Outrageous!

But Tang Changsheng laughed. "Talismans are only for emergencies. Using them would actually drain his Origin Energy. The old master's injury isn't serious. Rest and quiet recuperation would be best."

It was the truth!

Yet once he said it, Ling Zheng, Deng Deren, and the others all looked plainly unconvinced. There was even a hint of contempt in their eyes!

They took Tang Changsheng for a charlatan with no real skill, someone who could only talk!

Tang Changsheng did not lose his temper. He even pretended not to hear Ling Xiaoyu when she muttered indignantly in his ear, "Show them what you can do..."

Deng Ruiming, however, burst out laughing and took no offense. "Exactly, exactly. I'm an old man now; I can't stand being put through the wringer. Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish. The same goes for the body!"

Tang Changsheng smiled. "You're wise indeed, old master!"

That made Deng Ruiming laugh even harder.

The younger members of the Deng Household could not figure out what Tang Changsheng had said to please the old man so much that he kept bursting into laughter.

In truth, Tang Changsheng was rather surprised by Deng Ruiming's behavior himself.

He was thoroughly sick of the Three Households testing him again and again. With barely a dozen days left before the ancestral rites, could they really be planning yet another test?

That had been his first thought when the invitation arrived, and it had even made him angry.

He had warned Deng Xiancheng!

But now... Whether anyone else knew it or not, Deng Ruiming was offering one gesture of goodwill after another.

Ling Zheng's smile never changed, as though it had been carved into his face. Deng Ruiming's words had just cost him a little face, but he acted