Your Seventeenth Brother…”
Hearing Ling Jun’s words, Zhang Yuanqing’s first reaction was, “How many siblings do you have exactly, and where do you rank among them?”
The title of Seventeenth Brother had a distinct Qing Dynasty drama feel. Ling Jun seemed to have quite a few siblings. Ling Jun pondered for a moment before replying, “Around a dozen before the founding of the country. After the founding, fifty or sixty, I can’t remember the exact number. I’m number forty-three in the family.”
Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. As a successor to socialism, a good youth of the new era who had received nine years of compulsory education, his mind couldn’t process such shocking information.
After a few seconds of silence, he muttered, “He really is a breeding machine.” He always heard Ling Jun using the words “breeding machine father,” thinking it was mockery and ridicule, but he didn’t expect it was a statement of fact.
“A breeding machine is just a sowing machine without emotion. He chooses women based solely on genes and talent, with no feelings whatsoever. Isn't that a breeding machine? My mom was only 22 when she married into the Taiyi Sect, and he was over a hundred years old. If the law worked on Demigods, he’d be eating peanuts over a hundred times, because his wives could fill the entire Fu Family Bay.” Ling Jun’s words were filled with disdain for his father.
“Hearing this makes me want to sigh.” Zhang Yuanqing said,
“Does your dad have to build a building to use as a harem?”
“Not really. He has a lot of women, but most of them remarried.”
“What?” Zhang Yuanqing didn’t understand. Ling Jun curled his lips,
“He’s a breeding machine. The task of a breeding machine is to sow seeds and strengthen the clan. As for the women, as long as they give birth to children, he doesn’t care if they leave or stay. Even if those women hook up with Old Qin, the gatekeeper, he doesn’t care. Anyway, he won’t touch most of the women who have children again.”
“However, I think this is the only thing commendable about him. At least he doesn't restrict those women's freedom. They still have their own lives.”
“We feel that our worldview has been strongly impacted. What about your mother?”
“My mom returned to The Way of the Extraordinary in the second year after I was born. Once she entered a dungeon, she never came back.” Ling Jun sighed.
“Why is it that the people around me are all either dead or might as well be dead,” Zhang Yuanqing thought, full of complaints. But then he thought, if Ling Jun had both parents, Guan Ya wouldn’t have said his childhood was tragic. Speaking of which, that Elder of the Hundred Flowers Association is clearly not a wood spirit of the breeding type, otherwise Ling Jun’s cousins could fill this villa.
Ling Jun shrugged, not caring at all.
“Let’s not talk about my mom. I barely have any memories of her.”
“Let’s continue talking about that breeding machine. He was one of the first The Way of the Extraordinary, a person from the Republican era, who has lived for over a hundred years. He figured out the rules of Role Card distribution very early on.” The higher the Level, the higher the probability that the offspring will obtain a Role Card.
“Before the founding of the country, his level wasn't that high. After the founding, he advanced to Demigod and began to breed offspring like crazy. If you spend the effort to investigate, you’ll find that every ancestor of The Way of the Extraordinary families has more than twenty children.”
“So, you are so promiscuous because of your family history.” Zhang Yuanqing said in surprise.
“So that’s why your grandpa married his daughter to that Taiyi Sect Leader?”
“Does Guan Ya want to marry into the Miller family?” Ling Jun sneered, “Love is something that petty bourgeoisie play with, the poor can’t afford it, and the powerful disdain it. If you advance to Demigod in the future, there will be so many young ladies from the Five Elements Alliance for you to choose from. Guan Ya won’t be able to stop it.”
“That’s right. When I reach the Demigod stage, Guan Ya will probably want to break off all ties with me. With my self-healing ability, I can stand on my own…” Zhang Yuanqing yearned for the self-healing ability of a Demigod and brought the topic back on track.
“Let’s not talk about this. What’s the deal with your Seventeenth Brother?” Ling Jun’s eyes revealed emotion as he fell into memory.
“He was the Seventeenth son of my breeding machine father after the founding of the country. When I was very young, he was especially nice to me. He was different from the other siblings, steady, gentle, and fair. The younger siblings all liked him very much.”
“Because he would bring us gifts and warn those older brothers who liked to bully us. He was the most talented son born to my father after the founding of the country. He became a Ruler at a young age and was on par with the elders of the Taiyi Sect.” Zhang Yuanqing pondered, “How old is he, what’s his The Way of the Extraordinary ID, and what position does he hold now?” The Taiyi Sect Leader was one of the first The Way of the Extraordinary, at least one hundred and thirty years old. Even the Seventeenth son after the founding of the country would probably be old enough to be his grandfather. A breeding machine Sect Leader was fully capable of having his concubines pregnant at the same time. The age difference between the first son and the seventeenth son might not be that great.
The slogan of the Free and Unfettered organization was childish. Zhang Zizhen and Chu Shang were both young and could accept such a slogan. The Shadow Twins wouldn’t be too old either. After all, adults over thirty who have experienced the vicissitudes of life would only laugh at the ideal of saving the world, let alone old guys.
“My Seventeenth Brother’s The Way of the Extraordinary ID is Ling Tuo. If he’s still alive, he should be forty-seven or forty-eight.” Ling Jun recalled, “If he hadn’t died young, he would definitely be able to hold the position of Grand Elder. Yes, I know what you want to ask. Why is he the Seventeenth son after the founding of the country? Because the children before the founding of the country are all dead. After all, not everyone can become The Way of the Extraordinary, and even those who become The Way of the Extraordinary have a higher mortality rate.”
“The The Way of the Extraordinary world wants to maintain the number of Travelers, so it has to keep having children. Most of them are ordinary people for life, and a small number become The Way of the Extraordinary, but the mortality rate of The Way of the Extraordinary is too high, so we can only give birth to children like crazy…”
“Dead?” Zhang Yuanqing didn’t pay attention to the second half of the sentence. His pupils contracted slightly, and his heart beat wildly a few times. A thought flashed through his mind, “It’s him! The Shadow Night Wanderer! Is he Ling Jun’s brother?”
Excellent aptitude, not old, peak Ruler, possessing a sense of justice, perfectly fitting the identity of the Night Wanderer among the Shadow Twins. As the son of the Taiyi Sect Leader, Ling Jun’s brother had abundant resources, Tactics, props, sect help, plus his own extraordinary talent, it was entirely possible for him to advance to peak Ruler at a young age. “Did the Shadow Twins also encounter misfortune?” Zhang Yuanqing sighed,
“When exactly did your Seventeenth Brother die, and what was the cause of death?”
Ling Jun stared at him, frowning deeply, “You suspect that my Seventeenth Brother is the Night Wanderer among the Shadow Twins?” Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
Ling Jun hissed. He wasn’t interested in this matter at first, but suddenly became energized, took out his phone, and said,
“I’ll check the Taiyi Sect’s database…”
He quickly logged into his account and searched for “Ling Tuo”, but the search returned no results. There was no entry for Ling Tuo in the Taiyi Sect’s database. “Hiss…”
Zhang Yuanqing and Ling Jun sucked in a cold breath at the same time. Teacher and student said in unison, “There’s a problem!”
Ling Jun frowned and pondered, trying to remember, and slowly said,
“I remember… Seventeenth Brother died in the year that Forty-ninth Sister was born. She’s 23 years old this year!! Hmm, I remember now. Seventeenth Brother died in 1999. It seems that he died in a dungeon, at least that’s what they said at the time. I was sad for a long time, because Seventeenth Brother was nice to me.” “So the Shadow Night Wanderer was the first to die in 1999, then the Chu family was destroyed in 2000, and in 2006, my dad returned to The Way of the Extraordinary.” Zhang Yuanqing quickly sorted out the timeline. The data showed that the Free and Unfettered organization disappeared after the battle for the Light Compass in 1998, and the Palace Master said that his dad was worried about the enemy coming to his door, so he didn’t dare to keep the Palace Master by his side and had to send her away.
“The one who could make my dad so fearful is most likely a Demigod, but who is it?”
“Hmm, Ling Tuo was the first to die. He’s the source of this.” Zhang Yuanqing turned his thoughts and took the initiative to speak, saying,
“Your Palace Master once said that among the four members of the Free and Unfettered organization, one of them took away the most core fragment of the Light Compass.
“In the following years, the Sun Twins died one after another. Now it’s confirmed that your brother was the first to die, and the other Shadow is probably also dead.”
He took the initiative to share information, posing with curiosity about the past.
“Anyway, Ling Jun isn’t a scout and can’t see through him. Are you saying that my Seventeenth Brother suffered an accidental death because of the core fragment of the Light Compass?” Ling Jun’s expression was serious, and he said,
“That makes sense, but it’s also unlikely. If I were Seventeenth Brother and knew that someone coveted the Light Compass fragment, then I would definitely hide in the Taiyi Sect and not come out. The breeding machine dad is the strongest Night Wanderer, and the elders in the sect are also a force to be reckoned with. Even a Demigod wouldn’t be able to kill him under the Taiyi Sect’s nose.” Speaking of this, Ling Jun shrugged, “Unless the breeding machine dad did it, otherwise…” His expression suddenly froze.
Zhang Yuanqing’s expression suddenly became dull.
Then, the teacher and student looked at the table on the computer with tacit understanding, and froze again. 26
Ling Jun’s eyelids jumped violently, and he almost jumped out of his chair. “Impossible, this is impossible…” Zhang Yuanqing said quietly,
“Actually, that’s the only thing that makes sense, otherwise how do you explain that Ling Tuo’s information was erased? In the Taiyi Sect, there are very few people who can do this. You, you, you, you’re talking nonsense.” Ling Jun’s expression was agitated and slightly ferocious.
“If it’s for the Light Compass fragment, he only needs to ask Seventeenth Brother for it. Even in the Taiyi Sect, no one can defy him, not even the elders.”
“And why did he erase Seventeenth Brother’s information?” The playboy rarely lost his composure like this.
“Why he erased it doesn’t matter, the erasure itself is the most important thing. If your Seventeenth Brother’s death had no problems and was purely accidental, then why erase the information?” Zhang Yuanqing slowly said,
“As for the Light Compass fragment, this shows that the Light Compass is not as simple as we thought. It’s not just a prop, it has a deeper use, a use that made Ling Tuo refuse to give the Compass fragment to his father in the sect.” “Bullshit, these are all your guesses.” Ling Jun’s expression was ferocious.
No, it wasn’t a guess. The Palace Master once said that the Light Compass fragment was a bargaining chip. The Palace Master once said that the Free and Unfettered organization unlocked the secret of The Way of the Extraordinary. The Light Compass could make the four members of the Free and Unfettered risk their lives to fight for it, so it was definitely more than just a divination prop. It must have a special use.
Ling Tuo’s reason for not handing over the Compass fragment was sufficient, but it was not clear why he didn’t give it to his own father.
If the enemy of the four members of the Free and Unfettered organization was the Taiyi Sect Leader, then everything could be explained. The reason why the Shadow Night Wanderer was the first to die was explained; the reason why Zhang Zizhen was so afraid of the enemy was also explained; the reason why the Palace Master didn’t tell me the truth back then was also explained. The core Compass fragment should not be in Ling Tuo’s hands, otherwise there would be no follow-up. The Taiyi Sect Leader learned that his son was one of the four members of the Free and Unfettered organization through Soul Devouring and obtained information about the organization. It was because the enemy was too powerful and terrible that the Free and Unfettered organization disappeared back then and never dared to venture into the world again?
“So the enemy is the Taiyi Sect Leader…” Zhang Yuanqing’s heart surged with shock.
He took a deep breath, suppressed the emotions in his heart, and said,
“Whether it’s a guess or not, we’ll know when we check. Oh, forget it, I’m just curious. Since it involves the Taiyi Sect Leader, then it ends here.” He said this on purpose, first taking himself out of the topic. Even if he didn’t investigate, Ling Jun would investigate. Ling Jun was backed by the Grand Elder and Fu Qingyang. The former represented the Hundred Flowers Association, and the latter represented the Official Faction. This was much more stable than him, the Original Heavenly Lord, groping for stones to cross the river alone.
Ling Jun sat blankly in the chair, his face and eyes dull, like a sculpture.
Fifteen minutes passed. “Isn’t it time for you to go on a date with a girl? Well, you’re probably not in the mood anymore. We are like a scumbag who doesn’t recognize people after getting what they want.” He snapped his fingers and disappeared into starlight.
Eight o’clock in the evening, Guan Ya’s room. Zhang Yuanqing sat at the table, editing a message for Jia Yinji: “The Nihility Sect has replied. Tomorrow night, we’ll meet in Jinshan City. They specified that you and I go, and we can’t bring elders. Also, we need to bring a Knight prop of Saint quality.” The message was sent successfully.
According to Fu Qingyang, the capture operations of Elder Hong Lü and Elder Gao Feng were in a stalemate, and they couldn’t find the Pure Yang Sect Leader at all. That madman seemed to be hiding and developing secretly, which was very bad. The Pure Yang Sect Leader had entered his sea of consciousness and knew about the existence of the Taiyin fragment. When he regained his strength in the future, he would definitely hunt him down. So, like the old hag, if the Pure Yang Sect Leader didn’t die, he wouldn’t be able to sleep or eat.
Yinji quickly replied, “Received. I’ll ask my master.”
A few minutes later, she sent another message: “Thank you!” This showed that the news was very important to them. Zhang Yuanqing stared at the wall for a few seconds, then sent a message to the Stop Killing Palace Master: “Is it the strongest one back then?” He believed that the Stop Killing Palace Master could understand. The message was sent, but he didn’t receive a reply from the Stop Killing Palace Master.
No reply meant default. Zhang Yuanqing put down his phone, sighed softly, and walked towards the bathroom, saying,
“Sister Guan Ya, can you help me get a bath towel and a change of clothes from the room?”
“Okay.” Guan Ya, who was sitting on the chaise longue by the window, put down the book in her hand and got up to leave the room.
In the bathroom, the air was filled with the scent of shampoo and shower gel. Women’s lace underwear and long skirts were scattered haphazardly in the bamboo basket. Guan Ya had just finished taking a shower.
Zhang Yuanqing took off his clothes and threw them into the bamboo basket, staring at the white star’s clothes covering Guan Ya’s dresses. He chuckled.
When he was at home, his cleanliness-obsessed grandmother was particularly concerned about this type of classification. She bought everyone in the house a bamboo basket. Her own basket was for white clothes and was not allowed to be mixed up. But to Zhang Yuanqing, mixing was a symbol of intimacy. “The taste of love is really good.”
The joy of the approaching night offset the bad mood of the day.
Normally, knowing that one of the enemies was the Taiyi Sect Leader, he wouldn’t be able to sleep well tonight. Zhang Yuanqing entered the shower naked. Next door was the bathtub. Guan Ya’s room was large, and the bathroom and toilet were separate. Hotel. “Dong, dong.”
Yinji raised her hand and knocked on the door of her teacher, Elder Hongying.
The door opened silently, and the female ghost behind the door respectfully saluted Yinji.
Yinji passed through the entrance and the outer hall and entered the master bedroom. She saw Elder Hongying standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, wearing a silk nightgown, gazing at the night view of the bustling city… “What’s the matter?”
Elder Hongying didn’t turn around. She was over fifty years old, but her figure was still plump and graceful. Just looking at her back, she could still amaze the opposite sex. At the age of forty or fifty, she was considered a young person among Ruler-level The Way of the Extraordinary.
“Teacher, Original Heavenly Lord sent a message, saying that he has helped… contacted the people of the Nihility Sect.” Yinji said.
Hearing this, a look of surprise and relief appeared on Elder Hongying’s solemn face. “This Original Heavenly Lord is unexpectedly reliable. Tell me… tell me the specifics.” Yinji told her teacher the contents of the message.
“He only let you and Original Heavenly Lord go?” Elder Hongying frowned and thought for a moment, “We can try. In addition to the Knight Profession’s prop, I will also give you two props. One is the Lieyang Mirror that I often use, and the other is a Saint-quality Tortoise Shell. The latter can predict good and bad luck. If you use it with astrology, be careful.” As she spoke, she gently raised her hand, and two props floated in the air and flew towards Yinji.
Yinji respectfully accepted them. “Thank you, teacher.” Elder Hongying turned around and stared at her veiled, graceful, and tall female disciple, and chuckled, “Do you and Original Heavenly Lord often contact each other?” “Occasionally,” Yinji replied. The smile on the corner of Elder Hongying’s mouth grew deeper.
“Aside from being members of the same sect, you rarely contact outsiders. Do you have a good impression of him?”
Yinji frowned slightly. “If the teacher doesn’t like it, I won’t contact him.” “No, this is very good.” Elder Hongying walked over and stroked Yinji’s hair, sighing,
“The teacher feels guilty about what happened back then, but it’s been two years. You should forget about that person and find your own life. Original Heavenly Lord is very good. He comes from the official side, is talented, and his future is limitless. He is worthy of you.” Yinji silently took two steps back and bowed. “Teacher, I will go back to rest first.” Elder Hongying shook her head helplessly.
“Sister Guan Ya, good luck.”
In the darkness, Zhang Yuanqing’s pleading voice rang out again.
The air conditioner was blowing cold wind, bringing a wave of coolness. Nightgowns, underwear, and wads of tissues were scattered around the bed. Guan Ya wrapped her full, hot body in the bedding, tightly, leaving only her head exposed, facing away from her boyfriend, pretending not to understand. “Good luck, good luck,” Zhang Yuanqing persistently hinted.
Guan Ya gritted her teeth. “Am I spoiling you too much?” From last night to the daytime, from the daytime to tonight, Original Heavenly Lord's demands were terrifying. Although Guan Ya was a Saint, she still found it a bit difficult to handle, but she still agreed to him again and again.
She was six years older than Original, a standard older woman-younger man relationship, so she always indulged him. Unexpectedly, this kid would take an inch after being given an inch and was getting more and more out of line. Zhang Yuanqing begged a few more times, but seeing that she didn’t agree, he knew it was impossible to do, and helplessly gave up, saying, “Okay, good sister, I still want…” As the words fell, he suddenly felt a murderous intent, and two fingers were pressed against his head, followed by Guan Ya’s angry voice.
“How can you be so fresh and start at dawn and continue until night? Don’t you need to take care of yourself? Sleep!” Zhang Yuanqing shivered in fright and quickly shrank back. He laughed. “That makes sense, that makes sense.”
After Guan Ya retracted her sword fingers, he moved back, hugged her smooth and fragrant delicate body, and fell into a deep sleep.