Chapter 42: The Su Family

"Oh?" Su Hu became interested. "Tell your grandfather, how strange was it?"

Su Qing recounted her encounter with Tang Xuan at the airport. When Su Hu heard that the infant on Tang Xuan's shoulder was only two months old yet capable of jumping and leaping about, he burst into laughter.

"Do you really believe a two-month-old infant can jump as high as a grown man?"

Su Qing looked blank. "Grandfather, it’s true; I saw it with my own eyes. And I am certain that the baby is at most a few months old."

Seeing Su Qing’s adamant expression, Su Hu felt a deep sense of helplessness. How could he entrust the Su family to a young girl like her? She would be sold off and not even realize it.

"Xiao Qing, there are many charlatans in this world who possess cruel methods beyond your imagination. The infant you saw may look like it's only a few months old, but it could actually be several years old. They use sinister techniques to freeze a child's growth and facial features at the infant stage to swindle and deceive people."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing’s expression turned somber. "Grandfather, is it fake?"

"Of course it's fake."

Su Qing said worriedly, "Doing this must cause the child great harm, right?"

"Naturally, the child's entire life is ruined, but such ruthless people wouldn't care about that."

Su Qing took a deep breath. She felt overwhelmed. As a kind-hearted woman, she did a great deal of charity work and served as the director for several orphanages. She absolutely could not accept such abuse of children happening right before her eyes.

"Grandfather, do you know the Tang family of Kyoto?"

Su Hu’s thoughts seemed to drift into memory. After a long silence, he said, "The Kyoto Tang family and I share a significant history. Back when I was starting my business, they were also in their early days, and we had quite a few collaborations. At that time, the Tang family’s momentum was greater than mine; I even once believed they would become the premier family in Kyoto. Unfortunately, some incidents occurred later, and the Tang family was ruined by a woman."

Su Qing’s curiosity was instantly piqued. "Ruined by a woman? Was the head of the Tang family a licentious and philandering man?"

Su Hu shook his head. "Quite the opposite. He was a man of great devotion. It was precisely because of his devotion that the Tang family was ruined by that woman."

Su Qing grew more confused. Devotion should be a good thing, so how could it ruin the family?

"The past is complicated. Recalling more will only strain my mind."

Su Qing quickly replied, "Grandfather, let’s not talk about it then. I was just asking casually."

Su Hu stood up, preparing to return to his room to rest. Suddenly, his expression became one of extreme pain. Recognizing that her grandfather’s chronic ailment had flared up, Su Qing hurriedly supported him. "Grandfather, what’s wrong?"

At that moment, an elderly man with a white beard suddenly appeared in the pavilion. He was Zhan Ling, a formidable expert at the early stage of the Earth-Kun Realm, who had remained by Su Hu’s side for years. It could be said that Su Hu’s current status was largely due to Zhan Ling.

After sitting back down, Su Hu was drenched in sweat within moments. Su Qing was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. After a long time, Su Hu’s breathing gradually calmed.

With tears in her eyes, Su Qing said, "Grandfather, you scared me to death."

Su Hu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and smiled bitterly. "This body of mine is reaching its limit."

Su Qing began to weep. "Don't worry, Grandfather, I will definitely find the best doctor for you."

Su Hu remained silent for a moment before saying, "Xiao Qing, I have actually been lying to you all these years. Even if you found the best doctor in the world, they could not cure my illness."

"Why?" Su Qing was stunned.

Su Hu explained, "My condition is not caused by a disease." With that, he hunched his back and walked toward his room. As she watched him walk away, tears welled up in Su Qing’s eyes.

"Grandfather Zhan, what exactly is wrong with my grandfather’s body?"

Zhan Ling sighed. "In his attempt to force a breakthrough in his cultivation, the Yellow Dragon Qi within him became completely uncontrollable."

Years ago, when Su Hu’s cultivation reached the late stage of the Thunder-Shake Realm, he made a very unwise decision in his haste to break through. This decision turned the Yellow Dragon Qi inside him into a ticking time bomb. "I can still barely help him control it, but lately, even I am finding it increasingly difficult."

Su Qing asked blankly, "What will happen if it can't be controlled?"

"He will die."

Su Qing’s heart sank. "Is there really no other way? I don't want Grandfather to die."

"Grandfather Zhan, you are an expert of the Earth-Kun Realm. Can't you save him?"

Zhan Ling shook his head helplessly. "The Earth-Kun Realm is not omnipotent, though there is one way to save your grandfather."

Su Qing saw hope again. "What is it?"

"Only if an expert of the Heaven-Qian Realm is willing to help."

A Heaven-Qian Realm expert! The hope that had just ignited in Su Qing was instantly extinguished. She knew full well that such a possibility was virtually non-existent, as experts of the Heaven-Qian Realm rarely, if ever, appeared in the secular world. Even Zhan Ling had never seen one.

"Heaven, please, I beg you to let a Heaven-Qian Realm expert appear in my life. I am willing to do anything for that." Su Qing knelt in the pavilion, praying to the sky.

Although moved by her filial piety, Zhan Ling knew it was an impossible feat. After all, Heaven-Qian Realm experts were known as demigods. Why would a god concern themselves with the affairs of the mortal world?

Inside the hotel, Tang Xuan stared at the ceiling.

"Don't go too far. Are you trying to scare someone to death?"

Little Xuanzi was walking upside down on the ceiling. Ever since Tang Xuan had begun purifying Little Xuanzi’s body with Yellow Dragon Qi daily, the changes had become increasingly pronounced. Though he remained a body without a soul, his behavior had become ever more brazen. He could scale walls and walk across rafters with ease.

Little Xuanzi returned to Tang Xuan’s shoulder. Tang Xuan flicked his finger against the infant's ankle, producing a metallic clanging sound. This was the trait of an invincible body, usually possessed only by experts of the Wind-巽 Realm. Yet, Little Xuanzi already possessed it. In a sense, Little Xuanzi was still just a vessel, not a true martial cultivator. Once the sacred body was fully forged and Tang Xuan’s consciousness returned to his own physical form, even Tang Xuan could not imagine the explosive power this body would unleash.

Just then, the hotel room door was kicked open. An elderly woman walked in with a face as grim as water.

"Are you mute? Can't you even address your grandmother?"