Chapter 4: Parental Love (Part 4): You’ve Got Quite the Twisted Sense of Humor Part 2

Mu Qian Tan scoffed, “This madman showed his lack of heart when he drove you and your wife out long ago. For you to still hold hope for such a person is naive.”

“He’s my blood brother… flesh and blood…” Liu Ying’s fists shook, eyes bloodshot, in utter agony. Suddenly, he shouted, “I’ll confront him right now!”

He turned and stormed off. Mu Qian Tan picked up the Female Protagonist and followed.

Passing the tombstone again, she glanced at it under the moonlight. At the bottom, the inscription listed the deceased’s relatives. The eldest son Liu He, who should have been first, was missing.

Liu He had handled the funeral, so the inscription should have passed through him—yet he omitted himself. Perhaps this brother didn’t acknowledge Liu Cai Liang as his father.

The three hurried straight to the Liu Residence.

Deep into the night, the streets were deserted. The Liu Residence gates were shut tight, no lanterns lit, no servants guarding. The spring couplets on the door, unchanged for years, were tattered and peeling, the “Fortune” character long gone.

Liu Ying rushed to the gate, rolled up his sleeves, and pounded—boom boom boom.

In the silent night, the noise was huge. No matter how big the Liu Residence, someone should have heard. But he knocked for ages with no response.

Mu Qian Tan noticed the ground before the gate littered with dead leaves, weeds sprouting from cracks in the stone. Who knew how long since it was cleaned. She asked, “Are you sure he still lives here?”

Liu Ying said, “Yes. He rarely goes out, so the front is always desolate like this.”

He moved to knock again, but Mu Qian Tan stopped him. “No need.”

She had him step back and set down Shang Shan. Mu Qian Tan approached the gate, pressed her palm to the cold door, and channeled spiritual power from her body to her wrist.

“Open.” She uttered sharply, and spiritual power erupted from her palm.

A blue glow circled the door—just before it shattered in a massive boom. Fragments flew into the courtyard, scattering everywhere, echoes fading after a few rings.

Her skirt and hair, stirred by the spiritual power, slowly settled. Mu Qian Tan’s eyes rippled faintly as she withdrew her hand and glanced at her palm.

Liu Ying exclaimed, “Immortal’s divine power!”

She clenched her fist, let it drop to her side, and said, “Such a racket, and still no one comes out. Your brother sleeps like the dead—no wonder thieves could rob the place unnoticed.”

Liu Ying said, “There used to be many servants. They must all have been dismissed by Liu He now.”

Still fuming but worried about his daughter at home, he said little more and headed inside.

Mu Qian Tan turned to pick up the Female Protagonist again, only to find her already standing.

The ropes were still on, but she stood straight. Noticing Mu Qian Tan’s gaze, she even hopped forward a few times, signaling she could walk—no need to be carried like that.

Having vented by blasting the gate, Mu Qian Tan’s pent-up frustration had eased considerably. She let her go and walked into the courtyard herself.

In that short time, Liu Ying had searched several rooms, going in and out, calling Liu He’s name—no response.

Mu Qian Tan strolled the covered walkway, surveying the pitch-black residence. Not a single lamp lit in any courtyard—it really made one doubt if anyone lived there.

The hopping sounds trailed not too far behind. Mu Qian Tan wiggled her fingers; the wound under her sleeve still throbbed painfully, irritating her.

She glanced at her feet, narrowed her eyes slightly, and turned back. “Hurry up, or I’ll pick you up again.”

Shang Shan gritted her teeth in fury, but outmatched, she could only obey and hop harder.

Mu Qian Tan continued to lead the way ahead. In pitch-black darkness, she deliberately chose paths with more stairs. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a thump sounded from behind—the person had fallen, struggled back up with effort, and caught up to her.

Li Biyuan said, “You’re quite sadistic.”

Mu Qian Tan replied without changing expression, “After all, I’m the vicious female supporting character. You can’t expect me to be kind.”

After a moment of silence, Li Biyuan said, “Hiss… I have a feeling that you seem to have a big issue with her?”

Mu Qian Tan rolled her eyes. “How would I dare oppose the grand female protagonist? You’re thinking too highly of me.”

Li Biyuan: “Mm…”

“By the way,” Mu Qian Tan thought of something, “since she has the female protagonist halo, could she know the Transcendence Method?”

Li Biyuan said, “What does the protagonist halo have to do with skills? She doesn’t even have spiritual power in her body right now. Where would she go to learn transcendence? And you say you don’t have an issue with her.”

“Nag, nag.” Mu Qian Tan stabbed right at her sore spot. “She doesn’t know it, I don’t know it, you don’t know it either. Yet you still have the leisure to chat here?”

From over there came the sound of pages being frantically flipped. Li Biyuan let out a low groan, saying painfully, “I’m already searching with all my effort, but the materials are so numerous and complex, and it’s very likely there’s really nothing… I’m done with this. The settings in these cultivation novels are all different in every book; you can’t even reference or borrow from them. Can’t these authors just standardize it?”

Another thump rang out from behind, louder than the previous times—she had probably fallen harder. It took quite a while before there was any sign of her getting up.

Mu Qian Tan subtly shifted her gaze and slowed her steps. “How to standardize? By sharing a brain? Stop wasting words. Hurry and find the transcendence method. Otherwise, in a bit, I’ll have to directly kill the ghost. Task failure has nothing to do with me.”

Li Biyuan scratched her ears and cheeks. “Aiya… Got it.”

After their brief exchange, Liu Ying had already searched every room in the house and returned to them, his face showing bewilderment. “He actually isn’t here.”

Looking at the empty house, it was easy enough to guess as much. Mu Qian Tan asked, “When was the last time you saw him?”

Liu Ying recalled for a moment before saying, “Two months ago. Because Xiao Ling’s condition had worsened, I begged him to lend me some money, but he refused. That was our last meeting.”

Mu Qian Tan pondered inwardly.

That guy Liu He knew evil techniques. He had gone to the trouble of drawing Liu Cai Liang’s remnant soul onto Liu Ling’s body precisely to see his younger brother’s family thrown into chaos—and at the critical moment, even kick him while he was down.

So before Liu Ling died, he shouldn’t have left. Otherwise, without witnessing the harm with his own eyes, where would the satisfaction come from?

Mu Qian Tan raised her hand, gathering spiritual power at her fingertip. A blue glow floated there like it had a life of its own, illuminating a corner of her face—lips pink, skin white, like a beauty shrouded in mist.

Spiritual power could break doors. Wonder if it could be used to find people?

As she mulled it over, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from behind. Mu Qian Tan froze for an instant and turned to look. Shang Shan had somehow broken free from the ropes and was charging straight at her.

Her first thought was that this fellow had taken so long to get up after falling—not from the pain, but because she had found a sharp stone somewhere to cut the ropes.

Her second thought had already turned into action. The spiritual power gathered in her hand shot out on instinct, blasting Shang Shan flying and smashing into two corridor pillars. Crack! Crack! The sounds tore through the silent night once more.

The girl let out a muffled grunt and crashed heavily to the ground. Bits and pieces of wood debris tumbled from her body, while other fragments plopped into the pond, startling the schools of fish into scattering.

Mu Qian Tan: “….”

Li Biyuan’s voice sharpened. “Female protagonist!!!”

Mu Qian Tan said lowly, “She suddenly rushed over. This can’t be blamed on me.”

Liu Ying stammered, “Th-this th-this…”

Mu Qian Tan walked toward the girl. “She should be fine, right?”

She didn’t realize she had voiced her inner thoughts aloud. Just as she took two steps forward, the girl sat up amid the debris. The thin string of her mask suddenly snapped, and it fell off.

Mu Qian Tan’s steps halted.

As the evil ghost mask dropped, slightly disheveled waves of long hair cascaded from her shoulders. The girl lifted her eyes, stirring up a shower of radiant light. Her tattered, ragged clothes did nothing to diminish her beauty; her disheveled hair and furious expression only added to her spirit. Even heaven could not sculpt such a creation—upon seeing her, it would feel ashamed by three degrees.

This face, which would be dubbed the “Cloudglow Immortal” by those fated to glimpse it once, evoked not moonlight, but a far more fervent sunlight.

No wonder she wore the evil ghost mask. Traversing the rivers and lakes with a face like that would bring all sorts of inconveniences.

Mu Qian Tan sneered coldly to herself: Truly the female protagonist who gathered every ounce of the author’s favoritism. Who knew how many words the original text had spent describing her looks?

Over there, Shang Shan coughed a few times, a speck of blood at the corner of her mouth wiped away by her palm. She stood up, patted the beggar’s rags on her body, picked up the mask, and walked over.

Mu Qian Tan furrowed her brows, wary that she might lash out again, and gathered spiritual power once more.

But Shang Shan didn’t even glance at her. She stopped after a few steps.

She opened her mouth, realizing she could speak now, and said to Liu Ying, “I came here before to catch rats, so I know there’s a secret room around here. The person you’re looking for might be in there.”