Chapter Twelve: Cause and Effect

It was a person with the surname Yun who turned Leng Bingtong into what she is today.

Anyone who possesses the "Way of Destiny" and knows the method to create undead warriors must be a descendant of Yun Qitian, the Duke of Qi and a close comrade-in-arms of the Yan family's ancestor!

After all these twists and turns, it was unexpected that Leng Bingtong was indeed inextricably linked to his Yan family.

It was no wonder that Yan Tian's strike last night failed to kill her, and that she had felt disappointed instead. Anyone who had lived in such desolate isolation for over three hundred years would have a heart turned to ash, yearning only for death.

Now, Yan Tian knew he had no reason to refuse any of Leng Bingtong's requests.

Although Leng Bingtong did not know of Yan Tian’s identity as an heir to the Yan family, and even though it was the Yun family, not the Yan family, who had transformed her, Yan Tian, as the Yan descendant, had to bear the consequences of the Yun family's actions.

It was for no other reason than the words inscribed on the jade: "The Yan and Yun families: one prospers, both prosper; one suffers, both suffer. For generations to come, be forever sworn allies. Should this oath be broken, may heaven and humanity alike abandon us."

Since Yan Tian had inherited the treasure left by his ancestors, he had to inherit the Yan family's promises and glory as well.

Furthermore, Yan Tian was confident he could restore the flow of time within Leng Bingtong’s body, provided he could master the divine art of the "Way of Destiny."

Thus, Yan Tian slowly stepped forward, gently pulled Leng Bingtong into his arms, and said with tenderness, pity, and compassion, "Don't cry. I understand your suffering... Rest assured, I will grant your request, and I will find a way... to turn you back into a normal person. Sigh, you poor girl..."

As he spoke, one of his hands quietly crept toward her slender waist...

"Bang!" Leng Bingtong’s fist struck Yan Tian’s lower abdomen hard once more. She tried to break free, only to find that Yan Tian’s arms were like iron hoops; even with her immense strength, she could not escape.

In a fit of pique, Leng Bingtong blushed and pinched the soft flesh at Yan Tian’s waist with all her might, but Yan Tian acted as if he had suddenly lost his pain receptors, showing no reaction whatsoever.

"No wonder you are so wealthy. Anyone who has lived for over three hundred years could accumulate unimaginable riches. By the way, how did you meet Xia Tianling and the others? You said you were about to lose control—what exactly is going on?"

"As I said, Tianling and the others are in constant danger of losing control. When they first lost control, I happened to be working a case near their residence. Tianling, Shangxiang, and Jing lived together to keep each other in check; when one lost control, the others would stop it from escalating. But that day, for some reason, all three lost control one after another. Fortunately, I arrived in time to subdue them."

"After they learned of my abilities, they told me their story and asked me to live with them to prevent further outbursts. As for me, I didn't want innocent people to be harmed by them, and I hoped that one day I might be killed at their hands, so I moved in. But... I didn't expect that I, too, would begin to lose control recently. Once I lose control, it takes all three of them working together to stop me. As for them killing me, that is simply impossible."

"And when I lose control, I become... indiscriminate. I kill everyone in my path."

Yan Tian gradually began to understand.

Logically, undead warriors should not lose control. But Leng Bingtong was a unique case; she had no master to command her and possessed her own consciousness. Judging by her personality, she was likely someone who rarely killed.

Undead warriors are created for the sole purpose of killing and possess an innate, murderous impulse. If Leng Bingtong were a mass murderer, it would be fine, as satisfying her bloodlust would prevent self-loss of control. But the problem was, did Leng Bingtong look like a serial killer?

From her willingness to live with Xia Tianling and the others to prevent them from harming innocent people, it was clear that Leng Bingtong had a kind heart; she would never slaughter the innocent.

This explained why she had chosen the profession of a police officer.

Only police officers and soldiers have the legal right to kill. However, in modern society, soldiers rarely have the opportunity to kill. Only a police officer like Leng Bingtong, working in an anti-gang unit where she frequently deals with the underworld, has the opportunity to kill—and to kill those who deserve it.

But even police officers do not have frequent opportunities to kill. After all, the prerequisite for police force is usually a suspect resisting arrest with force, and even among the underworld, very few dare to do so.

Thus, the stifled Leng Bingtong had been losing control little by little recently, venting a long-accumulated urge to kill.

"Sigh, your story truly breaks my heart," Yan Tian sighed sorrowfully. "Rest assured, I will definitely help you..."

"Hmm, then I'll call you Bingtong from now on, alright, Bingtong?"

"...Do as you please. I've never met someone as shameless as you..."

"Hehe, if you have no shame, you are invincible. Our motto is: 'Water too clear has no fish; a person too shameless is invincible!'"

"..."

"Hey, Yan Tian, what are you doing? You've been in the kitchen for nearly an hour, why haven't you finished breakfast? Ah! Why are you hugging Officer Leng? Your—where is your hand?" Shi Kexin had snuck in at some point. She wore a stern expression, her almond eyes wide as she glared at Leng Bingtong.

To the naive Shi Kexin, Yan Tian could do no wrong. Even if he was hugging Officer Leng’s waist, it must have been the police officer who had seduced her dear Yan Tian.

"I’m leaving now." Breaking her usual stoic demeanor, Leng Bingtong tore herself from Yan Tian’s embrace, lowered her head, and fled the kitchen, face burning red.

The moment she broke free, Yan Tian took the opportunity to give her rounded hip a squeeze.

Once Leng Bingtong had slipped out, Yan Tian said to Shi Kexin, "Shi Kexin, close the kitchen door."

"Hmph!" Shi Kexin rolled her eyes at him, slammed the door shut, and grumbled, "You’ve got some nerve, taking advantage of Officer Leng behind my back..."

As she spoke, she suddenly noticed that Yan Tian, who had been serious a moment ago, was now grimacing in agony. Beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his forehead. He slowly crouched down, one hand clutching his lower abdomen while the other desperately rubbed his waist, his mouth agape as he emitted a silent groan.

"What's wrong with you?" Shi Kexin was startled. She rushed to his side and asked, voice trembling as she gripped his shoulders.

"Sss... it hurts like hell. Officer Leng punched me in the stomach twice and used her 'Dragon Claw' to pinch my waist eighty-seven times. I’ve been holding it in until now... Sss... damn, that hurts..." Yan Tian hissed.

"What? Officer Leng dared to bully you? Does she not want to be a cop anymore!" Shi Kexin said indignantly. She had completely forgotten the scene she witnessed when she first walked in, where it was perfectly clear who was bullying whom.

"Forget it, don't provoke her..." Yan Tian held back Shi Kexin, who was ready to go pick a fight with Leng Bingtong. "Shi Kexin, I’m telling you, don't mess with any of the four women outside. If you notice anything unusual, notify me immediately."

At this, Yan Tian wondered if he should teach Shi Kexin some martial arts. With four "ticking time bombs" living in the house, he might be safe, but Shi Kexin had no means of self-defense. If he didn't make her stronger, wouldn't she be in great danger?

Yes, it would be best to teach her light-foot skills (Qinggong). And that 'One-Finger Zen' seemed simple to learn, though it required deep internal energy to unleash its full power. Since he had a massive reservoir of internal energy, could he use something like "energy infusion" to clear Shi Kexin’s meridians and pass his deep internal strength directly to her?

With profound internal energy, light-foot skills, and the One-Finger Zen, even if she couldn't beat Leng Bingtong or the three artificial beauties, she should at least have no problem defending herself.

He should check the remaining records he had transcribed from the jade. Perhaps the method of energy transfer was hidden among them.

Although Yan Tian had translated and copied all the text from the jade, he had only closely examined the general outline—which detailed the origins and characteristics of the ten martial arts—along with a few explanatory notes and the two arts he had already practiced. The rest of the content remained unexamined.

Martial arts manuals are generally concise, as classical Chinese is far less wordy than modern language. The instructions for the "Xuanming Divine Palm" and "One-Finger Zen" only amounted to about a thousand characters. He estimated that the total for all ten arts was around five or six thousand characters. With the thousand-character introduction and the five-hundred-character descriptions for the two types of mystical eye techniques, that totaled about seven or eight thousand characters. However, the jade contained over ten thousand characters in total, meaning there were still several thousand characters whose content was a mystery.

Perhaps what Yan Tian was looking for lay within those remaining thousands of characters.

Thinking of this, Yan Tian asked Shi Kexin, "Shi Kexin, do you want to learn martial arts? If you do, I can teach you."

Shi Kexin’s eyes lit up. The heroic image of Yan Tian fighting off the thugs and bodyguards of the Gao family yesterday was permanently etched into her soul. She was already thrilled that her beloved was a powerful martial artist, and hearing that he wanted to teach her made her even more excited.

In her heart, she had felt a lingering sense of loss over the fact that Yan Tian, whom she had needed to protect since childhood, had become stronger than her. Now that she had the chance to learn, she was confident that, given her talent, she would one day surpass him. Then, she could majestically say to her little Yan Tian, "Let me protect you." Damn, that would be wonderful.

So, Shi Kexin nodded repeatedly. "I want to learn, I want to learn! I definitely want to learn!"

Yan Tian smiled slightly. "Very well, starting tonight, I will teach you. Also, from now on, you must never leave my sight. No matter when or where, I must be able to see you."

"No matter when or where?" Shi Kexin’s face flushed as she whispered, "Does that include when I go to the bathroom, take a bath, or sleep?"