Masked Evil

*Things like sexism and racism are purely for worldbuilding and to make it more realistic. Thank you for your understanding.*

A few days after the conflict with the Huoyan Clan.

Qing Xie Hongji, the eldest son of the Patriarch, walked through the private gardens of the main pagoda and towards it.

Although it was December, the Qing Clan didn't see the snow this year and many were disappointed. After all, it was a time where they celebrated their migration from the icy world, Bingxingqui, and to their current planet, Qingpu.

As a race of humans that came from ice, the Qing Clan were all pale-skinned and tenacious. Thus, when they came to the almost tropical Qingpu under the lead of the founding fathers, they treasured it like a holy land.

The bushes that made up the private gardens were just hollow nests of branched wood in wintertime, and Hongji snorted under his breath as he likened the leafless bush to the current Qing Clan.

Sad and depressed.

Indeed, however, what can one expect in the wake of a huge war that ended in the annihilation of an entire Clan as well as a mighty Stage 7...

The casualties were naturally astounding. And even though Qing Clan was a tyrant in their own corner of the Mortal Realm, sometimes even acknowledged as the largest Clan beneath the sects, even they couldn't just throw away tens of millions of cultivators.

Hongji felt the loss the most. He wanted the Clan to prosper and thrive but now it had entered this grey period of mourning. And none of it would've been necessary if not for the foolishness of his father, the Patriarch.

Reckless use of the divine sense to brainwash millions... What was the use of breaking the Heavenly Courts' law if one still shuddered at the mere mention of them? Such was his father.

Hongji was taken from his thoughts as he saw a white-robed woman ahead of him. With a keenly observant eye from afar, he recognised this woman. How could he not? She was his sister.

In name only, obviously. From the distasteful words exchanged between him and the Academy Elder before the war, Hongji was reminded of his orphan and adopted status. However, he only sneered at the people he had stepped over to get where he was: royalty.

This white-robed sister of his turned away from the young man she was accompanied by in the gardens and looked to the black-robed figure approaching her with a lovely smile. However, she clenched her fists at the sight of such a smile, for she could only recognise a madman, a demon.

"Xiao Yingge, I was starting to think I would never see you again. Haha, do you hate your older brother so much? It breaks my heart..." Hongji spoke despondently and with a saddening look in her eye, however, Qing Xie Yingge gritted her teeth with an angry look in her eyes.

The young man escorting her seemed to be swindled by Hongji's words and even turned to Yingge and looked away as if he had seen the ugly side of her that she was hiding from him. In response to him, Yingge only snorted.

"I told you to stay away from me." Yingge spoke with hatred and aggression, her smooth forehead creased with lines and her ample breasts swaying beneath her robes with every turn of her body.

"As you wish." Hongji only smiled courteously and bid farewell to the young man too, giving him a lasting good impression and seemingly having completely turned him against Yingge with smiles alone, which brought a hearty chuckle out of Hongji's mouth.

Anyone who heard it would start to laugh too, at least start smiling.

Hongji walked away and through the gardens, nearing the main pagoda where he was going to see his father, who had locked himself away after returning from the war.

"Where are you going? Killing someone else's brother again?" The voice of Yingge came after him after he'd only taken a dozen steps.

"Oh? Xiao Yingge, where did your escort go?" Hongji turned to see the graceful figure of Yingge walking after him slowly. She did so naturally, as if it was Hongji chasing after her.

"I threw him away." She waved her hand as she spoke nonchalantly without batting an eye. All the while, she was already walking beside Hongji.

"Well, that's not very nice. He seemed to be a kind young man." Hongji's knowing voice sounded. At times, even Hongji himself didn't know whether he was being sincere or not. But speaking from the perspective of Yingge, he was indeed a nice man.

The Patriarch had many children, and also many failures that the public itself didn't even put in their eyes. These children were spread over many years and some of them were even old enough to be others' great ancestors.

Hongji and Yingge were like this. She was but a few tens of years old while Hongji was over seven hundred years old. Hongji was only a few years younger than the Patriarch's eldest biological child, which was also the very child who had been slain by him.

Yingge detested Hongji for this, even though her brother was killed hundreds of years before she was even born. This is because the hate brewed by the Patriarch's many biological children had rubbed off on her permanently. But even so, her hate is not unsolicited.

That being said, Yingge was only a Stage 3 cultivator while Hongji was nearing the limits of Stage 5 and nearing the legendary realm above the sky, that is Stage 6. The fact that she could even exchange words with him showed the "benevolence" of Hongji as well as the natural status of royalty that Yingge had.

"You don't need to think about what I like in a man, because you're definitely not it," Yingge responded like an aloof teenage girl, which was relative of her age compared to some monsters like the one next to her.

In response to this, Hongji just smiled and walked silently. He didn't want to point out the fact that she was chasing after him and talking with him. After all, he wanted to cultivate relations with many people right now as he was firm on taking the title of "heir".

The two walked in silence right up until the private gardens that they walked through connected to a similarly private entrance to the Patriarch's lodgings. Two Stage 5 guards belonging to the Patriarch's personal group of in-name disciples stood on either side of the humble entrance and directed a glance at Hongji, to which he nodded.

"Well, Xiao Yingge. I've enjoyed our stroll, but I'm going to have to leave you here. Unfortunately, only select people are allowed near the Patriarch right now." Being a senior of many years, Hongji naturally didn't have to mince words to this little girl and could tell her straight. However, the fact that he did still put a grizzly expression on Yingge's face.

"Are First Brother and Second Sister allowed inside? If so, then I'll ask them to take me in." Yingge smiled mockingly as she mentioned these two siblings of hers. These two were the direct opposition of Hongji regarding the seat of heir and also power. It would be an understatement to describe their relationship as "strained".

In fact, Hongji would be the eldest among all of the Patriarch's children and thus be "First Brother". However, they blatantly did not acknowledge Hongji as a true brother because he was adopted but mainly because of his actions. And so, Hongji was not "brother", "elder brother", "eldest brother" and definitely not the ever so sought-after "First Brother"; but just "Hongji".

In response to Yingge's words, Hongji just spoke calmly. However, Yingge could not imagine the anger beneath his mask at this moment. "I suppose they are."

The well-endowed, but still short, Yingge smirked toward Hongji.

"Great." And after saying this one word, she just walked off without bidding goodbye to Hongji at all. But he could only sigh. Trying to lower himself and build a bridge between him and the biological children was like having his hand bitten by the animals he saved.

Those pigs don't know what's good for them.

...

Hongji entered the area of the main pagoda which was regarded as the Patriarch's Palace.

At this moment, he was required to wash and change himself into a snow-white robe and walk barefoot across the warm wooden floor through the Patriarch's room.

Small children that were similarly dressed were in every room, permanently kowtowing and awaiting instruction from any masters that came across them. Most of these children were the sons and daughters of rich and powerful clansmen. They had been sent here to learn obedience and etiquette while learning basic literacy and numeracy too. Just like a boarding school.

Hongji came to a certain door made simply from paper and weightless wood. He slid the door open and saw his father sitting in an open-walled room that looked out over a vast body of water. He was sat on the floor and faced the water, not letting Hongji see his face not even tell what he was thinking.

After closing the door behind him, Hongji came to kneel behind his father. The wood floor was warm and soft beneath the layered and cosy robes granted to him. The bleak grey wintry sky reflected from the water made the whole room black and white, seeming a little dull and nightmarish.

"Father, it's Hongji," Hongji spoke but saw not even the slightest of movement from his father. He could tell the Patriarch was deep in thought and questioning. Obviously, the weight of the war as well as the descent of a legendary Stage 8 figure was still on his mind.

Hongji was here purely for the furthering of his own goals. And the first step was to gain the title of "heir" within the Clan by gaining the trust and reliance of his father. This moment, when the Patriarch was particularly weak-willed, was a godsent opportunity.

"Father, if you are still having doubts about the war, just know that it is behind us. The problem has been solved and the Clan is out of danger. Only prosperity and growth await us. We just have to rise up and meet it halfway." Hongji spoke every sentence clearly, and there was only silence and stillness in between.

Seeing no reaction, Hongji sat in silence and kept his father company. A few hours later, movement and sound finally came from the Patriarch.

"Hongji." His voice was deep and solemn, and Hongji could tell straight away that he had just made his mind up about something.

"Yes, father." Hongji's crisp voice sounded straight away.

"I believe that elder Li Shan will break through to Stage 7 within the next one hundred years." As the words came from the Patriarch who was still staring endlessly out over the water, Hongji's brows furrowed and he suddenly got a foreboding feeling.

"..." Afraid of whether his words would cement the thoughts in his mind, Hongji kept his silence, the shimmering of the water replacing his voice.

"When that time comes, the Clan will be handed over to his family and I will enter seclusion." As soon as the deep voice of the Patriarch reverberated, Hongji's eyes immediately burst open, staring fervently at the back of the Patriarch with a gaze that was almost bloodshot.

"Father, why?! You are young among Stage 7s and still have over half of your lifespan!! There is simply no need!" Hongji lightly shouted in a firm voice, his eyes showing immense worry to the point of anxiety.

He could feel all of his plans, his dreams, come crashing down. If his father went into seclusion and the Clan was handed over to one of the elders, all authority Hongji had would be stripped away. Even his status of royalty would be stripped away!

Moreover, his father would even be going into seclusion! This meant that Hongji couldn't use his name or status as his own any longer! He would be gone from a young master with infinite wealth to achieve his plans into a pauper with many enemies and no one to rely on. This was catastrophic.

"Calm down, Hongji. It is precisely because I am young that I am handing the Clan over once worthy hands appear. You might not know, but I am a Stage 8 seed that a few in the Heavenly Courts have their eyes on. The matter from before...if those Seniors had found my treachery, no matter my potential, I would become dead in their eyes." Hongji was speechless as the words of the Patriarch were spoken slowly.

"Listen, Hongji. I'm going to try and break through to Stage 8. Whether you're still around when I come out of seclusion, I will do all I can at that time to help you. That is all I can offer." The Patriarch, Qing Xie Han, finally turned around and faced his son. He seemed to be a different man after this war, a man that would foil Hongji's plans by just existing.

An immovable authority, an indomitable will, talent to reach the Heavens and the ambition to match.

Hongji just sat there on the warm wooden floor with stupidity written all over his face. And soon, his stupidity turned to blame and then anger. All the plans he had nurtured, all the ambitions he had fostered, everything he had done to get here...

'Unacceptable.' Beneath the mask he wore, unspeakable evil intent raged like a hurricane.

...

Seven hundred years ago, Year 91,154 of the 34th Seed, a small manor on Qingpu Planet.

A woman sat alone on the floor, looking out of the window and up to the sky. Her eyes were dead, lifeless like she had lost something she hoped never to lose.

'Han Po, where have you gone...' Tears streamed down the woman's face as she thought of her missing husband. He had vanished out of nowhere, leaving her and their three children alone in the world.

She was powerless. Soon, this house would be taken from her and the money would soon follow. At that time, no one would help her. Her children were too young and she was completely alone in this.

"Wahahahaha!!" Suddenly the cry of her seven-year-old daughter resounded from the back room and she got up to go and see what had happened. She would need to get her children to pack their things sooner or later.

The door to the room where the cries came from was slightly ajar and the room itself was surprisingly dark. Opening the door, she saw her young daughter standing next to the crib of her youngest baby and screaming her heart out with tears.

"Shhhhh! What happened?" The woman began to walk over to her young daughter.

The girl stifled her tears and spoke while crying at the same time. "Mommy, look..." After she said this, the daughter reached into the crib and took out what was inside.

And under the eyes of the woman, she saw her daughter pull out her hands that were full of something that was falling to the floor between the cracks of her fingers. And suddenly getting a bad feeling, the mother ran to see what it was and took the wrists of her daughter.

Within her hands was...

'Dust?' The woman thought in a stupor.

The daughter wiped away her tears and spoke again.

"Hongji did it."

"Your brother? What are you talking about..." However, when she stood up, she saw that the crib was completely full of piles of dust, with her baby nowhere in sight.

"Qiyun, where's the baby?! Honey, tell me where your sister is!" The woman grabbed the shoulders of the daughter, Qiyun, and shouted angrily.

However, before Qiyun could respond, the door to the room that was opened by the woman shut abruptly. Turning around quickly, however, the woman smiled as she saw a familiar face. However, the worry and anxiety were still apparent.

"Hongji, have you got the baby with you?" The woman spoke, hoping that the aching in her heart would dissipate after an answer she simply needed to hear.

A youthful voice came from Hongji, the sixteen-year-old boy. "Have you heard?"

"Wha-no. Hongji, did you hear what I asked you?! This is no joke!" The woman suddenly burst out, agitated. If her son, Hongji, was scaring her over nothing, she would be extremely annoyed with him.

"The Patriarch seems to be wanting to adopt an orphan." The words he spoke in that youthful voice contained an icy intent and the woman suddenly heard a thud behind her.

Turning around, where her daughter, Qiyun, once stood was now just a pile of dust.

...

Seven-hundred-and-one years later; Year 91,855 of the 34th Seed.

"Father, you called?" A young and beautiful woman spoke as she knelt before a black-robed man.

"Yes, I need you to make a certain young man fall in love with you." The man spoke the words with a smile on his face as if he asked what day it was.

"Who?" The young woman nodded and spoke solemnly.

"Qing Li Guan."

A smile spread across the lips of Qing Xie Hongji. As if he would ever let elder Li Shan's son marry into the Patriarch's family. It would just cement Li Shan's seizure of the Clan from his hands easier.

From behind the scenes, he sacrificed his own daughter in a plot to stop the marriage before it had even begun...

...

Year 91,856 of the 34th Seed.

'My daughter is dead, it is time.' A gruesome smile spread across the lips of Qing Xie Hongji. At this point, he was only one step away from Stage 6.

And at this time, he notified a certain Hall Elder of Internal Affairs, Qing Shai Luo, that elder Li Shan was responsible for the death of an innocent clansman.

Indeed, he was the one that caused this whole chain of events to unfold. The mission Qing Fang took at the Internal Hall of Affairs, his downfall and discovery of Blood Path, all of it was cause and effect of Qing Xie Hongji.

This man, Peak Stage 5 Dust path Qing Xie Hongji, was a menace. Dust path has the power to disintegrate anything into dust, a truly powerful path.

...

Present day.

At this time, within the cage of beasts, a huge pair of blood-red eyes opened.

*3,119/3,000 words*

*End of Volume 1: "A Prelude To Catastrophe" with a grand total of 145,298 words*