Chapter 133
Chapter 133: How Did This Strike by Accident?
The atmosphere in the courtyard was heavy, thick with a sense of urgency and impending danger that clung to everyone’s hearts.
Staring at Shi Zi Chu’s innocent and harmless face, Shen Zhi Zhi suppressed the absurd thoughts bubbling in her mind. It couldn’t be what she was imagining… but how could the sudden appearance and equally sudden disappearance be explained?
Shen Zhi Zhi’s thoughts swirled, yet she remained silent, not asking Shi Zi Chu directly.
It was the ever-observant Shi Zi Chu who spoke first, her voice gentle and steady. “Since I was young, my mother has been mentally unstable. My father locked her away to keep her from wandering off and getting lost.”
The explanation left Shen Zhi Zhi uncomfortable, her brow furrowing instinctively. What he called ‘concern’ was nothing more than imprisonment!
“Daoist Shi, forgive my bluntness, but your father doesn’t seem like a good man,” Shen Zhi Zhi spoke candidly.
Before Chang Bai and the others set fire to the back mountain, she had already gathered plenty of information from the village.
Shi Zi Chu’s voice was soft, like flowing water. “I know.”
Shen Zhi Zhi hesitated for a moment, before finally asking the person in question, “Daoist Shi, may I speak freely?”
She wasn’t sure how much the others had uncovered, but the details she had found seemed to touch upon painful memories that Shi Zi Chu likely did not wish to revisit. Even if the wounds had healed, scars remained. Shen Zhi Zhi was not the type to pick at someone’s injuries.
“There’s nothing I can’t say,” Shi Zi Chu responded with a faint smile. “It’s all in the past for me.”
Shen Zhi Zhi couldn’t help but marvel at Shi Zi Chu’s strong spirit, yet at the same time, her heart filled with pity.
“From what I’ve learned, your father found your mother by the river and then imprisoned her, forcing her to give birth to you and your brother despite her mental instability.”
After she spoke, Shen Zhi Zhi’s gaze softened with sympathy as she looked at Shi Zi Chu.
“My father never allowed me to leave the house,” Shi Zi Chu said, gratitude in her eyes as she looked at Shen Zhi Zhi. “This is the first time I’ve learned of my mother’s past. Thank you, Daoist Shen, for telling me.”
Shen Zhi Zhi froze in surprise.
“I heard something similar,” Pei Qing You spoke suddenly, his voice laced with a complex mix of emotions as he looked at Shi Zi Chu. His gaze was filled with unmistakable pity.
“Qin Da originally wanted to drown Shi Zi Chu, but upon seeing her resemble her mother, he changed his mind. He decided to raise her, planning to marry her off to the City Lord of Waterlight City,” Pei Qing You continued, pausing briefly before adding, “There aren’t many good people in this village. After Shi Zi Chu turned five, Qin Da forbade her from leaving the house.”
He then bowed slightly toward Shi Zi Chu. “I did not mean to reopen old wounds.”
Shi Zi Chu smiled lightly, unbothered.
Hua Ting Li’s gaze darkened as he fixed his eyes on Shi Zi Chu. “Qin Da is a guard for the Waterlight City City Lord. From what I’ve heard, Qin Da has already arranged with the City Lord to marry you on the sixteenth of April.”
April sixteenth.
A crucial date, drawing countless eyes to Shi Zi Chu.
Staring at her calm and composed face, Hua Ting Li pressed, “Would you like to explain?”
As if by fate, on the very day Shi Zi Chu was to marry, the entire village perished!
After a great fire, only two young ladies survived!
Shi Zi Chu met his gaze, and Pei Luo Xiu stood still, not taking action.
“To be thorough, my father had already given me muscle-softening powder,” Shi Zi Chu spoke slowly, her voice cool. “On the night of April fifteenth, an oil lamp in the main hall was knocked over, and I was the first to notice the fire, but I couldn’t even scream out.”
“Aunt Chen found me in the firewood shed.” She gestured toward the shed, “After I was rescued, they feared I would escape, so they tied me up.”
“By the sixteenth, around the hour of the snake, the fire had spread. It was A’Xiu who risked her life to come in and save me. As for how the fire started and the situation in the village, I know nothing.”
When she finished speaking, Shi Zi Chu turned to look at Pei Luo Xiu, her eyes filled with gentle gratitude.
Jiang Wan Sheng, fiddling with his star gem, suddenly laughed bitterly. No wonder Qing Qing had set the village on fire. It was to erase all evidence!
Clearly, he had divined the entire scheme.
Poison first, then destroy the evidence.
No finesse, only killing intent.
Shi Zi Chu had cleaned herself of any suspicion, and everyone’s attention shifted toward Pei Luo Xiu.
“I don’t know how the fire started,” Pei Luo Xiu said curtly, “When I came back from the back mountain, the fire was already blazing, and I could only save Big Sister Shi.”
Xu Zhou Ye immediately questioned, “You didn’t go to save your own parents, but you saved Shi Zi Chu?”
It was clearly illogical!
Pei Luo Xiu’s face darkened, her expression filled with reluctance.
Shi Zi Chu moved closer, gently pulling Pei Luo Xiu’s hand, the coolness of her touch like a steady force transferring through her.
Pei Luo Xiu sneered, her voice dripping with disdain as she spat out, “I wish they had all died!”
Her words, full of hatred, only made her seem more suspicious.
Yan Zhou Bai spoke up, “Daoist Pei, may I speak?”
Pei Luo Xiu exhaled, calming herself before nodding. “Speak.”
Yan Zhou Bai bowed toward Pei Luo Xiu, offering an apology before continuing, “Daoist Pei once had a different name, though I will not reveal it. Her parents were harsh and cruel, subjecting her to beatings and ridicule. Her living conditions were worse than this wood shed.”
Pei Luo Xiu relaxed her grip on Shi Zi Chu’s hand, her gaze toward Yan Zhou Bai laced with subtle gratitude.
As expected of the renowned Young Sect Master Yan—his words earned him the praise he deserved.
“What name?” someone foolishly asked.
Jiang Wan Sheng, still rubbing his star gem, cut in with a sharp tongue, “Your father.”
He was annoyed by Pei Luo Xiu’s clinginess toward Qing Qing, but that didn’t mean he would expose her weaknesses.
After all, Pei Luo Xiu was a girl, not someone like Xing Lan, an old man with thick skin.
The cultivator was stunned for a moment, then, realizing, his face flushed with anger.
Yan Zhou Bai, for the first time, found Jiang Wan Sheng’s sharp words to be quite apt.
Shi Zi Chu glanced over, her eyes warm with approval.
Jiang Wan Sheng immediately beamed with delight at the praise.
“A’Xiu is the name Big Sister Shi gave me,” Pei Luo Xiu said, wrapping her arm around Shi Zi Chu’s, leaning against her. “I would risk my life to save Big Sister Shi.”
“Just a name, and it’s more important than your parents?” someone foolishly muttered.
Before the foolish words could finish, Pei Luo Xiu moved, her life-bound sword, Nian Qin, following suit.
Pei Qing You turned away, choosing to ignore the scene.
Soon after, the sound of painful screams echoed.
Yan Zhou Bai quickly changed the subject. “I don’t think Daoist Pei is the murderer.”
Xu Zhou Ye coldly questioned, “If, according to Young Sect Master Yan, neither Shi Zi Chu nor Pei Luo Xiu is the murderer, then who is?”
The only survivors were Shi Zi Chu and Pei Luo Xiu. Shi Zi Chu had already been ruled out as the murderer. So, if it wasn’t Pei Luo Xiu, who else could it be?
Yan Zhou Bai pretended not to hear Xu Zhou Ye’s question.
The blatant disregard left Xu Zhou Ye looking rather displeased.
“You’re hiding something, aren’t you, Young Sect Master Yan?” Xu Zhou Ye pressed, his tone icy. “Pei Luo Xiu has avoided so many questions. Doesn’t that prove she’s hiding something?”
Yan Zhou Bai’s fingers twitched as if ready to act.
Hua Ting Li questioned, “Shi Zi Chu is so important to her; perhaps she killed these people to protect her.”
Shi Zi Chu’s expression remained unchanged, but a glint of amusement danced in her eyes.
Hua Ting Li sure had a knack for hitting the nail on the head.