Chapter 364: The Truth Revealed

Su Yan looked at Granny Li, whose breathing was growing increasingly faint, feeling nothing but indifference.

"Granny knows that during these past six months you've been away, you must have been searching bitterly for the truth about your origins, right? In fact, your mother, Kong Xiangrou... *cough, cough, cough*... was also an Exorcist."

Granny Li's words failed to trigger any emotional fluctuation in Su Yan. Since this illusion could peer into the depths of her heart, it was not surprising that the current "Granny Li" knew these things.

She remained silent, waiting to see what else Granny Li had to say.

"Among Exorcists, there are four great families who are incredibly powerful, and your mother was the daughter of the Kong family, one of those four. Back then, your mother was a very powerful Exorcist; the Kong family had almost raised her to be the next generation's clan leader. Your mother was also very impressive, pulling far ahead of her peers at a very young age."

Su Yan didn't believe even thirty percent of what she was hearing. If her mother truly was that important, why would she have broken ties with the family and lived with her father as an ordinary person for so many years?

"You must be thinking that since your mother was so powerful, how could she possibly have married your father as an ordinary woman, right?" Granny Li spoke her thoughts directly.

Su Yan made no attempt to hide it. "Yes."

Granny Li let out a long sigh, as if her entire being had fallen back into the memories of long ago.

"I cannot explain the specific reasons clearly, I only vaguely know that back then, the Kong family forced your mother to do something she was extremely unwilling to do, and it was this matter that enraged her. Your mother even went so far as to destroy all of her cultivation and spiritual power herself, turning into an ordinary person."

Su Yan raised an eyebrow. "Destroying her own cultivation?"

This was a claim she had never expected.

Granny Li nodded with difficulty. "Yes. The day your mother met your father was the exact same day she destroyed her cultivation and escaped the family. The Kong family was utterly disappointed in her, but considering the contributions she had made to the family over the years, they did not hunt her down to the last breath."

"Later, she married your father and lived the life of an ordinary person. But the good times did not last; your birth completely shattered all of this. For generations, the Kong family has had a gifted infant born almost every hundred years. They believed that since your mother had lost her spiritual power and married an ordinary man, the child she bore could never be that gifted infant. But fate is a cruel thing."

"On the day you were born, strange phenomena occurred in the heavens, which immediately alerted the Kong family. They could never allow you to wander the world alone, so when you were four years old, they used forceful means to summon your mother back to the family."

Even though Su Yan knew clearly that what "Granny Li" was saying was fake, she couldn't help but interrupt her.

"Why when I was four?"

Granny Li gave her a look to calm her down. "Because at that time, they had no idea where your mother was hiding. Although your mother had lost her cultivation, as a former powerhouse, it was still quite easy for her to hide her tracks. It wasn't until you were four and your supernatural ability awakened for the first time that the Kong family finally confirmed your location."

Su Yan's brow furrowed even tighter. She had completely forgotten the events of that time, so she had no way to refute anything Granny Li said.

Yet, even as a fabricated story, everything sounded so perfectly logical.

"The Kong family used your father's life as blackmail. Your father had no idea of your mother's true identity at the time, so your mother had no choice but to follow the Kong family's demands and take you back to them."

As Granny Li reached this point, she began to cough violently again. Su Yan suddenly felt a flicker of interest, wanting to hear how the story in this illusion would continue to be fabricated.

Once Granny Li finally managed to steady her breathing, she gestured for Su Yan to pour her a glass of water.

Although Su Yan felt she might be intentionally stalling for time, she complied with the request.

Granny Li drank more than half the glass of water before continuing.

"After your mother returned to the Kong family, she was immediately placed under house arrest. Their demand was simple: you had to stay with the Kong family."

This time, Su Yan held her breath, and even her expression grew more serious.

"Your mother, of course, refused, and the Kong family would not let her leave. If it had been before, your mother might have had the ability to protect herself, but at that time, she could only let the Kong family do as they pleased. Moreover, your mother loved you and your father deeply, so she naturally did not dare to resist."

"The Kong family first tried to appeal to your mother's sense of duty, even promising that if she agreed to leave you with the Kong family, she could become the heir to the next generation of the Kong clan. But your mother had no desire to walk the path she once took, and she refused even unto death. It was precisely because of your mother's unyielding character that the Kong family finally developed murderous intent toward her."

Granny Li's volume kept increasing, and the atmosphere became suffocatingly tense.

"Only if your mother died could they truly control you. But the Kong family underestimated the lengths a mother would go to for her child. That night, your mother actually burned her last bit of life force, intending to perish along with the Kong family!"

Granny Li's eyes reddened slightly, and her voice began to choke with emotion.

"The head of the Kong family did not expect her to choose such a method. To prevent her from destroying the entire Kong family, they were finally forced to make a concession. They agreed to let your mother take you away, but your power had to remain with the Kong family. By then, your mother had very little time left, and in order to let you live like an ordinary person, she could only choose to compromise."

"And so, the Kong family used a secret method to extract all the energy contained within your pupils at that time and transferred it into the body of another girl."

Su Yan's breath hitched, her expression changed, and a strange surge of emotion flooded her heart.

She almost immediately thought of Kong Nian.

Not only was Kong Nian of a similar age to her, but the energy released from her eyes was identical to her own.

Furthermore, after Kong Nian's energy was forcefully extracted by Feng Zong, it had actually entered directly into Su Yan's pupils, merging perfectly without the slightest anomaly.

If she used what Granny Li just said as an explanation, then everything became perfectly logical.

As for that secret method, she immediately thought of the Feng family's secret techniques.

It felt as if hot blood was boiling in her body; subconsciously, she actually felt that everything she was hearing might be true.

But wasn't this an illusion?

Even Granny Li was a manifested person; how could she possibly know the truth that had been hidden by the Kong family all those years ago?!

(End of Chapter)