"Are you insane? I told you, the clan leader had amnesia before returning to the clan grounds!"
Zhang Haike felt as if he had seven or eight mouths and still couldn't explain it clearly. He had been walking down the corridor when suddenly Wu Tianzhen, as large as he was, appeared before him, ready to fight him to the death.
This wouldn't have been a problem, as Wu Tianzhen was quite weak. Even with one hand tied, Zhang Haike could have easily subdued him. The only reason he managed to control his instinct to retaliate was by constantly chanting in his mind, "This is the clan leader's friend, this is the clan leader's friend, this is the clan leader's friend."
But the problem was—
The item in his hand was not something he could let Wu Tianzhen see.
"I know," Wu Tianzhen said, as if suddenly calming down. He stood still, his face regaining that innocent and pure expression. "I just suddenly wanted to understand how the clan leader became the clan leader in a state of amnesia and inexplicably received a mission to enter the Forbidden Land to retrieve the Mother Bell."
Wu Tianzhen lightly scratched his cheek with his finger, looking quite embarrassed. "You know, we've got the clan leader with us now, and it's a bit boring, so I thought I'd listen to a story."
Zhang Haike: ... (The human skin mask in his arms felt scorching hot)
The methods used by the inner Zhang clan at the time were not honorable, and Zhang Haike had been an accomplice. Faced with this situation, he didn't know how to explain.
Lying was not difficult for him, but when he thought of Zhang Qiling, he felt he shouldn't tarnish their relationship with such tricks anymore.
So, in the end, he sighed and decided to tell the truth.
"...We used information about you to lure the clan leader back," Zhang Haike took out the human skin mask from his arms. The face of Wu Tianzhen in his hand swayed, looking particularly terrifying.
Then, looking at the suddenly terrified Wu Tianzhen opposite him, he said, "At that time, I impersonated you... although the clan leader saw through it as soon as we met."
"The clan leader still had some impression of you. To find you, he willingly returned with us, and entering the Forbidden Land was for the same purpose."
"...I am very sorry."
Zhang Haike finished his explanation concisely, without making any excuses or embellishments for his actions.
He expected to hear Wu Tianzhen's accusations, but for some reason, Wu Tianzhen suddenly stopped reacting.
When he looked over, Wu Tianzhen was raising a hand and staring blankly at his wrist. A circle of bruises was slowly appearing there, looking like a terrifying bracelet.
Zhang Haike suddenly understood something.
"Did you have a conflict with the clan leader?" his tone was tinged with confusion. "That shouldn't be... given how much the clan leader cares about you..."
"The clan leader's physical condition was very poor before. Although we don't know why there were no visible wounds, his various data readings were consistent with someone in a severely injured state. In such a condition, his aggressiveness would significantly increase."
"This was our prediction, but I never thought he would attack you of his own accord... You didn't do anything that would easily provoke him, did you?"
Wu Tianzhen: ...
"Uh... I might have, gently, choked his neck?"
Zhang Haike: ???????
"Never mind then," Zhang Haike suddenly adopted a cold and ruthless demeanor. "It's incredible that your hand is only bruised and not broken by the clan leader."
The two stood in the corridor for a while, blocking the way, their conversation creating a gradually calming atmosphere.
But just as Zhang Haike was about to speak and leave, Wu Tianzhen, who had been lost in thought, suddenly stopped him again.
"Aren't you going to see the clan leader? The clan leader is awake, aren't you going to chat with him?"
"...I'll go later, I—"
"What are you holding."
Wu Tianzhen's gaze was fixed on the stack of reports in Zhang Haike's hand.
"You can chat with me here for so long, which means you're not busy at all right now."
"Not busy, yet unwilling to see the clan leader... Even if I don't know you well, I can tell something is wrong!"
"The things in your hand, you don't want the clan leader to see them, do you?"
—
Wu Tianzhen returned to the ward alone.
When he got back, Fatty was feeding Zhang Qiling.
On the table by the hospital bed, various fruits were neatly arranged, even the pomegranates were stacked one by one into a heart shape.
Wu Tianzhen glanced at the plate of peaches carved into flowers and suddenly remembered the unfortunate apple he had thrown to the ground in his agitation. He looked for it in the corner, but the apple had mysteriously disappeared.
"Looking for the apple?" Fatty took a big bite of a pear, making a crunching sound. "Fatty picked it up, washed it, and ate it. You wouldn't believe how ridiculously good the fruits offered by the Zhang clan are. This apple is so sweet, without any impurities!"
As he spoke, Fatty picked up a banana from the fruit plate, peeled it, and handed it to Zhang Qiling, who was in a daze.
It was unclear what they had discussed in the ward during this time, but Zhang Qiling now looked much more relaxed, appearing almost the same as before at first glance.
Facing the sudden banana, he merely glanced at Fatty before silently taking it. He lowered his head and took small bites as if tackling a difficult task.
Wu Tianzhen felt that Zhang Qiling eating a banana now was a novel sight. He crossed his arms and watched for a long time before suddenly remembering the main issue.
Little Wu, having been pinched by Zhang Qiling, still hadn't learned to handle things gently. He rushed forward and pulled up one of Zhang Qiling's hands, rolling up half of his sleeve to examine it.
Zhang Qiling was clearly startled. He paused his chewing of the banana, thought carefully about his next move, but ultimately did not punish Wu Tianzhen.
So, after a long period of anxious waiting, Fatty watched as Zhang Qiling slowly shifted the center of gravity of the banana to his other hand and took another unhurried bite.
"It's not Tianzhen," Fatty felt that Wu Tianzhen's mental state was not to be trifled with, so he asked cautiously, "What are you looking for? Are you looking for cockroaches in here?"
"Huh? My brain isn't malfunctioning, why would I look for cockroaches in the clan leader's sleeve?" Wu Tianzhen felt his intelligence was being questioned, but he didn't shift his gaze, instead staring intently at that part of his arm and turning it at an angle.
Then, he finally found his target—
A very cleverly hidden needle mark.
"Holy crap!" Fatty almost jumped up. He managed to suppress the urge to curse loudly and examined the needle mark again, completely certain that it was not the result of proper medical treatment. "When the hell did this happen? What is this for?!"
"Drawing blood, perhaps," Wu Tianzhen said, unusually calm. Recalling what Zhang Haike had said earlier, he felt his perception of the Zhang clan had deteriorated to a critical point.
"They pushed the clan leader onto a pedestal, making him enter that damned Forbidden Land and risk his life," Wu Tianzhen's voice was very calm. "And now that the clan leader has collapsed, their first priority is to confirm whether his bloodline truly belongs to the Zhang family."
"If that's the case, what was all that the clan leader did before worth?"
The more Wu Tianzhen spoke, the angrier he became. The suppressed anger made his voice tremble.
But at that moment, a hand gently rested on his slightly trembling body.
Zhang Qiling seemed to suddenly realize something. He looked at the two of them quietly, noticing the bruise on Wu Tianzhen's hand was untreated.
"I'm sorry."
Wu Tianzhen heard the oblivious Zhang Qiling suddenly speak to him, his voice low but clear.