Chapter 99

Chapter 99

I had a feeling Liu Junyan already had a guess as to who was behind all this.

He knew exactly how formidable they were. That was why he was being so cautious.

Fine. If he told me not to get involved for the time being, then I wouldn’t.

But I still couldn’t set my mind at ease. “Then I’ll at least warn Senior Sister. As for the Song Family… at the critical moment, could you help me protect Song Ruoqing?”

Liu Junyan raised an eyebrow. “Are they all that important to you?”

I nodded at once. “I don’t have many friends. I cherish every single one of them.”

“All right,” Liu Junyan agreed. “Xiao Jiu, what you cherish is what I cherish as well.”

My heart stirred. I gave him a grateful smile, then lowered my head and took out my phone to message Tang Tang.

Unexpectedly, the moment I opened WeChat, Tang Tang’s message popped up first.

It was another photo.

It looked like it had been taken secretly. The photographer’s skill wasn’t great either; the lighting was dim, and the image was blurry.

Even so, I could vaguely make out an extremely lavish shrine.

Above the shrine hung a long plaque, with gilded characters reading: Yongdu Hall.

Both sides were covered in gold-painted wooden carvings, the patterns so intricate they were almost overwhelming.

But what was enshrined in the middle wasn’t a statue of a deity, a memorial tablet, or anything of the sort.

It was a pair of boy-girl twin dolls.

The twin dolls had their heads lowered, exposing the backs of their necks. The light was too dim, and the angle of the secretly taken photo was poor, so I couldn’t make out the words on their necks.

But beneath and behind them, I saw that Qilin Statue again.

It was almost exactly the same scene as the one in Song Ruoqing’s drawing!

Below the photo, Tang Tang had sent another message.

Meng Po Gives a Bowl of Soy Milk: The Song Family deserves ten thousand deaths for this!

Tang Tang was cheerful and talkative by nature.

Whenever she became this brief, it meant the situation was serious.

I immediately replied: Senior Sister, where are you right now? Don’t do anything rash.

After a while, she finally responded: Junior Sister, I can’t take this.

I didn’t dare call her, afraid she was crouched somewhere keeping watch on the Song Family, so I could only send another message first: Even if you can’t take it, you have to. Senior Sister, there are people behind Wangting Mountain-people neither you nor I can afford to provoke.

Meng Po Gives a Bowl of Soy Milk: But Xiao Jiu, I suspect this pair of twins is still alive. I can’t just stand by and watch them die.

My heart lurched.

Liu Junyan noticed something was wrong with me and asked, “Xiao Jiu, what happened?”

“The Song Family has gotten another pair of boy-girl twins,” I said. “Senior Sister is watching them right now. I’m afraid something is going to happen.”

Liu Junyan’s expression instantly turned grave.

Just now, he had still been warning me not to get involved in this matter yet. But before he could make any arrangements, trouble had already broken out over there.

I didn’t voice any opinion. I simply waited for Liu Junyan to make the final decision.

My heart was in my throat. After all, it was a pair of boy-girl twins who might still be alive, and they looked only two or three years old.

Fortunately, Liu Junyan made his decision quickly. “I’ll go to Huicheng with you. Let Qingying know.”

I immediately let out a breath of relief and messaged Li Qingying, telling her we were going to Huicheng and that she didn’t need to leave the door open for us tonight.

The car sped down the road. By the time we entered Huicheng, the sky had already gone dark.

That was when Tang Tang’s call came in.

Her voice sounded exhausted. “Junior Sister, I’m back at the old residence.”

I asked, “What’s going on with the Song Family?”

“It’s a complete mess,” Tang Tang said, her voice heavy with sorrow. “This time, I might really not be able to save Qingqing.”

I could feel her helplessness. “Senior Sister, we’ve already entered Huicheng and are driving toward your family’s old residence now. What exactly happened at the Song Family?”
“You came to Huicheng?” Tang Tang instantly grew excited. “Did that one of yours come too?”

I gave a soft “Mm.”

Tang Tang immediately said, “That photo I sent you was taken secretly by Uncle Huo and sent to me. We were planning to work from inside and outside and catch the Song Family completely off guard.”

“That was too impulsive, Senior Sister,” I said. “The Song Family is the number one aristocratic family in Huicheng, and they have Wangting Mountain backing them. If you charged in there alone, even with Uncle Huo helping you from the inside, your chances of winning wouldn’t be high.”

“I know. The Song Family already suffered a loss once, so this time the villa is packed with bodyguards inside and out. I can’t find an opening at all,” Tang Tang said in frustration. “The Song Family was supposed to send her to Wangting Mountain tonight, but at dusk, Song Ruoqing barged in front of the shrine, slit her wrist, and spilled her blood on it, breaking the formation. She was badly injured, but the Song Family didn’t even send her to the hospital.”

For a moment, I was so shocked I couldn’t speak.

My phone had been on speaker the whole time, so Liu Junyan heard it too.

After a long while, I finally asked, “Isn’t Uncle Huo at the Song Family’s place? He should be able to look after Miss Song a little, right?”

“With something this big happening in the Song Family, how could they possibly let Uncle Huo stay?” Tang Tang said. “But that Annoying Person should still be there. You remember Qingqing’s younger brother, right? The one who’s seriously ill. From what I can see, those Dragon-and-phoenix twins are probably meant to extend the life of the Song Family’s precious little darling.”

Liu Junyan cut in, “Who’s the Annoying Person?”

“Bai Jingmo,” I replied.

Liu Junyan nodded, then said, “Miss Tang, drive over and pick up Xiao Jiu. I’ll wait for you at the entrance to the mountain road.”

Tang Tang agreed at once.

After hanging up, I asked, “You’re not coming with me?”

“You go first. I’m going to Wangting Mountain,” Liu Junyan said. “I’ll come pick you up when I get back.”

I thought about it. If he stepped in, Song Ruoqing might still be saved.

By the time our car reached the entrance to the mountain road, Tang Tang was already leaning against her car and waiting.

I got out. After Tang Tang greeted me, she waved at Liu Junyan. “Junior Sister’s husband… uh… brother-in-law, don’t worry, she’s safe with me. I’ll leave my friend in your hands.”

Liu Junyan greeted Tang Tang like a perfect gentleman, then drove away.

Once I got into her car and Tang Tang started driving, she was practically vibrating with excitement. “Your husband is so handsome, Xiao Jiu. Hurry up and tell me, which direction do you usually kowtow to? How did you manage to find a man that gorgeous as your husband?”

I hesitated for a long while before telling her the truth. “He’s not human.”

Tang Tang looked utterly unconcerned. “Does that matter? As long as he’s handsome.”

Uh. Fair enough.

When we arrived at the old residence, the housekeeper had already prepared dinner.

Tang Tang took a call. It seemed to be from her father, so I went first to wash up in the room that had been reserved for me.

As the hot water poured down, the burn mark on my left arm began to hurt like needles were stabbing into it.

I quickly rinsed off, came out, got dressed, and took out the incense ash I had taken from Qilin Temple, spreading it evenly over the burn mark.

But for some reason, the instant the incense ash touched it, the burn only hurt worse, as if it were about to catch fire.

No. It really had caught fire.

With my own eyes, I watched sparks gradually appear beneath the layer of incense ash covering the burn mark.

Terrified, I rushed back into the bathroom and washed the ash off with cold water.

Still shaken, I couldn’t understand it. How could this be?

Why could the incense ash save the children of Tafeng Village, but not me?