Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 160 Mr. Iron Flute: A Man of Unparalleled Righteousness
Beside the Listening to the Waves Pavilion, Chen Xu, holding an ancient inkstone, heard a truly absurd and cruel story.

“My adopted son, that beast…” Liu Xi said with red eyes and his chest heaving violently, “He, he is not human, he is a demon who crawled back from hell!”

"I...I wasn't originally a merchant; I'm the son of a scholar who passed the imperial examinations!"

Liu Xi's words took a turn, and his expression gradually became dazed:

"I was only seven years old that year. My father told me that the Yuancang River was in danger of breaching its banks again, and he and his friends were going to form a team to guard the Yuancang River for seven days."

He put a talisman on my wrist and instructed Uncle Shi to take me and flee south immediately, as far as possible.

We fled south for seven days, and then on that day, we suddenly heard a loud boom from a great distance. We couldn't see anything, but we could feel that the sky had collapsed at that moment.

The floodwaters stretched for thousands of miles. Although we escaped seven days in advance and it seemed like we had made it through, in reality we hadn't escaped anything.

We continued south, and everything along the way became more expensive, so Uncle Shi had less and less money.

Until one day, Uncle Shi suddenly fell ill, and I learned that along the way, in order to protect me from the plague, he had often exhausted his own vital energy, which resulted in him contracting the plague himself.

He told me to drip my blood onto his amulet to activate its last bit of protective power, and then lead me to his childhood friend.

Yes, that was my master, the original owner of the Cuiqing Dyehouse, the Liu family.

He asked Liu Fangzhu to take me in, and instructed me to study hard so that I could pass the imperial examinations when I grew up and not let down my father's reputation.

Uncle Shi left after that. On the surface, the man surnamed Liu promised that he would treat me well, but what did they actually do?

His eldest son can go to school, but I cannot.

In winter, they wore silk and fur coats, while I only had cloth and cotton-padded jackets. In summer, his young mistress would cool off in the flower hall, while I had to learn how to mix dyes in front of a dye vat that was taller than me, almost getting heatstroke from the heat.

I refused to accept it. I humbled myself and tried my best to please them. Although I couldn't read or go to school, at least I could read...

During this time, he recounted a long account of the unfair treatment he had suffered.

The more he spoke, the more indignant he became, and his hatred surged.

But to the people present, this long passage did not make them realize that the person had actually suffered any kind of abuse.

The wicked Liu Fangzhu, whom he described as utterly wicked, actually took him in, raised him, and even passed on his secret recipe for dyeing cloth to him.

Liu Fangzhu simply didn't educate him like she did her eldest son, but she still married her daughter to him.

What did he do next?

"That bastard Liu Jun passed the preliminary examination and thinks he's something special, so he came to me to show off."

Ha, what's so great about a mere student? He was easily tricked by me and foolishly walked into the dye vat and drowned in front of everyone!

"It's good that he's dead, then I can go back to school, boohoo..."

When Liu Xi talked about being able to go to school, she wasn't happy; instead, she burst into tears again.

He cried and said, "To appease those two old bastards, I voluntarily changed my surname to Liu and my name to Liu Xi."

Even with such sacrifices, after years of studying, I still failed to pass the preliminary examination for the first degree!

It must be because these fools wasted my best years, otherwise how could I have failed all the exams? My father was a scholar who passed the imperial examinations.

I hate it, I hate it so much…

He cried so hard he fell to the ground.

What followed made everyone frown; it turned out that this person was filled with hatred and was plotting another vicious scheme.

On a winter night, he secretly blocked the door to the room of Liu Fangzhu and his wife, causing them to be poisoned by charcoal.

They spared the two men's lives and summoned a doctor to keep them alive.

They would often dilute the medicine prescribed by the doctor, keeping the two of them bedridden and unable to recover. After suffering like this for several years, they were finally secretly told the two the truth about the death of Liu's eldest son.

The Liu family, including the owner of the shop, died of grief and resentment.

In the end, only the youngest daughter, who knew nothing, was left behind and married Liu Xi. From then on, Cuiqing Dyehouse became Liu Xi's dyehouse.

Liu Xi, however, was not pleased. Instead, he cried even more pitifully, sobbing as he said:

"Why would I ever want this dilapidated dyehouse? I shouldn't be a lowly merchant. I should be like you all, with fame and fortune, living a life of elegance and refinement. I should have a place here. I hate it!"

The room fell silent, everyone present was shocked by Liu Xi's shamelessness.

It's rare to see someone so brazenly evil; it truly opens one's eyes.

Many people have accumulated countless grievances in their hearts, just waiting for a certain moment to unleash them, to curse this person mercilessly and leave him utterly devastated.

Suddenly, a voice asked abruptly, "You said you shouldn't be a lowly merchant, so may I ask your father's name and your real name?"

"I...I..." Liu Xi immediately shut her lips.

His face flushed red, and veins bulged on his forehead, clearly as he struggled to resist the urge to answer the question.

With an ancient inkstone in his left hand and a brush in his right, Chen Xu said in a calm tone, "It seems you don't want to answer, and you can even resist the power of the True Detection Talisman."

Perhaps I could add another talisman, find out your father's name, and then write down your story so that it may be passed down through the ages.

Your father, a man of great integrity, died protecting the people of the seven prefectures of Tiannan, and should be remembered by the world.

As for you…

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Xi cried out in panic, "No! You're lying to me! You said the Truth-Discerning Talisman only distinguishes between truth and falsehood, and that I don't have to answer questions I don't want to answer."

Why did I unknowingly recount the whole story just now? This was clearly not my intention.

All I need to do is prove that I am indeed Liu Xi, and I have already proven it. Don't you all pride yourselves on being righteous? Please help me…”

Chen Xu sighed softly: "When have I ever lied to you? Look, you don't want to answer the question about your father's name. Isn't that because you can't answer?"

Yet you recounted the process of murdering your adoptive father's family so smoothly and vividly, which shows that you had long regarded this matter as your masterpiece.

It is a pity that there is no audience, which prevents you from preaching.

Fine, since you're unwilling, the second identification talisman will be useless even if it's used. I might as well guess for myself which master your father is.

Judging from your current age, the breach of the Yuancang River you mentioned should have occurred forty years ago.

Among the famous scholars of Tiannan Road at that time were the great Confucian scholar Ji Weizi, the Jinshi Jiang Guangyuan, Lü Yan, Zhu Shan, Ban Zhi, etc. In addition, there were not many Juren who dared to participate in such a heroic act of defending the river.

At that time, there were several scholars who were extremely famous and were known as the Six Recluses of Yunjian.

I happen to remember all of these names; they should be Lu Wei, Shi Rong, and Yu Zhan…

Based on your words, your family background should not have been considered luxurious, therefore we must exclude the sons of several local powerful families.

Furthermore, considering that your servant Uncle Shi is actually a Qi and Blood Martial Artist, your family is not entirely without social standing.

It's actually quite easy to guess; your father must be Shi Rong.

Mr. Tie Di, Shi Rong, led a noble and righteous life. Who could have imagined that his descendant would be someone like you…

"No!" Liu Xi could no longer contain himself. He trembled all over and screamed angrily, "Shut up! Shut up! Don't say another word, don't say another word, I..."

puff!
He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Blood gushed from his eyes, ears, nose, and other orifices, and he stared wide-eyed at Chen Xu.

(End of this chapter)