Chapter 236: The Road to Freedom, Paved with Flesh and Blood

 Chapter 236: The Road to Freedom, Paved with Flesh and Blood

Mu Qing was not an honest ghost. Just as he was about to speak, a talisman paper floated over and landed on his mouth, cutting off all his words. Qiao Nanyuan calmly stopped and acted as if he had done nothing. He continued, "The true talent in Gui Chun Yuan is Mu Qing's sister. Her voice is beautiful and pleasant, and she was born to eat the food of drama. She has someone she likes, who was the martial arts performer in Gui Chun Yuan at that time. The two grew up together and fell in love with each other." Mu Qing, with his status as an actor, was destined to be humble. Even if she was formally on stage and received applause from many people in the future, it was only because of her beautiful appearance, not because of her talent. In the end, she would inevitably become a plaything in the hands of the wealthy and powerful. However, a turning point happened before Mu Qing formally appeared on stage. She reunited with her biological brother. "Mmm..." Mu Qing sobbed, with his mouth sealed by the golden whip, trying to stop Qiao Nanyuan from continuing. He was struggling and crawling towards Qin Ruan and Qiao Nanyuan in an embarrassed manner. Qiao Nanyuan's resolute features remained unchanged, making him look quite ruthless. "When Mu Qing officially appeared on stage in front of everyone, Gui Chun Yuan announced that Mu Qing was a man, disappointing many people, but some people still liked her." The brother and sister looked exactly alike, with little difference in height. On the stage was Mu Qing, and her brother, Su Zijia, who ingratiated himself with the upper class, was standing by her side. Su Zijia was the name that came out of Qiao Nanyuan's mouth, while Mu Qing, who was struggling and crawling on the ground, or rather Su Zijia, looked up with bloodshot eyes, staring at him fiercely. Those eyes seemed to be asking, "Who are you? Who are you?" Qiao Nanyuan's expression remained unchanged, and he withdrew his gaze indifferently. "Su Zijia and Mu Qing have suffered a lot since they were young. Mu Qing didn't have to worry about food and clothing in the drama troupe, but the hardships she endured were unimaginable." Qin Ruan, Xiao Yunchen, and Changyuan were all shocked. Only Lu Wenbin's face remained calm. Among them, Xiao Yunchen's emotions were the most obvious. In order to audition, he specifically searched for information about Mu Qing's character online. Mu Qing's character in the script actually existed in the Republic of China, and this tragic character had such a hidden secret that no one knew about. Su Zijia raised his head, and his blood-red eyes stared at Qiao Nanyuan fiercely, seeming to ask the same question again. Qiao Nanyuan's expression remained unchanged, and he withdrew his gaze indifferently. "Su Zijia and Mu Qing have suffered a lot since they were young. Mu Qing didn't have to worry about food and clothing in the drama troupe, but the hardships she endured were unimaginable." Su Zijia's life was not much better than Mu Qing's. In order to survive, he had no limits, no shame, and no sense of morality. Before the reunion of the siblings, he relied on his outstanding appearance and sweet words to charm women, commonly known as a "gigolo" or a "pretty boy." In the first half of his life, he lived off of women, but in his last two years, he lived as Mu Qing to protect his sister and started living off of men. At this point, Qiao Nanyuan seemed hesitant to continue speaking. Qin Ruan asked, "Does Uncle Qiao mean that Mu Qing killed someone?" Qiao Nanyuan shook his head and said, "I don't know, but Su Zijia is unlikely to be a murderer." "Why is that?" Qin Ruan didn't know about the popular Mu Qing in the Shanghai Bund a hundred years ago or the hidden circumstances behind it. She just wanted to find the person behind the scenes. However, neither Chang Yuan's defense nor Qiao Nanyuan's statement made her sympathize with Su Zijia and Mu Qing. Regardless of their circumstances, they had ultimately killed someone. Qiao Nanyuan continued, "During the two years that Mu Qing was performing, Su Zijia did a lot for her, sacrificing his own body to protect his sister's innocence. Unfortunately, Mu Qing's true identity was eventually exposed. Mu Qing's identity was revealed by a childhood friend, a martial artist, to a wealthy businessman who was a well-known shipbuilding tycoon in Shanghai and was once one of Su Zijia's clients. After learning of Mu Qing's true identity, he imprisoned her and subjected her to the same treatment that had been used on Su Zijia. Mu Qing was unable to bear the suffering and eventually chose to commit suicide. Not long after Mu Qing's death, members of the wealthy family who had played with the siblings started to have accidents one after another. They eventually resorted to using Su Zijia's life as a sacrifice to suppress the incarnation of the evil spirit, Mu Qing. Now, a hundred years have passed, and the spell that suppressed the siblings is about to be broken." "Why doesn't anyone know about this? How was Mu Qing's identity and her reputation in the Shanghai Bund covered up?" Xiao Yunchen found it very strange and illogical. Finally, Qiao Nanyuan's face showed a hint of emotion, a cold, disdainful smile. His tone was calm as he said, "Because it involves the upper echelons of society. Su Zijia and Mu Qing fooled them around and manipulated them, so how could they allow this scandal to spread?" Qin Ruan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then why does Uncle Qiao know so much about it?" "...because back then, the brother and sister were suppressed with forbidden techniques and unable to reincarnate, and they were from the Maoshan Sect." Qiao Nanyuan's expression was somewhat unnatural. Qin Ruan was speechless. No wonder he knew so much about it. Qin Ruan said, "This doesn't necessarily mean that Su Zijia is innocent." Qiao Nanyuan threw out another shocking hidden fact. "Su Zijia has another identity, one of the countless underground members. He has done many seemingly insignificant things that have had a great impact. He is not a good person, but he is not a bad person either. Until his death, his hands were clean. A person like him wouldn't indiscriminately kill innocent people. He inherited the oath he had taken when he joined the team, willing to sacrifice himself to pave the way for freedom with his flesh and blood." Qin Ruan's expression was complicated, with a solemn look in her eyes. The bloody lesson of a hundred years ago was so heavy that no one in the family of plant cultivators dared to forget it. Su Zijia's identity was indeed surprising. Qin Ruan pursed her lips and walked up to Su Zijia, tearing off the talisman paper from his mouth. She looked into his eyes and asked, "Did you kill those people?" Su Zijia got up from the ground, looking very embarrassed, with disheveled clothes and an anxious expression. "Yes! I killed them! I killed those people!" His tone was urgent, afraid that she wouldn't believe him. "Hmm." Qin Ruan nodded lightly. "Then it wasn't you who killed them. I'm very curious where your sister is." "She's not here at all!" Su Zijia was surrounded by black energy, denying it through gritted teeth. "Then she must be here." Qin Ruan looked around the large hall. After a quick scan, she found nothing. "Is it possible that your sister doesn't have a good relationship with you and doesn't show up when you're suffering?" This time Su Zijia was smarter and didn't speak. This woman is really cunning! Qin Ruan smiled and stopped pressing him any further. Her gaze fell on Changyuan. "You heard it earlier. Mu Qing looks exactly like Su Zijia, and their height is almost the same. You said earlier that Mu Qing didn't kill anyone, so you must know him very well. Can you tell the difference between Mu Qing and Su Zijia?" Changyuan was dumbfounded. He didn't expect Mu Qing, whom he had been getting along with recently, to have multiple identities. (End of this chapter)