Phoniex Requiem
Chapter 1: The Weak Have No Right to Live

Chapter 1: The Weak Have No Right to Live

Heavy rain fell on the capital. The afternoon sunlight suddenly closed and was replaced by dark clouds, as if the tribulation from the sky had suddenly descended.

Yun Ruoyan lay curled up in the middle of the pile of firewood in the locked hut. The long green dress that covered her body was covered in dirt and ash, making her drenched. As the door of the hut opened, a dim light pierced through the dark room, but the woman on the floor did not move.

Pei Ziao entered, narrowing his nose due to the damp and stuffy air. He walked towards the shadow on the floor and kicked his waist, not holding back.

The tears on Yun Ruoyan's face had not been completely dry. He opened his eyes a small gap, staring at the man dressed in silk brocade. His face was as handsome as ever, his eyes and eyebrows were soft, yet the mocking smile danced on his lips made him tremble as if he was in a frozen basement.

It was the man she loved the most in the world—just a few days before, they were a happy couple! But now, this man, who had become his light in eternal darkness, had pushed himself into the abyss!

“It's been days since we last talked! Are you okay, sister?” A soft voice emerged from outside the hut. Yun Ruoyan turned her head towards that voice and saw a face she was very familiar with.

Yi Qianying's!

Never would Yun Ruoyan think that a seemingly harmless girl like Yi Qianying would conspire with her husband — for God's sake, she was her cousin!

Pei Ziao waved his hand, ordering a servant to raise Yun Ruoyan's body. His delicate limbs were roughly pushed into a kneeling position, right in front of Pei Ziao.

Yi Qianying walked over with a bowl of medicine. “Kak, today is the day that the Yun and Lin families will be beheaded. Aren't you going to go see?"

Yun Ruoyan's eyes flashed as she raised her head sharply, the trace of tears on her face shining amidst the darkness. “A-What did you say ?!”

"Oh, don't you know?" Yi Qianying covered her smile with her hands, nudging Pei Ziao. “Ziao, after all, whatever she does, she's still a member of both families, isn't she? Why didn't you tell him anything?”

Pei Ziao gave her an indulgent smile, her gaze affectionate and warm, a measure of love that Yun Ruoyan had never felt from her during their marriage.

But at this moment, Yun Ruoyan did not care about her husband's betrayal. “Yi Qianying! What did you just say?! What happened to the Yun and Lin families?”

On the day he was locked up in a small hut, all he knew was that something big had happened in Yun's household, but his entire family would be executed…?

Yi Qianying smiled shyly. “I didn't know you still cared about those two families, Sister! After all, when you decided to sever any ties with the Lin family because of Pei Ziao, I think you have long forgotten about them. The Emperor had decided that Yuns and Lins would be executed immediately at noon today for treason, for high treason. How's my farewell gift for you, sister?

“What.....” Yun Ruoyan looked straight at the woman in front of him, a dagger in her eyes. In the past, he had wondered how the Yun household had fallen so low in one night, but he had never dared to connect the event with the two!

Yun Ruoyan gritted her teeth, her eyes red with regret and anger. She howled, “Yi Qianying, you wretched girl! The Yun Family has always treated you like their own daughter, and I, like my own sister. Why are you doing all this?!”

Yi Qianying smiled gracefully once again, her fingers wrapped around the hair on her temples. “Sister, are you pretending to be stupid, or do you really not understand? I guess that's the last one; after all, as ugly and rude as you are, I guess you're still completely devoted to your husband. How could Pei Ziao, with his identity and status, be interested in such a terrifying woman? It would be a shame for Ziao to take you out with him, let alone call you his wife!”

"A horrible woman ..." Is this really like that? No wonder Pei Ziao was never willing to perfect their marriage—but even so, he was not one of those people who would impose himself on others! If Pei Ziao hadn't told her that she loved him, she wouldn't have married into Pei's family!

But it was Pei Ziao himself who said he didn't care about his appearance, or the birthmark on his face!

Is that all a lie?

Then, did Pei Ziao marry her solely because she was the only daughter born as the wife of the Yun family? [1]

Yun Ruoyan felt as if a film had been removed from her eyes, that she had finally seen the true color of the man who had shared the bed with her for so many years. A well of regret emerged from within him, but it was already very, very late.

A smile hung on Yi Qianying's lips. “Sister, let me send you on your last trip. Don't worry, I'll take care of your husband and Yun family's business for you.”

As Yun Ruoyan looked at the bowl that Yi Qianying was holding in her hand, she turned towards Pei Ziao — but all she saw was a pair of cold and distant eyes.

“Qianying, stop wasting your time talking nonsense to her. Pour it down his throat!” An ice-cold voice emerged from his lips, and Pei Ziao turned his gaze away from him in disdain.

“Pei Ziao, why are you treating me like this? I want to hear it from your own lips!”

Pei Ziao smiled coldly, turned around and gripped Yun Ruoyan's lower jaw as if he was about to break it. "Why? Because you are not only ugly, but also completely useless!”

And then he threw Yun Ruoyan to the floor.

Was useless?

He had already heard the word thrown at him many times, of course, but this was the first time he had heard it from the man he loved with all his heart.

Did Pei Ziao think he was useless as well?

Maybe that's true. After all, he was born ugly, and he could not even become a third-rate swordsman, something that even the most untalented cultivators among the masses could achieve.

Yi Qianying dropped her pretense as she picked up the drink and approached Yun Ruoyan.

Perhaps due to the desire to live, Yun Ruoyan, who had been tortured to such an extent that she no longer looked like a human, struggled so hard that she completely broke free from the grasp of the servants.

A sharp slap sounded as Yi Qianying gripped her cheek in shock.

Did Yun Ruoyan really hit him? Yun Ruoyan, famous for her ugliness in the entire Li kingdom? How dare he!

The next moment, Pei Ziao rushed forward and slapped Yun Ruoyan's back in turn. “You're wretched! You crazy?!"

Pei Ziao used so much force that Yun Ruoyan felt an iron taste in her mouth, and drops of blood seeped out from the corners of her lips.

Soon after, Pei Ziao snatched the bowl from Yi Qianying's hand, pinched Yun Ruoyan's lower jaw tightly, and forced the drink into her throat.

When the bowl was finally emptied, he let go, and as he coughed, Yun Ruoyan raised her head and gnashed her teeth. “Pei Ziao! I'm not letting you go! In the afterlife, I swear on my name and the sky above, I will collect this debt of blood!”

Yun Ruoyan's red eyes were wide open, her gaze burning with anger, the revenge in her words and her appearance was enough to shock Pei Ziao that she had the urge to run away from him in fear. But as he spoke last, Yun Ruoyan felt her heart clench and a burst of blood rush out from her throat. It splashed onto the floor, bright and vile.

Pei Ziao no longer wanted to see this woman who made him sick, or her vilifying gaze. “You, you, and you, throw him out! Don't let this dirty girl die inside Pei's household!”

As Yi Qianying looked at him, she laughed coldly, raising her slender white neck. "Vengeance? i'm looking forward to. But it seems like you won't be able to do it this lifetime, Yun Ruoyan!”

***

1. Aristocratic families tended to be large, as men were expected to have a wife and many concubines. The children of wives are given higher status in the family than the children of concubines, and I use the terms 'birth of wives' and 'birth of concubines' to refer to these differences.