Chapter 185
Chapter 185
The clock struck midnight, and just like that, a tumultuous year came to an end.
After seeing all the guests off, Hui Moqiong dragged Li Qingying to the Riverside to set off fireworks. Red Banner Child and Yu Nian tagged along as well.
The fireworks streaked into the sky and burst into dazzling blooms. At that moment, Liu Junyan lowered his gaze to me. “Xiao Jiu, Happy New Year.”
I smiled back at him. “Ah Yan, Happy New Year!”
Liu Junyan pulled me into his arms and whispered in my ear, “Xiao Jiu, we’ll spend many, many more New Years together. Things will only keep getting better for us.”
It was such a beautiful, intimate moment, yet for some inexplicable reason, unease stirred in my heart.
I tentatively asked, “What did Lord Xiao mean by what he said before he left? Ah Yan, are you going back to the Linghai Dragon Clan?”
“I’ll have to go back sooner or later, but not now,” Liu Junyan said. “Xiao Jiu, you don’t need to worry about me. If I decide to return, I’ll make sure to tell you in advance.”
He would inevitably return, because his mother’s Souls were still imprisoned in Linghai’s Forbidden Zone.
So were Lord Xiao’s beloved…
And Liu Junyan’s Lifebound Artifact.
After the fireworks ended, I first lit Incense before Granny’s spirit tablet, then followed Liu Junyan to make an Incense offering in the West Room of the Main Courtyard.
The shrine in the West Room now held several additional spirit tablets-for Black Cat, Red Banner Child, Grandmistress, and Aunt Yu.
To my surprise, the Talisman Paper that had been stuck to the Fox Immortal’s forehead was gone.
When Hui Moqiong returned previously, the Talisman Paper on the Gray Immortal’s forehead had also been removed.
After offering the Incense, I quietly asked Liu Junyan, “Did the Yin Mountain Fox Clan decide to return after all?”
Liu Junyan nodded. “Yes. Hu Yulin came today not only to witness you being rewarded according to your contributions, but also to tell us about this.”
The Yin Mountain Fox Clan was a sizable clan. Its leader was a woman who was both the Mountain Lord of Yin Mountain and one of Hu Yulin’s elders.
That meant Hu Yulin had no final say over whether the clan returned.
Still, the fact that the Fox Immortal had ultimately been able to return meant Hu Yulin must have played a part in it.
I found myself intensely curious about the Mountain Lord of Yin Mountain. I still hadn’t met her yet.
Though the past year had been full of stumbles and setbacks, things were improving overall.
Yu Nian spent the night at the Pawnshop, but she had to return to Huicheng early the next morning.
Li Qingying drove her back.
Meanwhile, I video-called Tang Tang to wish Tang Xun, Tang Ao, and the others a Happy New Year.
Tang Tang was delighted, and we arranged for her to come over on the fifth day of the New Year.
After a busy morning, I finally had some free time. I took out the pitch-black lump of wood I’d received last night, hoping to find some mechanism that would open it.
But no matter how long I fiddled with it, it remained nothing more than a lump of wood.
It was completely seamless, without a single point of entry.
Frustrated, I stuffed it back into the hidden compartment.
I wasn’t going to the Ghost Market anytime soon, so there was no need to carry it around.
Then I thought of Bai Jingmo from last night, as well as the Yellow Weasel on the roof.
At first, I hadn’t understood why they were watching the Pawnshop. Now, it wasn’t hard to guess that they must have been struggling with the idea of returning to the Pawnshop.
The Gray Immortal and Fox Immortal had both returned. As for the Snake Immortal, Liu Junyan had that side completely under his thumb for now. That left only the White Immortal and Yellow Immortal.
The White Immortal didn’t trust Liu Junyan and wanted to strike out on her own. That was understandable.
But only she knew how difficult that path truly was.
As for the Yellow Immortal? Nothing but a lackey.
I suspected that even if they wanted to pledge allegiance now, Liu Junyan wouldn’t accept them.
In the blink of an eye, it was already the evening of the fourth day of the New Year. Before going to bed, I messaged Tang Tang to ask what time she would arrive the next day and whether she wanted me to pick her up.
Tang Tang never replied.
I figured a prominent household like the Tang Family would be busy over the New Year, so I didn’t think much of it.
But by noon on the fifth day of the New Year, Tang Tang still hadn’t shown up or replied to my messages. I began to feel uneasy.
I called Tang Tang, but she didn’t answer.
Then I tried Tang Xun, but no one answered that call either.
After some thought, I called Jin Wuya and subtly sounded him out on whether he’d been in touch with Tang Ao lately. As it turned out, Jin Wuya hadn’t been able to reach Tang Ao for the past two days either.
Tang Xun was constantly traveling, so it wasn’t unusual for her to be unreachable.
But with both Tang Tang and Tang Ao out of contact, I couldn’t help worrying.
I’d prepared gifts as well. If Tang Tang hadn’t said she was coming over on the fifth, I would have taken them to the Tang Family myself.
Should I… head over there now?
Before I could leave, Tang Tang called me back.
I breathed a small sigh of relief when I saw her name on the screen.
I answered and was just about to speak when Tang Tang’s exhausted, trembling voice came through the phone. “Xiao Jiu, something happened to Aunt Tang.”
Her words struck me like a bolt from the blue, catching me completely off guard.
I hurriedly asked, “What happened to Aunt Tang?”
“Xiao Jiu, can you come to my house?” Tang Tang was on the verge of tears. “It’s serious.”
Ever since I’d met Tang Tang, she’d always been relentlessly cheerful.
Hearing her cry sent me into a panic. “Don’t cry, Tang Tang. I’m leaving right now. I’ll bring Liu Junyan with me!”
Tang Tang murmured an acknowledgment.
As soon as I hung up, I went to find Liu Junyan.
Fifteen minutes later, the four of us set out, with all the gifts packed in the trunk.
Tang Xun lived at the old family residence. I’d been there several times before, so I drove into the courtyard without trouble and headed straight for the main hall.
Tang Ao sat on the sofa inside, head bowed and hands clasped together.
He was a prominent figure in Huicheng and had always maintained an immaculate public image.
Now, however, his hair was disheveled and his face covered in stubble. There was no telling how many days it had been since he’d last showered. He looked utterly unkempt.
Hearing us arrive, Tang Tang came downstairs. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and the moment she saw me, her lips began trembling uncontrollably.
“Xiao Jiu, you’re finally here.”
She threw herself into my arms. After comforting her for a moment, I asked, “What happened to Aunt Tang? Is she upstairs?”
Tang Tang opened her mouth, but she didn’t seem to know how to describe Tang Xun’s condition.
Off to the side, Tang Ao began pounding his chest and stamping his feet in anguish. “This is all my fault! It’s all my fault!”
Confused, I asked quietly, “What’s wrong with your father?”
“Yu Nian actually warned us about this a long time ago,” Tang Tang said, her eyes red. “Back when we’d all just met, Yu Nian warned my father before leaving the Tang Family. She told him to keep a low profile for the next year, or he would be very likely to invite disaster.
“You know what my father’s like. He’s spent his whole life chasing prestige. Even after he deliberately cut back on his social engagements, someone in his position can’t always do as he pleases.
“Before the New Year, he accepted a painting. After bringing it home, he fell ill and became bedridden. We asked Uncle Huo to examine him, and Uncle Huo said my father might have been afflicted with a type of Flower Gu. There were only two ways to cure him. One was to find the person who planted the Gu and have them remove it. The other was to find a rare medicinal herb called Crystal Orchid to use as a catalyst, so Uncle Huo could purge the Gu poison from his body.
“Whoever did this was deliberately trying to harm my father. Now that they’d succeeded, how could they possibly agree to help him? Just then, Tang Xun came home for the New Year. She said she’d once seen Crystal Orchid in an ancient tomb and could go harvest it for the medicine.
“But no one expected that, although she managed to bring back the Crystal Orchid, she…”