Ever since Ye Feng learned that his mother was the sister of the head of the Nine-Hearted Begonia family, he had asked Ning Fengzhi to investigate what had happened back then. After more than a year of searching, Ning Fengzhi had finally uncovered some clues.
"Who?" Ye Feng asked eagerly.
"Come with me. I'll take you to see someone," Ning Fengzhi said. His eyes swept over Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and especially Liu Erlong, who was shamelessly clinging to Ye Feng's arm. He then added, "Only Ye Feng can go. The rest of you wait here."
"No," Liu Erlong refused immediately. The image of Shi Nian flashed through her mind, and she was worried he might try something against Ye Feng.
"Sister Erlong, are you really afraid my father will eat my brother?" Ning Rongrong teased with a playful smile.
"Rongrong, it's not your father I'm worried about," Liu Erlong said seriously. "I'm worried about Shi Nian making a move against Ye Feng. He put himself in the spotlight in that last match. There's a good chance he'll be targeted by other academies—especially Canghui Academy."
"Erlong." Ye Feng reached out and gently stroked Liu Erlong's face. She froze, surprised. Ever since their relationship had started, this was the most intimate gesture he had made toward her. Then he said, "Whatever's coming will come eventually. So let it come sooner rather than later. You guys go back first."
Liu Erlong hesitated but finally nodded and left Tiandou City with Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and the others.
Ye Feng followed Ning Fengzhi back into the Great Spirit Arena. Inside one of the private rooms, he met an old acquaintance—the Crown Prince of the Tiandou Empire, Xue Qinghe. He was also Ye Feng and Ning Rongrong's senior brother.
"Uncle Ning," Xue Qinghe greeted respectfully the moment Ning Fengzhi walked in.
Ning Fengzhi smiled and waved him off. "Qinghe, I've told you so many times—you don't need to be so formal."
"Uncle Ning, you are my teacher. My father wouldn't be happy if he thought I was being disrespectful," Xue Qinghe said. Then his gaze fell on Ye Feng. A memory flashed in his mind—of Ye Feng daring to flirt with "her" in the past—but he kept his composure and smiled. "Junior brother, we meet again."
"Yeah," Ye Feng replied with a nod.
He wasn't here to tease Xue Qinghe today. He was here for answers.
With Ning Fengzhi leading, the three of them took their seats around a coffee table. Ye Feng got straight to the point. "Big Brother, I heard you found some information about my parents' deaths. Is that true?"
Xue Qinghe nodded. "Your parents were my idols—especially your father. His carefree, unruly nature was something I admired. Uncle Ning told me about your situation, so I checked the royal archives. I found something that might be relevant."
"What is it?"
"A place," Xue Qinghe said.
"Where?"
"Spirit Hall."
Ye Feng's eyes turned cold. "Spirit Hall? Are you saying they killed my parents?" His gaze sharpened as he stared at Xue Qinghe, fully aware that the person before him was actually Qian Renxue, the eldest daughter of Spirit Hall.
"I only said it might be related to Spirit Hall. I didn't say they were the ones who did it," Xue Qinghe clarified.
"Go on," Ye Feng urged.
"On the day your parents were murdered, the highest ranks of Spirit Hall were all mobilized, searching the continent for a secret treasure. Rumor had it that this treasure was in the hands of another one of my idols."
"Who?"
"Clear Sky Douluo—Tang Hao."
"Tang Hao?"
"Yes. Shortly after, Tang Hao announced his departure from the Clear Sky Sect. Not long after that, he had a decisive battle against Spirit Hall's forces. He won but was badly injured. After this battle, he also became the youngest Titled Douluo in history. The Pope of Spirit Hall passed away soon after, and a new Pope took the throne. The Clear Sky Sect gradually withdrew from public view. It's very likely that Tang Hao's retreat was connected to this battle.
"But the very next day, your parents were murdered outside Holy Spirit Village. You were then adopted by Village Elder Jack. For the next six months, the continent was eerily quiet," Xue Qinghe explained.
"Then... who was the killer?" Ye Feng asked.
"Aside from those who participated in the battle that year, no one knows. It could have been Spirit Hall, or Tang Hao, or someone from the Clear Sky Sect. Or…" Xue Qinghe paused before continuing, "It could have been someone from the Nine-Hearted Begonia family."
"The Nine-Hearted Begonia family?" Ye Feng muttered.
"The Nine-Hearted Begonia spirit is unique. In the entire family, only two people at most will awaken it at the same time. Only when one of them dies will a new child in the family awaken the same spirit. It's not impossible that someone wanted to eliminate your mother so that their own child could inherit the Nine-Hearted Begonia spirit. After all, once someone awakens this spirit, they're treated like royalty—not just within the family, but throughout the Tiandou Empire and the entire spirit master world."
Ye Feng remained silent, thinking deeply.
The Nine-Hearted Begonia spirit only had one ability—area healing. No matter how many spirit rings it had, it only possessed this single power. But in a world where people constantly got injured or sick, it was invaluable. The spirit masters of this bloodline were highly sought after, even by emperors.
Neither Spirit Hall nor the two empires would dare offend the Nine-Hearted Begonia family lightly. That kind of power and influence could easily make someone within the family turn on their own kin.
"Of course," Xue Qinghe continued, "this is just speculation. It's also possible that someone deliberately set it up this way. Until we find the truth, anything is possible. What we do know for certain is that before they died, your parents were staying at an inn. They were called outside by a man in a black robe. Not long after, they were killed."
"My parents were called out of the inn by this black-robed man," Ye Feng said, his voice heavy. "Did that happen before or after Tang Hao fought the former Pope?"
"Before the battle," Xue Qinghe replied. "They died after the battle."
Ye Feng frowned. Even with all this information, he still couldn't figure out who the real murderer was.
"Ye Feng,"
A soft voice broke through his thoughts.
Ning Rongrong had unknowingly stood up and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's been too long. Finding out the truth now is going to be incredibly difficult. This isn't something you can rush.
"If you want to know whether your parents' deaths were connected to that battle, you just need to figure out what the secret treasure was and what really happened that day.
"And if you want to know whether someone in the Nine-Hearted Begonia family was behind it… you just need to find out who awakened the Nine-Hearted Begonia spirit after your mother died."
(End of this chapter)
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