“Is it because the Qi family has business dealings with Ten Thousand Apertures Studio?” Qi Xing asked. Tang Lici said, “The Qi family has two estates and three shops in Suzhou, valued at approximately forty thousand taels of gold. The Qi family’s business is large with many connections. If you manage these forty-five thousand taels of gold, others will have nothing to say.” Qi Xing smiled bitterly. Indeed, if he embezzled these forty-five thousand taels of gold, the 285 members of the Central Plains Sword Society wouldn’t spare the Qi family. The Qi family’s assets were in Suzhou – they could run away from the monk but not the temple. Tang Lici was truly a businessman, considering every angle.
Everyone looked at each other again. Cheng Yunpao and Yu Furen glanced at Zheng Yue, whose face was pale, still deeply trapped in the shadow of Tang Lici asking him to investigate the Wind and Moon Store’s lair. People like Huo Xuanfeng appeared calm on the surface but were undoubtedly secretly calculating those 158 taels of gold. Tang Lici supported his chin and smiled at everyone. When his lips curved upward, it seemed as if all beings under heaven were struggling within his snare, and no matter how they struggled, they couldn’t escape the net he had set.
He was a fox demon king with gorgeous fur, looking down upon the world from above the clouds, watching mountains rise and clouds surge, observing all living beings in their various states.
In the guest room.
Fengfeng was holding a book and tearing paper, laughing “hehe” as he vigorously ripped the book to shreds. He could now hold onto things and stand up shakily, and though he didn’t dare walk, he dared to hold things and throw them down. These past few days, the books, clothes, bedding, and teacups in A’Shui’s room had been thrown to the ground one by one by Fengfeng. A’Shui taught him not to throw things, but Tang Lici sent a large pile of books and small toys like sachets, perfume pouches, and purses. Fengfeng became happier the more he threw things. In his eyes, every book was meant to be thrown to the ground and then torn to pieces.
Sometimes… she felt Tang Lici was very good at spoiling people. A’Shui watched Fengfeng tearing paper – he was very happy. Thinking of the packages of clothes and ornaments in the cabinet, even silk and satin, she felt Tang Lici actually knew very well what everyone needed. Perhaps everyone needed nothing at all, only the feeling of being cherished.
But often… she also felt Tang Lici actually understood nothing. He didn’t understand what it felt like to be cherished, so when his mood struck, he would easily destroy that feeling. He knew it was hurtful but didn’t know how hurtful. He didn’t understand how difficult it was to rebuild destroyed trust. Perhaps he thought he didn’t need to be trusted at all, because he could easily control everyone.
“Miss.” Someone knocked gently on the door.
A’Shui stood up. Outside the door was a purple-robed young man she didn’t recognize. “Who might this be?”
“Miss…” The purple-robed youth outside stared at her infatuatedly. “You’re so beautiful. Since you came to the mountain, I can’t eat or sleep, hoping every day to see you once more. I… I’ve never missed someone like this…” He walked straight in from outside, reaching out to embrace A’Shui. “Miss, miss…”
A’Shui retreated two steps. “Wait, I’m no longer a miss. I’m a child’s mother… Young hero, you’re just momentarily mistaken, you’ve got the wrong person…” No matter what she said, the purple-robed youth didn’t listen at all, pulling her into his embrace and kissing her black hair. “Miss, what’s your name?”
“Waah—” Fengfeng burst into loud tears, tremblingly standing up from the bed, holding a half-torn book and throwing it at the purple-robed youth. “Waah—mmm mmm—waah—”
“Let me go!” A’Shui shouted. She couldn’t break free from the purple-robed youth’s grip. “Sister! Sister!”
Yu Tuan’er rushed in from next door. “Sister A’Shui!” Seeing the purple-robed youth holding A’Shui, she struck out at him without thinking. The purple-robed youth countered with his palm. With a “crack,” Yu Tuan’er was shocked and flew out, spitting fresh blood with a “wah.” A’Shui was alarmed. “Sister! Sister!” She had “Kill Liu” hidden in her bosom and drew it out while the purple-robed youth was countering the palm strike.
A flash of blade light – the purple-robed youth gripped her shoulder tightly. A’Shui held Kill Liu extremely close to the purple-robed youth’s chest but couldn’t stab down. She lacked the courage to kill. The purple-robed youth was overjoyed. “Miss, you must like me too!” A’Shui’s lips and teeth trembled. Finally unable to bear it any longer, she opened her mouth to call someone’s name.
“Ren Chi, what are you doing?” someone asked coldly from the doorway.
The purple-robed youth holding her was greatly shocked and hastily pushed her away, standing up. “I…”
A figure flashed, and someone stood before the purple-robed youth, giving him a heavy slap with a “crack,” saying coldly and disgustedly, “Get down the mountain. Don’t let me see you again in this lifetime, or don’t blame me for cleaning house for Qingcheng Sect.”
The purple-robed youth rolled and crawled away. A’Shui stood up – her rescuer was Cheng Yunpao, not Tang Lici.
Cheng Yunpao looked at her with the same cold, disgusted gaze. “Miss A’Shui, as Young Master Tang’s friend, you should conduct yourself properly and not cause more trouble for Young Master Tang.” He didn’t spare A’Shui another glance and left with a flick of his sleeves.
A’Shui straightened her disheveled clothing. Cheng Yunpao hadn’t given her a chance to explain, nor was he interested in hearing her explanation. Once again she was treated as a prostitute, because her behavior was improper, because she was flirting outside, which was why she attracted frivolous young men like Ren Chi to her door.
She didn’t feel sad, because this time the person who despised her as a prostitute wasn’t Tang Lici.
Perhaps… he wasn’t wrong. If she hadn’t shown her face in public, no one would have come looking for her. Everything, everything was her fault, her mistake, her failure to conduct herself properly.
“Cough cough…” The injured Yu Tuan’er coughed as she climbed up. A’Shui hurriedly helped her up and wiped the blood from her lips. Yu Tuan’er closed her eyes to regulate her breathing. A’Shui searched the room and found a white jade beauty bottle. She remembered it contained strange white pills, not knowing what they were. Not daring to let Yu Tuan’er take them, she casually placed it on the table and found another bottle of pills. She remembered Lin Bu had explained those were wound medicine, so she quickly had Yu Tuan’er take them.
Yu Tuan’er had only suffered shock to her chest’s true qi. Ren Chi’s own cultivation wasn’t deep, so her injury wasn’t severe. After taking the wound medicine, her true qi quickly calmed down. A’Shui breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, only then realizing half her long hair had come loose, making her look disheveled like a beggar.
“Mmm mmm mmm…” Someone grabbed her clothes from behind. A’Shui turned around – Fengfeng was holding onto her. She was startled that he had actually come down from the bed safely. “Fengfeng, how did you get down? Did you really climb down by yourself?” Fengfeng held onto her, biting her clothes corner with tears in his eyes.
“I’m fine, don’t be afraid.”
The tea gathering outside had ended. Qi Xing selected ten sword society disciples to notify everyone of Tang Lici’s “forty-five thousand taels of gold” news person by person. Zheng Yue dejectedly discussed with Huo Xuanfeng how exactly to investigate the Wind and Moon Store’s background. Tang Lici had returned to his room, while over two hundred people at Haoyun Mountain were being shaken by him one by one. From this moment on, those who drank and caused trouble decreased, those who boasted decreased, and old and young alike began calculating how to quickly annihilate the Wind and Moon Store.
Tang Lici didn’t really expect Zheng Yue to track down the Wind and Moon Store’s lair. Yu Konghou was cunning and deceitful – where he would hide was unpredictable. Even if he left clues, most would be to mislead people. Tang Lici wasn’t anxious.
There were still many things worth his consideration. That night when he struck Yu Konghou off the cliff, someone must have seen it. Who exactly among those at Haoyun Mountain was it? Why did no one know to this day that he had struck Yu Konghou off the cliff? Was someone concealing it for him? Who? Why?
He began to feel tired. His energy was usually excellent, but since Shen Langhun’s stab, Fang Zhou’s heartbeat had disappeared, yet the hard mass in his abdomen hadn’t disappeared. Since then, he tired easily. By logic, mutually rejecting organ transplants couldn’t coexist long-term. If Fang Zhou’s heart died, it should be absorbed by his own body, since his body didn’t suffer infection and couldn’t develop peritonitis.
But the hard mass in his abdomen hadn’t disappeared. When true qi flowed through, he still felt blood vessels within the hard mass connecting to his own, not a dead object. But what could it be?
A tumor?
Tang Lici sat in his room, quietly gazing at the tea set on the table – the ink jade tea set used earlier for drinking “White Milk,” black and translucent in color. He reached out to grasp one of the teacups. Regarding Fang Zhou’s heart, he had a terrible suspicion…
Perhaps… he hadn’t only dug out Fang Zhou’s heart to bury in his own abdomen.
He tried hard to remember what exactly he had done that day when he split open Fang Zhou’s chest and buried the heart in his own abdomen. But aside from his own hands and face covered in fresh blood, blood everywhere on the ground and his body, the memories of that day were hazy and unclear. He actually didn’t remember too many details.
But Shen Langhun said the knife he stabbed into his abdomen had hit bone.
And he was very clear that Shen Langhun hadn’t stabbed his own bones.
Then – whose bones had he stabbed? What bones? He had obviously stabbed Fang Zhou’s heart, because Fang Zhou’s heart would never beat again.
But how could there be bones inside Fang Zhou’s heart?
There was a hard mass in his abdomen, and that hard mass contained bone.
What could that be?
Tang Lici had read many books. Though he didn’t study medicine, he remembered there was a type of tumor called a parasitic fetus. The biggest difference between a parasitic fetus and a teratoma was that a parasitic fetus contained bones inside.
A parasitic fetus occurred when a mother’s womb contained multiple fertilized eggs, with one growing large while incorporating one or more others within itself, preventing the other fertilized eggs from developing normally. If a parasitic fetus developed halfway, one could see an extra arm or leg on the outside of a healthy baby’s body. Parasitic fetuses contained bones.
If Fang Zhou’s body originally contained an undeveloped fertilized egg attached within Fang Zhou’s chest cavity, then when he dug out the heart, he might have also dug out the fertilized egg from Fang Zhou’s body and buried it in his own abdomen. This fertilized egg was Fang Zhou’s undeveloped brother. If – if Fang Zhou’s organs and his own body mutually rejected each other with no possibility of coexistence, why could Fang Zhou’s heart exist in his abdomen for three years? Could it be because the fertilized egg attached within Fang Zhou’s body didn’t reject him, connecting Fang Zhou’s heart to his own blood vessels, so Fang Zhou’s heart could beat continuously for three years while that fertilized egg gradually grew into a tumor containing bones?
So when Shen Langhun stabbed into his abdomen, the blade tip was blocked by bone and couldn’t kill Tang Lici, but he severed the blood vessels between Fang Zhou’s heart and the parasitic fetus, so Fang Zhou’s heart stopped beating.
So what survived in his abdomen now wasn’t Fang Zhou’s heart, but Fang Zhou’s brother. What was buried in his abdomen might not just be a heart… but… a child?
A child who had suffered severe trauma, who had endured Shen Langhun’s strike?
Fang Zhou’s biological brother?
Tang Lici lowered his hand to press his abdomen. If this was a parasitic fetus, it would grow larger and larger, and he was completely unprepared for how to handle such a child he had created with his own hands.
What should he do?