Chapter 369 Sinister Poison

"Hmm, strictly speaking I wasn't looking for you but for someone who should be with you"

After a few moments, he slowly started speaking, measuring every word as if still deciding whether to proceed or stop.

"As Madam Liang said, this old man had many descendants across the continent, but most of them did not live that long.

There are two notable exceptions, one of which is my eldest son, who was born long before this world became our cage. The other one lived long enough to produce offspring, albeit at a young age, but died soon after"

The old man spoke with a little bitterness, as years passed in front of his eyes and a myriad of faces flashed in his memories.

Madam Liang's brow twitched at the mention of 'two exceptions', and her eyes widened with shock when the old man spoke about a descendant who left a child behind.

"But his child did not last, only siring one daughter before dying as well... Haa~" N0vel_Biin hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

The old man let out a deep sigh, reliving the moments of the distant past.

Wu Long's eyes narrowed as he had a general idea what happened at this point, but he still waited the old man to continue without interrupting.

"The daughter had a complicated childbirth, losing her life after. The son that was born from her also made only one child before passing. And so, generation after generation, one child after another were secretly protected by my first son and me while keeping our distance.

But due to our caution and overprotection, we made the life of each descendant too free of danger and consequences. It was only a matter of time before one of them was raised into a good-for-nothing scoundrel, who deceived a woman desperate for help, and got killed by her in retribution when she found out"

Zhao Xieren's gaze turned to the table midway, away from the eyes of both listeners.

"I see, so you are here for Mei'er"

Wu Long nodded with understanding. The issue of Cao Mei's father was only mentioned once when he met the then Pirate Queen, and never discussed since. For Cao Xiang and her, he was simply that inconsequential of a person, and for Wu Long it wasn't a point of interest.

"What happened was..."

"You don't need to tell me what happened between them as that is something for Xiang'er to tell me if she feels like talking about it"

He stopped the old man from explaining as he was not one to secretly pry into his women's past without good reason. And was not interested in the topic since it never bothered Cao Xiang or her daughter. He doubted Cao Xiang even cared enough to think about it.

"Mmm~, at the time you met the mother and daughter pair I was in seclusion for two decades already, in fact for most of the time it was my son who watched over the line of descendants with me cultivating in closed doors, conserving my strength and trying to extend the time I have left, delaying the inevitable"

"So your son is the Wine Dao master"

Wu Long nodded with a pondering look and the old man gave a nod as confirmation.

"Indeed, he used his identity to establish himself in the Southern Archipelago. We used that to watch over the descendants discreetly, as he took care of many people, disguising the ones we cared about among them"

"Hmm, and you came here to?"

"To make sure she is well and being cared for of course. Never in my life could I have thought that my son would relinquish the care of my descendant to a stranger... although now that I have met you I understand his decision"

Zhao Xieren sighed, looking tired once again, but this time not from exerting himself, but from carrying the weight of time.

Liang Yuhan looked at the old man with widened eyes, still unable to believe that he was able to hide this secret so well that even she never knew he succeeded in producing a line of descendants.

Wu Long nodded, now getting the full picture of why the old man was here and searching for him, and gave the man some time in silence to gather himself.

"I presume none of your descendants lived past the age of twenty and were extremely feeble from birth, with chronic health conditions and almost completely infertile"

After a while he asked the old man whose eyes shone with surprise, and who then slowly nodded.

"The Child-Eating Serpent... that's the name of the poison. An insidious one that exclusively affects one's descendants and not the one poisoned, and quite hard to get rid of as it alters one's physique. I am quite surprised that you did not give up over the thousands of years, even when your eldest son did"

Wu Long sighed as he remembered the characteristics of the poison, his voice empathetic as he could practically feel the despair that the man must have felt.

It was the poison of choice for those who sought to do harm to renowned families in the most cruel way, as heritage was what they cherished the most, far more than their lives. He could guess that the old man likely was of the same type. He was, after all, desperate enough to try countless times over the thousands of years.

He could also guess that the old man's son was afflicted with the same poison, otherwise the old man would already have a healthy line of descent.

"I couldn't... I was not able to abandon it... If we were not the last ones I could, but how would I face my ancestors if this old man and my son were the last of the line..."

The old man lowered his head while shaking it from side to side, unable to let go of his obsession.

"But how was it... how was it possible that one of his descendants had a child?"

After some time in silence, Liang Yuhan first raised her voice and then stopped, looking at Zhao Xieren with worry. But seeing no signs it affected him, asked to Wu Long who seemed to know the poison. She was still shocked to hear that there was a living line of descendants, knowing how futile his attempts were over the years.

"I suppose that with so long a time the potency of the pathogen did subside, especially with the weakening of the host, since a disease lives off the person it affects, and thus him weakening allowed for a one-off miracle.

I would guess that the descendant who was able to survive was the last one born, the last one he sired before his vigor was gone and he was no longer able to procreate.

The subsequent generations each carried a less deadly version than the predecessor, facilitating a gradual improvement through diluting of the poisoned bloodline.

Mei'er does not exhibit any signs of it at all, though now that I am aware of the situation I would have to do a thorough check later to exclude any future trouble"

Wu Long first looked at the old man as well, confirming if it was alright to answer. Seeing interest spark in Zhao Xieren's eyes as well, he started speaking as he traced his chin, finding what happened incredible too. Given the minuscule chances of such a miracle, it truly was a one of a kind event.

The old man nodded along, confirming Wu Long's words about the progression of events. He also noticed that with each generation the offspring produced had better overall health, only the fertility rate being extremely low never improved. The female descendants never surviving childbirth did not change as well.

The room descended into silence once again, as the old man seemed to have finally received a sort of clue. And after some time, Wu Long saw that Old Man Zhao raised his head to look at him once again, indicating that he was now ready to continue their conversation.

"So, was the person who poisoned you and your eldest son the troublemaker you can't let go of taking revenge on?"

As he dealt with the reason Zhao Xieren was looking for him and the circumstances surrounding that, Wu Long moved on to the next line of questioning.

The moment Wu Long alluded to the culprit behind the poisoning, a raging fire sprang into existence in the old man's eyes, a hatred so deep and intense that it seemed to burn his very soul, the pain and sadness that were there before becoming fuel for the scorching flames to grow wilder and more destructive.

His body was too weak and feeble to express his anger, as even the fists that attempted to clench up did not close fully. But his eyes, still as vivid and alive as ever, did not need anything else to show his emotions.

Gone was a silly and lecherous, slightly grumpy but still warm and even caring, funny old man who had sorrow carved into his face by time and memories, his very being turning into a wrathful spirit of vengeance as he opened his mouth and spat out the name:

"Gu Zhen"