Chapter Thirteen: Family? Family! (First Update, Please Add to Favorites)

After exchanging brief pleasantries with Ye Long and the others, Ye Feng followed Ye Tianya toward the study.

He walked forward, ignoring those who pointed and whispered about him on the sidelines, not even bothering to look their way. Before his duel with Ye Li, he had surveyed these so-called 'family members' over and over again, but on their faces, he had found only cold indifference and mockery.

Now, his heart was resolute. If you regard me as a stranger, then do not blame me for seeing you as mere ants.

Though he thought this, a deep loneliness welled within him for reasons he could not fathom. He did not truly belong to this world; everything here was unfamiliar. He had hoped that the family he now lived with might grant him a sense of home, but in the end, it seemed only two or three people here were worthy of his concern.

“So be it,” he mused, “at least when I find the murderer in the future, I won’t have to worry about familial ties.” With that, Ye Feng felt much lighter.

“Feng’er, I suppose the next step is for you to take in your net,” Ye Tianya said in the study, observing Ye Feng’s air of solitude. “As for your worries about family bonds, you needn't trouble yourself. Some people are not truly kin.”

Hearing this, Ye Feng was taken aback, then looked up, a trace of sorrow on his face. “You may laugh at me, Second Uncle, but I truly long for family,” he said, pausing, then adding silently, “I’ve yearned for it for two lifetimes.”

Thinking of his past life, Ye Feng gave a bitter, desolate smile. Alone and destitute, only a mad old man would occasionally appear to teach him a few things. Most of the time, he was left with nothing but loneliness…

“This is what we owe you. If it were before today, I wouldn't have told you these things. But now, I am at ease…” Ye Tianya slowly exhaled, speaking softly.

“For fourteen years, I’ve watched over you! I sent you away with my own hands, and now I’ve witnessed your return with my own eyes!” Ye Tianya seemed lost in deep memories, his words drifting.

Ye Feng’s expression changed dramatically at these words. Second Uncle’s remarks were full of meaning. Rebirth was Ye Feng’s greatest secret, yet from Second Uncle’s words—sent away, returned…

Ye Feng dared not think further. If his suspicions were correct, then his greatest secret had been orchestrated by this elder before him.

“Fourteen years ago, the Ye family suffered a great calamity! At that time, you were not even two months old. Because of your special constitution, certain enemies could not bear to see you grow, and sent assassins again and again. In desperation, I and five elders of the clan had to use a secret technique to exchange your soul with that of someone from another world…” Regardless of Ye Feng’s changing expression, Ye Tianya continued in a low voice.

“No one expected that you, who were supposed to return to your body at age five, would delay that by nearly ten years. During that time, the soul we brought in proved mediocre. The enemies relaxed their pursuit. Ha… I don’t know if this was a blessing or a curse for our Ye family!”

He paused, knowing his words were an overwhelming shock to Ye Feng, but at this stage, he would no longer hide anything.

Ye Feng grew ever more confused as he listened—secret technique? Soul exchange?

“Try to recall your memories from your past life,” Ye Tianya instructed.

Upon hearing this, Ye Feng immediately fell into contemplation…

After a while, Ye Feng opened his eyes in a daze. Those memories, which should have been deeply rooted in his mind, were now unreachable no matter how hard he tried.

“Memories before fourteen in your former life were not yours. All irrelevant things we erased! Of course, we kept the useful ones,” Ye Tianya sighed helplessly as he spoke.

“If fate has chosen this moment, then let it be so! If the future cannot be seen, why force oneself to persist? If Heaven truly wishes to annihilate our Ye family, let it take its course!” At these words, Ye Feng’s expression changed again. What kind of enemy could cause Ye Tianya to utter words so close to resignation?

Sensing Ye Feng’s doubt, Ye Tianya continued, “Feng’er! There is one thing you must understand—Ye family men, no matter how heavy the blow, must bear it and stand tall! There are no weaklings in the Ye family; the Ye family does not allow weakness! Can you do that?”

“I will make the Ye family proud of me!” Ye Feng replied simply, yet with pride.

“Good!”

As soon as the words finished, Ye Feng “saw” a finger—Ye Tianya’s finger.

That finger, swift as lightning, suddenly tapped Ye Feng between his brows.

Instantly, countless scenes flooded Ye Feng’s mind:

A dark night, torrential rain.

A group of black-clad figures stealthily infiltrated a courtyard.

Moments later, the sounds of battle erupted. The courtyard was not devoid of skilled defenders. For a time, spiritual energy raged.

However, the black-clad intruders not only outnumbered the guards, but their cultivation was extraordinary. In merely a few breaths, the guards were decimated.

The scene shifted to a room. Five elders sat in a circle, and in their midst, a swaddled infant slept peacefully.

“There’s no time—quickly, begin the ritual!” One elder, hearing the murderous cries from outside, paid no heed to the child’s mother’s anguished wailing, urging the others.

By now, the black-clad assailants had burst into the room’s doorway.

They halted, though, for at the threshold stood the final line of defense.

A tall, handsome figure stood with a long blade, his eyes cold and proud. “If you wish to harm my flesh and blood, you must first step over the corpse of Ye Zhantian!”

The long blade swept through the air, its cold gleam sharp as ice, blood splattering like ink.

Strips of energy several meters long tore through the darkness, the mighty figure fighting alone against the enemies.

Soon, corpses littered the ground. Outside the room, ruins and broken walls were everywhere, the earth scored with ravines. Chaos reigned.

In the pitch-black night, the towering figure leaned on his blade, his eyes shining like a wolf, staring into the depths of darkness.

Tap… tap… tap…

Rain mixed with crimson blood flowed into the deep ravines.

In the distance, four figures in crimson robes approached slowly.

…

While everyone outside was on guard against the four red-robed figures, none noticed a shadow slipping into the room like a ghost.

“Heaven and Earth Transposition, Soul Exchange…”

At this moment, golden light filled the room as the five elders reached the critical stage of their ritual.

A long sword, gleaming coldly, suddenly appeared—its target, the sleeping infant at the center.

“Don’t hurt my child…”

A clear, desperate cry rang out as the mother, despite her anguish, threw herself in front of her child.

Slash…

Blood sprayed.

Boom…

The door burst open; the mighty figure, bleeding profusely, roared and turned the attacker into a rain of flesh and blood.

“Beloved child…” Ignoring his own hundreds of wounds, the figure knelt, holding the woman, and cried to the heavens.

To her dying breath, the woman turned her head, gazing tenderly at the swaddled infant.

As if sensing her, the once-sleeping infant opened his eyes, staring unblinkingly at his mother.

At that moment, Ye Feng was already in tears. He would never forget that memory for the rest of his life… Even though he was only a year old then, the look his mother gave him before death was etched into his heart, day and night…

It was reluctance. It was regret. It was a mother’s boundless love for her son. He hated himself—hated his own weakness, his own helplessness. But at that time, he was only a year old, able only to watch as a bystander.

He had once thought it was just a dream, once believed it was not real. Now, waking from the dream… it was all true.

P.S.: I am truly delighted, sincerely grateful to reader Xiao Ren Tongzhi. Thank you from the heart. I am full of motivation…