Chapter 240
Chapter 240
Snow Phoenix’s explanation finally unraveled the mystery of my origins.
It turned out the Symbiotic Curse existed to gather together the Fragmented Soul within each twin sister, ensuring that at least one of them survived.
But there were still some things I couldn’t understand.
“If not having children would have allowed both sisters to remain alive, why was the Symbiotic Curse necessary at all?” I asked.
After all, there were many things in life that couldn’t be forced.
If their bodies couldn’t bear children, then they simply shouldn’t have them. Why cruelly harm one of the twin sisters and strip her of her right to exist?
“I asked my great-grandmother the same question,” Snow Phoenix said. “She told me that the Phoenix Clan was still matriarchal at the time. Your mother was the Phoenix Master. After she died in childbirth, the clan was left without a leader, so the Four Great Guardians temporarily took charge of its affairs while everyone waited for you sisters to hatch.”
That made sense.
The position of Phoenix Master was most likely hereditary. Since my mother had been the Phoenix Master, one of my twin sister and me was bound to inherit the title.
However, both of us possessed only a Fragmented Soul. We had to merge before we could become a complete being capable of marrying, bearing children, and continuing the bloodline.
And as the Phoenix Master, producing heirs was a necessity.
My elder sister had been entrusted to someone by our mother, and the clan knew of her existence. I, on the other hand, had been taken back to Cangwu Mountain by the Grand Witch. From the very beginning… my identity had been concealed.
Naturally, I became the one who was sacrificed.
Aside from the Grand Witch, the only other person I could think of who knew I existed was the one to whom my mother had entrusted my sister.
Whether my aunt knew was uncertain. After all, before I was even born, her Souls had already shattered into pieces.
As I followed that line of thought, more questions arose.
I asked, “Did your great-grandmother ever tell you who my mother entrusted my sister to?”
“The Right Guardian,” Snow Phoenix said. “But the Right Guardian died long ago, and his grandson took over his position as Right Guardian.”
I immediately asked, “What’s his grandson’s name?”
Snow Phoenix clenched her teeth, practically grinding out the three syllables. “Feng Xianqiu.”
Feng Xianqiu… Qiu… Brother Qiu?!
So his name was Feng Xianqiu, and he was the Phoenix Clan’s current Right Guardian!
The fact that my mother had entrusted my sister to Feng Xianqiu’s grandfather showed just how much she had trusted their family.
As the heir to the Right Guardian’s lineage, Feng Xianqiu had to know the truth as well.
Everything suddenly made sense.
I crouched down and sat beside Snow Phoenix, then asked a question that had been weighing heavily on my mind. “As far as I know, Feng Xianqiu and I seem to have a betrothal. Do you know anything about that?”
“I do. My great-grandmother mentioned it,” Snow Phoenix said solemnly. “Before his grandfather died, he forced Feng Xianqiu to swear that he would marry you. Very few people know about it, given your hidden identity.”
I frowned.
The Former Right Guardian had forced Feng Xianqiu to swear on his deathbed?
In that case, whether Feng Xianqiu had ultimately entered into a betrothal with me was far from certain.
After all, by then, he and Feng Lishu were already burning with passion and thick as thieves.
I felt as though I had caught hold of something, and inexplicable panic rose within me.
Steadying myself, I asked the most obvious question. “So my twin sister is Feng Lishu, correct?”
Snow Phoenix froze and looked at me in confusion.
Her expression seemed to say, Isn’t that obvious?
My thoughts churned. It seemed Snow Phoenix knew a great deal of the truth, but some matters remained beyond her reach.
Perhaps even her great-grandmother knew nothing about them.
After thinking for a moment, I asked, “Who is your great-grandmother? What position does she hold in the Phoenix Clan? If I have the chance, may I pay her a visit?”
To our surprise, Snow Phoenix’s eyes instantly reddened.
“My great-grandmother…”
She began to sob. It went without saying that she and her great-grandmother were very close.
Li Qingying pulled out a few tissues and handed them to her. “Here. Wipe your tears.”
Then she fetched the first-aid kit and silently began cleaning Snow Phoenix’s wounds.
She had always been sharp-tongued but softhearted.
It took Snow Phoenix a while to regain control of her emotions. She gave Li Qingying a grateful look before saying, “My great-grandmother is old and in poor health. Every three months, I would sneak into Spirit Butterfly Valley, secretly dig up a few medicinal herbs, and bring them back to brew medicine for her.
“Spirit Butterfly Valley lies within the Netherworld Realm, right next to the Phoenix Clan’s territory. I never met the Valley Lord, nor had I ever been caught. But the last time I went, I ran into Feng Lishu and was nearly bitten to death.”
So that was what had happened.
I hurriedly said, “The herbs you dug up back then are still being kept by Uncle Huo. If you need them, I’ll call him and ask him to bring them over.”
“I’m afraid they’ll never be needed again.” Snow Phoenix’s tears began streaming down her face once more. “During the time since I was rescued and brought to the Pawnshop, Feng Xianqiu seized control of all one hundred-plus members of the Snow Phoenix Clan. My great-grandmother was thrown into the dungeon. It’s cold and damp down there. Even if they haven’t tortured her, she won’t last long. And besides… how could they possibly not torture her?”
I silently pieced everything together.
Feng Xianqiu must have learned what happened in Spirit Butterfly Valley immediately.
He also knew I had saved Snow Phoenix.
So after his operation in Tafeng Village failed, he put this plan into motion. He seized the Snow Phoenix Clan and imprisoned the great-grandmother Snow Phoenix loved most, using them to force her to help him.
To save her great-grandmother and her entire clan, Snow Phoenix had swallowed the Ice Silkworm, drunk the Dragon Bone Blood, and seized the opportunity to feed me her blood.
It was impossible for me not to resent her.
Everything she had told us today fit together logically, but I still couldn’t trust her completely.
One could never be too careful.
I’d already been burned once. This time, I had to keep my guard up.
Her story also reminded me of what Feng Xianqiu had said before leaving.
He had said, “Ah Li, you can’t escape the palm of my hand. You’ll come back to me.”
Snow Phoenix had already been gravely wounded that day. Once she left the Pawnshop, capturing her would have been effortless for Feng Xianqiu. Why, then, had he allowed her to linger outside the Pawnshop?
He had deliberately refrained from capturing her so that she would come begging me for help.
That meant the story about her great-grandmother being captured was almost certainly true.
But would Feng Xianqiu really be so certain I would return to the Phoenix Clan just to save a great-grandmother I had never even met?
No. That clearly wasn’t enough leverage.
Not unless her great-grandmother’s identity affected me directly.
With that thought, I pressed further. “So when my mother gave birth all those years ago, your great-grandmother was there. She knows everything that happened, doesn’t she?”
Snow Phoenix’s answer took everyone by surprise.
“Sis, the Snow Phoenix Clan is the most unique group within the Phoenix Clan. We don’t take orders from the Phoenix Master, nor do we answer to anyone else in the Phoenix Clan. We live at the foot of Cangwu Mountain because we were born to protect it!”
My brow furrowed even deeper. “Protect Cangwu Mountain? Doesn’t it already have the Grand Witch?”
Cangwu Mountain also contained Nirvana Fire. It wasn’t a place just anyone could enter.
Even the Grand Witch could keep herself safe because of it, so why would Cangwu Mountain need the entire Snow Phoenix Clan to guard it?
Snow Phoenix replied with absolute conviction, “Because the Snow Phoenix Clan has always believed that although the Fire Witch Goddess fell on Cangwu Mountain, her Godhood still remains there…”