Chapter 2 : Chapter 2
Chapter 2: One More Me Changes Nothing, and One Less Me Changes Nothing Either!
Cheng Yu endured the pain and forced himself to stand.
He straightened the back that had been bent over, his eyes filled with icy coldness.
A Jinyiwei ought to look like a Jinyiwei!
How could he put on some pitiful, broken display when being humiliated?
These so-called parents of his dressed up their words in righteousness and condemned him as utterly worthless.
They thought him ruthless, weak, and so inferior that even an ordinary menial disciple of the sect was above him. They said he had no trace of chivalric bearing, and that he had become a shameless, disgraceful Jinyiwei, bringing shame upon the entire family.
But had they ever asked even once how he had lived over these past eighteen years, or what suffering he had endured?
For eighteen years he had tempered himself through hardship. His foster parents had worked themselves to an early grave, and only by exhausting everything had he barely managed to obtain the position of Banner Captain.
Yet one casual remark—Imperial Hound—and all of that was dismissed as utterly worthless.
Cheng Yu felt nothing but boundless sorrow.
If blood ties did not exist between them, then in Cheng Zhenjiang and his wife’s eyes, he was probably nothing more than a slightly irritating ant.
They found his bloodstained hands distasteful, so they could casually step on him and crush him.
And even with blood ties between them, had he not still been killed by them?
They were clearly doing something as vicious as abandoning their own flesh and blood, yet they deceived themselves without realizing it and still preached grand principles.
Why should parents like that be respected?
“As for the deeds of the ancestors?”
Cheng Yu lifted his head, recalling with disdain the few books they had forced into his hands.
“You mean Cheng Yuan, the rebel who followed Prince Qing in treason in the year 372 of Great Qian and was beheaded as a public warning?”
Rebel!
The moment those two words came out, Cheng Zhenjiang—who had already been panting with rage—froze for half a moment.
In the next instant, his fury exploded like a collapsing mountain and a surging sea.
“You unfilial beast! What did you just say?!”
“Ancestor Cheng Yuan risked his life to assassinate a tyrant for the sake of the common people of the realm. He is the pride of my Cheng Family. How dare you insult him like this! Say it again if you have the nerve!”
Faced with that terrifying pressure, Cheng Yu did not flinch in the slightest.
If others did not value his life, then he had even less reason to respect their values.
“You mean that so-called hero who, after his death, had more than ten thousand slaves discovered in his confiscated estate, and who bled the people dry to build countless pavilions and towers? The same hero who supposedly tried to kill an emperor who had abolished taxes for ten years and brought peace and prosperity to the people for the sake of the common folk?”
“Cheng Yuan and the others colluded with Prince Qing, who was plotting to seize the throne, and entered the imperial palace to assassinate the Emperor of Great Qian at the time. They were ambushed and captured by the Jinyiwei, and their heads were hung from the gates of the Great Qian capital for fifteen days. Tens of thousands of people saw them!”
“A mere rebel who tried to usurp the throne—everyone else rushed to distance themselves from him. Who would have thought that after more than a hundred years, that would somehow become a glorious legacy?”
Cheng Yu’s tone was mild, but his words were incomparably sharp, as though he did not regard that man as his ancestor at all.
The system’s voice rang out in his ear.
【The host does not fear the powerful and has upheld the name and prestige of the Jinyiwei. Reward: Healing injuries! Reward: Internal Energy!】
A warm current appeared inside his body out of nowhere and began to circulate smoothly through his meridians in a complete cycle.
Internal Energy!
The wounds all over his body also began healing at astonishing speed.
Cheng Yu nodded inwardly again and again. This system was actually this overpowered.
Just this bit of Internal Energy from the reward already amounted to nearly half of what he had accumulated through eighteen years of hard training.
“The family is cursed to have produced a beast like you who insults the ancestors! Kneel!”
Cheng Zhenjiang instantly flew into a towering rage, and a terrifying pressure came crashing down.
As a well-known heroic figure of the Jianghu, Cheng Zhenjiang would not outwardly show anger when insulted by outsiders.
But having his family’s old disgrace exposed like this was another matter entirely.
A great hero?
No—descendant of rebels!
And the person saying it was his own son.
A disgrace to the family!
Cheng Yu showed no fear whatsoever. He stood ramrod straight, unmoving.
At the side, his mother, Zhao Xichun, who had still been crying moments earlier, suddenly froze in expression and turned toward him in disbelief.
“Yu’er, how could you say such a thing? That is an ancestor of our Cheng Family. The Cheng Family stands for chivalry, benevolence, and righteousness. If you say things like this at home and anger your father, then you will lose enormous face outside. Hurry and apologize to your father!”
Zhao Xichun herself came from an extraordinary family background and had never expected Cheng Yu to say something like this.
But Cheng Yu ignored her.
Now she knew how to speak?
Why had she been mute just now, only knowing how to cry?
“Lose face outside? I do not think that is necessary at all. I have already been humiliated enough by all of you in this so-called family!”
“Do not worry. If outsiders heard me say these things, they would only think I was an enemy of the Cheng Family! There is no way I would embarrass the two of you, the famous heroic couple.”
“And besides, the two of you are already major figures of the Jianghu, unmatched in status and strength. Your three children are all outstanding in their own way and have inherited your good reputations. The one who brings you the most glory is already a genius on the Human Ranking. So it seems to me that one more me changes nothing, and one less me changes nothing either!”
The moment those words came out—
Cheng Zhenjiang, who had still been enraged to the extreme by Cheng Yu’s outrageous disrespect, suddenly paused.
He understood now.
After saying so much, what Cheng Yu really meant was simply that since his parents had not raised him, they had no right to educate him.
But setting that fact aside, was that any way for a son to speak to his parents?
Utterly unfilial!
And besides, the reason Cheng Zhenjiang had spent his time elsewhere was precisely because he had been using it to uphold the righteous path of the Jianghu, which had left him unable to search for Cheng Yu.
Cheng Yu should have taken pride in that!
If he could not even take pride in that, then what did his becoming ruthless have to do with them?
“I, Cheng Zhenjiang, manage a family and sect of this magnitude. I walk openly and uprightly and am respected by all. The world even honors me with the title Great Hero Cheng. How did I end up with a child like you, someone who defies his elders?”
“I know you suffered outside on your own, but even that suffering was for the sake of the people of the realm. It is not an excuse! As my son, could you not be a little more broad-minded and magnanimous? Could you not spare even a little understanding for your parents’ difficulties?”
“How did I ever produce someone as worthless as you, and one who shows no thought for his parents at that!”
Cheng Yu showed no fear at all and answered loudly and clearly.
“Am I worthless? I fought my way toward a future alone and by my own strength. Why should you be the one to judge me!”
The moment he mentioned being alone outside, Zhao Xichun’s tears began pouring down again.
“It was your father and I who failed to find you. We wronged you, so please stop saying this, all right? Your mother’s heart is breaking! But there is never anything wrong with being a kind, upright, good child. How could your parents ever harm their child?”
How many nights had Zhao Xichun awakened from dreams of her lost son, weeping?
And yet when they were truly reunited—
When she stood before that ruthless young man whose Xiuchun Saber and Flying Fish uniform were stained with blood, all she felt was disappointment.
Why had the son she gave birth to become something so frightening?
The child in her heart should have been a heroic figure full of spirit, open-hearted and kind.
Her other children were all so outstanding, so upright and excellent, their eyes filled with hope.
Her youngest son in particular was the most obedient of them all, upright and kind beyond compare. At such a young age, he was already on the Human Ranking, yet he remained humble and unarrogant, with limitless promise ahead of him. He already had the bearing of a true hero.
They were all her sons, so how could one of them turn out like this?
“Your heart is breaking? At a time like this, now you want me to stop talking? Stop pretending. If your heart had truly been broken, would you really have gone a full eighteen years without coming to find me, without seeing me even once?”
Cheng Yu’s gaze was ice-cold.
Zhao Xichun’s eyes widened.
She recalled that more than once, she had indeed wanted to come back and find her son—but all sorts of trivial matters had delayed her, and once she got busy, she would forget about it.
If her heart had truly ached, would she have forgotten...?
She hurriedly shook her head, forcing herself to stop that terrifying line of thought.
What mother could possibly not love her child?
She had simply had no choice!
“Stop saying it! Yu’er, be good. Do not act on impulse anymore. In the end, we are family, bound by blood thicker than water. Apologize to your father and promise never to do this again. Reform yourself properly, learn chivalry, and let our family live well together.”
As she spoke, she sniffled and glanced repeatedly at Cheng Zhenjiang, signaling him with her eyes.
Cheng Zhenjiang let out a cold snort. Although he was deeply dissatisfied over Cheng Yu killing that disciple—
He still did not dare oppose his wife outright, so he merely turned his head away in tacit consent.
But in his heart, he remained extremely unwilling.
Even if failing to find the child had been his mistake, what parents in this world ever apologized to their children?
Looking at the hope on Zhao Xichun’s face, Cheng Yu sneered inwardly.
She made it look so real.
But no matter how much was said, it was useless. He knew only one fact—the original Cheng Yu was already dead!
“Family? I cannot afford to provoke good people like you. I have plenty of lives on my hands, but I still cherish my own life. Forget it.”
The hope on Zhao Xichun’s face froze, as though she had never imagined Cheng Yu would say such a thing.
“Child, how can you say that? How could your father and I ever treat you that way? Your father is a great hero, the Martial Alliance Leader. He will definitely protect you!”
“If one day I were to provoke the wrath of all under heaven, and everyone wanted my life, what would you do?”
After asking that question, Cheng Yu waited a moment before slowly shaking his head.
Zhao Xichun did not answer.
But she had already given him her answer.
Silence.
“Heh.” Cheng Yu let out a self-mocking laugh on behalf of the person he used to be—the one who had once still harbored hope.
Zhao Xichun understood the meaning of his reaction, and instantly broke down in tears.
“Child, how could you ask something like that? How could your mother ever let such a thing happen? Trust me!”
Off to the side—
Seeing his wife in such pain, Cheng Zhenjiang immediately flew into a rage.
This rebellious son actually dared use such a question to pressure his parents. He truly had no trace of chivalry in him and had become utterly lawless!
“You insolent thing! Is this how you treat your parents? Kneel and apologize to your mother!”
Cheng Zhenjiang rose from his chair. The moment his foot stamped down, a terrifyingly powerful aura erupted, so tangible it could be physically felt.
Cheng Yu only felt an immense force pressing him downward, but he stubbornly held on and refused to kneel. Instinctively, his hand moved toward the saber at his waist.
【The host does not fear a powerful enemy and has fully displayed the bearing of the Jinyiwei. Reward: Internal Energy!】
As his Internal Energy increased, the pressure bearing down on him eased by a few degrees.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared outside the door.
It was none other than Cheng Yu’s younger brother, Cheng Feng—the young genius ranked on the Human Ranking.
Now that their carefully raised youngest son had arrived, he looked pleasing to the eye in every possible way compared to that bastard who defied his parents, and Cheng Zhenjiang’s anger rose a little further.
“Look at your younger brother—how righteous he is. He must have come out of concern for you. As the elder brother, you are unfilial and unrighteous. Are you not ashamed of yourself?”
Handsome and dignified in both face and bearing, Cheng Feng bowed to his father, then walked to his mother’s side and wiped away her tears for her.
“Feng’er, hurry and persuade your second brother not to keep acting foolish!”
“Second Brother may still resent me,” Cheng Feng said, shaking his head.
The disciple Cheng Yu had killed had been something like one of his followers, so in a sense, Cheng Feng could not entirely separate himself from the affair.
But on the other hand, he did not mind seeing the current scene unfold.
From the day his parents brought Cheng Yu back, Cheng Feng had already believed Cheng Yu was not fit to be family.
He was nothing more than a weakling—on top of that, a disgraceful hound of the court.
He did not understand Jianghu chivalry in the slightest.
If not for the fact that Cheng Yu was his elder brother by blood, Cheng Feng would not even have spared someone like him a glance when out in the world.
And now a piece of trash had proven himself to be exactly that—trash. Ruthless enough to infuriate their father and make their mother cry.
Forget persuading Cheng Yu.
At this very moment, Cheng Feng wished with all his heart that Cheng Yu would get as far away as possible and never come back!