Jiang Shouyi was truly desperate, but to his surprise, the moment those words left his mouth, he felt the killing intent recede for the time being.
As it turned out, Xiangyun had taken a fancy to the infant in his arms, marveling inwardly at what a stunning beauty the child was destined to be.
"Is you who wants to sell a child? Let me see."
Jiang Shouyi braced himself and carried Xue'er out. Xiangyun took her gently, studied her carefully, and sighed with deep emotion, "This is far better than the ones brought over two days ago. In a dozen years, she will surely be a breathtaking beauty of the Zhu family."
"Do you truly wish to take Xue'er as an adopted daughter?" Jiang Shouyi asked, utterly astonished.
Xiangyun shook her head faintly. "No. If the Concubine is satisfied, she shall be the biological daughter of the Concubine and the Young Master."
Jiang Shouyi's jaw dropped in disbelief. What extraordinary fortune this child had!
Not only would she survive, but she would also become a young lady of a noble clan in the future! The biological kind, at that!
Yet, the child clearly was not biological... why? In a split second, Jiang Shouyi figured it out. Although Xiangyun had not stated it outright, it was obvious the Concubine had faked a pregnancy for certain reasons.
In the end, however, she had not actually conceived. While she might have gotten away with it during ordinary times, the approaching date of her confinement meant she had to produce an outcome, which was why she had sent her personal maid out to scout for an infant in secret.
"You may take this old man's life as you please, but I beg the young lady to also take in this male infant!" Jiang Shouyi pleaded, carrying out Yan Nu.
Yet Xiangyun looked at Yan Nu in Jiang Shouyi's arms with a trace of pity. "He is truly adorable... But I am sorry, the Madam does not want boys."
"Why?" Jiang Shouyi asked blankly. Everyone in the world wanted boys; how was it that this Concubine of the Zhu family only wanted female infants?
Xiangyun said with a bitter smile, "It invites a fatal disaster."
Jiang Shouyi was struck speechless, realizing how cruel life within such a great clan could be.
Since the pregnancy was feigned, a girl was likely much better. A boy would grow up to inherit the family business, and it would spell trouble if the master of the house suspected the child was not his own upon realizing the boy bore no resemblance to him.
A girl, on the other hand, would rouse no suspicions as long as she was good-looking. Once she grew up into a stunning beauty, no one would care whether she resembled them or not.
Moreover, since this was the Concubine's doing, she was probably also keeping the First Madam in deep fear, having no desire to contend for anything at all. Faking a pregnancy was likely just a means of self-preservation.
Jiang Shouyi's head throbbed with thought. He had no wish to meddle in the sordid affairs of the Zhu family, and his most urgent priority right now was figuring out how to survive.
What Xiangyun had revealed was too much—she had spoken without restraint! It was clear she did not consider Jiang Shouyi a living man at all!
Since Xiangyun was unwilling to take in the boy, he certainly could not afford to die either.
No, I must raise Yan Nu myself.
Having felt the ruthlessness of the great clan, Jiang Shouyi came to a realization. Yan Nu was bizarre beyond compare, acting just like a monster. That Chen Hu had gone mad, trying to flay and debone the child as if he were unearthing a treasure! Even if Xiangyun had agreed to take him in, the child would surely meet a bad end in the Zhu family.
Now that Xue'er's destination was settled, all he needed to do was escape and he could take Yan Nu to find some place to live a peaceful life!
To live a peaceful life and watch his grandson grow up—that was Jiang Shouyi's greatest dream.
"I must survive, and I must raise Yan Nu!" Jiang Shouyi clenched his teeth, his will to live surging to unprecedented heights. Knowing that running away was useless, he braced himself and rushed toward Xiangyun inside the courtyard.
"Alas..." Seeing him make a desperate, death-defying charge, Xiangyun merely sighed faintly. Then, her body rose lightly, drifting backward like a willow catkin to yield ten paces, unwilling to be touched.
The two entered the back courtyard one after the other. Xiangyun slowly raised one hand, pinched a plum blossom on her head, and gently plucked a single petal.
At the same time, Jiang Shouyi looked in despair at his opponent's agile, leaping posture. On a sudden impulse, he fished that copper bell out from his bosom!
After all, he was empty-handed, and his woodchopping knife was still wedged in Chen Hu's neck. Chen Hu's steel saber was too eye-catching, and he hadn't dared take it; a lowly peasant like him carrying a saber into the city would be seized as a rebel.
He had no other choice now. The only thing on his entire body that could possibly serve as a weapon was this lump of copper! Grasping the bell's handle, it actually felt quite comfortable in his hand!
"Jingle, jingle, jingle!"
To his utter astonishment, the moment this copper bell was drawn and entered the courtyard, it began to ring loudly, the sound resounding through the entire back part of the house.
Jiang Shouyi was astonished. He knew very well this was merely a mute bell—where on earth was this ringing coming from now?
Xiangyun, on the other hand, wore a puzzled expression, even finding it somewhat amusing. "Old man, is this a bell you use for herding cattle?"
Although her martial arts were superb, she was ultimately just a maid who had served nobles since childhood; how could she possibly know this was a magic tool? Nor did she notice that there was no copper clapper inside the bell at all.
Still less did she know that the ringing of the bell meant there was a demonic aura in this place!
Whoosh!
Just as Xiangyun channeled her true Qi into the petal and was about to flick it out, a graceful and dignified figure suddenly dropped into view.
The newcomer wore a pink smoke-gauze skirt and tunic, draped with brocade emerald-mist silk. Although her hair was disheveled and unstyled, her plain face remained delicate and charming, her aura elegant and refined like jade dew condensing its fragrance.
"Ah! Mistress! Why have you come out?" Xiangyun hurriedly retracted her true Qi, stepping forward to support her while scanning left and right, vigilant for anyone else lingering in this rear courtyard.
The newcomer was none other than Xiangyun's mistress, Le Qin, the Concubine of the Zhu family's Eldest Young Master. She had been pregnant for ten months and could give birth any day now!
Yes, any day now! Since the pregnancy was fake to begin with, the expected date of confinement fell within these few days—any day would do, entirely depending on her mood!
Although Xiangyun had conveniently chased away the servants who usually frequented the back gate when she dealt with Old Man Tan, there was no guarantee some idle person wouldn't stumble upon the Concubine failing to rest properly in bed and instead leaping about the back courtyard with a massive belly...
"Who is this old man?" Le Qin looked gravely at the copper bell and flicked her sleeve, causing it to stop ringing immediately.
Of course she recognized this item as the magic tool known as the Demon-Startling Bell. It possessed no offensive might and served solely to detect demonic aura, requiring no one to drive it.
Yet it was precisely this thing, designed to detect demonic aura, that had forced her down from her bed to investigate—simply because she herself was a demon!
Her true form was an ancient zither belonging to Zhu Xiazhi, the Eldest Young Master of the Zhu family. As a scion of a noble clan, Zhu Xiazhi had been well-versed in the rhythm of music since childhood and excelled at playing the zither.
Moreover, most of the scholars and gentry of the realm loved to discuss metaphysics and philosophy, pursuing elegance and expressing absolute freedom! Therefore, when Zhu Xiazhi played the zither, aside from indulging in pleasure and satisfying his sensory desires, he also pursued a metaphysical realm.
Day after day, he would abandon himself to landscapes with his friends, gathering to play music, drink, and engage in pure conversation. When tired, he would rest his head directly on the zither and fall soundly asleep, declaring that without his zither companion, he could not sleep at all!
One day, upon waking up, he discovered that a corner of the ancient zither had been crushed under his head. Zhu Xiazhi had actually embraced the zither and wept bitterly, his tears soaking the zither wood with genuine emotion.
His friends all laughed at him, saying, "Your beloved concubine died, and we never saw you grieve like this." Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiazhi proclaimed, "Even if the Goddess of the Luo River or the Consort of Xiang were by my side, they could not compare to my beloved zither!"
With that, he had a sudden flash of inspiration, swearing an oath directly to heaven and earth, asking his friends to bear witness, and took the ancient zither as his wife right on the spot!
All his friends praised Zhu Xiazhi for defying conventional rituals, taking a zither as his wife with a broad and untrammeled romantic sentiment.
From then on, Zhu Xiazhi's reputation for elegance spread throughout the scholarly circles, becoming a celebrated tale of the era.
Scholars dubbed him "Young Master Sleepy Qin," ranking him among the Famous Scholars of Langya!
Perhaps because Zhu Xiazhi poured his ultimate passions into an object, and that passion reached the heavens, moving the heavenly dao. Or perhaps because the zither had long accompanied scholars, absorbing countless human passions and desires over a long period.
In any case, that ancient zither awakened its spiritual aperture, transforming into a demonic creature that took Le as her surname and Qin as her given name.
Le Qin watched Zhu Xiazhi day and night, accompanying him as he studied hard in the study and wielded his sword to temper his body. Whenever Zhu Xiazhi took medicinal pills, she would also secretly absorb a portion of their essence. Thus, another ten years passed until she finally formed her own demon bone, condensed demonic power, and stepped into the Mystical Stage.
She came into being because of Zhu Xiazhi and shared a matrimonial vow with him, so she devised her own transformation arts, turning into a young maiden to encounter him by chance. Because she was well-versed in musical rhythms and intimately familiar with Zhu Xiazhi's inner thoughts and temperament, she led him to treat her as a confidante, whom he grew to love immensely. Before long, she was married into the Zhu family.
At that time, Zhu Xiazhi was already thirty years old and had long since taken a woman from a noble family as his wife. Coupled with Le Qin's mysterious background and humble origins, entering a wealthy household meant she could only be a concubine.
At first, everything was fine; Le Qin did not care about status or position, wishing only to spend her whole life accompanied by her beloved.
Anyway, members of the Zhu family who could cultivate immortality never returned, living in seclusion in deep mountains, overseas, or blessed paradises. Coupled with the fact that she lived alone in a secluded courtyard and rarely wandered about, no one in the Zhu family could discover her identity.
Gradually, however, the First Madam grew jealous of her favor and frequently sent people to harm her in secret. When all was said and done, Le Qin was merely a concubine; if she bore no children, it would not matter at all even if she were killed outright as a servant.
And yet, she was a demon—how could a zither possibly conceive? Thus, for three years, she had walked on thin air within the Zhu family, several times almost being driven back to her original form.
She did not fear the First Madam's plots, nor did she fear death; her only worry was that her identity would be exposed and she would lose her husband.
It wasn't just that demons ate people; people also loved to eat demons.
There were always righteous defenders who would exterminate her to cleanse the world! The Zhu family itself frequently organized personnel, recruiting wandering knights to pacify the demons and evil spirits in the Anqiu region.
Humans and demons belonged to different worlds; how could a noble lady in a prestigious clan be a demon? If outsiders ever learned of this secret, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Therefore, in order to elevate her status within the household and make the First Madam restrain herself, Le Qin had conceived the plan of a fake pregnancy, having her most trusted maid, Xiangyun, scout for a female infant.
"Mistress, this old man was brought by Zhang the Broker, and this is his granddaughter..." Xiangyun quickly explained the matter.
Le Qin sighed softly, feeling rather helpless.
Yet things had reached this point, and she had no choice but to let Xiangyun use harsh methods.
Before that, however, she needed to make one thing clear: "Old man, who instructed you to bring this item here? Tell me who it was, and this Madam will spare your life."
Ordinary though the Demon-Startling Bell was, it was still a magic tool, something only cultivators could forge. How could a mere mortal possibly possess it?
Therefore, upon stepping forward, she immediately deduced that someone was pulling strings behind Jiang Shouyi. It was possible her identity had aroused suspicion, prompting someone to send someone else bearing the Demon-Startling Bell to test her.
Was it someone from the Zhu residence? Or perhaps some Daoist priest or wandering knight traveling through the area... Any of these were possible.
However, what did Jiang Shouyi know of such matters? He had no inkling that the thing in his hand was the Demon-Startling Bell, nor that the imposing noble lady before him was a demon.
Seeing such a noble lady of a great clan, and thinking there might still be a turning point, he immediately fell to his knees in a humble kowtow. "This humble person picked this item up, and I know not how it came to ring, startling Your Ladyship. This old man merely wishes to stay alive to raise his grandson; of Your Ladyship's affairs this old man knows nothing at all. I beg for mercy!"
"Picked it up? Where did you pick it up?" Le Qin did not believe him in her heart.
"It was from a man named Heavenly Tiger. He claimed to be a third-generation disciple of the Heaven Swallowing Sect... When this humble person saw that he had been killed by someone, and being half-starved into the bargain, I stripped off his clothes and took his wealth..." Jiang Shouyi honestly recounted the origin of the copper bell.
Yet he was not foolish either, concealing the fact that he was the one who had killed the man.
He merely claimed that Heavenly Tiger was a pugilistic martial hero who had fought to the death with someone out in the wilderness. As for who had won, he did not know; he had only watched in secret and rummaged through the corpse afterward.
As for any talk of a demon infant, he didn't dare mention a single word of it.
However, Le Qin sneered repeatedly, hearing the falsehoods in his tale. When a top-tier wandering knight died, would his corpse ever fall to a disaster victim to rummage through?
Besides, the Heaven Swallowing Sect was a martial arts sect—where would they get a Demon-Startling Bell?
"You still dare lie to me!" Le Qin stepped forward, her aura imposing.
"I... I..." Jiang Shouyi had indeed lied, and trembling with terror, he had no idea what to do.
At that very moment, the Demon-Startling Bell rang out once more, triggered precisely by the aura Le Qin was radiating.
Le Qin felt a spike of anxiety. Although this small courtyard was deserted, what if someone heard this bell and word reached the First Madam? The latter might well guess it was the Demon-Startling Bell, given its exceptionally unique chime.
With a flick, she extended a slender jade hand and drew the Demon-Startling Bell into her palm through the air.
As a mere basic magic tool with no one driving it, it was easily suppressed once her demonic power permeated it.
"Hm?" Le Qin suddenly discovered fluctuations of information left behind by a martial artist's true Qi hidden within it.
The most crucial standard for a so-called magic tool was not possessing any special utility, but rather the ability to store energy over a long period—whether it was magical power, demonic power, or true Qi.
Any energy, even if it did nothing and merely existed, would gradually dissipate; it was merely a question of speed.
Consequently, no matter how exquisite ordinary weapons used by martial artists were, they could not store energy, at most releasing it instantaneously through techniques like blade Qi or sword Qi.
Conversely, any magic tool—even the most basic one with no utility whatsoever—was guaranteed to be capable of storing energy.
A martial artist left their dying words inside... So that's how it was...
"Jiang Shouyi!" Le Qin suddenly called out his name loudly.
"Here!" Jiang Shouyi snapped upright, staring at her wide-eyed before prostrating himself once more. "How does Your Ladyship know this humble person's name?"
Le Qin chuckled softly. "So this Demon-Startling Bell really was picked up... Elder Jiang, I never imagined that a renowned expert of Qingzhou would actually fall into your hands."
Having read the dying words left behind by Heavenly Tiger in his final moments, she realized she had wronged Jiang Shouyi.
Although old Jiang had indeed lied, it wasn't because someone was pulling strings behind the scenes as she had suspected.
The dying words mentioned the killer's identity, and Heavenly Tiger was clearly deeply resentful, perhaps out of concern for his pride, emphasizing that he had been ambushed and killed by a lowly peasant.
Thus, Le Qin immediately fabricated a ridiculous scenario in her mind: a pugilistic martial hero had tumbled into a gutter and been carelessly killed by starving refugees.
This final message basically proved that Jiang Shouyi was merely a disaster victim who knew nothing at all.
Jiang Shouyi possessed no internal energy and was incapable of forging such a message. Moreover, the true Qi inside the bell was natal true Qi—a seed of a martial artist's true Qi that would only be expended when fighting for one's life.
Would someone really have a top-tier martial artist cripple their own martial arts just to test her identity? That made no sense; it would be far better to simply march to her doorstep.
If there was any suspicious point to the dying words, it was the mention that Jiang Shouyi's grandson was a strange artifact. That part she didn't quite understand.
"What is a strange artifact?" Le Qin asked.
Jiang Shouyi was even more bewildered. "What? What strange artifact?"
Le Qin said, "That Heavenly Tiger called your grandson a strange artifact."
"This humble person's grandson is named Yan Nu," Jiang Shouyi replied humbly.
Le Qin smiled faintly. "Then what is your granddaughter's name?"
"Replying to Your Ladyship, her name is Xue'er." Jiang Shouyi vaguely realized what "strange artifact" meant—it likely referred to Yan Nu's bizarre and unfathomable condition.
Fortunately, Le Qin knew nothing of this. Having attained sentience, she had grown obsessed with worldly human affections and lived deep within a secluded courtyard, wishing only to grow old together with her husband in a lifetime of love.
She knew very little of pugilistic affairs, let alone strange artifacts.
In truth, the existence of strange artifacts was a profound secret; many Immortal Mighty Beings in the world did not even know that things like Innate Exotic Treasures existed.
"Xue'er... How adorable..." Le Qin took Xue'er from Xiangyun's hands, and at a single glance, she instantly fell in love with the porcelain-doll-like female infant.
Rarely could one discern the outline of a stunning beauty when the child was still an infant... Without a doubt, this girl would certainly grow up to be a peerless beauty of national-level allure.
She had an intense longing for children, and at this moment, the more she looked at Xue'er, the more she loved her; she was already impatient to "go into labor" and make this child the daughter shared by herself and her husband.
Seeing joy bloom across Le Qin's face, Jiang Shouyi seized the chance to kowtow. "If Your Ladyship likes her, that is for the best. Xue'er lost her parents the moment she was born, and has not suckled for two days now. I beg Your Ladyship to take her in and raise her to maturity... This old man kowtows to you."
Seeing that the child's condition was indeed poor—weak to the point where she could no longer cry—Le Qin said anxiously, "Why didn't you say so sooner? Xiangyun, make preparations quickly, and then notify the Young Master—I am going into labor today!"
"Understood... Then him..." Xiangyun acknowledged the order, while gripping a plum petal and looking at Jiang Shouyi. Her implication was clear: Should we silence him?
Le Qin shook her head slightly and said, "Elder Jiang, you may go. Take your grandson and leave far away! Forget everything you shouldn't remember." With that, she turned and left.
"Many thanks to Your Ladyship for sparing my life! Many thanks, Your Ladyship!" Jiang Shouyi hurriedly kowtowed in gratitude, then left joyfully with Yan Nu in his arms.
p.s: Apologies. Two more chapters and he will be all grown up.
Before you continue