Chapter 15: The Royal Family’s Tools

The erosion of Demonic Qi had caused Wang Zhongyi’s complexion to take on a faint, grayish hue.

Traces of black Demonic Qi were visible even under his fingernails — a condition that caught Wang Sandong somewhat by surprise.

“The Demonic Qi is overflowing,” Mr. Yi explained, noticing that Wang Sandong was drawn to the black marks on Wang Zhongyi’s nails.

“Once the face and nails turn completely black, it will be incurable.”

Wang Zhongli looked at his unconscious elder brother, Wang Zhongyi, with a face full of worry.

He sighed and said, “That demon is truly cunning and treacherous. Big Brother was too honest and charged right to the front. Sigh…”

Wang Sandong remained silent.

She was thinking about something.

Wang Zhongyi possessed a cultivation at the late stage of Rank 6 and was quite powerful.

The fact that the Disciple of the Demon Emperor could successfully wound him so severely proved that the disciple’s strength was not to be underestimated.

What was the disciple’s motive for secretly using Soul-Seizing to control Cui San’er just to provoke her?

Yuan Di was one of the Five Emperors, but she had been besieged by a group of masters back then.

Even if she hadn’t died, she was likely injured and might not have returned to her peak.

It was unclear if she could still contend with that Disciple of the Demon Emperor.

“Third Young Master,” Mr. Yi said softly.

“Shall we begin?”

Wang Sandong snapped back to reality.

She glanced at her father, whose face was becoming increasingly gray, and nodded.

“Very well.”

Mr. Yi immediately opened his medical box and took out a silver needle.

The logic was simple.

He would use the silver needle to puncture the blood vessels at the pulse points on the wrists of both Wang Zhongyi and Wang Sandong.

Then, guided by spiritual energy and utilizing the aggressive and “bullying” nature of the Demonic Qi, he would lead the energy out of Wang Zhongyi’s meridians and into Wang Sandong’s body.

Once a small amount of Demonic Qi was successfully transitioned, the rest would follow.

The hardest part was the guidance.

Although Mr. Yi’s medical skills were exquisite, he did not have absolute certainty.

After all, this method was currently only theoretically possible.

Whether it could actually succeed remained to be seen.

More importantly, Wang Sandong’s body was too weak.

If he died before the Demonic Qi in Wang Zhongyi’s body was completely purged…

The blood of a dead person could not attract Demonic Qi.

Mr. Yi held his breath, not daring to make a sound.

Wang Zhongli, who possessed a cultivation at the late stage of Rank 5, also had his heart in his throat, fearing any accident.

His entire body was tense, and his spiritual energy was circulating secretly as he stood by Wang Sandong’s side, ready to use his power to forcibly preserve the boy’s life — at least until he finished absorbing all the Demonic Qi from Wang Zhongyi.

Looking at Wang Sandong and seeing his lips slightly pursed as if he were nervous, Wang Zhongli reached out and gently pressed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, offering soft comfort.

“Good child.”

Wang Sandong let out a soft sigh.

He ignored Wang Zhongli and instead looked toward the old butler standing in the corner.

The old butler noticed Wang Sandong’s cold gaze and bowed respectfully.

“Uncle De.”

The old butler’s name contained the word ‘De,’ and those of Wang Sandong’s generation all called him Uncle De.

“Third Young Master,” the old butler replied.

“This old servant is here. If you have anything to say, please do.”

“That Wang Tong in my courtyard…”

As Wang Sandong spoke, he couldn’t help but smile.

‘He clearly wasn’t going to die, yet he had to give his last instructions and pretend to be tragic.’

Wang Sandong felt like he was breaking character.

“This old servant understands. Rest assured, Young Master, I will certainly treat that child well.”

The old butler had experienced many storms.

He had seen many people who laughed before death and did not find it strange.

At that moment, Mr. Yi began to use a spiritual seal to guide the Demonic Qi.

Wang Sandong noticed a thread of crimson blood rising like a silken string from the wound on his wrist, controlled by spiritual energy.

It flew toward the wound on Wang Zhongyi’s wrist.

Sixteen years ago, on that day, his own Spiritual Root had been forcibly extracted in the same way.

The difference was: blood was red, while a Spiritual Root was transparent; the blood was being drawn by Mr. Yi, while the Spiritual Root had been drawn by the old butler; the last time was to save his elder brother, Wang Jinghong, while this time was to save his father, Wang Zhongyi…

Thinking of this, Wang Sandong couldn’t help but smile again.

In this family, from the moment he was born, he was nothing more than a tool.

A one-time tool at that.

The kind that was discarded after use.

“Second Uncle,” Wang Sandong called out softly.

“I am here,” Wang Zhongli replied.

“Please tell my elder brother that if he ever gets married, he should remember to visit my grave and let me know.”

Wang Zhongli bit his lip, his expression softening.

His tiger-like eyes were suddenly filled with tears.

He exhaled a trembling breath and promised solemnly, “It shall be so!”

At that moment, the color of the bridge of blood connecting the wrists of the father and son darkened, as if something was mixed into it.

The white spiritual energy on Mr. Yi’s fingertips gradually dimmed as he carefully let go of his control.

Wang Sandong’s wrist suddenly twitched.

The three people present were startled.

Mr. Yi quickly used his spiritual energy to pin down Wang Sandong’s wrist.

Yet that single, slight tremor nearly caused the transitioning Demonic Qi to stop.

Wang Sandong’s breathing became rapid, his face turned deathly pale, and his eyelids became too heavy to lift.

Black Demonic Qi began to overflow from the gaps under his fingernails.

The Demonic Qi that did not belong to him was “incompatible” with the Demonic Qi already inside him.

If it were an ordinary Demonic Cultivator, this slight repulsion generated during the devouring of power could be ignored. Unfortunately, Wang Sandong’s body was too weak; he couldn’t even withstand this small power conflict.

Moreover, this was the first time Wang Sandong had “devoured” external power.

Without any “adaptability,” problems were bound to occur.

“Sir… I…”

As Wang Sandong spoke, his body went limp.

Fortunately, Wang Zhongli reacted quickly and supported Wang Sandong in time.

“This…”

Wang Zhongli looked at Mr. Yi with suspicion.

Mr. Yi’s brows were tightly knit.

“The Third Young Master’s body is truly too weak. He can’t even withstand this much Demonic Qi, and it has already overflowed.”

“Mr. Yi.”

The old butler suddenly stepped forward and urged, “Please accelerate the transition of the Demonic Qi. Otherwise, I fear it will be too late.”

Seeing the “blood bridge” growing thinner, he quickly reached out.

A sphere of warm spiritual energy in his palm immediately protected the blood bridge.

Surprise appeared on Mr. Yi’s face. Staring at the warm spiritual energy on the bridge, his brows furrowed.

“This technique of yours… it resembles…”

He paused, perhaps feeling that “resembles” was the wrong word, and changed his tune.

“My apologies for the disrespect.”

There was even a hint of awe in his eyes.

The old butler focused solely on protecting the blood bridge.

His eyes were like torches and his expression was solemn; he did not respond to Mr. Yi’s words.

Wang Sandong struggled to keep his eyes open, glancing at the way the old butler protected the blood bridge.

Ultimately, he couldn’t hold on.

He finally closed his eyes and fell unconscious.

—

When Wang Sandong woke up, it was already noon the next day.

“Young Master! The Young Master is awake!”

Before he could even fully open his eyes, he heard Wang Tong’s crying and shouting.

“Master! Master! The Young Master is awake!”

The deafening shouts in his ears made Wang Sandong frown.

Then, he discovered that his hearing seemed much stronger than before.

This indicated that he had stepped into the Rank 2 realm.

Once one’s cultivation reached Rank 2, their eyes and ears became much sharper.

Soon, a crowd gathered around the bed.

Wang Sandong saw his mother, Madam Wang, weeping with joy; Wang Yunteng, whose eyes were red; and his father, Wang Zhongyi, who was forcibly holding back tears.

“My child…”

Madam Wang began to wail.

“Move aside, move aside.”

Wang Zhongyi pulled Madam Wang away, his face showing a trace of anger.

“What are you howling for? Go and get Mr. Yi!”

“I’ll go!”

Wang Yunteng’s voice and body moved almost simultaneously.

Before his voice faded, he was already gone.

Wang Zhongyi sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to tidy Wang Sandong’s messy hair.

With a heavy expression, he said, “From now on, you are not allowed to act recklessly again! No one is worth you sacrificing your life to save!”

As he spoke, the tears in his eyes finally fell.

Looking at the father before him, Wang Sandong felt no moved emotions; instead, he felt a sense of mockery.

He thought: ‘Father’s tears might not just be from being moved, but perhaps also from guilt. If I continue to pretend to be a filial son, his conscience will probably be even more uneasy, right?’

“Father, are you all right? That’s good then, that’s good…”

As Wang Sandong spoke, his voice grew smaller and smaller, like the buzzing of a mosquito, and he weakly closed his eyes.

He was indeed weak, but he also simply didn’t want to deal with them.

He might as well pretend to be unconscious.

Seeing this, Wang Zhongyi and his wife panicked again.

Fortunately, Mr. Yi arrived quickly.

He felt Wang Sandong’s pulse and peeled back his eyelids to check.

After a moment, he smiled and said, “The Third Young Master is merely physically exhausted. He should be fine after some rest. However…”

Some things were hard to say out loud.

He must have misdiagnosed it.

How could a man, even if he looked like a woman, suffer from “irregular menstruation”?

It was absolutely impossible!

After hesitating, Mr. Yi signaled for everyone to leave the room.

Once in the courtyard, Mr. Yi let out a long sigh and said with emotion, “He lived despite having no Spiritual Vein. He lived despite being eroded by Demonic Qi. The Third Young Master has surprised this old man once again.”

Wang Zhongyi chuckled.

“This child is tough! As the saying goes, those who survive a great disaster will have good fortune later. Mr. Yi, what do you think?”

Mr. Yi remained silent, deep in thought.

After a moment, he shook his head.

“The Third Young Master’s body is like a bubble. It is a miracle that it hasn’t burst, but if it does… that would also be expected.”

As for the diagnosis of “irregular menstruation,” he decided not to mention it.

If he said it, he would be laughed at until people’s teeth fell out.

It was likely some other symptom that closely resembled irregular menstruation, leading to a misdiagnosis.

“Perhaps there will be more miracles,” Wang Yunteng suddenly spoke up.

Wang Zhongyi looked at Wang Yunteng.

Remembering how his wife had mentioned that Wang Yunteng tried to stop Wang Sandong from saving him, a kind smile appeared on his face.

“Yunteng, since Jinghong isn’t home, you are Dong’er’s biological brother. No matter the situation, you must ensure his safety.”

Meeting Wang Zhongyi’s gaze, Wang Yunteng hesitated for a moment before bowing deeply.

“Oh, right,” Wang Zhongyi added with a smile.

“You’re the elder brother. In the future, don’t keep joking with Dong’er by calling him ‘Third Sister.’ In a few days, he will be married. If you keep calling him ‘Third Sister’ this and ‘Third Sister’ that, what will people think?”

Wang Yunteng quickly replied, “Your nephew understands.”

Inside the room, Wang Sandong, who was eavesdropping with perked ears, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

‘Don’t call me “Third Sister,” call me “Third Brother”?’

‘Your third brother… has already…’

He felt a slight itch in his chest again, along with a bit of swelling.

This strange demonic art, Huitian, was truly…

Why did he have to turn into a woman?

Turning into a woman was one thing, but for the power to gather in his chest was truly bizarre.

‘If I become a Rank 9 absolute expert one day, won’t my chest be… At that time, should I change my name to “Wang Big-Hammer”?’

Wang Sandong hoped to use these strange thoughts to dilute the pain in his heart.

However, the bleak feeling of being used as a “one-time tool” by his family still lingered, refusing to fade.

He had narrowly survived again.

What about next time?