Mystique Soul: A Cultivator's Flame
Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Chapter 89

The village had settled into the quiet of the night, save for the occasional gust of wind rattling wooden shutters and the distant sound of crickets humming their nighttime symphony. The streets, once bustling with merchants and travelers, now lay deserted, bathed in the dim glow of scattered lanterns.

Feng Jiao Xue moved soundlessly through the darkness, her figure blending into the shifting shadows. Her footsteps barely disturbed the dirt path as she made her way through the quieter outskirts of the village.

She had come for the witness.

But instead, she had found his family.

A small, worn-down house stood at the edge of the village, its wooden structure weathered by time and hardship. The slanted roof sagged slightly in the middle, as though exhausted from years of standing against the elements. The candlelight from within flickered weakly, barely illuminating the single window.

She perched herself in a hidden vantage point, her sharp eyes peering through the cracks of the loosely boarded wall. The scene inside unfolded before her like a silent play, each figure cast in flickering gold.

A woman stood near the center of the room, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The lines on her face were deep, not just from age but from exhaustion, the kind that sank into the bones and refused to leave. She was lean, almost gaunt, her frame wrapped in a faded brown dress that had seen better days.

Her lips were pressed into a hard line as she stared at the two boys seated at the rickety wooden table.

One of the people inside, a boy of nineteen, sat with his hands clenched into fists against his lap. His black hair, once neatly combed, had grown unruly, and his clothes, though well-patched, were too thin for the evening chill. His brown eyes were downcast, fixed on the knots in the wood of the table, his jaw set tightly as if bracing for an impact.

The younger boy, no more than twelve, sat beside him, his posture more relaxed but his fingers idly tracing patterns on the table’s surface. He had their mother’s sharp features, though his eyes gleamed with something unreadable, something that flickered between caution and detachment.

The tension in the air was thick, suffocating.

"You useless child," the woman finally spat, her voice low but sharp enough to cut.

The elder boy stiffened but did not look up.

"What good is magic if you can’t even use it properly?" she continued, stepping forward and slamming her hand against the wooden surface. The weak candlelight wavered at the sudden force. "We had such high hopes for you, and yet, nothing. You struggle to cast even the simplest of spells!"

"I-I’m trying, Mother," the boy murmured, his voice subdued but steady. "I practice every day. I—"

"Not hard enough!" She cut him off, her eyes blazing as she threw the tea cup at the guy, a cut grazing the side of his face at impact.

’What is wrong with the concept of family in this world?’ Febg Jiao Xue thought to herself with a frown. ’It leans from one extreme of the other’

A long silence stretched between them, broken only by the faint rustling of the wind outside.

Feng Jiao Xue observed quietly, her expression unreadable.

The woman exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples as if to stave off an oncoming headache. Her exhaustion seeped into her movements, weighing her down.

"Your younger brother will make something of himself," she said, glancing at the twelve-year-old, who still refused to meet her gaze. "Unlike you."

The words struck hard. The elder boy’s fingers curled into tighter fists, his nails digging into his palms. But still, he said nothing. While the younger one smirked arrogantly.

"He’s going to the palace," the woman continued, her tone softer now but laced with a dangerous sort of hope. "If all goes well, he’ll earn a position among the staff. That is real opportunity. That is what will save this family."

The younger boy shifted slightly but did not speak.

"He’s already received a sponsor," she added, lowering her voice as if revealing something forbidden. "Someone is ensuring his success. If he keeps his mouth shut and does as he’s told, we will finally have a future."

Feng Jiao Xue’s eyes sharpened.

So he was being supported.

Not by merit, but by someone within the palace.

And somehow, she had a very vague guess on the "hows" and "whys" of that support.

The elder boy’s knuckles turned white, his body rigid. "I know mom" he replied, his voice barely above a whisper as he added, "you never stop talking about it every day..."

"What did you just say?!" The woman shrieked.

"Mom, you don’t know how dangerous the royal family is. We shouldn’t get involved. What if they found out?" The boy asked instead.

"Your just jealous! You can’t accept that I’m better than you" The younger one hissed.

Feng Jiao Xue observed the ’witness’. His younger than she thought but considering how young the imperial family recruitment to cultivate loyalty.

His mother’s lips thinned. "It doesn’t matter," she said shortly. "All you need to know is that he has been given a chance. A chance we cannot afford to lose."

A bitter chuckle escaped the boy’s lips, low and humorless.

"And you think that’s a good thing?" he asked, finally lifting his gaze. "That someone in the palace is pulling strings for him?"

The woman’s glare hardened. "It is a blessing," she snapped. "A chance for us to climb out of this misery. Do you think people like us get opportunities like this often?"

The boy looked away, his jaw tightening.

"Heavens, why couldn’t you have been just like your father?!" The woman pointed at her oldest son. "Make something useful of himself as a magic wielder! How could he have fathered such a useless son!"

The oldest looked down at that, his eyes getting wet slightly but the water did not dose the fire that burns in his heart that brought his eyes aflame.

Feng Jiao Xue remained unmoving in the shadows, piecing together the truth from their words.

The witness was not just a servant. He was someone desperate to rise, to secure a future for himself and his family.

And someone in the palace had made sure he succeeded.

That meant the testimony he had given, the very testimony that condemned Liang Feng, had been bought.

A carefully crafted lie.

But... even if she knew that, their words alone would not be enough, nor is it exactly a concrete evidence but... Feng Jiao Xue focused on the oldest’s expression. Perhaps... she doesn’t need to make a move personally on this one at all.

Inside, the woman sat down with a heavy sigh, rubbing her face with both hands. The anger had drained from her, replaced by weariness.

"The truth doesn’t matter," she muttered, more to herself than to her sons. "It never does. What matters is survival. And if your brother’s silence can buy us a better life, then he will stay silent."

The elder boy lowered his head once more, shadows casting over his face.

Feng Jiao Xue watched, unseen, unheard.

Then, as silently as she had come, she slipped away into the night, her mind already calculating her next move.

As Feng Jiao Xue slipped away into the darkness, her movements light as a whisper, she caught hushed voices from the house next door. The faint glow of a lantern flickered through the thin wooden slats of the window, casting moving shadows against the worn-out walls.

A tired sigh broke the quiet.

"That poor boy... she never lets up, does she?"

"She’s been like this for years," another voice, older and hoarse, replied. "Ever since the boy’s magic turned out weaker than she hoped. The moment she realized he wouldn’t bring them prestige, she started tearing him down."

A younger voice, likely a girl, chimed in softly. "I saw him the other day, practicing by the river again. He tries so hard, but... it’s like she doesn’t see it at all."

"She doesn’t want to see it," the first speaker muttered bitterly. "She only sees what he isn’t. Meanwhile, she parades the younger one around like he’s already a palace official."

A moment of silence stretched between them before the older voice spoke again, this time lower, heavier.

"If she keeps treating him like that, one day... he’ll break."

A gust of wind rustled through the trees, carrying their murmurs away.

Feng Jiao Xue lingered just a moment longer, her expression unreadable. Then, without a sound, she disappeared into the night.

The witness might have been sent away for his own protection.

But now, she knew exactly what he was protecting and the perfect weapon to "kill" him.

And for who had given him reason to lie....

Febg Jiao Xue decided to investigate farther another day.

’By the river huh?’ Feng Jiao Xue thought to herself.

A storm was brewing.

And Feng Jiao Xue intended to be at its center.

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