Plan 62

When Li Xintian saw that the deception had been exposed, he had no choice but to signal the others to leave, giving Hong Tianyun and Yang Surong space to speak privately.

Hong Tianyun shot Li Xintian a grateful look.

“Surong, I’ve made you suffer so much as your husband. Please forgive me.”

Once everyone had left, Hong Tianyun gently took Yang Surong’s hand and spoke tenderly.

“I haven’t suffered,” she replied. “The fault is mine. I trusted the wrong people and created this situation. It’s my own sin, not yours, husband.” Guilt colored Yang Surong’s face as she spoke with self-reproach.

“Don’t blame yourself anymore. From this day on, let us cherish each other as before. Whether or not you are able to bear a child for the Hong family, or if I ever take a concubine, it doesn’t matter. As long as you are with me, I will have no further wishes,” Hong Tianyun said, pulling Yang Surong gently into his embrace.

That night, at the Hong residence.

“Brother Zhixian, may I ask you for a favor? Could you examine Surong’s health?” Hong Tianyun had invited Li Xintian to sit with him in the back garden.

“Brother Tianyun, it’s not that I won’t help,” Li Xintian replied, shaking his head. “Madam Hong’s kidney energy is weak, and her blood is deficient—her yin depleted. I suspect she worked too hard as a child and her body was never properly nurtured afterward.”

“You’re right, Scholar Li,” said Yang Surong, nodding. “My family was poor when I was young. I began working in the fields at an early age, so—”

“That explains the root of Madam Hong’s illness,” Li Xintian continued. “A healthy body, squandered. If Madam Hong wishes to conceive, it will be extremely difficult.”

Though Li Xintian wished he could help, he was not in the modern age—such problems would be easily solved nowadays.

“Brother Zhixian, I know you must have a solution. Please, think of something,” Hong Tianyun pleaded, sensing that Li Xintian did indeed have an idea.

“I’ll say what I can, and you may consider it carefully,” Li Xintian replied. “My suggestion is that you, Brother Tianyun, take a concubine. This would resolve your troubles.”

Inwardly, Li Xintian cursed Tianyun—did he really take him for a miracle worker?

“What? Take a concubine?” Yang Surong’s voice suddenly rose.

“Brother Zhixian, why?” Hong Tianyun, still unsettled by the affair with Yu Bao, felt some resistance.

“I’ve already chosen someone for you,” Li Xintian said with a nod.

“Who is it?” Yang Surong’s eyes flashed angrily.

“Xiaodie.”

Li Xintian revealed his chosen candidate.

“Madam, I knew nothing of this,” Xiaodie stammered in alarm, dropping to her knees.

“Brother Zhixian, why did you choose her?” Hong Tianyun frowned. He had expected Li Xintian to choose someone from a family of officials or wealth, not a servant girl.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Li Xintian replied. “But Xiaodie is a suitable choice. She and Madam Hong are as close as sisters, and her background is clear. Why seek someone from a wealthy or official family? Xiaodie is the best choice. The three of you can live in harmony. Your official position is already in jeopardy—if you wed someone from a powerful family, your household will become a den of intrigue, just like with Yu Bao.”

He helped Xiaodie to her feet as he spoke.

“Surong, the decision is yours,” Hong Tianyun said, turning to Yang Surong and relinquishing the choice to her.

“I have no objection,” she replied, her expression shifting unpredictably.

“Li Xintian, you dare wreck my family!” she thought bitterly.

“Then let us follow Brother Zhixian’s suggestion,” Hong Tianyun said, persuaded by Li Xintian’s reasoning.

“Thank you, Scholar Li!” Xiaodie exclaimed joyfully, about to kneel once more.

“That’s unnecessary. In my house, we do not kneel,” Li Xintian said, allowing Hu Qiuyan, not himself, to help Xiaodie rise. Now that Hong Tianyun had agreed to take a concubine, it was best to keep his distance.

“I noticed Madam Hong seemed unwell—has something happened these past two weeks?” Li Xintian asked Hu Qiuyan after settling Hong Tianyun’s affairs and returning to his quarters.

“In the courtyard, I caught the scent of one of my kind, as if someone like me had been approaching Madam Hong,” Hu Qiuyan replied. She and Xiaodie had gone to meet Yang Surong earlier that day and detected the presence.

“So that explains Madam Hong’s recent change in temperament. Let’s see what they’re after. Get some rest,” Li Xintian said, having spent his days recently visiting only the library.

“Hmph, always bossing people around,” Hu Qiuyan grumbled as she flopped onto her bed, venting her frustration on her pillow as though it were Li Xintian himself.

“Troubled times,” Li Xintian mused. The next day, when he visited the Earth God’s temple, he found it collapsed into ruins.

After a day’s rest, Yang Surong visited the Hu residence’s back garden to find Hu Xin.

“Hu Xin,” she called, embracing him as tears streamed down her face.

“Surong, what’s happened?” Hu Xin returned her embrace.

Half a month prior, while Hu Xin was recovering from injuries, a mysterious figure had come to him—masked with green fangs, dressed in black. This stranger had also visited the Earth God’s temple and reduced it to rubble.

Hu Xin had been wounded by the World-Calming Spirit Lamp’s power, which protected itself with a relic—any attempt to seize it would trigger its defense.

To acquire the lamp, one needed a woman with a phoenix-shaped birthmark. By controlling her, the lamp could be used. The stranger had also told Hu Xin that Yang Surong bore such a mark.

Though Hu Xin did not know why the mysterious person wanted to help him, he cared only about obtaining the lamp.

That was why, for the past fortnight, Hu Xin had been drawing closer to Yang Surong.

“At home, Tianyun is about to take a concubine,” Yang Surong said, tears brimming in her eyes, her tone fierce. “It’s all that Li Xintian’s fault—he ruined my family.”

“If you truly love me, I have a way to resolve this,” Hu Xin said soothingly, inwardly delighted with Li Xintian’s unwitting assistance.

“Yes, yes,” Yang Surong said, gripping Hu Xin’s hand.

“There’s another secret I must tell you,” Hu Xin continued.

“A secret? What is it?” Yang Surong wiped her tears, puzzled.

“I am not an ordinary man. I am a fox spirit,” he declared.

“You… You’re a fox spirit?” Yang Surong’s face went pale, her heart pounding in alarm. “Then why do you want to be with me?”

“For the sake of being with you, I am willing to give up everything—my wealth, even my identity as a fox immortal,” Hu Xin replied with a gentle smile.

“But… I’m just an ordinary woman. I’m not worth such sacrifice,” Yang Surong said, panic in her voice.

“As long as your love for me is sincere, it is worth it,” Hu Xin gazed at her with unwavering tenderness.

“Hu Xin, I’m so grateful for all you’ve done for me, for all your sacrifices. If you truly love me, let me tell you—I truly love you too. For you, I would give up everything,” Yang Surong said resolutely.

“Good. My solution is to turn you into a fox immortal as well. Then we can be together forever—and you could even take revenge on the one you hate most,” Hu Xin said, his plan on the verge of success.

“But how can I become a fox immortal?” Yang Surong asked.

“In Yunxiang Temple lies the World-Calming Spirit Lamp, filled with boundless spiritual power. It can help you attain immortality. If you let me drink your blood, and then you drink this cup of my blood, the lamp’s power will be activated. You’ll be able to cultivate and become a fox immortal too. Are you willing to bear a little pain?” Hu Xin conjured two cups on the table as he spoke.

“I am willing,” Yang Surong answered tearfully, but with determination.

“Very well.” Hu Xin poured clear water into the cups, then drew blood from his finger and let it drip into one of them. Then, his head transformed into that of a fox, and he bit Yang Surong’s neck, drinking her blood.

A chill swept over Yang Surong’s body, and her eyes gleamed red.

“Surong, it’s done. Once you drink this cup containing my blood, we’ll be together forever,” Hu Xin said, quickly releasing her.

Yang Surong picked up the cup, hesitated for a moment, then raised it to her lips and drank it in one gulp.