**Chapter 119: Utter Depravity**
Although he didn't plan to reveal his identity, he could still show himself, ask questions, and then erase the other person's memory. The spiritual sense of a cultivator had endless wonderful uses; achieving this with mortals was simple.
Therefore, Uncle Qin, who had been dozing off in a hazy dream, suddenly shivered. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a transcendent young man with white hair and a high crown, fastened with a jade hairpin. His features were handsome and impressive, with a sharp, distinct handsomeness that held a certain edge, yet his eyes were full of warmth.
Uncle Qin couldn't help but rub his eyes, exclaiming in disbelief, "Y... Young Master Yu?"
Uncle Qin had once been his carriage driver and also guarded his courtyard gate. He had accompanied Wang Yu for ten years, starting from when Wang Yu was six. Wang Yu didn't know why he had become the main gatekeeper now.
As a cultivator, far from the age of decline, Wang Yu had only matured compared to over a decade ago, shedding his youthful look. His features were more refined and fairer—a benefit of cultivation. Overall, he still bore an eighty percent resemblance to his sixteen-year-old self.
"It's me. It's been many years. Is my father in the residence?"
"This..."
Uncle Qin rubbed his eyes again. After a long silence, two streams of old tears slid from the corners of his eyes. He began to sob almost uncontrollably, his voice trembling.
"Young Master... you've returned too late. The Wang residence is now headed by Wang Wu. Even the Eld..."
He stopped abruptly, as if remembering something, and asked urgently, "Young Master Yu, are you... are you a cultivator now?"
"I am."
In truth, Wang Yu had prepared himself for bad news before coming, but he hadn't expected it to be this severe.
Only after Uncle Qin confirmed that Wang Yu possessed a cultivator's power did he slowly recount the events of these years.
"Back then, after you disappeared, your father searched all of Stone Lake City but couldn't find you. He suspected Young Master Wu was behind it and asked the family elders to intervene."
"Young Master Wu was about to leave for the Lingsong Sect to cultivate but was stopped by the clansmen. He insisted it wasn't him. Your father refused to believe him, demanding he produce you. The elders sided with your father."
"They felt Young Master Wu had gone too far. You were all part of the same clan, why go to such extremes? But after a delay of several days, the immortal from the Lingsong Sect grew impatient and had the City Lord's residence settle the matter."
"The City Lord's residence pinned the blame on your father, sided with Young Master Wu... and your father was beaten... his limbs were broken..."
As he spoke, Uncle Qin's tears fell again. Wang Yu's eyes also reddened, and he clenched his fists.
Others might not know, but he knew the actual situation clearly. They were all birds of a feather! How dare they be so ruthless!
"After that, your father became deeply depressed. He would just lie in bed发呆 (in a daze) every day, his hearing gone. He lay in bed for half a year... and then passed away."
"Three years later, Young Master Wu returned once. He said you had been captured by a demonic sect to be a slave and were surely dead. After that, he demonstrated several immortal techniques."
"He expanded the Wang family's business several times over. Now, five or six streets in Stone Lake City are Wang family assets. There are also ten thousand acres of fertile farmland outside the city. Their relationship with the City Lord's residence grew closer."
"But to expand the team of herb gatherers, Wang Wu clashed with the family elders. Wang Wu demanded they tribute a hundred-year-old medicinal herb every day."
"These are hundred-year-old herbs! They're inherently scarce, and the mountains are very dangerous. Only by expanding the herb gatherer teams was there a chance to find them. He didn't want the ones grown in the herb gardens."
"In short, the elders didn't want to see so many casualties, saying it violated the harmony of heaven... and then... the elders were all buried in the clan cemetery. Now, there isn't a single direct family member in the Wang residence over fifty years old."
Wang Wu...
To be so cruel. His father had indeed judged correctly back then; he was a vicious brute who would go for the kill.
Uncle Qin took a deep breath, his eyes filled with fear.
"Then, five years ago, he wanted to send the young women of the family to the Lingsong Sect. This included his own younger sister, Wang Shulan."
"At first, everyone thought it was a good thing—after all, it was going to an immortal's domain, to serve immortals. But then... after sending four or five, it wasn't enough. He wanted over twenty."
"Where would the Wang family find so many unmarried young women? They had to select from the retainers' families. The third time, the number of young maidens needed reached a hundred."
"Wang Wu's father, your eldest uncle, couldn't hold back and tried to ask the reason... and in these past five years, we have never seen the family head again."
Fury reached its extreme, but Wang Yu反而 (instead) calmed down, returning to a mode of冷静 (calm) thought. The dead could not be brought back to life. He had been powerless to protect himself back then, let alone save others.
Now that he had returned, revenge was inevitable.
What a beast he had sired.
"The previous generation, the Wang clan, still had about a hundred people. This generation... only over thirty remain. Your third and fourth uncles are both dead. Your aunt married into Thousand Autumn City; we only have contact by letter."
"Oh, and Wang Wen has had many children. Two of them, twelve years old, can cultivate, but they couldn't join the Lingsong Sect. They are here in the residence."
"I understand. Where is my father's grave?"
"They are all on the mountain where the clan cemetery is."
"Good."
After getting a general picture of the situation, Wang Yu sighed. A strand of spiritual sense emerged from between his brows and flowed into Uncle Qin's mind, causing him to quickly fall asleep. When he woke up, he would only remember having a hazy, pleasant dream.
He truly hadn't expected Wang Wu to be so utterly depraved. Virtually every Wang family member who opposed him had died, even those who merely argued with him verbally.
Lingsong Sect... City Lord's residence... Wang Wu.
He would settle accounts with each and every one of them.
And those missing young women... aside from Yin-Yang dual cultivation, he couldn't think of any other possibility. The righteous path didn't forbid dual cultivation methods; what they forbade was the demonic path of plundering. But what was there to plunder from mortals?
Could it be just for... play? It was hard to imagine such恶趣味 (perverse tastes).
As for the two cultivators in the Wang family, after探查 (investigating) them, Wang Yu found they were only at the first level of Qi Refining, with just a few strands of spiritual power in their bodies. Moreover, that spiritual power was dull gray and devoid of vitality, indicating it wasn't cultivated by them.
Indeed, at just twelve years old, without the洗礼 (baptism/fortification) of rare treasures, their bodies weren't fully developed and simply couldn't withstand the power of heaven and earth's spiritual energy. It was clearly an evil method, far inferior to genuine demonic sect techniques. They were probably also Crippled Spiritual Roots.
Wang Yu didn't act against them. After planting a spiritual sense mark, he would wait for Wang Wu to return from the Lingsong Sect to settle the score.
There had to be other secrets behind this. Thinking about the slave-catching team's situation, the trade between the two sides was based on cooperation. Could the slave-catching team's other task be related to this? Or perhaps it was a plan from the Joyous Union Sect? After all, both the Joyous Union Sect and the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect weren't far from Black Mountain Pass. If the two sects联手 (joined forces) to stir up trouble in the Taihu Spiritual Domain, it would be perfectly normal.
In a somber mood, Wang Yu left the Wang residence and headed for the cemetery mountain to find his father's grave and pay his respects.
**(End of Chapter)**