Flower Stealing Master - Chapter 241
“What did you say?” Sunflower Ancestor raised his eyebrows and glared at him.
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing!” Song Qingshu showed an embarrassed smile. If this old monster got angry for real, he wouldn’t be able to beat him. “Ancestor, if I remember correctly, you need to suck the True Dragon Qi to elevate your realm. How have you been feeling recently?”
“Suck?” Sunflower Ancestor frowned, “Why does this word sound so weird?”
A nasty scene appeared in Song Qingshu’s mind, which caused his whole body to shiver, and he quickly said, “Ancestor, how much True Dragon Qi do you need to elevate your realm?”
“Of course, the richer the better.” Sunflower Ancestor replied, wondering why Kangxi’s True Dragon Qi seemed to have decreased so much, which was growing steadily until just recently. (G: Foreshadowing?)
“If you can absorb enough True Dragon Qi, can you ascend?” Song Qingshu was very curious about this matter.
“Ascension?” A flash of excitement flashed in the eyes of Sunflower Ancestor, but unfortunately it quickly dimmed. He shook his head and said, “I don’t know how much True Dragon Qi is needed, but it’ll probably not be enough even if I were to add all the emperors in this era.”
“Has Ancestor heard of the Dragon Vein of the Great Qing Dynasty?” Song Qingshu asked.
“Dragon Vein of the Great Qing Dynasty?” Sunflower Ancestor trembled, “It seems that there is such a legend that there is a Dragon Vein of the Great Qing Dynasty hidden somewhere in Liaodong… What, do you know something about it?”
Song Qingshu gave an enigmatic smile, “I’m just casually asking…” After speaking, he turned and left, leaving the Sunflower Ancestor standing dazedly in place.
After leaving the palace, Song Qingshu walked all the way to his mansion. Looking at the word Song Mansion on the plaque, Song Qingshu felt a little dazed for a moment, this house was given to him by Wei Xiaobao… ‘I must find time to see how Shuang’er is doing now.’
When he pushed the door and entered, he heard a faint voice of a man and a woman arguing in the distance, which caused Song Qingshu to curiously walk over.
“It’d be fine if you just let me die inside. You didn’t have to go and seek help from Fukang’an, that basta*rd! He… he didn’t even have the intention to let me go. In the end, it was Song Qingshu who saved me.” The man’s voice was full of anger.
“How would I know that he didn’t intend to keep his promise… Since you were imprisoned, I’ve gone to look for your former friends, but none of them were willing to help. I heard that you were tortured so much that day, so I went to him in a hurry.” The woman’s voice was full of grievances.
“You bitc*h! If Qingwen didn’t tell me, were you planning to hide it from me for the rest of your life?” The man roared.
“If you knew about this kind of thing, it would only add to the discomfort. It’s enough for me to be sad alone, why should I let you know.” The woman let out a faint sigh, but her heart turned cold.
When she heard her husband questioning herself, she was so frightened at the thought that the affair between her and Song Qingshu had been exposed. It was only later did she slowly understand the whole thing. It turned out that Tian Qingwen had thought that she went to Fukang’an to ask for help that night, and Tian Guinong was also misled by that information.
“Lan’er, I’m sorry, I also know that you’ve been wronged, but now… I have become a cripple, and I can’t help but feel a little irritated.” Hearing his wife’s aggrieved voice, the man’s heart softened and he quickly consoled her.
These two were naturally Tian Guinong and Nan Lan.
After Song Qingshu rescued Tian Guinong, he arranged for Sang Feihong, the head of Wuhumen, to escort them to his own mansion in Yanjing City to settle down.
Although the timing was a bit awkward now, Song Qingshu had to greet the couple as he had finally come back, so he gave a fake cough to declare his presence.
When the couple heard the sound, they quickly stopped arguing. Soon the door opened. Nan Lan was standing in front of the door with a tired face. When she saw Song Qingshu, she felt overjoyed, but quickly suppressed her emotions and calmly greeted him, “Guinong, Young Master Song is here.”
Tian Guinong, who was lying on the bed, struggled to get up, and Song Qingshu hurried over to hold him down, “Brother Tian is injured, so you don’t have to be polite.” After speaking, he turned to look at Nan Lan, “Sister-in-law, why is Brother Tian so weak?”
Hearing him call her sister-in-law so seriously, Nan Lan’s heart jumped, and her expression turned a bit unnatural, “On the way to escape from Shengjing City, Guinong caught a cold, so his injury was aggravated.”
“Is that so?” Song Qingshu frowned and said, “I am familiar with the imperial doctor in the palace. I will ask them to take a look at Brother Tian tomorrow. Don’t worry, they have experience with this kind of injury…”
Suddenly noticing that Tian Guinong’s expression had turned dark, he quickly apologized, “Brother Tian, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mention it on purpose.”
Tian Guinong shook his head, “If you hadn’t rescued me, I would have already rotted to death in the palace’s prison, so how could I blame you. But now I’m not even a man, so what’s the point of living in this world? I mean, it might be better for me to die a hundred times, so as not to drag Nan Lan down.”
“Guinong, you are not allowed to say that! Back then, when I left him…who is ten times better in martial arts than you, was because I loved you. No matter what you become, I will never leave you.” Nan Lan sat down beside the bed, grabbed Tian Guinong’s hand and put it on her face, as tears fell down her eyes.
Song Qingshu on the side was stunned for a moment. When the later generations talked about these two people, they said that one had seduced a friend’s wife, and the other had cheated on her husband. He didn’t expect that there was true love between the two.
“Lan’er, you also know my current situation. You will only ruin half of your life’s happiness by following me, so why bother? Brother Song’s character and martial arts are the best, and he is also very kind to us. If you don’t dislike Brother Song, you can just be with him.” Tian Guinong wiped away the tears on Nan Lan’s cheeks with his fingers and sighed.
His words made the expression of the two of them change greatly, and Nan Lan suddenly stood up, “I intend to serve you with all my heart! If you try to test me with such words in the future, then I might as well die!”
Song Qingshu also hurriedly comforted her, “It’s rare for a wife to be so affectionate, Brother Tian, why are you hurting her heart?”
Tian Guinong smiled bitterly, “It’s not like you don’t know my current situation, what happiness can I give her?”
‘I will secretly help you fulfill your obligations as a husband.’ Of course, Song Qingshu couldn’t say that outloud, so he comforted, “A man stands to support the heaven and earth, so why should he only focus on a few moments of love on the bed? After Brother Tian does enough meritorious deeds, wouldn’t it be easy for you to give her happiness?”
“Do meritorious deeds?” Tian Guinong recalled what Director Sai had said to him that day, and he couldn’t help but lift up his spirits, “But with my martial arts, I’m afraid I won’t be able to achieve anything of worth.”
“With martial arts, you would be able to handle no more than a hundred enemies. Real power rests in the hands of those who have thousands of people under their commands, they can achieve things a martial artist can’t.” Song Qingshu sighed from the bottom of his heart, but when he saw Tian Guinong’s face showing a trace of disapproval, he smiled and said, “Brother Tian is a man of Wulin, so of course you will think that martial arts is more reliable. Very well, since you want to learn martial arts, there is a martial art in this world that is very suitable for you, which can make you advance by leaps and bounds in a short period of time, and become a top expert.”
“What martial arts?” Tian Guinong’s eyes flashed.
“Evil Exterminating Sword Manual.” Song Qingshu slowly spit out four words. (G: Or, Bi Xie Swordplay Manual, which one sounds better?)
“The Lin family’s Evil Exterminating Sword Manual? In the past two years, the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sects has been fighting over this sword art, and it is said that the Qingcheng Sect also wiped out the whole Lin family because of this Sword Manual.” Tian Guinong, as the former leader of a sect, was naturally aware of this important event in the Wulin, “Is the Evil Exterminating Sword Manual in the hands of Brother Song?”
“That’s not true.” Song Qingshu shook his head. “It’s just that I know where the Evil Exterminating Sword Manual is hidden. When Brother Tian recovers, you can go there with me to retrieve it.”
It wouldn’t take too long if he asked either Dongfang Muxue or the Sunflower Ancestor for a copy of the Sunflower Manual, but Song Qingshu didn’t want to owe the two of them any favors. Moreover, the two might not be willing to give their secrets to others as well. So he thought that it would be better to directly go to the old house of the Lin family in Fujian to get the Evil Exterminating Sword Manual. Which would make things a little more convenient.
“Thank you, Brother Song!” Tian Guinong said with great joy, but he quickly asked in worry, “This Evil Exterminating Sword Manual has such great power, can it really turn me into a first-class master in a short period of time?”
“Others might not be able to do it, but you will definitely get twice the result with half the effort when you practice.” Song Qingshu’s expression turned a little strange, “The first criteria of learning the Evil Exterminating Sword Manual is— you have to castrate yourself.”
As soon as this statement came out, Nan Lan exclaimed, “How can there be such a sinister technique in this world?”
Tian Guinong’s expression also became extremely unnatural.
“Sister-in-law might not know…” Song Qingshu explained, “This technique was created by a eunuch from the previous dynasty. It mainly focuses on refining one’s Qi. When practicing, you will be full of desires, and you will die if you lose control. However, it gives the user immense power! The ancestors of the Lin family used the Evil Exterminating Sword Manual to shake the world, and they were invincible in the Wulin for many years.”
“It’s that powerful…” Tian Guinong was stunned, and his heart became hot. Although other people’s comforts were reasonable, they gave no specific solutions. So Tian Guinong only acted relieved on the surface, but felt great sorrow in his heart. But now that he had a specific goal he could walk towards, he immediately felt a hundred times more energetic.
“Okay, it’s getting late, I won’t disturb Brother Tian’s rest any longer.” Song Qingshu got up and said his farewell.
“Lan’er, send Brother Song out.” Tian Guinong quickly said.
“Oh.” Nan Lan responded unnaturally.
“You are still quite unfamiliar with Yanjing City, so if the sister-in-law needs anything, feel free to ask me.” Song Qingshu held her hand and felt the soft smooth skin.
Nan Lan was taken aback and hurriedly wanted to pull it back, but unfortunately she was unsuccessful, so she had to say, “Thank you, Brother Song.”
Song Qingshu smiled and continued to ask, “Where is Miss Sang who escorted you here last time?”
Nan Lan was feeling anxious about Tian Guinong, who was behind her, and worried that Tian Qingwen would suddenly appear, so she hurriedly said, “She is staying in the west wing and has been waiting for you to come back.”
“Oh?” Song Qingshu knew that Sang Feihong should have something to discuss with him, and after thinking about it, he gave a final pinch on Nan Lan’s hand, turned and left with a smile.