Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Treachery of the Human Heart

The standoff settled into a deadlock. The Song household was temporarily helpless, while the Tang household was likewise constrained by its own scruples.

"Qi Bo, what should we do next?" Tang Qiu asked the hawk-nosed elder Tang Qi, showing clear trust in him.

"Provided we can retreat safely, we should wring a few more things out of the Song family," Tang Qi answered as if it were only natural.

Tang Qiu was taken aback. "More things? I never planned to walk out of here alive today. I only want the Song family to be buried with me!"

"Young Master, how can you be so muddleheaded? You are now the Tang family's only heir. If you die, then the Tang line truly ends. Even if we avenge ourselves, how could you face the master and mistress, and all our ancestors, beneath the earth?" Tang Qi frowned as he tried to dissuade him.

"No, I cultivated this poison-and-bane art because..."

Tang Qiu had barely gotten halfway through when Tang Qi cut him off at once. "Young Master, do not say it. If you trust me, then leave everything to my judgment."

"All right."

Both men were experts at the grandmaster level, so they conversed through secret transmission. In short order, they reached an understanding.

"Patriarch Song, I won't waste words. The longer one is afflicted by this poison, the harder it becomes to shake free; by then, even an antidote will be useless. Why don't we discuss terms properly?" Tang Qi said loudly.

"That suits me just fine. Go on then, tell me what terms you want," Song Han replied. As a master of the third realm, he had awakened spiritual sense, so Tang Qi and Tang Qiu's private exchange had not escaped him at all. He only felt that Tang Qi harbored some deeper scheme.

"It is very simple. We do not want you to surrender, nor do we require the lives of Song family descendants in exchange. We want only one thing: the Song family's inherited Spirit Resonant Red Jade!"

No sooner had Tang Qi finished than the faces of the entire Song family changed. Tang Qiu, too, seemed to realize something and cried out in disbelief, "I refuse! Qi Bo, why do you want that thing? Even if you get it, you won't be able to keep it. I only want Song Han's life!"

He shouted the last sentence at full volume, so everyone heard it.

Did the two men from the Tang family have a falling-out of their own?

"Young Master, didn't you say everything was to be decided by me? I'll explain the reason once we get out," Tang Qi said unhappily, irritated by Tang Qiu's refusal to cooperate.

But Tang Qiu stared at him fixedly and said coldly, "Uncle Qi, you've changed. I keep feeling as if you're using me. Have you forgotten the great vengeance of the Tang family?"

Tang Qi felt a trace of unease under that sword-like gaze, but he quickly regained his righteous bearing and said in a sorrowful voice, "Young Master, if not for the Tang family's blood feud, would I have spent fifteen years infiltrating the Song household? Since I have done this, I naturally have my reasons. Could it be that the Young Master no longer trusts even me?"

Tang Qiu's expression softened at once. He thought he might indeed be overthinking things. Yet the moment he relaxed his guard toward Tang Qi, Tang Qi suddenly exploded into action, both hands flashing as he struck toward the acupoints on Tang Qiu's body!

Since Tang Qiu would not obey, Tang Qi meant to restrain him.

Tang Qiu had no time at all to react. Just as Tang Qi's hands were about to seize him, from somewhere within the wall of people there suddenly shot out a pair of great hands that met Tang Qi head-on. Their palms collided, inner power surged, and a violent shock wave erupted.

Bang! Crack! Ah!

Tang Qi proved no match and spat out a mist of blood, yet he borrowed the force to retreat backward. In that instant, Tang Qiu was subdued by the newcomer and could not move. The human wall surrounding them was swept away by a burst of air and scattered like leaves, tumbling in every direction amid cries of anguish.

Without question, the newcomer was Jiang An. He had also been summoned into the wall of people and seized the chance to strike, not only subduing Tang Qiu but also saving Song Chengzong's son, Song Mingxuan.

Tang Qi recognized Jiang An at a glance and felt hatred surge in his heart. But he was seasoned and vicious; his first reaction was to lunge toward the women's section of the banquet, intending to seize Jiang An's family as leverage.

However, just as he moved, Jiang An on the other side seemed unable to respond in time, yet Song Qi happened to be in that direction and naturally stepped in to block him. Furious, Tang Qi struck with ten parts of his strength in one hand toward Song Qi, while with the other he gave a sharp flick and sent out two concealed weapons, both of them shooting viciously toward Song Wanshuang and Jiang Xixi, determined no matter what to vent his hatred.

"Impossible!"

"What is that!"

Exclamations rose one after another from the crowd, all of them shocked by two separate sights.

When Tang Qi exchanged palms with Song Qi, everyone assumed Song Qi would win handsomely. After all, his cultivation was deeper, and Tang Qi had already been injured. Yet the one sent flying backward was Song Qi! As for Tang Qi, he seemed to have triggered some secret technique. Not only had his body swelled a full size larger, but he was also cloaked in a sinister, domineering blood-red aura. His eyes were crimson, his pupils narrowed to a thin slit, and his hands had thickened and reddened like dragon claws. His overall momentum had increased to at least three times what it had been moments before!

Meanwhile, in the women's section, an extraordinary sight also appeared. A pale golden barrier suddenly rose around Song Wanshuang, who was holding Xixi, enveloping both of them completely. It was hard as adamantine. The two concealed weapons struck the barrier and emitted only two metallic clangs before bouncing away, unable to harm them in the slightest.

"A protective artifact!"

Someone with broad experience cried out in shock. At once, many pairs of eyes burned with heat as they stared at the ring on Song Wanshuang's hand that was shining with golden light, greed already showing in their gazes.

Song Han's eyes lingered on Song Wanshuang for only an instant before settling entirely on Tang Qi. He sneered. "Blood Dragon Art! So all of this was plotted by the Empire Organization. And they even wanted to lay hands on the Song family's Spirit Resonant Red Jade. Good. Very good!"

The Blood Dragon Art was a secret technique unique to the mysterious first organization of the nation, the Empire. With a single glance, Song Han recognized it and understood who was behind the affair.

Tang Qi knew the situation was no longer salvageable and had already begun to consider retreat. The instant Song Han spoke, however, an icy dread shot through him. His body withdrew reflexively, but as expected Song Han raised a hand. A streak of lightning flashed, tearing through the void in an instant and arriving before Tang Qi. He could only lift his arm and try to defend himself, but the lightning struck through his resistance as though tofu were meeting a blade. His entire arm exploded at once, flesh and blood flying everywhere, while his shoulder was scorched black.

Such was the terror of a master at the third realm. The force of their casual qi attacks was already extraordinary, and to say that they could kill grandmasters of the first and second realms as easily as slaughtering chickens was no exaggeration.

Another peal of thunder rang out. Before anyone knew when, Song Han had already appeared behind Tang Qi. Reaching out with one hand, he shattered Tang Qi's protective true qi as easily as cracking an eggshell. Tang Qi was just about to dodge when Song Han touched a finger to the center of his back. At once, Tang Qi went rigid and collapsed to the ground.

Fast. Too fast.

Once a true powerhouse moved, the others had no power to strike back. This was only the barest glimpse of his strength.

Seeing that the troublemakers had all been subdued, the people afflicted by the poison finally breathed a sigh of relief. Hopeful eyes gathered on Jiang An, urging him to quickly detoxify Tang Qiu. That was the urgent matter.

Since confirming that Song Wanshuang and her daughter were unharmed, Jiang An had already used the Night Lamp Art to invade Tang Qiu's sea of consciousness in hopes of obtaining a method of antidote. Soon he opened his eyes, somewhat disappointed, while Tang Qiu wore a dull, vacant expression, his gaze lifeless, as though his spirit had been utterly shattered.

"There isn't any antidote at all! This man cared only about revenge. Over more than ten years, he refined this unique poison-and-bane art, gathering the strengths of every branch of the Tang family's poison techniques, but he never developed a way to break it. His aim was that even if something went wrong and he were captured, no one should ever dream of forcing the antidote out of him."

When the crowd heard this, their hearts sank. Yet Jiang An continued, "Moreover, once this vile art is activated, he himself is doomed to die within three days no matter what. And once he dies, all the venomous insects will immediately devour their host!"

Was this really only a matter of waiting to die? Many people thought bitterly. Yet some refused to believe it. Song Cang stepped forward and said loudly, "I have two questions and would like to seek guidance from Grandmaster Jiang. First, this poison is formidable. Though I am also a grandmaster, I found that whenever I circulate true qi, the venomous insects show signs of activation at once. Why, then, were you able to act? Could it be that you are also a great master of the third realm with qi armor protecting your body? Second, I have heard that Grandmaster Jiang practices both martial arts and mystic arts. We did not see you interrogating Tang Qiu just now, so you must have used some kind of spiritual technique. Then what is the truth? Only you know. Heh, and now look at Tang Qiu. His spirit is clearly damaged; he has become a fool. He could no longer be questioned even if we wanted to. Whatever you say, that is what it must be. How convenient that all of this is so perfectly timed, is it not?"

At his words, the crowd first fell silent in astonishment, then suspicion spread. Song Cang did have a point. And if one followed his reasoning further, could this all be a trap within a trap, with Jiang An himself harboring hidden motives?

"Second Brother, do not speak nonsense!" Song Han rebuked him sharply. "Grandmaster Jiang helped the Song family avert a calamity. Not only should we be grateful to him, we should not slander him. What kind of conduct is that? If word spread, would the Song family's face be worth anything? As for why he was not affected by the poison, perhaps it is because he is a supreme healer himself. And Tang Qiu becoming a fool is an unavoidable matter. After all, he is also a grandmaster. Invasive spiritual techniques would certainly meet resistance, and injury under violent force is unavoidable. Besides, although Tang Qiu himself has no method to remove the poison, it is obvious that internal qi can eradicate it. Worst comes to worst, I will expend my own cultivation and cleanse the poison from each and every one of you one by one!"

Song Han's words made many people quietly nod again, but they only deepened Song Cang's hatred for Jiang An. First, there was still the matter of his son Song Chengde being humiliated into kneeling, and that score had not yet been settled with Jiang An. Second, because they had lost face, Song Chengde had no standing to attend the banquet today. When Tang Qiu was slaughtering Song family disciples earlier, Song Cang had not felt the slightest pang of heartache; on the contrary, he had hoped Tang Qiu would be more effective and wipe out Song Han's sons. In that case, the one most suited to becoming the next family head would naturally be Song Chengde. So the one who ruined all this, Jiang An, had earned Song Cang's hatred on top of hatred.

Thus, his mind turned, and he devised an even more vicious scheme.