Although it wasn’t the first time they heard of Jin GuangShan’s shameless acts in this realm, the people present still felt some disgusted chills, whichever emotion was greater. Lan XiChen, “Then… Then even though you married Qin Su with no choice, you could have treated her coldly. Why did you… And why did you have to kill your own son with your own hands, after A-Song was born?!”
Jin GuangYao hugged his head, his voice bitter, “… I never touched A-Su again after our marriage. A-Song… we had him before we married. Back then, I was afraid of further delay and additional issues…”
So he and Qin Su consummated their marriage beforehand. If not because of this, he wouldn’t have somehow ended up engaging in incest with his younger sister. At this point, he didn’t know which to detest more—his father who wasn’t like a father at all or himself who was so suspicious of others!
With a sigh, Lan XiChen continued, “Third, do not try to avoid it and answer me—did you plan the death of Jin ZiXuan on purpose?!”
Hearing his father’s name, Jin Ling, who’d been holding Jiang Cheng, widened his eyes.
Lan WangJi raised his voice somewhat, “Brother, you believe him?”
Lan XiChen’s expression was complicated, “Of course I do not believe that Jin ZiXuan ran into the attack at Qiongqi Path by accident, but… let him speak first.”
Jin GuangYao knew he wouldn’t be believed if he denied it no matter what. He clenched his teeth, “… I indeed didn’t run into Jin ZiXuan by accident.”
Jin Ling immediately clenched his fists.
Jin GuangYao continued, “But I’ve never thought of planning everything that happened afterward either. You don’t have to think of me as so clever and faultless. Many things can’t be controlled at all. How could I have known that he’d definitely die by Wei WuXian’s hands together with Jin ZiXun? How could I have predicted that Wei WuXian would definitely lose control and the Ghost General would definitely run riot?”
Wei WuXian’s voice was harsh, “And you said you didn’t run into him by accident? Isn’t that self-contradiction?!”
Jin GuangYao, “I don’t deny that I told him about the attack at Qiongqi Path on purpose, but I only thought that he’d encounter some difficulties if he ran into you when you were being troubled by his cousin since he’d never been on good terms with you. How could I have known that you would simply kill everyone present, Mr. Wei?”
Wei WuXian laughed, enraged, “You’re really…”
Suddenly, Jin Ling screamed, “Why?!” He stood up from beside Jiang Cheng. Eyes red, he rushed toward Jin GuangYao as he shouted, “Why did you have to do this?!”
Nie HuaiSang hurried to pull back Jin Ling, who seemed as though he wanted to fight with Jin GuangYao. Jin GuangYao returned the question, “Why?” He turned to Jin Ling, “A-Ling, then could you tell me why? Why is it that even if I face everyone with a smile, I might not even receive the lowest form of respect, while even though your father was extremely arrogant, people flocked to him? Could you tell me why we were born from the same person but your father could relax at home with the love of his life playing with his child, while I never even dared be alone for long with my wife, shivering out of fright at first glance of my son? And I was ordered to do such a thing by my father as if it was natural—to kill an extremely dangerous figure who could flip out and conjure up a bloody massacre with his corpses anytime!
“Why is it that even though we were born on the same day, Jin GuangShan could host a grand banquet for one son, and watch with his own eyes how his subordinate kicked his other son down Koi Tower, from the first stair to the last!”
He finally revealed the hatred hidden deep within him. It wasn’t directed at neither Jin ZiXuan nor Wei WuXian, but rather his own father.
Wei WuXian, “Stop making excuses! Kill whomever you want dead—why touch Jin ZiXuan?!”
Jin GuangYao responded calmly, “As you’ve seen, I killed all of them.”
Lan XiChen, “And even in such a way.”
Tears rested at the corners of Jin GuangYao’s eyes. He kneeled on the ground, back straight as he smiled, “Yes. An old stallion that gets in a rut wherever it goes really deserves such a death, doesn’t it?”
Lan XiChen shouted, “A-Yao!”
Only after the word came out did he remember that he’d already one-sidedly broke off with Jin GuangYao, and thus he shouldn’t call him like this. However, Jin GuangYao seemed as if he didn’t notice it, his expression collected, “Brother, don’t be surprised that I can call him such dirty things. To this father of mine, I once had hopes as well. In the past, as long as it was his command, whether it be to betray Sect Leader Wen or protect Xue Yang or remove anyone who disagreed, no matter how foolish it was, how hated I’d be, I’d obey regardlessly. But do you know what it was that made me lose hope completely? I’ll answer your first question now. It wasn’t that I’d never be worth a single hair on Jin ZiXuan or one of the holes in Jin ZiXun, it wasn’t that he took back Mo XuanYu, it wasn’t that he tried every possible way to make me a mere figurehead either. It was the truth he once told the maid beside me when he was out indulging himself again.
“Why was a sect leader who spent money like water unwilling to do the smallest favor and buy my mother’s freedom? Simple—it was too much trouble. My mother waited for so many years, weaving together so many difficult circumstances when she talked to me, imagining for his sake so many hardships. And the real reason was only a single word: trouble.
“This is what he said, ‘It’s especially women who’ve read some books who think they’re a level higher than other women. They’re the most troublesome, with so many demands and unrealistic thoughts. If I bought her freedom and took her back to Lanling, who knows how much fuss she’d make. It was best that I let her stay where she was just like that. With her conditions, she’d probably be popular for a few more years. She wouldn’t have to worry about her spendings for the rest of her life.’
“‘Son? Oh, forget it.’”
Jin GuangYao’s memory was extraordinary. With such a word-by-word repetition, one could even imagine that drunk expression of Jin GuangShan’s when he said these words, “Brother, look, these three words are all that I’m worth to my father, ‘Oh, forget it.’ Hahahaha…”
Pain flashed before Lan XiChen’s face, “Even if your father… you…” He still couldn’t find an appropriate comment and gave up, sighing instead, “What is the use of saying all this now?”
Jin GuangYao shrugged as he smiled, “I can’t help it. To seek pity even after doing all the bad things—that’s the kind of person I am.”
At the word ‘pity’, he suddenly flipped his wrist. A red guqin string wrapped around Jin Ling’s neck.
Tears still hung at the corners of Jin GuangYao’s eyes as he spoke, voice low, “Don’t move!”
This was a surprise indeed. Jiang Cheng roared, “Wei WuXian! Didn’t you confiscate his weapons already?!”
Under such circumstances, he somehow directly shouted at Wei WuXian, his voice the same as how it was when he was a boy. Wei WuXian shouted as well, “I did confiscate all his strings!”