"Is it because the Qi family has business dealings with Ten Thousand Apertures House?" Qi Xing asked. Tang Lici replied, "The Qi family owns two estates and three shops in Suzhou, valued at approximately forty thousand taels of gold. The Qi family's business is vast, with many connections. If you manage this forty-five thousand taels of gold, no one will question it." Qi Xing gave a bitter smile. Indeed, if he were to embezzle this forty-five thousand taels, the two hundred eighty-five members of the Central Plains Sword Association would not let the Qi family off. The Qi family's assets were in Suzhou—they could flee, but their property couldn't. Tang Lici was truly a shrewd businessman, leaving no stone unturned.
The group exchanged glances once more. Cheng Yunpao and Yu Furen glanced at Zheng Yue, whose face was deathly pale, still trapped in the shadow of Tang Lici's demand that he investigate the lair of the Dissolute Shop. As for figures like Huo Xuanfeng, though they maintained a calm exterior, they couldn't help but secretly calculate the value of that one hundred fifty-eight taels of gold. Tang Lici rested his chin on his hand and smiled at the group. When the corners of his lips curled, it was as though all living beings in the world were struggling within his grasp—and no matter how they struggled, they could never escape the inescapable net he had laid.
He was a fox demon king with resplendent fur, gazing down upon the world, where mountains rose and clouds surged, and all manner of life played out beneath him. He had always been above the clouds, watching from on high.
Inside the guest room.
Feng Feng was clutching a book, tearing its pages to shreds while giggling happily. He had learned to wobble to his feet while holding objects, though he didn’t dare walk yet—but he certainly dared to throw things down. Over the past few days, books, clothes, blankets, and teacups in A Shui’s room had all been hurled to the ground by Feng Feng. A Shui had tried to teach him not to throw things, but Tang Lici had sent over a large pile of books, sachets, pouches, and other small trinkets, which only made Feng Feng even more delighted to destroy them. In his eyes, every book existed solely to be thrown down and torn apart.
Sometimes... A Shui thought Tang Lici was very good at pampering people. Watching Feng Feng tear paper with such joy, she couldn’t help but feel that way. Thinking of the bundles of clothes, accessories, and even fine silks stuffed in the wardrobe, she felt that Tang Lici truly understood what people needed. Or perhaps people didn’t need anything at all—they just needed the feeling of being cherished.
But often... she also felt that Tang Lici actually understood nothing. He didn’t truly know the taste of being cherished, so on a whim, he could easily destroy that feeling. He knew it hurt people—but not how deeply. He didn’t understand how difficult it was to rebuild shattered trust. Maybe it was because he believed he didn’t need to be trusted at all, since he could effortlessly control everyone.
"Miss." Someone knocked lightly on the door.
A Shui stood up. Outside was a young man in purple robes whom she didn’t recognize. "Who are you?"
"Miss..." The young man outside stared at her with infatuation. "You’re so beautiful. Ever since you came to the mountain, I’ve been unable to eat or drink, longing just to catch another glimpse of you. I... I’ve never missed someone like this before..." Without waiting for permission, he stepped inside and reached out to embrace her. "Miss, miss..."
A Shui retreated two steps. "Wait—I’m no longer a 'miss.' I’m a mother now... Young hero, you’re mistaken, this is just a misunderstanding..." But no matter what she said, the young man in purple didn’t hear a word. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her dark hair. "Miss, what’s your name?""Waaah—" Feng Feng burst into loud sobs, trembling as she stood up from the bed. Clutching a half-torn book, she hurled it at the purple-robed youth. "Waaah—sniff—waaah—"
"Let me go!" A Shui shouted, unable to break free from the youth's grip. "Little sister! Little sister!"
Yu Tuan'er dashed in from the next room. "Sister A Shui!" Seeing the purple-robed youth holding A Shui, she instinctively struck out at him. The youth countered with a palm strike, and with a loud "smack," Yu Tuan'er was sent flying, spitting blood. A Shui paled in horror. "Little sister! Little sister!" She had Willow Slayer hidden in her sleeve and drew it out, seizing the moment when the youth turned to strike back.
A flash of blade light—the purple-robed youth tightly gripped her shoulder. A Shui held Willow Slayer, its tip dangerously close to his chest, yet she couldn't bring herself to thrust it in. She lacked the courage to kill. The youth, overjoyed, exclaimed, "Miss, you must like me too, don't you?" A Shui's lips trembled. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she opened her mouth to call out someone's name.
"Ren Chi, what are you doing?" A cold voice questioned from the doorway.
The purple-robed youth holding her was startled and quickly pushed her away, standing up. "I—"
A figure flashed past, and someone stood before the youth. With a resounding "smack," they delivered a heavy slap, speaking icily with disdain, "Get off this mountain and never let me see you again in this lifetime. Otherwise, don't blame me for cleaning up the Qingcheng Sect's disgrace."
The youth scrambled away on all fours. A Shui stood up—her rescuer was Cheng Yunpao, not Tang Lici.
Cheng Yunpao regarded her with the same cold, disdainful gaze. "Miss A Shui, as a friend of Young Master Tang, you should uphold your dignity and not cause him further trouble." Without sparing her another glance, he turned and left.
A Shui adjusted her disheveled collar. Cheng Yunpao hadn't given her a chance to explain, nor had he any intention of listening. Once again, she was labeled a courtesan—because of her improper behavior, her flirtatious ways that had lured frivolous youths like Ren Chi to her door.
She didn't feel heartbroken, because this time, the one who scorned her as a courtesan wasn't Tang Lici.
Perhaps... he wasn't wrong. If she hadn't exposed herself to the public eye, no one would have come looking for her. Once again, everything was her fault, her mistake, her failure to uphold her dignity.
"Cough, cough..." The injured Yu Tuan'er coughed as she struggled to sit up. A Shui hurriedly helped her, wiping the blood from her lips. Yu Tuan'er closed her eyes to regulate her breathing. A Shui rummaged through the room and found a Mutton Fat White Jade Beauty Bottle. She remembered it contained strange white pills but didn't dare let Yu Tuan'er take them, unsure of what they were. She set them aside on the table and found another bottle of pills. Recalling Lin Bu's instructions that they were for injuries, she hastily gave them to Yu Tuan'er.
Yu Tuan'er had only suffered a disruption of her inner energy. Ren Chi's skills weren't profound, so her injuries weren't severe. After taking the medicine, her inner energy quickly stabilized. A Shui sighed in relief and slumped to the floor. Only then did she realize half her long hair had come loose, disheveled and tangled, making her look like a beggar."Mmm...mm..." Someone grabbed her clothes from behind. A Shui turned around to see Feng Feng clinging to her. She was startled—he had managed to climb down from the bed safely on his own. "Feng Feng, how did you get down? Did you really climb down by yourself?" Feng Feng hugged her tightly, clutching the hem of her clothes in his mouth, his eyes brimming with tears.
"I'm fine, don't be afraid."
Outside, the tea gathering had already dispersed. Qi Xing had assigned ten Sword Association disciples to spread the news about the "forty-five thousand taels of gold" to Tang Lici. Zheng Yue, dejected, was discussing with Huo Xuanfeng how they could possibly uncover the secrets of the Dissolute Shop. Tang Lici had already returned to his room, and the over two hundred people at Good Cloud Mountain were gradually being swayed by his influence. From this moment on, fewer indulged in drunken revelry, fewer boasted idly—young and old alike began calculating how to swiftly eradicate the Dissolute Shop.
Tang Lici didn’t truly expect Zheng Yue to track down the Dissolute Shop’s hideout. Yu Konghou was cunning and unpredictable; where he might be hiding was impossible to guess. Even if clues were left behind, most would likely be decoys to mislead. He wasn’t in a hurry.
There were still many things worth his consideration. That night, when he had struck Yu Konghou off the cliff, someone must have seen it. But who on Good Cloud Mountain was it? Why had no one come forward to reveal that it was he who had sent Yu Konghou tumbling into the abyss? Was someone covering for him? Who? And why?
He was beginning to feel exhausted. His stamina had always been robust, but ever since Shen Langhun stabbed him, Fang Zhou’s heartbeat had vanished—yet the hard mass in his abdomen remained. Since then, he tired easily. Logically, incompatible organ transplants couldn’t coexist for long. If Fang Zhou’s heart had necrotized, his body should have absorbed it, as his system was impervious to infection and couldn’t develop peritonitis.
But the hard mass hadn’t disappeared. When his Inner Energy flowed past it, he could still sense blood vessels within the mass connected to his own—it wasn’t lifeless. But what could it be?
A tumor?
Tang Lici sat in his room, quietly gazing at the tea set on the table—the black jade set used earlier to drink "White Dew," dark yet translucent. He reached out and picked up one of the cups. About Fang Zhou’s heart, he had a terrible suspicion...
Perhaps... he hadn’t merely dug out Fang Zhou’s heart and buried it in his own abdomen.
He struggled to recall what exactly he had done that day—when he had cut open Fang Zhou’s chest and buried the heart inside himself. But beyond the memory of his hands and face covered in blood, the floor and his body drenched in it, the events of that day were hazy. He hadn’t retained many details.
Yet Shen Langhun had said the knife he plunged into his abdomen had struck bone.
And Tang Lici knew very well that Shen Langhun hadn’t struck his own bone.
So—whose bone had he hit? Where? Clearly, he had pierced Fang Zhou’s heart, because Fang Zhou’s heartbeat had ceased.
But how could there be bone inside Fang Zhou’s heart?
Inside his abdomen was a hard mass, and within that mass was bone.
What could it be?
Tang Lici had read many books. Though he wasn’t trained in medicine, he remembered a type of tumor called a parasitic twin. The key difference between a parasitic twin and a teratoma was that the former contained bone.A parasitic twin is a rare condition where a mother carries multiple fertilized eggs, one of which develops while enveloping the others within itself, hindering their growth. If the parasitic twin partially develops, it may manifest as an extra limb—such as an arm or leg—attached to the healthy infant's body, containing bones.
If Fang Zhou originally had an undeveloped fertilized egg attached inside his chest cavity, then when Tang Lici dug out his heart, he might have also extracted that egg and buried it within his own abdomen. This egg would have been Fang Zhou's undeveloped sibling. If—if Fang Zhou's organs and Tang Lici's body were inherently incompatible, making coexistence impossible, why did Fang Zhou's heart continue beating inside him for three years? Could it be that the fertilized egg attached to Fang Zhou's body did not reject Tang Lici, serving as a link between Fang Zhou's heart and his own bloodline? Thus, Fang Zhou's heart kept beating uninterrupted for three years, while that egg gradually grew into a tumor with bones.
So when Shen Langhun stabbed Tang Lici in the abdomen, the blade was blocked by bone, failing to kill him. But the strike severed the blood connection between Fang Zhou's heart and the parasitic twin, causing the heart to stop.
Which meant that what survived in his abdomen now was not Fang Zhou's heart—but Fang Zhou's sibling. What he had buried inside himself might not have been just a heart… but… a child?
A child grievously wounded by Shen Langhun's attack?
Fang Zhou's own flesh and blood?
Tang Lici pressed a hand against his abdomen. If this was indeed a parasitic twin, it would keep growing larger—and he was utterly unprepared for how to handle a child he had inadvertently created himself.
What should he do?
OpenNovel