Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 91 - 87: The Entire Truth About the Yan Family [Subscribe for First Order]

Chapter 91: Chapter 87: The Entire Truth About the Yan Family [Subscribe for First Order]

"The young cultivator named Zhang Shan is a disciple of the Taiyi Sect."

"Although his strength cannot compare with those high-ranking individuals in the Cultivation World, he is a pivotal figure in any sect; coupled with his youth, he was taken by Taiyi True Man to participate in the battle to eradicate the Demon Night True Monarch, with the intention of cultivating him."

"Unfortunately... he was afflicted with a poison curse, a spell known as the word curse, a Death Curse. This was originally a torture meant for the most vicious and heinous criminals in the Cultivation World, yet it fell upon this young cultivator."

"Everyone thought that the chaotic battle against the Demon Night True Monarch was a complete victory, that they had vanquished the Demon Lord’s Divine Soul. However, no one could have imagined that the Demon Night True Monarch had already prepared for this before the battle."

"Before the battle began, he separated a portion of his soul and most of his cultivation. Everyone believed that his diminished strength was due to his injuries, but in reality, he was always waiting for an opportunity, deliberately exposing a flaw to lure the impetuous Zhang Shan into action, exchanging blows with him despite being injured."

"This young cultivator was struck to the point of vomiting blood, nearly losing his life on the spot. If not for the quick reaction of the Taiyi True Man, who administered a Heart Protecting Pill, he would probably have become a Lost Soul under the Demon Lord’s control."

"But..."

"No one expected that the Demon Lord’s strike not only inflicted heavy injuries but also injected all of his separated soul and cultivation into Zhang Shan’s body. Due to his life-threatening injuries, the disciples of the Taiyi Sect promptly evacuated him from the battlefield."

"As a result, after killing the Demon Lord, no trace of Demon Night could be found at the scene. This is why they were so certain that Demon Night was dead."

He nodded silently.

He realized that although the actions of this Demon Night True Monarch mentioned by Yan Yurou were inhumane, the strategy of slipping away was indeed ingenious.

No one would suspect a person who was gravely injured and on the brink of death, especially someone who exchanged blows with the enemy in a desperate fight.

As three sticks of incense burned out, the girl took something else out of her sleeve – a small paper packet. Unfolding the packet, it contained black powdery granules, emitting a pungent odor.

Reverently placed before the gravestone, Yan Yurou remembered that her grandfather would chew on this substance during his fits of agony caused by the poison curse, in order to remain coherent at all times.

"Later, after decades of turmoil with the Demon Race, that young cultivator was no longer young and, burdened by severe injuries, he lost heart and chose to withdraw from the world."

"The sect respected his decision; considering the severity of his injuries meant he had no strength to vie for the position of Sect Leader, he settled down in Qingshui County, married, and had children, forming such a large family."

"But!"

A flicker of undisguised anger crossed the young girl’s eyes.

"All these were mere illusions."

"Zhang Shan did not at all wish to come to this remote place, which was so desolate that even the sect was unwilling to send people here!"

"Even with grave injuries and greatly diminished strength, he would still prefer to go to the frontlines, to guard the East land at West Mountain Pass. All of this was due to that vicious word curse."

She took a deep breath; actually, no one had ever mentioned these things to Yan Yurou before.

Because of the word curse, not to mention bringing it up, even thinking about it would invoke the poison curse’s torment, making living worse than death. That was why no one taught her cultivation over the years.

All the truths she discovered were pieced together from various ancient books in the house that recorded history, eavesdropping on adult conversations as a child, and gathering bits of information occasionally when visiting State City and attending large family gatherings.

Eventually, putting together everything that transpired around her, she figured out the entire story.

"The word curse manipulates spirits through spoken words, controlling one’s thoughts with a spell. This kind of curse is exceedingly difficult to cultivate, and very few in the world can master it, yet the Demon Night True Monarch was one of the few."

"Under the bondage of the word curse, that young cultivator could not even speak of the truth to the sect, let alone commit suicide. Whenever his mind wandered towards rebellious thoughts, the poison curse would torture him until life was worse than death."

"Moreover, the word curse not only controlled the cultivator but also afflicted every member of his entire family with the same curse. From then on, this family could not speak, could not hear, dared not think, and became complete..."

"Puppets."

Silence.

Despite inferring from Zhang Nian’s unusual behavior that there was probably a special reason preventing them from killing him themselves, forcing them to resort to this method of having someone else do the deed,

he had never imagined that this so-called method would be so much more malevolent than he thought.

To manipulate an entire clan like puppets, to regard the lives, souls, and descendants of others as playthings in one’s palm, doomed to never find peace even after death.

In this situation, he didn’t know what to say. He could feel the rage buried in the young girl’s heart, the shadow and despair that this family had been unable to shake off for decades.

"Among these, thoughts of breaking off the engagement and cultivating would be instantly snuffed out the moment they arise, but these are still bearable. Once there is any treachery against the remnants of that Demon Night True Monarch inside the body, one would suffer the torment of heavenly fire, scorching the flesh, stabbing into the soul."

At this point, Yan Yurou suddenly looked at the man in front of her, who was supposed to become her husband, and then she uttered softly,

"Does Jiang Lang know how long a cultivator who has condensed a Nascent Soul can live?"

The young man was stunned for a moment before responding unconsciously: "Over three hundred and fifty years. And if it’s Divinity Transformation, the lifespan starts at over five hundred years."

"Right, but do you know how long that young cultivator who settled in Qingshui County lived?"

He shook his head blankly.

He truly didn’t know how long Old Master Yan had lived, and no one had mentioned this topic; it seemed to be a kind of taboo that couldn’t be brought up at home.

"Ninety-four."

This was a number bordering on horrifying.

Not long in a horrifying sense, but shockingly short.

To an ordinary person, this was certainly a long life, but Old Master Yan was no ordinary person.

He was a cultivator, at the very least a Nascent Soul or even possibly a Divinity Transformation expert, who wouldn’t normally live only a meager century even with severe injuries.

"Could it be..."

His heart startled!

"Jiang Lang is indeed astute."

Staring at the blank corner to the left of the tombstone, where the words "aged ninety-four" were meant to be engraved, the spot was left empty.

"Resisting time and again, enduring the burning of the flesh time and again, suffering the torture of the soul time and again, finally, his body completely collapsed three years ago."

"He is freed."

"Do you know?"

"This cultivator, while shedding tears and instructing on his final affairs before his death, deepened that malicious spell further, yet what he instructed was for us not to submit to the evil cultivator, to die for a righteous cause even if we must die, and to destroy everything that the Demon Night True Monarch has left behind."

"After saying these words, his Divine Soul disintegrated, completely consumed by the Burning Flame, forever unable to transcend."

While saying this, Yan Yurou looked again at the empty space beside this grave, where the ground was obviously well-maintained and the weeds were all meticulously cleared, it was clear that it was prepared for someone else.

"Now, my second granduncle is eighty-three this year."

"He has only one year left to live."