The protagonist committed numerous evil deeds.

Chapter 30 Twilight Mountain Town 23

Jiang Shanyuan, who had been gripping his sword tightly, suddenly loosened his grip and said in a relaxed tone, "It seems that my little sister hasn't forgotten her brother, as she actually mentioned me to you."

When Wen Li saw that Jiang Shanyuan did not refute her words calling him a traitor, her heart tightened and her eyes darkened even more.

She was right after all; Jiang Shanyuan was indeed a traitor!

Why did you betray the Jiang family?

Wen Li tried her best to maintain a calm demeanor. This was her first time getting close to the Jiang family that her mother had mentioned.

"Defection? I defected from the Jiang family? Is that what she told you? Hahaha..."

Jiang Shanyuan laughed maniacally, then suddenly spat out blood.

"My dear sister, how have you become so hypocritical?"

"I betrayed the Jiang family? What a joke! That's the biggest joke in the world!"

After laughing, he looked at Wen Li and said, "Let me guess, you're not here to kill me, are you? You just want to know the truth about the Jiang family's massacre back then."

He spoke excitedly, sticking his head out of the bed. The sword beside the bed fell to the ground, and the jade pendant on it was blue, carved in the shape of the character "善" (goodness).

Wen Li bent down, picked up the sword, and drew it. Both the jade pendant and the scabbard were made of the finest materials, and the carvings on the scabbard were exquisite. The blade itself was forged from spirit iron, surrounded by spiritual energy, making it incredibly powerful. There are very few people in this world who can forge swords with spirit iron.

Wen Li coldly replied, "You are not worthy to use this sword."

Jiang Shanyuan scoffed: "I'm not worthy? Didn't Jiang Yanhong tell you since you were little how righteous and compassionate the Jiang family is, and how wronged and aggrieved their deaths were?"

Jiang Shanyuan, speaking with great emotion, suddenly coughed again. After he finished coughing, he impatiently continued, "You probably don't know, but your Jiang family is truly hypocritical and deceitful! The Jiang family's extermination was deserved!"

Enraged, Wen Li gripped Jiang Shanyuan's neck and slowly tightened her grip, roaring, "If you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll strangle you to death right now!"

Jiang Shanyuan felt suffocated and it took him a long time to breathe again.

"Why are you so angry? I'm afraid that once I'm dead, you'll never find another person in the world who is connected to the Jiang family."

"Come on, come on, pinch me!"

Jiang Shanyuan, beaming with pride, stretched his neck towards Wen Li's hand. Seeing that she didn't react, he said smugly again.

“Niece, it’s all your mother’s fault for not teaching you properly, leaving you ignorant of the truth for so many years. Today, your uncle will give you a good talking-to about what kind of beasts the Jiang family really are. And what kind of hypocritical and righteous man your maternal grandfather, Jiang Jingshan, really is!”

He hadn't mentioned that name in so long; for so many years he hadn't dared to, and couldn't, mention it. He hid away, afraid that others would find out he was once a member of the Jiang family.

That identity that made him proud for half his life and fearful for the other half.

"Your mother must have told you that you have an uncle named Jiang Yanqing."

Wen Li sat back down in her chair and replied, "I know, it's said that she got lost when she was seven years old."

“Since you know Jiang Yanqing, you should also know my background. The matriarch of the Jiang family lost her young son and fell ill from grief. Helpless, she had to find an adopted son among the many beggars who resembled her in appearance and physique to comfort her ailing wife. And I am that adopted son.”

"Madam Jiang was already somewhat insane at that time. Sometimes she would hold me affectionately and call me Qing'er, but other times she would speak harshly to me and even throw things at me to drive me away."

"How old was I back then! I was only five years old! Everyone knew the Jiang family as the number one family for exorcising demons, and that the Jiang family members were kind and benevolent. It was incredibly lucky for me to join the Jiang family. But what happened? Madam Jiang abused me, the servants pitied me, and the two legitimate sons of the Jiang family ostracized me!"

Wen Li fiddled with the jade pendant on Jiang Shanyuan's sword: "So you hate the Jiang family? But if it weren't for the Jiang family, you would probably starve to death on the streets."

"Shut up! You don't understand at all! Jiang Jingshan brought me back himself! He promised to treat me like his own son! He said I was a legitimate son of the Jiang family! But what happened? How did he treat me? He turned a blind eye to my plight. He was wary of me in everything—Jiang family swordsmanship, Jiang family magic, and Jiang family ghost talismans! He only taught me the basics of swordsmanship and magic, saying I was too young to learn anything more advanced! But I clearly saw it! I saw him personally teaching the two brothers, Jiang Yanyu and Jiang Yansheng, even more advanced swordsmanship and magic. They're only three or four years older than me! And he didn't dare teach me even a fraction of the Jiang family's unique ghost talismans! The world only knows the two sons of the Jiang family, but no one knows me, Jiang Shanyuan! What's most hateful is that after they found the missing Jiang Yanqing, they actually threw me out of the house like a piece of trash!"

"Found it?" Wen Li was puzzled as to why her mother had never mentioned it to her.

"Thirteen years! A full thirteen years! And he just throws them away like that? Is this what he calls treating them like his own child? Don't you think they're incredibly hypocritical? Aren't they?"

Jiang Shanyuan stared straight at Wen Li, as if seeking her approval.

"Your sword is made of spirit iron, and the jade pendant on it is something only a member of the Jiang family can possess. Since your maternal grandfather was able to provide you with such a fine sword, he must have never mistreated you. To this day, you have to rely on crooked methods to cultivate, which suggests that your aptitude is extremely poor. You haven't mastered the Jiang family's swordsmanship, nor have you grasped its essence. Yet, all the children of our Jiang family are exceptionally talented, so you became jealous and secretly used forbidden techniques, which led to your expulsion from the Jiang family."

Without deep study, one cannot understand! Jiang Shanyuan seemed to see Jiang Jingshan again.

He frowned and said, "The path of cultivating immortality is not suitable for you."

"Nonsense! Nonsense! I am a demigod, I am the Green Mountain Deity! As a father, he should be plotting for his son's sake! Why didn't he use the method he had? He has traveled all over the country for so many years to find his youngest son, and he has spent so much effort. Why do you just shake your head when it comes to me? He is selfish and hypocritical!"