Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 516 - Twists and Turns

Hundreds of eyes turned to Liu Wuxie, awaiting his explanation.

"You sent someone to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion ten days ago to inform her that the clan is in trouble and you're about to die. Senior Sister Jian has a kind heart and visited the clan upon receiving the news. After all, there were still people she cared for even if she hated this clan," Liu Wuxie explained.

Everyone nodded because Liu Wuxie's explanation made perfect sense. The Jian Clan was indeed falling apart, and Jian Botong was on the verge of death. So, how was he still alive and well?

"This is all part of your plan. You're not dying anytime soon, nor will the Teng Clan let you die. If I'm not wrong, you have become Teng Clan’s dog. When Senior Sister Jian returned, you used the lives of her uncle and aunt to threaten her to marry into the Teng Clan. Am I right?" Liu Wuxie said, and his words made Jian Botong break out in a cold sweat.

Sending a servant to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was part of their carefully orchestrated plot. They exploited Jian Xing'er’s compassion to lure her back, which was only the first step. The moment she returned, they immediately set their second plan into motion.

When they discovered Jian Xing'er wasn’t pregnant, Teng Zijun and Jian Botong crafted this scheme, thinking it would ensure their success. They were on the brink of victory, but Liu Wuxie’s unexpected arrival destroyed everything.

No matter how flawless their plan had seemed, they hadn’t anticipated Liu Wuxie returning with her.

An uproar broke out in the surroundings because no one knew this was all a conspiracy aside from Teng Zijun and the Jian Clan's higher-ups. It was Jian Botong’s plan to trap his own daughter, and the crowd was stunned by his cruelty. No one had ever seen such a heartless father.

“That’s absurd!” Jian Botong shot to his feet, his face pale. If this were proven true, the Jian Clan would lose all standing in Azure Mountain City.

Liu Wuxie swept a glance at Jian Botong with disdain.

"I didn't expect Jian Botong to be such a person to go this far just to sell his daughter. How vicious can he be?" A merchant whispered, and he was utterly disgusted by Jian Botong's actions.

"I underestimated him. I never thought he’d stoop so low as to harm his own daughter," growled the patriarch of a small clan, his voice filled with disgust. Such actions were intolerable to anyone with even basic morals.

“And using the lives of his own clansmen as bargaining chips to win favor with the Teng Clan? He’s lost all sense!” Others grew bolder, voicing their outrage. Jian Botong’s actions had crossed every conceivable moral line.

The crowd’s words pierced Jian Botong like blades, while Jian Xing’er’s eyes burned with hatred.

“Lies! It’s all lies!” Jian Botong stammered, his voice faltering. Shame washed over him as the truth came to light—he knew he had dragged the Jian Clan into disgrace.

There was no need for further proof. His reaction confirmed everything Liu Wuxie had said.

“This is all your fault! Your mother was a slut, and so are you! You brought your lover back to destroy the clan, you filthy wretch!” Jian Xing’er’s stepmother stepped forward, hurling vile insults at both Jian Xing’er and her mother. She accused Liu Wuxie of being Jian Xing’er’s lover, blaming her for the clan’s ruin.

"How dare you!" Chen Ruoyan couldn't take it any longer and delivered another stinging slap to the middle-aged woman’s face, leaving a fresh red mark behind.

"I will speak even if you kill me! Her mother was already pregnant when she married into the Jian Clan! She's the spawn of a bastard that her mother found outside, and she would've been dead if not for us!"

This revelation was too explosive and left Liu Wuxie stunned. Even Jian Xing'er's eyes were filled with disbelief that her biological father wasn't Jian Botong but someone else.

The guests in the hall were also dumbfounded because they didn't expect Jian Xing'er not to be Jian Botong's biological daughter.

"I knew it! How could Jian Botong give birth to such a beautiful daughter when he looks like a bulldog licking piss off a stinging nettle." Many people slapped their thighs in realization. They had suspected it before but didn't expect it to be true.

Teng Zijun sat dumbfounded, with guards supporting him to a corner. He had already informed the clan's experts, and they would soon arrive.

"Is it true?" Jian Xing'er’s voice trembled as she turned to Jian Botong. Everything was starting to make sense—the way he treated her so coldly, with no remorse. She wasn’t his blood, and that explained it all.

“That’s right,” Jian Botong spat, glaring at her. “You’re not my daughter. Your mother refused to consummate our marriage after the wedding. That’s when we realized the vile woman was already pregnant before she even stepped foot into the Jian Clan. To raise you, she had to work like a slave for this family.”

His words dripped with bitterness as he recalled the past.

Jian Xing’er stood frozen. Her mother, exhausted and overworked, had died when she was just five years old, leaving her to survive alone in the Jian Clan’s cold, hostile environment.

Jian Xing'er collapsed in Chen Ruoyan's embrace, falling unconscious. This news was too much for her to bear. She regained consciousness after Chen Ruoyan fed her a pill.

When Jian Xing'er regained consciousness, she let out a heart-wrenching cry, the kind that made even the most hardened onlookers feel sympathy. For five long minutes, she sobbed, the weight of her painful reality crashing down on her. How could anyone endure this?

The tears finally slowed, and with them came understanding. She now knew why her so-called father had never shown any love or care, why he had abandoned the responsibilities of a father.

Her stepmother had always beaten her and fed her leftovers, while only her uncle and aunt had pitied her enough to secretly give her food so she could survive.

Now, the cruel truth explained the glaring difference in how she and her stepbrother had been treated all these years.

"Sister Jian has suffered so much,” Chen Ruoyan sighed, her eyes filled with sorrow.

Jian Xing'er’s mother had been sold by Jian Botong to the Jian Clan, only to die because of his cruelty. The weight of these tragedies was unbearable for Jian Xing’er.

"Why! Why didn't you tell me earlier, you demon!" Jian Xing'er suddenly rushed over to hit and kick Jian Botong.

Fearing for Jian Xing'er's safety, Liu Wuxie began to accumulate ice-attribute energy in his finger.

However, Jian Botong didn't resist this time and allowed Jian Xing'er to hit him. He owed Jian Xing'er too much over the years.

"Are you happy now? You ruined the Jian Clan, and you'll have to live the rest of your life in pain!" Jian Xing'er's stepmother let out mad laughter like a ghost had possessed her.

"You vicious woman! I've long wanted to kill you!" Jian Xing'er suddenly rushed at her stepmother and swung her sword, decapitating the middle-aged woman in one strike. After all, her mother wouldn't have died if it wasn't for this woman.

Jian Xing'er remembered her tough life with her mother after her stepmother had married into the Jian Clan. Her mother had to even give up her own food to feed her daughter.

Her mother hadn't died from exhaustion—she was starved to death.

Not many people in the Jian Clan knew that Jian Xing'er wasn't Jian Botong's biological daughter, and the truth was finally revealed today.

Many in the Jian Clan had always wondered why Jian Botong had taken a second wife, especially when his first wife, Jian Xing'er’s mother, was renowned for her beauty throughout Azure Mountain City. The truth, however, was far darker than anyone had imagined.

Jian Xing’er’s mother had been sold to the Jian Clan by her own father, who, stricken by poverty, saw no other way to support his family. As for Jian Xing’er’s biological father, that remained a mystery. Jian Botong’s investigation had uncovered that her mother had once crossed paths with a mysterious man, but that man had left Azure Mountain City and never returned.

No one could have predicted how far Jian Botong would go. He manipulated Jian Xing'er into returning to the clan, using the lives of her beloved relatives as leverage to force her into marrying into the Teng Clan. He had threatened to kill the only people who had ever cared for her if she refused.

After killing her stepmother, Jian Xing'er slowly walked toward Jian Botong because it was this man who had caused the death of her mother.

"You caused my mother's death. What do you have to say for yourself?" Jian Xing'er asked Jian Botong. She felt heartbroken whenever she recalled how she considered this man her father and remembered how her mother had died.

"I've wronged your mother, and I have nothing to say," Jian Botong replied bluntly.

Jian Xing'er pressed her sword to Jian Botong’s neck, her hand trembling as she hesitated for a long moment. Despite everything—the lies, the cruelty—he had still raised her. Without the Jian Clan, she would have perished on the streets long ago.

"Junior Brother Liu, let's go," Jian Xing'er sheathed her sword and strode out of the main hall like a lifeless zombie.

Liu Wuxie glanced at Jian Botong one last time before deciding to spare him. The man's reputation was in ruins, and the Jian Clan had collapsed. After today, he would lose the support of the Teng Clan and be despised by all. Sometimes, living with shame was a punishment far worse than death.

The three passed through the main hall. No one dared to stop them and allowed them to leave.

"Liu Wuxie, you stole my woman. I'll make sure you're dead!" Teng Zijun roared when Liu Wuxie stepped out of the door.

Liu Wuxie had killed three experts of the Teng Clan and stolen his woman; Teng Zijun was determined to take revenge.

The trio returned to the inn but didn't leave immediately. Jian Xing'er wasn't in a good condition, so Liu Wuxie planned to let her rest for two days before leaving.

When they returned to the inn, Jian Xing'er shut the door, refusing to let Liu Wuxie or Chen Ruoyan in.

"Let Sister Jian have some time alone. She needs to heal her scars," Chen Ruoyan could understand Jian Xing'er's current feelings. Anyone would break down if they were in Jian Xing'er's shoes.

Liu Wuxie nodded, agreeing to give her space. As the two returned to their rooms, he took extra precautions this time. Remembering the dangers from the night before, he set up a spiritual array around them, determined not to let his guard down again.

The events in the Jian Clan spread through Azure Mountain City like wildfire. Word quickly reached every corner that Jian Xing’er was not Jian Botong’s biological daughter and that the clan had gone so far as to sacrifice their own members in a desperate bid to curry favor with the Teng Clan.

Once the truth came to light, the Jian Clan was finished. Its remaining members wasted no time in severing ties, choosing to distance themselves and go their own way.

By the end of the day, the once-proud clan was completely emptied—even the servants abandoned the ship. The cruelty and deceit of their patriarch, Jian Botong, had chilled everyone to the core. His deception of his daughter and willingness to kill his own clansmen for personal gain left him unfit to be considered human in the eyes of many.

Meanwhile, the Teng Clan had gathered many experts because today's events disgraced them. The Teng Clan was the strongest in Azure Mountain City, followed closely by the He Clan. The two clans were practically evenly matched in their strength.

"Patriarch, what should we do? Are we going to let that brat go after killing three experts from our Teng Clan?" A Teng Clan elder stood up and asked.