Chapter 123: The Mist

In her past life, when she yielded to Li Yi, it was with a grand bridal sedan chair, adorned in splendid attire, openly becoming his concubine within his villa. Although the legitimate wife did not tolerate her and she was cast out by a single divorce decree, at least she had a recognized status.

Fish Youwei had never expected that in this life, her mother would love so humbly, serving merely as a tool for Lord Fish Fourth to continue the family line.

It was two months before his death, at dusk, when her mother had accompanied him by the cold pond in the Fish family’s Eastern Mausoleum, lost in thought for a long while. He casually said, “Come to the study outside later to attend to me.”

The Mu family was a branch of the Fish family, with many of its younger members serving the Fish household. Mu Qingxi was an illegitimate daughter, given to Lord Fish Fourth by his second elder brother, who served alongside him.

Lord Fish Fourth was not lecherous; before marriage, he treated her as a personal maid. After marriage, to avoid offending Madam Fourth, he sent all his attendants to serve in the outer study, so there was no need for him to specifically instruct her. After a moment of hesitation, she grasped his implication, her heart pounding wildly.

On the couch in the outer study, Lord Fish Fourth asked for her more than once. Only after confirming she was pregnant did he send her to live at a villa outside the city. Two months later, news of his death arrived. She had no time to grieve before being sent back to the Mu family by the matriarch of the Fish household. The one who came to fetch her from the villa was her eldest brother, Mu Qingxi.

“They didn’t have your second uncle see you off, but specifically called your eldest uncle to pick you up. It seems Lord Fish Fourth had planned ahead—did he sense danger?” Seeing her mother’s blank expression, Fish Youwei didn’t explain, but asked, “Mother, when did he give you the Frost Jade Sword? Did he say anything special?”

“Lord Fourth is your father; don’t keep calling him ‘he’.” Mu Qingxi poked her forehead, slightly annoyed, but a trace of confusion flickered in her eyes. “When did Lord Fourth give me the Frost Jade Sword?”

“How could you forget?” Fish Youwei was stunned. Born with memories from her past life, she remembered everything clearly from birth. Many nights, she had seen her mother silently weeping, clutching the Frost Jade Sword formed like a bracelet.

She had always thought the sword was a token of love left by her father for her mother. When she was three, her mother had cut her finger, letting her blood drip onto the sword. The blood seeped into the blade, and the Frost Jade transformed into a circle of blue light that flew from her mother’s hand to encircle her wrist. Her mother knelt joyfully, bowing to the heavens, murmuring, “May Lord Fourth’s soul in heaven bless this—Youwei’s blood has successfully claimed her master!”

The information about the “Flame Extension Technique” that came from the Frost Jade Sword had shaken her profoundly. Her mother had babbled on at the time, but Fish Youwei had paid little attention, only certain that the sword belonged to her father, not a token meant for her mother.

Fish Youwei, knowing the secret of the Frost Jade Sword without her mother’s instructions, did not even tell her closest cousin. Everyone in the Mu family estate thought it was just an ordinary soft sword. This secret was unexpectedly discovered by her second uncle when he suddenly returned home at her age of fourteen.

After Lord Fish Fourth’s death, several of his trusted aides had joined Fish Shiyu’s side. Her second uncle must have told the new master about the secret. Soon after, Fish Shiyu appeared at the Mu estate—likely coming for the Frost Jade Sword.

Could it be that the Frost Jade Sword was not, after all, a bloodline treasure of the Fish family?

Her mind shifting, Fish Youwei suddenly asked, “Who was Lord Fish Fourth’s biological mother?”

Mu Qingxi was startled, nervously glancing around before lowering her voice. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Seeing her mother’s expression, Fish Youwei knew she must be hiding something. She laughed bitterly, “This isn’t the Fish household anymore—don’t scare yourself. Just tell me what you know; this matters greatly.”

Under her daughter’s steady gaze, Mu Qingxi felt embarrassed and reluctantly said, “You’re like an old spirit, not a child at all!”

“That’s irrelevant,” Fish Youwei chuckled.

As expected, Lord Fish Fourth was not born of the Fish family’s legitimate wife but of a woman brought in from outside—the woman Mu Qingxi had never met but knew to be a stunning beauty who died in childbirth. To grant Lord Fourth a legitimate status, he was recorded as the legitimate son of his stepmother.

Lord Fish Fourth was the favorite of the Fish family patriarch, who feared the legitimate wife might mistreat him. Until he was seven, the old master personally cared for him, living and eating with him. From a young age, he displayed extraordinary talent, far surpassing the later genius Fish Shiyu. Across the Eastern Continent, he was a premier young prodigy.

Fish Shiyu admired his fourth uncle and, like him, rarely used medicinal aids in cultivation. From seven years old, he trained his survival skills in the wild, spending half the year battling beasts in the mountains.

However, Fish Shiyu did not know that Lord Fish Fourth was protected by a mysterious expert, and the wilderness training took place not in the mortal world but in a forbidden realm of cultivation. This mysterious protector was not from the Fish family. Each time he was escorted home, the figure would leave, only to appear again when he set off.

Mu Qingxi often accompanied Lord Fish Fourth on outings and knew of this mysterious protector. She could also sense this figure’s hostility toward the Fish family.

The Frost Jade Sword was a gift from that mysterious protector.

“The Frost Jade Sword didn’t come from my grandmother who died in childbirth, but from an outsider?” Fish Youwei was deeply intrigued and pressed for more about the mysterious protector, though her mother knew little.

“Once, I heard Lord Fourth call that mysterious figure Aunt Mu.” Mu Qingxi’s cherubic face softened with sadness. “He respected her greatly. Sometimes, hearing her scold the patriarch, he’d just smile quietly. Lord Fourth rarely smiled, but when he did, his eyes shone especially bright.”

“Oh? Do you recall what she said? What was her accent? After father died, did you ever see her again?” Fish Youwei asked.

Mu Qingxi shook her head, sorrowful, “I searched everywhere but never found her. Maybe she died with Lord Fourth. Well, if so, with her by his side, he won’t be bullied even in the underworld.”

Silently embracing her mother, Fish Youwei felt that the more she learned about her father, the thicker the fog before her grew.

When love has soaked into the marrow, every breath carries his essence; to forget him, it would be better to cut her throat clean. Fish Youwei completely gave up on persuading her mother to seek new happiness.

“Youwei, I heard Madam Fourth wants to marry your sister off to Ling Yanfeng. If Lord Fourth knew, he would be furious…”

Hearing her mother’s voice at her ear, Fish Youwei was slow to respond. “Mother, you know too?”

Mu Qingxi rose and looked outside to ensure no one was near, then returned to whisper, “Ru Yun, who used to serve Lord Fourth, married an outer sect steward of the Sword Sect. She said the eldest miss was bullied by that scoundrel Ling Yanfeng. To protect her reputation, she had no choice but to yield to him.”

“How despicable!” Fish Youwei slammed the table, her killing intent fierce.