Chapter 48 Third Miss

Wait… could this be the Seven Emotions and Eight Sufferings?

Lin Feng’s pupils contracted. He immediately recognized the unusual nature of the poisonous blood. If it had been any other poison, it would have been one thing, but this was the infamous Seven Emotions and Eight Sufferings, recorded within the White Bone Inheritance.

The Seven Emotions and Eight Sufferings was one of the most notorious poisons in the world. Even a Rank Five Gu Master could neither dispel nor suppress it, because its source did not lie in the poison itself, but in the victim’s own emotions.

Strictly speaking, this series of Poison Path Gu was both poisonous and harmless. Its true power could only be unleashed when the target possessed intense emotions. Against those who were naturally optimistic, carefree, or possessed an unshakable will, it was almost useless. But against those who were sentimental and deeply emotional, it became a deadly poison.

Now, the Third Miss was unable to reunite with the man she loved. At the same time, she had to endure the Zhang clan’s exclusion and endless schemes against her. Burdened by worries over her daughter, she could no longer keep her emotions in check. Of the Seven Emotions and Eight Sufferings, she had probably already endured all of them.

Her condition was undoubtedly critical.

“You figured it out?” The Third Miss gave a bitter smile as she wiped the blood from the corner of her lips. “That’s right. The poison afflicting me is the legendary Seven Emotions and Eight Sufferings.”

She let out a soft sigh, her eyes filled with helplessness.

“This poison is rooted in the Gu Master’s own emotions. Unless those emotions are completely abandoned, it cannot be cured. As for me…” She smiled faintly. “I’m already nearing the end of my life. There is no cure.”

“Third Miss, please don’t say that,” Lin Feng interrupted. “You’re a kind person. Heaven wouldn’t treat you so cruelly. We’ll find a way to cure you, and we’ll make the one responsible pay for what they’ve done.”

Even as he spoke those words, Lin Feng knew how slim that hope truly was.

The Third Miss gave a bitter smile.

“What sorrow is there in living, and what grief is there in dying? My beloved and I will never meet again in this lifetime. My heart has long since died. To me, death is a relief. The only one I cannot let go of is Xinci. She is, after all, just a woman and cannot stand on her own within the Zhang clan. So, Lin Feng, I hope you can take good care of her. If it ever becomes absolutely necessary, I ask that you take her with you to Shang City as part of a merchant caravan.”

“Wait… could Xinci’s biological father be a merchant?” Although Lin Feng already knew the answer through his memories as a transmigrator, and even knew the fates of many people in this world, his acting was flawless. He looked utterly stunned by the Third Miss’s words.

“That’s right.” The Third Miss nodded gently. “Xinci’s biological father is none other than the current Shang clan leader, Shang Yanfei.”

A trace of reminiscence appeared in her eyes.

It was on a drizzly afternoon, before a dilapidated house, that the young and promising heir of the Shang clan first met the gentle and kind Third Miss of the Zhang clan. A talented man and a beautiful woman, they fell in love at first sight and soon became lovers.

Shang Yanfei promised that once he became the Shang clan leader, he would personally lead a merchant caravan to Zhang Village and formally ask for her hand in marriage.

The Third Miss waited year after year. In the end, all she received was the news that Shang Yanfei had become the Shang clan leader and had successively married his cousin and his political ally.

He had succeeded. He had finally fulfilled the ambition he had spoken of back then.

But why had he broken his promise? Only then did the Third Miss truly realize that the Zhang clan and the Shang clan had been sworn enemies for generations.

In this world, not everything was within one’s control. The Third Miss could only accept reality. The leader of the Shang clan could never marry the daughter of his clan’s mortal enemy.

Lin Feng sighed inwardly. The Third Miss truly loved Shang Yanfei. Even though he had broken his promise, she still loved him as deeply as before, without the slightest trace of resentment.

What a pity. A woman as kind and gentle as the Third Miss had never found the happiness she deserved. It was truly lamentable.

As for Shang Yanfei, that scoundrel not only had numerous wives and concubines, but also counted the renowned healer Su Shou among his confidantes in Shang City.

Moreover, Lin Feng knew Shang Yanfei’s background all too well. In the novel, Shang Yanfei had left a significant mark. In a sense, he had even become one of the people who paved the way for Fang Yuan’s rise.

Shang Yanfei was also a Blood Path Gu Master. He had inherited the Blood Handprint true inheritance left behind by the Blood Sea Ancestor and had indirectly obtained the Blood Shadow Gu true inheritance. Lin Feng, on the other hand, had inherited the Blood Sweat Gu true inheritance.

In the original timeline, where Lin Feng never existed, the Third Miss eventually passed away. After her death, Zhang Xinci followed a merchant caravan to Shang City, where Shang Yanfei discovered her true identity and acknowledged her as his daughter. From then on, she was known as Shang Xinci.

Although Shang Yanfei was a scoundrel, he genuinely loved his daughter. To help a mortal without cultivation aptitude, he used the Rank Five Man Triumphing Over Heaven Gu to forcibly awaken her aperture, willingly sacrificing his precious Rank Five Blood Handprint Gu in the process. On top of that, he spared no expense in gathering numerous Gu that could improve aptitude, ultimately raising her to Grade A aptitude.

The Rank Five Man Triumphing Over Heaven Gu was an extremely rare Gu. It was the only known Gu capable of forcibly awakening a mortal’s aperture, and it was considered an extremely rare gu worm. Shang Yanfei had only obtained it by exchanging it with the Shang clan’s Treasure House, which had existed for tens of thousands of years, while also sacrificing one of his own core Gu.

That was why, despite already being a Rank Three peak stage Gu Master, Lin Feng still had no way to awaken his elder sister’s aperture. It simply wasn’t something he was capable of doing.

“Perhaps in the future, I’ll have a chance to obtain a Man Triumphing Over Heaven Gu from Shang Yanfei. There can’t possibly have been only a single Man Triumphing Over Heaven Gu.”

Countless thoughts flashed through Lin Feng’s mind. He still hoped that one day his elder sister would successfully awaken her aperture and become a Gu Master.