Chapter 759: Admitting Fault

"The Demon Child himself is a Resentful Infant of Ten Lifetimes. In truth, he understands better than anyone the loneliness of a child born without a father or a mother. Why does he care so much for Tian Tian? Setting aside the attraction a Spirit Child's constitution has for spirit creatures, isn't part of it because Tian Tian lost his mother the moment he was born? And as for that father of his, what difference was there between having one and not having one? The Demon Child himself was born without father or mother. Naturally, he feels differently toward that boy. Besides, what happened tonight was strange in itself. Over these past few years, every one of us... every one of our lives has actually changed quite a bit."

A'Ming raised his wineglass.

"You lot changed. Romance, love, even contact with the opposite sex... none of that interests me. My life has never changed. There has only ever been blood and fine wine."

Inside the cage, Kashir raised his own glass.

"Oh, Lord A'Ming, those words truly capture the very essence of the Blood Clan. Let us drain this cup together."

He was ignored completely.

"What I mean is, Master has already taken women into his household. The Demon Child made whatever fuss he wanted to make before, then gradually got used to it. This time, I think he acted because he sensed what consequences that pill would actually bring. And unless something unexpected happened, that pill was brought back from Chu by the Princess. She herself probably doesn't even know what taking it truly means."

A'Ming smiled at Xue San.

"You're questioning the relationship between Master and the Princess."

"Oh, then let us drain another cup in honor of that unquestionable love!"

Kashir raised his glass again.

"True love?" Xue San dismissed the idea. "Are Siniang and Master true love? My guess is Siniang looks at any man other than Master and feels like she's staring at some thing with a strip of moldy gluten hanging between its legs. Did Liu Ruqing and Master ever fall in love and whisper sweet nothings? As for the Princess... heh. Where in this world are there so many great, profound loves? Most married couples are just two people making do and living their days together."

"Oh, that sentence of Lord Xue San's deserves to be written into poetry. Worth draining a full cup!"

A'Ming shifted into a more comfortable recline inside his coffin.

"Fine. Let's accept that the Princess did not know the pill's side effects. That makes sense, because the person who gave it to her was most likely her Imperial Brother."

"Oh, then let us drink to deeply moving sibling affection!"

Xue San gave two cold chuckles.

"Some secrets can be kept. Some can't. Take Master. Our Marquis Pingxi has an adopted son, but he has never had a biological son of his own. Outsiders don't know the real reason. They don't need to. All they need to see is that Marquis Pingxi has difficulty producing heirs. Maybe they'll even guess he suffered some battlefield injury, like the Palace Elder in Great Yan's imperial palace. Under those circumstances, if Master's only biological child carried half the blood of Chu's imperial clan..."

A'Ming said indifferently:

"Then Chu gains another exceptionally filial son."

Blood ties and family affection truly did not mean much to people standing at the highest levels.

At that point, Kashir finally stopped raising his cup.

"Could the two states not simply merge? Why worry about whose heir belongs to which house, or who possesses which place in the succession? One king could inherit the kingship of another state as well..."

"Different national circumstances," Xue San said.

"Oh, then let us drain this cup to different national circumstances!"

Xue San rolled his neck.

"But from the Regent of Great Chu's perspective, replace a younger sister with a nephew, and make that nephew the direct-line heir of Marquis Pingxi Residence as well... that's an excellent bargain. It's the same sort of deal the Min Clan once made. Of course, I don't think that Regent of Chu is the kind of man who enjoys preparing another man's bridal clothes. Still, compared with some alliance treaty everyone signs already planning to tear up later, this kind of bond is unquestionably more reliable. Enough. I'm done talking. I'm heading for Snow Sea Pass."

A'Ming looked slightly surprised.

"You aren't going to tell Master any of this?"

"Tell him? Of course we'll tell him. Since we've already guessed the truth, why deliberately hide it and let misunderstandings deepen? What is this, some damned television drama? I'm leaving first. You go tell him."

"I've already advanced."

"Doesn't help me. This time I need to take a blow for Master. I'll see whether there's an opportunity out on the snowfields. And don't forget."

"Fine. I'll go now."

A'Ming rose from the coffin and walked toward the mirror specially installed inside the wine cellar, adjusting his collar as he spoke.

"There's one more thing..."

"Then say it." Xue San was impatient. He was ready to depart.

A'Ming spoke at an unhurried pace.

"I've always found something strange. Just as you kept shouting before, if we suffer from reproductive isolation, fine. We aren't ordinary people. But why would Master suffer from it too? I mean, if Master and Siniang have that problem, fine. But why would he have it with other women too? If that's the case, then it means that as 'transmigrators' into this world, even we have been given another layer of reproductive isolation. But that contradicts itself. Existence is reasonable. Since we exist, there should not be some additional discrimination imposed on us. Otherwise it would amount to denying our very existence. And if our existence is denied, then what exactly are we doing here right now?"

"Oh, let us drain a cup to this profound philosophical question!"

"So what exactly are you trying to say?" Xue San asked.

"Did you notice anything unusual when the Demon Child acted today?"

Xue San froze.

Then scratched his head.

"I... unusual..."

"Sorry. I forgot. You haven't advanced this time, so your perception may be somewhat worse than mine."

"Heh. Are you planting foreshadowing just to manufacture a satisfying reveal?"

"Tonight, when I watched the Demon Child attack, he had become stronger."

"Keep talking nonsense. If Master asks tomorrow why I'm still loitering in the Residence, I'll tell him I spent the whole night listening to your drivel and delayed military affairs because of it."

"The ghost qi around him has completely transformed into resentment."

Xue San raised his head in confusion and stared at A'Ming.

"Go on."

"In the past, the Demon Child's Grade was too low, so his body still carried a great deal of ghost qi. At the very beginning, he was essentially just a pure ghost infant. Then, with each advancement, the ghost qi around him became less and less, gradually transforming into resentment, a higher level of power. He himself has also been completing the transition from ghost infant to spirit body. By the way, you know who is most obsessed with whether Master can have children, don't you?"

"The Blind Man," Xue San answered immediately.

What the Blind Man wanted was simple.

He absolutely wanted to rebel at least once for the experience.

But rebellion was difficult without descendants.

People's hearts could not be stabilized.

Most men who followed you were unlike the Demon Kings, who merely wanted the thrill of it. Those men wanted wealth and rank for their children and grandchildren.

If you yourself had no children or grandchildren, what exactly could you promise theirs?

"Right. The Blind Man. Actually, after the Demon Child failed to advance the time before last, the Blind Man noticed something. He even came to me specifically and asked me to keep an eye on changes in the Demon Child. Liang Cheng spends most of his time outside commanding troops. I, on the other hand, am usually near Master. And because of my own nature, I'm more sensitive to sinister powers like the Demon Child's ghost qi. Easier to detect them too. The Blind Man asked me to watch how the ghost qi around the Demon Child changed."

"You mean...?"

"We may genuinely suffer from reproductive isolation because our level of life is what it is. But Master probably does not. Master descended into this world as an ordinary person. As ordinary as ordinary could possibly be. He has absolutely nothing to do with some chosen son of destiny or some adjudicator of fate. Master has grown over these past years through his own effort and maturity. Because of that, the Blind Man suspects the reason Master never got any of the other women pregnant was the Demon Child interfering."

"'Interfering' really is the perfect word here. But... how exactly would he do it?"

"That part is difficult to explain. The Blind Man's guess is that the Demon Child could use ghost qi to make extremely subtle adjustments to Master's body. And Master has long since grown used to the sensation of having a ghost haunting him."

"He can't do it now?"

"He still can, of course. But Master himself has grown stronger, and more importantly, after the Demon Child's ghost qi transformed into resentment, using resentment to influence Master's body can no longer be done as silently as before. Master would notice immediately and could eliminate the interference. Just like back when the Demon Child tried to forbid Master from touching women. Eventually Master simply threw him out of the bedroom. After that, there was nothing he could do."

"Heh... pfft..."

Xue San doubled over laughing.

"So the Demon Child has been manufacturing artificial safe periods for his own father this whole time?"

"That would explain why the Demon Child kept suppressing himself and refusing to advance."

"That's one hell of an explanation. Just so his father won't have another child, he deliberately suppresses his own desire to recover strength?"

The Demon Kings' hunger to restore their power was real.

It surpassed almost everything else.

"Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?" A'Ming asked with a smile.

"Very."

"So..."

Xue San nodded.

"So it's probably true."

Only a reason this absurd could make a Demon King set aside actual benefit and desire.

The other Demon Kings were already willful enough.

But the Demon Child was the truly childish one.

He really could do something like this.

A'Ming nodded.

"Only, when Master was attacked on the Wang River, the Demon Child could no longer keep suppressing himself. He had no choice but to advance."

"I heard the woman among those married assassins mocked the Demon Child as a bastard. Of all the things she could've said, she had to say that. Look how angry she made our child. He didn't even have time to keep giving his biological father an artificial vasectomy. No, no. I need to laugh some more. Give me a moment."

"Laugh."

"So... does that mean Master has basically returned to normal now?"

"Only that it's possible."

"Ai. Couldn't the Demon Child just tell Master all this directly? Why twist himself into knots and make the whole thing so complicated?" Xue San sighed.

"If he said it directly, it wouldn't fit his character."

"Oh-ho. Haven't heard that phrase in a long time. Say, if the Princess learns the truth, do you think she'll cry out loud?"

After all that effort... after having her hope crushed once...

Xue San and A'Ming did not know that an entire mountain tribe had been exterminated for the sake of producing that pill.

Of course... even if they knew, they would not care.

A'Ming asked:

"Do you know what the Blind Man would say if he were here?"

"I know. Once the Princess learns the truth, it'll completely sever whatever lingering attachment she has toward her brother. The Princess can distinguish these things clearly. That woman is quite realistic. That's why I said earlier she probably did not know the pill's side effects. What she wanted was to rise in status through her son. She wasn't planning to sacrifice everything out of love just so she could bear Master's child. This is good too. Once she knows, whatever debt of affection she still feels toward that side can be cut cleanly."

At that point...

Xue San reached out and patted A'Ming's knee.

"All right. Thank you, brother. I owe you a favor. You can go lie back down in your coffin, drink wine, and sleep."

"You're not in a hurry to get to Snow Sea Pass anymore?"

"Won't delay anything. Won't delay anything at all. I think news this explosive might be enough to make brute force create a miracle."

The first discovery alone had not felt weighty enough.

But add this second deduction... and suddenly the whole thing carried real substance.

Xue San felt he could try.

After all, he did not care whether Master had more children.

As far as he was concerned... advancement was far more important.

"Fine. Then go."

A'Ming had finished straightening his clothing too.

"You rest properly. Great kindness needs no thanks. Next time I'll personally steal wine for you. Come, Lord A'Ming. Allow me to personally see Your Lordship back into your coffin."

...

Xue San excitedly rushed to the main courtyard.

Only to find it empty.

Master was not there.

At that moment...

Zheng Fan had entered Tian Tian's courtyard.

Everyone had a selfish side.

Zheng Fan never bothered concealing his own.

Whenever public principle clashed with personal affection... he had always sided with his own people rather than with reason.

For years now, he had called the Demon Child "son" again and again.

What precisely existed between the two of them?

Whether it could truly be called a father-son relationship... was difficult to say.

But one fact could not be denied.

Among all the Demon Kings, the one who had saved Zheng Fan's life the most times... was this son of his.

Without the Demon Child... he might have died years ago to some stray arrow on a battlefield.

Not long ago, on the Wang River, without the Demon Child's final eruption... he would have died there too.

Ridiculous, wasn't it?

He knew perfectly well his son's greatest wish was for his biological father to drop dead.

Yet somehow... this same son had saved that biological father again and again.

Heh.

Even if he ignored the face of his son, Zheng Fan could not ignore the face of the man who had repeatedly saved his life.

He could not simply remain unmoved by the Demon Child's refusal.

In truth... it was not as though Zheng Fan had never noticed the boy's little tricks in the past.

He had merely treated them as childish temper.

This time, however, things had gone too far.

From Zheng Fan's perspective... the Demon Child had crossed a line.

Which meant the nature of the matter had changed.

He could no longer keep behaving like an irresponsible father who simply ignored everything.

He pushed open the door.

Tian Tian was already asleep in bed.

Zheng Fan softened his steps as he approached.

The boy slept peacefully.

Beside his pillow lay the red stone.

Zheng Fan's gaze shifted.

He reached out... and gently drew aside the curtain along one side of the bed.

There, in the corner... sat a pitch-black infant.

His back was turned toward Zheng Fan.

He sat in the corner of the bed without moving.

The sight made Zheng Fan smile despite himself.

He sat down at the bedside.

Reached out.

And symbolically stroked the Demon Child's back.

The Demon Child did not turn around.

Zheng Fan extended one finger and gently poked the boy's head.

He did not use much force.

He was afraid his finger would simply pass straight through.

"All right. I was wrong. I apologize."

The Demon Child remained unmoved.

"It was my fault. I ignored how you felt. Truthfully, it isn't only this life. You've saved me plenty of times in this one. And for a long stretch of my previous life... you were the one supporting me too."

Back in the comic studio of his previous life, works like *Dwarf Xue San* and *Woodcutter Fan Li* had failed so spectacularly they might as well have fallen all the way to his grandmother's house.

The other works had barely avoided losing money.

The most popular one, the work that truly supported the entire comic studio... had always been *Demon Child*.

"It's pretty funny, isn't it? Ah, I'm talking about myself. Other fathers spend their lives hearing their sons complain about getting screwed over by Dad. Me? I've spent two lives getting screwed over as the dad. Maybe I'm simply too greedy. I've reflected on it. I've reviewed my mistakes. With other matters, whatever. But when it comes to you, I should think more carefully. Truthfully, life is already pretty good right now. We live in a huge residence. There are plenty of soldiers around protecting us. You could say we're already living above ordinary people. I have an adopted son. I had a biological son long ago. What more do I really need? And even if I still feel unsatisfied, there are plenty of other directions to be dissatisfied in. I shouldn't spend all day staring at women's bellies and messing around with that one thing. There are still plenty of things in this world worth doing. Next time Yu Huaping starts showing off his child in front of me again... fine. If he wants to compare biological sons so badly, I'll bring you over and let you play with his boy. Then we'll see whose son is better. I'm done obsessing over this. I'm not going to think about it anymore. When the Blind Man comes back, I'll tell him to stop racking his brains over this too. One Tian Tian is enough. You and me... we'll keep living the way we did before. How about it?"

The Demon Child still did not move.

"Then it's settled. You and I... we're the real family. Even if you've always hated me, I know you hate me. But I probably won't be able to fix this habit for the rest of my life. Whenever something happens... my first instinct will still be to shout: 'Son!' Heh-heh..."

Zheng Fan rubbed his face.

Then stood.

He looked at the Demon Child still sitting in the corner with his back turned.

For some reason... his eyes suddenly grew damp.

He blinked hard.

Then Marquis Zheng left Tian Tian's bedroom.

And gently closed the door behind him.

Standing in the courtyard... he raised his head.

The moon was bright.

The stars were few.

Marquis Zheng stretched his body.

For an instant... it felt as though he had returned to that first night after waking in Tiger Head City.

What exactly... did he still have to be dissatisfied with?

...

Inside the room...

Tian Tian opened his eyes.

The little fellow had actually been desperately sleepy for a long time.

But he had forced himself to remain awake until now.

He crawled toward the corner of the bed.

Reached out.

And gently tried to hug the Demon Child.

But the Demon Child possessed no solid body.

Tian Tian lost his balance and toppled face-first onto the bed.

He quickly climbed back up.

Then continued holding his empty little embrace around the boy.

"Daddy admitted he was wrong. Big Sister, forgive Daddy, okay?"

The Demon Child turned.

He looked at Tian Tian.

"Actually... I'd kind of like a little brother or little sister too."

Tian Tian grinned.

Then continued:

"Hehe. Then I can trick Little Brother or Little Sister into believing the Dragon Throne is the best sachima in the whole world."

[End of Chapter 759]