More than twenty years ago, the Xi Family, to which Xi nghan belonged, was one of the capital's most powerful clans. Yet, in a single night, they mysteriously vanished. Every last mber disappeared, their whereabouts unknown.
Over the years, Xiao Xuanye had used all his resources to investigate, but his inquiries yielded no results. The intrigue here... ran too deep!
To ensure absolute certainty, he had his confidant go to several different institutions and conduct multiple paternity tests in succession. Now, as he opened all the reports, he saw they were all inconsistent. Two of them showed a 99.99% match, indicating that Shen Youling was the biological daughter of Dong Mingfeng and Shen Xin. This ant she couldn't be Xi nghan's daughter. However, the rest of the reports indicated no biological relation, and bafflingly, each one contained completely different data.
In the end, the physicians responsible for the tests concluded that either the samples didn't co from the sa person or the subject's DNA was undergoing rapid changes. The latter possibility was practically zero. However, Xiao Xuanye's confidant swore to the heavens that he had, one hundred percent, used Shen Youling's hair, with absolutely no substitution or tampering.
In light of this, the way Xiao Xuanye looked at Shen Youling changed.
"My dear daughter, are you feeling unwell? Do you have so kind of strange illness?" How could a normal person's DNA change so rapidly and repeatedly? Could it be that the Shen Youling of today and the Shen Youling of yesterday aren't in the sa body?
"This..." Shen Youling was equally shocked and bewildered. She recalled Lin Tang ntioning her special constitution, which was why she was so suited for Dual Cultivation with him. Although she was now Xiao Xuanye's adopted daughter, they had only just t, so she subconsciously concealed this fact.
She shook her head and said, "I don't feel uncomfortable, but I've been frail since childhood. Sotis I faint if I get too excited. I've been checked at hospitals before, but they never found anything wrong."
"I see. I'll take you to a more reputable hospital for another check-up. If there's an illness, the sooner we find it, the sooner we can treat it." Xiao Xuanye's eyes flickered before he changed the subject, asking about the black mark on Shen Youling's face.
Shen Youling gave a bitter laugh and roughly explained how the Tang Sect had disfigured her.
SLAM!
Xiao Xuanye slamd his fist on the table, erupting in fury. "The Tang Sect dares to harm my daughter?! And Lin Tang is a good-for-nothing! He can't even handle the Tang Sect and let his own wife suffer such a grievous injury! I was right to cancel your engagent. Youling, you don't need to waste any more thoughts on him. I will take charge and find you a truly worthy husband!"
In his view, since Lin Tang ca from another hidden family, dealing with the Tang Sect should have been child's play. And yet, the result was this pathetic. Perhaps his family has declined or even been wiped out. Or maybe he's a failure who was cast out after losing the fight for succession, lucky just to escape with his life, Xiao Xuanye speculated.
"Foster Father, my marriage is sothing I should decide..." Shen Youling tried to persuade him.
But Xiao Xuanye cut her off authoritatively. "This matter is for to arrange! You may go and rest now."
Shen Youling was speechless. Sigh! Foster Father is wonderful in every other way, but he's just so autocratic.
After Shen Youling left, Xiao Xuanye gave his confidant a series of orders.
First, take hair samples from Shen Youling and her parents to the most authoritative institution in the capital for re-testing.
Second, thoroughly investigate all records pertaining to Dong Mingfeng, from her pregnancy to childbirth.
Third, issue a national bounty to all top dermatology experts: whoever could heal Shen Youling's face would be generously rewarded.
Fourth, arrange a marriage! Any young man of suitable age from a major family across the country who wished to beco his son-in-law was welco to an interview. If they could bring a miraculous cure for the black mark on Shen Youling's face, they would be given priority, greatly increasing their chances.
Fifth, continue tracking the remnants of the Mu family and issue an arrest warrant for all remaining mbers of the Tang Sect. Capture every last one of them to vent his beloved daughter's anger!
***
In this age of information, news traveled with incredible speed. In less than a day of Xiao Xuanye's orders, the news had reached the majority of major families in every large city across the country.
"My heavens! Xiao Bubai, who has always been childless, suddenly adopted a daughter and is arranging a marriage for her!"
"Anyone who marries this Shen Youling will beco one of Xiao Bubai's own!"
"This is an opportunity we absolutely cannot miss!"
"Only major families are qualified? But what's the standard for 'major'? Surely the wealthiest family in a fifth-tier city can't compare to a mid or high-tier family from a first-tier city, can it?"
"The most critical factor is the cure for her disfigurent! With that dicine, the odds are much higher!"
"Hiss... this Shen Youling is disfigured? Just how ugly must she be?"
"Who cares how ugly she is! Even if she were a female gorilla, as long as she's Xiao Bubai's daughter, I'd marry her!"
"...That's true. I'm willing, too!"
The major families were in an uproar. Ambitious young talents were chomping at the bit, mobilizing their resources to frantically search for relevant cures before setting off for Jiangbei.
Hospitals, clinics, and research laboratories across the nation—anywhere with a top dermatology expert—also caught wind of the news. So were enticed by the "generous reward" itself. Money, after all, was sothing everyone loved. Others valued the prospect of earning a favor from Xiao Xuanye more. A few even voiced a question—if they cured Shen Youling's face, could they also be considered as a suitor? Or was it exclusively for the sons of major families?
***
"Haha, this opportunity is absolutely tailor-made for !" When Hua Fengchen received the news, he was ecstatic.
He had been vexed by Shen Qiushi's angry rebuke. If that old man insisted on blocking him, he really had no way of getting his hands on Shen Youling. It wasn't like he could just kill Shen Qiushi. But now, everything was perfect. Shen Youling's marriage was now entirely in Xiao Xuanye's hands. Shen Qiushi could only stand aside! And as it happened, his Hua Family had recently developed an exorbitantly priced beauty injection for this exact purpose. Wasn't this divine providence?
Hua Fengchen suppressed his excitent and imdiately contacted his father, Hua Tianxiong. When Hua Tianxiong heard it concerned Xiao Xuanye's adopted daughter, he offered his full support, stating he would personally bring the highest-quality beauty injection to Jiangbei.
***
Ever since leaving the post station, Lin Tang had, through Ge Shijian's introduction, quickly purchased a second-hand apartnt near his clinic. There was no need to waste ti on renovations or buy new furniture and appliances; he could move right in. He was never picky about such things anyway—as long as it was a place to live, it was fine. While the apartnt wasn't as spacious as a villa, it was much easier to clean, which also lightened Huang Jifen's workload.
「At the clinic.」
Lin Tang was in the middle of treating a patient when Ge Shijian rushed in, phone in hand. "This is bad, Master! Your wife... she's looking for other suitors!"
"Looking for suitors?" Lee Encai, dressed in her nurse's uniform, leaned in. After learning the details, she looked at Lin Tang cautiously, afraid he would fly into a rage. "Brother Lin, you... you have to be strong!" she advised softly.
Lin Tang shot her a disdainful look, remaining perfectly calm. That old fool Xiao Xuanye... is truly naive! If the black mark on Shen Youling's face were that easy to remove, I would have dealt with it long ago.
"But you can't discount the one-in-a-million chance," Lee Encai argued, thinking Lin Tang was being too optimistic. "Masters have always hidden among the common folk. The country is vast; it's not impossible that soone has the exact thing to cure her."
"Even if soone could cure her," Lin Tang said nonchalantly, "they only get priority for a eting. A eting doesn't guarantee a marriage." Besides, even if it did, he was confident he could sabotage it.
Seeing he wasn't worried in the slightest, Lee Encai didn't know what else to say.
When evening ca and the clinic closed, the two of them headed ho together. The mont they stepped inside, they saw Wei Zichu in the fifty-square-ter living room, scratching her head and hopping about.
"Brother Lin, you're back! Look, how's my Monkey Fist? Is it up to standard?" she asked, her face beaming with excitent.
Compared to Lee Encai, who was notoriously inconsistent with her training, Wei Zichu was utterly obsessed with the Heart Monkey Nine Calming Techniques. She had barely rested since Lin Tang began teaching her.
Lin Tang critically evaluated her form, corrected a few of her movents, and then nodded. "Your talent is barely acceptable. At this rate, you should be able to master the basics in about ten years."
"Ten years? Oh my god!" Lee Encai exclaid, sticking out her tongue.
Wei Zichu, however, was overjoyed. "That's great!"
"To be clear," Lin Tang added, "that's ten years to fully master the introductory Monkey Fist. To learn the entire secret manual... I estimate it would take about three hundred and twenty years."
Wei Zichu's shoulders slumped. "Am I that bad?" she asked, disheartened.
Lin Tang sighed. "It can't be helped. I originally thought geniuses like would be a di a dozen, or at least common. I didn't expect... sigh..."
Seeing his smug, lonely-at-the-top expression, both girls pinched his waist at the sa ti.
"Brother Lin, isn't there a shortcut?"
"Of course! With supplents like the Yijing Pill or the Marrow Cleansing Pill, taken daily, you could probably break through to the Grandmaster realm before you turn sixty."
Lin Tang then reeled off the list of dicinal ingredients required for the pills, which included things like hundred-year-old blood ginseng and thousand-year-old lingzhi. Wei Zichu sank into despair once more.
Seeing she had lost her appetite for dinner, Lin Tang said irritably, "You're always aiming too high. Haven't you heard that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step? If you work hard, step by step, you'll eventually see the light of day!"
With that, he flipped his chopsticks over and rapped her on the head three tis.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Wei Zichu pouted, fighting back tears as she quickly shoveled down the rest of her food.
"Hey, hey, stop bullying her!" Lee Encai cried, defending her.
Ti flew, and soon it was the dead of night. As a night owl, Lee Encai had just managed to cultivate a hint of drowsiness when she was startled awake. Peeking out her door, she saw Wei Zichu creeping about stealthily. Like a little monkey, she scurried into Lin Tang's room.
"Brother Lin, I'm here! Please, enlighten ... Ouch! Fine, I'll call you Master, is that what you want?... I don't care! You knocked on my head three tis, so that must have been a sign for to co to you at this hour... I'll do anything you ask, just help ..."
Listening to the strange, coquettish voice from within, Lee Encai was utterly confused.
What the hell? Are they acting out a scene from Journey to the West in there?!
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