Cannon fodder in a classic cultivation story

11. The main male lead

Author note

Hello guys! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I edited all the chapters, so —I had to move some blocks of text because some chapters were too long and others too short. Half of this chapter is from the previous (old, not edited) ch 10. The same is for the other chapters, but the plotline is the same. More detail after the chapter.

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The room fell into a heavy silence, broken only by the sound of laboured breathing. Bodies littered the floor, blood pooling around them. 

The father, now propped up against the wall, glared at the newcomer, his breath shallow and rapid, struggling to maintain its balance.

"Who the hell are you? What deal do you have with the Poison Clan to go against the Great Immortals?"

The mysterious figure didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached into his storage bag and retrieved a long red blanket, which he gently wrapped around Chunwan. His movements were deliberate, calm, and strangely tender contrasting to the violence that had just unfolded. After securing the blanket, he gave a slight, reassuring smile and turned his attention to the Clan Head.

"Patriarch She, you don't need to worry. I'm not in cahoots with the people from the White Sword Clan," the figure spoke, his tone soft yet filled with authority.

He tilted his head slightly, an unspoken gesture of respect. With deliberate care, he reached up and removed a black mask, revealing his face.

Chunwan gasped in surprise, her eyes widening as the face before her became clear. Patriarch She's eyes, too, widened in disbelief, mirroring Su Jing's shock. It was none other than Qingwu-though younger, more youthful than Su Jing remembered, it was unmistakably him. The sword was a confirmation of that.

Chunwan, overwhelmed by the emotions of the moment, couldn't hold back her tears. She cried, her sobs shaking her small frame.

Seeing her like that, Qingwu gently patted her head, his voice low and soothing. "Little Ju, you don't have to be afraid anymore. Everything's okay now."

Patriarch She, however, seemed to have the opposite reaction as he was even more angered by Qingwu's presence - which Su Jing understood since after all, wasn't Qingwu coming from the victim clan which had its Clan head killed by Patriarch She?

"Has the second young master of the Black Tortoise Clan come to exact revenge on the Poison Clan? Is your clan's vendetta not satisfied yet?" he rasped, the accusation heavy despite his frailty. "You bastards or the White Sword Clan, that's the same thing!"

Blood trickled from the corner of Patriarch. She's mouth as his body trembled. Su Jing, however, had her mind occupied with the image of Qingwu, as his appearance right here and right now put in chaos all the things she knew.

In the story, Qingwu did not know the young miss of the Poison Clan.

Even when Chunwan died, it was because she lied about her identity to him.

But now, seeing him here, it was clear he had known all along. The political web seemed much more complicated than what had been presented to Feng Zhihao. Su Jing couldn't make sense of it, and the questions swirled in her head.

The Poison Clan was also not even included in the main course of events. It was just a side story to reason why the high treasure Feng Zhihao had appeared.

Qingwu shook his head firmly, breaking through Su Jing's spiralling thoughts. "Patriarch She, our clans have both been wronged. The White Sword Clan schemed against us, pitting us against one another. I came to retrieve you and the young miss before more harm could be done."