"What did you say?"
Ye Chen roared, his voice hoarse, blood vessels standing out in his eyes. He gripped the Broken Sword tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging violently.
The Broken Sword trembled faintly in his hand, and the Sword Spirit's aged voice rang out in his mind once more, carrying an endless weariness.
"Brat, don't get worked up. I said people from the Ye family, not all of your Ye Family Manor. I mean... the main branch at Sword Forge, in the north."
"Sword Forge?"
"That's right. Your Ye Family Manor was merely a side branch assigned to guard the Shattered Map. The main branch resides at Sword Forge, where the family head lives. Ten years ago, the previous family head calculated that Hidden Sword Valley was about to open and that all four pieces of the Shattered Map would be needed to open its gates. The last piece, however, was in the hands of your Ye Family Manor's manor lord—namely... your uncle."
"My uncle?"
Ye Chen's mind buzzed. He vaguely remembered that when he was young, his father had once mentioned that he had an uncle who held some high office in the north, though they had not been in contact for many years.
"Your uncle refused to hand over the Shattered Map because he knew that once Hidden Sword Valley opened, your side branch would no longer have any value to exploit and would be cast aside. So he hid the Shattered Map. The family head flew into a rage and... and sent people to borrow the Iron Sword Sect's hand to destroy your entire Ye Family Manor, creating the false impression that bandits had run amok so they could search for the Shattered Map more easily."
It was a cruel story, told by the Sword Spirit in the calmest possible tone, yet it made Ye Chen feel as if he had fallen into an ice pit.
So the blood debt for the destruction of his family was not owed solely to the Iron Sword Sect. The true mastermind was someone who shared his blood.
"Then... how did my parents die?" Ye Chen asked, his voice trembling.
"They... died protecting you and the Shattered Map. The manor lord melted the Shattered Map down, forged it into this sword, and then gave it to his loyal old retainer, Old Man Sun, who took you and fled. That Old Man Sun was the man from the Sun clan Little Fox mentioned."
Old Man Sun... so he hadn't died of a winter illness after all. He had died protecting Ye Chen?
Ye Chen collapsed to his knees, and the tears he had held back finally poured down his face. In the past ten years, he had never cried. Even when he was beaten, even when he was cursed as a bastard, he had never shed a single tear. But today, he cried like a child.
On the roof beam, Little Fox had no idea when she had awakened. She looked at the youth kneeling on the floor and crying, and a trace of pity flickered in her eyes behind the fox mask. But it vanished almost at once.
She jumped down, walked over to him, and lightly tapped him on the head with the handle of her red parasol.
"Hey, you stable-boy brat, what are you crying for? A real man takes revenge when he has a blood debt. What good is crying?"
Ye Chen looked up at her, his eyes red and swollen.
Little Fox felt a little awkward under his gaze. She snorted and tossed him an embroidered handkerchief bearing a fox design.
"Wipe your face. You look awful. You're the Sword Saint's successor now, yet you're still crying like a baby. If people find out, they'll laugh their noses off."
Ye Chen took the handkerchief. A faint trace of her fragrance still lingered on it.
"Thank you... miss."
"Who are you calling miss?" Little Fox put her hands on her hips. "You have to call me Big Sis. I'm older than you."
"Big Sis?"
"That's right, Big Sis." Little Fox nodded smugly. "Come on, call me Big Sis. Big Sis will teach you a life-saving move."
Ye Chen looked at her and moved his lips, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the words "Big Sis" out.
Seeing him like that, Little Fox angrily smacked him on the head with her parasol again.
"Idiot!"
Just then, a night owl called three short times and once at length outside the window.
Little Fox's expression suddenly changed. She stopped joking and immediately turned serious.
"We've got news."
She gave a soft whistle. A black pigeon flew in through the window and landed on the handle of her parasol. She took the small bamboo tube tied to its leg and shook out a scrap of paper.
The moment she saw what was written on it, her delicate brows drew tightly together.
"What is it?" Ye Chen asked.
Little Fox handed him the scrap of paper.
It contained only a single line: The Iron Sword Sect Master has emerged from seclusion and personally come to Qingyang. Accompanying him are... people from the Ye family of Sword Forge.
"The Ye family of Sword Forge!"
Ye Chen's hand clenched around the paper, crushing it to pieces.
"They've finally come, have they?"
Little Fox looked at him and spoke softly.
"Little Chen, it looks like the three days I promised you... may not be enough after all. Our opponent this time is a Grandmaster."