Wu Qi recalled and said, âI was orphaned years ago because of a demon calamity. I suffered terribly and wandered to Chengâan Prefecture City. Iâve forgotten many of the hardships I suffered in my youth; it was too tough.â
Xu Jingming listened. With the harsh environment of the Demon Vanquishing World, he could imagine what a child fleeing for refuge would encounter.
Wu Qi continued, âBack then, I had suffered an injury to my spine. It couldnât be treated during my seeking of refugeâthatâs how I became a hunchback. It was only when I gained basic mastery of martial arts and gave care to my injuries that my hunchback didnât get serious. You havenât seen how much worse my hunchback was when I was young.â
âI remember it was snowing heavily that year. It was too cold, and I didnât have anything to eat,â Uncle Qi said. âI nearly fainted from freezing on the streets.â
âAt that time, if I really fainted, I probably wouldâve died,â Uncle Qi said. âJust as I was in a daze from the freezing cold, your mother appeared. Your mother was the same age as me back then, and she was still young. Your mother was a young lady of the Wu family. I remember that she looked fabulous in her outfit back then.â
âIt was your mother who gave me food and water. She even held my hand and brought me into the Wu residence,â Uncle Qi said. âYour mother was truly kind. I was a young, hunchbacked beggar, but she didnât mind my dirtiness. She brought me into the Wu residence, where I had an education. I learned martial arts, and it allowed me to change my life.â
Xu Jingming listened.
âI wanted to repay her with the rest of my life. I studied martial arts very hard, and finally, I gained basic mastery of martial arts,â Uncle Qi said with a smile. âI could finally become her guard.â
âMiss trusted me very much. When she married into the Chen family and brought a group of maidservants and guards, she got me to follow her and even arranged for me to be in charge,â Uncle Qi said. âI naturally didnât let her down and worked for her wholeheartedly.â
âI only discovered Chen Shiâanâs nature after spending time with him. On the surface, he looks like a scion who knows etiquette, but heâs actually greedy and selfish.â Uncle Qi gritted his teeth. âI wanted to kill him, but he was her husband after all. I couldnât do anything without her approval.
âShe was sad deep down, but she still had to keep up the appearance for outsiders and manage some of the businesses,â Uncle Qi said. âPerhaps she was heartbroken by Chen Shiâan and was too taxed by the business. Miss fell sick and never woke upâŠâ
Uncle Qiâs eyes were brimming with tears. âMiss was carefree in the Wu family, unlike when she married into the Chens. Before she died, she was most worried about you, Young Master. You were only eight years old back then. Although Miss forced Chen Shiâan to swear in front of her that he would treat you well and give you 8,000 taels of silver when you became an adult, she still didnât trust him and secretly gave me instructions.â
âShe gave me a sum of 5,000 taels of silver that she had kept secretly for years,â Uncle Qi said. âShe even told me to take good care of you!â
âLater on, Miss died, but Chen Shiâan lived absolutely well. He benefited from the silver Miss left behind from her dowry. He married your stepmother back then! He even ostracized some of the servants and guards Miss brought with her back then,â Uncle Qi said. âI was transferred to be in charge of transporting the herbs. Although I had basic mastery of martial arts, I was nothing in the Chen family. I had to stay in the Chen family to protect you⊠so I couldnât protest.â
âDo you still remember that when you were nine years old, the Chen familyâs herb transportation team was attacked by bandits, and more than half died?â Uncle Qi looked at Xu Jingming. âActually, I had died under the banditsâ attack.â
âWhen I killed more than ten bandits in a row and was surrounded by the leader of the bandits, I knew that I couldnât escape,â Uncle Qi said. âI thought of a way to block them and obtain a chance of survival. I didnât want to die; I still had to protect you, Young Master. In the Chen family, with Chen Shiâanâs character⊠Without someone to protect you, you wouldâve had a tough time.â
Uncle Qiâs eyes turned red. âBut sometimes, itâs not like you can live just because you donât want to die. I wasnât strong enough and couldnât fend them off. That strike sliced through my chest.â
âI really didnât want to dieâI couldnât die either. If I die, who will protect you?â Uncle Qi said. âPerhaps my obsession was too strong at the moment of life and death. My body died, but my obsession remained.â
Uncle Qi chuckled. âIt was fine; I truly had the strength to protect you after becoming a demon.â
Uncle Qi gazed at Xu Jingming. âAfter I became a demon, I kept a low profile in the Chen family, but I could secretly influence many things. Thatâs why I could always take care of you.â
Xu Jingming nodded.
In Chen Qiâs memories, he was careful at home and didnât dare to make his father and stepmother angry. But in fact, Chen Qi didnât encounter any major danger or trouble. From the looks of it, it was all thanks to Wu Qi.
âItâs just that I never expected that you would be banished from the Chen family despite not offending anyone.â Uncle Qi shook his head. âItâs good that you left. With me protecting you, you could suffer less by being outside.â
âSpeaking of which, fate is cruel. Young Master, you actually received a Demon Vanquishing technique and became a Demon Vanquisher, causing the Chen family to regret it!â Uncle Qi praised. âYoung Master, you have outstanding talent in Demon Vanquishing. You grew to this extent in just ten-plus years. Youâre already stronger than me.â
In terms of his demon body, Uncle Qi was only equivalent to an eighth-realm Heaven Demon. He could only rely on his super-first-rate saber technique to deal with higher-realm Heaven Demons.
âYoung Master, youâre stronger than me now, and your senior brotherâGu Shanâis unfathomable.â Uncle Qi sighed. âI have nothing left to protect you. With my strength, Iâm afraid Iâll need your protection if I encounter danger.â