The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

Wei Nan heard that Tang Qinru was also there.

He refused without a second thought.

Ever since he admitted Tang Qinru wasn’t his cousin,

it seemed like he was deliberately avoiding her.

After hanging up, Lin Yi chuckled.

Tang Qinru, who was sitting across from him, asked, "Who was that?"

"Your ’cousin,’ Wei Nan!"

Tang Qinru: "..."

"Give me a break. If I hadn’t found him back then, I wouldn’t have been able to contact you.

But that friend of yours, Wei Nan, is an interesting one—so earnest and a little naive..."

Tang Qinru said with a light laugh.

Lin Yi nodded. "Right, Sister Qingru, isn’t it time you told me why you were looking for me? And why you had Wei Nan lie and tell me you were his cousin?"

"Are we related somehow?"

This matter had been weighing on Lin Yi’s mind for a while.

Especially after he ran into Lin Dazhi on the day he returned to school.

When he said that Lin Yi had a maternal grandfather in the New District,

it had sent him into deep thought.

He still remembered his first encounter with Blood Drop at the container warehouse, alongside Chu Zhengxiong and the others.

The first time he had used the Candle Dragon Ancient Saber Technique,

Chu Zhengxiong had asked him what his relationship was with Yi Nanshan.

At the time, Lin Yi didn’t know who Yi Nanshan was.

Then, the revelation that Tang Qinru wasn’t Wei Nan’s cousin had left Lin Yi completely bewildered for a good while.

It wasn’t until he met Lin Dazhi, who gave him an address in the New District.

It was the address of Yi Nanshan of Taigu City...

Putting all the pieces together, Lin Yi felt like he was being kept in the dark about too many things.

It felt like the truth was about to be revealed.

That was why he had been eager to come to the New District and get some clear answers from Tang Qinru.

After Lin Yi finally voiced the question that had been on his mind for so long,

Tang Qinru looked up at him.

At this moment, she knew that some things couldn’t be hidden any longer.

She chuckled softly and nodded.

Just as she was about to speak, Qin Zhaoxue quickly stood up.

"Um, I’m going to the restroom. You two go ahead and eat..."

She was deliberately excusing herself, guessing that Tang Qinru was about to discuss family matters.

Tang Qinru didn’t stop her and simply smiled and nodded.

After Qin Zhaoxue left the private room, only she and Lin Yi remained.

Tang Qinru took a moment to compose herself and organize her thoughts.

"Some things can’t be hidden from you, nor should they be!"

"The truth is, your mother, Yi Xiaoqing, was my aunt!"

"Aunt?"

Although Lin Yi had already braced himself,

hearing Tang Qinru actually say it

still gave him a slight shock, and his brows furrowed.

Tang Qinru nodded gently. "Actually, your mother was always a prodigy in Martial Arts. Her talent was exceptional, and she was highly valued by the Yi Family!"

"It’s just that, well, she grew up sheltered by the Yi Family!"

"She never faced any real hardships and didn’t have much contact with the outside world.

Later, after graduating from university, she joined the Demon Hunting Bureau!"

"One time, she took on a mission to hunt a demon beast in the Old District!"

"But she was gravely injured and failed the mission... Perhaps it was fate, but your father, Lin Dazhi, appeared, saved her, and took her to the hospital!"

"Needless to say, your mother was gorgeous—sweet and lovely. What man wouldn’t be smitten? Lin Dazhi was no exception. From then on, he was always running to the hospital!"

"He used the excuse of taking care of your mother to get close to her!"

"Your mother had been pampered her whole life. Suddenly meeting a man who was so good to her, she was moved. In today’s terms, you’d say she was completely love-struck!"

"Then, somehow, she developed feelings for your dad. After she recovered and returned to the New District, she went to your grandfather and said she wanted your dad to marry into the Yi Family!"

"Your dad is just an ordinary person, with no talent for Martial Arts whatsoever.

But the Yi Family is a renowned existence in the New District, one of the five great families!"

"How could they possibly allow an ordinary person to marry into the family? Your grandfather refused. In a fit of anger, your mother ran away from home, went to the Old District by herself, and found your dad..."

"Your grandfather is a stubborn man. He didn’t look for her, nor did he stop her. He just let your mother marry your dad!"

"Actually, the whole family knew your grandfather had secretly sent people to look for her many times, but they never found her. In truth, if they had found them back then, they might have let your dad come to the New District!"

"After all, they were already married. There was no point in disagreeing anymore!"

"But they just couldn’t find them. And then, a few years later, didn’t your mother pass away?

It was actually because her injuries from that time never fully healed!"

"On top of that, because she ran away and insisted on marrying your dad, she became depressed, which caused her old injuries to relapse. The medical technology in the Old District couldn’t compare to the New District’s, and it couldn’t cure the demon beast’s poison in her body. That’s what led to her death..."

Tang Qinru’s words

laid out the entire sequence of events.

And finally, Lin Yi understood the cause and effect of it all.

Although it was a bit cliché—the rich young lady falling for the poor boy—

what happened, happened. There was nothing he could do to change it.

After a brief pause, Tang Qinru continued, "Later, your grandfather heard that your mother had left a child behind—you. So he sent people back to the Old District to search for you everywhere!"

"He wanted to bring you back from the Old District and raise you properly!"

"It’s strange, really. They could never find any trace of you. They didn’t even know where your dad was!"

"It wasn’t until later, when you happened to go to the New Star Martial Arts Hall, that we got information about you. An investigation revealed that you were my aunt’s child!"

"We also heard some things about you, like how you wanted to rent a place and move out on your own.

I was originally planning to go find you directly, but Grandfather refused!"

"He was afraid you wouldn’t be able to accept the past, afraid you would even hate him for stopping your mother and father. The truth is, he’s always blamed himself. He doesn’t show it, but we can all see it!"

"If he had just compromised back then, let your dad marry into the Yi Family and live in the New District, maybe your mother wouldn’t have died. Her old injuries would have been cured!"

"So... I had no other choice. I found out through inquiries that you were good friends with Wei Nan, that he was your only friend. That’s why I pretended to be his cousin with a room for rent, just to get you to move in!"

Tang Qinru finished her explanation with a smile.

Lin Yi finally understood the whole story.

"Wait, there’s something I still don’t get. If you knew all this from the start, why did you act so cold and distant when you first saw me?" Lin Yi asked hurriedly.

Tang Qinru shrugged. "Obviously! We were strangers to each other. I didn’t know you, and you didn’t know me. I’m a girl living under the same roof as a young man like you. Of course I had to be on my guard!"

"Besides, I also wanted to use our living situation to observe your personality and temperament!"

"If you were just like your father, I wouldn’t have acknowledged you, much less let you stay. I probably would have kicked you out after a month. But then I discovered you have a good character and you’re very hardworking!"

"Yang Yong from the Martial Arts Hall said you were talented, too. So I gradually came to accept you!"

"Actually, Grandfather was also watching you from the shadows back then.

Oh, right. That Black Gold Ring of yours actually belonged to your mother. Grandfather returned it to you disguised as a reward!"

Hearing this, Lin Yi quickly raised his hand to look at his ring.

At that moment, his heart trembled slightly.

Sadness slowly filled him, and his eyes began to turn red.

After a long while, Lin Yi finally said, "So, you’re saying the master of the Martial Arts Hall is actually my grandfather?"

"That’s right. Ever since that old man found you, he’s been spending all his time at the Martial Arts Hall and rarely comes back!"

"It was also a coincidence. Later, when all those Blood Drop followers infiltrated the Old District, the Martial Arts Alliance gave Grandfather an order to act as the Defender of the Old District and take full command of annihilating Blood Drop!"

"So he just decided not to come back at all, and has been staying in the Old District to oversee the situation!"

Lin Yi nodded.

Although he had never met this grandfather of his,

he had always felt as if someone was secretly protecting him.

It wasn’t a strong feeling, but it was always there.

After a long time, Tang Qinru, who had been secretly observing Lin Yi’s emotional state, saw that he remained calm.

She then frowned and murmured, "Do you hate your grandfather? Do you hate the Yi Family?"

"Huh?"

Lin Yi shook his head with a smile. "Why should I hate them? It’s not my place to hate them, is it? Besides, ever since you found me, you’ve all been very good to me. You feed me Demon Beast Meat every day, and that stuff isn’t cheap!"

"And Grandfather... even though I’ve never met him, he gave me my mom’s ring and a saber technique. That shows he cares about me a great deal, right?"

"I have no reason to hate anyone!"

Lin Yi’s words took Tang Qinru by surprise.

She hadn’t expected Lin Yi to be so mature.

And so open-minded about the whole situation.

His perspective was much broader than she had imagined.

’So all this time, the thing they were worried about was never going to happen.’

’It was all just Grandfather’s guilt acting up, making him indecisive and full of fear.’

’It also showed that the old man was getting on in years and had lost the decisiveness of his youth.’

’To put it another way, he cherished his grandson, Lin Yi, all the more.’

"Sister, have you ever thought about it? My mom didn’t hate Grandfather either!" Lin Yi suddenly added with a smile.

"Hmm? How do you know?" Tang Qinru was taken aback.

Lin Yi smiled. "My name. ’Lin’ is from Old Lin’s surname, and ’Yi’ is from my mom’s. If she truly resented Grandfather, she never would have let the name ’Yi’ be part of my name!"

"Everyone was young once, and everyone makes mistakes!"

"Once you calm down, you can understand the good intentions behind it all. So she never hated Grandfather, and she never hated the Yi Family!"

After hearing Lin Yi’s analysis,

Tang Qinru looked at him with some surprise.

’If I tell Grandfather what he said, the guilt and self-blame buried deep in his heart...’

’...could it be resolved?’

"Xiaoyi, when you see Grandfather, can you tell him what you just said again?" Tang Qinru asked, her eyes red.

Lin Yi looked up at her, chuckled, and nodded. "Of course. But not right away. I have to report to school tomorrow!"