540: Chapter 540

That night, the winds of change blew through Jianghan City.

In the taverns, some praised the Zhu Family for their thoroughness, saying that even though the engagement was broken, their etiquette remained impeccable.

Others held their wine cups and whispered that this time, the Qin Family had truly fallen.

Everyone used to know that as long as the Qin and Zhu families were tied together, they could somewhat hold their own against the Wang Family.

Now that the Zhu Family had withdrawn, it was equivalent to leaving the Qin Family alone in the game.

Such talk did not reach Qin Zhan's ears.

However, the high-level members of the Qin Family understood the situation perfectly.

Starting the next day, several merchant houses that used to visit the Qin Family began offering more excuses.

Several freight routes that had been previously negotiated were also inexplicably delayed.

Several Elders of the Qin Family went around the city to inquire; no one refused them outright, yet no one was as cooperative as before.

Qin Zhan did not return to his room for two consecutive days, staying in the discussion hall with the clan Elders.

They deployed guards, inspected warehouses, and tallied manpower, recalling several small teams from outside as much as possible.

On the surface, the Qin Family remained stable; the guards at the gate and the servants in the courtyard went about their business as usual.

But everyone in the Family could sense that the atmosphere was wrong.

On the third day, even worse news was delivered to the Qin Family.

The head of the Li Family, a subordinate of the Wang Family, had broken through to the Spirit King Realm.

As soon as the news arrived, the faces of everyone in the discussion hall changed.

The Wang Family already held the upper hand over the other two; now with an additional Spirit King, the situation became even more dire.

Qin Zhan gripped that secret report, remaining silent for a long time.

After a good while, he finally spoke with a grim expression.

"Recall another batch of clansmen from outside."

"Seal half of the warehouses and double the guard shifts."

"From today onwards, there must be no slackening at night."

Everyone received their orders and dispersed.

Qin Yun stood outside the courtyard gate. After hearing the intermittent words from inside, he stood for a moment before turning to walk away.

His heart felt heavy. If he were still the Genius he once was, would all of this not be happening?

That afternoon, Qin Yun went to find Ling'er.

But Ling'er was gone.

She wasn't in her small room, nor in the kitchen, nor under the old tree where she loved to stay most.

Qin Yun searched every possible place in the backyard, even pushing open the door to the storage room at last.

No one was there.

He went to ask the maidservants.

The maidservants shook their heads, saying they hadn't seen her since early morning.

He went to ask the steward.

The steward was taken aback and also said he hadn't noticed.

In the end, even Qin Yun himself felt it was absurd.

A living person of such size had seemingly vanished into thin air.

The wind rose at night.

Qin Yun stood at the door of the small room where Ling'er lived. The room was very quiet, and the small chipped bowl on the table was still there.

The small stool she usually sat on was also still there.

But the person was gone.

The broken engagement, the pressure on his Family, the Wang and Li families closing in, and Ling'er disappearing at this time.

Layer upon layer of pressure.

Qin Yun's chest felt tight, as if blocked by a stone.

By the evening of the next day, Qin Yun was so stifled he couldn't stay any longer.

He left the Qin Family and went alone to that secret base outside the city.

It was a small place he had hidden for himself over the years, located in a dilapidated stone house behind a mountain hollow.

The place wasn't large, but it was kept very tidy inside.

An old wooden table stood against the wall, with medicine bottles he had placed there still on top.

Many shallow fist imprints and carvings were left on the stone walls, all made by him bit by bit over the years.

In the corner was a polished bluestone, the place where he usually meditated.

This was the only place that belonged solely to him.

Qin Yun sat on the bluestone, leaning against the stone wall, and didn't move for a long time.

As it grew dark, he faintly heard a muffled boom from the distance.

At first, he didn't pay it much mind.

At a time like this, with the city's families fighting openly and covertly, it was normal to have some occasional commotion.

But before long, the ground actually began to vibrate slightly.

Following that was a second boom, then a third.

A streak of spiritual light exploded in the distant night sky, illuminating half the heavens.

Qin Yun stood up abruptly, his heart sinking suddenly.

That direction... was the Qin Family.

He didn't think further and charged straight out.

The closer he rushed back, the heavier the scent of blood became.

The smell of scorched burning began to mingle with the wind.

When he crested the final slope and saw the direction of the Qin Family clearly, his footsteps came to a sudden halt.

Fire.

There was fire everywhere.

The once familiar main gates were shattered, half the walls had collapsed, and the houses in the courtyard were tilted and broken; the flames reflected the entire night into a crimson hue.

Qin Yun was stunned for a moment.

The next second, he immediately rushed inside.

"Father!"

"Mother!"

"Ling'er!"

He rushed through the ruins, stepping on broken wood, shattered tiles, and blood; he tripped once but scrambled up immediately.

He dug by the ruined walls, searched the courtyards, and shouted at every familiar spot.

No one answered.

Not a single person.

He stopped before the main hall where his father usually discussed business; it had already half-collapsed.

On the ground were broken weapons, large patches of long-congealed blood, and chairs burned down to their frames.

He rushed to the inner courtyard where his mother often stayed.

The door was smashed to pieces, and the inside was empty, leaving only overturned cabinets and a floor of mess.

No one.

Still no one.

He continued searching.

He combed through courtyard after courtyard.

The more he searched, the further his heart sank.

In some places, broken remains could be seen, but they couldn't be pieced together.

For many more people, not even a trace was left, only a pool of black-red blood and torn edges of clothing.

There was absolutely no sign of Ling'er either.

After a while, Qin Yun stopped shouting.

He stood in the center of the courtyard, with only the sound of crackling flames and the night wind swirling ash past him.

The entire Qin Family was gone.

He slowly sank to his knees.

His hands pressed against the ground, his fingernails filled with ash and blood.

He looked at a piece of scorched black wood by his feet; it had a very shallow scratch on it, carved with a small knife when he was a playful child.

Back then, his mother had scolded him, saying he always loved to ruin things.

In that instant, the emotions that had been suppressed in Qin Yun's chest completely burst open.

It wasn't a bitter cry.

It wasn't a howl.

Instead, it was as if his entire being had been hollowed out, and even his breathing became heavy.

Why was it that he was the one who lived?

Why was it that as soon as he left, the Qin Family was gone?

Why did every bad thing seem to be targeted right at him?

The broken engagement, the regression of his cultivation, Ling'er's disappearance, the Family's destruction.

One thing after another.

In the end, he couldn't even find one intact Family member.

Qin Yun lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Just then, his hand touched that simple Sun Ring on his left index finger.

Cold.

Hard.

Qin Yun slowly raised his hand and looked at it.

This thing was something he had worn tightly on his hand ever since he returned alive from the bottom of the cliff.

Since then, his life had never been smooth.

His cultivation began to regress.

The engagement was broken.

Ling'er went missing.

The Qin Family was exterminated.

Everything seemed to be related to it.

At this moment, loathing, hatred, and anger all surged toward this ring.

"Is it you?"

Qin Yun's voice was hoarse.

"Is it you who caused this?"

He suddenly grabbed the ring, trying to pull it off.

It wouldn't budge.

He grabbed a stone from the ground and smashed it down fiercely.

The ring remained motionless.

The stone shattered.

Qin Yun's breathing grew heavier and heavier, his eyes reddening, as if he wanted to smash all the suppression of these past years into it.

He raised his hand, punch after punch, hitting the ground, hitting the ring, until his knuckles split and his hands were covered in blood.

Piercing pain.

It wasn't just physical pain, but a heavy blow to his soul.

Qin Yun's vision went black, and he slumped forward.

The ruins, the flames, the sound of the wind—all faded away.

Images that did not belong to this lifetime suddenly exploded in the darkness.

A tower.

A sea.

A sword scar that severed heaven and earth.

One name after another, both strange and familiar.

Countless years, countless battles, countless lives and deaths.

Those memories flooded in all at once, almost more than he could bear.

Qin Yun lay in the blood and ash of the Qin Family ruins, his fingers digging hard into the ground, yet his throat couldn't make a sound.

His consciousness was sinking.

It was also awakening.

All the grievances, endurance, anger, and self-blame the youth had felt over the years were bit by bit swallowed and then bit by bit reshaped under the impact of these massive memories.

A long time later.

The fire was nearly extinguished.

The night wind swept through the ruins, carrying a chill.

The person on the ground finally moved.

Qin Yun slowly pushed himself up and sat straight.

His breathing was steady.

His eyes were also very calm.

That pain, that hatred, and that void after the collapse were all still there.

They were simply pressed down completely into the deepest depths.

He lowered his head, looking at the blood-stained Sun Ring in his palm, and didn't move for a long time.

Then, he raised his head and looked toward the deathly silent ruins of the Qin Family.

The childishness in his eyes seemed to have completely vanished during this night.

In its place was silence and composure.

What exactly was this ring?

Qin Yun slowly stood up, his face pale and covered in blood, yet he stood very steadily.

Only embers and ash remained in the ruins.

He raised his hand and gently wiped the blood off the ring.

The wind blew through the night.

The sparks scattered.

The youth spoke in a low voice, as if to the ring, and also as if to himself.

"The answers... had better all be on you."

After this night passed.

The true Qin Yun had only just begun.