MTLNOVEL Chapter 2 - Three-Hour Countdown
Chapter 2: Three-Hour Countdown
Exiting the prison cell, Qin Hongyi arrived at a hidden chamber within the grand hall of the Heaven Demon Sect.
The room was adorned with numerous plaques engraved with names and incense sticks placed beneath them. This was where Qin Hongyi paid respects to her entire family.
Slowly kneeling on the ground, her eyes swept over the names as she spoke, voice choked with emotion, “Father, Mother, once I uncover the truth, I will surely give you a satisfactory answer.”
The matter Qin Hongyi wished to investigate was the massacre that wiped out her family fifty years ago.
Ever since Qin Hongyi crippled Shen Shuchou’s cultivation, imprisoned him, and relentlessly tortured him day and night, the vengeful feelings in her heart were unleashed. However, she also discovered a suspicious point.
Why had Shen Shuchou never had any designs on her in these fifty years? Why was he so good to her without expecting anything in return? Was it out of guilt?
Sometimes Qin Hongyi would ask herself, was he really the murderer?
Fifty years of meticulous care, treating her like a fragile treasure, doting on her endlessly – could such a person be the killer?
At this moment, all the past kindness flooded her heart, the memories engulfing her like a tidal wave.
…
Time seemed to rewind to that nightmarish afternoon.
In the northernmost region of the Profound Realm Continent, there was a place surrounded by mountains on all sides.
At the foot of the mountains lay a town called Pingning Town.
Although the Qin family was not large, they could be considered a prominent household in this small town.
That year, Qin Hongyi was just a naive little girl who had recently turned six. She was the youngest in the family and the little princess beloved by all.
At noon, the scorching sun blazed like fire. On normal days, the family would gather together after lunch to chat about household matters.
But what should have been a day filled with joyous laughter turned out very abnormal.
The noisy chatter of adults was gone, replaced by the pungent stench of blood.
The entire Qin residence was shrouded in a bloody mist, the courtyard littered with corpses and fresh blood.
Even the intense heat of June seemed unable to thaw the chilling, hellish scene in the yard.
A little head with pigtails poked out from the main hall.
The delicate, doll-like face was paralyzed with shock at the sight before her.
She saw the bodies strewn across the ground – her father, mother, siblings, and uncles, all drenched in blood.
Qin Hongyi crawled over on all fours, her tender white hands shaking the bodies of her parents.
Trying to wake them, the six-year-old Qin Hongyi didn’t quite understand why her parents lay motionless, ignoring her.
Her siblings who loved to tease her, her uncles who enjoyed taking her out to play – they all lay still on the ground.
She cried and shook them, not knowing how much time passed. Her little hands shook until numb, her eyes red from weeping.
At that moment, a shadow covered her tiny frame.
Qin Hongyi raised her tear-stained face to see a young man in white standing before her.
Snow-white hair cascading down, slanted heroic brows, slender dark eyes concealing sharpness now gazed at little Qin Hongyi with heartache.
Qin Hongyi stopped crying, staring blankly at the man.
She had never seen someone so beautiful, carrying an extraordinary air of elegance that felt refreshing with just a glance.
“Don’t cry, good girl, come with me.”
These were the man’s first words to her.
Not minding the mud and blood staining Qin Hongyi, he held her in his arms.
In that instant, Qin Hongyi had never felt an embrace so peaceful, lulling her to sleep.
This was Qin Hongyi’s first encounter with Shen Shuchou. From then on, she would stay by his side for fifty years.
As Qin Hongyi slowly grew up, she learned and understood more, no longer the ignorant little girl from the small mountain town.
From the moment Shen Shuchou took her away from the Qin family courtyard full of corpses, Qin Hongyi assumed he was the one who slaughtered her family.
In that time, Shen Shuchou never offered her any explanations and even seemed to intentionally prevent her from uncovering the truth, allowing Qin Hongyi’s hatred to fester in her heart.
When Qin Hongyi turned twelve, only then did Shen Shuchou begin teaching her the way of immortal cultivation.
Qin Hongyi finally saw an opportunity, a starting point for taking revenge on her nemesis.
Qin Hongyi was an exceptional student, dedicating most of her time each day to cultivation, never mixing with peers.
Her talent was extraordinary. In just a short year, she advanced from a total novice to the Foundation Establishment stage.
In the following days, Qin Hongyi continued to cultivate desperately under Shen Shuchou.
She wanted to bury the seeds of hatred deep in her heart, waiting for the day they would sprout into towering trees. Then she would use what he taught her to kill him.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye. In a mere fifty years, Qin Hongyi had defeated all kinds of heaven’s proud geniuses. She became the invincible nightmare no one could overcome.
In the end, she became the sole Emperor Realm powerhouse on the Profound Realm Continent.
She could finally unleash the sword of hatred she had hidden for fifty years against the man who taught, doted on, and loved her.
Qin Hongyi could have directly ended Shen Shuchou’s life, but she felt it would be letting him off too easily.
So she imprisoned him, endlessly tormenting him day and night until his body was riddled with wounds.
But when her raging resentment was vented, what gradually surfaced was the long-suppressed affection. These past few days, Qin Hongyi often questioned her own heart – did she actually hate him or love him?
This was also why Qin Hongyi had always wanted to hear those three words from Shen Shuchou’s mouth and had not killed him outright.
In fifty years, even a cold rock would melt, let alone her.
Previously, her judgment and thoughts had been blinded by hatred. Now, carefully pondering over it, there were many suspicious points.
As her cultivation increased, Qin Hongyi learned that she actually possessed an Extreme Yin Demonic Physique. If nurtured from a young age, once the time was ripe, through dual cultivation as a cauldron, one could greatly enhance their strength and break through from the Mahayana realm to the Emperor Realm.
But in all these years, Shen Shuchou had never laid a finger on her, until she grew to become the world’s first Emperor Realm expert.
The techniques Shen Shuchou taught her never included any demonic arts.
The demonic skills she currently wielded were all learned in secret behind his back.
Could it be he really wasn’t the culprit? Qin Hongyi clutched her chest, feeling intense pain and suffocation.
Her beautiful eyes unknowingly brimmed with tears. Qin Hongyi had already dispatched subordinates to investigate this matter. The truth would soon come to light.
Soon, the third day arrived. Yesterday, Qin Hongyi unusually refrained from tormenting Shen Shuchou.
After discovering the suspicious points, Qin Hongyi now suddenly felt a bit afraid to face him.
In the dungeon, Shen Shuchou remained the same. However, only a few hours remained until he could return.
「Name: Shen Shuchou.」
「Cultivation: Mortal」
「World: Ninth life, Profound Realm Continent.」
「Female Lead: Qin Hongyi.」
「Note: As the host has yet to die, the mission is incomplete. The host may remain in this world for no more than two months after mission completion. Current duration: 59 days. Death will occur in three hours, enabling return to the original world.」
Is it finally about to end? Shen Shuchou’s heart swelled with complex emotions, unsure if it was joy or sorrow.
After experiencing nine reincarnations, he was about to return to his own world.
Everything that transpired in these nine lifetimes was not a dream. How many years had actually passed? Shen Shuchou couldn’t remember clearly.
But it seemed none of that mattered anymore. Dream or not, in the end, it would all dissolve into nothingness.