110: Chapter 110's plot is so melodramatic!

"Brother."

A soft call, as if crossing the boundary between life and death, echoed faintly in the cold backyard.

Meng De's body stiffened instantly, as if struck by lightning.

He stared fixedly at the phantom condensed from the radiance of the letter, his lips trembling, yet unable to make a sound.

The wind in the courtyard seemed to stand still at this moment.

Chen You stood calmly to the side, watching this long-overdue "reunion" between brothers.

Within the light and shadow, Meng Tu looked at his both familiar and strange elder brother with a complex gaze.

His ordinary face was etched with exhaustion and helplessness.

"I know you hate me."

Meng Tu's phantom spoke; his voice was soft, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"You hate me for taking Qing'er away, hate me for making you lose face, hate me, your good-for-nothing younger brother, for making you the laughingstock of Thousand Light City."

Meng De's body trembled violently, veins bulging one by one on his temples.

On his face, cold and hard as iron, the icy facade shattered piece by piece, replaced by a twisted expression of pain from being poked in his sore spot.

"Shut up!" he finally squeezed out two words from his throat.

Meng Tu's phantom merely looked at him sorrowfully and continued on his own.

"Brother, you are wrong. I took Qing'er away not to compete with you, but to protect her... and to protect you."

The light and shadow flickered slightly, appearing as if they might dissipate at any moment.

"Our Meng Family bloodline is cursed."

These words were like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against Meng De's chest.

"Do you remember? When we were young, Father would always lock himself in the ancestral hall late at night, and we could hear his painful roars."

"Do you remember? Grandfather was clearly the strongest warrior in the family, yet he suddenly went mad in his prime and slit his throat before the ancestors' graves."

"Did you think that was the price of pursuing power?" Meng Tu's phantom shook his head, his gaze becoming incredibly solemn.

"No, it's because an inescapable shadow flows within our Meng Family bloodline!"

"In the cemetery on the northern outskirts of Zhao City, I was targeted by a powerful vengeful spirit that tried to invade my body and seize my bloodline."

"During the confrontation, I caught a glimpse of the truth... Our Meng Family ancestors once made a contract with a certain evil existence."

"Using the 'blood of the closest kin' of future generations as a sacrifice in exchange for power."

"The stronger the power, the more terrifying the curse's backlash."

"It will twist your mind, making you cruel and bloodthirsty, until you eventually kill your most beloved person with your own hands to complete the blood sacrifice."

Meng Tu's gaze pierced through the void and fell upon Meng De, filled with endless heartache.

"Brother, your talent is better than mine, and your thirst for power is stronger."

"If Qing'er had stayed by your side, with your love for her, she... would inevitably have become the first sacrifice!"

"So, I could only take her away. I would rather you hate me for a lifetime than see you walk down that path of no return."

"Cough, cough..." Meng Tu's phantom coughed violently, the light becoming increasingly dim.

"The root of the curse lies on a stone tablet deep within our Meng Family's ancestral tomb."

"Brother, you are already so strong, you must... must be careful... do not let power... blind your eyes..."

His voice grew weaker and weaker.

"Also, Xiao Xiao... my daughter..." The light turned toward the crying young girl, full of reluctance.

"I'm sorry... Daddy can't... stay with you anymore..."

The light and shadow took one last look at Chen You, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately just turned into flecks of light and dissipated under the cold moonlight.

The letter in Chen You's hand also turned into flying ash.

The entire backyard fell into a deathly silence.

Meng De stood dazed on the spot, like a stone statue.

His brother's final words echoed in his mind, and those long-buried resentments, frustrations, and pains were ruthlessly torn open at this moment.

Revealing the bloody truth beneath.

So... it was like this?

He wasn't abandoned, but protected?

The powerful strength he took pride in was nothing more than a death warrant hanging over his head?

"Aaaah—"

Meng De let out a roar suppressed to the extreme, his voice filled with remorse, pain, and bewilderment.

He smashed his fist hard against a nearby weapon rack; the rack made of refined iron instantly twisted and deformed, and the heavy war blade hummed.

Chen You watched this scene with no ripples in his heart, even feeling a bit like laughing.

[Good grief, a standard melodramatic plot.]

[The untold story of the macho Meng De and his brother's wife.]

[Meng De... as expected of you!]

Just then, a new system prompt finally arrived.

[Ding! The hidden clues for the quest "The Hero's Orphan" have been updated!]

[You have uncovered the secret of the Meng Family, triggering the hidden epic quest—"Curse of the Bloodline"!]

[Quest Objective: Head to the Meng Family Ancestral Tomb, find the stone tablet mentioned in Meng Tu's final letter, and investigate the source of the curse.]

[Quest Reward: 50,000 EXP, Thousand Light City Reputation +5,000]

Looking at the quest description, Chen You couldn't help but guess: A tomb? Could it be another dungeon?

Well, the "cutscene" is over; it's time to act.

He walked to Meng Xiao's side, knelt down, and gently wiped away the tears from the little girl's face.

"Don't cry."

Meng Xiao raised her tear-filled eyes, looked at Chen You, and choked out, "Big brother... my father... he's really gone..."

Chen You was silent for a moment.

He wasn't very good at comforting people.

So he tried a different way, directly taking out a peiyuan pill and stuffing it into the little girl's mouth as if it were candy.

"Is it sweet?"

Holding the pill in her mouth, Meng Xiao didn't react immediately and nodded blankly.

"That's good then." Chen You stood up, put away the box, then turned and walked toward the despondent Meng De.

He looked at Meng De, his voice not loud but exceptionally clear, breaking the suffocating atmosphere.

"Meng De, where is the ancestral tomb?"

No unnecessary beating around the bush.

Meng De slowly raised his head, his blood-red eyes staring fixedly at Chen You.

They were filled with confusion, pain, and a trace of... an indescribable madness.

"You want to go?"

"It's my quest." Chen You was concise.

"Quest?" Meng De laughed neurotically.

"You treat it as a quest? Foolish Adventurer! You have no idea what you're about to face!"

He stood up abruptly, his burly frame carrying a powerful sense of pressure as he approached Chen You step by step.

His aura became extremely dangerous, and a thick killing intent permeated the air.

"That fool of a brother of mine placed his hopes on you?"

Meng De's gaze fell upon Chen You's calm face, and he suddenly grinned, "Fine."

"You want to go to the tomb? You can."

"But first, you must prove to me that you are qualified."

He extended a finger, his eyes cold and crazed.

"Take one strike from my blade."

"If you can survive, you can go wherever you like."

The moment the words fell, the entire world seemed like a drop of ink dropped into water, rapidly bleeding out.

The cold moonlight, the twisted weapon rack, Meng Xiao, and the terrified servant.

Everything in his field of vision faded and blurred rapidly, eventually turning into a pure grayish-white.

The surrounding environment was reshaped by an invisible force field.

Beneath his feet was no longer bluestone, but a circular stone platform shimmering with runic luster.

All around was an endless void, with only a cold wind whistling in his ears, carrying a thick, inseparable aura of slaughter.

[Ding! You have entered a special combat scenario—"Court of the Inner Demon".]