Chapter 1398: Cause and Effect (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Shen Tang: "..."
I once again deeply realized the resentment Tan Ting harbored towards Qi Shan.
She chuckled awkwardly, trying to ease the tension: "I thought Mengyuan would say, 'I'll remember you even if I turn to ashes.'"
Tan Ting gave Shen Tang a barely perceptible eye roll.
He sneered, "If anyone should be turned to ashes, it should be him."
Why would you say something that's a self-curse?
What if it comes true someday?
Shen Tang: "...Uh, that's true, no internal strife..."
Her people would always choose to weaken others externally, never weaken themselves internally, given the opportunity. However, Tan Ting wasn't distracted by Shen Tang's few words and asked warily, "Who are you?"
"I forgot you haven't seen my 'nothingness' form yet..." Although Shen Tang didn't trust Tan Ting as much as Qi Shan and the others, she still included him in her protective circle. In this situation, there was no need to deliberately hide her identity to tease him, so she revealed her hand, pointed her thumb at herself, and dropped a bombshell in a slightly smug tone, "I am your master! Surprised? Unexpected?"
One sentence made Tan Ting's pupils tremble slightly.
Not only was his breathing rapid, but his voice trembled noticeably: "My Lord? Why has My Lord come here?"
Shen Tang put one hand on her hip, correcting Tan Ting's focus: "That's not the point! The point is, Meng Yuan, do you remember how long you've been missing? You've been missing for way long enough to qualify as a missing person for the authorities, and if it's been any longer—"
She abruptly cut off the rest of her words.
To put it more simply: Imagine you're a bright, promising, and beautiful female college student going home for the New Year. On the way, you're kidnapped, drugged, and sold to a widowed old man in a remote mountain village to have him carry on the family line! You certainly wouldn't comply, so they'd probably beat you on the head, break your legs, and put a chain around your neck—
The more Shen Tang spoke, the more her inner fire burned.
The more I talked, the more I couldn't help but imagine Tan Ting with a big belly, wearing thin and tattered clothes, looking emaciated, being abused, tortured and beaten to the point of mental breakdown, tied to a dilapidated house in the dead of winter, staring blankly at the snow falling outside, giving birth to one child a year, one child a year.
Even a scholar with a refined and cultured mind, once their dantian is sealed, cannot escape, no matter how great their abilities were! Furthermore, a scholar with a refined and cultured mind will have an exceptionally resilient body, making them difficult to kill. Just imagining that scene made her want to kill.
You must know that Shen Tang has been fighting for so many years. No matter how fierce the battle was when she faced the enemy, or how deep the hatred was between them, she would never do such a thing as torturing her defeated opponent in this way.
These people here, for their own selfish desires, committed such a crime against Tan Ting, who had no grudge against them. They deserve to be torn to pieces!
"You say, how can this be? As the master, I naturally have to bring you back no matter what. Look, I've crossed mountains and rivers and overcome countless difficulties to get here." Shen Tang's words at the end were vaguely tinged with pride and self-satisfaction. Seeing Tan Ting's disheveled and exhausted appearance, his joy was mixed with pity. "I'm late."
Tan Ting promptly interrupted Shen Tang's daydreaming.
If she continued talking, she might be imagined as some weak and pitiful little thing. However, the lord spoke without restraint, saying everything that should and shouldn't be said, which made Tan Ting blush. Fortunately, the candlelight in the stone chamber was dim, and his hair was mostly loose, covering his temples, which stopped his ears from "betraying" him.
"Your Majesty, I am fine."
The greatest physical suffering he endured during this period was merely a few lashes and some torture. Ordinary women couldn't withstand such punishments, but he had the protection of his inner spirit—even when sealed by the enemy's incantation, his physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary people.
Recalling his experience of torture and imprisonment, Tan Ting suddenly remembered that he hadn't bathed or washed for over a month, and had been confined in such a cramped and foul-smelling place. His appearance before the emperor was not only unsightly but also offensive. Just as he was about to feel embarrassed, Shen Tang raised his hand and formed a hand seal, shattering the restriction on his dantian. Almost instantly, a warmth emanated from his previously cold lower abdomen, spreading throughout his entire body in no time. The stagnant qi in his meridians began to flow again, and his connection with his literary heart was restored.
Tan Ting didn't expect Shen Tang to act so quickly.
It was too late to say anything.
He lifted his eyelids and looked down at the screen inside the stone chamber.
He cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, please wait a moment. I will go and make some arrangements."
Tan Ting naturally wouldn't start bathing with Shen Tang separated by a screen; that would be far too impolite. As a special profession with anxieties about appearance and demeanor, the literary scholars always have some idle people who delve into certain useless words of power, such as how to use words of power to maintain appearance—always having to be elegant and refined.
So, Tan Ting waited behind the screen for a few moments.
She reappeared dressed in the same outfit, but her robes, which resembled dried plums, were now neat and tidy. Her hair was combed back into place, revealing smooth, fair skin. Her entire demeanor was different. To put it bluntly, she looked almost fragrant.
Tan Ting didn't forget to wave her sleeve and use a gust of wind to wrap up the filth scattered on the ground and throw it out of the stone chamber, finally suppressing the stench.
Shen Tang said, "Meng Yuan has solved an age-old mystery."
Military generals often wear smart and practical attire, preferring round robes with hems that just reach below the knees, which do not restrict their movement. Civil officials, on the other hand, wear robes that are either level with or slightly higher than the back of their shoes, so that the hem of their robes will reveal the undulating shape of their bodies as they walk.
It looks nice, but it gets dirty easily.
Especially when climbing up and down steep paths or walking on unclean roads, even the most careful scholar would end up with his robes becoming rags. Dirty robes looked rather unseemly. Shen Tang occasionally had the urge to have them shorten their robes.
It gets dirty easily and trips you up, so why bother?
Tan Ting was puzzled: "An age-old mystery?"
"The mystery of how to have your cake and eat it too."
Tan Ting: "..."
He knew that his lord sometimes said things that were confusing, and this way of speaking would increase the difficulty of communication. If it were anyone else speaking like that, Tan Ting would have been impatient long ago, but the person in front of him was his lord, and the one who had "crossed thousands of mountains and rivers and overcome countless difficulties to come here," so Tan Ting could only accommodate her—his lord spoke like that to everyone, so why was there no problem communicating with others, but only with him? The problem could only lie with himself.
All he has to do is remember what the two said and ponder it slowly in the future. One day he will be able to overcome the "communication threshold".
"Mengyuan, do you still remember who captured you?"
Shen Tang is determined to break every bone in the other person's body to celebrate today.
Tan Ting seemed hesitant and unwilling to answer directly, so Shen Tang could only ask a different question. Tan Ting was someone even Qi Yuanliang found troublesome; his physical structure was also unique, making him even more wary of the outside world than ordinary people. How did he end up being brought to the deep mountains?
besides--
Shen Tang said, "When I came here, I heard that you were investigating a missing person case, and that the missing person was very important to you. Has that person been found? Is he also being held here?"
Upon entering the mountain cave, Shen Tang was already prepared to demolish it. Saving one person was the same as saving two; it was a simple matter. It would allow her to vent her anger and also make Meng Yuan owe her a favor—it seemed like a win-win situation.
Tan Ting: "..."
Just when Shen Tang thought he wouldn't answer, Tan Ting spoke up: "She is a sister in the family. Although she and I are not born of the same mother, we have a sibling relationship as we grew up together..."
Tan Ting's body was strange, and his servants and maids regarded him as an ominous sign.
Where there are many people, there is more intrigue and backstabbing, especially in the inner quarters of a household. When there are few people in the family, brothers and sisters can work together and contribute their strength. But once there are many people, relationships become complicated and interests become intertwined, and infighting is inevitable.
Women and children in the inner quarters of the household lacked the ability to earn a living. A small portion relied on their dowry land and property from their maternal families for subsidies, but the vast majority of their expenses still depended on public funds. The more favored the wives and concubines, the more attention their children received; conversely, those who were less favored lived much more austere lives. Even prominent families could not guarantee that every child would receive adequate care.
One hand has five fingers, and they are always of different lengths and have different priorities.
Tan Ting was born with a physical deformity, but she was a woman.
The two, who were in similar predicaments, could quickly become close. Tan Ting couldn't get close to his other siblings, but it was different with her.
Before Tan Ting began her cultivation journey, the two poor girls from the inner quarters were in completely similar situations, and unknowingly developed a deep sibling bond. Thanks to having one half of his body being of the opposite sex, Tan Ting was able to cultivate, and his world was far broader and freer than hers. When they reached marriageable age, while Tan Ting was struggling with gender identity issues, her younger sister was also arranged a marriage by her family.
When Tan Ting returned, she learned that Tan Ting had been widowed twice and remarried three times.
This reveals that she usually only reports good news and not bad news.
Tan Ting prepared a small gift to pay a visit, but the man's family made various excuses, saying that she had contracted a strange and incurable disease that could be transmitted to others, and that she had gone to the clan's villa to recuperate. Even Tan Ting's request to see her niece was politely declined. Tan Ting's intuition told her that something was wrong; their last communication had been fine—he had only told this younger sister about his plans to return home, and no one else knew.
So he kept his guard up and asked where the villa was, thinking it might be good for him to have a casual chat with his sister over the courtyard wall.
The man's attitude was even stranger.
Tan Ting felt anxious and secretly thought to herself that something was wrong.
It's not uncommon for married women to disappear for various reasons. Ordinary people usually say that the wife ran away with someone else, while wealthy families would use illness and avoid receiving guests as an excuse, and then notify her family of her death after a while. Even if her family had suspicions, they couldn't open the coffin to examine the body, could they? If the two families lived far apart, by the time her family came to attend the funeral, the coffin would already be buried.
Tan Ting suspected that there was something wrong with this "illness".
Upon inquiring further, I found no record of any highly contagious or malignant diseases.
This family must be lying.
If he didn't find her soon, he estimated he would receive news of her death, and by then it would be too late. With this thought in mind, Tan Ting's first investigation naturally focused on the man's family. The man's family could only be described as having some savings, not enough to support scholars and warriors as retainers, so it wouldn't be difficult for him to infiltrate and investigate them without being noticed.
This investigation uncovered several secret letters.
When Tan Ting saw this, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Her husband's family was truly despicable. On the surface, they appeared respectable, but behind the scenes, they were involved in the despicable practice of selling wives for personal gain, even sending their niece, who was just of marriageable age, to them. Tan Ting was so angry that he wanted to set fire to the house and kill everyone, but he still had some sense of reason. He decided to start a fire first to collect some interest, and as for wiping out the whole family for revenge—he would deal with that after rescuing her.
He initially thought it was just a shameless man selling his wife for personal gain, but he never expected it would implicate a branch of the Gods Society. Tan Ting, a mid-level member of the central branch, was hearing about this for the first time.
I never expected that I would make such a mistake.
Even more unexpectedly—
He was out there tirelessly trying to rescue his sister, but she had already thrown herself into the abyss. The martial arts master guarding him vaguely recognized Tan Ting, who remarked, "Everyone looks out for themselves; even fathers and sons can turn against each other, let alone siblings... no, sisters. I never imagined Meng Yuan was half-female..."
Tan Ting sneered: "Read more books, talk less."
To avoid making a fool of yourself without even realizing it.
His sister used Tan Ting as a bargaining chip to extricate herself from the situation, or rather, from the day Tan Ting wrote that she wanted to return, the beads of her abacus were already clicking away. Tan Ting initially harbored resentment, until he heard some things.
Would you really be so kind as to let her out?
Tan Ting didn't believe these people would keep their word.
Shouldn't it be a matter of going back on one's word under normal circumstances?
The martial artist said: "Your sister is no longer of any use."
Is it no longer valuable?
In this place, women who cannot bear children are utterly worthless, and Tan Ting's younger sister is not yet that age.
The martial artist seemed to be thinking of something, and his expression turned somewhat fearful.
She was ruthless; she not only killed her daughter and strangled her newborn baby, but also destroyed her own womb...
Tan Ting had already been whipped, and she almost couldn't catch her breath.
His eyes widened in fury as he demanded, "What did you say?"
The Way of the Warrior: [As you have heard.]
Tan Ting trembled with rage, and at that moment, most of his hatred for his younger sister dissipated. He wanted to blame her, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. No matter how deformed his body was, he still had one more way out than his sister, while she, from the year she came of age and married, had been widowed twice, remarried three times, and given birth to two sons and three daughters—each step leaving her with no other choice…
Now her husband's family is even willingly betraying her.
He claimed to be ill, but in reality, he used her as a gift to curry favor with his superiors.
It is truly despicable to use her body as a stepping stone.
Seeing his reaction, the martial artist clicked his tongue in amazement and said earnestly, "Mengyuan, you're in a precarious situation yourself. No matter how pitiful your sister is, she's free now, like a bird soaring in the sky. You should worry about yourself first. And your appearance—hey, you know what, I never noticed before that you possess such breathtaking beauty—"
He is not interested in men.
I can't understand what's so good about taking the dry road for carrying manure.
However, Tan Ting's body is quite wondrous, possessing both water and land abilities.
The martial artist, his hand restlessly caressing the other's cheek, was spat on in return: "Get lost! Dare to touch me, and we'll see who dies first, me or you!"
[Tsk, damn, even the one who spits is beautiful, wild and cool!]
The martial artist laughed with a cynical air.
He said that, but his actions were much more restrained.
Although the Tan Ting Dan Mansion has been sealed off, preventing the use of any scholarly incantations, it doesn't mean this guy doesn't have a trump card for mutual destruction. Martial artists may enjoy beauty, but they aren't reckless madmen who would risk their lives for it: [If you don't want to, then don't. Anyway, the higher-ups are quite interested in you. If you can't have offspring, then keep you for breeding. Sigh, this is the first time in all my years of working that I've seen a stud.]
Tan Ting's eyes turned red with anger.
The martial artist's eyes were still rolling downwards.
He asked with concern, "I'm just curious, can you do it?"
Get out!
|ω`)
If you don't check Maoyan for a day, the total box office prediction for Nezha's Avatar will jump to 8.5 billion! If this goal is achieved, it's estimated that only Nezha's Avatar can break the record within the next ten years.
P.S.: I had a major financial loss yesterday. My spendthrift son took a small flag (a national flag we bought last National Day to install in our car, but we bought too many and put them at home; somehow the decorative end fell off, exposing the metal screws inside) and smashed the 85-inch TV screen in a few swipes. He also ruined my computer screen in my study (luckily, desktop computer screens aren't expensive, but the TV in the living room is; he's already cost me tens of thousands of yuan at the very beginning of the new year... Is this what they call a god of poverty? I bought a new desktop monitor overnight for a few hundred yuan; I'll just have to make do with it).
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