Chapter 168 A Corpse

Tao Ming rounded a corner, and after taking only a few steps, she heard someone calling her from behind. Turning around, she saw Qiao Kongqing and called out, "Brother."

Seeing that the corners of Tao Ming's eyes and the tip of her nose were red, with traces resembling tears and mucus on her trouser legs, Qiao Kongqing felt a wave of displeasure and demanded angrily, "Did Su Nanxing bully you?"

Tao Ming chuckled and said, "No, how could he bear to do that?"

Naturally, Qiao Kongqing didn't believe it. "Then what is this about?"

Tao Ming replied honestly, "I just had a heart-to-heart with Grandfather."

"A heart-to-heart?" Qiao Kongqing couldn't help recalling some memories he would rather forget; once upon a time, he too had been driven to tears by Qin Youchuan.

Tao Ming nodded. "Grandfather was enlightening me."

*I know all about that,* Qiao Kongqing thought to himself. *Qin Youchuan loves enlightening people the most!*

Tao Ming pulled Qiao Kongqing toward the courtyard of the Pansi Cave. "Why did you come at this hour?"

"Auntie said she had something to discuss with me." Qiao Kongqing pushed Tao Ming toward the side room. "Go change your clothes."

With a murmur of assent, Tao Ming went into the side room.

Qiao Kongqing walked into the main room, where Tao Sisi and Su Nanxing were happily playing with the two little ones.

Su Nanxing looked toward the space behind him and asked, "I heard Mingming's voice, but where is she?"

"Mingming's clothes got dirty." Qiao Kongqing gave Su Nanxing a meaningful look.

Su Nanxing stood up and walked toward the door. "I'll go check on her."

Extremely satisfied, Qiao Kongqing took over Su Nanxing's place to play with the children.

When Su Nanxing entered the bedroom of the side room, Tao Ming had already changed her clothes. Seeing him come in, she said, "Give me all the dirty clothes from earlier."

"I'll wash them." Su Nanxing took the dirty clothes from Tao Ming's hands, looked at her face, and asked, "Did you cry?"

Tao Ming smiled with a touch of embarrassment. "Who knew Grandfather would be so sentimental?"

Su Nanxing flipped through the clothes. "Crouching down to cry? Weren't you tired?"

Tilting her head, Tao Ming smiled. "I'm not made of clay; I'm not that fragile."

Su Nanxing pulled Tao Ming into his embrace. "I always feel that if I look away for even a single second, I might lose you."

"That's a disease, and it needs curing." Tao Ming nuzzled against his chest, prompting Su Nanxing to lower his head and capture her lips in a kiss.

After lingering over a thorough kiss, Su Nanxing finally released Tao Ming and led her by the hand into the main room.

Having shared a meal together, Tao Sisi dispatched Tao Ming to put the two little ones to sleep, while she led Su Nanxing and Qiao Kongqing to a small back room.

Although Tao Ming was burning with curiosity about what secret business they were conducting behind her back, she ultimately managed to restrain it. No matter what, those three people would never harm her.

Entering the small room, Qiao Kongqing watched as Tao Sisi closed the door securely and had Su Nanxing set up an isolation barrier, deepening his inner doubts.

Tao Sisi released the dream-entity who had thrown herself into Su Nanxing's arms yesterday. Once she steadied herself, the figure glanced around at the people present and immediately lunged toward Su Nanxing.

The moment Qiao Kongqing laid eyes on her, he froze in place. Seeing her rush toward Su Nanxing, his primary reaction was to grab her arm to thwart her attempt, followed by a sharp demand: "Who are you?"

The woman looked at Su Nanxing with tear-filled eyes. "My lord, have you forgotten Meng'er?"

Tao Sisi observed Qiao Kongqing's reaction closely. "Kongqing, do you know her?"

"Auntie, there is something seriously wrong with this female." A red glow surged across Qiao Kongqing's hands, and he instantly knocked her unconscious, lifting her by her arm.

Su Nanxing hadn't expected Qiao Kongqing to act with such swift ruthlessness; he had assumed Qiao Kongqing might soften upon seeing that face resembling Ruomeng.

Qiao Kongqing placed the woman upon the table, channeling the red light from his hands through her facial orifices in an attempt to probe her body and uncover the truth. Unexpectedly, a sudden transformation occurred: a drifting, unstable cluster of black mist emerged from the top of the woman's head, gradually coalescing into an ordinary face from within the smoke.

The face's mouth opened and closed, uttering a gender-neutral voice: "Ruoqing, do you no longer care even for Ruomeng?"

Qiao Kongqing let out a cold snort. "Spare me the ghost and demon tricks."

The voice continued to emanate from the face: "This is a genuine, flesh-and-blood Ruomeng. I have taken exceptionally good care of her all these years."

Qiao Kongqing raged, "She is nothing more than a corpse!"

"Even a corpse is Ruomeng's corpse. Can you bear to watch her torn to pieces?"

Qiao Kongqing desperately wanted to say he could, but looking at that familiar little face before him, the words stuck in his throat.

The face turned its gaze toward Su Nanxing, its voice seemingly carrying a trace of trembling: "Nanxing, do you remember Ruomeng?"

Su Nanxing's expression remained completely unaltered. "I do not."

The face went on, "Splendid. That makes it all the more amusing."

Su Nanxing maintained his silence.

The black mist violently shuddered, and the face appeared somewhat distorted. "We shall conclude here for today. We shall play with you again next time."

As the words fell, the black mist vanished without a trace.

The three individuals left in the room stared at the female corpse upon the table in dismay.

Tao Sisi could not help asking, "Who is Ruomeng?"

Lowering his head to examine the corpse's features closely, Qiao Kongqing replied, "Auntie, you also know that I have been searching for my younger sister; Ruomeng is her name."

Hearing this, Tao Sisi hesitated and said, "Then this..."

"This is her body from her previous lifetime, stolen from her grave by someone." The mere thought made Qiao Kongqing flare with anger—to think there were people depraved enough to steal a corpse.

At this juncture, anything Su Nanxing might say would be inappropriate, so he quietly took two steps backward to avoid drawing trouble upon himself.

Unwilling to let Tao Sisi know too much, Qiao Kongqing immediately gathered up Ruomeng's remains and looked at Su Nanxing. "Find a place and burn her."

Su Nanxing nodded hurriedly; it was best not to provoke the eldest brother-in-law at this moment.

Seeing that the two men intended to keep things hidden, Tao Sisi did not press the matter further, provided that Tao Ming remained unharmed.

Tao Sisi returned to the main room, while Qiao Kongqing and Su Nanxing found an open patch of ground where Su Nanxing personally reduced Ruomeng's corpse to ash.

Staring at the flickering flames, Qiao Kongqing asked, "Did you drink Ming's blood yesterday?"

"Yes."

Qiao Kongqing didn't know what kind of judgment to pass. He was willing to fall into demonic ways for Tao Ming's sake—what need was there to judge such depth of feeling?

Qiao Kongqing spoke again: "A full day has already passed. The demonic nature could erupt at any moment. We need to find a secure location to prevent discovery. Mingming has never dealt with such matters before; I will assist you."

Su Nanxing accepted the gesture and replied, "Thank you."

Once Ruomeng's remains had vanished from their sight, Su Nanxing led Qiao Kongqing back to the side room.

Tao Ming had already coaxed the two little ones to sleep and sat by the edge of the bed, wondering what exactly she had been waiting for.

Entering the bedroom, Su Nanxing pulled Tao Ming tightly into his arms with a force that made her wonder if her waist was about to snap.

Sensing Su Nanxing's negative emotions, Tao Ming rested quietly against his chest, waiting for him to compose himself.

Su Nanxing's voice came from above: "Weren't you curious about what we were doing?"

Tao Ming shook her head. "I didn't want to know."

Su Nanxing's arms loosened slightly as he lowered his head to seek Tao Ming's lips. Cooperatively, Tao Ming tilted her face upward.

After a brief moment, they parted, and Su Nanxing smiled. "Brother is still outside."

Throwing him a glare, Tao Ming took his hand and walked out of the bedroom.

Qiao Kongqing bantered, "You need to hold hands for such a short walk? Could you possibly get lost?"

Noticing the forced nature of his smile, Tao Ming knew that whatever the three of them had been doing certainly involved her, but she chose not to expose him. Sitting down, she asked, "Brother, we're planning to take a trip back to the Other Realm. Are you coming?"

Surprised, Qiao Kongqing asked, "What are you going back to the Other Realm for?"

Tao Ming produced the map Qin Youchuan had given her. "I'm planning to build a shopping mall on this plot of Qin family land, and there are many things we need to buy back in the Other Realm. Furthermore, I want to have Nanxing hide out in my secret realm to ride out the period of his demonic descent."

Hesitating slightly, Qiao Kongqing asked, "Would it be convenient for me to tag along?"