Su Majestad - Capítulo 5
"You've just taken over the family business, and you haven't even mastered the Flowery Rain Needle technique yet. Your foundation isn't stable. How dare you break the ancestral rules? You should refuse as soon as possible."
I want to say yes.
Tang Qiefang glared at him. "Do you want to get yourself into trouble?"
"I want a cloud barrier."
"You can't afford it!" Tang Qiefang said bluntly. "I think Yue Tong is senile, indulging in wishful thinking! Are you going crazy too? Don't think that just because your father only has you as his heir, you can act recklessly. Changing the direct line of the family head has happened more than once in the past hundred years, you—"
"Let me finish," Tang Congrong said. "Qingcheng was divided into the Sword Sect and the Magic Sect fifty years ago. The Sword Sect focuses on swordsmanship, while the Magic Sect focuses on hidden weapons and poisons. Yue Tong belongs to the Magic Sect, and although he is the leader of Qingcheng, he can no longer control the disciples of the Sword Sect. It seems inevitable that Qingcheng will split up again, and a strong leader is needed to minimize the casualties during the division. Yue Tong is old, and he places his hopes on his son, hoping that his son will stay in the Tang Sect for three years..."
"What does the death of someone in the internal strife of the Qingcheng Sect have to do with the Tang Clan? That's a matter for the Yuewei Pavilion. The Yuewei Pavilion won't let anything major happen in the martial world. You can rest assured."
"That's one thing. Second, at the Book Club of Yuewei Pavilion, each invited person can ask the book master three questions. Father's last question was about the nemesis of the Flower Rain Needle." Tang Congrong looked at Tang Qiefang, a faint light in his eyes, "The book master said it was the Cloud Net Barrier."
Tang Qiefang was slightly taken aback, but gradually understood Tang Congrong's thoughts.
Regardless of whether the Tang Clan possesses the Flowery Rain Needle technique, the world cannot have a Cloud Net Barrier. Since the Cloud Net Barrier exists, it must be kept in the hands of the Tang Clan. Otherwise, even if one masters the Flowery Rain Needle technique, it will be futile when encountering the Cloud Net Barrier.
"Qiefang, the Cloud Silk Barrier has the potential to become a treasured possession of the Tang family, on par with the Flower Rain Needle and the Heavenly Fragrance. I cannot let it go."
“However, the Yu generation will not agree… Congrong, you should know best that without Hua Manyuzhen, there is no true family head. The most actual power still lies with the elders. If you fall out with the elders over this matter, your situation will be very dangerous.”
“Besides Yunluo Zhang, there is nothing else in this world worth me going to such lengths, especially at this time…” Tang Congrong slowly drank a cup of wine, the warm wine sliding down his throat, temporarily bringing a sense of warmth to his chest and abdomen. His gaze fell on Tang Qiefang, his gaze was light, even gentle, with a hint of sorrow in his gentleness, “Qiefang, help me.”
Tang Qiefang's hand holding the wine glass trembled slightly.
There was a plea in those eyes.
Tang Congrong never asked him for anything.
"you say."
"We must refine the 'Heavenly Fragrance'."
Tang Qiefang's face darkened. She tilted her head back, finished her drink, and poured herself another glass. "Tianxiang, heh."
Chapter Twelve
"Heavenly Fragrance" is a highly secret poison of the Tang Clan, possessing power comparable to "Floral Rain Needle." Just as only the head of the family can master "Floral Rain Needle," only the direct lineage lord of the Tang Clan's pharmacy can refine "Heavenly Fragrance." However, this poison is extremely difficult to refine; in the past hundred years, only the first lord successfully refined it. Subsequent lords often devoted their entire lives to it but never succeeded.
"Flower-like Rain Needles... perhaps we can't master it... If we lose Tianxiang, what will become of the Tang Clan?" Tang Congrong's voice was so soft it was as if he were talking to himself. "A century of prestige, is it all going to perish in one day at my hands, Tang Congrong's hands?" He gently shook his head, finished his drink, raised his head, his eyes slightly hazy, and his voice remained as light as ever. "Qiefang, I might get drunk tonight. Stay and take care of me."
Tang Qiefang nodded.
Tang Congrong quickly became drunk.
He had a low alcohol tolerance to begin with, and drinking with worries on his mind made him get drunk even faster. When he was drunk, he didn't cry or make a fuss; he just sat quietly, and no ordinary person would have noticed. Tang Qiefang saw his eyes become dazed, and his hand holding the glass became somewhat unresponsive, so she knew he couldn't drink anymore and helped him to bed.
A charcoal fire burned under the bed, kept warm by someone in the next room. Tang Qiefang had once asked Tang Congrong to bring two women to warm the bed, but Tang Congrong dismissed it with a disdainful look. Later, Tang Qiefang came up with this method, and it worked perfectly.
Removing his cloak and fox fur, Tang Congrong appeared slender. The aftereffects of practicing the Flower Rain Needle technique at the age of seven had left him physically weaker than most. Yet, even at such a cost, he still failed at the crucial moment… Heaven was indeed unfair. If only he had another month, the Tang Clan's supreme hidden weapon, the Flower Rain Needle, would have been perfected, wouldn't it?
Tang Qiefang's gaze fell on Tang Congrong's beautiful, icy hands, and a sudden glint of light appeared in her eyes.
He took a flower-patterned needle from Tang Congrong's needle pouch and pricked Tang Congrong's hand once, then once more.
He was extremely careful with the needles, each one requiring a great deal of effort. By the time he finished, the sky was already turning pale.
Then he took a small bottle out of his pocket.
The small bottle was opened, revealing another small bottle inside. It was opened again, and there was more inside. Retrieving the third small bottle, Tang Qiefang held her breath and poured a few drops of bright red, blood-like liquid onto Tang Congrong's tattoo.
It's as if you can hear a "sizzle" sound, and a thin mist rises on the skin's surface as the juice seeps into the skin.
When Tang Congrong woke up, she saw a bright red lotus flower on her left hand, slanted across her icy skin, seemingly swaying in the wind, lifelike and exquisitely beautiful.
Startled, he then raised an eyebrow, "Seventh... Uncle!"
Many years ago, on the night the two children met in an uninhabited courtyard of the Tang Clan, they made a pact to call each other by name only, not by "uncle" or "head of the family." There is only one situation in which Tang Congrong would break this agreement.
Tang Congrong got angry.
The young patriarch was always gentle and mild-mannered; even when his disciples made mistakes, he would only say a few words indifferently. Upon hearing the anger in that voice, Tang Qiefang's eyelids twitched with unease.
"Hehe, don't be so stingy. Every time I see your hands, I want to poke something in them. Now I've finally got my chance, hehe, it doesn't hurt at all, does it?" Tang Qiefang blinked. "There are advantages to not being able to feel anything. Like now. Or, for example, if some beautiful woman has a fever, you don't even need to prepare ice. You just need to place your hand on her forehead. It's practical and intimate. I couldn't ask for such a good thing—"
Chapter Thirteen
Before he could finish speaking, a silver hair grazed his cheek, leaving a thin cut from which blood seeped.
"Tsk tsk." Tang Qiefang touched her face. "Luckily, your skills are not as good as before, otherwise this old man would be disfigured."
The chill hadn't dissipated, preventing him from practicing the Flower Rain Needle Technique; his hands were numb, greatly reducing the accuracy and power of his hidden weapons, causing Tang Congrong great anxiety. Waking up this morning to find a new tattoo on his hand was no less painful than being slapped in the face—if he hadn't lost consciousness, how could Tang Qiefang have left such a tattoo on his hand without him noticing?
The two had grown up together and knew each other's skill levels intimately. This needle should have only slightly hindered Tang Qiefang, but to everyone's surprise, Tang Qiefang didn't dodge and took the needle. Tang Congrong's heart skipped a beat, and she held the second needle to her fingertip, unable to fire it.
Tang Qiefang knew that the injection had calmed him down considerably; "He's composed."
The call was solemn and dignified. Tang Congrong couldn't help but raise his head. Tang Qiefang looked at his gentle features and her heart softened for some unknown reason. She sighed and said, "Give me three months to refine the Heavenly Fragrance."
Tang Congrong was shocked. How could the Heavenly Fragrance, which had been impossible to refine for generations, be refined in just three months?
“Actually, my father had almost mastered the poison formula before he died, but I just never wanted to refine it.” Tang Qiefang smiled at him. “Don’t worry, the Tang Clan will not fall in your hands. Don’t rush to practice the Flower Rain Needle. First, find a way to dispel the cold energy… Even if you can’t dispel it in the end, the Tang Clan still has Heavenly Fragrance.”
Tang Qiefang is usually carefree and exaggerated, so it's rare to see her so serious and earnest.
Tang Qiefang reminded Tang Congrong of his childhood, when he struggled to master the Flower Rain Needle technique, and this uncle would always comfort him, saying, "Don't worry, even if you can't master it, I'm here for you. My Heavenly Fragrance technique is also top-notch."