The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 280- 282

Chapter 280: A Father-Son Reunion

Ling Zhang had thought he’d forgotten this man’s face, that he might not be able to recognize him even if he was standing right in front of him, but the fact was that the moment he clapped eyes on him, he came to know this person was his father, the swirling mist in his mind quickly dissipating, revealing those memories which were so real.

People here had been taking good care of him. His face was very clean, without the stubble of untrimmed beard or tousled hair that Ling Zhang had expected to see. Instead, his hair had been neatly tied up. However, his cheeks were very thin, so thin that they were sunken. His complexion was sickly and pallid, and he smelled of medicine, as though he’d been taking drugs instead of having meals for a long time.

Yuwen Tong consolingly tightened his grip on Ling Zhang’s hand and then gently released it and told Ling Zhang to go to the bedside to see his father.

Ling Zhang stood straight beside the head of the bed, gazing at the man lying in it, lips pressed tightly together, eyes prickling with tears uncontrollably. He recalled his childhood, how broken-hearted he’d been and how hard he’d wailed after this man left home; he also recalled that in his last incarnation, after the Ling family were exterminated, this man had still never shown up, and that Ji Yin had told him this man had almost died of grievous injuries, been comatose for many years and only suddenly come to half a year ago but become a retard owing to mental disorder.

It was quite a while before Ling Zhang sat down, eyes still on this man who should’ve given him piggybacks and taken him to stroll along the streets when he’d been a little boy. After a long time, the sorrow inside him gradually ebbed away. He realized that he’d grown up after all, and no longer had those intense expectations buried under bitter complaints or needed his father to put him on his shoulders in the streets. Soon he’d get married and have a family of his own, and might adopt a boy and piggyback him in the streets to have fun if that was what life held in store for him.

Yes, he’d grown up and was no longer a child. He had to stop being childish and start being a poised adult.

“Father.”

Ling Zhang swallowed hard to fight back the sadness, complexity, grudge, anticipation and joy, calming himself down.

“He’s drunk some decoction. It’ll be another hour before he–”

Mr. Mu wanted to tell Ling Zhang that Ling Zhaowu wouldn’t wake up until an hour later, but before he could finish his sentence, the man in bed suddenly moved slightly. His hands which had been lying quietly on his chest twitched and then his fingers bent briefly, as though he was about to awake.

Astonished, Mr. Mu looked at Ling Zhaowu with a quizzical expression on his face.

This detail escaped Ling Zhang’s notice. Fixing Ling Zhaowu’s face with an intent stare, he called again, “Father.”

This time, his voice was much more collected and louder than that of the last call.

He contemplated Ling Zhaowu expectantly, hoping to see him wake up. He’d heard Mr. Mu say that it’d be an hour before Ling Zhaowu awoke, but he’d still involuntarily called him again.

Right at this moment, Ling Zhaowu who had been lying with his eyes closed all along had a twitch in his eyelids, as though he was trying hard to lift them.

Ling Zhang found himself holding his breath, staring unblinkingly at the pair of eyes.

All the others also looked at Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowu’s eyelids twitched once again and then, slowly, he opened his eyes.

Stupefied, Ling Zhang looked at his open eyes, which were very clear but also seemed to be quite bemused. He first glanced at the ceiling, then turned to look at Ling Zhang, his eyes dilating slightly as they met Ling Zhang’s. Almost believing that Ling Zhaowu recognized him, Ling Zhang subconsciously tensed his back.

But Ling Zhaowu merely eyed him for a while and then asked, “Wh–Who are you?”

Ling Zhang’s tense back muscles instantly relaxed at this question, his eyes still on Ling Zhaowu with a mixed expression in them. “I’m Ling Zhang.”

But Ling Zhaowu didn’t seem to have understood him and asked “Who are you?” again, sitting up from his bed, which was a rather hard job due to a lack of strength in his arms.

Yuwen Tong stepped up and carefully supported him into a sitting position. “Uncle Ling.”

“Wh–Who are you?” Ling Zhaowu shifted his gaze to Yuwen Tong, his eyes much warier than they’d been when on Ling Zhang and a trifle frightened, too. Somewhat afraid of physical contact with Yuwen Tong, he flinched.

On noticing this, Yuwen Tong withdrew his hands, backed away several paces to avoid putting Ling Zhaowu under pressure and replied, “My family name is Yuwen. I’m the grandson of Yuwen Qian whom your father rescued in that year. There’s a marriage contract between our families, and I’m the one betrothed to Ling Zhang. My given name is Tong.”

Frowning, Ling Zhaowu still couldn’t understand. His eyes strayed off Yuwen Tong, searching for a familiar face in spite of himself, and brightened abruptly as they fell on Mr. Mu. Almost immediately, he sprang out of bed and called in excitement, “Mr. Mu!”

He hid himself behind Mr. Mu. An adult as he was, he clung to Mr. Mu like a child, but after hiding himself, he still couldn’t help looking at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang was dumbfounded by this scene. His father…

Mr. Mu comfortingly patted Ling Zhaowu’s shoulder. “Don’t be afraid. He’s your son. He came here to see you.”

“My son?” Bewildered, Ling Zhaowu merely stared at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang, being watched by his eyes, almost came to believe that this person in front of him was actually not an adult but a kid.

At this moment, Mr. Mu said with a sigh, “He’d been lying for too many years, and it took a very long time for him to regain enough mobility to walk unaided. This is the first time that I’ve seen him move so nimbly. Currently, his intelligence level is approximately the same as that of a three or four-year-old child, but he scares more easily than a kid. I find this very strange–his condition seems to have been caused by some kind of highly traumatic experience, as though something hurt him really bad, but the Clan Leader once looked into his background and discovered that he’d been totally sane and never been subjected to any traumatic events before being attacked. Theoretically, he has some kung fu skills, and although he was injured during an assault, his intelligence shouldn’t have been reduced to that of a child. My guess is that he just lay for too long.”

But in fact, this explanation had always struck Mr. Mu as a little far-fetched.

“The Clan Leader is a shrewder judge of character than any of us. Since he said that your father sustained severe mental trauma, I think he was probably right about it. It’s just that none of us has any clue that might lead us to the source of his condition,” Ji Yin also said.

“Severe mental trauma?” Ling Zhang was confused. After thinking for a few moments, he said, “Is it possible that this has something to do with my mother’s death?”

Mr. Mu replied, “That’s definitely part of the reason. Back then when he just came around, he kept talking deliriously. Sometimes he murmured your mother’s name and talked about resurrecting her; sometimes he called your name and said that he failed you, your grandfather and your uncle. He called all your family’s names and kept apologizing. At that time he had a fever and uttered a lot of delirium. After his fever went down, he didn’t remember saying any of those words. Those were really trying times for me.”

Ji Yin had told Ling Zhang about this before, but his account hadn’t been as detailed as this one. On hearing the part about his father saying he failed them, Ling Zhang, inevitably, felt another twinge of sorrow. At the sight of Ling Zhaowu who was hiding behind Mr. Mu and secretly appraising him all along, the look in Ling Zhang’s eyes became very mixed.

Of all these people in the room, Ling Zhang was the only one that Ling Zhaowu was staring at, and there was no fear in his eyes, just uncertainty and curiosity. This made all the others felt that blood is thicker than water, that the two of them were father and son after all, and there seemed to be some kind of unique connection between them.

“It surprises me that he still remembered all of my family,” said Ling Zhang, a myriad of thoughts whirling around in his mind.

He even couldn’t help but recall that in his last incarnation, when his grandfather had left this place to look for him, the Ling family definitely have already been wiped out, and he wondered whether or not this man had recovered from his mental condition and felt any regret. His lips clamped tightly together at these thoughts, and he was unable to speak, what with his fear that he might let his emotions show if he said anything.

Mr. Mu sighed, “Prime Elder knows about this better than any of us. I mean, after all, Prime Elder was the first to notice him wake up.”

Ji Yin also let out a sigh. “Yes. I remember it very clearly. First he gave a vague account of what happened to your mother–that’s how your mother’s death came to my knowledge–and then he kept calling your name, as though some painful memories were troubling him. He repeatedly uttered your name, murmuring ‘I’m sorry’. After a long time, he began to call people’s names–a lot of them, probably everybody of the Ling family, I think.”

“Tell me about it.” Mr. Mu flicked a glance at Ling Zhaowu who was hiding behind him. “He mentioned ‘Father’, ‘Younger Brother’, ‘Nephew’ etc. Is there a certain Butler Li in your family? Anyway, he called a whole bunch of names which didn’t seem to belong to your family members.”

Ling Zhang said in a hoarse voice, “Butler Li is the butler of my family. The others were probably servants’ names.”

Mr. Mu nodded. “That figures.”

At this time, Yuwen Tong suddenly inquired, “He mentioned his nephew?”

Mr. Mu answered unhesitatingly, “Yeah. He did. Is there a problem?”

Yuwen Tong, with a somewhat peculiar look on his face, looked at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang didn’t catch on immediately to what Yuwen Tong meant. He was still staring fixedly at Ling Zhaowu, trying to find something in his childish bearing. If possible, he hoped Ling Zhaowu didn’t really have a mental disability, for there were a lot of questions he wanted to ask Ling Zhaowu.

On observing Yuwen Tong specially look at him, he looked back in confusion, but slowly, something seemed to dawn on him, his eyes gradually widening, gazing squarely at Ling Zhaowu, as though he’d came to realize some kind of amazing fact.

“What’s wrong?” Mr. Mu was thrown into perplexity. Even Ji Yin couldn’t understand what this was about.

Ling Zhang made no reply. Such was his shock that he was unable to give them an explanation.

His nephew? Ling Maomao was only seven years old, and Ling Zhaowu had left home many years ago, long before Ling Maomao’s birth! How had he come to know that Ling Zhaowen had a son?

Chapter 281: Confusion

That couldn’t be true. Ling Zhaowen hadn’t even got married yet when Ling Zhaowu left home!

According to Ji Yin and the others’ accounts of the events, when Ling Zhaowu had been brought to the Millennium Pavilion, Ling Maomao hadn’t been born yet, and Ling Zhaowu had still been unconscious on the day of Ling Maomao’s birth. How was it possible that he’d known he had a nephew at that time?

Shocked beyond words, Ling Zhang fastened his gaze on Ling Zhaowu, his eyes seeming to bore into him.

This was impossible. There’d got to be some kind of mistake. How had he come to know he had a nephew when he didn’t even know his brother had got a son?!

Ji Yin and Mr. Mu, seeing the incredulity on Ling Zhang’s face, naturally realized that there must be something going on. Ji Yin looked at Yuwen Tong. “What seems to be the matter?”

“Second Uncle Ling had only one son. His name is Maomao, and he’s only seven years old,” answered Yuwen Tong.

Seven years old…

Ji Yin and Mr. Mu instantly came to understand what that meant, both astonished.

“Had there been any lucid moments during the years when Uncle Ling was in a coma?” asked Yuwen Tong.

Mr. Mu shook his head. “No. I come here on a daily basis to give him his medicine and unblock his meridians to prevent him from dying of bodily atrophy and organic deterioration. Had there been any lucid moments, I would’ve remembered.”

Ji Yin also said, “Even if he came to when Mr. Mu was absent, it’s utterly impossible for him to, within one day, leave here, get through all those defensive formations and the natural barriers in the Sanguan Mountains, go to Tanyang and then return.”

Since that was impossible, this whole thing seemed even more weird. How come Ling Zhaowen who had been comatose for many years come to know about the existence of his nephew?

“Surely he wasn’t informed of it by someone capable of foreseeing the future?” said Mr. Mu jokingly.

Ji Yin was the first to deny this possibility. “That’s not possible.”

Ling Zhang knew what Ji Yin meant. Ji Yin had once told him that in order to develop the power of precognition, one needed to have very strong Blood of the Phoenix Clan and cultivate the mental cultivation method of internal energy of the Millennium Pavilion to perfection, but currently, even the clan leader had barely reached the eleventh layer…

“Prime Elder, do you think it’s possible that an elder of our clan who’s been in seclusion has reached the highest level of the cultivation method?” Mr. Mu looked at Ji Yin with surprise.

The corners of Ji Yin’s mouth twitched. “I would’ve known long ago had there been another person who managed to do that apart from the one assisting the founder of the Xia.”

Was there no way to find out the truth?

Yuwen Tong looked at Ling Zhaowu, inwardly making all kinds of speculations over how Ling Zhaowu had come to know about Ling Zhaowen’s having a son, but just like Ji Yin had said, it was absolutely impossible that Ling Zhaowu had made it out of the Millennium Pavilion unaided, let alone a round trip within a single day. The only plausible explanation was that someone had told him, but none of them knew who this person was.

Ling Zhaowu was still hiding behind Mr. Mu. He was very afraid of Yuwen Tong. Of all the people present, Mr. Mu and Ji Yin were familiar to him, while Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were both strangers to him, but he was showing curiosity about and a hint of affinity for Ling Zhang, which none of the others could find a better explanation for than the father-son bonding between the two of them.

Ling Zhaowu gazed at Ling Zhaowu’s emaciated figure and wan face, his clear eyes widened in an almost poignant way. Ling Zhaowu was a full-grown man, but he actually believed that he could stay out of others’ sight by hiding behind Mr. Mu.

“Father.”

Ling Zhang hesitantly stepped closer to him, reaching out his hand.

Seeing Ling Zhaowu like this, even if he still had grudges against him, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to show any sign of them on his face.

Ling Zhaowu didn’t draw back. He just fixed his eyes on Ling Zhang. “Who are you?”

This was the third time that he’d asked this question.

“I’m Ling Zhang, your son.”

“My son?” Ling Zhaowu appeared bewildered. Given his current intelligence level, he shouldn’t be able to understand what this meant. However, he furrowed his brows, as though trying to figure something out, but the next moment, he suddenly lowered his head, clapping a hand over his forehead with a pained countenance, his frown deepening. After a while, an anguished cry escaped his mouth.

Having never expected to see this kind of reaction, Ling Zhang was briefly stupefied, then hastened to support Ling Zhaowu and subconsciously yelled, “Father!”

“Hold him down,” shouted Mr. Mu, a grave expression on his face.

Together, the couple of them restrained Ling Zhaowu. Mr. Mu quickly inserted some needles into Ling Zhaowu’s skin at certain points, and soon Ling Zhaowu calmed down, sitting on the bed, gazing vacantly.

“At the beginning, we tentatively tried giving him some guidance in an effort to help him regain his memories, but every time we did that, his response was quite intense. On one occasion, he nearly suffered a breakdown. After that, we no longer dare risk having him think back to his past. It never crossed my mind that the mere mention of the word ‘son’ would trigger off such a reaction,” said Mr. Mu.

Ling Zhang looked at Ling Zhaowu whose eyes were glazed. Though having countless questions he needed to find answers to, he didn’t dare do anything rash.

After a while, a thickset man entered, who went quite watchful at the sight of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong in the room and only calmed down after hearing Mr. Mu’s and Ji Yin’s explanation.

“He is Ya, the one who’s been tending your father all along in recent years,” explained Mr. Mu.

Ling Zhang inclined his head and expressed his gratitude to Ya. “Thank you.”

Ya, who seemed to be a quite taciturn man, didn’t say anything, and neither was there any change in his facial expression.

“Ya is a man of few words and he always has been,” said Mr. Mu.

In the knowledge that Ya was not very communicative, Ling Zhang didn’t specially try to strike up a conversation with him for fear of embarrassing Ya. He just lodged it in mind that this man had been taking care of Ling Zhaowu for many years.

After in a daze for a few moments, Ling Zhaowu closed his eyes. Ling Zhang helped him lie down on the bed and watched him gradually falling asleep.

“He’s supposed to sleep for quite some time after drinking the decoction. Actually it came as a surprise to me that he woke up just now after hearing you call him. As the effects of the drug haven’t worn off yet, he fell asleep again. There’s nothing to worry about,” observed Mr. Mu.

Ling Zhang gave a nod. “Thank you.”

Though seemingly serious, this man they called Mr. Mu was quite approachable. Before his entry into the Millennium Pavilion, Ling Zhang had thought that he’d run into snags and be foiled everywhere in this place, but Mr. Mu was not really guarded with or lukewarm about them, for which Ling Zhang was very grateful to him.

“Treating patients is my job. Besides, I’m working under our clan leader’s orders,” replied Mr. Mu.

Since Ling Zhaowu was in a deep slumber, Ling Zhang and the others naturally felt it inappropriate to continue their talk in the room. After sitting quietly beside Ling Zhaowu’s bed for quite a while, Ling Zhang rose to his feet and walked out. Yuwen Tong and the others were sitting in the living room.

“Mr. Mu, is my father’s illness curable?” asked Ling Zhang.

Mr. Mu bobbed his head. “As a matter of fact, it’s mainly his mental trauma that has been holding him back. Once the trauma heals, everything will be fine. Currently the only problem is that we don’t know what caused his mental trauma in the first place. His bodily functions are getting better, but his mental state has shown no sign of recuperation. I fear that over time his condition might become incurable.”

Yuwen Tong asked, “Is there a way to help Uncle Ling recover from his trauma quickly?”

Mr. Mu responded, “If we are to cure it with medication, there is a kind of miracle drug here that might be effective, but it’s very hard to come by, and there are a lot of people here hankering for it. Given that you two are not members of this clan, your chance of winning a competition against them is very slim. As regards non-medicinal methods, there’s but one–finding out what caused the trauma and acting accordingly to help him heal. The process will be rather painful, and you’ve seen it with your own eyes a while ago. His reaction just now was only a minor one. If by any chance you trigger off a serious response, there might be unimaginable consequences.”

Yuwen Tong looked at Ling Zhang, who said to Mr. Mu, “I want to have an audience with the clan leader first and see if I can convince him to help.”

Mr. Mu nodded. “It’s worth a shot. I’ll wait and see how that works out.”

“Thanks,” said Ling Zhang. He knew the Millennium Pavilion was not some kind of charity. Although his mother had suffered a lot because of the decision of this organization, his father owed his life to these people. Also, his grandfather had offered him a lot of help, so the Millennium Pavilion wasn’t really obliged to do this for him.

“I’ll do my best to persuade the Clan Leader as well. Hopefully, he’ll take my contribution into consideration and agree to use the miracle drug on your father,” said Ji Yin. “I’ve been serving this clan for many years, but neither my son nor my daughter had the good fortune to cultivate internal energy with the mental method of our clan, and I never made a request for the miracle drug. I hope the Clan Leader will take this into account and give his consent to it.”

Mr. Mu said, “You’re the Prime Elder. In terms of status, you’re second to only the Clan Leader in this place. He will listen to you, no matter what.”

Ji Yin said, “I don’t dare take advantage of that. This is a secluded place. Things work differently here than they do in the outside world. Whether my identity as the Prime Elder is any good solely depends on how the Clan Leader thinks about it.”

Then he added, “I’ll go and see if the Clan Leader is available now. Zhang’er, if there’s anything else you want to know, you may ask Ya and Mr. Mu.”

Ling Zhang nodded and followed Ji Yin with his eyes as he left.

“Ya is not really a great talker. You may ask me if you have any questions,” said Mr. Mu.

Ling Zhang asked him how his father had been doing after being brought to the Millennium Pavilion. Mr. Mu, fully aware of what he wanted to know, was very specific about almost everything he told Ling Zhang.

“He narrowly escaped death shortly after being transferred here. After the Clan Leader revived his cardiac meridian, I’ve treating him all along. There were several occasions when I feared that he lacked the will to live and might not be able to make it, but he surprised me and survived. Even the Clan Leader said that a man with such a strong will to live was something of a rarity. It was with the Clan Leader’s permission that I gained access to many precious drugs and used them to treat him.

The Prime Elder was the one who hoped to see your father come around the most. He always believed that there must be some unusual reason why your father showed up in this area. He was worried that something had happened to your mother. Nobody could’ve foreseen that your father would be comatose for that many years. I could tell that he actually had got a shrewd idea of what might’ve happened. In the couple of following years, he went outside very often to look for something, but he never found anything.”

Mr. Mu also gave many details, saying that at the beginning some had objected to letting Ling Zhaowu stay, but the Prime Elder had tried his best and managed to persuade them to change their minds.

“The Prime Elder actually loved your mother and uncle very much. In the year when they left, the Prime Elder once sneaked out of here to look for them, but unfortunately for him, in order not to be found by members of our clan, your mother went into hiding, leaving no trace behind, so the Prime Elder had never found her. Afterwards, some members of our clan believed the Prime Elder was violating the rules by going outside, so he had no choice but to give up making another attempt.”

It was after hearing these words of Mr. Mu’s that Ling Zhang came to know that his grandfather had once tried to look for his mother but had never had any luck.

“Alas, the situation back then was in disarray. Some matters involve secrets of our clan, and it’s inconvenient for me to disclose more details to you. Anyway, the Prime Elder did everything within his power. At that time, the Clan Leader had just taken office and there were some… In a word, the Clan Leader eventually decided to spare your mother. He did his level best as well.”

Chapter 282: Consent and Terms

The two of them were new here, and it was because of their relations with Ji Yin that Mr. Mu had told them so much. Ling Zhang knew better than to persist with his questioning and push Mr. Mu to give him all the answers he wanted. Now that he’d already come to the Millennium Pavilion, he was positive that after some time he’d be able to find out the truth about some of those matters. Besides, he still had Ji Yin, his grandfather, at his back. Ji Yin was the Prime Elder of the Millennium Pavilion, and there were definitely many matters that he knew more details about than Mr. Mu did.

Before long, Ji Yin returned. “The Clan Leader is available now. Do you want to go there to talk to him right away or do you want to stay here keeping your father company for some more time?”

Ling Zhang rose to his feet. “Since the Clan Leader is available, of course I’ll go and have an audience with him first.”

Now he was the one in need of help. Although that man named Ji Yanlai seemed quite casual and unbuttoned, Ling Zhang was still not very confident of convincing him to agree to his request.

…

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong followed Ji Yin out of the courtyard house onto the island in the midst of the lake.

There was a great hall. When Ji Yin led the two of them into it, Ji Yanlai had changed into another outfit which was yellowish and white, exquisite and of a gorgeous style, imparting a hint of nobility to him but also making him look even younger.

Ji Yanlai was the only one in the hall. Nobody else was around.

Ling Zhang, who had expected to see a scene similar to a court meeting, couldn’t help but feel somewhat surprised.

“Have you seen your father?” Ji Yanlai looked at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang gave a nod. “I want to thank you for saving my father’s life, Clan Leader.”

Ji Yanlai said, “Your forgiveness for my being harsh on your mother back in that year is enough for me, and saving your father was no trouble at all. The Prime Elder has told me in a letter what you want and I’ve been giving some careful consideration to it. Your father will get the miracle drug he needs, but I want you to do something for me in return.”

Ling Zhang had thought that he’d have a hard job convincing Ji Yanlai to help, and had spent quite some time pondering over how he should do it, but unexpectedly, Ji Yanlai brought it up before he even asked, and better still, his answer was affirmative, so naturally Ling Zhang was overjoyed. “Whatever you say, Clan Leader.”

However, to their surprise, Ji Yanlai seemed to have no intention of naming his price right away. His appraising eyes raked Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong for a few moments before he said, “What I want you to do is not within your power for the moment. Besides, I myself could use some more time to see how things go before making the final decision. Ling Zhang, although it’s you who’s supposed to accept this condition of mine, to actually meet it you’ll need the help of the man standing beside you.”

After a brief trance of surprise, Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong and held Yuwen Tong’s hand back to stop him from saying what he wanted to say, his eyes moving to Ji Yanlai. “May I ask what it is that you want specifically, Clan Leader?”

Ji Yanlai replied, “You may rest assured that I won’t ask you to take your own lives or do anything that will jeopardize the well-being of the common people. Whatever I do, I do it for the best interests of the Millennium Pavilion.”

Ling Zhang was hesitating. If it were only about himself, he would’ve agreed, but since this also involved Yuwen Tong, he didn’t dare take the risk.

“We’ll take the offer.” Yuwen Tong, however, directly accepted it.

Ling Zhang was startled. “Wait.”

Ji Yanlai’s eyes flashed at him.

Ling Zhang said, “Clan Leader, it’s me who wants to save my father. Can it really not be me who gives you what you want?”

Ji Yanlai smiled, “Actually there’s not much difference. It’s just that…”

Ji Yanlai gave another significant smile and continued, “You’ll see what I mean in future.”

“Then how do I know your terms won’t do him any harm?” said Ling Zhang.

“Like I said, I’m not interested in putting the common people’s well-being in jeopardy or seeing either of you dead. Besides… don’t you think it’s kind of unreasonable to expect me to give you the miracle drug without having you pay a price? Surely you don’t think I’m a pushover whom you can bully into agreeing, do you?” said Ji Yanlai.

Ling Zhang’s stomach lurched with nerves. Although Ji Yanlai’s tone remained unchanged and his countenance was as casual as always, Ling Zhang was distinctly feeling the pressure that the last remark of Ji Yanlai’s had just put him under.

“Brother Zhang is just worrying about me. There’s no need for you to overthink it, Brother Ji. Since I already said we’ll take the offer, we will hold up our end of the deal,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ji Yanlai said, “I wouldn’t have made this deal with you in the first place if you won’t be able to meet my terms. You’ll get the drug in half a month, and then you may take Ling Zhaowu and leave. Half a month after that, I’ll send you a message telling you what I want you to do for me.”

“Deal,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang balled his hands. Now that things had already come to this, he only hoped that he’d be able to make a contribution towards meeting Ji Yanlai’s terms. This was supposed to be his burden to bear, and he didn’t want Yuwen Tong to shoulder it for him alone. The situation in the capital city was complicated enough, and it’d take only one little mistake for the nightmare scenario to occur. He couldn’t afford to put Yuwen Tong to any more trouble.

Knowing what he was thinking about, Yuwen Tong held his hand in a consoling grip, saying nothing.

Unlike Ling Zhang who was worried, Yuwen Tong seemed to have got a shrewd idea of what Ji Yanlai’s conditions might be about. In fact, he’d been sounding out Ji Yanlai’s intentions from their first talk, and now he’d got a grasp of the situation and knew what to expect.

“Let’s go. I had them prepare some wine and food as a gesture of hospitality for our guests coming from afar. You may join us, Prime Elder,” said Ji Yanlai.

“Thank you, Clan Leader,” said Ji Yin, looking somewhat relaxed. Ji Yanlai’s willingly giving his consent had indeed come as quite a pleasant surprise to him.

Ji Yanlai had had servants prepare a tableful of delicacies to entertain Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong. After the drinking had gone through three rounds, Ji Yanlai flicked a glance at Yuwen Tong and said, “I heard that the emperor of the Great Yue is planning to eliminate you?”

Yuwen Tong, totally unsurprised at the fact that Ji Yanlai had learned the news, gave a nod and said, “It’s just a minor annoyance. I’ll handle it. It won’t be a hindrance to me keeping my end of the bargain.”

Ji Yanlai smiled and said no more.

During the meal, Ji Yanlai didn’t talk much, merely asking the two of them about the international situation from time to time or inquiring of Ji Yin whether he’d seen anything interesting in the outside world. Ling Zhang had also discovered a funny fact – Ji Yanlai was very picky about food. The courses on the table were even more exquisite than those prepared by the imperial kitchens of the Great Yue.

…

“Clan Leader, what do you think of Yuwen Tong’s physiognomies? Does he really stand a chance of becoming an emperor? The Great Yue…”

After the welcoming feast, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong left, while Ji Yin stayed to have a private talk with Ji Yanlai.

“It’s not just the Great Yue, Prime Elder. Your grandson-in-law is meant for something far greater than that. The world has stood divided for long enough. It’s about time someone unified it,” observed Ji Yanlai.

Ji Yin was astonished. “Are you saying that…”

Ji Yanlai made no explicit reply, but Ji Yin had come to understand what he meant, amazed and overjoyed.

“Why do you think I made the deal with him? On the surface this place is pretty good, but actually it could no longer meet all our needs. The bigger our population gets, the more unsatisfactory our people would find this tiny pocket of land to be.”

In fact, Ji Yin had some time ago had some conjectures about Ji Yanlai’s opinions, so he was not really surprised to hear this. “Are we going to put an end to our seclusion, Clan Leader?”

“Not really. I’m not interested in ruling a country. I just want to get us another place to live. Tomorrow morning, my big sister and her husband will set off to go to the Donghai Sea. I told them to explore the islands there and pick a relatively large one. When the time comes, I’ll have Yuwen Tong cede it to us, and then all of us will move there.”

“Move to an island?” Ji Yin was astonished. “Well… Will the others be okay with that?”

“All the stubborn geriatrics have died. You think any of those who are still breathing could stop me?” sniffed Ji Yanlai.

After a few moments’ silence, Ji Yin said, “Since you’ve already had it planned out, I’ll try my best to be of service to you, Clan Leader. Is there anything you want me to do?”

“Currently we’re not even close to finding a suitable island. Your grandson and Yuwen Tong are the key to the attainment of this goal. After they get the drug, I want you to go with them and make sure Ling Zhaowu is cured – as the saying goes, ‘If you want to help, go the whole hog’,” said Ji Yanlai.

Ji Yin smiled, “Thank you for your kindness, Clan Leader.”

Ji Yanlai replied, “You’re welcome. I’m doing this because the time is ripe. On that day I saved Ling Zhaowu because I could tell that there’s some kind of connection between his destiny and ours. I have to thank you for keeping that from Ling Zhang. If you didn’t, I’m afraid he wouldn’t have agreed so easily.”

Ji Yin remarked, “No matter what, it’s a fact that you came to his father’s rescue.”

Ji Yanlai said, “Incidentally, I can see that the Force of Blood in him is very strong. There’s something peculiar about it, but I have no clue what it is specifically for the moment. I’ll need a day or two to figure it out. Take him back here to meet me in two days.”

Ji Yin asked, “You noticed it as well, Clan Leader?”

Ji Yanlai inclined his head and answered with a thoughtful look on his face, “There’s something intriguing about your grandson, but I cannot draw a conclusion right away. It’s only been a short time since I reached the eleventh layer, and there are still a lot of things I need more time to work out.”

After hearing this, Ji Yin did some thinking and replied, “I’ll take Zhang’er back here to meet you in two days.”

As though something had just occurred to him, Ji Yanlai paused fleetingly and added, “Actually, it doesn’t have to be precisely two days – they make really good roast pheasants.”

Ji Yin was stupefied at first, and then he caught on, somewhat amused.

Ji Yanlai had always been a foodie and a rather picky eater, which was not really something of a secret to people in the Millennium Pavilion.

…

When Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong returned to that courtyard house, Ling Zhaowu was still sleeping. After going inside to check on him, Ling Zhang walked out to have a talk with Ya.

Mr. Mu glanced at them and then resumed drying medicinal herbs. Yuwen Tong, seeing there were so many herbs in the house, offered to help.

“These herbs are all scarce and precious. Any of these is worth a fortune in the outside world,” commented Yuwen Tong.

“These are only a small portion of what we need. We have to buy most of the drugs from the outside,” replied Mr. Mu. “I heard that Tanyang is rich in medicinal herbs and the Ling family owns herb farms. Is that true?”

Yuwen Tong tossed a backward glance at Ling Zhang who was conversing with Ya, and bobbed his head. “It is.”

“That’s good news. Now that our clan leader has consented to give you the miracle drug, maybe some day we’ll start buying herbs from the Ling family. I mean, we’re acquaintances now.”

Yuwen Tong kept talking with Mr. Mu, telling him about the many methods that military surgeons adopted to treat the wounded. On the other side of the courtyard, Ling Zhang was actually consulting Ya about how to tend Ling Zhaowu.

The drug wouldn’t be ready until half a month later, so Ling Zhang would have to stay here for more than two weeks. Given the condition Ling Zhaowu was in, Ling Zhang had to do what a son was supposed to do. Besides, they were going to leave this place, and when they did, Ya would no longer be there for them to rely on. Also, this might be helpful in treating Ling Zhaowu’s amnesia.