The old house of the Fang family is a little old, but still quite spacious.
The old house is divided into two courtyards, and Qiao Mu is temporarily staying in a guest room in the back courtyard. These days, he spends some time every day to observe a painting called the Blood Moon Chart.
"The creation of the Spirit Refining martial artist several hundred years ago, can it make me have illusions?"
Qiao Mu quietly watched.
Every time his mind immersed in the painting, his eyes would feel as if the moonlight in the painting was flowing like thick blood, giving it a somewhat eerie feeling.
What’s even stranger is that if Qiao Mu’s mind stays immersed in the painting for a little longer, he would feel a surge of energy and blood in his body, as if his blood is flowing faster.
At first, when he noticed something strange, he quickly broke free from it, feeling a bit wary of this mysterious painting.
Later, he had a change of mind…
"Why am I so anxious?" Qiao Mu snapped back to reality.
"Maybe dying from looking at a painting will give me a chance to brush up on my evaluations?"So Qiao Mu boldly went ahead.
He spent a whole hour observing the painting, allowing himself to become completely absorbed in it, feeling his energy and blood surging more and more intensely.
Half an hour later, his blood was nearly boiling, his body filled with a strange force coursing through his limbs and organs. He also felt a vague and pulsating pain in his veins, making him want to shout to the heavens.
This feeling… it’s like…
"Isn’t this similar to the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method?" Qiao Mu snapped back to his senses.
After reaching the age of ninety, Qiao Mu had mastered the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method to an unprecedented "consummation" level. He could proudly claim that no one understood the art of self-dissolution better than him.
As for the explosive nature of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method, Qiao Mu was more familiar with it than anyone else.
"So, this so-called Blood Moon Chart, the ancient painting that even Spirit Refining martial artists desire, actually contains a burst technique similar to the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method?"
"So, what about the Blood Sun Chart that was taken by the Sword Ghost?"
Qiao Mu controlled his rising blood rush, took a moment to catch his breath, and tried to make his whole body energized following the feeling he had when observing the painting just now. ŖåℕǑВΕS
As a master of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method, Qiao Mu learned quickly, and after several attempts, he had succeeded.
"The explosive technique derived from the Blood Moon Chart can be called… Red Moon Burning Blood Technique," Qiao Mu said to himself.
The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method is the most famous type of self-destructive explosive technique. It uses a trace of internal strength as a trigger, stimulating the body’s potential and making the blood boil almost to a frenzy.
Only after Qiao Mu mastered the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method could he use his blood as a trigger to perform the technique.
The Red Moon Burning Blood Technique itself is also a blood-triggered explosive technique. It has many similarities with the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method. However, in Qiao Mu’s present wise perspective, it seemed even more brilliant than the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method.
"It seems that the spiritual refining painter who painted the Blood Moon Chart is not simple either."
The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method held extraordinary significance for Qiao Mu; it was a set of secret techniques that defined his existence.
"If I can combine this Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method with the Red Moon Burning Blood Technique and other explosive secret techniques, gathering knowledge from various sources, could I create a more efficient explosive secret technique?"
Qiao Mu, a long time ago, was disappointed with the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method because it didn’t actually disintegrate his body into pieces, but only left him with a fatal injury.
Not fast enough, not good enough!
Now, after learning the Red Moon Burning Blood Technique and gaining experience in deducing martial arts, he felt the urge to create his own secret technique in the future.
After comprehending the mysteries of the Blood Moon Chart, Qiao Mu walked out of the room, holding the painting, preparing to spread the news and attract the attention of the Sword Ghost.
When he arrived at the front yard, he happened to see Fang Yuan sitting under a tree in the courtyard, lost in thought.
"Senior Qiao," Fang Yuan looked at the two trees in the courtyard, his eyes filled with reminiscence, as if talking to himself:
"This tree is a jujube tree, and the other tree is also a jujube tree."
"These are two tree seedlings my father specially found back then. They are the same age as me and my younger sister. Now, after so many years, both trees have grown beautifully."
These two trees in the yard, one on the left and one on the right, the one on the left is slightly bigger and more lush.
"What my father means is that he wants us siblings to support each other in the future, like these two jujube trees, after all, a single tree can’t make a forest…"
Fang Yuan’s eyes were filled with nostalgia as he returned to his childhood home, every blade of grass and tree reminding him of the past.
He pointed to a corner of the courtyard, where there was an abandoned small vegetable garden. The small patch of land had already dried up and cracked, completely overgrown with weeds.
"Actually, I’m the stepson of the Fang family. I came here when I was four years old after my mother remarried. At that time, the Fang family’s antique business was still very small."
"My mother was a hardworking woman. After the antique business grew larger, she didn’t have to do everything herself anymore and couldn’t find leisure time."
"She planted peas, chives, grapevines, tomatoes and other plants in the courtyard of her home. As a result, the small courtyard became lush and green."
"During summer, I often sat on the steps in the courtyard to enjoy the breeze. I would secretly pick and eat the tomatoes that my mother grew. Sitting there, I watched the intertwined shadows of the grapevines and jujube trees on the wall, swaying gently in the summer wind. I could spend a couple of hours just sitting and lazily passing the day. And so, the summer days went by."
"At that time, my father would point to the shadow of the jujube tree and say, ‘When your sister and I grow up, the tree will be full of branches and leaves. Then, in the summer, we can sit under it to enjoy the cool shade.’"
"If in the future we each start our own families and the jujube tree blossoms and bears fruit, we can bring our families and relatives back to this ancestral home. We can sit under the tree, enjoy the shade, and eat some jujubes."
Fang Yuan kept talking nonstop, looking more like an elderly person in their seventies than a young man, recalling the past years.
Returning to the old house, the memories of past years appeared before his eyes, as if they could be touched.
Living this way for over a decade, until the building collapsed.
Now, as he revisited this place, he was all alone.
As a stepson in the family, Fang Yuan was not his father’s biological child. His surname was not actually Fang, so the so-called ancestral home of the Fang family was just a wishful thinking for him.
He put in a lot of effort to save money and continuously please heavenly prison inmate, Qiao Mu, in hopes of mastering martial arts. One of his ultimate goals was to return to his childhood old house.
Qiao Mu didn’t say anything, he just listened quietly. He knew the other person was just talking to themselves and needed a listener, without any interruptions.
……………
The entrance of the Fang family’s old house.
This house, because of rumors of haunting in recent days, rarely had any pedestrians even during the day. And even if someone passed by, they would often get suspicious and quicken their pace.
At this time, however, a young woman came and stood by the road, tiptoeing and looking towards the Fang family’s old house.
This woman was a young lady of about twenty, with a pretty appearance, although her heavy makeup somewhat masked her youthful charm.
Tiptoeing, she gazed at the old house for quite some time, strolling around the area.
Suddenly, the gate of the house creaked open, and young Gaoler Fang Yuan walked out and headed in another direction.
The woman stared blankly at Fang Yuan’s figure, then looked at the old Fang family house. Unable to control her emotions, she bit her lip, clenched her fair fist, and dug her fingers deeply into her palm.
"Brother…"
"Now that you’re wealthy, can you buy back our ancestral house for me?" she murmured to herself.
"I think you have spare money now, and life has become much better than before. Seeing you thriving, I am simply…"
She sighed softly and said to herself,
"It’s even more painful than losing money."
At this moment, a cry came from behind her.
"Fang’er,Fang’er."
An overweight middle-aged man with a round face approached and embraced the young woman, Fang Fang, from behind.
"Why don’t you go and meet your brother?"
"He’s not my brother!" Fang Fang’s eyes flashed with anger.
"He’s my stepson. He just took on the last name Fang after his birth mother remarried. He’s not part of my Fang family."
"Oh well, let’s not meet then. It’s fine not to meet." The middle-aged man chuckled and didn’t pay much attention.
"But you’re already my husband Wan Ronghua’s third mistress. Our Wan family is wealthy and has a large business. It’s not a big deal to let this man Fang Yuan have an old house as an advantage for him."
He really didn’t care about Fang Yuan. He was just a small prison guard in this heavenly prison, and couldn’t become anything important.
Over the years, the Wan family has lost more than just the Fang family in the business world.
Fang Fang frowned upon hearing this, her face not looking good.
"No, definitely not."
"This ancestral home was originally the Fang family’s ancestral home. What does it have to do with Fang Yuan?"
"And now, this old house is the property of Sir Wan Ronghua’s. How can we casually hand it over to someone else?"
"Oh?" The rich middle-aged man Wan Ronghua’s face had a smile that wasn’t really a smile.
"Fang’er, even though you and Fang Yuan are not blood-related siblings, you have been living under the same roof for many years. Why do you hate him so much?"
Wan Ronghua smiled and said,
"Did he bully you when you were little? I, Lord Wan Ronghua, will have a talk with him."
"It’s up to Lord Wan." Fang Fang, the young lady, acted shyly.
"Actually, this Fang Yuan did something that made me deeply resentful when we were young. Lord Wan Ronghua, please let me explain…"
…………
More than ten years ago.
After Fang’s mother married into the Fang family, Fang Yuan was not well-treated. After all, he was just a burden, not the father’s biological child. How could they treat him well?
Fang Fang was his father’s biological child, not Fang Yuan.
After Fang Yuan came to the Fang family, his last name was changed. He couldn’t use his original last name anymore, and had to change it to Fang.
The young child, Fang Yuan, who was taken in by others, naturally knew that his father was not his real father, and could also see how his father treated the two children differently.
Spoiled children are often arrogant due to their spoiling. Fang Yuan, who was also a stepchild and experienced neglect, naturally matured faster and had a bit more understanding than children of the same age.
Fang Yuan’s only option was to try his best not to cause trouble, not to be mischievous. He had to restrain the nature of children, always follow his stepfather’s wishes, and not dare to go against them.
The turning point happened in the third year after Fang Yuan’s mother remarried into the Fang family.
In that year, Fang Yuan was seven years old.
During the Qingming festival, the Fang family naturally had ancestral worship customs.
As a stepchild, Fang Yuan was led by his father to worship the ancestors, bowing to the Fang family ancestors who had no blood relationship with Fang Yuan.
The act of bowing to the ancestors was not a big deal, but it triggered emotions in seven-year-old Fang Yuan, reminding him of his own biological family.
He didn’t originally have the last name Fang, but now he must have the last name Fang.
Although he worships the ancestors of the Fang family, he actually has his own biological father, as well as a grandfather and ancestors.
Since he is now the adopted son of the Fang family, he must cut ties with his biological father’s family, and this is a reasonable thing to do.
Fang Yuan, who was constantly neglected and dependent on others, had a surge of emotions during the ancestral worship, recalling his deceased biological father.
So later on, he secretly found an empty space in a hidden area, picked up mud and stones, and built a pile as a memorial for his biological father.
Then he quietly kowtowed three times and bowed nine times in front of the memorial, mourning his deceased biological father and the ancestors of his father’s family.
Fang Yuan matured early and was quite intelligent, but he was still a seven-year-old child after all.
He didn’t know that his father had already noticed the unusual behavior of this child and secretly followed him, witnessing the scene of the child’s secret worship.
When his father stepped forward, Fang Yuan was extremely panicked, thinking that he had done something wrong, broken the rules, and would surely be heavily punished by his stepfather.
Little did he know, his father was also a understanding person, and he said to Fang Yuan:
"You, my child, at the young age of seven, despite being dependent on others, you still remember your ancestors. You have ambitions and perseverance at such a young age, and you will surely achieve great things in the future."
"However, your little sister Fang Fang is stubborn and willful, and she may have difficulty succeeding in the future. If you truly succeed in the future, don’t forget to take care of her."
Since then, his father treated Fang Yuan as his own son and began teaching him business skills.
Fang Fang, who used to be the family’s pride and joy, suddenly had her father’s favor divided equally among them, which naturally bred resentment in her heart.
…………….
When the young lady Fang Fang brought up this matter, there was still some grudge in her heart:
"One day, my father, who was drunk, talked about this matter with the guests, and I happened to overhear it…"
"But he never treated us equally. Clearly, I am his biological child."
Fang Fang’s eyebrows almost frowned when she said this.
"For example, in the will that was made by my father and stepmother before their deaths, it was stated that the shop on Antique Street would be inherited by my stepbrother, Fang Yuan, while I would only receive some antiques and assets as dowry."
"The value of these two things seems to be evenly split, but the antique shops in Imperial Capital are not ordinary. It’s like a gold-laying hen, but Fang Yuan got the share. I’m not happy about it."
Fang Fang spoke angrily, but didn’t notice that Wan Ronghua, who was listening nearby, couldn’t help but slightly smile.
What a gold-laying hen…this Fang Fang didn’t even consider the possibility of the shop making losses in business?
Whether it’s a gold-laying hen or not, that depends on who has it.
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