Chapter 139 | I Was Just Gathering Herbs, So Why Did I Find a Sword Fairy?

The massive gap blown open in the roof of Sword Peak's hall swirled with broken sparks under the howling mountain wind, creating a surprisingly atmospheric scene.

The ground was covered with carbonized, broken beams and charred, shattered wood—a purely post-apocalyptic style of architecture.

Draped in red gauze, Su Li bore no traces of smoke or soot on her. Her long hair was slightly disheveled and curled, a lingering ferocity still present in her eyes. The sparks of flame swirling around her body added to a suffocating pressure that was turned up to the absolute maximum.

Du Qi leaned slightly to the side, leisurely trying to pull his lower leg free.

His trouser leg had been completely soaked by Du Yi's tears and snot, thoroughly disgusting him.

While exerting effort to free his leg, he looked up at Su Li, who was standing not far away.

The young girl's eyes were dark as she stared at the tangled sight of him and Du Yi, her gaze filled with complex, hard-to-read emotions.

Although her anger had not fully dissipated, his sudden appearance had forced down most of her killing intent, even making her look slightly nervous.

Du Qi shifted his gaze to Du Yi, unable to help but laugh inwardly. How utterly ridiculous.

This guy's usual aloof self-righteousness and artificial gentility... he had probably worn that mask for so long that he genuinely believed it was his real face.

But what was the result?

When faced with an unruly, tough character like Su Li, after a severe beating, both his pretentious scholarly air and his prideful dignity were completely thrown to the dogs.

“Let go.”

Du Qi spoke in an extremely flat tone, devoid of any anger or joy.

Though uttered softly, those two words fell into the chaotic, ruined hall like a bone-chilling current, causing all the hairs on Du Yi's body to stand on end.

A cold shiver ran down his spine, and he shuddered violently. The grip of his arms around Du Qi's leg instinctively loosened.

Now was the time.

Du Qi's eyes narrowed slightly as he smoothly pulled his lower leg out, avoiding the sticky, filthy mess. He then lightly exerted force through his toes and delivered a clean, swift side kick.

The force was controlled perfectly—not enough to take a life, but more than enough to send the man flying.

“Thud—”

Du Yi stumbled and crashed directly into the charred wood and debris on the floor.

Yet, he could not care less about the pain, nor did he even have the time to brush off the dust covering him. Scrambling up on all fours, he scrambled and crawled until he was hiding right behind Du Qi.

He pressed himself tightly against Du Qi's back, treating the only person capable of blocking Su Li's wrath as his final shield for survival.

Du Yi poked his head out, his eyes filled with terror as he stared at the freezing, flame-wreathed Su Li ahead. His voice trembled with the desperate plea of a survivor:

“Brother! I beg you! This woman really wants to kill me! She really dares to do it!”

Du Qi raised his hand, his index finger gently rubbing the space between his brows while his thumb massaged his throbbing temples. His face was filled with a headache and helplessness that he could not hide.

He truly had not expected that simply coming to find a certain disobedient little thing would lead to him running into Du Yi here—a guy who brought nothing but the ultimate bad luck.

He was truly plagued by terrible luck.

In his original estimation, when the South-Central Du Clan sent people to test him and try to control him last time, he had already maintained an extremely firm stance, leaving absolutely no room for pleasantries.

He thought that single display would be enough to completely deter the Du family and erase any thoughts of scheming against him.

But reality had dealt him a harsh slap in the face. How long had it even been?

Du Yi had actually appeared before him once more, wearing that hypocritical face and carrying the Du family's agenda, barging into his life yet again.

Du Qi understood everything clearly.

For someone like Du Yi, who had always valued his life, excelled at avoiding danger, and only sought benefits without taking risks, to travel all the way from the Central Continent Alliance—risking angering him, provoking Su Li, and trapping himself in a desperate situation—there was only one possibility.

The patriarch's health had most likely collapsed completely. His lamp was running out of oil, and he did not have much longer to live.

Precisely because his end was near and time was running out, he had grown frantic. Disregarding everything and ignoring all of Du Qi's previous warnings, he had forced Du Yi to come.

To make him use any means necessary to drag Du Qi back under the Du family's control, using him to prolong the old man's life.

They had learned nothing after all.

To this day, they still believed he was the same submissive, easily manipulated, and weak Du Ling of the past—the good little boy protected by his mother, whom they could order around at will.

Heh.

A trace of cold, thin ridicule slowly curled Du Qi's lips. A faint smile reached his eyes, but it held no warmth whatsoever.

Though even he did not know what exactly he was mocking—the family's ugliness? Their filthy familial bonds? Or perhaps his own past weakness.

“Speak. What are you here for?”

Du Qi pulled back his scattered thoughts and turned around to look at the shivering Du Yi hiding behind him.

Du Yi froze, his mind blanking out momentarily. It took him several seconds to realize that Du Qi was interrogating him.

Panic surged in his heart, his mind filled with disbelief.

This was wrong. Completely wrong.

This scenario was not playing out the way he had anticipated at all! This wasn't how the art of negotiation was supposed to go.

Once he called for help, Du Ling and Su Li should have ended up in a standoff because of him, intensifying their conflict and resulting in a dispute.

As long as the two of them clashed and kept each other occupied, he could have taken advantage of the chaos and used his unique Confucian cultivator techniques to slip away like an eel.

But now?

The two who were supposed to be in a standoff had no conflict at all. Instead, they formed a united front, directing all their icy gazes and oppressive auras precisely at him alone.

How did they skip the conflict, the arguments, and all the maneuvering to go straight to the interrogation phase?

Du Yi wanted to weep but dared not show a single trace of it.

Under the gaze of Du Qi's cold, all-seeing eyes and the oppressive pressure of the unextinguished flames surrounding Su Li, all of his petty tricks were utterly suppressed, leaving him with no room to even budge.

Gulp—

Du Yi's Adam's apple bobbed heavily as he swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva with great difficulty, a bitter taste filling his mouth.

Only now did he clearly realize that in this situation, he had no power of choice, no room to negotiate, and no way to escape.

He was merely a fish on the chopping block.

He parted his dry, pale lips, trying his best to make his tone sound sincere and helpless, putting on the act of someone just following orders to provide innocent support:

“Because I saw the turmoil in the Central Continent Alliance earlier and heard rumors of trouble, the major noble families received the news and sent people over to assist, stabilize the situation, and help one another. I merely followed my family's delegation to do my part.”

Hearing this, Du Qi raised an eyebrow. Did this guy take him for a three-year-old fool? With a thought—

Thick, solid chains of dark ink, gleaming with a gloomy luster, materialized out of thin air and swept forward with a whistle.

The chains moved with extreme speed, wrapping tightly around Du Yi's limbs in the blink of an eye. Layer upon layer, airtight and secure, they bound him up as tightly as a rice dumpling.

“Tell the truth.”

Du Qi's tone remained flat, but his speaking pace had noticeably quickened—a clear sign of his growing impatience.

“Otherwise, I will have to collect your corpse ahead of schedule.”

Only at this moment, upon being completely bound, did the cracks finally appear in the panic and fear Du Yi had so carefully fabricated, revealing a genuine panic that surged from the depths of his heart.

When facing Su Li's pursuit earlier, he still had some confidence and hidden cards.

He was a Confucian cultivator; even if he was no match for her, by sacrificing magic artifacts and overdrawing his cultivation, he still stood a chance of escaping with his life.

But Du Qi's silent restraint had directly banned all his escape options, completely sealing off any way out.

His sobbing while clinging to Du Qi's leg, his humble pleas for mercy, his deliberate and fawning calls of “Brother,” his wretched flight, and his terrified panic... had all been a carefully orchestrated performance.

Even his panic and steady retreat when facing Su Li's fiery attacks—though he indeed was no match for her, he shouldn't have been so weak. Most of it had been an act.

He had been acting the entire time, using weakness to gain sympathy, utilizing the chaos to find a loophole, and exploiting everyone's blind spots to find an opportunity to run.

Yet, Du Qi's move had directly smashed his stage and shredded his disguise. Continuing the act now was completely pointless.

The face that had just been covered in snot and tears, painted with terror and helplessness, slowly shed all its false colors, leaving behind a dead, silent calm.

The mask he had maintained for so long shattered and peeled away, exposing the struggle and ruthlessness hidden in the depths of his eyes.

“Du Qi, let me go.”

Du Yi lowered his voice. “I can tell you everything. We can talk.”

Du Qi could not be bothered to play games with him. His tone was flat, carrying an ultimate sense of laziness and indifference:

“Let you go? On what grounds?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he practiced his usual philosophy: never stand if you can sit, and never sit if you can lie down.

Leaning his body back slightly, a thread of dark scholarly energy quietly spread out around him, weaving a pitch-black rocking chair in midair to support his frame.

His long-tense lower back and abdominal muscles suddenly relaxed, bringing a wave of dull, aching pain that spread from his spine throughout his entire body.

Du Qi knit his brows slightly before slowly relaxing them. A very soft sigh escaped the depths of his throat as he reclined lazily in the rocking chair. Relaxed and casual, yet the pressure he exuded did not diminish in the slightest.

“Speak, and you live.”

He looked down at Du Yi, who was bound so tightly he could not move, a trace of coldness in his eyes. He slightly shifted his gaze to look at Su Li beside him, who was still covered in the aura of fire, her eyes cold and her lips sealed.

Although the flames around her had subsided, they still clung to the edges of her sleeves, exuding an intense pressure.

“If you don't speak...”

Du Qi smiled faintly, his tone lazy yet cruel:

“I think you can be cremated right where you stand.”

Following his gaze to Su Li, and looking at the formidable figure standing amidst the flames, Du Yi could not help but curse viciously in his heart:

What a wretched couple!

Du Qi was never like this in the past. How did he become such a rogue after being away for a few years?

He took a deep breath of the air, which was thick with the smell of smoke and charred wood. His chest rose and fell as he finally accepted the brutal reality before him.

His cultivation was sealed, his spiritual energy locked, his retreat cut off, and his life or death rested entirely on another's whim. He was a fish on the chopping block. What was the point of struggling?

“The foundation of the Central Continent Alliance is shaking, and it is rotting from within. It looks powerful, but it's actually hollowed out. It won't hold on for much longer.”

Du Yi spoke slowly, finally discarding his disguise and confessing word by word:

“The major hidden noble families and top clans have all sensed the coming storm and are sending people in. On the surface, they claim to be supporting stability, but in reality, they are taking advantage of the alliance's decline and internal chaos to fish in troubled waters, carve up resources, and seize benefits.”

“Everyone is eyeing this piece of fat, wanting to get a share during the chaos. At the same time, all parties are observing to see if this long-standing overlord of the Central Continent will fall and be completely replaced.”

Du Qi listened quietly, his eyes dark, remaining silent for several seconds.

His gaze was calm and tranquil, betraying no emotion.

“And?”

Du Yi wanted to play dumb. He knew what Du Qi was asking; he wanted to know if the old man still had designs on him.

Did he?

Of course he did!

What he had just spoken of was merely the little bit of autonomy he had fought for to capture Du Qi. It was as he had thought before—if he could secure even a slight voice in the Central Continent...

And most importantly—

He would have the chance to rescue his mother, who was trapped like a prisoner in the South-Central Du Clan. Only then could the Sword of Damocles that had hung over their heads for years, ready to fall at any moment, be completely removed.

This was his only way out, his sole hope.

But did he dare speak of these filthy matters, of the secrets touching upon the old man's deepest obsession?

He did not dare.

He could not fathom Du Qi's true temperament now.

If he laid bare all of the old man's sinister calculations against Du Qi, completely tearing away the last shred of pretense and shattering the Du family's hopes...

With Du Qi's current personality, he would most likely silence him on the spot, cutting off the grass at the roots.

He could not die. He absolutely could not die.

If he died here, his mother, left all alone in the South-Central Du Clan, would meet an extremely tragic end. The patriarch's inner courtyard was crowded with wives and concubines, filled with schemes for favor and dangerous undercurrents.

Although his mother had been elevated to the position of primary wife, her beauty had long since faded with age. She had no powerful backing, and if she lost her son to rely on...

With him as her son, she could still maintain her footing. But if he died, she would lose her only support and be stripped of all value.

With the patriarch's cold, selfish nature that calculated only costs and benefits, deposing his mother and replacing her as the primary wife would be a matter of a single word.

For the rest of her days, she would suffer endless torment and abuse in the deep courtyard, living a life worse than death.

The image of that woman involuntarily surfaced in Du Yi's mind.

He thought of how loud and jealous she was, not particularly shrewd, but the only person who was genuinely good to him.

The woman who would viciously curse and strike anyone who hurt him, and who would complain when he did not receive better treatment.

He had to live.

Only by surviving would there be hope. He carried more than just his own life on his shoulders.

And his only remaining chip and source of confidence now were the hidden, unknown secrets locked inside his mind.

Du Yi suppressed the bitterness, struggle, fear, and obsession churning in his heart. Sweeping away all emotions from his eyes, he looked up to stare intently at Du Qi, who was reclining lazily. His gaze was burning and filled with absolute resolve.

“I can tell you everything.”

“All of the Du family's deepest schemes, all of the patriarch's hidden plots, the complete truth behind the utter destruction of the Lin clan back then, and every secret detail—I can tell you all of it, without missing a single word.”

He took a deep breath, each word carrying a weight that bet everything on this desperate gamble:

“But I have only one prerequisite, a single condition.”

“Let me live. And let me safely rescue my mother from the Du family.”

The air instantly fell dead silent.

Du Qi watched him quietly.

He looked at this half-brother of his, who shared his blood, who had spent half his life scheming and the other half powerless over his own destiny. It felt as if he was seeing him for the first time.

After a long silence, his lips slowly curled up in a faint smile that was cool and devoid of warmth.

“Du Yi.”

He called his name softly, his tone lazy and detached:

“You seem to have forgotten something very important.”

“You should know that a Confucian cultivator's methods for making someone speak have never been limited to coercion, bribery, or negotiation.”

“Even if I am too lazy to torture you or deal with the hassle.”

He stood up slowly, stepping forward with a leisurely pace. Raising his hand, his fingertips gently and slowly patted Du Yi's tense, cold cheek.

“The Beast Taming Sect has a Soul Hall. Even if your physical body guards the secrets to the death and refuses to speak, and even if you die, I can still forcibly extract your soul, imprison it, and interrogate it.”

“Your memories, your secrets, and your thoughts will still be completely exposed.”

“So, what right do you have to negotiate with me? Why should I agree to your demands?”

Meeting those calm, all-seeing eyes, Du Yi did not shrink back or show fear. Instead, his lips slowly pulled into a desperate, all-or-nothing smile.

His emotions were no longer under the control of his logic. The accumulated frustration, resentment, and struggle of many years transformed entirely into his leverage for this negotiation.

“You can try.”

His voice was low and raspy, carrying an ultimate resolve:

“You can try to search my soul, interrogate my soul, or torture me. But I can simply detonate my soul.”

“I know very well that I cannot harm you in the slightest, nor can I shake your cultivation by a fraction.”

“But I can guarantee that the moment my soul shatters, all of my deep memories, core secrets, and key clues will vanish along with it, completely erased.”

“When that time comes, you will indeed have won—you will have killed me, interrogated me, and suppressed me.”

“But you will never have access to a source of information as complete, convenient, and comprehensive as me again. Every secret will be sealed away forever.”