Su Zhenglong's Birthday Gift

True energy rolled within Sikong Jing's body, a savage aura flickering in and out of existence.

After reaching the ninth level of the Bright Realm, he felt his blood surging with a tyrannical, overbearing power. The dantian within him, shaped like a beast's skull, had become more solid, and his features appeared sharper.

His strength was far greater than any other at the ninth level of the Bright Realm.

After sensing his internal state for a moment, Sikong Jing slowly rose, fetched a cup of water, and dripped a single drop of his blood into it.

The crimson blood swirled into the clear water, appearing strangely unfathomable.

Can my blood from the ninth level of the Bright Realm truly cure Yuexi's poison?

After muttering to himself, Sikong Jing carried the blood-water out of the room and slipped into Su Yuexi's humble quarters.

He gently woke Su Yuexi.

Amidst her flustered, nervous, and slightly groggy gaze, Sikong Jing handed her the cup and said, "Yuexi, drink this."

The dazed Su Yuexi, aided by the moonlight streaming through the window, saw the suffocatingly deep red in the water and asked subconsciously, "Jing Gege, what is this?"

"This is a surprise for you after daybreak."

Sikong Jing did not explain; he could not be one hundred percent certain if his blood could truly cure the Crimson Spider Poison.

For now, he dared not give Su Yuexi any false hope.

Su Yuexi was still muddled, but she trusted that Sikong Jing would never harm her, so she drank the blood-water without further questioning and drifted back to sleep.

Sikong Jing stood guard by the bed in silence. Half an hour later, he gently pulled back Su Yuexi's veil.

A peerless face immediately entered Sikong Jing's vision, and the dark room seemed to brighten.

Under the moonlight, Su Yuexi was a tranquil, ethereal sleeping beauty, as if she were the most exquisite masterpiece in the world.

The ugliness on her face had vanished completely, leaving her so beautiful that it left Sikong Jing breathless.

Even though Sikong Jing no longer judged people by their appearance, he could not help but stare in a daze.

This was his wife, whom he must never fail.

Compared to Su Yuexi, the Ninth Princess Yan Ruyu was like a clown in both heart and appearance.

Day broke, and Su Yuexi rose to wash up.

She never dared to look in a mirror, and today was no different.

After washing, Su Yuexi walked out wearing her thick veil as usual. When she encountered Sikong Jing, she asked softly, "Jing Gege, did you give me something to drink last night?"

Her voice carried a hesitant, dazed quality; she could not remember if it had been a dream or reality.

Sikong Jing smiled, took her hand, and said, "I suppose so, you drank it."

Sikong Jing knew that Su Yuexi had not yet discovered the change in her appearance.

In that case, he would save this surprise for Su Xuefeng's Birthday Banquet.

Sikong Jing wanted Su Yuexi to be the star of today's banquet, to blind those who had once looked down on her!

Su Yuexi blinked in confusion. Either she had drunk it or she hadn't—what did "I suppose so" mean?

Just as she was about to press him, Mei Xiaofang called out, "Sikong Jing, come and help for a moment."

The two looked over subconsciously to see Mei Xiaofang dragging a human-sized crate out of a room, panting heavily from the exertion.

Seeing this, they hurried over to assist.

In the end, Sikong Jing carried the large crate into the courtyard.

"Mother, what is this?" Su Yuexi had forgotten her previous question and stared at the crate in curiosity.

Mei Xiaofang smiled. "Open it and see for yourself."

Su Yuexi opened the crate as instructed, and a statue that looked just like a real person immediately appeared before her eyes.

Su Yuexi was stunned.

The statue was carved in the likeness of a young woman, breathtakingly beautiful and lifelike.

"Mother, this is..."

Before she could finish, Su Zhenglong's voice came from the hall: "This is your grandmother, who has already passed away."

Su Yuexi was astonished. She had never met her grandmother; her father had said that by the time she passed away, even her older sister, Su Yuexian, had not yet been born.

"So Grandmother was this beautiful."

As she murmured, Su Yuexi's expression dimmed slightly, and she felt a sense of inferiority.

Her hand was once again held by Sikong Jing.

Sikong Jing also looked at the statue. It turned out that Su Yuexi had inherited her looks from her grandmother; she resembled her by at least seventy or eighty percent.

At this moment, Mei Xiaofang said in a low voice, "Your father spent months carving this as a birthday gift for your grandfather. He still hopes to reconcile with him as they were in the past."

Su Zhenglong sighed and took over, "Blood is thicker than water. I truly do not want things to reach the point of father and son turning against one another."

Their words caused Su Yuexi to tremble. How could she not also long for her grandfather's affection?

"Ah Jing, I hope you won't be impulsive at the banquet. This gift will surely save your life when Su Shan arrives," Su Zhenglong said, looking deeply at Sikong Jing.

Sikong Jing opened his mouth, wanting to say that he feared no Su Shan, but he held the words back.

It was not the right time to say it, and if they could turn hostility into friendship, would that not be a wonderful thing? Su Zhenglong was simply trying to use the statue of Su Yuexi's paternal grandmother to move Su Xuefeng!

More importantly, they were also trying every possible way to save their own lives.

Even if he did not need it himself, the sentiment remained profound.

Thinking of this, Sikong Jing nodded earnestly and said, "I understand, Father-in-law. I will go and prepare a gift as well."

With that, Sikong Jing returned to his room.

He then took out the two remaining Green Jade Slates from the Heaven Martial Pavilion. A set of Profound Grade Low Tier martial arts flashed through his mind, and he began carving without hesitation, succeeding on the first attempt once again.

"I accidentally carved Martial Intent into it again; I can't seem to control it."

Sikong Jing muttered to himself, then took another breath and said, "Forget it. If Su Xuefeng can repent, then giving him extraordinary Martial Intent is fine."

As he spoke, he quickly carved the second Green Jade Slate, which contained a second set of Profound Grade Low Tier martial arts, also imbued with Martial Intent.

Once finished, he found an old box in the room to pack them in before stepping out.

"Jing Gege, what gift did you prepare?" Su Yuexi asked as she approached.

Sikong Jing smiled. "You will know when we reach the Birthday Banquet. It will surely make Su Xuefeng overjoyed."

Su Yuexi was a bit curious about this, but she did not ask any further.

When the time was right, the family of four brought their gifts and set off, soon arriving at the main hall of the Birthday Banquet.

At this moment, the hall was already packed with people.

There were various relatives and friends of the Su Clan, servants bustling about, and members of various large and small families from Yunye City. Su Xuefeng sat in the center, chatting and laughing happily with everyone.

"Eh? Isn't this the Su Clan's Heavenly Pride, Su Zhenglong? You're not dead yet?"

Just as Su Zhenglong prepared to step forward to offer his birthday wishes, a sarcastic voice rang out, causing the expressions of Sikong Jing and the others to darken.

At the same time, the entire banquet hall fell silent.

Gaze after gaze focused on Su Zhenglong, some complex, others filled with cold sneers and mockery. Everyone in Yunye City knew that Su Zhenglong did not have long to live and was highly unfavored by Su Xuefeng.