Chen Youde wanted to kill Wang Sandong for artifact forging.
But Wang Sandong wouldn’t say that reason, of course.
Any reason no longer mattered.
Because Wang Sandong had already obtained the answer she wanted from this trip.
On her peerless beauty appeared a pitiful grievance, her clear black-and-white eyes glistening with tears, her moist lips murmuring:
“Second Uncle, you believe an outsider, but not me?”
Wang Zhongli was troubled.
“Worthy nephew, it’s not a matter of believing this or that. This… well, I’ll look into what you said properly. Don’t worry, your second uncle has everything under control.”
“I wanted to ask Second Uncle to help analyze and investigate. Thank you for the trouble.”
Wang Sandong exchanged a few more polite words with Wang Zhongli before taking her leave.
Wang Zhongli escorted her to the main gate, watching the carriage grow distant.
A middle-aged man came to Wang Zhongli’s side, looking in the direction of the departing carriage, and said:
“The Third Young Master’s intentions are intriguing.”
Wang Zhongli nodded, smiled, and said dismissively, “No matter. She has no evidence.”
Then, looking at the middle-aged man, he asked:
“Sir, are you certain the results are correct?”
“Certain,” the middle-aged man said.
“When in danger, she did not use demonic qi to save herself. Although the silver needle detected demonic qi, it encountered no resistance. That should indeed be residual demonic qi absorbed from the people around earlier.”
Letting out a breath, the middle-aged man affirmed:
“It can be confirmed that the Third Young Master is definitely not a demonic cultivator.”
Wang Zhongli frowned upon hearing this.
“If not a demonic cultivator, yet able to harbor demonic qi without harm… I still feel uneasy. We’ll wait and see.”
At that moment, the carriage turned a corner and disappeared from their sight.
Inside the carriage, Yuan Yuan was still angry about being treated as an object and given away by Wang Sandong.
But anger aside, it wasn’t important.
“You didn’t ask who the murderer was right away, but instead doubted whether I saw it wrong… Heh, don’t you think my second uncle is highly suspicious?”
Wang Sandong said with a smile.
“Someone was eavesdropping secretly,” Yuan Yuan said.
Wang Sandong didn’t answer; instead she asked:
“What do you intend to do?”
“As the saying goes: better to kill the innocent than let the guilty escape.”
A hint of ruthlessness appeared in Wang Sandong’s beautiful eyes.
Recalling that rainy night, the hatred in her heart could not be suppressed.
But the hatred quickly dissipated, her eyes becoming soft and gentle.
“Still, he’s my own uncle. Even if I could confirm he wanted to kill me… but…”
Tears glistened in her eyes, and she let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“I thought I was ruthless enough to order you to kill my second uncle without hesitation. Ha… In the end, I can’t be that cruel. The kindness of a woman—not worth regretting death. Haha.”
She laughed, leaning weakly against the backrest, tilting her head back slightly, and closing her eyes.
A teardrop slid down the corner of her eye.
Yuan Yuan let out a soft, cold laugh.
‘Still just a child. She has some schemes, but not enough ruthlessness. Someone like this is destined for mediocrity. Good thing I’m here. Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty escape! That’s right. Besides, the primordial spirit power of the same origin… is a delicacy for Wang Sandong’s ‘Soul Snatching.”
Yuan Yuan recalled the layout of Wang Zhongli’s mansion, a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth, and said:
“Aren’t you afraid he’ll make a move against you again?”
“Aren’t you here?”
Wang Sandong still had her eyes closed, sighing.
“From now on, I’ll entrust my little life to you.”
Yuan Yuan snorted.
“I recall I’m just a songstress, not your enforcer or your guard.”
“…”
Wang Sandong sighed deeply.
“I want to be quiet for a while.”
Not because she wanted quiet, but because she feared letting too many words slip.
If Yuan Yuan found out she was pretending to be soft-hearted, it would be troublesome.
The carriage fell silent.
No words were exchanged along the way.
Returning to the Wang Residence’s Anzhi Garden, Wang Sandong sat down on a soft chair in the garden to bask in the sun.
Watching the limping figure of Wang Tong as he went to make tea for her, she silently gritted her teeth.
‘Second Uncle, oh Second Uncle, you’re dead!’
Wang Sandong was certain Yuan Yuan would make a move.
“Yuan Yuan,” Wang Sandong said.
“Can Wang Tong’s leg be cured?”
“I’m not a doctor, so I can’t say for sure. But…”
Yuan Yuan said, “After the bone broke, he walked such a long distance bearing weight. The bone is severely worn. It’s probably incurable.”
“Are there no miraculous medicines?”
“It’s futile,” Yuan Yuan said.
“You used so many precious medicines, and at best they only allowed the broken bone to heal in a few days. Regeneration? Impossible.”
Pausing, she added half-jokingly, half-seriously:
“He’s just a servant. Why waste the effort? Since he’s already crippled, why not just use ‘Soul Snatching’ to give him a quick end?”
Anger flared in Wang Sandong’s heart.
She shot a glare at Yuan Yuan and said:
“Come on, I’ll give you a quick end!”
The double meaning carried a hint of teasing.
Yuan Yuan’s gaze turned cold.
“I think I’ll give you a quick end first!”
As she spoke, she noticed Wang Sandong’s flushed cheeks from anger, and a thought surfaced in her mind:
‘If it were you, that wouldn’t be so bad either.’
She had heard too much from the guests of Fengyue Tower, and now it unconsciously came to mind.
In Wang Sandong’s view, teasing Yuan Yuan and angering her were two different things.
Hearing this, Wang Sandong backed off and didn’t dare continue the conversation.
The secret of her transformation still needed to be kept for now.
She worried that if she truly angered Yuan Yuan, the secret might be exposed.
One thing was to bend Yuan Yuan’s heart and plant a seed that might save her life in the future;
The other was to be bent by Yuan Yuan and expose the secret of her transformation…
The former was relatively pure, never leading to overly intimate behavior.
As for the latter…
It was obvious it wouldn’t be pure.
Based on experience, Wang Sandong keenly sensed the fire in Yuan Yuan’s eyes.
That was not a good sign.
Wang Tong limped over with tea.
Wang Sandong picked up the teacup and said to Wang Tong:
“Go rest.”
“It’s no trouble, young master. I’m fully recovered,” Wang Tong said.
“Young master spent so much money on pills made by spiritual cultivators for me. I’m not worthy…”
“Leave!”
Wang Tong immediately shut his mouth and obediently withdrew.
Wang Sandong slowly adjusted her emotions.
Thinking of Wang Tong carrying her home on his broken leg in the rainy night, her hatred for Wang Zhongli couldn’t be suppressed.
Was it really Wang Zhongli who made the move?
And why?
Wang Sandong couldn’t be sure, and didn’t know.
But it didn’t matter.
Because with ‘Soul Snatching’ on Wang Zhongli, she could be certain and find out.
Letting out a breath, Wang Sandong warned Yuan Yuan:
“Don’t kill my second uncle. He’s still my own uncle.”
Yuan Yuan glanced at Wang Sandong with a calm expression.
Yuan Yuan sneered.
Wang Sandong’s calves twitched as she hesitated whether to get up and give Yuan Yuan a forceful kiss to accelerate bending her heart.
But in the end, she dismissed the thought.
It didn’t feel like the right time.
The fire wasn’t hot enough yet.
If she acted now, it might backfire.
“Ah, I’m tired. You may leave. I’ll sleep for a bit.”
Wang Sandong put down the teacup, closed her eyes, and pretended to sleep.
Yuan Yuan, of course, had no interest in staying with Wang Sandong.
She got up and left.
Wang Sandong had only rested quietly for a short while when Zheng Xiao arrived.
‘So many women, what a hassle.’
The thought crossed Wang Sandong’s mind.
“You enjoy sunbathing quite a bit,” Zheng Xiao said, sitting down and raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.
“Cold constitution,” Wang Sandong yawned.
“How is it?”
Zheng Xiao shook her head. “No progress.”
“Maybe… I can help.”
Recalling the familiar feeling she had when first seeing the demonic zither, Wang Sandong asked.
“Don’t misunderstand,” Zheng Xiao said.
“The feelings it gives you are all deception.”
“Heh…”
Wang Sandong gave a bitter smile but didn’t explain.
She was only thinking: ‘Can the spirit of the demonic zither be captured by ‘Soul Snatching’ as well?’
Wang Sandong had read many classics about artifact spirits.
An artifact gives birth to a spirit, called an artifact spirit.
But she didn’t know how to forge artifacts, nor had she ever encountered an artifact spirit.
All her knowledge was superficial.
However, how different was an artifact spirit from a human’s primordial spirit?
Could it be captured by ‘Soul Snatching’?
She wasn’t sure.
If there was a chance, she could try.
“My brother is recovering well,” Zheng Xiao said.
“That’s good,” Wang Sandong smiled.
Zheng Xiao hesitated, then said:
“I sent someone to ask for some pills from the Southern Border’s Return Spring Valley. They’ll arrive soon. Taking them can temporarily protect your heart and lungs. If you wish to perform marital duties… you won’t die from excitement.”
Although she had high cultivation and had long seen through the mortal world, mentioning such things still made Zheng Xiao embarrassed, and she lowered her head.
Looking at Zheng Xiao’s slightly flushed cheeks, Wang Sandong felt a pang of sorrow.
‘Oh… The heavens treat me so unfairly! Why didn’t this happen earlier?’
“No,” Wang Sandong sighed dejectedly.
“I’m sorry, but my heart only holds Yuan Yuan. I have no interest in others.”
Zheng Xiao’s face reddened even more.
“Oh, then… that’s fine. I have no interest in that kind of thing either.”
That was the truth.
Zheng Xiao was simple-minded, bent on upholding righteousness, and had never had an evil thought.
But being outdone by a songstress…
It was slightly embarrassing.
She felt like a person who abandoned someone after leading them on—no, even worse than that.
At least a scumbag would have done something, while she had done nothing.
“We can be friends,” Wang Sandong said with a smile.
“Although you’re young, we are contemporaries.”
Zheng Xiao laughed and nodded:
“Alright.”
Then she looked Wang Sandong over.
‘Contemporaries?!’
Wang Sandong also smiled.
If you really counted, it was hard to say who was older.
Thinking back to the demonic zither, Wang Sandong smiled casually and said:
“So many weapons in the formation must require a lot of energy to maintain, right?”
“It’s fine. If no one touches the weapons often, one ‘spiritual stone’ can last a year.”
Spiritual stones were a type of stone discovered a few years ago that contained immense power.
They were extremely rare and extremely expensive. Ordinary people might not even see one, let alone buy it.
“Spiritual stone… that’s not a nice name,” Wang Sandong said.
“Why not call it ‘spiritual jade’? Precious jade. I heard the spiritual stone is as clear and beautiful as water.”
“Hmm… Spiritual jade… that’s a good name,” Zheng Xiao laughed.
“Is the Zither Emperor so powerful that she can’t break your formation?”
Wang Sandong asked.
“She can, but it takes time,” Zheng Xiao said, still smiling, with an air of facing death calmly.
“During that time, I’ll fight her to the death.”
Wang Sandong was silent for a moment, then asked softly:
“Is it worth it?”
Zheng Xiao still smiled, lifting her head to face the dazzling sunlight, squinting, and asked instead:
“How do you measure worth? By conscience? Or by the justice in your heart?”
Wang Sandong was speechless.
Looking at Zheng Xiao’s clean face, Wang Sandong seemed to see a strange radiance that even dimmed the sunlight, making her feel her own body was as humble as an ant.
Zheng Xiao continued gazing at the sky, smiling softly, and asked:
“Are you trying to tarnish our friendship?”
Wang Sandong sighed and said meaningfully:
“May our friendship last forever.”
Could it?
Obviously not.
Because one day, Zheng Xiao would know she was a demonic cultivator.
And then…
The Zheng family was very fond of upholding justice at the expense of family.