Chapter 46: Magic Harp

The most breathtaking scenery is none other than a peerless beauty; the most satisfying deed is none other than settling grievances with gusto; the most enchanting sound in this world is the music of indulgence; the most pleasing sight is the room inside Fengyue Tower.

Wang Sandong languidly sank into the plush chair, listening to a rendition of “Blossoms in the Back Courtyard,” admiring Xing Luo’s graceful dance, and fantasizing about strangling Zheng Xiao. His stifled mood eased a little, but not entirely.

Xing Luo softly leaned over and knelt by Wang Sandong’s leg, murmuring, “Third Young Master seems to have something on his mind.”

Her fair, soft hand rose, wanting to gently caress Wang Sandong’s face—a face even more exquisite than her own.

The thought of how many men’s things that hand had touched made Wang Sandong feel nauseated.

Pushing Xing Luo away, she said, “Just dance. Dance a little more provocatively.”

With that, she pulled two gold leaves from her robe and tucked them into Xing Luo’s bodice.

Wang Sandong shoved Xing Luo’s hand away with disgust and frowned, “Did you wash your hands?!”

Then, she pinched Xing Luo’s cheek hard, making her yelp, “Ouch!” with teary eyes.

Xing Luo stepped back in a huff and resumed dancing.

Wang Sandong laughed loudly.

Her small fist clenched inside her sleeve as she struggled to suppress a strange, thrilling excitement and twisted desire—she realized she wanted to grab Xing Luo and beat her to a pulp! Even using just her hands might not be satisfying enough!

Was it because Zheng Xiao’s actions had pent up her anger?

Was it the memory of A-Gui that gave her violent tendencies?

Was it the Demonic Qi affecting her more deeply, causing her demonic nature to emerge?

Perhaps none of those.

Perhaps she had always had violent tendencies.

Perhaps she had always misunderstood her own character.

Yuan Di arrived and sat beside Wang Sandong, watching Xing Luo dance. She sneered, “On your wedding night, you come to a brothel for amusement. Could it be you’ve fallen for her and got your heart broken?”

Wang Sandong gave a bitter smile and sighed wistfully, posing a somewhat melodramatic question:

“Between people, besides using each other, what else is left?”

This wasn’t said just because of Zheng Xiao.

“Those without use value are trash.”

Yuan Di smiled and took a sip of tea.

Wang Sandong turned to look at Yuan Di’s profile.

Yuan Di lowered the teacup and licked the tea from her lips.

Sensing Wang Sandong’s gaze, she turned sideways.

Yuan Di’s eyes were cold, her expression indifferent. She asked, “Is that so?”

“Heh.”

Wang Sandong laughed.

“Your lips are very tempting.”

Wang Sandong immediately recalled the expression Yuan Di had when dealing with A-Gui.

Her heart tightened in fear, and she unconsciously swallowed. With a dry laugh, she said:

“An honest compliment.”

Yuan Di frowned.

A man staring at a “woman” and swallowing—what did that imply?

As a man herself, she knew well.

Her lips twitched, and Yuan Di said coldly, “I told you, after you transform, I’ll satisfy you.”

Wang Sandong wanted to taunt, “Are you even capable? What if you’re a eunuch?” but swallowed the words.

Venting with words was truly unnecessary.

Angering Yuan Di would bring no benefit.

Thinking of “eunuch,” her gaze involuntarily slid down Yuan Di’s body.

Was Yuan Di actually a eunuch?

Had the old version of “Return to Heaven” really failed to transform her?

What was the definition of “failure”?

Did her upper body change while the lower half didn’t?

Or did the lower half change while the upper half didn’t?

Although Yuan Di’s upper body looked quite flat, what if the definition of “failure” was precisely that flatness?

Suddenly, Yuan Di crossed her legs and casually tugged at her skirt to cover her thighs.

The seemingly casual gesture was stiff.

She stared straight ahead at the dancing Xing Luo, her face cold.

Wang Sandong frowned, withdrew her gaze, and also looked at Xing Luo, saying:

“Are Xing Luo and Yueniang both your disciples?”

“Yeah.”

Yuan Di responded.

“Just disciples?”

Yuan Di frowned and grunted.

Without waiting for Yuan Di to reply, Wang Sandong added, “A demon lord unbound by civilized morals, keeping two pretty female disciples—can he hold back? I don’t believe it. Unless he’s impotent.”

As she finished, Wang Sandong noticed Yuan Di’s face grew even colder, and instantly regretted it.

She silently warned herself: Calamity comes from the mouth!

This glib-tongued habit needs fixing. Otherwise, sooner or later, disaster will strike, and regret will be too late.

Yuan Di had no interest in bickering with Wang Sandong.

If displeased, she preferred to punish Wang Sandong with actions.

But Wang Sandong’s body was too frail.

If she angered her to death, all previous efforts would be wasted.

She didn’t want to stoop to her level, but Wang Sandong’s snide remarks infuriated her.

No man would enjoy being called “impotent.”

“Whether I’m capable or not, you’ll find out when you try!”

Yuan Di suppressed her anger, then retorted, “But you, on the other hand, are truly incapable.”

“Ha! Me incapable?”

Hearing Yuan Di’s taunt, Wang Sandong instantly forgot her own warning and said boastfully, “Don’t you often peek at me bathing? You should know my prowess, shouldn’t you?”

“Nonsense!”

Yuan Di’s face turned icy, and she snapped angrily, “When have I ever peeked at you—”

“Just admit whether you’ve peeped or not! Don’t deny it! You admitted it last time, I remember!”

As one of the Five Emperors, bickering with a little brat was beneath her dignity.

“You—”

Yuan Di suppressed her anger.

If word got out, wouldn’t people laugh their heads off?

But…

If she didn’t clarify, it was too infuriating!

“Even if I did see, so what? Your prowess? Hmph! Maybe it looks good but is useless!”

Yuan Di couldn’t help firing back.

Wang Sandong smiled and didn’t continue.

Because she could tell that if she kept pressing her luck, she would surely “get what she deserved.”

Better to go easy on the tiger’s whiskers.

Especially since her manly vigor was gone, her heroic days over.

A real man doesn’t boast of past glories.

Thinking this, she suddenly felt a bit tired.

Wang Sandong let out a breath.

“It’s late. Time to go home. You get some sleep too.”

She stood, walked to the door, then paused.

She had to admit that with her glib nature, if she had a perfect retort and didn’t say it, she’d feel stifled and frustrated—absolutely had to get it off her chest.

“Hey…”

Wang Sandong grabbed the door and turned back to Yuan Di.

“So you think I ‘look good’?”

With that, before Yuan Di could react, she left immediately.

Outside Fengyue Tower.

She lifted the carriage curtain, letting the cool breeze brush her face.

Wang Sandong’s mood improved considerably.

When in a good mood, she became more forgiving.

She did it for the Zheng family, with no other choice…

She decided: for now, remove Zheng Xiao from the “death list.”

But then she thought again:

Damn it!

She did it for the Zheng family, no choice—so her being forced meant she had to screw me over?

Being used was bad enough, but being held as a hostage?

Still infuriating!

She wasn’t being forgiving; she simply lacked the strength to retaliate and had to be temporarily lenient.

Sigh…

Not only was she weak, but she had also already transformed.

Otherwise, for behavior like Zheng Xiao’s, she would have to rape and kill her to vent her hatred!

Back at the Anzhi Courtyard in the Wang Mansion, Wang Sandong saw Zheng Xiao cooling off under the moonlight.

Seeing Wang Sandong return, Zheng Xiao stood up to greet her, but noticed Wang Sandong’s cold face.

The words stuck in her throat, unspoken.

As Wang Sandong passed by, Zheng Xiao frowned deeply and sighed silently.

As one of the Nine Surnamed Kings, she didn’t need to care about the mood of an ant.

But…

What is Noble Spirit?

There are many explanations.

But it definitely does not include “bullying the weak.”

In the end, she was the one at fault.

Even though she hadn’t acted out of selfish desire.

“Young Mistress.”

Wang Tong suddenly approached.

Zheng Xiao snapped back to reality.

“What?”

After a pause, she added, “The young master said that husband and wife should be honest with each other and not deceive.”

Wang Tong continued, “The young master asks you, what exactly does the Zither Emperor want?”

Zheng Xiao was stunned, then let out a rueful laugh.

Even while sulking, he had such strong curiosity.

What a child he is.

Letting out a breath, Zheng Xiao spoke softly toward Wang Sandong’s bedroom:

“Come, I’ll show you.”

In a room within Anzhi Courtyard hung all sorts of strange and bizarre weapons.

Candlelight flickered, reflecting a biting chill.

In the center of the room, a pitch-black ancient zither floated in midair.

On the strings of the zither, wisps of Demonic Qi lingered.

Wang Sandong was still curious.

“This… a demonic zither? What does the Zither Emperor want to… do?”

Zheng Xiao sighed softly.

“This matter, I once promised the Cui Family Head and also pledged to the Zither Emperor not to tell outsiders. But… since you and I are now husband and wife, you are no longer an outsider.”

She smiled self-deprecatingly.

“And I have used you, so I feel guilty. Since you’re already involved, you deserve to know the truth.”

“Mmhm, hurry up and tell me the truth.”

Wang Sandong was impatient.

She felt like she was about to learn some big secret.

“You must promise not to tell anyone.”

“I swear, if I blab, may my whole family die.”

Zheng Xiao smiled bitterly.

“No need for that.”

In truth, even if Wang Sandong told others, it didn’t matter.

In fact, it might even be better.

Because the Zither Emperor had already broken his initial promise and killed many people from the Zheng family!

Zheng Xiao’s expression turned serious.

She took a deep breath and said:

“This demonic zither belongs to the Zither Emperor.”

“Ah?!”

Wang Sandong’s eyes widened in shock.

“The Zither Emperor was once a Demonic Cultivator!”

“Ah?!”

Wang Sandong’s voice rose sharply.

Zheng Xiao’s face was solemn, and she spoke slowly:

“The Cui Family Head said, ‘Drop the butcher’s knife and become a saint on the spot.’ So, he advised me to destroy the demonic zither and protect the Zither Emperor’s reputation.”

“However,” she continued, “I believe: if dropping the butcher’s knife immediately makes one a saint… then more and more people will pick up the butcher’s knife.”

She took another deep breath and looked at the demonic zither, wreathed in Demonic Qi.

“What is Noble Spirit? There are many explanations, but it definitely does not include ‘turning a blind eye to evil’! Evil must be utterly eradicated and never forgiven! Otherwise, if we treat evil with kindness, how can we treat kindness itself?!”

Wang Sandong looked at Zheng Xiao’s profile in silence.

She deeply admired Zheng Xiao’s righteous spirit and even more so the sacrifices of the Zheng family.

She even agreed with Zheng Xiao’s philosophy.

However…

Different paths, no common goals.

She looked at the demonic zither again and narrowed her eyes.

“It looks quite exquisite.”

The Demonic Qi swirling around the zither gave Wang Sandong, a Demonic Cultivator, a sense of affinity, making her unconsciously take a step forward.

Instantly, all the weapon blades in the room turned toward Wang Sandong.

A clanging sound rang out.

Like a warning.

Zheng Xiao suddenly grabbed Wang Sandong and pulled her back.

“Be careful. The demonic zither has developed a spirit. It tempts people to take it away from the formation.”

With that, she pulled Wang Sandong out of the room and closed the door.

Wang Sandong frowned and exhaled.

She didn’t feel tempted by the demonic zither.

She simply liked that zither very much and wanted to possess it.