Chapter 1937: Lu Yin's Inclination

Ce Laoyan, Ku Pu, and the other patriarchs also left one after another. Lu Yin had already told Ku Pu that he intended to stay in the Yōu clan’s territory and that he would not return to the Voidsoul Region.

Although all of the patriarchs had left, around half of the people stayed behind to lock down the Yōu clan as they still needed to be monitored, though not as strictly as before.

Hui Zhi looked at Yōu Kexin. "I don't know why your Yōu clan purposely separated themselves, and I also am not sure whether or not you’ve cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance. However, all you can do is prove your innocence."

With that, the man nodded to Lu Yin and left.

After everyone left, Yōu Kexin turned to Lu Yin. Numerous emotions were swirling through the woman’s heart at this moment. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

Behind Yōu Kexin, every member of the Yōu clan bowed in unison. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

Lu Yin raised a hand. "There's no need for such thanks, Matriarch Yōu. I simply participated in the investigation. If there was evidence that the Yōu clan really had betrayed humanity by working with the Neohuman Alliance, I would have been the first to destroy your Yōu clan."

While such a statement left the entire Yōu clan rather unhappy, they could not deny that this was right and true. Silence reigned for a bit.

Yōu Lao returned to his wooden boat while singing some unknown song.

Yōu Kexin walked along the Great Abyss with Lu Yin.

"Alliance Leader Lu, Yōu Keyan sought you out, didn’t she?" Yōu Kexin asked.

Yōu Keyan was the name of Madam Yōu, the Yōu family's matriarch.

"That's right. She asked me to come here and ensure a fair investigation for you," Lu Yin said.

Yōu Kexin stared out at the Great Abyss with a bitter smile on her face. "I never thought that, even after leaving the Yōu clan, she would still surpass me. She even ended up being the one to save the Yōu clan."

"Wrong. Yōu Qi was the one who saved the Yōu clan on his own, though there was also a good bit of luck involved," Lu Yin retorted. If not for the fact that the hidden location of Aeternus Nation had been recently uncovered, Lu Yin also would not have known about the secret behind Peacewater Planet. In that case, he would not have been able to help the Yōu clan. Even though they were still technically imprisoned, as long as no evidence of their cooperation with the Neohuman Alliance surfaced, things would eventually return to normal for the Yōu clan.

The Human Domain's attitude regarding the Neohuman Alliance was so inflexible that there was no way for anyone to escape their investigation if suspicions of collusion appeared. It did not matter who they were or who stood behind them. The only reason why the Yōu clan had not been immediately captured and interrogated was partly out of respect for the Seven Courts, but also because Yōu Qi had been a part of Burial Garden. The Yōu clan had treated him as a dead person, and if not for that, Yōu Kexin would have already been taken to the Arbitration World to be interrogated.

"Alliance Leader Lu, you can’t really be afraid that all of this was merely a coincidence. Do you really believe that Yōu Qi was truly a traitor or that he was controlled?" Yōu Kexin asked.

Even a child could determine the Yōu family's innocence from what had been seen, regardless of the numerous coincidences.

Lu Yin stared out at the Great Abyss. "Sometimes the truth is not actually what’s important, but rather the results."

He could either state that the Yōu clan was innocent or accuse Qing Shaohuang of being guilty, both guesses, but what will actually sway his decision? It all depended on his status, his power, and his inclination.

Whether or not there were actually traitors within the Yōu clan was business that Lu Yin could leave for the Seven Courts and the Hall of Honor to resolve. After all, Mu Tianlun would never let this matter go like that. All Lu Yin needed to do was gain the favor of the Yōu clan, nothing more.

However, there was one thing that seemed very odd to Lu Yin: why had the Chief Justice not personally appeared? Why had only Mu Tianlun been sent here? The Yōu clan had powerful elders and a deep foundation, and Mu Tianlun would never be able to force them to do anything by himself. Yōu Lao alone was an unfathomable powerhouse.

Despite that, the Chief Justice had not come to the Seven Courts. Also, Xia Ji had remained in seclusion. Everyone’s attention had been focused on Yōu Qi and whether or not he had betrayed humanity, and no one had even once suspected Yōu Lao. However, the fact remained that Yōu Qi had only ever mentioned Peacewater Planet to Yōu Lao, who was also the only source of that information. If the old man was lying, then there was nothing else that supported the Yōu clan’s innocence.

The nameless tune grew louder as it got closer and closer. When Lu Yin looked out into the Great Abyss, he saw the wooden boat that Yōu Lao was rowing along approaching him. "Would you like to go for a boat ride?"

Lu Yin stared at Yōu Lao for a moment before smiling. "Sure."

As soon as he agreed, Lu Yin leaped into the wooden boat.

Surprisingly, Yōu Kexin also entered the boat where she bowed to Yōu Lao. "I'm sorry to trouble you, Elder."

Yōu Lao just chuckled. He remained the only one in the boat’s bow and resumed paddling along.

It was a small boat that moved across the Great Abyss, and Lu Yin could not help but think that it would be great if he could replace Yōu Kexin with Yan'er.

"What price did Yōu Keyan pay, Alliance Leader Lu? What did she offer that could motivate you?" Yōu Kexin asked, though she did not look at Lu Yin, instead continuing to stare at the Great Abyss.

Lu Yin replied, "What do you think the Yōu family could offer me, Matriarch Yōu? The entire You family is already part of the Great Eastern Alliance."

Yōu Kexin turned to look at Lu Yin. "That's why I’m so curious. Could she have given you herself?"

Lu Yin spluttered and coughed before frowning at Yōu Kexin. "That’s not a funny joke."

Yōu Kexin offered a small smile. "I hate Yōu Keyan."

Lu Yin arched a brow.

"She’s surpassed me in everything since we were children. She’s always been one step ahead, and she even became the Yōu clan’s matriarch. However, despite gaining that position, she gave it up. When I took her place, I hated her while also feeling grateful to her.

"That is, until I learned that she took the Yōu Secret Art away. I no longer felt grateful towards her after that…" Yōu Kexin spoke slowly and revealed a bit of the Yōu clan’s recent history.

"I may be the Yōu clan’s matriarch, but Yōu Keyan will always be the rightful leader of the family. What is the Yōu clan without the Yōu Secret Art? The true Yōu clan will always be wherever the Yōu Secret Art is. Just as Yōu Keyan surpassed me, Ye'er is similarly better than Yōu Qin. I really hate Yōu Keyan and her daughter. If not for them, Yōu Qi would have never felt the need to prove himself to others that he was the true heir of the Yōu clan.

"Why did Yōu Ye'er receive the Yōu Secret Art? Why did Yōu Keyan take our secret technique away?"

Seeing the grief on Yōu Kexin's face, Lu Yin did not know what to say. There was a cause and an effect to everything, and while Yōu Keyan and her daughter could not truly be held accountable for Yōu Qi's death, from Yōu Kexin's perspective, who else could she blame? Lu Yin felt that he had no place to judge without having gone through a similar experience.

There was a sigh, and Yōu Lao slowly sat down. He then raised a hand and placed it on top of Yōu Kexin's heart. "You’re a good child, and you are not inferior to anyone at all."

Yōu Kexin began to weep loudly. She completely let all of the pain and sadness that she had withheld for so many years out. As a cultivator, she felt like she could not compare to Yōu Keyan. As a mother, she had not been able to obtain the best inheritances for her children. Her family had continued to fracture, especially after her son’s death, not to mention the fact that there was never even a single clue regarding his murderer. And when her son reappeared, she had not even been able to meet with him before he died yet again, and that second death had plunged her entire clan to the verge of total collapse.

Such pain was truly unbearable.

Yōu Kexin had endured too much and suffered for too long.

Yōu Lao just sat there and held Yōu Kexin as though he were comforting a child.

Lu Yin grew a bit embarrassed, though he also empathized with the woman.

Some time later, Yōu Kexin finally regained control of herself. "My apologies, Elder."

Yōu Lao shook his head. "You’re a good child. The members of our family have been forced to make sacrifices, and you must remember that her sacrifices are no less than your own. At the very least, you are still acknowledged as a member of our family."

A quiver ran through Yōu Kexin's body, and most of her hatred and anger towards Yōu Keyan melted away at that instant. There was no punishment worse than being erased from the family tree. Yōu Keyan might have gained everything, but she had still lost her Yōu clan.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Yōu Lao resumed paddling the boat.

Yōu Kexin slowly bowed to Lu Yin. "I'm sorry, Alliance Leader Lu, I went overboard just now."

Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the woman from proceeding. "It’s fine, as long as you’re better now."

A slight smile appeared on Yōu Kexin’s face. "I’m much better. Alliance Leader Lu, I would truly like to know what Yōu Keyan offered you. After all, not just anything can interest someone like you."

Lu Yin replied, "She didn’t pay me anything. I can’t get the Yōu Secret Art since it can only be inherited by a single person at a time, and such techniques are also usually related to one’s bloodline, which means that no one outside of your Yōu clan can ever obtain it. That secret technique is your greatest treasure, and other than that, they have nothing at all that they can offer me."

"Still, I have some understanding of you, Alliance Leader Lu. While the Yōu Secret Art might be priceless to most others, it may not hold much of an appeal to you, Alliance Leader Lu. What is it that you want from my Yōu clan?" Yōu Kexin stared at Lu Yin as she recovered the typical calmness and wisdom that she displayed as the Yōu matriarch.

Lu Yin leaned back against the side of the boat and calmly answered, "Everything you know about Progenitor Yōu Ming."

The wooden boat suddenly stopped moving.

Yōu Kexin stared at Lu Yin in shock.

Yōu Lao slowly turned his head around to also stare at Lu Yin with his aged eyes.

Lu Yin looked back at Yōu Lao. "This junior is very curious about Progenitor Yōu Ming, the secret regarding the Yōu family, and why the Yōu clan separated. While I was able to learn almost everything from Madam Yōu and others in the Yōu family, there’s one thing that they could not answer, which is about Progenitor Yōu Ming’s Impious Sutra."

Yōu Kexin was confused, as she actually knew much less about the Yōu Secret Art than even Madam Yōu and Yōu Ye'er. After all, Yōu Kexin had never received the Yōu Secret Art.

However, Yōu Lao was different. He was the Yōu clan’s oldest and most powerful member, and Lu Yin suspected that the old man had likely inherited the Yōu Secret Art in the past. Thus, it was likely that the old man’s understanding of the Yōu Secret Art far surpassed what Yōu Ye'er knew.

This was precisely why Lu Yin had stepped onto the wooden boat.

Yōu Lao lowered the oars. "So it turns out that Alliance Leader Lu is interested in our ancestor."

Lu Yin solemnly responded, "More precisely, I’m interested in the Undying Manual."

Yōu Lao shook his head. "The Undying Manual? The technique rumored to have appeared in the Starfall Sea that can grant immortality? What does that have to do with our ancestor?"

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed in an instant. "Senior, do you really not know?"

"I really don't."

Lu Yin stared out at the Great Abyss, lost in his own thoughts.

He felt that the Starsibyl Sect's divination should be trustworthy, and they had determined that there was some sort of connection between Undying Yushan and Progenitor Yōu Ming. Undying Yushan had cultivated the Undying Manual, and that was the only thing that Lu Yin could think of that might be connected to Progenitor Yōu Ming. There seemed to not even be any other possibility.

"Senior, what sort of relationship was there between the Yu family and the Yōu clan?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

This was something that Yōu Kexin absolutely would not know much about, as the Yu family had already left the Seven Courts when she had become the matriarch of the Yōu clan. Thus, Yōu Lao was the only person who could answer Lu Yin’s question.

Yōu Lao thought back. "The Yu family? Our relationship with them was the same as it was with the other families of the Seven Courts. We worked as one to protect Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum, but we didn’t ever really have any other ties between us aside from that."

"Did the Yu family ever come into contact with the Yōu Secret Art?" Lu Yin asked.

Yōu Kexin instantly replied, "Of course not! The Yōu Secret Art has always been passed down through the family in a direct line, so how could anyone from the Yu family have come into contact with our secret technique?"

Yōu Lao stared at Lu Yin. "I’ve heard that you have a strong relationship with the remnants of the Yu family and that you’ve also learned their secret technique. But now, you’re asking me about my Yōu clan and our ancestor. Can you tell me why?"

Lu Yin thought for a bit, but finally said, "There’s a member of the Yu family known as Undying Yushan, and he’s trained in the Undying Manual. This junior once asked the Starsibyl Sect to perform a divination on that man, but the only thing that their divination could determine was some sort of connection between Undying Yushan and your Progenitor Yōu Ming. This is something that I’ve been questioning ever since I heard of it."

Yōu Lao and Yōu Kexin glanced at each other. "How could that be possible? How could someone from the Yu family have any connection to our Yōu clan’s Progenitor?"

"That is exactly what I would like to know," Lu Yin replied.