Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 13 - Truth Reveals

“Now, you can tell me who told you to come to make trouble in the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop.” Liu Wuxie’s voice was like the voice of a reaper, causing Scarred Tiger to tremble in fright. Not only Scarred Tiger but Liu Wuxie’s ruthless means also made everyone's hair stand on end. After all, Liu Wuxie had severed Scarred Tiger’s arm without batting his eye and asked him the same question again. This was a psychological technique to disintegrate Scarred Tiger’s will.

The mercenary group consisted of outlaws, and ordinary interrogation wouldn’t have any effects. The best way was to be ten times more ruthless than them and disintegrate their confidence.

Liu Wuxie rested the short knife on Scarred Tiger’s left arm. He would also sever this arm if Scarred Tiger showed reluctance to reveal the mastermind. Truth be told, Liu Wuxie was playing with fire because he could bury the entire Xu Clan if he made a mistake.

“I-I-It’s Tian Hong. He sent us to sabotage the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop and business. He offered us 10,000 gold coins for the job,” Scarred Tiger blurted out involuntarily. His mind was fully under Liu Wuxie’s influence now because Liu Wuxie’s eyes looked like they could devour his soul.

Scarred Tiger’s words instantly caused an uproar because no one had expected that answer. Scarred Tiger’s reply had far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Xu Lingxue narrowed her eyes, and her facial expression became cold. Sure enough, someone was instigating this matter. After all, Scarred Tiger wouldn’t have dared to make trouble in the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop, no matter how bold he was.

The mine mercenaries blanched and fled into the crowd, hoping to vanish in the turmoil.

“Kill them!” Liu Wuxie ordered coldly.

Deacon Lan soared to the sky, killing three mercenaries by turning them into blood mist with his palm.

The main hall fell into chaos. The crowd was innocent, and they couldn’t attack carelessly. Taking advantage of the confusion, the remaining mercenaries dashed towards the gate.

Right then, a cold ray descended from the sky. Xu Lingxue, who had been silent all along, made her move. A silver longsword appeared in her hand, and her aura of the Xiantian Realm filled the entire workshop.

This scene made Liu Wuxie squint his eyes. He never expected that his wife would be so strong. To reach the Xiantian Realm at eighteen, Xu Lingxue could be considered a genius even in the Great Yan Dynasty.

In just two breaths, all the mercenaries aside from Scarred Tiger were slaughtered and were turned into corpses, lying on the ground. Liu Wuxie didn’t make a move throughout this entire process.

This time, everyone’s gazes changed when they looked at Liu Wuxie again. If not for him, things would’ve ended differently today. The Xu Clan would have been extorted a large sum of money and had their reputation ruined.

“Young Master, we were wrong. We shouldn’t have mocked you.” Dong Changliang suddenly fell to his knees and began slapping himself. The few servants behind him followed suit, trembling in fear.

“Deacon Lan, I’ll leave the rest to you.” Liu Wuxie left the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop. With the matter taken care of, he trusted his father-in-law to handle the rest. He had to concentrate on advancing his cultivation.

But as soon as Liu Wuxie stepped out of the workshop, a wave of fragrance blew over. Xu Lingxue had appeared beside him, and they walked side by side. According to his memories, this should be the first time they were so close to each other.

“How did you know our Xu Clan didn’t forge that broken blade?” Xu Lingxue asked. She and Deacon Lan had examined the broken blade. The forging technique was from the Xu Clan, and even the design was exactly the same, thus making it challenging for them to tell it apart.

“I guessed it!” Liu Wuxie shrugged. Since young, Xu Lingxue had looked down on him. They might be married, but they were no different from strangers. Liu Wuxie wouldn’t be able to see Xu Lingxue most of the time other than during festive seasons.

“You’re still angry about what happened that night?” Xu Lingxue’s voice sounded ethereal, like echoes in a valley. She admitted taking it too far by kicking her husband out of the bridal room on their wedding night, but who asked him to be trash?

But truth be told, Liu Wuxie never blamed her for it.

“It’s all in the past,” Liu Wuxie replied with a wry smile. He was unsure if he should feel angry.

“You seemed to have changed.” Xu Lingxue couldn’t describe it exactly. But Liu Wuxie seemed to have changed since that night. He was no longer a wastrel and became unfamiliar in her eyes. When he looked at her, his eyes were clear like gems, which was entirely different from his lecherous gaze in the past.

Could it be that a person’s character could change after being hurt? Happiness eluded her even as she saw Liu Wuxie’s transformation. He had grown cold, and she sensed no warmth from him even when she was by his side.

“People change.”

When they walked on the street, Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue attracted much attention. But most of the attention was on Xu Lingxue, and disdainful sneers could be heard from the surrounding. After all, Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue were no different from a flower stuck in cow dung.

“You still haven’t told me how you noticed our workshop didn’t forge the blade.” Xu Lingxue took a deep breath, and a smile bloomed on her face. Her smile was like blooming cherry blossoms in spring; even the veil couldn’t conceal her charming smile.

She was breathtakingly beautiful, a femme fatale who could cause the downfall of a country by her beauty alone.

Liu Wuxie rubbed his nose, looking at Xu Lingxue’s smile. It should be the dream of countless men to marry such incredible beauty, but he couldn’t help wearing a wry smile. No one understood the meaning of femme fatale better than him.

As for having no feelings for Xu Lingxue? That wasn’t the case because he had perfectly fused with the previous Liu Wuxie’s memories, inheriting it all, including his feelings.

“Do you remember I picked up a weapon in the main hall yesterday?” Liu Wuxie slowed down his speech. His cold attitude disappeared, and his entire temperament became bright.

“Yeah!” Xu Lingxue nodded. She recalled Liu Wuxie picking up a weapon when her father and mother reprimanded him. But no one paid attention to it, and Liu Wuxie left when the butler came in. But what did it have to do with the broken blade?

“Our Xu Clan’s weapons have a heavy reverberation with a hint of dragon roar. The broken blade mimics our forging methods and could fool anyone. But the reverberation is sharp and distinct. The difference may seem subtle, but it’s actually as vast as the gap between heaven and earth.”

The difference eluded ordinary people but exposed a fatal loophole for Liu Wuxie.

Xu Lingxue turned to look at Liu Wuxie as they stopped walking. Her gaze contained a hint of shock that Liu Wuxie could notice such a slight difference.

“Are you trying to thank me?” Liu Wuxie smirked, causing Xu Lingxue to roll her eyes at him. But a brief moment later, they both smiled. They were happy that they managed to resolve Xu Clan’s crisis.

When they passed the brothel, it was still in ruins, and a group of workers were cleaning up. The Xu Clan had already paid the compensation yesterday.

Liu Wuxie stopped and turned to look at the ruins. This caused a trace of displeasure to appear on Xu Lingxue’s face. Liu Wuxie was her husband. Even if they were married in name, she also didn’t want him to visit such a place.

“What’s the matter? Feeling nostalgia?” Xu Lingxue’s tone was sour, but it wasn’t because she was jealous. Instead, it was more of resentment towards Liu Wuxie for being unable to walk after seeing the brothel.

“Will you believe me if I tell you that night was a plot against me?” Liu Wuxie glanced at the ruins briefly before smiling at Xu Lingxue. He hadn’t investigated what happened that night, so he didn’t want too many people to know about it.

There was no response from Xu Lingxue, probably because Liu Wuxie had disappointed her greatly throughout the years. So no matter what he said, the credibility of his words would significantly decrease.

When they returned to the Xu Clan, everyone already knew what had happened in the workshop. They were deliberating on their next course of action. After all, what happened today had ripped the facade between the two clans.

“Father!” Xu Lingxue called out.

“Father-in-law!” Liu Wuxie greeted.

Xu Yilin was discussing matters with several deacons, but they stopped when they saw Xu Lingxue and Liu Wuxie walking in.

“Wuxie, I know what you did today and am happy.” Xu Yilin came over and patted Liu Wuxie’s shoulder. If not for Liu Wuxie, Xu Yilin couldn’t imagine what would have happened today. The Xu Clan would have fallen victim to the Tian Clan’s scheme, and the Tian Clan would continue to scheme against Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshops until they were destroyed.

“It’s what I ought to do.” Liu Wuxie did not take credit for it because he was just doing what he should.

“Good! Good! Good! You two can go back and rest. I still have other matters to discuss with them.” Xu Yilin was happy to see that his son-in-law had matured. When Xu Yilin continued to discuss with the deacons, Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue left the main hall and returned to their respective residences.

The news of Liu Wuxie resolving Tian Clan’s scheme and saving Xu Clan’s reputation swiftly spread throughout the clan. So when the servants looked at Liu Wuxie again, their attitude towards him had changed completely.

“Young Master!”

“We pay our respects to Young Master!”

“Young Master, are you hungry? I’ll bring food for you!”

“......”

When Liu Wuxie returned to his courtyard, Tie Li was shirtless as he knelt outside the courtyard, pleading guilty. In the past, they looked down on trash like Liu Wuxie. But after what happened today, Tie Li’s attitude towards Liu Wuxie changed significantly.

“Young Master, I apologize for what I did yesterday. I’m willing to accept any punishment!”

“Get up!” Liu Wuxie didn’t blame Tie Li for what happened yesterday. They were destined to be not from the same world, and it was enough that Tie Li could voluntarily admit his mistake.

Liu Wuxie shut his door and put on the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign. He planned to cultivate for the next two days and reach the seventh level of the Houtian Realm. Since the two clans had torn apart their facade, Tian Clan would definitely retaliate wildly at Xu Clan’s other businesses besides weapon workshops.

Although most of the Xu Clan’s income came from weapon workshops, they also had teahouses, restaurants, mines, and other businesses to maintain a huge clan’s operation. But if those were the only businesses, the Xu Clan would stagnate after reaching a certain level.

Liu Wuxie’s goal was to make the Xu Clan the number one clan in the Great Yan Dynasty. This way, he could pursue the immortal path without any concerns.