Meng Zhe felt a buzzing in his head and almost stumbled to the ground, but he managed to steady himself and prepared to confront his father. However, as he turned around, he saw his father standing behind him, staring at him blankly.
Meng Zhe paused, then subconsciously asked, "Why did you do this?"
Hearing his son's question, Meng Fanyu seemed to come back to his senses, but he snatched the puppet from his son's hand before replying, "Why would I do this? Don't you know?"
"I..." Meng Zhe wanted to say, "How would I know?" But he stopped after saying only one word, looking at his father in disbelief, "Could it be because of me?!"
"Of course it's for you, otherwise why would I take the risk?"
Meng Zhe was somewhat agitated. "But you can't hurt someone for my sake, especially since this person is my classmate."
Meng Fanyu's expression remained unchanged. "I have no intention of harming him. I have examined him. He is different from ordinary people. Even if I use puppetry on him, it will at most affect his luck, but it will have no impact on his body. Besides..."
"It won't affect his health?" Meng Zhe interrupted his father again, his emotions even more agitated. "Then you don't know Shang Lin's health condition. He's very ill; he can't even drink milk. What good is it if it doesn't affect his health? It's more terrifying if it affects his lifespan! Besides, something stolen like this will definitely be punished by Heaven's will, and then..."
"No." Meng Fanyu's attitude was firm. "I didn't succeed at all. Besides, even if I had succeeded, as long as you're alright, I don't care about the backlash."
Meng Zhe cried out, "But I care! You're my father! How could you..."
Meng Fanyu also raised his voice, "You are my son, how can I just watch you die young?"
Meng Zhe, “…”
The situation has become a vicious cycle, and Meng Zhe doesn't believe his father's words either. If he doesn't borrow lifespan from Shang Lin, it will only affect his luck, so how can he extend his own lifespan?
Or perhaps his father had other motives; in any case, it wouldn't be as understated as he made it out to be. He himself didn't know much about puppetry, only that it would affect both the caster and the recipient regardless of success or failure.
But Meng Fanyu quickly replied, "Actually, you don't need to worry. Your classmate is indeed no ordinary person. My half-baked puppetry skills have no effect on him whatsoever." He believed that the classmate would probably come looking for him again soon.
Meng Fanyu wasn't sure about these words, and he couldn't bring himself to say them in front of his son, since Shang Lin was his classmate and friend.
Most young people are simple-minded, and my son is one of them. I'm afraid I won't know how to face Shang Lin in the future.
Meng Zhe stared at his father in utter shock, "Shang Lin... is that amazing?!"
Meng Fanyu told the truth, "I don't know."
Meng Zhe suddenly looked downcast. How could he face Shang Lin after this?
Then, when the holiday ended, Shang Lin did not return to school but instead took leave, which made Meng Zhe even more worried about his safety. However, he did not have the other party's contact information and had no way to find him immediately.
Besides, what would he say to the other person? Could they still get along naturally and without any reservations like before? He couldn't do anything; he could only stay in the classroom every day and be a good student on the surface.
When Shang Lin suddenly appeared in front of Meng Fanyu, he seemed to have been prepared, but he was still momentarily stunned, and subconsciously asked, "Who exactly are you?"
Shang Lin looked at Meng Fanyu intently for a while before asking, "Compared to me, who am I? Shouldn't Uncle explain the puppetry technique?"
Meng Fanyu remained silent for a long time before speaking, "Actually, it wasn't a complete puppet technique; it was a combination of several techniques. I was just stubbornly trying my luck. Our Meng family has long since declined, and I have no ambition. But I only have one child, Meng Zhe, and I hope he can live a long and healthy life, experiencing birth, aging, sickness, and death like a normal person, instead of..."
Shang Lin was taken aback. "What happened to Meng Zhe?"
At that moment, Shang Lin inexplicably thought that Xing Tian, who died from illness, could also be the same person as Meng Zhe? But he looked perfectly healthy and didn't seem sick at all!
Meng Fanyu spoke frankly, "From birth, Meng Zhe was predicted to have a short lifespan and probably wouldn't live to be thirty."
Shang Lin, "..."
Meng Zhe was destined to die young, just like the sickly little fellow. No, the sickly little fellow's life was even shorter. So, "Uncle wanted to use magic to...borrow life from me because he saw that I was different from ordinary people?!"
Meng Fanyu continued to speak frankly, "You could say that I originally thought that these techniques were incomplete and I couldn't borrow much lifespan. Maybe a few weeks or a few months would be good, but they could be used on many people, so that little by little it would add up. In this way, it wouldn't have much of an impact on the person whose lifespan was borrowed. Unfortunately..." It was an unsuccessful start!
Shang Lin looked at Meng Fanyu with shock and helplessness, "Even if you borrow a few hours, won't Meng Zhe still have to bear the consequences if there's a backlash in the future? Are you trying to save him or harm him?"
Meng Fanyu said urgently, "I will transfer all the backlash onto myself."
Shang Lin could understand a father's love for his child to some extent, but this approach was too extreme, and most importantly, it was unrealistic and impossible to achieve, especially when applied to himself. It would be strange if Meng Fanyu could do the same.
She Jinxing and Hu Tangdi, who were still hidden, were immediately enraged. Wasn't this murder? Their sect leader was already in poor health, and they didn't know how much longer he had to live. They never expected this person to be so greedy for their sect leader's lifespan! It was simply...
This is simply outrageous! The two instinctively wanted to reveal themselves and teach Meng Fanyu a lesson, but Shang Lin stopped them with a raised hand.
She Jinxing and Hu Tangdi looked at Shang Lin with great confusion and resentment. Shang Lin didn't look at them, but suddenly smiled at Meng Fanyu, "Does Uncle even believe what he's saying? Fortunately, you attacked me, otherwise, not to mention your consequences, Meng Zhe, even if he doesn't die young in this life, he won't be spared in the next life, or the life after that. Or is it that Uncle only wants to fulfill the father-son bond in this life?"
Meng Fanyu, "..."
"Uncle, think it over carefully!" After saying that, Shang Lin changed his tone again. "I like to settle scores. Now that things have come to this, Uncle, you have to make some compensation for what you did to me. Otherwise, the karma will be hard to clear and there will be endless troubles in the future."
Meng Fanyu paused, "You're threatening me?!"
Shang Lin smiled, "Not at all, I'm just telling the truth. To avoid wasting time, Uncle, you should hurry up."
Seeing that Meng Fanyu was still hesitating, Hu Tangdi could no longer bear it and revealed himself. Then She Jinxing also appeared, as they did not want to waste any more time.
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