Chapter 38

The scalding tip of his tongue slipped between Luo Li’s fingers, tracing along the bones with forceful licks.

The young boy’s fingers were slender, their pads soft and supple. His rounded nails gleamed with a faint pink hue, drawing the eye irresistibly.

How could a mere street beggar have hands like these?

Chu Jing had clawed his way up from the roughest slums, spending half his life amid the clash of arms. He had no taste for simpering delicacies. To him, the best land was taken by force, and the finest beauties were seized outright.

He wasted no time on hesitation or doubt. Driven by raw instinct, he suckled and kissed Luo Li’s fingertips.

He should have just ordered the boy instead.

Luo Li was nothing but a beggar who survived only under his shadow—one who couldn’t last a day without his protection. What nerve would he have to resist?

Just like now. Chu Jing had sucked his fingers until they flushed red, yet Luo Li merely trembled in his legs, biting back tears without a sound.

So obedient. So heartbreakingly easy to bully.

An uncontrollable heat surged through Chu Jing’s body. For a fleeting moment, he even imagined that the timid youth before him wasn’t his little brother from the streets, but the pampered Little Madam of Zhaohua Mansion.

Caught off guard in her chambers, toyed with, yet powerless to chase him away.

Chu Jing released him and turned to pour a cup of tea. He blew on it to cool it down, then lifted the porcelain cup high, pressing the rim to Luo Li’s flushed lips.

“Have a sip?”

Luo Li was deeply reluctant.

But the man loomed too large, bending down like an entire mountain and trapping him securely in his embrace.

With no choice, Luo Li parted his lips slowly, swallowing the tea bit by bit.

… The water was laced with Chu Jing’s taste.

He knew the man wasn’t unclean—old military habits lingered in him. Who would guess that the head of the city’s lowest dregs shunned spice, liquor, and smoke, living like some upright enforcer?

He’d done it purely to provoke Chu Jing.

It had worked, but Luo Li hadn’t escaped unscathed either. He coughed a few times, water glistening at the corners of his mouth. Before long, his eyes brimmed with tears.

The fair-skinned beauty huddled in Chu Jing’s arms, sobbing softly.

“You…”

Chu Jing realized his impulsiveness and hastily set the cup aside. “Was the water too hot?” He’d blown on it himself.

Luo Li offered no reply. He simply cried.

“Damn it… You’re too much.”

After their tussle, Chu Jing surrendered. “I came here specially to see you, you know? If you really don’t want this, I’ll take you away right now.”

“The inheritance isn’t just about the money—it’s more complicated than that. I can’t explain it all yet, but you’ll understand one day!”

Chu Jing pulled him into a tight embrace and ruffled his long hair. “I’ll be staying at the mansion for the next couple of days. If you truly don’t want it, just tell me, and I won’t let Zhang Banxian go through with it.”

He glanced at the boy’s reddened eyes and the faint marks on his wrist from his own grip, a sudden pang of guilt twisting in his chest.

“Alright, I’m out.”

Chu Jing turned and yanked open the door. Luo Li instinctively reached to stop him, but beyond the threshold stood only empty air.

Yet just moments ago… he’d clearly heard footsteps.

Who could it have been?

No matter his spat with Chu Jing, the task still had to go on.

The fake pregnancy scheme he’d proposed was, without question, the best excuse to remain in Zhaohua Mansion for now.

Still, Luo Li resisted deep down. So on the day of the exorcism ritual, he shrank into a corner, thoroughly unwilling.

Zhang Banxian came to check on him beforehand. Learning that Chu Jing had already informed him of the ruse, the Zhang Banxian visibly relaxed.

“This will require some hardship on your part, but it won’t last forever. Once the inheritance is divided, we’ll find a way to get you out…”

Luo Li asked about Huo Lan and the curse.

Zhang Banxian let out a long sigh. “That story goes back many years. They say the Huo ancestors made their fortune trafficking opium—profiting off death and destruction, squandering their karmic merits in the process. By rights, a family like that shouldn’t have prospered, but somehow they endured. It wasn’t until a wandering immortal passed through Jinzhou City that the truth came out: generation after generation, the Huos had been appeasing an Evil Spirit.”

“No one knows the spirit’s origins anymore. All that’s certain is that its protection demanded the sacrifice of family kin.”

“They say even a tiger won’t devour its own cubs, but to the Huo patriarchs, a few grandchildren were a small price for fame, fortune, and power. And so, in that household, any unfavored young ones tended to die young—not from illness, but offered up to that malevolent ghost.”

Cold sweat prickled down Luo Li’s back. Zhang Banxian chuckled easily. “But that’s ancient history. The Evil Spirit’s been suppressed for ages now, with no sacrifices in years. It’s probably scattered to nothing by this point.”

“Then what about the Second Young Master’s illness?”

“The ancestral sins run deep. Starved of offerings, the Evil Spirit laid a curse upon the Huo descendants. Most suffer mildly, but when it takes deep root… well, it can leave them simple-minded like the Second Young Master, or worse…”

He trailed off as someone called for him from across the room. With a flick of his whisk, Zhang Banxian departed.

Right then, a new task window popped up before Luo Li.

【Task Two: Find a way to locate the suppressed Evil Spirit and release it.】

【Hint: Items obtained from the previous instance have been inherited. Please use them flexibly, Host.】

Just seeing the words “Evil Spirit” sent a shiver through Luo Li. He quickly closed the window.

The ritual took place in the mansion’s grand hall. By the time Luo Li arrived with the crowd, Huo Cheng and Huo Yin were already there.

Huo Cheng stood at a distance, his features indistinct. Huo Yin, however, cut a striking figure in a light-colored suit with a high collar, accentuating his handsome features.

Luo Li had been uneasy ever since this man witnessed his encounter with the foolish Huo Lan. He worried the story might leak out.

Fortunately, no rumors had surfaced yet.

Huo Yin noticed him too. His gaze lingered for a moment before shifting away.

… Truth be told, he couldn’t explain why his eyes kept darting aside. He’d seen plenty of beauties—someone like Luo Li, so slight and underdeveloped, shouldn’t stir anything in him.

It all came down to the boy’s outfit today. Too eye-catching by half.

That wool sweater—did he think white made it modest? It clung so tightly he could make out the soft curve of his chest. The long sleeves draped over his hands, pink fingertips idly twisting strands of his hanging hair. Every so often, he’d lick his lips, his thick lashes fluttering as he glanced around—innocent yet utterly tempting…

Flashy through and through. That face alone was provocation enough.

Lost in his thoughts, Luo Li barely registered Zhang Banxian muttering through the rite.

He caught only the final words: “…The Second Young Master is deeply blessed, guarded by the divine. Yet Master Huo’s unfulfilled wish has allowed Yin Evil Qi to gather in the mansion, greatly harming the young master’s condition. Without resolving that wish, this poor Daoist’s ritual can only treat the symptoms, not the cause.”

Huo Cheng asked, “May I inquire, Daoist, what was my father’s unfulfilled wish?”

“Master Huo enjoyed ample fame and fortune in life, and he was a rare man of kindness to boot… His sole regret must have been his scant progeny.”

Huo Cheng’s expression grew grave. “A-Lan, A-Yin, and I were adopted out of my father’s generosity, but we are not his blood kin. Now that he has passed, the matter of heirs remains…”

Luo Li’s heart skipped.

Was it his turn now?

Sure enough, Zhang Banxian gave a faint smile. “In fact, through this poor Daoist’s spirit-divining array, we’ve learned that Master Huo left behind a posthumous child in his lifetime—the very reason his soul lingers, unwilling to reincarnate.”

He looked straight at Luo Li, who clenched the edge of his sleeve and shuffled forward under the weight of every eye.

Zhang Banxian continued, “Your mansion forged unusual bonds in the past, and this young master’s physique is uncommon. Under those influences, he has defied the heavens to conceive this child.”

The Daoist’s words were cryptic, but Luo Li grasped the meaning: Your ancestors provoked an Evil Spirit. Amid the meddling of unclean forces, a new life was conceived by chance.

But…

What did he mean by “uncommon physique”? He was just an ordinary boy.

Murmurs rippled through the mansion’s staff.

Huo Cheng’s face darkened further as he beckoned Luo Li closer.

“Is this true?”

Luo Li was terrified, sweat slicking his palms. “Mm.”

“Why didn’t you mention it before?”

“Even… even if I had, you wouldn’t have believed me.”

He had no talent for lying; each word took all the courage he could muster. Still, he caught the servants’ fragmented whispers.

“Real or fake? Can men actually get pregnant?”

“I’ve heard some high officials keep boys with special bodies who can bear children. Pure rumors, of course…”

“But wasn’t he from the dark trades? Who knows whose kid it really is?”

Huo Cheng furrowed his brow and swept a cool glance over the crowd. Silence fell instantly; they shuffled awkwardly in place.

Though not Master Huo’s blood son, the Eldest Young Master shared his very mold in looks and bearing. He’d been boyish once, but since the old man’s death, his authority had sharpened. Now, everyone in the mansion feared and respected him.

He shot a look at the butler.

Understanding, the man ushered the servants away.

Only the Third Young Master, Huo Yin, remained, his expression peculiar, a shadow crossing his handsome face.

Huo Cheng asked, “The Daoist mentioned a special physique—what makes it so? I’ve traveled widely and never heard of such a rarity.”

Zhang Banxian stammered a little. “This…”

He hadn’t expected Huo Cheng to probe so relentlessly. He’d prepared plenty of vague responses, but facing this young family head who had matured into such a formidable figure, he felt that any extra word would be seen through in an instant.

“It seems the Daoist priest isn’t unaware—he’s just holding back out of concern for face, unwilling to tell me the straight truth.”

Huo Cheng let out a sigh. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. This matter is simply too important for me to be anything less than cautious.”

Zhang Banxian found himself at a loss for words.

“The Eldest Young Master’s worries are well-founded… But this concerns the Little Madam himself, so This Poor Daoist wouldn’t dare to draw conclusions on his own.”

He shot a quick glance at Luo Li, as if hinting at something. Unfortunately, Luo Li didn’t catch on at all.

All he could do was watch as Huo Cheng approached step by step. The man’s expression remained perfectly calm, with no overt attempt at intimidation, yet those deep, brooding eyes lowered toward him, carrying a chill that made Luo Li’s legs turn to jelly.

“Don’t be scared. There are no outsiders here—just speak the truth.”

Luo Li’s heart leaped into his throat. How could he not be terrified? In his mind, he frantically cried out for help.

007’s only response was: “If you lie right now, he’ll see right through it. Whatever he says, just nod and go along with it for now.”

Huo Cheng’s gaze burned with intensity. “You… do you have…”

He paused, cleared his throat, and leaned in to ask in a low voice.

“…Is your body like a woman’s, which is why you can conceive and give birth?”