Chapter 21
[Betrayed by someone he once regarded as his closest kin… how much must that hurt Captain Wei?]
Lou Yuqing couldn’t even begin to imagine the weight of that despair.
As the thought settled, a wave of anger surged through the group.
Si Nidie’s fingers curled tightly at her sides, an almost uncontrollable urge rising in her chest to tear Meng Siyu apart on the spot. Even Gu Buqi, who was usually unshakable, frowned faintly.
What kind of twisted mind did it take… to become something like that?
Wei Houming, however, stood still for a long moment.
The dizziness that had clouded his thoughts gradually receded, clarity returning inch by inch. The cracks in his resolve—once widening—quietly began to settle.
Perhaps he would never have any real bond with those so-called parents or that brother.
But he still had one person.
The most important one.
He lifted his gaze toward Elder Wei Tu.
The elder, unaware of everything that had just transpired, simply gave him a firm, reassuring nod—steady, unwavering.
Something in Wei Houming’s chest settled instantly.
Like an anchor dropping into place.
Courage surged back.
The air fell into a heavy silence.
After a while, the burly guard captain cleared his throat carefully, choosing his words with caution. “Since you say you came to reunite with your relatives… why did the one who reported you claim you were here for revenge? Is there some misunderstanding?”
Wei Houming’s gaze flicked toward the crowd.
The reporting resident was trying his best to shrink into the background, but that furtive movement didn’t escape him.
The man’s scalp tingled under that glance, regret flooding his mind.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down… I should’ve let someone else report it… now look at this mess…
He lowered his head further, wishing he could disappear entirely.
Wei Houming paid him no mind.
Instead, he stepped forward slightly, his voice steady and unmistakably clear. “I came here to verify a few things.”
His gaze swept across everyone present, sharp and resolute.
“Since you’re all here, then bear witness.”
A brief pause.
“From this day onward, I, Wei Houming… have absolutely no ties to the Meng family.”
The words fell cleanly.
Decisively.
“And if anyone from the Meng family dares to use my name for their own gain—” his tone turned colder, “—you’re welcome to come to the Wendao Sect and report it. One hundred spirit stones per visit. No limit.”
The crowd erupted.
No one had expected this—this wasn’t reconciliation at all. This was a public severing.
And one backed with spirit stones.
“Child—what nonsense are you saying?” Father Meng rushed forward, panic creeping into his voice. “We are your family! You can’t just abandon us because you have a bright future ahead!”
Mother Meng broke into sobs, clutching at her chest. “Yes—your father is right! Our family has finally reunited, how can we be torn apart again? It’s like… like cutting flesh from my body!”
The crowd stirred immediately.
“So he just doesn’t want to acknowledge them?”
“Tch, if it were me, I wouldn’t either. What are they good for besides being a burden?”
“What nonsense are you spouting? You want a beating? Say one more word!”
Voices clashed, rising and colliding.
Wei Houming let out a quiet scoff.
They really knew how to play their roles.
Si Nidie couldn’t hold back any longer. She stepped forward, glaring at the crowd.
“What are you all arguing about without knowing anything?” she snapped. “Captain Wei refuses to acknowledge them because they’ve done something inhuman!”
Someone immediately challenged, “Then say it. Let us judge!”
Everyone, apparently, had the heart of a magistrate.
Si Nidie didn’t hesitate.
“The Meng couple,” she said bluntly, “had a second child—Captain Wei—to use as a blood source to cure their eldest son’s illness. But when they discovered he was also born weak…”
Her voice hardened.
“They abandoned him in the wilderness.”
A collective intake of breath rippled through the crowd.
“…Is that true?”
“Of course it is,” Si Nidie shot back.
“That’s slander!” Mother Meng reacted instantly, her voice sharp with fury. “We’ve never done such a thing! You’re a young lady—watch your words!”
Father Meng quickly followed, his tone righteous. “Xiaoyu is our child—and so is he! What kind of parent would harm their own child? Don’t listen to her nonsense!”
With no evidence presented, the two clung stubbornly to denial.
The crowd wavered, glancing between both sides.
Both sounded certain.
So who was telling the truth?
“I don’t intend to argue with you any further.”
Wei Houming’s voice cut cleanly through the noise.
He turned, his expression calm, almost detached.
“We both know what happened. There’s no need to pretend in front of me.”
And with that, he stepped forward.
Leaving.
Decisive. Without hesitation.
The onlookers froze, caught off guard by how cleanly he chose to walk away.
Meng Siyu’s pupils shrank slightly.
He had expected resistance—argument, confrontation—something he could latch onto.
But this…
This was outside his expectations.
“Stop!”
With his parents still stunned, Meng Siyu had no choice but to speak himself, ignoring the strange looks directed at him.
“You throw accusations at our family and then just leave?” His voice trembled faintly, but his words pressed forward relentlessly. “Completely disregarding what this does to us? I know you have grievances—but that doesn’t give you the right to treat us like this!”
The gazes around him burned.
Meng Siyu hated it.
Boy or girl—what did it matter?!
Wei Houming paused.
But only for a moment.
Then he continued walking.
Meng Siyu’s face went pale.
Without warning, his body gave out.
His knees buckled, his weight tipping backward—but his parents lunged forward just in time, catching him before he could hit the ground.
“Xiaoyu!”
Father Meng’s expression changed instantly, panic flashing across his face as he grabbed hold of him. “His illness—it’s acting up again!”
“Xiaoyu, what’s wrong?!” Mother Meng cried, her voice trembling as she cupped his face, eyes already shining with tears.
Cradled in their arms, Meng Siyu’s eyes locked onto Wei Houming’s retreating figure.
His breathing turned ragged. “Stop him… don’t let him go…”
He had endured enough of this broken body.
If he couldn’t secure Wei Houming’s trust now—if he lost this chance—then everything was over.
Absolutely not.
He could not let it slip away.
Mother Meng reacted immediately, wiping her tears as she called out desperately, “Child! Come back! Your brother’s condition isn’t good—we don’t even know how long he has left. Can we sit down and talk properly, as a family?”
The words struck a chord.
Many in the crowd felt their eyes sting.
In the cruel world of cultivation, life and death were never guaranteed. Who didn’t cherish the time they had with their loved ones?
“Fellow Daoist,” someone spoke up, tone self-righteous, “abandoning your family is no different from being a beast. It’s not too late to turn back.”
What he didn’t notice—was the brief stiffness that flickered across the Meng family’s faces.
At the same time, several people—intentionally or not—shifted, blocking Wei Houming’s path.
He stopped.
Not because of them.
But because of Lou Yuqing.
[Found it!]
[They want evidence, right? It’s in Meng Siyu’s storage bag!]
[He has a habit of recording everything—how he manipulated his parents, how he tricked those male cultivators out of their spirit stones—it’s all inside recording stones!]
[The problem is… how do we get them?]
Lou Yuqing was practically pacing in her mind, anxious as a cat on hot bricks.
She wasn’t about to let the Meng family walk away clean.
If possible—she wanted their reputation utterly destroyed.
At that moment, Gu Buqi’s voice quietly transmitted to Elder Wei Tu. “The evidence is in Meng Siyu’s storage bag.”
Elder Wei Tu had already been holding himself back with great difficulty.
In his mind, beating the Meng family half to death—or even killing them outright—wouldn’t have been excessive.
But Ming’er’s feelings had to be considered.
If he acted recklessly, the knot in the boy’s heart might never truly be undone.
Now—his eyes lit up.
Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and snatched Meng Siyu’s storage bag.
No politeness. No warning.
Complete trust in Gu Buqi’s words.
His divine sense swept through it—and immediately locked onto the recording stones.
More than ten of them.
He took them all out.
Meng Siyu felt the emptiness at his waist instantly.
Looking up and seeing the bag in Elder Wei Tu’s hand, his expression collapsed.
“No—!”
Father Meng was stunned, then anger surged forth. “Elder Wei Tu, what is the meaning of this? Are you planning to rob a junior in broad daylight?!”
The crowd stirred uneasily, murmuring under their breath.
If not for his overwhelming strength, someone might have already stepped forward.
Si Nidie, meanwhile, was internally applauding.
Well done!
“Elder Wei Tu… there’s nothing valuable in there. Please return it,” Meng Siyu said, his face pale as death as he watched the recording stones being taken out.
Elder Wei Tu didn’t even spare him a glance.
He casually injected spiritual energy into one of the stones.
A phantom image unfolded in midair.
Mother Meng was still crying out, “Is there no justice left in this world? In broad daylight, an elder of the Wendao Sect is robbing—”
Her voice cut off abruptly.
From the projection, a familiar voice echoed.
Meng Siyu’s.
Cold. Measured. Almost indifferent.
“I secretly read Mother’s Ten Thousand Gu Manual… and found a Gu worm called the Bloodsucking Gu. It can cure my illness,” he said slowly, as if recounting something trivial. “It requires the essence blood of siblings to refine—and once it succeeds, the one who provided that blood… dies.”
A brief pause.
Then—
“I don’t want to die.”
The crowd fell deathly silent.
“Under my guidance, my parents found a solution. A few months later, Mother became pregnant… and gave birth to a child,” Meng Siyu’s voice continued, steady and unhurried. “My younger brother was very cute—he even looked like me when I was little.”
There was a faint pause, almost thoughtful.
“But your condition was even worse than mine. How could your blood be used? How could you possibly die in my place?”
His tone shifted—softening, almost gentle.
“So… little brother, why don’t you go first?”
A chill slid down every spine.
“You wouldn’t know this, but Father originally planned to send you to a mortal family,” Meng Siyu continued lightly. “So I brought the demonic cultivators here… made sure they had no choice but to abandon you.”
The words were casual. Effortless.
As if he were talking about something trivial.
“But don’t worry,” he added, a faint trace of cheerfulness in his voice. “You won’t be lonely. After our parents have a third child… I’ll send him down to keep you company.”
The image froze.
Meng Siyu’s eyes—dark, twisted with venom—hung suspended in the air.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
A cold, suffocating silence spread through the crowd, pressing in from all sides.
Was this… really the same gentle, fragile Xiaoyu?