Ning Hao Was Dead

"Hmm..."

Tiny Waist opened her almond-shaped eyes slightly, planted her hands on her slender waist, and gave Lin Shisan a sidelong look.

"Someone among you was drained into a dried husk through cultivation? Who drained him? Dark boy, you haven't been honest. You never told me on the way here!"

"You actually kept such explosive news from me? You rotten dark boy, you really know how to keep your mouth shut."

"Tell me, quick! Who did the draining? Was it the eldest, the second, or the third?"

The eldest was the languid, mature beauty, the second was Senior Sister Xue, the ice-sculpture beauty, and the third was the Fairy Aunt who kept a cat.

Tiny Waist made no effort to keep others from hearing her.

Zheng Qian stood beside them, listening in bewilderment. Who were this eldest, second, and third?

And who exactly was this Tiny Waist?

Could she... could she really be a Fairy Aunt from Jade Maiden Peak?

Yet no matter how he looked at her, she seemed nothing like one. She looked every bit a wild village girl.

At most, she was a pretty girl from a modest family.

Besides, why would a Fairy Aunt from Jade Maiden Peak be hanging around Lin Shisan, looking so thoroughly familiar with him?

"No."

Lin Shisan hurried to explain. "Those three must have come back and embellished the story, making things up for a laugh."

"Did you just say I'd been reported dead, and the Servant Hall took back my courtyard?"

Lin Shisan's face filled with bewilderment and shock.

Only then did he remember that he, too, was on the list of those reported dead. His courtyard must have been taken back as well.

"Taken back? Of course it was!"

Zheng Qian glanced at Tiny Waist again and even began to envy Lin Shisan.

Here was another man who forgot the pain once the scar healed.

Only Zheng Qian had forgotten the pain before his scar had even healed.

"I didn't know you were dead at the time. I just wanted to ask whether you still needed Body Tempering Pills."

"I never expected a young stranger to open the door. He was the one who told me you were dead."

Zheng Qian explained in fits and starts.

Even Tiny Waist could barely follow him.

Still, she understood that this Zheng Qian had once sold discarded pills to Lin Shisan.

"Senior Brother Zheng, did you... did you go inside then?"

Lin Shisan grabbed Zheng Qian and pulled him close.

"Did you see my father's memorial tablet? And... and a Little Black Cauldron?"

"N-no... cough... cough..."

Zheng Qian coughed, signaling for Lin Shisan to let go quickly. He was nearly choking him to death.

"Speak!"

The moment Lin Shisan released him, Zheng Qian tried to catch his breath, only for Tiny Waist to bark at him.

"N-no... I didn't see anything."

Whatever nerve Zheng Qian possessed shattered again.

Looking at Lin Shisan's anxious face, he elaborated.

"That young fellow was quite polite. He invited me inside for a cup of tea."

"I looked all around the house and courtyard. There was nothing there, just a small pile of wood ash in a corner."

"Wood ash?"

Lin Shisan's face turned deathly pale.

That must have been the ash left from the incense he had burned for his father.

He had only arrived in the Azure Cloud Mountains a few days earlier, and Chen Yang would not give him leave to go down the mountain.

When his incense ran out, he had no choice but to shave a few sticks of firewood and make do with those.

"Dark boy, don't panic yet."

"Maybe that silly fellow put your father's memorial tablet away. I'll go ask him with you."

"Mm..."

Lin Shisan nodded.

Then he remembered the rule in the Azure Cloud Mountains that barred passage between the male and female servant quarters.

"It's fine. They wouldn't dare stop me."

"They wouldn't dare stop you?"

Tiny Waist seemed to realize she had said the wrong thing.

She hurriedly corrected herself. "If anyone dares stop me, I'll smack him."

"No, no, no... you'd better not go in. Just wait for me out here."

Lin Shisan glanced back at Tiny Waist, then raced inside.

"Dark boy, catch!"

With a swish, Tiny Waist tossed a Sea-Sound Conch to Lin Shisan.

"If anyone dares give you trouble, blow the Sea-Sound Conch. I'll charge straight in and save you."

"I don't care what ghosts or demons they are. Even if it's that halfwit Chen Yang, I'll stew the whole lot to mush for you."

Like Zheng Qian, Lin Shisan wore a look of utter shock.

Tiny Waist was far too audacious. She had actually called Chen Yang a halfwit.

Still, warmth filled Lin Shisan's heart.

He nodded gratefully.

Though he knew Tiny Waist might only have said it casually.

If she really possessed unstoppable strength and profound cultivation, why would she still be a lowly orchard servant on Jade Maiden Peak?

With anxiety burning in his heart, he sprinted all the way.

He had to recover his father's memorial tablet. It was the greatest source of strength behind his unwavering pursuit of immortality.

Though he was unsure what the Little Black Cauldron was, it was undoubtedly something valuable.

Its two abilities alone-advancing spirit pills and advancing cultivation techniques-made it an indispensable beacon and divine treasure on his path of cultivation.

A young man opened the door, the sort who looked refined and courteous.

Upon seeing Lin Shisan, he very politely invited him inside for tea.

Lin Shisan could neither sit nor stand at ease.

Just as Zheng Qian had said, he saw neither his father's memorial tablet nor the Little Black Cauldron.

"Senior Brother Lin, when I arrived, the entire courtyard was empty. There was nothing here. I made do by sleeping on the floor that night."

The young man spoke honestly. "Even these clothes were something I asked Boss Chen for the next day. They're a whole size too big."

"Junior Brother Lin, don't panic. Let's ask the other brothers. Perhaps one of them knows, or someone came to clear things out and put your father's memorial tablet somewhere we don't know about. The dead deserve the greatest respect. Our brothers wouldn't be disrespectful."

Zheng Qian comforted him from the side.

"Yes, yes, Senior Brother Zheng is right. Someone might have put it away."

The young man blinked, as though remembering something.

"Senior Brother Lin, I heard Boss Feng say Ning Hao was the one who came to clear things out. If you find him, you should be able to find your father's memorial tablet."

That was their only option.

"Find... find him, my ass..."

An aggressive figure approached the doorway.

Feng Qiufeng.

The moment he saw Lin Shisan, undisguisable killing intent flickered at the corners of his eyes.

"Senior Brother Feng..."

The young man courteously walked over to Feng Qiufeng and bowed respectfully. "Senior Brother Feng, please come inside for some tea."

"Senior Brother Feng, what do you mean by that?"

Lin Shisan's heart sank.

An instinctive sense of foreboding surged through him.

"What do I mean? Exactly what I said."

The killing intent in Feng Qiufeng's eyes grew increasingly fierce.

"I honestly don't know what's so good about you that he thought you were worth protecting with his life."

The day after Lin Shisan and the others were selected to go to Jade Maiden Peak, someone at the Servant Hall lost some Body Tempering Liquid.

Body Tempering Liquid happened to be found in Ning Hao's room.

Just like that, Ning Hao became the thief who had stolen the Body Tempering Liquid.

Afterward, Ning Hao only insisted that he had not stolen it, yet he could not explain where it had come from.

In the end, Ning Hao's cultivation was crippled, and he was driven down the mountain.

As ill luck would have it, when he was almost at the foot of the mountain, he encountered a demon beast and was savaged to death.

"I know you gave him the Body Tempering Liquid, but he kept his lips sealed like a bottle. No matter what, he refused to name you."

"You're the real culprit behind Ning Hao's death. You, his best friend-and his only friend-were the one who killed him."

Feng Qiufeng grew more agitated as he spoke.

In the end, unable to bear it any longer, he actually attacked, determined to avenge Ning Hao.

The commotion even drew people from two nearby courtyards.

"Lin Shisan, you really have gall enough to blot out the heavens. You stole something, yet you still dare come back in broad daylight?"

Someone approached from outside the courtyard gate.

He swaggered along with a crab's sideways strut, as though he acknowledged neither kin nor anyone else.

It was the Servant Steward, Chen Yang, his eyes likewise gleaming with murderous intent.

"You killed such a good brother as Ning Hao. Today, I'll demand justice for Brother Ning Hao and clear his name."