure Dragon Kingdom. Now, the permanent population settled in Huangsha City exceeded a million!

The Shangguan Family was one of the earliest to settle in the then Huangsha Town and develop. Transport, restaurants, inns, pawnshops, money houses… even brothels and gambling dens. Almost any service-related business was monopolized by the Shangguan Family.

As the twenty-fifth generation Family Head of the Shangguan Family, Shangguan Tie was a formidable martial artist himself! Over fourteen years ago, he had already reached the Sixth Layer of Prime Force and his strength was at the Mysterious Rank ninth stage!

Seeking a breakthrough, Shangguan Tie, then already over sixty, ventured alone into the Eagle’s Beak Gorge, one hundred and seventy miles south of Huangsha City.

The Soul-Devouring Swamp, Eagle’s Beak Gorge, Phoenix Lake, and the Absolute Killing Ground – these four places were known as the Four Perils of Huangsha City. Adventurers who narrowly escaped death over the centuries had named them.

The Soul-Devouring Swamp lay over three hundred and fifty miles east of Huangsha City, a seventy-mile stretch of marsh. Deadly miasma hung thick in the air, and countless Spirit Beasts prowled. A moment’s carelessness meant being consumed, becoming another vengeful spirit. Yet the swamp produced dozens of rare medicinal herbs and hundreds of aquatic Spirit Beasts. Obtaining even one could bring immense riches. Thus, despite its ferocity, countless adventurers were drawn there.

The Eagle’s Beak Gorge resembled an enormous eagle’s beak, surrounded by various mysterious sinkholes. Some sinkholes stretched over a hundred miles wide, bottomlessly deep, filled with strange plants and fierce Spirit Beasts. Rumor had it that many adventurers claimed to have seen Spirit Beasts taking human form there. Of course, whether they were truly humans or beasts transformed, no one could prove. But this only added to the gorge’s increasingly mysterious reputation.

Phoenix Lake and the Absolute Killing Ground were similarly dangerous. For ordinary Martial Artists, venturing in could only be described as having nine chances to die, one to live.

Yet it was in such a perilous place that Shangguan Tie witnessed a scene he could never forget!

He was fleeing the pursuit of a Spirit Beast then. The Spirit Beast had at least Mysterious Rank peak strength. Shangguan Tie might not have lost if he fought it out, but battling a Spirit Beast in the Eagle’s Beak Gorge could easily attract the notice of far more powerful beings. If that happened, death was a certainty.

During his desperate flight, Shangguan Tie caught a fleeting glimpse of the gorge’s highest point… the jagged peak of the great eagle’s beak where two figures stood, a man and a woman.

The man was extraordinarily handsome. Arched eyebrows framed star-like eyes, his face like silver, his stature broad and tall. He wore flowing white robes. Beside him leaned a woman of breathtaking, nation-toppling beauty. She nestled against the man’s side, her expression sweet and blissful, completely oblivious to Shangguan Tie fleeing a hundred meters away.

In such a deadly place, a couple was intimately whispering sweet nothings and surveying the landscape… Well, that wasn’t unheard of; high-minded recluses often enjoyed such moments. The problem was, Shangguan Tie recognized the woman! She was Qin Hanyue, the youngest daughter of Qin Hongyuan, Family Head of one of Huangsha City’s Three Great Families – the Qin Family!

Shangguan Tie almost cried out in shock. But then the man glanced at him. It was a cold, indifferent look. Instantly, Shangguan Tie felt plunged into an icy abyss! The fierce tiger Spirit Beast chasing him let out a terrified roar, tucked its tail between its legs, and scrambled away in fright!

That cold, detached gaze was like a sharp sword piercing the soul!

Shangguan Tie could never forget it. The oppressive might and unseen killing intent felt utterly inhuman, unlike anything a Martial Artist of this world could produce.

Years later, when his own daughter, Shangguan Feiyue, entered the Imperial Palace as a consort, Shangguan Tie had seen an Imperial Protector, said to be a Heavenly Rank powerhouse. Yet even that Heavenly Rank expert hadn’t exerted such crushing pressure.

And this was merely from the other’s glance.

Shangguan Tie left immediately. He didn’t know if Qin Hanyue had seen him. That man probably wouldn’t mention the intrusion to his beloved… perhaps, in his eyes, Shangguan Tie was just an unwelcome guest blundering into their private moment…

That single glance nearly drove Shangguan Tie to Qi Deviation. It took him three full years of secluded meditation to dispel the inner torment it caused. Yet his strength remained forever frozen at Mysterious Rank ninth stage; further advancement became impossible in this lifetime.

Later came the scandal about the Qin Family’s youngest daughter, Qin Hanyue: her disgraceful conduct, birthing an Illegitimate Son. Like the matter of Shangguan Shiyu later, it spread like wildfire through Huangsha City.

Qin Hanyue had been highly likely to enter the Imperial Palace alongside Shangguan Tie’s own daughter, Shangguan Feiyue. The scandal caused widespread dismay. Everyone speculated: Who could have stolen the heart of the Qin Family’s stunning daughter, only to abandon her so cruelly?

In the following years, Shangguan Tie often made it a point to “accidentally” pass by the areas where Qin Family servants lived. He watched the quiet little Illegitimate Son. As Qin Li grew older, Shangguan Tie became increasingly convinced that boy’s features carried the shadow of the man he had seen. He finally deduced: this Illegitimate Son was almost certainly that man’s child!

Though unclear what happened between Qin Hanyue and that man, Shangguan Tie firmly believed his decision to wed Shangguan Shiyu to Qin Li was right! Having judged countless people, Shangguan Tie was gambling. He bet that someday, that man would come looking for his woman and son! Then, all his investment… would bear fruit.

This… was audacity!

A proud smile filled Shangguan Tie’s aged eyes as he thought: Old Qin coot, this is exactly why your Qin Family could never measure up to my Shangguan Family!

Because, old me sees much, much farther than you!

…

“Good granddaughter, listen to Grandpa, go meet him, alright?” Shangguan Tie sighed, looking helplessly at his treasured granddaughter. He was trying hard to persuade her.

Sitting opposite him, Shangguan Shiyu wore a long robe, thin white gloves covering her hands. A white veil covered her face and neck. Not an inch of her skin was exposed. This change had happened a year ago, after the incident. She refused to let anyone see her blue skin now.

“No.”

Shangguan Shiyu shook her head firmly. “Grandpa, Shiyu won’t marry anyone in this life! I’ll stay with Grandpa!” Her voice was clear as a yellow oriole’s song, exceptionally pleasant.

“Silly girl, Grandpa will have to leave someday. You can’t stay with Grandpa forever. What will you do when Grandpa’s gone?” Shangguan Tie showed none of his usual Family Head authority now, just a kindly old man’s face filled with both affection and deep sadness.

“Anyway… I don’t want to see him!”

“Because… of his status?” Shangguan Tie ventured carefully.

“Of course not! I have no right to look down on anyone! Shiyu simply doesn’t want to marry. And I don’t want to frighten anyone!” Shangguan Shiyu said softly, her voice thick with melancholy.

Shangguan Tie’s heart squeezed painfully. What a cruel fate, he thought, making my beautiful, lovely granddaughter suffer so! Why couldn’t this punishment have fallen on this old fool instead?

Just then, Shangguan Shiyu suddenly asked, “Did he ask to see me? I heard… just days ago, he personally killed two servants who insulted his mother?”

Spotting an opening, Shangguan Tie immediately shared the news he’d gathered over the past few days.

Shangguan Shiyu remained silent for a moment. Then, lifting her head, she said, “Alright. I’ll meet him.”