Chapter 1073: Distorted Love

"A body!" Zu'an and Yu Yanluo exchanged glances, seeing the bitterness in her eyes. She had finally found her husband's whereabouts, only to be met with a cold, lifeless body.

Zu'an, on the other hand, was somewhat more excited. He had no personal relationship with the Duke of Yunzhong. Now that the truth was revealed, the situation in Yunzhong Commandery could be considered stable, and his mission was accomplished.

Both of them simultaneously looked at the block of ice that Uncle Ming had dragged up. It was about the length of a person, with a man lying inside, encased in a thick layer of ice. However, the ice was crystal clear, allowing them to vaguely make out the features of the person within. His face was pale and somewhat blue, but his thick eyebrows and broad face, along with a faint aura of dignity, suggested his former bearing. Zu'an had been imitating him for days; how could he not recognize him? It was Jian Yanyou, the Duke of Yunzhong!

"Why is it frozen?" Jian Taiding looked at the ice sculpture before him with some confusion, even reaching out to touch it. But he quickly recoiled, clearly chilled by the biting coldness emanating from it.

"This cold pool is so frigid, it's not surprising if something freezes," Uncle Ming said, shivering as he warmed himself by the fire.

"But the cold pool itself isn't frozen," Jian Taiding insisted, still perplexed. He could understand if the body froze after being pulled from the water, but for such a thick layer of ice to form while still in the water was truly bizarre.

"Could it be an aftereffect of the Ice Heart Snow Soul we used last time?" Uncle Ming's hand was almost in the fire before he finally felt warmth and his body gradually recovered.

Hearing that name, Zu'an's heart skipped a beat. He had personally experienced the Ice Heart Snow Soul. Back then, Ma An, the Chief Physician of the Imperial Medical Academy, had tried to ambush him with this very poison, confidently claiming it could fell even Grandmasters. Was the Ice Heart Snow Soul these people possessed related to Ma An? When he interrogated Ma An, the latter appeared to be from the Shadow Pavilion. Could Jian Taiding and his group also be connected to the Shadow Pavilion?

At this thought, Zu'an couldn't help but inwardly complain. In this world, the imperial court wielded immense power, suppressing many martial arts sects. However, while overt sects might be gone, secret organizations were certainly abundant. Organizations like the Shadow Pavilion and the Carefree Pavilion felt more mysterious than the last.

Just then, Jian Taiding's voice pulled him back to reality: "It's certainly possible. That 'Ice Heart Snow Soul' is truly potent. Without the help of that poison, all of us combined wouldn't have been a match for Eldest Brother."

Uncle Ming warned, "Second Master, you should also be careful. Since that person could give us the Ice Heart Snow Soul to deal with Eldest Master, they could naturally use it against you too."

Zu'an was puzzled. "That person?" Who exactly was Uncle Ming talking about? From his words, it sounded like there was someone else pulling strings behind the scenes. Was it the same mastermind Zu'an had sensed before?

"Hmph, of course, I understand the danger of dealing with a tiger," Jian Taiding sneered. "But once I'm firmly established as Duke, I'll be like an emperor in Yunzhong Commandery. What could he possibly do to me then?"

"You won't get that chance!" At that moment, a cold, clear voice rang out, and Yu Yanluo walked out, her face etched with frost.

Seeing the body of her nominal husband and actual good friend carelessly discarded on the ground, while the killer spoke so arrogantly, even her gentle nature couldn't tolerate it anymore. Zu'an didn't see anything wrong with it either. All the necessary evidence had been collected; there was no point in hiding any longer. It was time to apprehend these two. Jian Taiding was severely injured, and Uncle Ming was only an eighth-rank cultivator. With him and Yu Yanluo working together, they could easily subdue both of them.

As he was about to follow her out, Yu Yanluo subtly waved her hand behind her back, signaling him to wait. Zu'an instantly understood her intention: she probably wanted to see if she could extract more information.

Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming were startled. They turned around and secretly breathed a sigh of relief when they saw only Yu Yanluo.

"Sister-in-law, what are you doing here?" Jian Taiding greeted her with a smile, subtly using his body to shield the ice block on the ground. "Did you come alone? It's freezing here, bad for your health. How could Xingnu and the others let you come?"

Yu Yanluo sneered, "I think you're more worried that I brought others with me."

Jian Taiding gave an awkward laugh, "Sister-in-law, you misunderstand. I truly am worried about you."

"There's no need to pretend anymore. I heard everything you just said. I never imagined you could be so insane as to murder your own elder brother," Yu Yanluo rebuked him mercilessly. "Yanyou treated you so well all these years, and not only are you ungrateful, but you even harmed him. Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?"

Hearing her words, Jian Taiding naturally saw no need to keep up the pretense. "Eldest Brother was indeed excellent to me, but unfortunately, what he gave me wasn't what I wanted. What I wanted, he simply couldn't give me."

Yu Yanluo's delicate brows furrowed. "How could that be? Yanyou cultivated you in every way over the years, raising you to a position second only to him in Yunzhong Commandery, making countless people envious and critical. What else could he possibly not give you?"

"It's you, Sister-in-law!" Jian Taiding gazed at Yu Yanluo's peerless beauty, his eyes gradually becoming fervent.

"Me?" Yu Yanluo was momentarily taken aback.

Glancing at his elder brother's body on the ground, Jian Taiding felt an urge to confess. "Eldest Brother could give me anything, but he couldn't possibly give me you, his wife. Sister-in-law, do you know that the moment I first saw you on your wedding day with Eldest Brother, I was completely captivated? I never imagined such a beautiful woman existed in this world; no magnificent words could describe your beauty. At that moment, I swore I would marry no one but you in this life!"

Hiding nearby, Zu'an was speechless. Only a familiar line from a movie in his previous life popped into his mind: "My god, he loves his sister-in-law?" Even Uncle Ming, standing nearby, secretly shook his head, muttering, "A femme fatale, indeed a femme fatale!"

Although Yu Yanluo had vaguely sensed this before, hearing his direct confession made her tremble with rage. "You fiend! I am your own sister-in-law!"

"Of course I know!" Jian Taiding's small mustache twitched, his face somewhat distorted. "Precisely because I knew I couldn't marry you through conventional means, I had to resort to desperate measures."

"After I decided I must marry you, I felt a deep sense of powerlessness, knowing I wasn't strong enough. So I could only watch the woman I loved fall into another man's arms."

Yu Yanluo was speechless.

"From then on, I studied desperately. Whether in cultivation or official tactics, I absorbed every piece of knowledge that could make me stronger like a sponge." Jian Taiding's voice was low, recounting the bitterness and hardship of those years.

Yu Yanluo sighed, "Back then, Yanyou excitedly told me you had become more ambitious. You clearly had talent, but unfortunately, you used to be a good-for-nothing. When you suddenly took the right path, your elder brother was overjoyed and helped you without reservation. Who knew you had this intention from the very beginning!"

Zu'an also sighed in amazement. Indeed, women were the driving force behind many men's changes.

"What's wrong with me loving you? It's just that I met you later than Eldest Brother!" Jian Taiding's face was etched with pain. "Do you know what it feels like to watch the woman you love marry another man?"

Zu'an was dumbfounded listening. Jian Taiding certainly had a good way with words. He was clearly coveting another man's wife, but by changing the sequence of events, it sounded completely different.

At this point, Jian Taiding's tone shifted, and his expression became excited. "Later, while drinking with Eldest Brother, he revealed in his drunken state that you had not consummated your marriage with him. Do you know how thrilled I was to hear that news? I nearly jumped for joy. From then on, I became even more convinced that it was fate, that you were waiting for me, and that gave me even more motivation."

To his surprise, Yu Yanluo's face was covered in frost. "Do you think I'd be moved by hearing all this? No, knowing all this only sickens me. You're a pervert! Yanyou was blind to treat you with such sincerity. Do you think you're worthy of him?"

Jian Taiding's eager and hopeful expression instantly froze, gradually turning grim. "If I'm unworthy of him, are you worthy of him?"

"What do you mean?" Yu Yanluo's delicate brows furrowed.

"Hmph, you've been married to him for so many years, but when have you ever fulfilled a wife's duties?" Jian Taiding sneered. "Outsiders envy his good fortune, thinking he married the world's most beautiful woman and probably can't even get out of bed every day. But how could they know he never even touched your finger? You just used him as a shield against all those persistent admirers."

"Your elder brother and I were good friends; he was willing to help me. It's none of your concern," Yu Yanluo said indifferently.

"Heh heh, everything you just said about me could be directly applied to you," Jian Taiding sneered. "My elder brother was so devoted to you, yet are your actions worthy of him? Not only do you fail to fulfill your duties as a wife, but these days you even brought in a wild man to impersonate him and corrupt his concubines! You truly are 'worthy' of him!"

At that moment, unnoticed by anyone, the eyelashes of Jian Yanyou's body within the ice block on the ground fluttered ever so slightly.