What, Unwilling? Found the Warmth of a Past Life
What, Unwilling? Found the Warmth of a Past Life
Old Master Tang issued his orders, and all the members of the Tang Family bustled about, preparing to welcome the great figure who would soon descend upon the Tang Family.
Though they didn’t know who it was, that didn’t stop a solemn sense of reverence from rising in their hearts.
The Tang Family hadn’t stood for as long as the other great sects, but the fact that they could occupy a place within the Alliance of Thousand Merchants spoke volumes about the formidable skill of the Tang Family patriarchs through the generations.
Moreover, the Tang Family held an unimaginable degree of trust in Old Master Tang’s words, and many clan members were deeply shaken.
“A great figure... could it be him?”
Tang Wan immediately thought of Gu Changge, and she was quite startled. Besides Gu Changge, who else could make Yin Mei show such respect?
“What is he coming to the Tang Family for at a time like this?”
Unease rose within her. She had a feeling that this time, the Old Master... it was Gu Changge pulling the strings behind the scenes.
This caused the defiance she had only just managed to muster to gradually sink back into silence.
She could be said to understand Gu Changge’s methods quite well, and she knew just how terrifying he was.
In this world, you could offend anyone—but you must never offend Gu Changge.
Tang Wan’s heart was bitter and despairing, utterly bleak. She didn’t know what plan Qin Wuya could possibly have. Even if Qin Wuya truly did have a plan, would he be a match for Gu Changge? That question didn’t even need asking. After all, even Qin Wuya himself was currently under Gu Changge’s control—he just didn’t know it.
Tang Wan sighed softly, and her heart finally settled into calm.
Still, after struggling with it for a while, she decided to go warn Qin Wuya.
During this period, Qin Wuya had shown her much care and concern, which moved her heart—and filled her with guilt. And this time, the person Qin Wuya would be facing was Gu Changge.
Although Gu Changge held her life and death in his hands, as long as she didn’t do anything to betray him, he presumably wouldn’t care about a mostly useless chess piece like her.
What the Tang Family had done chilled her heart, but it was still the family that had born and raised her. Tang Wan found it hard to simply stand by and watch.
However, when Tang Wan went to Qin Wuya’s residence to look for him, she found he wasn’t there—he seemed to have gone somewhere else.
This startled and stunned her, and she sighed inwardly. Could it be that all of this was destined? That she simply couldn’t...
An Azure Dragon swept across the sky, and numerous powerful figures appeared. The one leading them was none other than Gu Changge.
Old Master Tang and the others had long been waiting respectfully at this spot.
Having already guessed that the person behind Yin Mei was Gu Changge, they weren’t greatly surprised. Their manner was incomparably deferential, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.
Gu Changge stepped down from above.
In the time since they’d last seen him, his cultivation and aura had grown even more terrifying—calling it “unfathomable” felt woefully inadequate.
What was even more frightening was that he now carried a terrifying, invincible aura about him. Though he wasn’t deliberately releasing it, as he walked, the faces of those nearby turned pale, feeling as though they would suffocate, unable to breathe.
With every gesture and movement, he was like a young Immortal—immortal light surging, auspicious radiance wreathing his body, chaotic mist flickering in and out of existence around his palms. Powerful to an unimaginable degree.
“Greetings, Young Master Changge.”
Old Master Tang and the others all spoke respectfully.
Yin Mei stood at the very front, a smile blooming on her lovely face. Gu Changge nodded, his gaze sweeping over them before finally landing on Yin Mei. “I already know what happened. Since they won’t behave, then just kill them.”
The matter of the Tang Family’s collateral-surname clansmen was, in his eyes, utterly insignificant—not worth caring about at all.
The main reason he had come to the Tang Family this time was to deal with the matter of Qin Wuya, the Fortuitous One.
Yin Mei smiled and nodded. “Since Young Master says so, then I’ll have people deal with those collateral-surname clansmen of the Tang Family right away.”
Since Gu Changge didn’t care about the businesses and connections those collateral clansmen controlled, she naturally...
Given Gu Changge’s current status and position, there was no way he would spend any more time on such matters.
The faces of everyone present, including Old Master Tang, turned cold. In just a few casual words, Gu Changge had already decided the fate of those collateral-surname clansmen.
No further concern needed.
This made the Tang Family members even more fearful and solemnly respectful. Compared to the collateral clansmen, their own lives and deaths were equally held in Gu Changge’s hands.
Only, as for how this had all come about—even now, none of them could figure it out.
They could never have imagined that the mysterious scripture that had appeared in Tang Wan’s younger brother Tang Tian’s mind after he woke from his coma would actually be a problem.
Even now, they still believed it was a mysterious immortal scripture of boundless value, something that could be passed down as a family heirloom for generations.
Because of this, they found Gu Changge’s methods all the more unfathomable—he had seized control of their entire clan’s life and death without them even noticing.
Many of them suspected whether they had fallen victim to some kind of controlling secret art, such as poison pills or gu worms.
Unfortunately, no matter how they investigated, they couldn’t find anything.
“Young Master Changge, please follow this old man.”
Then Old Master Tang led the way, guiding Gu Changge into a complex of palaces. Mist flowed, spiritual springs gurgled, immortal qi drifted, and the scenery was serene and beautiful.
Ancient structures shimmered with multicolored radiance, exuding grandeur and nobility. “Only when our Tang Family receives its most honored guests do we bring them here. Back then, our Tang Family paid a great price to have an ancient cultivator oversee its construction. It belongs to the style from before the Immortal Ancient era.”
Old Master Tang spoke respectfully, though there was still a trace of pride between his brows.
After all, such palaces and pavilions were rarely seen nowadays—every brick and tile had been crafted with great care.
Gu Changge nodded, casually glancing around. “It does have some of the style from before the Immortal Ancient era.”
Seeing that Gu Changge had no intention of saying more, the Tang Family members weren’t surprised.
“Then, Young Master Changge, please rest here. We won’t disturb you any—”
Gu Changge spoke up, calling out Tang Wan by name and asking her to stay.
Many Tang Family members were astonished, looking at Tang Wan with varied expressions, wondering when she had come to know Gu Changge.
Old Master Tang’s eyes also flickered with surprise. Tang Wan had never told him that she knew Gu Changge.
Regarding the last incident when Tang Tian was schemed against by Yin Mei, they hadn’t known Gu Changge was behind it—they had thought it was a clash between Yin Mei and Tang Wan.
Tang Wan hadn’t expected Gu Changge to single her out to stay either. She pressed her lips together, feeling somewhat uneasy.
The rest of the Tang Family members tactfully took their leave, not daring to linger.
Given that she and that man named Chu Hao shared mutual feelings, he even wondered whether there was something between Tang Wan and Gu Changge.
But considering Gu Changge’s status, Tang Wan was hardly likely to catch his eye.
“Greetings, Young Master Changge.”
Tang Wan was somewhat flustered and uneasy. Her fear of Gu Changge came from the bottom of her heart—she didn’t even dare raise her head.
Moreover, in front of Gu Changge, she had the feeling that all her thoughts and secrets were seen through, her very soul trembling with trepidation.
Gu Changge unhurriedly found a stone bench and sat down, then asked with great interest, “Do you know why I’ve called for you?”
Tang Wan’s heart trembled, and she hurriedly said, “Young Master Changge, I’ve been monitoring Qin Wuya’s movements the whole time. I haven’t leaked anything about you to him.”
She thought Gu Changge had detected her earlier intention to warn Qin Wuya.
This made her extremely frightened and uneasy.
Now, the lives of everyone in the Tang Family were held in Gu Changge’s hands. She dared not defy his will even more, fearing she would bring calamity upon the Tang Family. Gu Changge smiled. “Is that so? Good that you haven’t. I didn’t believe you’d have the guts anyway.”
Tang Wan breathed a sigh of relief—she had been worried Gu Changge wouldn’t believe her and would make her prove it.
“This time, I’ve come to the Tang Family to kill Qin Wuya.”
“This is Immortal-Burying Water. You’ll make him drink it. Once it’s done, I’ll spare the Tang Family.”
“If you can’t do it, then your Tang Family can accompany him together.”
But in the next moment, Gu Changge’s tone shifted. He swept an intrigued glance over Tang Wan, then pulled a small white jade bottle from his robes.
Tang Wan’s expression changed, turning pale with disbelief. The fingers hidden in her sleeves trembled.
Even Yin Mei, standing obediently behind Gu Changge, changed expression slightly, a chill running through her. She looked at that small white jade bottle with deep apprehension.
Tang Wan’s voice trembled, filled with fear, while a shocking coldness crept up her back.
Gu Changge actually intended for her to personally poison Qin Wuya.
Immortal-Burying Water—as the name implied—was a rare poison of unknown origin, said to be capable of burying and destroying Immortals. Even a single drop was priceless.
Ordinary cultivators dared not touch it, nor were they qualified to. For Immortal-Burying Water itself possessed terrifying penetrative properties. There were rumors that it was something stained by the malevolent aura of Celestial Realm cultivators.
Cultivators who drew near it would involuntarily suffer backlash, their five organs and six viscera dissolving into pus and blood, beyond the saving of even immortal medicines.
She had never seen it—it had only ever appeared in legends. Yet now, in Gu Changge’s hand, there was actually a bottle of it.
Even if the bottle contained only a single drop of Immortal-Burying Water, it possessed unimaginable value.
“What, unwilling?”
Gu Changge wore a faint smile, his features so flawlessly handsome that one couldn’t find a single fault—he even gave off a feeling like basking in a spring breeze.
But at this moment, Tang Wan’s entire body went cold, her hands and feet like ice. It was as if a basin of ice water had been dumped over her head—she was terrified to the extreme.
Her fingers trembled as she reached to take the small white jade bottle from Gu Changge’s hand, trying to calm herself down.
But her fingers simply wouldn’t obey, shaking violently like a sieve.
The small white jade bottle before her seemed scalding hot, about to slip from her grasp.
“You’d better hold it steady—don’t drop it. I went to quite some trouble to find this little bottle.”
“Originally, I didn’t plan to make things so troublesome, but this is your punishment for sympathizing with him.”
There was a trace of regret in his tone, as if he didn’t really want to do it this way.
“I understand.”
Tang Wan’s face grew even paler, her heart filled with even greater fear, along with endless regret and despair. Sure enough—the moment she had conceived the thought of warning Qin Wuya, Gu Changge had known.
“Once you’ve arranged everything, let me know. I don’t want to miss this good show.”
“You may go.”
Then Gu Changge smiled and waved his hand, dismissing Tang Wan, seemingly with no intention of making things more difficult for her.
Tang Wan’s hands trembled as she gripped the small white jade bottle tightly, her heart full of bitterness and despondency as she left the place.
She didn’t dare hate Gu Changge—she only hated herself. Why had she softened back then and conceived such a thought? Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world.
Nor did she dare gamble with her family’s fate and the lives of all her clansmen. Moreover, facing Gu Changge, Qin Wuya had never had the slightest chance of winning from the very beginning.
Everything was a long-foreordained outcome.
After Tang Wan left, Yin Mei asked with some curiosity, “Does Young Master really intend to have Tang Wan poison that man?”
She felt that with Gu Changge’s strength, dealing with one person hardly required such trouble.
She knew Qin Wuya’s identity, and naturally knew of the enmity between him and Gu Changge.
Gu Changge smiled at her and gestured with his hand. Yin Mei’s lovely face flushed with rosy clouds as she obediently came into his embrace.
“I’m just a little curious whether Tang Wan will actually go through with it.”
As for whether she poisons him or not, it doesn’t really matter. Because from the moment I arrived at the Tang Family...
Gu Changge smiled, not particularly concerned, his hand resting on Yin Mei’s fox tail, stroking it gently as if petting a cat.
“It seems this Tang Wan isn’t stupid. She knows what to do.”
Yin Mei’s face was flushed with rosy clouds, soft and boneless, enchanting.
Actually, he had another goal. The more despairing Qin Wuya became, the more Fortuity points and Fatums he would harvest.
After all, having raised him for so long, Qin Wuya carried quite a lot of Fortuity points. Moreover, this senior brother who had returned from the Nine Heavens might well be hiding some secrets about the Nine Heavens.
The Immortal Palace collapsed, and ten thousand Immortals perished.
The surviving Remnant Immortals departed for the Nine Heavens, sealed the Celestial Gate, and severed the connection between earth and heaven. From then on, no true Immortals ever appeared in the Beyond again.
Many of today’s powers, such as the Longevity Gu Family and the Buddhists, though greatly connected to the Nine Heavens...
But the eras and epochs involved were simply too ancient. Very few knew of them anymore; they could only be found in...
So there was even a saying that the river of time before the Forbidden Epoch had actually collapsed.
Before that epoch, before the Immortal Palace, there were even more ancient times.
But because of the existence of the Forbidden Epoch, many people were deeply taboo about that era and dared not mention it. For merely hearing those two words brought a deep...
This was why the various worlds dared not let its name circulate.
It was a kind of fear and palpitation where one didn’t even know its deeds, yet could feel it from those two words alone.
“However, given Qin Wuya’s caution, he might well notice. But it depends on whether he’s willing to drink the poisoned water handed to him by his wife from his past life.”
Gu Changge smiled, his expression rather playful.
Her voice trembled softly.
The fox tail of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan was like their very lifeline. If anyone else dared touch it, they would chop off that person’s hand even at the cost of their lives.
Her eyes watery, she looked at Gu Changge and took the initiative to...
Her mood finally calmed down.
The small white jade bottle in her hand no longer felt as scalding as before.
She no longer had a choice. If she refused, Gu Changge would not spare her, much less spare her family.
This decision—actually, from the moment Gu Changge seized control of her life, all of this had already been destined.
Then she took the initiative to head to the Chamber of Sustenance, planning to personally cook for Qin Wuya, to make him a final meal—lest he go hungry on the road to the Yellow Springs.
Tang Wan knew Qin Wuya wasn’t currently in the clan but outside, running about busily because of her affairs.
Yet she dared not harbor such feelings.
In the end, she was just herself—not Qin Wuya’s wife.
A similar flower, or reincarnation—none of it mattered to her.
What Qin Wuya did was merely his own wishful thinking.
Soon, Tang Wan busied herself in the Chamber of Sustenance, preparing various spirit fruits and the meat of various fierce beasts. After cooking, it became fragrantly enticing.
Many of the spirit chefs there watched this scene in astonishment. They never expected that Xiaojie Tang Wan would actually come here personally, cooking food for someone in the middle of the night. They wondered who...
Each piece of meat had a faint glow flowing over it, appearing crystalline—perfect in color, aroma, and taste, enough to make one’s fingers twitch with appetite.
Tang Wan’s gaze was complicated. She busied herself for a full hour before finally finishing cooking all the dishes, then carefully poured the Immortal-Burying Water into them.
Although Immortal-Burying Water sounded terrifying, it looked no different from ordinary spring water—pure and clear.
She had actually considered taking the Immortal-Burying Water together with Qin Wuya, as repayment for his kindness during this time. But on second thought, she gave up the idea. In the end, her relationship with Qin Wuya was merely one of exploitation—she didn’t want to end her own life over it.
“Take all of these to my courtyard.”
Then she rose and headed toward the courtyard where Qin Wuya usually rested. She knew that by this time, he should have returned.
Dong dong dong. Arriving there, Tang Wan knocked on the door first, then waited quietly.
“Wan’er-xiaojie?”
“Why would you come here in the middle of the night?”
He had already gone to sleep, but hadn’t expected Tang Wan to come knocking at this hour.
He was incomparably familiar with Tang Wan’s aura, so he had sensed her the moment she approached. This made his heart stir slightly, giving rise to a trace of anticipation.
A lone man and a lone woman, her visiting in the middle of the night—what’s more, Tang Wan’s identity was that of his wife from his past life. This made Qin Wuya unable to stop himself from guessing in that direction.
Everything he had done during this time—Tang Wan must have seen it all. She couldn’t possibly be unmoved.
“I made a table of food and wine. Come to my courtyard.” Tang Wan smiled faintly, concise and to the point, her expression revealing not the slightest abnormality.
“Wan’er-xiaojie, you cooked personally?”
Tang Wan smiled and nodded, then walked toward her own courtyard, saying as she walked, “The Tang Family’s matters lately have troubled you.”
“I have no way to repay you, so I could only cook personally to reward you a little.”
The reason those collateral-surname clansmen had banded together in protest—in Tang Wan’s view, Qin Wuya’s scheming and instigation were likely behind it. But today Gu Changge had already given the order for Yin Mei not to bother with them further. Since those collateral clansmen insisted on obstructing, then they would simply be killed.
Only, Qin Wuya probably didn’t know about this yet.
“Thank you, Wan’er-xiaojie.”
Hearing Tang Wan say this, Qin Wuya was still somewhat moved. It made him feel that everything he had done was worthwhile.
“Oh right, Wan’er-xiaojie. Regarding the Tang Family’s matter this time, I’ve already contacted a friend of mine and asked him to help abduct Yin Mei, to force her to reveal what method she used to control the Tang Family.”
On the way to Tang Wan’s courtyard, Qin Wuya spoke up, proactively sharing his plan.
He had quite a few good things on him, all from when he had accidentally stumbled into...
So finding someone to help him with tasks wasn’t difficult.
“Abduct Yin Mei?”
Tang Wan was slightly taken aback. She hadn’t expected this to be Qin Wuya’s plan. It seemed he still didn’t know that Gu Changge had already descended upon the Tang Family.
“Yes.”
Qin Wuya nodded, full of confidence and certainty, and continued, “Wan’er-xiaojie, rest assured. I’ve already arranged everything properly. No one will notice anything unusual, and no one will catch any evidence.”
Hearing him say this, Tang Wan didn’t say anything more.
Anyway, after tonight, Qin Wuya would be a dead man, and the Tang Family’s crisis would be resolved.
Soon, the two arrived at Tang Wan’s courtyard. Moonlight dappled the ground, candlelight flickered faintly, and the table was laden with all kinds of delicacies and fine dishes, radiant with glowing light—meats and fruits alike, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, a rich fragrance permeating the air.
Wine and chopsticks had already been set out to the side, just waiting for Qin Wuya.
“Wan’er-xiaojie made all of these personally?”
Qin Wuya said with some admiration. Though for the gentle-natured Tang Wan to make such food and wine wasn’t all that surprising.
This scene let him rediscover that warm feeling from his past life.
Qin Wuya looked at her and smiled. “Wan’er-xiaojie, won’t you have a taste yourself?”
Tang Wan shook her head slightly. “Back in the Chamber of Sustenance, I already tasted them. I’ll just watch you eat.”
Though she said this, she couldn’t help feeling somewhat nervous inside, worried that Qin Wuya would notice something amiss. However, Qin Wuya trusted her completely. Hearing this, he merely smiled. “In that case, I shall definitely eat every last bit of this food and wine tonight.”
Only then would I not fail to live up to Xiaojie’s kind intentions.
With that, he picked up his chopsticks and began eating. To make Tang Wan feel he was enjoying and loving it, he ate ravenously, as if afraid someone would snatch it from him.
Seeing this, Tang Wan couldn’t help shaking her head slightly with a smile. “Eat slowly, don’t choke. There’s wine here too—no one’s going to fight you for it.”
As she spoke, she filled his wine cup. Watching Qin Wuya tilt his head back and drain the wine in one gulp, the faint smile on Tang Wan’s face quietly vanished.
“What’s happening...”
Somewhat incredulous, the bowl and chopsticks in his hands fell to the ground with a clang, shattering to pieces.
At the same time, a mouthful of black blood—filled with fragments of his ruptured organs—sprayed out.
Terrifying pain swept through him. All color drained from his face as he collapsed straight to the ground.