When the flight reached Coastal City, it was already night.
Li Zong and Zu Zhichong had to go back to the Rosefinch Office, the headquarter of the Supernaturalism Management Bureau (SMB), to report on their work first, which was in a different direction from that of He family"s messuage, so they had to go their separate ways.
Because of the talk they had had on the plane, the look in He Zheng"s eyes was tinged with embarra.s.sment when he was facing Li Zong, while Li Zong"s expression was just as usual. Before leaving, Li Zong made a remark. "Master He"s patience is running out."
He Zheng was sent into a brief trance. It was not until he returned to He family that he realized what Li Zong had meant by this remark.
In the messuage of He family.
Master He had promised He Zheng several days, but to everybody"s surprise, He Zheng returned in less than 24 hours after departure from home. As a result, all servants did a double take when they caught sight of He Zheng.
They hurriedly greeted him, "Greetings, Young Master." He Zheng ignored them and walked straight towards the hall.
Before he approached the hall, an unpleasant female voice came from inside.
"Master, what is it that"s keeping He Zheng? Surely he has no intention of making Zhu family his new home, does he? He"s so undutiful. Your life is at stake and that dragon scale of Li family is the only thing that can save you, but he"s still wasting time. I wonder whether he cares about you or not!"
He Zheng was stunned by the familiar voice, but soon he collected himself, sneered and abruptly strode inside.
Both of the two people talking inside the hall were taken aback by his sudden appearance, especially Qiao Peiyu, the color of her face alternating between normal and red. She had just slandered He Zheng saying that he didn"t care about his father, but the next second He Zheng showed up.
"This little b.a.s.t.a.r.d must have done this deliberately to humiliate me!"
He Zheng"s black eyes rested on Qiao Peiyu"s face where there was still lingering surprise. In a seemingly interrogative tone of voice, he asked, "There seemed to be someone talking just now. Who doesn"t care about who?"
Qiao Peiyu was very good at pretending, especially in front of He Changchun.
After only a fleeting moment"s daze, she put on a sweet smile and walked up to He Zheng. "Why didn"t you give us a call before coming back? I would have sent Butler Wu to pick you up."
"Beat it. Who do you think you are?" He Zheng darted a cold look at Qiao Peiyu who was approaching him.
He had been harboring hatred towards this woman all along. At this moment, with Qiao Peiyu in view, thinking of that jade pendant, her mother"s cremains as well as her pained screams, he had the almost overwhelming desire to kill this woman right now.
For an instant, He Zheng really lost control of his emotions and, surprisingly, when Qiao Peiyu "affectionately" walked up to him, the flinty look in his eyes frightened Qiao Peiyu.
"The time has not come yet. Calm down. Calm down. I can"t rashly fight her here..."
He Zheng secretly warned himself.
But not taking any rash action didn"t mean that he should care about Qiao Peiyu"s feelings.
"You!" It had never crossed Qiao Peiyu"s mind that He Zheng would be so aggressive at the very beginning of their conversation. Originally, it would take a few moments" quarrel between them to cause him to make this kind of remarks. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Qiao Peiyu forced some tears and pitifully said to her husband, "Changchun, look at this kid..."
"Stop your disgusting acting. You could have put the time to better use by disciplining your son."
"My son? What about my son?! Don"t you dare bark like a... Don"t you dare throw dirt at us!"
Unexpectedly, He Zheng wasn"t angered by Qiao Peiyu"s confrontational words. Instead, He Zheng flicked a significant glance at Qiao Peiyu and even gave a chuckle. There had been plenty of occasions when He Zheng lost his temper and even beat people right in front of his father, but this was the first time that Qiao Peiyu had seen him chuckling in a quarrel, which sent chills down her spine.
He Zheng had made that remark merely to sound Qiao Peiyu out. Seeing the reaction of Qiao Peiyu, he had a shrewd idea what had actually happened. It was not Qiao Peiyu who had been in collusion with demons.
"He"s your son. Why are you asking me?" He Zheng"s lips curved in a sneer. "You"d better find out whom he has been colluding with."
Then he looked He Changchun in the eye. "I"d like to have a word with you."
Actually, He Zheng"s tone of voice was somewhat beyond the pale. This was not the att.i.tude that a son was supposed to have when speaking to his father. However, He Changchun had a slightly guilty conscience. After all, it had been under the condition that He Zheng married Li Zong that he had agreed to let He Zheng have Zhu Ning"s ashes, which was not something he felt proud of.
But He Changchun didn"t really have any choice. He had fallen victim to a ruse of his opponent and been struck by Phantom Peach Blossom Spell, which was a lethal incantation. Currently, abscesses had already appeared on his body. If the symptom spread to his face, the condition would be incurable.
On top of this, Qiao Peiyu had given him pillow talk saying that He Zheng was indeed the best candidate. He could always have another son, but he could never have a second life.
How could He Changchun not value his own life?
Because of this faint sense of guilt, He Changchun ignored He Zheng"s disrespectful att.i.tude. He told Qiao Peiyu, "You may leave."
"But..."
"Leave. Make sure no interruption comes to us."
"Okay, okay. I get it. I"ll take my leave. There"s no need to be so angry." There was something dangerous about Qiao Peiyu"s smiling face. "I"ll go and prepare some lotus seed congee for you. Hopefully it"ll help you ease your anger."
Thus He Changchun and He Zheng were the only ones in the hall.
As the patriarch of a large family famous for geomancy achievements, He Changchun was a very powerful man. Though already in his fifties, he had been taking good care of his health and appeared as if he was barely forty.
But He Zheng still observed that He Changchun didn"t look very well, that there was an air of decay about him. And even the topmost b.u.t.ton of his Tang-style suit was b.u.t.toned.
"Zheng, why didn"t you stay in your grandfather"s place longer?" After a few moments" silence, He Changchun chose a relatively better topic to start the conversation.
He Zheng hadn"t bothered pretending when facing Qiao Peiyu, and he didn"t bother pretending in front of his father either.
Sitting on a sofa, He Zheng snorted coldly, anger on his face. Then he looked sideways at He Changchun. "How can you get that dragon scale of Li family sooner if I don"t come back sooner?"
His thoughts being seen through, He Changchun gave a cough in an effort to conceal his embarra.s.sment, but he still had a serious countenance. "He Zheng, I want you back because you"re my son."
He Zheng stared fixedly at He Changchun. If his father had said such nice words to him earlier, he wouldn"t have become the person he currently was. This thought flashed across He Zheng"s mind and soon he collected himself.
Without any redundant remarks, he observed explicitly, "I"m willing to marry Li Zong as soon as possible."
On hearing this, He Changchun did look surprised. As far as he could remember, his son had never been so thoughtful towards him.
Unsurprisingly, the next remark of He Zheng dissolved He Changchun"s puzzlement.
"I want the cultivation method of He family."
Qiao Peiyu had not walked far away but been eavesdropping on them at the doorway. As she heard He Zheng"s remarks, a faint sneer of contempt crossed her pretty face.
"This good-for-nothing has sharp business ac.u.men. But does he really think he"ll live long enough to practice it?"