Chapter 348 - 346: Unexpected

Chapter 348: Chapter 346: Unexpected

After returning home and explaining Zhang Laodi’s situation in detail to Zhang Dazhuang and Wen Xiu, Gu Nuan Nuan went to her room and lay on her bed, staring blankly. Without warning, she found herself sinking into a state of self-loathing...

"Master, Master, wake up!" Cao Cao’s shout exploded in Gu Nuan Nuan’s mind like a clap of thunder.

"What happened?" Startled, Gu Nuan Nuan finally snapped out of it. The moment the words left her mouth, she realized what had happened. Her consciousness had entered Cao Cao’s Companion Space, and a wave of lingering fear washed over her. "I almost encountered a Heart Demon again, didn’t I? Thank goodness you called me."

"Don’t worry, don’t worry. Giving you a good shout at critical moments like this is one of my jobs," Cao Cao said reassuringly, nuzzling its face against her hand.

"I’m so lucky to have you." Gu Nuan Nuan cradled it in her hands, pressing her cheek against its little body.

"That’s right, that’s right! As long as I’m here, you have nothing to fear, Master."

Cao Cao couldn’t resist showing off a little. "Actually, it’s perfectly normal to encounter a Heart Demon on the path of Cultivation. No one knows when, where, or what word or action might trigger it... That’s why Cultivation places such incredibly high demands on one’s mental fortitude. But everything is a fair trade-off, with gains and losses. For ordinary people, who don’t gain as much, a Heart Demon only affects their emotions. In a serious case, they might feel down for a while, or even permanently, but that’s the extent of it. It won’t cause any direct physical harm. For those who practice martial arts and Internal Cultivation Methods, they’ve gained a bit more, so the Heart Demon’s power is magnified. Once a Deviation occurs, their Power could regress or even be crippled, damaging their health. But for Cultivators, who gain the most, the consequences are even more terrifying. The most severe outcome is having your soul scattered to the winds during a heavenly tribulation—"

"You’re right. It looks like my mental fortitude still needs more work." Gu Nuan Nuan nodded silently as her consciousness withdrew and returned to reality. "I almost forgot there’s something else I need to do."

"What else? Haven’t you already done everything you needed to?" Cao Cao asked curiously.

"It’s best to handle this quickly. If I let it drag on for a few more days, I can forget about going to gather herbs." As she spoke, Gu Nuan Nuan sat up, got out of bed, and walked to her desk. She took out one of the medicine pills intended for Zhang Damei to give to Xu Banxian, spread out a piece of paper, and used a small knife to scrape some powder from it.

As she scraped off the powder, she said, "These medicine pills are pretty effective, but they’re a bit insidious. Guo Xiuying is just being deceived. Giving her a tiny taste should be sufficient. It’ll be enough to pay her back for hurting my grandparents in my last life, and for tormenting them across two lifetimes. I’ll have to study this at some point and try to develop a formula with less drastic side effects. It’s a must-have for home and travel. When we’re out exploring in the future, who knows what we’ll encounter? It’s never a bad thing to have a few more ways to protect ourselves, right?"

"Yes. Master is brilliant." Cao Cao watched as Gu Nuan Nuan finally stopped, put away the medicine pill, and carefully folded the paper around the powder. ’Master is so kind-hearted,’ it thought to itself. ’Guo Xiuying is really lucky. Would a more ruthless person have been this lenient? Then again, I’m scared of people who are too ruthless. I probably wouldn’t have chosen her so easily as my master back then—’

Once everything was ready, Gu Nuan Nuan slipped out of the house again. This time, she snuck into her third uncle and aunt’s bedroom. She entered without a sound and saw that on the bed, in addition to her uncle and aunt, Zhang Tianci was also sleeping with them. Recalling her grandparents’ aversion to the boy, Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but take a closer look at him. What she saw sparked a flicker of doubt.

But before she could dwell on it, Zhang Weimin mumbled something and rolled over. From a distance, Gu Nuan Nuan tapped the acupoints on all three of them, sending them into a deeper sleep. Then, she pinched Guo Xiuying’s mouth open and poured the powder straight in.

As she was about to leave, she glanced at Zhang Tianci again, her brow furrowed in doubt. This time she paused and communicated with Cao Cao in her mind. ’How strange. Why can’t I feel any blood connection to him at all?’

’None? Impossible! Even if a bloodline were diluted over dozens of generations, you could still sense it if you tried. And how distant are you two? You’re well within five generations. Logically, you should be able to sense that bond very easily. Unless... you’re not actually related.’

’...Unless we’re not related?’

Gu Nuan Nuan carefully scrutinized Zhang Tianci, then looked closely at her third uncle. After studying them for a long time, she couldn’t see any resemblance between the two. She raised an eyebrow, then decisively collected a strand of hair from each of them and put it away safely. As she was about to leave, another thought occurred to her. ’I wonder if current technology can get a result with just hair?’

So she went back and drew a little blood from each of them. The cuts were small, so there was no risk of excessive bleeding or any life-threatening complications. She couldn’t be bothered to tend to the wounds and simply turned to leave. "It’s simple," she said. "A DNA test will confirm whether they’re related or not."

"I don’t think you’ll need one. A Cultivator’s perception is far more reliable than any DNA test." Cao Cao floated in mid-air, keeping pace with Gu Nuan Nuan. It dangled its legs, a gloating look on its face. "I can’t believe your third aunt-in-law is that kind of person. I wonder what your third uncle will do when he finds out?"

"What else could he do? He’d divorce her and make her take the child with her."

Gu Nuan Nuan shook her head. ’This was something she’d truly never expected. She would have never imagined her third aunt-in-law was that kind of person. And to think she always acted so affectionate with her third uncle. In her past life and this one, she’d never heard any rumors about her having improper relations with other men—the only oddity was her fanatical, almost baffling, belief in Xu Banxian...’

’Wait a minute, could Zhang Tianci be Xu Banxian’s son???’

Gu Nuan Nuan stopped dead in her tracks. She glanced back, her expression twisting into something strange.

’That was actually the most likely possibility. But if that’s true, it means that Xu Banxian—just to swindle them out of money—periodically forced Zhang Tianci to eat all sorts of strange things, even made him starve, and ultimately tormented the boy to death...’

A truly bizarre expression crossed Gu Nuan Nuan’s face. "Cao Cao, we’re making another trip to Xu Banxian’s place. We’ll collect a blood sample from him and then take everything for DNA testing. I want to see if Zhang Tianci is really his son."

"That can’t be, right? If... if Zhang Tianci really is Xu Banxian’s son, why would he harm his own child so terribly?" Cao Cao was so shocked it nearly fell out of the air.

"Who knows? Maybe he never even considered the possibility himself, or perhaps they just didn’t want to think about it that deeply. Or maybe, since the child couldn’t take his last name, he simply didn’t care."