Is This Love?

After transmigrating and being reborn, then merging with the original owner's soul and spirit, Song Ankang's spiritual perception had already been quite strong.

On top of that, absorbing the side effects of the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture had further strengthened Song Ankang's spiritual will, allowing him to sense things that ordinary people could not.

In terms of spiritual will alone, even Jiang Yunhe, who had once stood at an extremely high level, could not compare to him.

Moreover, after this period of arduous cultivation, Song Ankang's strength had astonishingly reached the peak of the Viscera Refining Realm. The Organ Refining Realm was within arm's reach, and his overall qualities had risen considerably as well.

The Heaven Concealing Earth Absorbing Art he circulated every day had also made Song Ankang's overall qualities stronger. Combined with his spiritual will, it was only natural that he could detect certain abnormalities.

Thus, Song Ankang did not think his perception was mistaken. Since he had sensed that something was amiss, there had to be a problem.

He quietly moved a little closer to Jiang Yunhe, ensuring that he could protect him in time if anything unexpected happened. He also readied Treading Snow Without a Trace beneath his feet, prepared to flee at any moment—and bring Qiushi along with him.

His Little Concubine was so pretty, obedient, sensible, and adorable... Song Ankang could not bear for anything to happen to her.

Though he had only spent about half a month with his Little Concubine, Song Ankang felt that he had already fallen in love with her. Although that was inevitably because her beauty had stirred his desire, there were also quite a few genuine feelings involved.

Compared to many modern people who went on a blind date one day and got married the next, or rushed into a flash marriage, Song Ankang had been with his Little Concubine for quite a while, hadn't he?

Granted, his Little Concubine had been the one taking care of him most of the time, but wasn't that precisely what had allowed Song Ankang to see her character and capabilities clearly? He was very satisfied with this concubine-date partner.

This was love!

Therefore, Song Ankang greatly hoped that she could continue taking care of him. Moreover, thanks to his special physique, he had repeatedly been force-fed cultivation in Treading Snow Without a Trace over this period. His Treading Snow Without a Trace movement technique had astonishingly soared to the Minor Accomplishment Realm. Even carrying his Little Concubine would not affect his ability to exert his full strength.

Just as Song Ankang cautiously searched for the source of that strange feeling, wanting to determine whether it was related to the theft from the storeroom, another wave of commotion came from outside. The loudest voice among them belonged, astonishingly, to Liu Yuanqing.

"Hao Jiyong, what else do you have to say now? Even your own younger brother has confessed that it was you who stole the precious Medicinal Herbs from our Chaoyun Manor storeroom. That ten-year-old ginseng was also stolen from the Chaoyun Manor storeroom by you. We have both witnesses and physical evidence. What excuse could you possibly have left?"

"And ever since we started watching you, not a single Medicinal Herb has gone missing from the storeroom these past few days. That alone proves that you are the thief."

"We cannot delay any longer. If we keep delaying, those Medicinal Herbs may never be recovered. Hao Jiyong, today, you will confess whether you want to or not."

A group of Tenant Farmers incited by Liu Yuanqing held Hao Jiyong and roared in agreement. "That's right! Hao Jimeng has already confessed. Hao Jiyong, stop being so stubborn!"

"If they are determined to condemn me, why would they lack excuses? If I had truly stolen those precious Medicinal Herbs, do you think I would not have taken them out to save Hao Jimeng?" Hao Jiyong laughed miserably. "Besides, anyone with eyes could see what happened before. Hao Jimeng was merely spouting nonsense, trying to drag me down to die with him."

"Now you insist on treating this matter as witness testimony and refuse to listen to a single word of my defense. What more can I say? I have only wronged Manor Lord Song by implicating him in this matter."

Liu Yuanqing sneered. "That sounds nice enough. Once you confess later, let's see whether you can still say such pretty words. Let's speed things up and make Hao Jiyong confess as soon as possible. By then, even if the Manor Lord asks about it, it will be too late to change anything... Ah, Manor Lord, you... why are you here?"

"If I had not been here, wouldn't you have forcibly dumped the blame on me?" Song Ankang looked at Liu Yuanqing with a cold smile. "Liu Yuanqing, how many times has this been? It seems you no longer want to keep your position as steward."

"Phew..."

After being caught red-handed by Song Ankang, Liu Yuanqing panicked for a moment before suddenly hardening his resolve. "Manor Lord Song, if I fail to catch the thief this time, my family will punish me as well. At that point, not only will I lose my position as storeroom steward, I may even be driven out of the family."

"Since Hao Jiyong refuses to leave me a way out, I can only be ruthless—unless Manor Lord Song is willing to shoulder all the responsibility."

"Aren't you afraid that Hao Jiyong will refuse to admit it to the end, only for it to later be proven that this truly had nothing to do with him? By then, being driven out of your family will be the least of your worries." Song Ankang's voice turned icy.

Hao Jiyong immediately said with absolute resolve, "Manor Lord, rest assured. I did not do this, so I will never confess. Even if they beat me to death, I will not confess, much less drag Manor Lord down with me."

"I..." Liu Yuanqing froze, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Song Ankang shot him a glance, then looked at the people holding Hao Jiyong. "Release Hao Jiyong. Have him immediately organize some men to move out all the grain and Medicinal Herbs in the storeroom. We will inspect everything carefully and see whether there are any clues."

"I believe this was not the work of humans, but of demons—demons skilled in concealment. Only by emptying the entire storeroom will we have a chance of discovering the problem."

The storeroom covered quite a large area, several thousand square meters in total. It contained a great quantity of grain and Medicinal Herbs, filling roughly one-sixth of the storeroom. Most of it had been left over from last year's bountiful harvest.

It looked like quite a lot, but there were still around three months until this year's harvest. It would be just enough to last until then.

There had originally been some precious Medicinal Herbs that could have made up for the losses caused by this year's severe drought, but now nearly half had been stolen. What remained could no longer cover the shortfall.

Once this year's taxes were paid, less than a tenth of the grain and Medicinal Herbs would likely remain. Yet these were supposed to support the entire manor for a full year. It was nowhere near enough!

When they heard that Song Ankang intended to empty all the grain and Medicinal Herbs from the storeroom, not only did the surrounding onlookers change expression, but Qiushi and Jiang Yunhe beside him did as well.

"Son-in-law, that is a massive undertaking. The grain is one thing, but those Medicinal Herbs can easily be damaged while being moved, which will affect their value," Qiushi hurriedly reminded him.

Jiang Yunhe also said, "Son-in-law, I have observed carefully over the past few days as well. Ghost Spirits and aberrations would not be interested in those Medicinal Herbs. Demonic Beasts and Demonic Beasts might covet them, but their intelligence is limited, and it would be difficult for them to break through the surrounding Qinggang Stone."

"Even if they really did break through, they would leave behind traces. It would not be possible for them to leave no evidence at all. Therefore, this matter should not have been the work of Demonic Beasts or Demonic Beasts."

Even Hao Jiyong stepped forward. "Manor Lord, there is no need for you to take such a great risk because of me. If the grain and Medicinal Herbs are moved out and nothing is found, the primary responsibility for this matter will fall upon you."

Dear readers, have you fallen in love with this newbie's book at first sight? Even if you have not, that is all right. At the very least, this newbie has fallen in love at first sight with all your bookmarks, recommendations, and positive reviews.