It goes without saying how excited Qin Cong was upon hearing the news; he had once again looted a significant portion of his imperial brother's private treasury.
However, the emperor did not hold it against him. After all, Lin Yan had finally relented and agreed to bestow a proper title upon her brother, so it was only right to offer more support!
Luo Yuxuan and Peng Xuezhu were living quite comfortably in Jiangnan. Luo Yuxuan had, after all, been of great service to the Jin Dao Yan family. Furthermore, he had recently lowered his pride and completed many tasks.
He had obtained a considerable sum of money from Zhu Yun, leaving him with ample funds, and thus their lives were quite prosperous. Yet, Luo Yuxuan’s heart could not be easily settled.
After a period of stable living, he began to think of exploring other places, and Peng Xuezhu felt the same.
As they were discussing where to go next, a letter was delivered into Luo Yuxuan's hands.
"Is this Young Hero Luo Yuxuan? There is a letter for you here."
A man dressed as an ordinary peddler stopped Luo Yuxuan and, from his embrace, produced a letter and a purse, handing them to Luo Yuxuan.
"Who sent me this letter?" Luo Yuxuan asked, perplexed.
"Young Hero Luo will know once you open it. I have other matters to attend to, so I must be going now." After placing the items into Luo Yuxuan's hands, he turned and left directly.
Luo Yuxuan intended to pursue him, but the peddler vanished around a corner after only a few turns.
"Brother Luo, who was that person?" Peng Xuezhu asked, bewildered.
"He said he was delivering a letter to me, but when I asked who sent it, he didn't answer and ran off."
"Then this letter?" Peng Xuezhu was somewhat concerned about the letter's safety.
"It's fine, there should be no danger. After all, he handed it to me directly. Let's go, we can find a place to read it."
Luo Yuxuan squeezed the purse. It was hard, feeling like stone or jade. It should be a jade pendant, but why would someone send him such a jade pendant and a letter?
Once they returned to their small courtyard, they sat together at a table in the yard.
Luo Yuxuan opened the purse first and saw that it indeed contained a jade pendant. The jade was warm and smooth, clearly not cheap.
He would not have thought this way in the past, but now that he understood the importance of money, he had begun to consider such things.
In the center of the jade was the character "Luo." Luo Yuxuan had a premonition; this jade pendant was something he had left with his Shiniang. Then this letter...
He eagerly opened the letter and saw familiar handwriting. It was his Junior Sister's writing.
But why would his Junior Sister send him a letter indirectly through such a stranger instead of directly via Zhu Yun?
With an anticipation he did not consciously notice, he finished reading the letter and let out a long sigh. His heart felt a mix of emotions.
"What's wrong? Whose letter is it?" Peng Xuezhu asked, concerned.
"It's my Junior Sister," Luo Yuxuan said softly. He did not reveal the contents of the letter but instead held the jade pendant in his hand.
"Your Junior Sister? Is something the matter?" Peng Xuezhu inquired. She noticed Luo Yuxuan's expression was somewhat off.
"She said my Shiniang gave birth to a son," Luo Yuxuan said with a smile, but it was a bittersweet one.
Peng Xuezhu knew that Luo Yuxuan was the senior disciple of the sect and had been raised like a biological son by his Master and Shiniang. Now that his Master had a son of his own, he surely couldn't accept it.
"Isn't this a good thing? Do you want to go back and see?" Peng Xuezhu asked cautiously.
Luo Yuxuan nodded slightly. "I should go back."
Luo Yuxuan did not mention that the letter also contained information about his origins. Although he and Peng Xuezhu had developed feelings for each other, they had not reached a point where he told her everything.
Moreover, his emotions were complicated, and he didn't know how to process this matter.
According to his Junior Sister's letter, his parents were renowned martial arts partners who owned a manor, and this manor was famous for its prosperity.
However, all of this had been annihilated in a massacre over twenty years ago.
Although his Junior Sister had not elaborated on his family's wealth, he had spent a considerable time wandering the martial world and had once heard elders speak of that Luoxia Mountain Villa.
He had never associated himself with that annihilated villa, but now he knew that those had been his relatives.
Clutching the jade pendant tightly, it was a symbol of his identity. His Master and Shiniang had kept it safe for so many years, and he was aware of this. He had never imagined, however, that it was also the key to opening the Luo family's treasure vault.
His Junior Sister's letter stated that she had obtained information about his parents from Tingfeng Tower and had also roughly understood the reason for his family's destruction.
But even if he knew who his biological parents were, he no longer had blood relatives.
He had known since childhood that he was an orphan, yet he had always fantasized about what his biological parents might be like. After all, his Master and Shiniang had told him that he was found as a baby in exquisite swaddling clothes, accompanied by a jade pendant of superior quality.
Therefore, it was not because they couldn't afford to raise him that they abandoned him. He had always longed to see his biological parents. Although he no longer had such thoughts, it was still difficult to accept the reality that they were deceased.
"Xuezhu, I'm going back to the sect to see my Shiniang. You stay here in Jinling for now. I'll be back!"
"You... you're not taking me?" Peng Xuezhu asked hesitantly. For some reason, she seemed to have some recollection of the jade pendant.
"After I speak with my Master and Shiniang, I will formally bring you to meet them," Luo Yuxuan reassured her.
This statement was equivalent to confirming their relationship, and Peng Xuezhu was quite satisfied. She didn't necessarily need to meet his Master and Shiniang immediately, but she didn't want to be separated from him.
"Then I'll wait for your news."
Peng Xuezhu smiled happily, but she didn't notice the somewhat evasive look in Luo Yuxuan's eyes, a sign of falsehood.
After leaving Jinling, Luo Yuxuan did not head towards Lishan. Instead, he went in search of the old friends of his parents mentioned in Lin Yan's letter. He needed to confirm his identity and then retrieve what belonged to him.
When he finally arrived at Luoxia Mountain Villa, he saw nothing but ruins. Walking amidst the wreckage, he could still glimpse the prosperity of the past.
But he had no memory of any of this. He should have grown up in this place. According to his parents' friends, they had eagerly awaited his arrival and prepared many things for him, filling an entire storeroom.
He also learned that he had an engaged fiancée, the daughter of a sect leader in the northwest. Many of his parents' friends had witnessed this engagement when it was made.
Was this how his original life was supposed to be? But who was it? Who had destroyed all of this?
He knelt on the ruins of Luoxia Mountain Villa, bowing his head to the ground:
"Father and Mother, your unworthy son Luo Yuxuan has finally returned to see you!"