Une aura glaçante

Chapitre 77

That night, Xiaodao and Xiaoyue rested in the same room.

Xiaoyue heard the small wooden bed next to her creaking and shaking in the middle of the night. She looked up and saw Xiaodao rolling around in the bedding like a fried dough stick.

Xiaoyue sat up and saw Xiaodao frowning, propping her chin up with her hand. She would lie down and sigh, then roll over and turn over in the air. Tossing and turning was not enough to describe her awkwardness at that moment.

"Xiao Dao," Xiao Yue couldn't help but ask, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Xiao Dao looked up at her, and that glance startled Xiao Yue. Her expression was so mournful…

"What's wrong?" Xiaoyue got out of bed, sat down beside her, and touched her forehead. After confirming that she wasn't sick, she felt that Xiaodao might have something on her mind. "What happened?"

"I'm even more of a fool than my older brother, I'm the real Hao Er!" Xiao Dao said with a mournful face.

Xiaoyue chuckled, "Hao Er..."

"I spoke too quickly and fell into that bastard Xue Beihai's trap again." Xiao Dao held his head. "It's all over. I've killed that scoundrel Xue Er."

Xiaoyue was completely confused. "What's wrong with Young Master Xue?"

Xiao Dao hugged her pillow. "That guy, he knew all along this morning but didn't tell me. He could have just scolded me a couple of times, so I wouldn't have had trouble sleeping."

Xiaoyue lay down too, hugging another pillow, and asked her, "What did you do?"

"I told those three monsters in the Xue family that Xue Beihai was still alive."

"So Xue Beihai really didn't die?"

"yes!"

"Then what you said is true." Xiaoyue asked, puzzled. "What's the problem with that?"

"Sigh, you don't understand." Xiao Dao rubbed his forehead in frustration. "That old fox Xue Beihai is cunning and ruthless. He's not afraid of me telling anyone. He probably figured it out a long time ago."

"Explain yourself clearly, you're driving me crazy!" Xiaoyue said anxiously.

"Tsk." Xiao Dao sat up. "Think about it, there are already many different opinions and rumors about Xue Er in the martial arts world. Some people say he is unfathomable, while others say he is hopeless."

Xiaoyue nodded.

“This time, Xue Beihai suddenly faked his death without any reason. He hid himself and disappeared. Where are the people in the martial arts world going to look for him?” Xiao Dao hugged his knees through the blankets. “But Xue Er has suddenly started moving around in the martial arts world lately. Since everyone can’t find Xue Beihai, they have to come looking for him, right?”

Xiaoyue was stunned.

"And another thing, why did he act like a coward in front of those three monsters from the Beihai Sect before? It was because he didn't want to cause trouble." Xiao Dao scratched his head. "Now if more people from the martial arts world come looking for him, he'll have to fight back if he doesn't want to get beaten up. When they see that he deliberately hid things before, they'll probably guess even more... Oh, I know what he meant when he said he wanted to escape."

Xiaoyue had almost figured it all out by now, and asked knowingly, "It's about escaping his older brother's control, right?"

Xiao Dao looked up, then scratched his head in frustration, "Was I really that stupid? I even thought I was clever."

"You're the only one who could guess that on your own." Xiaoyue smiled slightly and reached out to pat her head. "Actually, the young master said this a long time ago, and Chonghua knows it too."

"Huh?" Xiao Dao tugged at the blanket. "No way, they knew I was a bit of a goofball all along?"

Xiaoyue was both amused and exasperated. "Of course I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about Young Master Xue."

Xiao Dao tilted his head. "Xue Er?"

"In the vast martial arts world, all martial artists are brave and fierce. Who has ever been convinced of whom? But why has Xue Beihai been the number one in the world for so many years, and no one has been able to shake his position?" Xiaoyue gently shook her head. "Besides his excellent kung fu, the young master said that the most important thing is his cunning and strategy. Xue Beihai is an overly clever person."

Xiao Dao stared blankly at the floral pattern on the quilt. Indeed... she had never witnessed Xue Beihai's kung fu, but at first glance she felt he was unworthy of his reputation. However, now it seemed that she had been tightly controlled by him all along, even though they had only met once and exchanged a few words.

"Young Master said that since childhood, Young Master Xue has been living in a cage built by his elder brother. No matter how capable he is, he can't escape. He's like a puppet with its strings tripped." Xiaoyue sighed softly. "The scariest thing is that this cage is invisible to the naked eye. Every action he takes, every moment, may be to complete a plan for his elder brother. In the end, he may save people or he may harm them."

Xiao Dao frowned, realizing what he meant. "So Xue Er always seems so nonchalant because he's given up on himself, not because he's pretending to be profound."

Xiaoyue said helplessly, "Chonghua told me something before."

"What?" Xiao Dao asked quickly, "About Xue Er?"

“Yes, one thing is enough to prove how terrifying Xue Beihai is.” Xiaoyue lowered her voice a little, “Young Master Xue was actually born to a concubine. His mother was very beautiful and favored, but unfortunately she died in childbirth.”

Xiao Dao raised an eyebrow—they really weren't born of the same mother!

"Therefore, as soon as Young Master Xue was born, he was handed over to Xue Beihai's mother, the First Madam, to raise." Xiaoyue's expression turned cold as she spoke. "The First Madam hated Young Master Xue's mother very much. Not long after, the Master of the Xue family also died, and the power of the family fell into the hands of the First Madam."

"That wicked woman must have abused him since he was a child, right?" Xiao Dao said angrily.

“No, Young Master Xue has been learning both literature and martial arts since he was a child. The First Madam has put in a lot of effort to cultivate him, but she doesn’t dote on him.” Xiaoyue said, looking at Xiaodao. “Chonghua said that when he was a child, he went to the Beihai Sect to play. Xue Beifan went to practice his skills, and he had to wait for an hour. He felt stuffy, so he wandered around the courtyard. Finally, he passed by the First Madam’s room and heard the First Madam teaching Xue Beifan.”

Xiao Dao squinted his eyes. "Teach him what?"

“Teach him that to use someone, the more capable the better. To control someone, it’s better to be kind to them than to coerce them. To torment someone, no pain is as satisfying as heartache. To truly hate someone, to make them lose everything and be forgotten is more satisfying than to kill them a thousand times.”

Xiao Dao's mouth dropped open. "So Xue Beihai learned his evil from his mother! A big monster begets a little monster."

"Chonghua said he didn't understand at the time and didn't pay attention. When he was about to leave, he heard the First Madam instruct Xue Beihai, 'That woman's son is the best pawn for you to complete your great cause. Use him to your heart's content, but make sure he doesn't get away. Also, the most important thing is... don't let him be happy, not even for a day! Destroy whatever he likes.'"

Xiao Dao could almost picture the monstrous expression on the First Madam's face as she gritted her teeth and said those words. He slammed his hand on the bed and exclaimed, "Isn't Xue Er too easy to bully? Why not just kill that mother and son monsters?"

"Easier said than done." Xiaoyue shook her head, then, seeing Xiaodao grinding her teeth in frustration, she smiled and tilted her head to look at her. "Xiaodao, you're so smart, why don't you help Young Master Xue? You care about him too, don't you?"

Xiao Dao paused for a moment, then pouted, "Wasn't I just being used by Xue Beihai... Besides, who cares about him?"

"Actually, this time Young Master Xue is indeed very different. He's never taken anything seriously before," Xiaoyue pondered, stroking her chin. "Do you think it's because of you?"

Xiao Dao frowned upon hearing this. "Is this time different?"

"Um."