Volume One, Chapter 18: Trouble Truly Strikes

Cheng Zhouxing swiftly shielded Cheng Xi behind him. With a sharp slap, his palm struck her face!

Madam Cheng shouted angrily, “You’re still protecting her? Step aside! Today, I will teach her what discipline means!”

“Mother, please stop this!” Cheng Zhouxing groaned in frustration.

Cheng Xi glanced at Cheng Zhouxing’s face, then sneered coldly. Turning to Madam Cheng, she said, “Your Cheng family is cursed, which is why your descendants are so few. The fate of the Cheng lineage is doomed.”

“What did you say?”

“What are you talking about?”

Mrs. Li and Madam Cheng exclaimed in unison.

Cheng Xi then looked at Mrs. Li, noticing the fear and shock etched across her face. Interesting.

Could it be true that Cheng Fenglan and Cheng Yun Jian are really Cheng Zhouxing’s children?

Cheng Zhouxing also noticed Mrs. Li’s unusual behavior and stared intently at her. Mrs. Li muttered to herself, “No wonder I couldn’t keep the child before. I always thought it was my poor health, but it turns out the Cheng family is cursed…”

Cheng Fenglan and Cheng Yun Jian exchanged a complicated look. Could they truly be children of the Cheng family?

“Mother, what is going on? We’re father’s children, so how could we have demon blood?” Cheng Fenglan asked anxiously.

Mrs. Li collapsed to the ground, gripping her daughter’s hand tightly. “When I was pregnant, I was overjoyed and planned to tell your father once the baby was stable. But soon, I began to miscarry. Terrified, I stayed in bed day after day, taking countless medicines to protect the fetus—but nothing worked. Despite my caution, the bleeding wouldn’t stop. Desperate, I sought help at a temple. On the way back, I met a Taoist healer who said my miscarriage was caused by malevolent spirits. He gave me a bottle of medicine, instructing me to take one pill daily. After finishing the bottle, I was told I’d be fine. I was desperate and didn’t care if he was a fraud—I just wanted to save you. Unexpectedly, the fetus did seem to stabilize after taking the medicine.”

Cheng Zhouxing’s feelings were complex. So Cheng Fenglan and Cheng Yun Jian were truly his children?

Mrs. Li had neither lied nor betrayed him?

Madam Cheng’s expression was even more dramatic, yet her aged face remained thick-skinned as she kept calling them her obedient grandchildren, while cursing the Taoist healer incessantly for leading them astray.

Cheng Xi turned and locked eyes with Madam Cheng, who looked at her with disgust, as if it weren’t her who hastily sent for a suitor earlier.

Ha!

“Old lady, don’t rejoice just yet. Even if your grandson is confirmed, who knows how long he’ll live?” Cheng Xi sneered.

Her words instantly reminded Madam Cheng and Mrs. Li of the curse. They hurriedly bombarded Cheng Zhouxing with questions.

But Cheng Zhouxing, still unaware of the full truth, could offer little explanation.

***

Cheng Xi turned and walked out. She needed to consider her next move.

She didn’t want to live — but it was one thing if others wouldn’t let her live.

“Cheng Xi!”

Hearing Cheng Yun Jian’s voice, she didn’t stop and kept walking.

Cheng Fenglan chased after her, her gaze icy as she spoke to her brother, “Why are you calling her? Haven’t we suffered enough because of her?”

The family almost fell apart!

Cheng Yun Jian looked at his sister with a headache and said, “What’s the point in going against Cheng Xi now? We all bear the Cheng family’s curse. We should unite.”

“Who would team up with her! Brother, once we get into Qinghe Academy, the teachers there will surely have a solution. Can she be more capable than the academy’s instructors?” Cheng Fenglan said firmly.

“Fenglan is right. We don’t need that little she-devil’s help. Study hard, get into the academy. The teachers there must have a way. They won’t just watch students fall ill,” Madam Cheng said cheerfully.

Her grandson was hers again; how could she not be happy?

Mrs. Li’s complexion shifted repeatedly as she looked at Madam Cheng with deep resentment. But Cheng Zhouxing was a devoted son, so she forced herself not to lose her temper on the spot.

She remembered this debt—it would be repaid one day!

***

Cheng Xi met up with Baohua and the Four-Eyed Demon Fox and headed straight to Qinghe Academy.

After Cheng Zhouxing finished handling matters at home, he went to find Cheng Xi the next day, only to learn she had sold the family estate and left.

He stood before the house, unmoving for a long time. He never expected Cheng Xi to leave just like that.

Didn’t she want to uncover the truth about the curse?

It concerned her very life!

Only now did Cheng Zhouxing realize Cheng Xi truly didn’t care anymore—she didn’t want him as her father.

Back at the Cheng residence, Mrs. Li had packed the children’s bags. They were also leaving today to take the entrance exam for Qinghe Academy.

Cheng Zhouxing, lacking talent, couldn’t become a talisman master himself, but he knew he had to climb higher. He wanted to uncover the truth about the curse.

…

Qinghe Academy was located on the far edge of Qinchuan, backed by the sprawling Wanxing Mountains, stretching hundreds of miles in all directions. The bustling market town lay at the mountain’s base.

The Wanxing Mountains were famed for their rare herbs and exotic creatures. The climate was mild, and the scenery breathtaking—an ideal place for study and cultivation.

Qinghe Academy was built on the outer slopes of Wanxing Mountain, ascending continuously until it disappeared into the clouds.

It was one of the four major academies in the nation of Tianshuo. Its dean, Jiang Zhongqiao, was renowned among the four heads, attracting a great number of applicants each year.

Once inside Qinghe Academy’s territory, it felt like a different world from outside. Various demon beasts appeared constantly, though most were not yet enlightened—only slightly more intelligent than ordinary livestock or wild animals.

Natural-born cultivators like the Four-Eyed Demon Fox were rare. Perhaps because Dean Jiang and Master Yuan favored paper manipulation techniques, paper figures could be seen everywhere in the market.

But these paper figures were dull-eyed and stiff in movement—far inferior to Baohua. Even so, Cheng Xi was amazed by the dazzling goods lining the streets.

When she asked about prices, she immediately felt the sting in her purse. Here, transactions weren’t conducted with gold or silver but with talisman beads.

The exchange rate between gold and talisman beads was as high as one to a hundred—what was this but highway robbery?

Even if she converted all her assets, she’d only have five or six hundred talisman beads. No wonder Cheng Zhouxing and Mrs. Li withheld the original mistress’s dowry from Cheng Yun Jian and his sister.

Being a talisman master was an expensive profession.

After a walk through Qinghe Academy’s market, she instantly went from wealthy to penniless.

“Miss Cheng? Why are you here?”

Cheng Xi turned toward the voice and saw Jiang Boyu holding a large sack, his face full of surprise.

“Lord Jiang, what a coincidence.”

“A bit of one,” Jiang Boyu twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Miss Cheng, what brings you here?”

Cheng Xi was about to speak when Jiang Boyu continued, “I see—you’re here for Jiang Weiran, right? But didn’t you two break off your engagement?”

Jiang Weiran was here too?

Jiang Boyu looked at Cheng Xi with a complicated expression, recalling how Jiang Weiran obeyed her completely even after losing an arm. He appeared to understand everything.

“Lord Jiang, I know you’re busy. I’ll be going now.” Cheng Xi just wanted to lay low and grow stronger, so she was eager to slip away.

“Cheng Xi! Is it really you?”

Jiang Weiran’s voice came from behind. Cheng Xi froze, expression blank. The martial world was truly full of familiar faces!