“They’re really on their knees?”
“Yes, Old Master. You were not there to see it. His and Her Highnesses knelt for so long their faces were pale.”
Ling Xingzhong’s temper began to fray at these words. He used his walking stick to push himself up and, making towards the door, flared, “This is unbelievable. How dare that brat give that kind of punishment to my great-grandsons and great-granddaughter? It seems the pup has grown fangs. Now he even dares throw his weight about in the Ling Mansion.”
Ji Yin sitting on the side also felt a stab of heartache as he learned that the three children were still on their knees, but after hearing Ling Xingzhong criticize Ling Zhang, he still subconsciously made an attempt to defend his beloved grandson. “The three kids are too naughty. Zhang’er is just trying to teach them a little discipline.”
Ling Xingzhong snorted, “They’re still young. There are many ways of disciplining children, and what he chose is clearly not among the right ones.”
Maybe the old man’s tolerance for juniors had been growing with his age. When Ling Maomao had made mistakes in his childhood, Ling Xingzhong would sternly dress him down, but now, ten years had passed, and Ling Xingzhong always beamed from ear to ear whenever he saw any of his great-grandchildren, as though he had long since lost the ability to be angry with them.
Unlike Ling Xingzhong, Ji Yin cared about his grandson more than anybody else. He knew that his grandson was doing this to teach the three children who had put themselves in grave danger a lesson. Though feeling some heartache as well, he had decided to let his grandson do it his own way. Seeing that Ling Xingzhong was going out to stop Ling Zhang, he followed in Ling Xingzhong’s wake and managed to stall his in-law by using various delaying tactics without raising the latter’s suspicions.
Over an hour had passed when Yuwen Qi and the other two finally got the long-expected help from their great-grandfathers.
…
On the other side of the residence.
Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong reached the room where the demented bridegroom was locked up. Mr. Mu had also arrived.
After examining the bridegroom, Mr. Mu said, “This man’s symptoms are indeed very similar to those of the pirates under the influence of the Soul-Devouring Tree on that island. You’d better look into it as soon as possible.”
Ling Zhang said, “The clan leader burnt that tree. There should be nothing left of it.”
Yuwen Tong said, “It was two years later that we landed on that island. There’s no telling whether or not someone had taken part of the tree before we found it.”
“But that Formation was still intact at that time,” said Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong gave it some thought. “Let’s ask the former clan leader about it.”
In fact there were still many questionable points in the matter of that island: who had started the rumor, and whether that person had any relations with the former clan leader, to name but a few.
The former clan leader was living right in the Ling Mansion, in a separate courtyard house. Every day, he either sneaked into the palace to see the phoenix egg or wandered along the streets and alleys in the city. Everything seemed to strike him as interesting, and because of his deceptive appearance, people were never guarded with him. Having been in this city for some time, he was now even more familiar with the many aspects of this city than most natives.
Were Ling Zhang not in charge of an intelligence network, he would probably not have been as well-informed as the old man was … No. There were still some things that the former clan leader knew better about than he did. For example, which families had a quarrel on which day, and which married man had an affair with which married woman, etc.
Ling Zhang could not understand why the old man was so curious about such things.
The former clan leader’s explanation was quite amusing. “It’s very lively and interesting. Watching others quarrel makes me feel as though I myself had a quarrel with someone, which is very enjoyable.”
What kind of explanation was this? Ling Zhang had pulled a wry face after hearing those words.
On this day the former clan leader was not in. Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong had wondered whether or not they should wait a few moments, but unexpectedly, they had just walked out with Mr. Mu when the old man returned from his stroll.
“I foresaw you’d come to look for me. Did you have that lunatic brought back from the street?” inquired the former clan leader.
“Yes. He’s in there,” said Ling Zhang.
“Let me take a look first.” The smile on the old man’s face was replaced by an uncharacteristically grave look.
He entered the room and, after checking the bridegroom, walked out with a frown on his brow. “He’s fallen prey to the scent of Soul-Devouring wood, but judging from his symptoms, not only has he inhaled the scent, someone must’ve done something to him with Soul-Devouring wood.”
“The Soul-Devouring Tree has been burnt. Did someone get to it before us?” Ling Zhang asked him.
The old man thought back carefully for a moment before he replied, “I don’t think so. That tree could not be seen when the Formation still functioned. The only explanation is that someone had got to it before I landed on the island – or before I deployed the Formation.”
“Did you see anybody else when you landed on the island?”
“There were some cannibals, who drifted there from an island in the east, but they didn’t enter the city. Those cannibals were quite eccentric. At that time I hadn’t deployed the Illusion Formation in the city yet – the one that scared all latecomers, but those cannibals detoured around the city and never went into it. I would’ve paid a visit to their den had I had the time.”
“Was there anybody else apart from the cannibals?”
“Not that I can remember. Back at the time when I landed on the island, those cannibals were the only ones on it. After finding the phoenix egg, I was afraid someone might steal it, and there happened to be a Soul-Devouring Tree in the city, so I conveniently deployed that Formation. It never crossed my mind that so many people would go to that island. A lot of them died. It was terribly stinky.”
Clearly the old man did not think there was anything wrong whatsoever with his Illusion Formation causing that many people to lose their minds.
“So you were not the one who started the rumor?” Ling Zhang asked.
The former clan leader shook his head. “When I first landed on the island, there weren’t any rumors circulating about it. I performed divination and found that a halidom was going to present itself, and eventually some clues led me there.”
“It would seem someone found that island before Old Clan Leader and took some wood from that Soul-Devouring Tree. Then they told others that there was gold everywhere on the island, which later drew a lot of people there,” said Yuwen Tong.
Ling Zhang pondered over it. If that was the case, then that person had started the rumor not because they wanted to lure people to their deaths, but because there had really been gold in that city.
Who was this person that was so generous as to tell others about the location of unowned treasure?
“Now that things have come to this, all we could do is wait for the bridegroom to come around and then ask him whether he came into contact with something special. We need to find the Soul-Devouring wood and destroy it as soon as possible, given how dangerous it is.”
…
With Mr. Mu’s help, the groom soon came to.
At first he was confused as to where he was, and he did not recognize Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong as the imperial couple. “What is this place? Wasn’t I at my wedding? Why am I here? And who are you people?”
The bridegroom appeared to have forgotten his previous actions. And then the sight of his blood-soaked clothes and the blood-stained saber seemed to act like a stimulant and he recalled what he had done, his face contorting with horror. In a tremulous voice, he said, “I–I killed all those people? Where’s Mo? What happened to Mo?!”
He instantly lost control of himself and looked on the verge of convulsion, yelling in distress, demanding to go and look for his bride.
It was after Mr. Mu hastily shoved a pill into his mouth that he managed to calm himself down. “Who are you? Why couldn’t I go and see Mo? What is this place?”
“This is the Ling Mansion,” explained Mr. Mu. “After you ran wild on the street, some palace guards happened to see you. They overpowered you and brought you here. His Majesty and His Highness have come to know what happened on the street. They want to ask you some questions.”
The bridegroom looked vacantly at them, his voice still devastated. “Can I see Mo?”
Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong exchanged a glance and then granted the man’s request.
The bride was still alive but grievously wounded. Currently she was lying in bed at home.
News of the bridegroom going crazy had spread through the whole city. The bride’s family were frightened of him and hated him, because he had hacked a lot of people to death and also wounded many, including the bride. They were unwilling to let him see the bridge. Eventually Ling Zhang sent someone to talk with them and then the bridegroom, on the verge of a mental breakdown, finally was allowed to see the bride.
Having checked that the bride was still alive and would survive the injuries, the groom heaved a sigh of relief and then limply collapsed to the ground.
…
It was after quite some time’s bustle that Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong suddenly realized they had forgotten an important thing –
The three children were still on their knees!
Both their hearts lurched and they hastened to the living room.
The three little figures were still kneeling there, his grandfather sitting on the side with a walking stick in his hand, glowering at the two of them.
“I thought you’d never come back. Have you any idea how long these poor kids have been kneeling here?!” demanded Ling Xingzhong, hitting the ground with his walking stick, his face sulky. “Tell the kids to rise, now!”
The three of them did not dare to stand up without Ling Zhang’s permission.
Beneath Ling Xingzhong’s furious gaze, Ling Zhang told the three children to get to their feet.
Yuwen Qi’s and Yuwen Lin’s faces were both somewhat waxen. Yuwen Yue, though having a folded overgarment beneath her knees, had still suffered a lot and could not even straighten herself.
Ling Xingzhong tossed his walking stick and hurried forward to support her.
Ling Zhang was taken aback. “I’ll do it, Grandfather. Please stay.”
Yuwen Tong on the side instantly scooped up Yuwen Yue.
Looking at her pallid and miserable face, Ling Zhang was also rather upset.
“I won’t dare do that again, Daddy. Please stop being mad at me.” Yuwen Yue looked at him, her eyes swimming with tears.
Ling Zhang sighed, “Okay. I’m not mad at you any more. Don’t do that kind of thing again.”
It was only then that Yuwen Yue felt relieved. “I won’t dare.”
Kneeling on the ground had been such a torture. She might have collapsed had her daddy not returned.
Ling Zhang shifted his gaze to Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin, let out another sigh and said to a guard, “Send for Mr. Mu.”
Yuwen Qi’s and Yuwen Lin’s knees were bruised and numb and they could barely walk.
Seeing this, Ling Xingzhong was so angry he raised his walking stick with the intention to hit Ling Zhang. Fortunately Ji Yin was quick enough to stop him. “Easy, easy, my in-law.”
“Easy? Do you not see what he did to these kids? If anything happens to any of them, I might as well kill myself,” huffed Ling Xingzhong.
For fear that his grandfather might develop some kind of illness due to his anger, Ling Zhang hastened to admit his mistakes in a low voice. Still, when he offered to support his grandfather, the old man shook Ling Zhang’s hands off. “I don’t need your help!”
Ling Zhang, feeling upset, had no choice but to withdraw his hands.
Seeing this, Yuwen Qi and Yuwen Lin were both at a loss what to do.
Yuwen Yue gave a little sob. “Please don’t be angry, Great-grandfather. It was insensible of us to worry Daddy. We won’t dare do that again.”
Ling Xingzhong said, “Great-grandfather is not angry. Great-grandfather is heartbroken.”
Ling Zhang felt even worse.
“Well, enough talking. Let’s have the kids’ bruises treated first. Other matters can wait. Even if you want to punish him, you’ll have to wait until Mr. Mu dresses their bruises,” Ji Yin said to Ling Xingzhong.
It was only then that Ling Xingzhong’s face softened slightly, but he was still avoiding looking at Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong furrowed his brows momentarily and had just opened his mouth to say something when Ling Zhang stopped him with a slight shake of his head.
