Chapter 993: Grudges have a source, debts have an owner

When Tang Tang heard Xiao Jiu say she wanted to take a look at her family genealogy, Tang Tang was quite surprised.

"My family genealogy has long been broken off." Tang Tang said, "Xiao Jiu, who do you want to check? If you have a name, I might still be able to help ask around."

Xiao Jiu then gave the three characters "Tang Yaocao".

Tang Tang hung up the phone and immediately called Tang Ao's side, asking him to check whether their ancestors had a woman named "Tang Yaocao".

"Tang Yaocao?" Tang Ao said, suppressing his voice, "Is that a person's name? Isn't Yaocao a kind of legendary ancient spiritual herb?"

Tang Tang exclaimed in surprise, "Dad, do you know about Yaocao?"

"When I was little, I heard old people tell it as a story." Tang Ao recalled, "It's been too long; I'm old now, I can't remember the details clearly, but I vaguely recall that when I was about five or six, I heard old people say there was an ancient spiritual herb called Yaocao that grew from the brain of some corpse, extremely rare; eating it would make one extremely beautiful and immortal."

However, this is a legend; later people embroidered it and, after artificial processing, it acquired some shocking elements that beggar belief—for example, to produce this Yaocao, one must select a clean girl aged thirteen or fourteen, and while she is alive, drive a long needle into her crown.

The pure and clean little girl does not understand why she is being treated this way; in the process of extreme pain, all her essence and qi surge to the crown, condense into a pellet, and, nourished in a suitable environment, from that pellet grows an extremely rare ancient spiritual herb—the Yaocao people speak of.

Although Tang Tang has seen the world, hearing such a legend still made her unable to suppress a chill, and goosebumps rose all over her body.

Her throat was a little dry; she cleared her throat and asked, "Dad, this is just a made-up ghost story by old people, right? It's really scary."

"You ask, and I will tell you everything I know; as for whether it truly exists or is just a fabricated tale, I can't tell either."

Tang Ao doted extremely on his only daughter, Tang Tang.

The older he got, the more he doted on her.

For anything Tang Tang needed him to do, he would spare no effort to help her accomplish it.

"My dear daughter, why are you suddenly asking about this?" Tang Ao said caringly, "Is it a new project your school has been researching lately? If there's anywhere I can help, just say so—I've always supported your career."

Xiao Jiu had said before that this matter should not be made public.

Her father, you see, used to be ostentatious, but after going through some things and under Yu Nian's guidance, he has become much more restrained.

But people, as the saying goes, "it's easy to change the landscape but hard to change one's nature"; Tang Ao himself is someone who loves to show off, and if he's not careful, his mouth will let things slip.

So Tang Tang could only follow Tang Ao's lead and say, "Yeah, our team recently caught a new project that's still under wraps—it's about this 'Yaocao'. If we can ultimately complete this project, my title could be promoted a bit further, but the deeper we research, the more I find this line seems to have some connection with our ancestors; that's why I came to ask you."

"Related to our ancestors?" Tang Ao still sounded a bit doubtful, "No way, our ancestors were grave robbers…… Well, well, Dad will help you look into it."

Tang Tang urged, "Dad, please remember, just make indirect inquiries; don't leak my new project, or else all our team's previous efforts will be wasted. Also, if your influence is big enough, you could help expand our Tang family's genealogy."

Tang Ao stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "Sure, it's just a matter of spending more money and pulling some connections; for my daughter's title, I'll take on this job."

One cannot deny that Tang Ao indeed has some influence.

A few hours later, Tang Tang received a picture on her WeChat.

Tang Tang opened it and saw that the picture was of a painting.

That painting looks quite old, severely damaged, and the scroll part still bears traces of having been gnawed by rats and ants.

The painting depicts a girl who looks about thirteen or fourteen years old.

Even though the image is very blurry, Tang Tang could still tell at a glance that the girl is extremely beautiful, possessing an unforgettable aura.

Just as she was looking, Tang Ao's phone came through: "My dear daughter, did you see the picture I just sent you?"

"I saw it." Tang Tang asked, "Dad, where did you get this picture from? Where is the painting in the picture located? I want to go see it myself."

Tang Ao quickly replied, "There's no actual painting; I only found this picture. The picture's owner told me that the woman depicted in the painting seems to be called Tang Yaocao."

"And the picture's owner?" Tang Tang asked anxiously, "Can I meet him?"

Saying this, Tang Ao hesitated a bit.

Tang Tang kept asking questions here and there, and Tang Ao had to compromise: "My dear daughter, it's not that I don't want you to see him; it's just that this person has something wrong with his mind—he's rarely lucid, and when he's not, he constantly mutters strange, ghostly things; meeting him might disappoint you."

"Whether I'll be disappointed can only be known after seeing him." Tang Tang insisted, "Dad, please arrange it; I want to meet him as soon as possible."

Tang Ao agreed.

Tang Tang then forwarded the picture to Xiao Jiu and told her where it came from.

The instant Xiao Jiu saw that picture, her whole body froze.

Even though the picture quality is poor, and on top of that the ancient painting is damaged and blurry, making it hard to see clearly, she still recognized at a glance that this is the outline of the female figure she saw in her dream that day.

"Tang Tang, I want to see that person." Xiao Jiu said excitedly.

"My dad is already arranging it." Tang Tang said, "Once they've made the arrangements, we'll go together to have a look."

"Okay."

Xiao Jiu had a very strong premonition that this time she would definitely uncover useful information.

That evening, Tang Tang and Xiao Jiu met the owner of the picture.

He was a small old man in his seventies, thin, with somewhat dark skin; when their eyes met, he even smiled at Xiao Jiu and her.

But when Xiao Jiu pulled up the picture on her phone, opened it in front of the old man, and thrust the image toward his eyes, the old man's smile froze at the corners of his mouth.

His eyes suddenly widened, filled with terror, and with a thump he actually knelt down before the phone.

He kowtowed desperately, each time slamming his forehead hard onto the ground; after several times, blood began to flow.

"I didn't mean to, I really didn't mean to take your picture."

"Grudges have heads and debts have masters; whoever harmed you, go take revenge on them—it's nothing to do with me, I didn't harm you."

"I didn't harm you, I didn't—"