Script of Reincarnation

Stepping into the hall, the first thing that entered Lu Yang’s vision was a square wooden table.

A teapot rested quietly upon it, with steam still rising from the porcelain spout, carrying a faint fragrance of tea throughout the spacious hall.

The room was spotless clean, and there were no servants or guards inside, no hidden cultivators waiting in ambush.

Only two chairs stood opposite each other around the wooden table, and upon one of them sat Madam Shu.

She wore a plain blue robe today instead of her usual luxurious attire, her hair neatly arranged as always. Holding a porcelain teacup delicately between both hands, she gently blew away the rising steam before taking a small sip.

Neither the shattered doors behind Lu Yang nor the thunder rumbling through the darkened heavens seemed capable of disturbing her tranquility.

She slowly looked up, her aged, tired face still bearing resemblances to the once proud, beautiful young lady of the distant past.

Seeing the blood covering Lu Yang’s robes and hand, she merely smiled faintly.

”You’re here.”

Her voice was as gentle as ever, almost nonchalant as she gestured towards the empty chair opposite herself.

”Sit.”

She calmly poured another cup of tea.

”You’ve been standing in the rain for a long time.”

The tea filled the porcelain cup with a soft, gurgling sound.

”Have some.”

At her words, Lu Yang did not move, simply standing there, staring at the woman before him.

His killing intent was so dense that even the surrounding air seemed incomparably colder, his eyes like a ten thousand year old iceberg.

However, his facial expression remained calm, perhaps calmer than ever before as he forcibly suppressed the immense killing intent in his heart.

Several breaths later, his hoarse voice finally echoed through the hall.

”Why?”

Madam Shu paused slightly, her fingers stopping midway towards the teacup.

Lu Yang looked directly into her eyes.

”With my talent, the position of Family Head would have never belonged to me, the elders would never waste someone like me on managing clan affairs.”

His voice remained frighteningly calm as he continued.

”Instead, they would have invested every resource into me, to become the strongest cultivator in the Lu Family, its greatest shield. The Family Head would have naturally been either Lu Tianhe or Lu Qingyu, and the Great Elder would be the other. They would’ve governed the family, and I would’ve protected it.”

He slowly clenched his bloodstained fist.

”So... why?”

His gaze never left her as he spoke word by word.

”The assassinations, the conspiracies, and even the murder of my parents, what exactly did you gain from all this?”

Although Lu Yang would never spare her no matter what her explanation was, he still wanted answers, answers that only she could give him.

The hall became completely silent as he finished his words.

Outside, thunder rolled endlessly, rain continuing to fall against the broken doorway.

Madam Shu quietly lowered her gaze towards the steaming tea.

For a long time, she didn’t say anything, choosing to remain silent.

Eventually, she let out a soft sigh.

”I was born a mortal.”

She raised her eyes once more, looking at Lu Yang.

”As the only daughter of the Shu Marquis Manor, both my elder and younger brothers possessed cultivation aptitude, yet I alone did not.”

A trace of self mockery appeared on her face.

”My mother loved me, doted on me, but my father... almost never looked at me properly.”

She smiled faintly.

”The daughter of a dignified Spirit Awakening Realm Marquis and his Spirit Awakening Realm wife, a mortal? What a joke!”

She slowly placed the teacup onto the table.

”Noble Families and Aristocratic Clans value face more than anything, especially those tied to the Imperial Court. My fate had already been decided before I even understood what fate was. I was to be married away, used to strengthen the already declining Marquis Manor; there was simply no other choice left for me. Or rather, as a mortal born among cultivators, I had no right to choose.”

Her eyes became somewhat distant, as if recalling memories from another lifetime.

”Unfortunately... no truly powerful force wished to marry their young masters to a mortal, not even as a concubine. But then, the Lu Family appeared. A force that had risen only over a century ago, strong but not too powerful, possessing great potential but lacking noble connections. And so, I became the concubine of the Lu Family’s eldest young master at the time, the current Family Head.”

A faint smile surfaced on her face unconsciously.

”Back then, he wasn’t the calm, cold Family Head, but a frivolous young master, only at the Body Tempering Realm Realm. He was a little older than you, kind, and far gentler than I expected at the beginning.”

Her voice softened slightly as she spoke.

”The elders treated me kindly, the other women never bullied me just because I was a mortal, and I was free to do whatever I pleased for the first time in my life. At that time, I truly believed that I... had finally found a place I could call home.”

For the first time since the beginning of this conversation, genuine warmth appeared within her eyes.

However, it disappeared just as quickly.

”I couldn’t bear children.”

She only uttered one simple sentence, yet its weight was incomparably heavy.

”One year passed, then three, then five, then ten. Ten whole years. Can you believe that?”

She slowly laughed.

”A mortal woman, with only a Body Tempering cultivator, yet unable to conceive. Ridiculous, wasn’t it? Meanwhile, the other women, also cultivators, gave birth, one after another, and the clan celebrated repeatedly. It was clear the problem lay with me.”

She lowered her head, taking another sip of the tea before continuing.

”My treatment slowly changed over time. People still smiled, but those smiles weren’t the same anymore. The Family Head... also gradually started visiting less frequently. I prayed every day, to whatever Gods and Buddhas could hear me, yet my prayers went unanswered every single time. At that time, I finally understood something and came to a realization; in a cultivation clan, no, not just a cultivation clan, but the entire world, kindness is temporary. Only talent and strength are eternal.”

She looked directly at Lu Yang.

”A mortal possesses neither, so... they possess nothing. I possessed nothing.”

Silence returned to the hall briefly once more.

After a few moments, Madam Shu smiled again.

”Fortunately, after more than ten years... my prayers were answered, and I finally became pregnant. My Twin Stars were born.”

A trace of indescribable pride appeared on her face.

”They were geniuses, and not just ordinary geniuses, but the greatest geniuses the Lu Family had ever produced. Everything changed overnight. There were still the same elders, the same clan members, the same servants, and they had the same smiles, but now, they truly respected me, some flattered me, others praised me, and a few even envied me.”

She let out a soft chuckle.

”I had seen enough. I understood that no one respected me, they only respected my children, their talent, and their future power. Thus, from that day onward, I placed everything upon them.”

Her voice gradually became quieter.

”They were my hope, my future, and my entire world. I watched them cultivate, grow, and be labeled the Twin Stars of the Lu Family, unmatched in this generation, standing at the absolute summit of Lu Family’s talent hierarchy. I believed... it would always be like that. Until...”

As she finished her last sentence, her gaze slowly met Lu Yang’s once more.

”... you appeared.”

Her gaze never wavered in the slightest as she continued.

”You were born in the mortal branch, a child who should’ve remained ordinary, but your talent...”

She shook her head slightly, unknown if it was in disbelief or something else.

”It surpassed imagination, surpassed everyone else, including my children, so I made a decision.”

Her expression remained astonishingly calm as she spoke.

”If the Rising Sun disappeared... the Twin Stars would remain unparalleled. It was that simple.”

There was no remorse to speak of in her voice, as if talking about something completely natural.

Lu Yang quietly stared at her for several breaths of time.

He finally understood.

The reason wasn’t logic or benefit, and it wasn’t even hatred.

Instead, it was obsession, an obsession so deep that it had long ago twisted into madness.

Madam Shu smiled gently.

”I know, it sounds insane. Perhaps... I truly went insane long ago.”

She slowly leaned back.

”But I don’t regret it, not even now, not the slightest bit.”

She looked calmly towards Lu Yang.

”Your talent exceeded everything I imagined. Your mentality, your Dao Heart, your cultivation, all of it was far beyond what I expected. You were... my destined calamity.”

Her smile remained gentle as she said the next words.

”Even so, I don’t regret anything. Even if your parents’ deaths could only make your Dao Heart waver, just the tiniest bit, and even if it bought Tianhe and Qingyu only a little more time... it would still be worth it.”

The hall became deathly silent, only the constant sounds of thunder and rain echoing faintly from the outside.

From the open window, lightning illuminated the hall briefly.

Lu Yang slowly began walking forward.

With each step, crimson gold Blood Qi gradually condensed around his right hand.

Madam Shu watched calmly, making no attempt to flee or resist.

Instead, she surprisingly showed a smile.

”The moment I decided to kill your parents, I knew that this day would eventually arrive.”

She glanced toward the shattered doorway.

”It simply came earlier than I expected.”

She gently closed her eyes, as if waiting for something.

”Still... there are always some things that must be done, no matter how terrible they seem, no matter how much they cost, no matter... how resistant you are to them.”

She took one final sip of the tea.

”One day, you’ll face such a choice too.”

Her breathing remained steady as she continued.

”When that day comes, I wonder... what choice... will you make?”

At this moment, Lu Yang had already arrived before her.

His blood covered hand slowly rose as he looked down at the woman calmly.

Several breaths of time passed by before suddenly, a crimson gold flash appeared.

*Whoosh!*

The sound was incredibly soft, almost inaudible beneath the rain.

Madam Shu’s right hand slipped from the teacup.

The porcelain shattered against the floor, tea spreading quietly across the ground.

At that exact moment, Lu Yang finally answered, his voice without the slightest fluctuations.

”... I don’t believe in destiny, and if such a day ever truly comes... I won’t face it unwillingly, nor because it must be done.”

He slowly withdrew his hand.

”I will face it... with my entire Dao Heart.”

Madam Shu slowly opened her eyes slightly, the light within them fading away rapidly.

However, at the final moment, a faint smile once again surfaced upon her lips.

Lu Yang quietly looked down at her.

”You were... a good mother.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

”But... you were also a selfish person. You weren’t doing all this for Lu Tianhe and Lu Qingyu... but mainly for that obsession of yours. Not just my parents, but many others, many lives... were ruined because of your obsession.”

He lowered his gaze slightly.

”Perhaps, if someone had guided you... things would’ve been different.”

Outside, the rain continued falling as thunder echoed across the heavens.

Within the silent hall, Madam Shu’s breathing gradually ceased.

Lu Yang remained standing there quietly.

His expression showed no satisfaction, no relief, only endless emptiness.

”Unfortunately... what is done can never be undone.”