The Silver Moon Palace Master took a sip of tea and looked in the direction where Qin Chu resided. "Senior Xue, inquiring about his origins is one thing, but the main goal is to keep him here, even if it costs us something."
Senior Xue nodded. "A promising talent is too important for a Sect; he can support an entire era. Alright, I'll go over there first and talk to him."
While Qin Chu was drinking tea and pondering, Senior Xue, with his silver hair, arrived.
Seeing Senior Xue approach, Tang Wan'er, Mu Xuan, and a rather displeased Qin Chu all stood up.
Tang Wan'er and Mu Xuan bowed in greeting, while Qin Chu merely gave a perfunctory cupped-hand salute. At this moment, he found it difficult to feel respect for anyone from the Silver Moon Palace.
"All of you, sit. The little fellow seems quite unhappy!" After sitting down, Senior Xue looked at Qin Chu and said.
"In this situation, it's hard for Qin Chu to be happy," Qin Chu replied.
"I understand," Senior Xue said to Qin Chu. "I can tell you this: the Palace Master and I have no ill intentions towards you. We merely wish to keep you here."
Qin Chu said nothing more, nor did he wish to. He just wanted to get through this and then leave.
"Qin Chu, you once said you wanted to meet me alone. You can speak now about whatever matter it is. If it's not too difficult, I can help you," Senior Xue said, looking at the silent Qin Chu.
Qin Chu lowered his head in hesitation for a moment, then looked at Senior Xue. "What I'm about to ask might hurt Senior Xue's Face."
"It's alright," Senior Xue shook his head.
"It's like this: about a decade ago, someone very important to me was killed. This might be related to the Holy Blood Family, and Qin Chu learned that Senior Xue met someone from the Holy Blood Family a decade ago," Qin Chu explained. He couldn't tell the full truth, only alter it slightly. Of course, he wasn't lying; wasn't he, from a decade ago, killed?
Looking at Qin Chu, Senior Xue's eyes sharpened, but then dimmed a moment later. "You don't need to deliberately save my Face. I was indeed injured by someone from the Holy Blood Family back then."
"Can Senior Xue tell Qin Chu about it?" Qin Chu asked.
"It's nothing. Both the Palace Master and I once went out for training and visited the Holy Land of Central State. The Palace Master befriended someone, a member of the Vermilion Bird Holy Clan. That year, the Palace Master's friend came with a child; she was being pursued, and her pursuers were also members of the Holy Blood Family. Since the Palace Master's friend was a guest at the Silver Moon Palace, the Silver Moon Palace naturally had to intervene. I took action, but I couldn't hold them off at all. I only managed to buy her a little time, and the price was that I nearly perished," Senior Xue recounted to Qin Chu.
"May Qin Chu presumptuously ask a few more questions? Do you know the identity of that woman, and furthermore, what was the child to that woman? Was it her child?" Qin Chu's heart stirred, but his expression remained unchanged.
"That woman was named Qin Lingxi. She held a very high position in the Vermilion Bird Holy Clan, being a core direct descendant. The child she brought was her elder brother's son; she was the child's paternal aunt," Senior Xue explained, though a little puzzled as to why Qin Chu asked these questions.
Qin Chu understood somewhat. The woman whose hair instantly turned white was not his mother, but his paternal aunt.
"Back then, she came to our Silver Moon Palace hoping to hide and raise that child, but they were tracked down. The main target of the pursuers was actually the child. That child was involved in a very significant matter; not only did people from the Vermilion Bird Holy Clan want to kill him, but also people from the Black Tortoise Holy Clan," Senior Xue stated.
"Junior understands. This incident is a major event!" Qin Chu exclaimed.
"It is a major event. Actually, some things are unknown in the Twelve States of the Borderlands, but they are no secret in the Holy Land of Central State. About twenty years ago, there was some turmoil among the Five Great Holy Clans. Internal strife occurred within the Vermilion Bird Holy Clan, a struggle for succession by a branch Family! The direct lineage was very powerful but had few members. Additionally, the branch Family allied with external forces, so both sides suffered heavy losses. However, it was still the direct lineage that stabilized the overall situation. At this point, several other great Holy Clans united and launched an attack, besieging the Vermilion Bird Holy Clan," Senior Xue explained.
"Senior Xue, was the Vermilion Bird Holy Clan annihilated?" Mu Xuan asked anxiously.
"No, the Vermilion Bird Holy Clan is very powerful, with several masters. Especially Qin Lingxi's father and brother, who are the Clan Chief and Young Clan Chief of the Vermilion Bird Clan, they are very strong and successfully achieved a Breakthrough with the help of a part of the Black Tortoise Holy Clan," Senior Xue replied.
"Then how did the Black Tortoise Holy Clan get involved?" Before Qin Chu could ask, Mu Xuan grew anxious.
Senior Xue glanced at Mu Xuan. "Because the Young Clan Chief of the Vermilion Bird Clan's wife is from the Black Tortoise Holy Clan, and she possesses King-grade Holy Blood. She married into the Vermilion Bird Clan, it's true, but she still had a group of loyal followers in the Black Tortoise Holy Clan. It was these loyalists who broke the siege of the several great Holy Clans. In fact, many people knew this was a conspiracy, because when the war broke out, this Young Clan Chief's wife had just given birth to a child and was at her weakest. When she was at her strongest, her combat power was astonishing."
"Too shameless, this is simply too shameless! Senior Xue, what happened to this Young Clan Chief's wife now?" Mu Xuan was engrossed, so there was no need for Qin Chu to ask further.
"To allow Qin Lingxi, who was holding the child, to leave safely, she suffered severe injuries and her whereabouts are unknown. This is all I know about the matter," Senior Xue said, shaking her head at Mu Xuan, because even if Mu Xuan asked more, she wouldn't know.
"Very complex!" Qin Chu exhaled. He now knew his origins: his paternal aunt Qin Lingxi brought him out, which meant his parents were the Young Clan Chief and his wife of the Vermilion Bird Clan. Now, one mystery remained: who was the green-robed man who protected Qin Lingxi and him?
"Qin Chu, tell me about yourself! What's your situation?" Senior Xue looked at Qin Chu.
"I won't hide some things from Senior Xue anymore. I came from Nanyan State, simply wanting to gain experience and, incidentally, investigate who killed my relatives back then. I bear no ill will towards the Silver Moon Palace," Qin Chu said, cupping his hands towards Senior Xue.
"What do you think of my Silver Moon Palace? Do you want to stay?" Senior Xue didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. She knew Qin Chu wasn't a fool, and using tricks would be useless.
"Thank you, Senior Xue, for your high regard. Qin Chu has a Sect, which is the Azure Cloud Sect, the opponent of the Cold Star Imperial Dynasty last time," Qin Chu stated his origin. He dared to say it now because he knew the Silver Moon Palace likely wouldn't be hostile towards the Azure Cloud Sect.
"People from the Azure Cloud Sect… I have met Mo Daozi a few times. How is he doing now?" Senior Xue was surprised to hear Qin Chu's origin.
"Senior Mo is doing very well. The Azure Cloud Sect, under his and the new Sect Master's support, has undergone a great transformation," Qin Chu replied.
"He is skilled in divination and strategy. Logically, he shouldn't have let you wander around," Senior Xue shook her head. She knew Mo Daozi well, and she felt that Mo Daozi shouldn't have let a promising talent like Qin Chu go out and Face risks.
Qin Chu cupped his fists towards Senior Xue. "The people of the Holy Clan owe me, and I intend to reclaim it, so Senior Mo didn't stop me."
