Chapter 68: Puzzling
Chapter 68: Puzzling
Thud!
The moment Wang Hanyu’s gaze landed on him, Tang Jinbiao’s body trembled uncontrollably. An illusion took hold—a feeling that every inch of him had been scrutinized, laid utterly bare before her eyes. Yet, strangely, while terror gripped his heart, his body refused to move even a fraction. His breath and heartbeat ceased instantly, and even his thoughts went blank.
While Tang Jinbiao remained frozen, Wang Hanyu turned her head, shaking it at Tang Zhantian and Wang Wanyu. Disappointment filled her eyes.
Click-clack!
That sensation, however, lasted only an instant. With another tremor, Tang Jinbiao snapped back to normal, as if it had all been a hallucination.
“Hehe, little Biao’er! What’s the matter? Won’t you greet your auntie upon seeing her? You grow ever less courteous as you grow up!”
Just as Tang Jinbiao still felt caught in a dream, Wang Hanyu turned back, a sly grin playing on her lips, her tone teasing.
“I…”
Tang Jinbiao remained dazed; that feeling had been far too bizarre.
“Biao’er! Hurry and greet your Auntie!”
Tang Zhantian scolded immediately upon seeing Tang Jinbiao’s sluggish reaction.
“Sister, Biao’er lost his memory. He likely doesn’t recall you—don’t scold him.”
The pale-faced Wang Wanyu seemed worried Wang Hanyu would blame him and spoke up.
“Oh? This happened?”
Wang Hanyu clearly hadn’t expected this. A flicker of curiosity crossed her face as she looked at Tang Jinbiao. To her, Tang Jinbiao had indeed changed much over the past three years—from a fading prodigy to this current Body Refiner. She’d already quietly discussed this with Tang Zhantian and Wang Wanyu moments before. Her intention had been to probe him and see whether a Soul Possession might have occurred.
“What?”
Upon hearing this, Tang Yilin’s face registered shock, her gaze turning towards Tang Jinbiao with incomprehension.
“Little Biao’er, come here. Auntie will check you over.”
Hearing this, Wang Hanyu’s expression turned serious as she addressed Tang Jinbiao.
“I… Ah!”
But before Tang Jinbiao could respond, an invisible, immense force yanked him forward.
Thwack!
Once pulled to her, Wang Hanyu wasted no words. Her right palm landed lightly but firmly on his head.
A trace of concern flitted across Tang Zhantian and Wang Wanyu’s faces at this sight, vanishing as quickly as it appeared. It was evident they trusted Wang Hanyu not to cause harm.
After roughly a dozen breaths, Wang Hanyu gently withdrew her hand. She looked at Tang Zhantian and Wang Wanyu, her expression complex, seeming momentarily unsure how to speak.
“Well? Is there still hope… hope for Biao’er to recover?” Tang Zhantian’s heart tightened slightly upon seeing Wang Hanyu’s troubled countenance.
“Sister?” Wang Wanyu also inquired anxiously. “Are the results bad?”
“Did she… discover something?”
Tang Jinbiao was now less than a foot away from Wang Hanyu, so close he could even smell her body fragrance. Yet at this moment, he felt perturbed inside, because just an instant ago, he had the sensation that his memories had been rifled through by someone.
Wang Hanyu didn’t speak aloud; instead, her lips moved slightly, as if she was sound-transmitting to Tang Zhantian and his wife.
“What? How could such a thing happen?”
Shortly after, Tang Zhantian’s face registered shock, his expression one of disbelief.
“This?”
Wang Wanyu’s face also showed astonishment, clearly having heard something incredible.
“Well, in any case, I just used my Secret Art to probe his memory, and that’s what I saw. As for whether what I saw is true or false, I can’t be certain. After all, those matters are staggeringly bizarre. If they were all real, I can scarcely imagine such a world existing. If they were false, they were so convincingly fabricated it makes one suspect they are real. However, there is one part of his memory I couldn’t probe. That part seems protected by a potent barrier. If I tried to probe it forcefully, it would surely trigger the barrier’s backlash. But you needn’t worry. Biao’er is physically unharmed. His body is well-tempered. With diligence, he can still achieve success in the future.”
Wang Hanyu shook her head, seemingly sighing over what she had just witnessed.
“Hmm? What’s wrong? Did they discover my origins?”
Seeing the expressions on the three faces, Tang Jinbiao felt a slight jolt of alarm, a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, just as Tang Jinbiao had this thought, Tang Zhantian and his wife also looked at Tang Jinbiao, their expressions complex.
Thud!
The more he saw this look, the more uneasy Tang Jinbiao became.
“Biao’er, rest assured, from this day on, your mother and I will take good care of you. We won’t let you feel neglected any longer!” Tang Zhantian declared immediately, his face radiating paternal affection.
“Yes, Biao’er, we will truly look after you from now on. We won’t let you have such dreams again. We’ve failed you!” Wang Wanyu spoke, her face filled with remorse.
“Ahem, my poor little Biaozi, it’s Auntie not caring for you enough that has made you suffer!” Wang Hanyu gently pulled Tang Jinbiao into her embrace, lightly stroking his head, her tone also tender and affectionate.
While probing Tang Jinbiao’s memory with her Secret Art just now, Wang Hanyu had witnessed an extraordinarily tragic scene: in another world, Tang Jinbiao was an orphan, lacking parents from childhood, bullied everywhere, living each day in fear and trembling. His legs were finally broken, and on a wind-swept, snowy night, he froze to death.
“What’s going on?”
Tang Jinbiao, a tall figure, now bent over. Though he enjoyed the feel of being embraced by Wang Hanyu, he felt strange, as if these people had misunderstood something. However, despite the possible misunderstanding, he was thoroughly enjoying being held by Wang Hanyu.
“Hmph, rogue!”
Tang Yilin off to the side naturally found it all baffling, but seeing Tang Jinbiao’s look of bliss, she cursed quietly under her breath.
“Ahem, it seems we truly wronged Biao’er. Over the years, our concern for him was too sparse, causing him to have such a wretched dream. Blame us, husband and wife, for being too absorbed in cultivation!” Tang Zhantian looked down at the Little Tang Song nestled in his arms, then glanced at Tang Jinbiao, his expression deeply regretful.
“Tian-ge, don’t blame yourself entirely. This is also my fault. Had we not been overly focused on Ni’er, we wouldn’t have neglected Biao’er so!” Wang Wanyu’s face was also etched with profound remorse.
Tang Zhantian and his wife had reached a consensus. They believed Tang Jinbiao experienced such a dream, one vivid enough to overwrite his memory, during his coma solely because they hadn’t given him enough love and care. Consequently, Tang Jinbiao suffered this outcome. Of course, rack their brains as they might, they could never conceive that this memory was actually implanted in Tang Jinbiao’s mind by the unscrupulous Huang Biaozi. Even Tang Jinbiao himself didn’t know it existed.
“Alright, alright, regardless of what it is, he is still your Biao’er. It’s just that the dream felt unnervingly real, making me somewhat skeptical. Anyway, you now know how to proceed from here!” Wang Hanyu gently stroked Tang Jinbiao’s head as she spoke.
“Ah, even if I died now, it’d be worth it!”
While Tang Zhantian and the others were weeping, Tang Jinbiao’s mind started to wander.
“Disgusting!”
Tang Yilin beside them, her eyes sharp as ever, seemed to notice Tang Jinbiao’s leering, thoroughly enjoying expression. She deliberately took a few steps away.
“Oh, by the way, little sister, what brings you here this time? Surely not just because of Biao’er and the others?” After a while, Wang Wanyu asked.
“Hmm, indeed, it’s not about these juniors. I have matters to discuss with the Elders. Anyway, we sisters have exchanged enough pleasantries; I should go find those Elders. Leave Biao’er and Yilin in your care!” Wang Hanyu said, a hint of seriousness appearing on her face.
“Hmm, alright, you go ahead. We’ll handle the matters concerning these juniors.” Seeing the serious look on her little sister’s face, Wang Wanyu didn’t inquire further and nodded.
“Alright then, little Biao’er, Auntie has to go. You little rascal, didn’t even call out when you saw me!” Feeling it was time to leave, Wang Hanyu pushed Tang Jinbiao away, her expression turning playful once more.
“Ah!” Suddenly out of Wang Hanyu’s embrace, Tang Jinbiao instantly felt something missing. An emptiness settled in his heart, a thick sense of loss.
“Oh, right,” Wang Hanyu ignored Tang Jinbiao and turned her gaze to Tang Zhantian instead. “I have two Spiritual Treasures here. Give them to Little Tang Song when he wakes up, as birthday gifts. I’ll be returning to the academy for a while soon, but I’ll find time to visit him later. With Little Tang Song’s talent, passing the entrance test shouldn’t pose any problem!” As she spoke, Wang Hanyu retrieved a small turtle-shell-like shield and another, seemingly transparent, Tiny Sword from her Storage Pouch.
The moment these two items appeared, a powerful aura immediately radiated from them even before their power could be witnessed.
Sensing this formidable pressure, the previously dazed Tang Jinbiao shuddered slightly, jolted a bit more awake. Tang Yilin beside him also blanched slightly.
“What?!”
“This is…!” Tang Zhantian and his wife, feeling the pressure from the two treasures, also paled immediately and refused outright.
“Little sister, no! These Spiritual Treasures are far too precious. We cannot accept them!”
“No, Tang Song is still too young. Carrying such powerful Spiritual Treasures is not a good thing!” The two refused without a second thought.
“Haha, don’t worry,” Wang Hanyu chuckled lightly seeing their stricken expressions. “I won’t give them to him like this. I will place Seals upon them. Each time Little Tang Song reaches a new stage of cultivation, he can unlock one Seal, and their power will increase accordingly. Unless he encounters some ancient beings, no one will detect the special nature of these Spiritual Treasures. Besides, even if those old monsters did spot them, they’d likely give me face and wouldn’t harm Little Tang Song.” She then gently stroked the Tiny Sword. Its radiating aura instantly contracted, making it appear like an utterly ordinary small sword. Likewise, a touch on the turtle-shell shield caused its powerful pressure to vanish…