Hearing Yun Xi's words, Qi Rong raised his eyebrows and said with a smile,
"He just really disliked me."
Maybe it was just at the beginning, but he could clearly sense the old man's hostility towards him.
"Back then, I confronted the wild dogs in the mass grave for two days and two nights. I always held on to that last bit of energy and didn't dare to close my eyes. And he, he also hid in the dark and watched silently for two days."
"If I had been eaten by the wild dogs at the very beginning, I'm sure he wouldn't have come out to save me."
Recalling the first time he met Old Yang, Qi Rong's tone was very certain.
And it wasn't until after Old Yang died that he, as the King of Offerings, rummaged through Old Yang's past and found out the reason.
"Why?"
Yun Xi's face turned pale. Just thinking about the scene where Qi Rong might have been devoured by wild dogs, she couldn't help but tremble. Her hands unconsciously tightened on Qi Rong's lapel.
There was an indescribable ache in her heart.
If she had the ability to travel through time, she would definitely hold tightly to that desperate young boy without hesitation.
Feeling Yun Xi's tense body, Qi Rong patted her back comfortingly, rested her head on his shoulder, and said slowly,
"When the old man was still young, he was already the number one expert in the martial arts world. He had a junior sister who was in love with him, and his master also intended to pass on the position of sect leader to him. What should have been a very successful life, however, aroused others' jealousy.
"Because the old man was highly skilled in martial arts and very difficult to deal with, someone bribed his senior fellow apprentice to poison him. Then they framed him for slandering the royal family and inciting the people to rebel, which made my father, the emperor, extremely angry and sent the Jinyiwei to hunt him down!
"Because he had 'offended' the court and was wanted by the government, the old man lost his place to stay.
"Coupled with the previous poisoning, both his skills and appearance were damaged to varying degrees. The sect didn't dare to take him in, and the junior sister he fancied married his enemy - the later martial arts alliance leader.
"The old man endured and lived in hiding, wandering everywhere, so he hated his enemies and my father very much!
"So, as soon as he learned of my identity, the old man just watched from the sidelines as I was dragged to the mass grave and even surrounded by wild dogs without making a move to save me.
"Maybe it was my act of holding on to that last bit of energy and not yielding to fate that touched the old man, so I was saved."
Learning that Old Yang's fate had been so rough, Yun Xi felt a complex mix of emotions in her heart.
Even though he was the number one expert in the martial arts world, he couldn't control his own fate. Just like Qi Rong's father, the emperor. Even though he was a king, he still couldn't avoid the tragic end of being killed by his own son who usurped the throne.
All of this stemmed from people's inner greed!
Endless greed was like a demon. It was ugly and hideous, making people slaves driven by desire and abandoning kindness and justice.
In the end, they might not even remember who they were!
And she, too, was afraid that her feelings for Qi Rong would eventually turn into an obsession. Because she couldn't have him, she would be tortured.
So she wanted to stay away from Qi Rong, keep her true self, and didn't want to sink into the abyss of feelings!
"What happened later?"
Thinking of the poor Old Yang, Yun Xi couldn't help but want to know his ending. Maybe she was also looking for a bit of comfort.
Qi Rong looked up at the floating clouds in the sky, recalling the past, and said with emotion,
"Later, after the old man died, I followed our agreement and found his former enemy. I shaved the head of the current martial arts alliance leader. Then I left the old man's last letter for the wife of the martial arts alliance leader, who was the junior sister he fancied.
"Just shaved his head?"
Yun Xi was surprised. She lifted her head from Qi Rong's shoulder and looked at him with a puzzled look in her eyes.
"That's right."
Qi Rong lifted his lips and smiled, thinking of what the old man had said at that time:
"Although he hated that person, he didn't want his junior sister to lose her husband. So, knowing that that person paid great attention to his appearance and had always loved his hair, he asked me to shave his head."
Qi Rong said and laughed. Thinking about what the old man had done, he realized that the intention wasn't to embarrass the other person but to show off to him and convey a message:
The disciple I taught can easily take your life at any time!
Presumably, this was also the main reason why the old man chased after him to take him as his disciple and teach him martial arts.
After all, that person not only made the old man lose everything but also snatched the woman he loved.
If it were him, he definitely wouldn't let that person off so easily. He would make that person suffer so much that they would wish they were dead. Just taking that person's life would be too kind!
However, the old man had his own considerations, so he didn't make a decision for him.
It was only after he learned that the old man had been framed by that person and that person had even used his father against the old man that he visited the martial arts alliance leader's mansion again.
He not only exposed that person's hypocritical appearance but also cleared the old man's name in front of many people!
The old man's junior sister immediately announced a divorce from the martial arts alliance leader after learning the whole truth. This was something he had never expected.
He thought that if the old man were still alive, he would definitely jump for joy and praise him for doing a good job!
However, those were just imaginations.
"By the way, the place where I used to practice martial arts with the old man, you've been there too. It's the wild lake I took you to before, and there's a small wooden house beside it."
After the old man died, he was also buried there. But later, his junior sister took away the remains. He didn't know where they were buried later.
But no matter where it was, presumably the old man would be happy if he knew in the underworld!
"Is it really there?!"
Yun Xi looked surprised. She thought no wonder Qi Rong liked that place. It turned out that it carried his memories.
"Yes."
Qi Rong was all smiles. He hugged Yun Xi and looked directly into her eyes with his dark eyes and said,
"I even mentioned you to the old man once."
"Why did you mention me?"
Yun Xi's face flushed. She gave Qi Rong an annoyed look.
How old was he at that time? She had only met him a few times. Was she already on his mind?
"Of course, I was talking about how my father had arranged a marriage for me. So, whenever I felt lonely, I would think that I still had a little bride-to-be. I had to live well and wait for her to grow up so that I could marry her."
The more Qi Rong talked, the gentler the smile on his face became. Holding Yun Xi in his arms, he felt as happy as if he had the whole world.
Perhaps even his past self had never thought that he would have such happiness at this moment!
At that time, he secretly learned martial arts from the old man but deliberately hid his strength. He just didn't want to attract Qi Hong's attention and was afraid of causing any trouble.
So that time, when Yun Xi had just returned to the capital from Jiangcheng, he was brawling with someone on the street and was beaten until his head was bleeding.
He thought he would scare Yun Xi at that time, but he saw pity in her eyes. She even personally handed him a handkerchief to stop the bleeding and asked Yu Zhu to give him silver to buy medicine and treat his injuries.
She was called the "beggar woman" and her face flushed as she started to distance herself from him.
But he secretly made up his mind in his heart:
From now on, no matter what, she would always be his little bride-to-be!
Whether she liked it or not!