The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 385: Old Man York’s Past

This was the name Aldrian did not expect to hear from Old Man York. However, he suddenly felt like laughing at himself—was this really fate? To unexpectedly come across someone connected to the family he had planned to visit?

The Rosalind family was the lineage that Elena, one of the ten great swordmasters of the continent, came from. He had already planned to visit them while in this empire, yet here he was, simply stopping by a restaurant to enjoy the local cuisine since it was the only restaurant open in this city—only to meet a cook with a past connection to the Rosalind family.

If this wasn’t fate, then what was?

Aldrian wanted to connect himself to the heavens, but Old Man York’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes, the Rosalind family, a barony in the southern part of the empire near the border with Buddhist sect territory. Although they are not as large as other noble families and are quite distant from everywhere, they are still a force to be reckoned with due to their individual strength. The Rosalind family is famous for producing many talented cultivators."

"They are one of the peculiar noble families, unlike others, despite having the power to rise in rank, they choose to remain in the corner of the empire and have retained their barony status to this day. Even past emperors, including the current one, have shown them a certain level of respect, refraining from interfering with their affairs."

Aldrian and the others listened as Old Man York explained the history of the Rosalind family while they ate their food.

"The Rosalind family is also unique in how they treat their family members. They provide each one with resources and cultivation techniques to develop their own strength. No matter if you are just a gardener or a sweeper, you will still receive cultivation resources. Of course, the amount depends on one’s position or status, but even so, that is something normally unheard of for ordinary people in a typical noble family."

"Maybe it’s because their family isn’t too large, or perhaps it’s due to their compassion—I don’t know. But in the end, because of this, everyone who joins the Rosalind family develops deep loyalty to them."

Aldrian took another bite of meat before looking at Old Man York in confusion.

"If they treat you so well, then why did you leave? Isn’t it better than running a restaurant here?"

Old Man York sighed as he recalled a moment from the past.

"At that time, the Rosalind family held a banquet to celebrate the birth of the young miss. Lord Raz and Madam Angie, who had been without a child for so long, were finally blessed with one. They rarely hosted banquets, but overwhelmed with joy at the birth of their first child, they decided to hold one. Many noble families were invited to the main mansion for the occasion."

Old Man York’s expression suddenly turned to one of fury.

"However, during the banquet, many guests were suddenly poisoned after eating the food I had prepared. Because of this, people began to condemn the Rosalind family, accusing them of harming the very guests they had invited. As the head cook at the time, I was certain I had checked the food multiple times before the banquet and found nothing wrong. Even Lord Raz himself inspected it and came to the same conclusion."

"But then, out of nowhere, poison was found in the food after the poisoning incident, which left me utterly confused. How could this have happened? Long story short, the Rosalind family’s name was tarnished because of that incident, and several noble families demanded that we take responsibility for something we had no way of explaining."

"In the end, to prevent further enmity that could lead to war— something Lord Raz wanted to avoid at all costs, the Rosalind family was forced to pay tribute to some of the noble families."

Old Man York gritted his teeth.

"The humiliation our family suffered that day, for something we did not do, was truly infuriating. As the head cook, I decided to resign from my position and exile myself from the Rosalind family. I felt unworthy of remaining with them after that incident. Even though it wasn’t my fault, this was my way of taking responsibility for allowing others to harm people through my food."

"Although there was no strong evidence, at that time we were certain that the real culprit behind the poisoning incident was one of the noble families we had invited—or perhaps even a collaboration between several of them."

"They must have seen the Rosalind family as a threat that needed to be crippled, despite our efforts to remain distant from the empire’s political strife. A few suspects came to mind, all of them noble families with strained relations with ours. And, coincidentally, all of them belonged to the second prince’s faction."

Finally, Aldrian could see the full picture of Old Man York’s past. He could guess that, driven by his passion for cooking, the old man had decided to open a restaurant here—far away from the Rosalind family. Caritas City was located in the eastern part of the Atria Empire, while the Rosalind family resided in the south.

His story was quite pitiful, but it was already in the , so there was nothing Aldrian could do about it. However, Aldrian could sense that something still weighed on Old Man York’s heart.

"I see. That is quite unfortunate. And with this civil war, I suppose the Rosalind family isn’t in a good position?" Aldrian asked.

Old Man York’s expression turned to one of worry as he nodded.

"You could say so. The Rosalind family has joined the alliance opposing the second prince, and those noble families already at odds with us saw their chance to strike. The last news I heard was that the Rosalind family had already lost part of its territory due to the combined forces of those families. I couldn’t get more detailed information since my sources were travelers from the Rosalind barony, and communication has been cut off for the past month."

Aldrian nodded and took another bite.

"Actually, Sir York, I have business with the Rosalind family and plan to visit them in the near future. That’s why I was especially interested when I heard you mention their name earlier. My apologies if I reminded you of a bitter past," he said.

Old Man York widened his eyes.

"You’re planning to go there? How? Access to that place has already been cut off by the second prince. Right now, the Rosalind family is under blockade from all sides. It’s impossible to get there without being noticed by his faction, and anyone who visits the Rosalind family will be seen as an enemy."

"No need to worry. Even if the second prince’s faction wants to stop me, nothing can stand in my way. I won’t let the Rosalind family fall—they’re the ones who invited me, and besides they have something that interests me."

Old Man York looked at Aldrian’s confidence and decided to believe him. But just then, he suddenly heard a commotion outside the restaurant. The clanking of armor echoed through the streets as soldiers ran past. There were multiple groups, as the sound didn’t stop even after a few seconds, making Old Man York curious about what was going on.

Aldrian, however, didn’t seem to care and continued eating his meat. Seeing his indifference, Sylphia and the others also remained unfazed.

Old Man York looked outside and saw soldiers running in one direction—toward the east side of the city. Wondering what had happened, he leaped onto the rooftop of his restaurant to get a better view. His gaze fixed on the distance, right at the top of the damaged city wall.

His eyes widened in shock as he focused on the scene before him—it was truly horrifying.

Two bodies hung from the city walls, facing inward toward the city. Their bodies were covered in blood, and their faces were unrecognizable, drenched in crimson. Their eyes and noses were missing, leaving behind a grotesque sight.

The other man had his jaw completely torn off, while the second had his genitals mutilated—a sight that left Old Man York utterly horrified. He knew that these men had been brutally tortured before being hanged. Judging by the fresh blood still dripping down the city walls, it hadn’t been long since they were left there.

But what shocked him the most was their identity.

Though their faces were unrecognizable due to the extent of their injuries, he could still recognize their attire. These were no ordinary men—they were Alexi Xadian, the young master of the Xadian family, and Marquess Parus Xadian, the patriarch of the Xadian family!

Suddenly, his thoughts shifted to Aldrian, who had returned without a care in the world, calmly eating as if nothing had happened. That young man had just gone to the mayor’s mansion with Young Master Alexi, where Marquess Parus had been residing after occupying this city—and now, their bodies were hanging on the city walls?

He hadn’t expected that beneath that handsome face lurked such a sadistic side!

However, a smile crept onto Old Man York’s face. If Aldrian truly didn’t care about offending the second prince by killing his people, then he must have been truly strong.

"No wonder he could so arrogantly say that nothing can stand in his way."

Maybe... he could help with the Rosalind family’s situation!