As Rin's group journeyed toward the path of the Moon Palace, another member of the Sima family, Sima Qianlin, was forging her own path, guided by destiny.
In an unknown mountain of Gansu, Sima Qianlin located the marked spot on a map she had received from her grandmother. At the marked location, the word "dig" was inscribed. She began digging the ground, and after hours of labor, creating a sizable hole, she discovered something—a gate covered with soil. In the center, there was an empty imprint of the Sima family crest.
She retrieved the Sima family crest and placed it into the imprint. The ground shook as the gate opened. Sima Qianlin peered inside and found a dark passage. She lit a wooden branch to serve as a torch and entered the passage. As she fully entered, the gate suddenly closed behind her. Panic set in as she tried to open it with force, but it wouldn't budge. She sighed and chose to proceed through the passage.
As she ventured deeper into the dark corridor, a sense of unease grew within her, as if something dangerous lurked ahead. Suddenly, she saw light at the end of the passage. She slowly moved toward it and found a chamber. Entering the chamber, she was shocked to see glowing stones embedded in the walls, numerous books—upon closer inspection, all were Sima clan martial arts manuals. She saw many Sima clan crane pellets (a Qi pill the Sima clan used for warriors' growth), and in one corner, there were finely crafted swords. Chests filled with gold coins were also present.
She thought, "With this, I can restore the Sima clan." Then her eyes caught sight of a desk in the middle of the chamber, upon which lay two letters. She moved toward the desk, picked up the first letter, and recognized her grandmother's handwriting. She began to read it.
On the letter:
If you find this letter, then this means that I am dead and the Sima clan is in big trouble, or maybe it is destroyed. Whoever you are, I don't want you to avenge me or help the Sima clan. I write this letter so I can make a confession of a truth that I kept hidden and is always straining my heart.
First, my name is Sima Ruyan, and I am the current matriarch of the Sima clan. I was never worthy of this position because this position solely belonged to my cousin Sima Yeyun. She is the daughter of my mother's younger sister, but her mother died when she was one year old. From then, she was raised by my mother, but my mother hated her. I don't know the exact reason, but my mother hated her mother for some reason.
From the beginning, my mother instilled poison in me by saying Yeyun is lower than me; she will be considered a branch family daughter, not a main family daughter. I also thought of her as lower, but she was always kind and tried to make me laugh and thought of me as her real sister, but I never treated her the same. Her childhood was bad; she was punished by my mother without any reason, and my father never gave her proper meals. But she always smiled, yet I never acknowledged her as my sister.
As we grew up, I started to loathe her—not because of my mother, but because of her talent in learning. She was always ahead of me, even though we were the same age. Because of this, my mother beat me as I was not able to surpass her in anything, even in kindness.
One day, I was badly beaten by my mother, and she told my father not to give me meals until I learned my lesson. As my mother and father left, and I was trapped in a room, Yeyun sneaked in. She brought medicine and food and started tending to my wounds. I tried to deflect her, but she forcefully tended to my wounds and then offered me food. I asked her, "You know if my mother finds out, you will be in serious trouble." She replied with a smile on her face, "You are my sister, and it's a sister's duty to help her sibling."
That hit something in my heart—some kind of utter defeat.
As we became adults, both she and I got married and had children. My daughter is the same age as her daughter. Then talks started within my clan about who would be the successor for the Sima clan. Yeyun was already at the peak Grandmaster stage, and people called her the new dragon of the Sima clan. Her talent was considered genius at this point, as she was as strong as my mother. As for me, I had just reached half-step Grandmaster, and I was considered a good talent at best. People and elders were expecting her to be the new successor. I think my sister was expecting that seat too because then she could learn the Supreme Crane Sword Art and reach the unrestrained stage.
But my mother had different plans. She called me into her room; she was already seated and drinking tea. As I sat in front of her, she threw her glass toward me, hitting my head, and I started bleeding. She said, "You worthless pile of shit, how can you be my daughter?" I just bowed. "That little runt is already as strong as I am, and you are nothing compared to her. She is panicking; I can't let her succeed as successor as long as I am alive, even though she deserves it. But the elders are insisting on making Yeyun the successor. Damn, the situation has gotten worse because of you. Damn husband, how can I be so unlucky?" She threw another glass at me.
Suddenly, she took a deep breath and calmed down. She said, "Tend to your wound. From now on, you will do as I tell you, okay?" I nodded. "I have made some arrangements today, so come to the urgent meeting tonight in the main hall."
I tended to my wound and reached the main hall. On my way, I saw Yeyun and her husband. He was saying, "Yeyun, I feel like the guards have been keeping an eye on me for quite a while, and the servants are treating me coldly. I think we should leave this clan." Yeyun replied, "You don't need to worry; everything is going to be okay. We just need to wait," as she soothed her husband. I knew Yeyun loved her husband more than anything. I called her, and we went together to the main hall.
As we reached the main hall, I saw all the elders were present, and even my mother. My mother said, "Thank you for coming today." The first elder asked, "Why did you call an urgent meeting? Is everything okay?" My mother said, "Well, I can't say everything is okay. I got a letter from the Murim Alliance saying that the Great Devil Sect has declared war on the Murim Alliance. They have ordered us to send our successor and warriors of the Sima clan to join the fight against evil." The whole hall was in chaos because of this news, with people talking to each other. My mother said, "Silence," and everyone stopped talking. She continued, "I know this news is worrisome, but we don't have time, so I will appoint a temporary successor right now." The elders looked at Yeyun, as she was the best choice, but my mother said, "I will choose my daughter Ruyan as the successor." Everyone was startled by my mother's decision. The elders tried to argue, but my mother released her Qi and said, "Silence," and everyone got quiet.
My mother said, "I know my decision is not right according to you, but I made this decision because of the sudden situation, and it is a temporary decision. I will send both Ruyan and Yeyun to the battlefield; their performance will lead us to make a decision for the future of our clan." Then, for the first time, Yeyun spoke in front of my mother. She said, "I request the matriarch to grant me permission to learn the Supreme Crane Sword Art." My mother replied with anger, "How dare you! Only the successor is granted permission to learn the Supreme Crane Sword Art, and you are not the successor right now." She emitted her Qi again, but Yeyun repelled it. She said, "The future battle is uncertain; isn't it better that we learn powerful techniques to strengthen our clan warriors?" Everyone was shocked by her bold statement, and some elders were also impressed by that decision. But my mother said, "This is the law of our clan, a tradition that only the successor is granted to learn the Supreme Crane Sword Art." Yeyun said, "But..." but my mother interrupted, "Enough! This is my decision; we will discuss this after the war is over." Every elder stood up and started to leave with chatter. Then my mother came toward Yeyun and said to her, "Meet me in my room tonight," as I heard her. I thought, "What could my mother want from Yeyun now?" I decided to see what was going to happen in my mother's room.
As the letter ended, Sima Qianlin stood in silence, the weight of her family's past pressing heavily upon her. The chamber around her, filled with the legacy of the Sima clan, seemed to echo with the voices of her ancestors, their triumphs and tragedies intertwined.