Wu Qi recalled and said, “I was orphaned years ago because of a demon calamity. I suffered terribly and wandered to Cheng’an Prefecture City. I’ve forgotten many of the hardships I suffered in my youth; it was too tough.”
Xu Jingming listened. With the harsh environment of the Demon Vanquishing World, he could imagine what a child fleeing for refuge would encounter.
Wu Qi continued, “Back then, I had suffered an injury to my spine. It couldn’t be treated during my seeking of refuge—that’s how I became a hunchback. It was only when I gained basic mastery of martial arts and gave care to my injuries that my hunchback didn’t get serious. You haven’t seen how much worse my hunchback was when I was young.”
“I remember it was snowing heavily that year. It was too cold, and I didn’t have anything to eat,” Uncle Qi said. “I nearly fainted from freezing on the streets.”
“At that time, if I really fainted, I probably would’ve died,” Uncle Qi said. “Just as I was in a daze from the freezing cold, your mother appeared. Your mother was the same age as me back then, and she was still young. Your mother was a young lady of the Wu family. I remember that she looked fabulous in her outfit back then.”
“It was your mother who gave me food and water. She even held my hand and brought me into the Wu residence,” Uncle Qi said. “Your mother was truly kind. I was a young, hunchbacked beggar, but she didn’t mind my dirtiness. She brought me into the Wu residence, where I had an education. I learned martial arts, and it allowed me to change my life.”
Xu Jingming listened.
“I wanted to repay her with the rest of my life. I studied martial arts very hard, and finally, I gained basic mastery of martial arts,” Uncle Qi said with a smile. “I could finally become her guard.”
“Miss trusted me very much. When she married into the Chen family and brought a group of maidservants and guards, she got me to follow her and even arranged for me to be in charge,” Uncle Qi said. “I naturally didn’t let her down and worked for her wholeheartedly.”
“I only discovered Chen Shi’an’s nature after spending time with him. On the surface, he looks like a scion who knows etiquette, but he’s actually greedy and selfish.” Uncle Qi gritted his teeth. “I wanted to kill him, but he was her husband after all. I couldn’t do anything without her approval.
“She was sad deep down, but she still had to keep up the appearance for outsiders and manage some of the businesses,” Uncle Qi said. “Perhaps she was heartbroken by Chen Shi’an and was too taxed by the business. Miss fell sick and never woke up…”
Uncle Qi’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Miss was carefree in the Wu family, unlike when she married into the Chens. Before she died, she was most worried about you, Young Master. You were only eight years old back then. Although Miss forced Chen Shi’an to swear in front of her that he would treat you well and give you 8,000 taels of silver when you became an adult, she still didn’t trust him and secretly gave me instructions.”
“She gave me a sum of 5,000 taels of silver that she had kept secretly for years,” Uncle Qi said. “She even told me to take good care of you!”
“Later on, Miss died, but Chen Shi’an lived absolutely well. He benefited from the silver Miss left behind from her dowry. He married your stepmother back then! He even ostracized some of the servants and guards Miss brought with her back then,” Uncle Qi said. “I was transferred to be in charge of transporting the herbs. Although I had basic mastery of martial arts, I was nothing in the Chen family. I had to stay in the Chen family to protect you… so I couldn’t protest.”
“Do you still remember that when you were nine years old, the Chen family’s herb transportation team was attacked by bandits, and more than half died?” Uncle Qi looked at Xu Jingming. “Actually, I had died under the bandits’ attack.”
“When I killed more than ten bandits in a row and was surrounded by the leader of the bandits, I knew that I couldn’t escape,” Uncle Qi said. “I thought of a way to block them and obtain a chance of survival. I didn’t want to die; I still had to protect you, Young Master. In the Chen family, with Chen Shi’an’s character… Without someone to protect you, you would’ve had a tough time.”
Uncle Qi’s eyes turned red. “But sometimes, it’s not like you can live just because you don’t want to die. I wasn’t strong enough and couldn’t fend them off. That strike sliced through my chest.”
“I really didn’t want to die—I couldn’t die either. If I die, who will protect you?” Uncle Qi said. “Perhaps my obsession was too strong at the moment of life and death. My body died, but my obsession remained.”
Uncle Qi chuckled. “It was fine; I truly had the strength to protect you after becoming a demon.”
Uncle Qi gazed at Xu Jingming. “After I became a demon, I kept a low profile in the Chen family, but I could secretly influence many things. That’s why I could always take care of you.”
Xu Jingming nodded.
In Chen Qi’s memories, he was careful at home and didn’t dare to make his father and stepmother angry. But in fact, Chen Qi didn’t encounter any major danger or trouble. From the looks of it, it was all thanks to Wu Qi.
“It’s just that I never expected that you would be banished from the Chen family despite not offending anyone.” Uncle Qi shook his head. “It’s good that you left. With me protecting you, you could suffer less by being outside.”
“Speaking of which, fate is cruel. Young Master, you actually received a Demon Vanquishing technique and became a Demon Vanquisher, causing the Chen family to regret it!” Uncle Qi praised. “Young Master, you have outstanding talent in Demon Vanquishing. You grew to this extent in just ten-plus years. You’re already stronger than me.”
In terms of his demon body, Uncle Qi was only equivalent to an eighth-realm Heaven Demon. He could only rely on his super-first-rate saber technique to deal with higher-realm Heaven Demons.
“Young Master, you’re stronger than me now, and your senior brother—Gu Shan—is unfathomable.” Uncle Qi sighed. “I have nothing left to protect you. With my strength, I’m afraid I’ll need your protection if I encounter danger.”
….
