Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Teng Yunzhong laughed ominously, "Hehe, have you forgotten which tribe Ruo Qing and I belong to? We are not Han people; we are Miao People. As Miao People, how could we not understand the use of the zhong?"
The zhong is a form of witchcraft in folklore, and the zhong technique from Miao territory is very famous, capable of both harming others and healing. The ancient people firmly believed in the spells that caused illness through poison and curses. In the eighth year of the Qingli era, Song Renzong issued medical texts such as Zhongdu, which provided detailed analyses and treatments for symptoms caused by curses.
It is said that all Miao people know the art of curses. They place various highly poisonous insects, such as snakes and scorpions, into the same vessel, allowing them to gnaw at and kill each other until only one survives, which becomes the curse. There are many types of curses, with significant ones including snake curses, dog curses, cat ghost curses, scorpion curses, toad curses, insect curses, and flying curses. Although curses appear to be tangible objects on the surface, they have been regarded since ancient times as mysterious entities that can fly, change form, and emit light, vanishing like ghosts.
"Not only do Ruo Qing and I know the art of curses, but Ruo Qing's special ability is also related to it. Qing was specifically cultivated by Ruo Qing for me. When Ruo Qing died, Qing survived; that’s why it escaped disaster unlike other curses that perish with their hosts. It also brought back the entire process of how you harmed Ruo Qing." Teng Yunzhong's eyes were filled with hatred. "Do you know how I felt when I heard about Ruo Qing's death? I wished I could cut you into a thousand pieces. It was only for my brothers who followed me that I refrained from acting against you out of fear of your father and Uncle's power. Now, I've finally found my opportunity!"
A thick aura of murderous intent enveloped Ke Fengqin, causing her to tremble all over as cold sweat broke out from her heart. Unable to help herself, she shouted, "Lies! Lies! It's lying; don't believe it!"
"Not believing it? Should I believe you instead?" Teng Yunzhong snorted coldly and then saw an azure snake coiling up shrink visibly at a speed observable to the naked eye until it became smaller than a grain of rice until it was no longer visible.
Not just Ke Fengqin; even Bai Tang was stunned. No wonder curses are said to be formless and colorless. Those afflicted by them often remain unaware. She had previously wondered how small creatures like snakes, toads, scorpions, spiders, and centipedes could go unnoticed; it turned out there was a second form! She recalled a story she had heard while in Luozhen: decades ago, there was a family in Luozhen where a widow lived with her son and daughter-in-law. This widow was not local but had fled from Miao territory. No one knew she practiced zhong techniques until her zhong grew dissatisfied with her age and sought a strong young host—her son caught its eye. The widow understood how difficult it was to raise a zhong; one careless move could lead to backlash. Naturally, she was unwilling to pass it on to her son. Her zhong was very displeased and gnawed at her fiercely. With no choice left, she agreed to use the curse against her son. However, while she was discussing how to deal with him with her zhong, her daughter-in-law overheard them outside. The daughter-in-law hurriedly ran to the village edge and told her husband when he returned from cutting grass. She even specially steamed him a bowl of egg cake and warned him not to eat it when he got home. Afterward, she first boiled a large pot of water at home. When her son returned home, the widow offered him the bowl of egg cake while reminding him that it had cooled down and should be heated before eating. As she lifted the pot lid to pour the egg cake into the boiling water pot and covered it tightly again, they could hear something struggling inside. After a while without any movement, she opened the lid only to find that a two-meter-long snake had been boiled alive inside. It was unbelievable how such a large snake could shrink down enough to hide in a bowl of egg cake!
Although Bai Tang was curious about the wonders and mysteries of zhong techniques, she had no interest in studying such insidious things. While she wasn't afraid of creatures like venomous snakes or anything similar, she couldn't bring herself to like them either. She continued focusing on the two lovers entangled in their love-hate relationship (though this term might not be accurate since it was more one-sided admiration from one party). At this moment, Teng Yunzhong began rambling on about his past with Ruo Qing, almost more tedious than a typical villain's monologue. Fortunately for Ke Fengqin, she was indeed the villainess whose abilities were inferior to Teng Yunzhong, leaving no chance for reversal.
The Ruo Qing mentioned by Teng Yunzhong was his wife; they were neighbors who grew up together as childhood sweethearts naturally falling in love with each other. Because he was good-looking, at eighteen years old he caught the attention of a director who cast him as the third male lead in an idol drama that gained him popularity among viewers and led him into showbiz. Following in his footsteps, Ruo Qing became his assistant handling all his affairs while self-studying management knowledge until she officially became his manager later on. They dated for ten years without losing their original intentions despite the entertainment industry's extravagance; Teng Yunzhong rejected various temptations and insisted on their love until they eventually entered marriage together. However, their sweetness did not last long as the apocalypse arrived; both awakened special abilities and gathered loyal followers at Base of D City, living quite well despite being in an apocalyptic world. Although they were happy together during this time, their happiness shattered due to Ke Fengqin's arrival. Ke Fengqin genuinely liked Teng Yunzhong, otherwise she wouldn't have betrayed her life-saving benefactor Sheng Qingxi. However, jealousy can lead people astray—especially when someone possesses immense power behind them. Ke Fengqin's Uncle is Bei Haiyun; her father is Bei Haiyun's brother-in-law who runs a supermarket—her status is not lower than that of Xia Mo. After witnessing the darkness of the apocalypse firsthand, Ke Fengqin's character changed as well; what little kindness she had initially vanished completely. She asked her father for help in plotting against Ruo Qing, secretly dealing with many women who showed interest in Teng Yunzhong, staining her hands with innocent blood from countless women. She thought that Teng Yunzhong knew nothing about this; little did she realize he tolerated her presence just so he could deal with her personally.
"So you knew all along!" Ke Fengqin gradually regained her composure amidst Teng Yunzhong's accusations. "But you should know that everything I've done is because of you—I love you!"
Teng Yunzhong scoffed: "Your love is something I cannot accept nor need."
He stood up and walked over to Ke Fengqin's side, gripping her neck with one hand: "You should have gone down long ago to apologize to Ruo Qing. The reason I've said so much is merely for you to understand that everything you've done is just self-indulgence; even if all women in this world were wiped out, I would never like you!"
Some people live for love; however, Teng Yunzhong's actions were ruthless enough to completely shatter Ke Fengqin's affection—killed by someone she adored yet unable to close her eyes peacefully.
Bai Tang watched as Teng Yunzhong threw Ke Fengqin's body out of the window before returning leisurely to read and drink wine again. She withdrew her consciousness back into herself while Bei Haiyun and Xia Qu slumped helplessly on the ground—both knowing their fate was sealed chose not to plead anymore but simply closed their eyes to sleep instead. Thus,Bai Tang took out an ancient book casually flipping through it; it was a vernacular version from the Republic era—its content quite archaic compared to modern works bursting with creativity beyond imagination—but its literary quality surpassed anything contemporary writers could achieve today. The ancient text was arranged vertically from right to left in traditional characters which generally posed difficulty for most readers but came easily for Bai Tang. Her family owned a complete set of Jin Da collections bought back from Hong Kong by her father's senior brother published in the 1970s—all written in vertical traditional characters—so she had long since become accustomed to reading them since childhood.
The story told of a young master from an influential family during the Republic era who ran away due to dissatisfaction with an arranged feudal marriage imposed by his family only to encounter an older sister returning from abroad whom he fell in love with—only later discovering she was actually his betrothed fiancée resulting in a comedic ending when all was said and done. Just as she reached halfway through reading this tale,Sheng Qingxi burst into the room with people following behind him.
"Leave it to you!" Bai Tang stood up and walked gracefully towards the door. Most of Sheng Qingxi's people did not recognize her and reached out to stop her, but they found her figure elusive; no one could block her.
"Don't waste your energy. Bai Tang's strength is formidable; even if we all work together, we can't stop her," Sheng Qingxi spoke up to prevent his companions.
"Boss Sheng, do you know her?" a young man in a leather vest asked.
"That's my friend, she came from the capital. Without her, both A Xue and I would be done for; there wouldn't be any chance for a comeback," Sheng Qingxi replied.
The young man in the leather vest said, "So she's the boss's benefactor. No wonder she's so impressive, able to infiltrate Bei Haiyun's territory and handle everyone."
"Of course. I knew she was no ordinary person when I first met her. Alright, enough about her; let's get to work!"
The power struggle in City Base ended swiftly with the Zhang family, Nie family, and Duan Family achieving a decisive victory. Many ordinary citizens were completely unaware that Bei Haiyun, one of the power holders, had already been eliminated. The cleanup work was busy, but even amidst the busyness, the Zhang family managed to host a banquet for Bai Tang, who played a crucial role.
"Bai Tang, this is my grandfather!" Sheng Qingxi introduced Bai Tang to his family.
"Hello, Mr. Zhang!" Bai Tang greeted the spirited elder with respect. The elder's high position was earned through his blood and youth; these elders were great contributors to the founding of Huaxia.
"The girl is impressive. I hear you're a disciple of a hidden sect? Which sect is it?" Mr. Zhang had a very good impression of Bai Tang; his favorite piece of calligraphy by Zhu Zhishan came from this young lady.
Bai Tang smiled lightly, "I'm just a solitary practitioner; I don't belong to any sect."
City Base has several major sects stationed there, such as the Wuxian (Poison) Sect, Mu Family Village (formerly Mu Wangfu), Diancang Sect, Duan Family, and Shennong Gang. The old man had seen many Ancient Martial Artists and realized that none of them gave him the same feeling as Bai Tang did; he understood that this young lady's strength was extraordinary.
"This is my uncle!" Sheng Qingxi introduced Zhang Yu and others to Bai Tang again. Everyone treated Bai Tang very warmly; as for Zhang Feng, he and Bai Tang were already friends.
"Congratulations on finally being together with your true love after all the ups and downs!" Bai Tang gifted a pair of jade clasps to Zhang Feng and Luo Shaobao. When separated, they were two exquisite jade pendants; when combined, they formed a whole.
"Thank you! Ah Feng often talks about you; seeing you in person is indeed better than hearing about you," Luo Shaobao said as he accepted the jade clasps. He was about the same age as Zhang Feng, tall with deep features, exuding a strong masculine aura.
"Time to eat!" Mother Sheng, Zhang Jingyu, and Aunt Zhang came out of the Kitchen holding plates, calling everyone over. Behind them followed Cousin-in-law Zhang and Cao Xue, who were helping out.
"Bai Tang, my mom specially made a flower feast for you today," Cao Xue said happily as she walked over to Bai Tang. "Come try this, it's fried lotus flower, really delicious."
Fried lotus flower is made from fresh lotus flowers, with the most complete petals peeled off and soaked in a mixture of eggs and Flour, adding Chicken Soup or fine sugar, divided into sweet and savory types, then deep-fried until crispy. Bai Tang tasted a piece; it was crispy and tasty, with a hint of sweetness from the lotus flower. She nodded in praise, "Not bad, very delicious!"
"Try this Chrysanthemum Tofu!" Zhang Jingyu's cooking received compliments, and in her excitement, she kept serving dishes into Bai Tang's bowl.
Rose Milk Fan Roll, Peony Golden Ear Chicken, Osmanthus Golden Silk Chicken, Millennium Tree Bud Flower, Saffron Stir-Fried Vegetables, Fire Tree Silver Flower, Consort Lan, Panzhihua Mixed Jellyfish, Sophora Flower Dumplings, Chrysanthemum Pork Ribs and Mung Bean Soup, Chrysanthemum Lamb Soup... all classic dishes from the city flower feast. Bai Tang enjoyed herself immensely and decided to learn how to make the flower feast from Zhang Jingyu to treat Bai Dad and Bai Ma when she got home.
The dessert after the meal was Flower Cake. Flower Cake is a flaky pastry made with edible rose petals unique to yn, representing a classic snack of yn cuisine. Historical records indicate that Flower Cake was created over three hundred years ago during the Qing Dynasty by a pastry Master. Due to its floral fragrance, sweetness without being cloying, and beauty-enhancing properties, it became widely popular. Records from the late Qing period stated: "In April, those made with rose petals are called rose cakes. Those made with wisteria flowers are called wisteria cakes. They are seasonal foods." As the reputation of Flower Cake grew, it became a tribute offered by court officials and gained favor with Emperor Qianlong, who decreed: "From now on, there is no need to request permission for using rose cakes as offerings." Seeing that Bai Tang enjoyed the Flower Cake, Zhang Jingyu gave her all the remaining Flower Cakes from the Kitchen. Bai Tang accepted them without hesitation—using food to repay the kindness of the Zhang Family was her way of showing gratitude. Elder Zhang and Zhang Yu understood this well and appreciated this young yet strong girl even more. Unfortunately, they could not keep her in City Base; Bai Tang was set to leave City Base soon.
"Bai Tang, I know you're an ordinary person; I won't keep you any longer. Let's drink this toast as a farewell!" Zhang Feng raised his glass. "If you have time, come visit us in the city often; I believe those Zombies and Mutated Beasts on the road won't be a problem for you."
"You really have confidence in me!" Bai Tang lifted her glass. "I will come often; you all take care too. I believe the apocalypse will be over soon!" (To be continued)
Time-Space Merchant Life
Comment 0 Comment Count