Speaking of Science in a Supernatural Livestream 34

Chapter 34: The Donglai Sang Family (Part 1)

Liangshui, Donglai High-speed Railway Station.

Sang Lingyun looked impatiently at the bustling station entrance. One hand was on the steering wheel, the other holding a phone, the screen displaying a string of numbers.

Looking up at the rearview mirror, she saw the person in the back seat had been sitting upright with their eyes closed, meditating, since they arrived. Even the horsetail whisk in their hand hadn’t moved. They were clearly of a similar age, but this person seemed particularly mature and calm.

“So slow,” Sang Lingyun muttered, suppressing her anger. Then she turned back and smiled fawningly at the person in the back seat. “I’m sorry, Sister Lingfei. I told Sang Si, but she didn’t take it seriously. It’s made you wait here for so long. It’s really too much!”

Sang Lingfei frowned and looked up at Sang Lingyun. “Sang Si? Who is she to you? According to seniority, she should be your fourth sister. You address her so casually. Even if she’s not from the main family, can you be so disrespectful of the rules?”

The Donglai Sang family was just a branch of the Liangshui Sang family. The only old lady in this branch who could connect with the main family had passed away, so the main family naturally had to send someone to pay their respects. She just didn’t know why they had chosen her to come. Sang Lingfei had originally planned to go to Xianling to participate in this Xuanmen assessment and become a six-coin Celestial Master. That way, she would be the youngest six-coin Celestial Master in the Sang family in a hundred years, even more powerful than that person who couldn’t be mentioned.

Her plans had been disrupted by this Donglai Sang family that had appeared out of nowhere. Sang Lingfei was already in a bad mood, and hearing this junior, Sang Lingyun, being so disrespectful of the rules, her resentment towards the Donglai Sang family grew even heavier.

Suddenly being reprimanded, and because the other party was from the main family, Sang Lingyun dared not show her anger and could only smile sheepishly and nod in agreement.

Turning her head, Sang Lingyun dialed that number, her eyes gloomy.

“Beep—beep—”

No one answered.

Just as Sang Lingyun was about to hang up impatiently, the call went through. She glanced at the person in the back seat and said in a low voice, “Where are you?”

The other side seemed a little surprised. “I’ve already arrived at the Sang family. You went to the high-speed rail station?”

Sang Lingyun: “…”

The other side was still laughing. “I’m so sorry, I made you come all this way for nothing. I didn’t know you would actually come to pick me up.”

Sang Lingyun: “…”

She had only asked where she was and hadn’t even mentioned that she was at the high-speed rail station. She was doing it on purpose!

Sang Lingyun gripped her phone tightly, gritting her teeth as she started the car.

Sang Jing, you can die now.

*

In front of the main gate of the Sang family’s old house, Sang Jing looked at the hung-up phone and could imagine the other party’s anger and embarrassment. She twitched the corner of her lips, feeling a little good.

Xie Yu was still perched in the inner pocket of her vest. She looked up and saw the light smile on her face. “You did that on purpose?”

Sang Jing didn’t deny it. She raised her hand and pressed her down. “There are also Celestial Masters in the Sang family. Although they’re not very skilled, they can still hurt you. Stay by my side and don’t run around.”

“Alright.”

Bubbles of happiness rose in Xie Yu’s heart.

The familiar yet strange red-lacquered gate now had white banners hanging on both sides, extending all the way to the inner courtyard. The Sang family’s old house was ancient and elegant, and everything was arranged according to feng shui principles, which would not be changed. At least, the appearance of the old house was no different from what Sang Jing remembered.

She walked all the way to the mourning hall. Some people wearing mourning clothes saw her but didn’t come forward to greet her, as if they didn’t recognize her.

In the mourning hall was an ice coffin covered with a white cloth, with a few yellow talismans on it.

Sang Jing walked over, knelt in front of the portrait in the mourning hall, and kowtowed three times.

On the last kowtow, Sang Jing’s forehead rested on the ground, and she didn’t move for a long time.

Old lady, I’ve come to send you off.

The old lady was considered Sang Jing’s maternal grandmother. It was ‘considered’ because in this Sang family, Sang Jing had not felt the kindness of a single person. These so-called family ties were more like a calamity to her.

Although the old lady had never treated her kindly, she had also never given her a cold shoulder or harsh words.

Although she didn’t know why her teacher had said that her final worldly fate with the Sang family lay with the old lady, this time, she would send the old lady off, and this worldly fate would be settled.

From now on, she and the Sang family were even.

After getting up, someone beside her handed her mourning clothes. “You’re back. The old lady was sick for over half a month. Before she left, she wanted to see you again.”

This sentence was said casually, but it was filled with dissatisfaction towards Sang Jing.

Sang Jing took the mourning clothes and put them on directly. She was a direct descendant and had to wear a white cloth on her head and waist.

She looked at the person who had handed her the mourning clothes. It was the current second master of the Sang family, Sang Ciyun, who had also just called her, Sang Lingyun’s mother.

“Second Aunt,” Sang Jing said with a perfectly appropriate smile on her face. “Since you all knew, why didn’t anyone tell me? It’s not like I wouldn’t have come back to see her. You even let the old lady leave with regret.”

Sang Ciyun’s expression changed, and she looked at Sang Jing with a scrutinizing gaze.

She still had that submissive, smiling face, but something felt different.

However, what she perceived as submissive was just Sang Jing lowering her eyes to look at the restrained Xie Yu. The white cloth on her waist was right on the pocket, directly tying Xie Yu up.

“It’s good that you’re back,” Sang Ciyun said, putting on a loving expression and lightly brushing over what had just been said. “You must be tired after a long journey. You should go and rest first. We’ll eat when Xiao Qi gets back.”

Xiao Qi was Sang Lingyun. She had just complained to Sang Ciyun and was now rushing back in a huff.

This generation of the Sang family was the ‘Ling’ generation. Because Sang Jing’s mother had been expelled from the Sang family, when Sang Jing entered the family, not only did she not have the character ‘Ling’ in her name, but she was not even on the family tree.

But according to her age, she was ranked fourth. In the Donglai dialect, ‘four’ sounded like ‘death’, so many families would deliberately skip this number. If a child in the family happened to be ranked fourth, the elders would prepare a small object to replace this ranking. But when it came to Sang Jing, not only was there no replacement, but many people in the Sang family would call her Sang Si.

“Alright.”

Sang Jing nodded, took her bag, and walked towards the side courtyard. Her room was in the most remote corner of the Sang family.

She had come to the Sang family at the age of four and remembered things from a very early age. She remembered clearly that at that time, she was not even as tall as a person’s waist. She was brought to the main hall of the Sang family. At that time, it was no longer the old lady who was in charge; the eldest of the Sang family had become the head of the family. A circle of people sat in the main hall. They sized up Sang Jing, their eyes filled with undisguised mockery and contempt.

“Is this Sang Si’s daughter?”

Coincidentally, Sang Jing’s mother was also ranked fourth. After her mother died, the name ‘Sang Si’ was inherited by Sang Jing.

“She’s not a Sang family member anymore. She’s dead, and she’s left a trouble for the Sang family.”

“The old lady wanted to keep her.”

“What does the head of the family plan to do?”

“The sins of the parents should not be visited upon the children. We can’t let the child be implicated in what the fourth sister did. Arrange for her to live in the side courtyard. Just don’t put her on the family tree.”

“Raising her to adulthood is the least the Sang family can do.”

…

As she walked further away, there were fewer people. Only then did Sang Jing pull Xie Yu out.

“Wow, is this your home? It’s so beautiful,” Xie Yu said, starting to praise just by seeing some flowers and plants.

“No,” Sang Jing corrected her. “The incense shop in Liuli Alley is my home.”

Xie Yu looked up at Sang Jing, seeming a little confused.

The incense shop? Can that be considered a home?

Walking along the gravel path to the side courtyard, the courtyard was overgrown with weeds. It hadn’t been cleaned for a while and was already knee-high. This place was damp and cold, with a grove of trees behind it, so it rarely saw the sun.

Sang Jing walked over and pushed the door open. This was not her home; she had no right to lock the door. Her room had never been locked.

A damp, musty smell rushed to meet her, but Sang Jing walked in without a change in expression. There were not many things in the room: a small wooden bed, a small desk, a shabby little stool, a discarded bookshelf, and even the window was only a small one, set high up, making it impossible for ventilation.

“It smells so bad,” a young voice said.

Only then did Sang Jing remember that there was a small black snake coiled around her wrist.

The little black snake had been sleeping all the way. It had just woken up and was choked by the smell of this place.

Xie Yu just looked and couldn’t smell it. The Sang family’s main courtyard outside was magnificent and luxurious, but this side courtyard seemed to be suddenly cut off from the front, not even looking like a room.

That person just now had told Sang Jing to rest first…

Xie Yu landed and became a person. She looked at the things in the room and asked with a look of disbelief, “Is this your room?”

Sang Jing nodded. “Yes.”

Xie Yu frowned, understanding why Sang Jing had just said this was not her home. This family was very bad to Sang Jing.

“Can a person live here? How could they do this to you?” Xie Yu was angry.

Sang Jing looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Why are you so angry?”

She wasn’t the one who had suffered.

Xie Yu retorted, “Why can’t I be angry? I feel sorry for you. I can’t stand to see them treat you like this.”

Xie Yu’s words were spoken without hesitation. Sang Jing’s eyelashes trembled, her gaze paused for a moment, and then she suddenly smiled.

Xie Yu was baffled by her smile. “What are you laughing at?”

Sang Jing shook her head and said nothing.

Xie Yu: “…”

The anger in her heart seemed to be blocked, making her feel even more suffocated.

Just as Xie Yu was pacing back and forth in anger, Sang Jing suddenly spoke again, “You don’t have to be angry. I was lucky enough to meet Granny Lin, and to meet my teacher and his wife.”

This sentence was like extending a hand to a cat that was bristling, scratching its chin and smoothing its fur.

Xie Yu was suddenly soothed.

The little black snake on Sang Jing’s wrist raised its head, looked at Sang Jing, then at Xie Yu.

A little subtle.

Sang Jing didn’t know why she had said so much to Xie Yu. These were clearly unnecessary words. In the end, she found a reason for herself: to prevent Xie Yu from getting too angry.

“When I came over just now, I saw that this place is not far from the small town. We don’t have to live here,” Xie Yu said, reaching out to pull Sang Jing. “Let’s go to the town.”

Seeing the outstretched hand, Sang Jing was momentarily reminded of the cold kiss that had landed on her cheek. Her breath hitched for a moment, then she shifted her body to avoid the hand and turned to search for something on the small desk.

Her movement was so natural that Xie Yu didn’t even realize that the initial action was to avoid her.

“I wasn’t planning to live here. I came to find something.”

Sang Jing rummaged through the drawer and finally found it in a pile of waste paper at the very back.

It was a small doll that children loved to play with, a handmade little tiger. It wasn’t very well made; its whiskers and ears were crooked, but its eyes were big and bright.

Two small characters were embroidered on the back of the little tiger: Si Zai.

Once, because of this little tiger, Sang Jing had wanted to please this family, but what she had gotten in return was even more excessive humiliation.

Xie Yu looked at the little tiger for a moment. “Hmm… the little thing is quite unique.”

Then she squatted down and saw the waste paper in the drawer. The lines on it were messy, and it was unclear what was written. It looked like a talisman, a talisman drawn by a child.

She tilted her head to look inside. “Hey, there’s another one?”

She wanted to take it out, but the moment she touched the little tiger, it was as if she had been burned. She quickly withdrew her hand in pain.

Sang Jing took out the one inside and found that it was even more unique than the one in her hand; its head was also crooked.

The two little tigers should have been made by the same person, and both had two small characters on their backs.

One was Xiao Si(Little Four), and the other was Si Zai(Four Cubs).