Yan Wenqing's body jerked and gasped, drowning in its own blood. Driven between his shoulder blades and right into the dirt was none other than his own Mo blade, which Li Chenyuan was gripping the handle of.
It was almost too terrible a sight. Yan Wenqing had been cut virtually in half from his neck to his sternum! He gasped for air, blood flowing from his lips like a brook, his eyes bloodshot, pupils shrunken to pinpoints.
This was when Qiu Yunru knew for certain that there was no hope of fighting back this situation. Even if tournament officials managed to arrive, they may not stand a chance. The amount of demonic qi that that Demon Soul Idol had contained...it was so great that it had increased Li Chenyuan's martial skills a hundredfold. Who knew what it had done to his cultivation? Not even a Nascent Soul would be able to face off with him right now!
"You...Such...dishonor..." Yan Wenqing rasped. A bubbling, gurgling noise rose from him, and he went limp on the ground.
Satisfied, Li Chenyuan ripped the Mo blade out of the arth with a great tearing noise, bringing dirt, blood, and guts with it in a terrifying arc. Qiu Yunru startled; Yan Wenqing's blood spattered onto his cheek.
Li Chenyuan advanced forward, twirling the Mo blade as though it weighed as much as a bamboo staff. He tilted his head at Qiu Yunru and gave him a bone-chilling smile.
"Didn't you say you're my shixiong? Is my shixiong not proud of me? I'm so strong..."
Qiu Yunru involuntarily stumbled backward. He cursed himself internally; if anyone was watching, they'd surely think he was a coward! Even now, Reputation points gnawed at the back of his mind. But he quickly shook himself, raising his sword with a shaky arm.
"I am indeed your shixiong. My name is Qiu Yunru. Surely you know that this isn't the kind of thing I would be proud of."
"Are you a cruel shixiong?" Li Chenyuan's eyes gleamed with entertainment. Blood dripped from his lip. "Or are you a kind one? I can't remember. Remind me."
Qiu Yunru took another step back, swallowing a painful lump in his throat. "I...suppose I'm kind? Does it matter? I've mentored you, and watched you grow. We've grown alongside each other."
Li Chenyuan was close--too close, now. Qiu Yunru's head began to ache from the roiling demonic qi oppressing the air all around.
"I feel that I've suffered," Li Chenyuan said simply. His smile gleamed ominously, but his eyes flashed with an emotion that might have been anger. "Are you one of the ones that made me suffer?"
Qiu Yunru felt his arms going numb from being locked up. He relaxed them forcefully, debating on his words.
Should he say that? All this time, he'd purposefully avoided mentioning it, but...
To save his life, wasn't it worth it to stop keeping such a useless secret?
"Your uncle made you suffer. His name is Li Fengguang. He locked you up in the Li Mansion for many years, abusing you and starving you. Do you remember?"
Li Chenyuan's eyes flickered. The Mo blade faltered in his hands, its tip dipping down towards the dirt momentarily. An expression of pain overtook Li Chenyuan's face, and he held his head with one hand, grimacing intensely.
"...Li Fengguang..." Pain flashed through his eyes, and his shoulders hunched slightly. "...It seems familiar."
"That's right," Qiu Yunru continued. Since Li Chenyuan had shown a moment of weakness, it was best to pounce and keep going now!
"I met you in the back hallways of the mansion one night two years ago. You slapped my hand away. That night, I created an aromatic poison called Permanent Weakness Incense. I burned it in your uncle's room all night, and the next morning he woke up without the ability to move or speak. I was the one who disabled him!"
He skimmed over those parts about running back and forth for hours to try and get all of those prostitutes to despawn. That wasn't relevant right now!
Li Chenyuan snarled. He clutched at the base of his hair, jaw tightening. "Yeah, right! You expect me to believe--"
As though punched in the gut, he suddenly broke off. A look of horror spread over his face, and the violet glow in his eyes dimmed three notches.
And then, he began to cry!
Qiu Yunru was pretty used to comforting crying people by now. How many times had this damn game put him through that situation?! Though, this was a little different, seeing as the crying person could kill him with a touch. But it was better to comfort him than to not and leave his rage to build, right?!
Qiu Yunru stepped forward, tentatively reaching out a hand. His heart squeezed at the sight of the tears and snot streaming down Li Chenyuan's pale face. He looked incredibly ill--a side effect of being infused with so much demonic qi at once.
"Gege..." Li Chenyuan croaked. He stumbled forward, releasing the Mo blade and falling onto his knees, where he latched onto Qiu Yunr's legs like a kid holding the leg of their parent. He buried his face in Qiu Yunru's knee, his snot wetting the fabric. Looking up at Qiu Yunru with large eyes still flickering purple, he said something that made Qiu Yunru freeze: "Gege, I saw you. I know you're the one who did it...If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead, or worse...still locked up in a shed..."
"...You knew...?" Qiu Yunru blurted, covering his mouth.
Li Chenyuan nodded pitifully. His body twitched, eyes glowing a bright purple for a moment, then dimming. "I followed you to the Jade Clouds Sect...Gege is my savior. No one else matters. I just want to be with you!"
Qiu Yunru couldn't even bring himself to respond. His mind floundered.
If this kid had known all this time...didn't that change everything about their relationship?!
Or, perhaps it didn't?
I don't know, I don't know! How can I even think about this right now?! Later, later! Ah!
Qiu Yunru sucked in a breath and patted Li Chenyuan's head awkwardly, feeling a little dizzy. Even though he was the Player in this setting of Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits...how had he missed such an important piece of information for this long? Usually, NPCs that kept secrets from the player would reveal their information within a few in-game weeks to keep pacing quick and satisfying. Here, it had been two years!
"Well...if you know...I guess that's all right...Do you feel a little calmer, Li-shidi?"
Li Chenyuan nodded into his knee, hugging his leg tighter. "I feel sick." He looked up at Qiu Yunru with a look of shock on his face. "I...I killed someone! I killed two people!" His eyes darted around the clearing in panic, and he somehow clung to Qiu Yunru even tighter, like a monkey to a brank. "Are they going to take me away from you? If they find out, I won't be able to stay at the Jade Clouds Sect! They can't find out! Gege, please don't tell them it was me!"
Qiu Yunru stiffened. So it was like that; though Li Chenyuan wasn't himself when infused with vast demonic qi, he could still remember what he had done. He swallowed, trying to think of something comforting, but was unable to. So, he lied: "They won't find out. We can tell them it was a Shadow Puppet. There's not enough evidence...don't worry, Li-shidi..."
It was better to console him and keep him calm than to make him afraid right now, right? Any small negative emotion might trigger him back into murder!
Suddenly, Li Chenyuan's eyes narrowed. He rose, pointing coldly to something behind Qiu Yunru.
"You...Lei Ruolan. You saw everything."