Chapter 127: You're Awake? Father and Son Are Well
They finished their late-night meal, but Lu Mingxuan still slept.
"Brother Wu, what are you going to do with him?" Du Wenyan asked.
"What do you think?" Su Jin replied.
"I think you want to win him over and use him to get us to Jiuzhao City quickly. And you want to learn his arts. Am I right?"
Su Jin nodded. "That's my plan. What do you think?"
"It's too risky. Lu Mingxuan isn't an ordinary man. He's Tanyu Temple's most promising talent and the temple master's personal disciple. Officials all over the country know him. People will do him favors in any town we visit."
"Your reasoning makes sense, but he has too much influence. We can't afford the risk."
After a pause, Du Wenyan added, "I know you're thinking of showing him the recording to convince him, as someone chosen by an immortal. But after what we've done to him, he must hate us."
"Besides, Tanyu Temple claims to speak to heaven on the Son of Heaven's behalf. He won't accept your story. Even if he believes it privately, he may still find a way to contact the temple."
"So I think you should question him about those arts, get what information you can, and then kill him."
Su Jin laced his fingers and nodded slowly. "That would be safest. But it would waste a valuable chance. How well do you know him?"
"Not very well. He's arrogant, but I don't think he's bad at heart. I've never heard of him bullying people with his position. Most nobles I know would seek revenge on anyone who spoke ill of them behind their backs. Lu Mingxuan merely mocked me a few times."
"He's competed with Shen Yufeng for years. Even when he learned I'd said Shen Yufeng was better than him, he did nothing. That's fairly generous of him." Du Wenyan changed tack. "But remember: he's high up in Tanyu Temple. He won't tolerate my sister."
"I know the temple won't," Su Jin said, looking out the window. "An organization and a person aren't always the same. I want to see whether we can work with him. Shen Yufeng will need strong people in the future, and I need Lu Mingxuan to give me honest information."
"He resents Shen Yufeng. How can you expect him to work wholeheartedly for him?" Du Wenyan asked, growing anxious.
Su Jin turned back, serious. "When that day comes, old grudges and envy won't matter. Everyone will have to work together to survive. Disaster changes people."
"Brother Du, I know how you feel about Tanyu Temple. But for the future, personal grudges have to give way to reality. We've had a tiring day. Take Yunlian to the bedroom and rest. I'll question him soon, and I'll see if I can bring him around."
Du Wenyan's brows moved. She looked at him but said nothing.
At last she took Yunlian to the bedroom in silence.
Su Jin lit a Liqun cigarette and leaned back on the sofa, letting out a weary breath.
Du Wenyan's intentions were clear. She wanted Lu Mingxuan dead.
For her sister's sake, and her own, he was too dangerous.
But Lu Mingxuan was valuable. If they were still fighting him, killing him would make sense.
Now that they'd captured him, it would be a waste.
Thinking of the future while looking after the people with him wasn't easy. He could only hope Lu Mingxuan knew what was good for him.
....
In the dark, Lu Mingxuan heard voices all around him.
Children were laughing and playing.
"Daddy... Daddy..."
"Ah! I'm not your father!"
Lu Mingxuan's eyes flew open. Su Jin sat before him, a cigarette between two fingers, his face blank.
"You really are heartless," Su Jin said, flicking away ash. "Your children have been born, and you won't even acknowledge them."
"You!" Lu Mingxuan looked down at the bonds around his body.
He tried to move. A burning pain shot through his backside.
His belly was no longer swollen. Then that could only mean...
Forgetting everything else, he asked in terror, "Did I... really give birth?"
"Father and son are both well." Su Jin pushed a plate of sweet melons across the table.
"What?" Lu Mingxuan felt dizzy.
Su Jin took a bite of a melon. "Your son is quite sweet."
Wait.
Lu Mingxuan drew a breath and glared at him. "Are you playing a trick on me?"
"You know whether it hurts after giving birth."
"I..." Lu Mingxuan slowly looked down.
He stared for a while, blinked twice, and tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Want to taste your child?" Su Jin held out a melon.
"Take it away! Please, don't let me see it!" Lu Mingxuan twisted his head aside in horror.
"All right. Quit sniveling. You're a grown man, and it's annoying." Su Jin set down the melon. "I lied. You didn't give birth."
"What?" Lu Mingxuan calmed at once and looked at him hopefully. "I didn't?"
"You believed a man could have a child from eating a melon? I ate one too. And even if it could happen, how could you give birth after one nap?"
"That's right..." Relief flickered across Lu Mingxuan's face.
"Hey!" Su Jin knocked on the table. "You're tied up and could lose your life, but you're still worrying about babies?"
Lu Mingxuan sobered immediately.
He stared at Su Jin. "What do you want to do with me?"
"I think you've misunderstood me, so let's talk. If we can't reach an understanding, I'll have to kill you." Su Jin thought a moment. "The court is hunting me, and all the searchers I've seen belong to the Xuanjia Army. Why did you come after me alone from Tanyu Temple?"
"And how did you know where I'd be? Why wait at the Wunian River?"
"First answer my questions. Then I'll answer yours."
"All right." Su Jin folded his arms.
Lu Mingxuan took a breath. "If the melons couldn't make me pregnant, why did my belly swell? Why does it hurt so much... there? What happened while I was unconscious?"
"Idiot. Melons don't give birth to children. Plant melons, harvest melons. Eat melons, give birth to melons."
"What?" Lu Mingxuan stared blankly.
"You had a difficult delivery after you fainted. I even helped you give birth."
Lu Mingxuan trembled from head to foot. He writhed against his bonds and shrieked,
"You've humiliated me beyond endurance! I'll kill you, you scheming, wicked rebel!"