I, the transmigrated villain, please wait, gentle master.

Chapter 165 Kun Gang Has a Remaining Gold from Yu Pu (4)

"Guess again who I am?"

The vendor was so frightened by the sight of the drought demon's face so close to his own that he was terrified.

His lips trembled as he uttered a few words: "You are Li, Li... Li Tingyun? The Lord of Taiji Hall?"

He knew about the Taiji Palace; there were few people in the world who didn't know it. But he really didn't know the name of the Taiji Palace Master.

The name "Li Tingyun" has become taboo and is rarely mentioned. He is nothing more than a peddler in the underworld, who only knows tricks and deceptions to deceive the world and steal a name, but no one knows whose name he has stolen.

“Li…Li Tingyun…” The vendor opened and closed his mouth, repeating the name again.

Despite being terrified, he stared into the other person's eyes without blinking, and then said, "No, no... your surname isn't Li, you're actually... surnamed Ji, right?"

The drought demon's focus was absurd: "Let's not talk about the seasons, do you even understand what 'refined' means?"

Li Tingyun was not surprised at all by his question. Since he was a white-robed man in Huangliang City three hundred years ago, how could he not have heard of a family named Ji in the city? At that time, the Ji family was a prominent and wealthy family, and the decline of the Ji family made them "famous far and wide".

The vendor nodded and said, "I understand," then continued, "You're actually... the little treasure of the Ji family, right?"

"Huh?" The drought demon punched him so hard that he saw stars.

He yelled, "What the hell are you yelling at me for?!"

The vendor was hit on the head, and he suddenly leaned back, his head hitting his cervical spine, and he was stunned.

He froze for a moment, then cupped his head in his hands and forcefully turned it back. Suddenly, he grabbed Li Tingyun's shoulders and shook him frantically—even though he couldn't shake him at all.

But that didn't stop him from being emotional, like seeing his great-grandfather who had died many years ago—excited, sad, and scared all at once, a strange mix of warmth and dread.

"My mom, my grandma, my coat, my jacket! You really are the Ji family's little treasure? Don't you remember? I used to hold you when you were little!"

“You were so chubby when you were little. Your dad even gave you the nickname ‘Fatty.’ My arms would ache after just a short while holding you. Your family had over a dozen wet nurses who took turns holding you and lulling you to sleep…”

"No wonder you've grown so big; you were a big eater and pooper since you were little!"

Hanba: "..."

Unexpectedly, even after being dead for three hundred years, I can still experience the speechless and awkward feeling of visiting relatives during the Lunar New Year in hell.

He had to ask, "...Who are you?"

The vendor took the initiative: "Guess?"

"..."

People can actually laugh when they're speechless.

Even the dead.

The drought demon, a zombie that had been dead for hundreds of years, made him laugh in anger.

He said while laughing, "I bet you're a fool."

"Hey! How have you become so rude?! If your father were alive, he'd give you a good beating!"

"Did I 'change' into this? You underestimate me. I've always been rude."

The drought demon said in the calmest tone, "You mean my father? He died a long time ago, even before me. I killed him with my own hands. Don't believe me? I'll send you to see him, and you two can have a good talk."

I almost forgot, his father couldn't bear the fact that he was killed by his own son. His soul had just crawled out of his body when it fell apart, and he was instantly annihilated.

They died cleanly.

Not a single speck of dust could be found.

They will no longer have to suffer the pain of reincarnation.

"Your father...you killed him? This, how is this possible?" The vendor's pupils dilated in shock. He supported his head with his hands, thinking hard, and said, "I must have mistaken him for someone else, right? I must have mistaken him for someone else!"

He said with certainty, "You're not that chubby kid I know! His family is very well-off. His parents are a handsome couple, and his grandfather is extremely wealthy. He was born a precious young master, with countless maids and servants at home! He was truly born with a silver spoon in his mouth."

"That chubby boy, at his first birthday celebration, didn't want anything, but grabbed a gold ingot! The first birthday celebration is a test of a child's potential; grabbing a gold ingot is a sign of great wealth and honor."

"That makes sense. Born into a wealthy family, he's lucky. Even if he grows up to be a spoiled brat, his life won't be too bad. Besides, they come from a scholarly family. His father, Young Master Ji, is incredibly talented and has a photographic memory!"

"Everyone in the surrounding villages knows that Young Master Ji writes exceptionally well and will one day be listed as the top scholar on the imperial examination—this was said by the academy's teachers themselves, and the word has spread far and wide. It's not just idle gossip or something made up out of nothing."

"If it weren't for this, the academy's teacher wouldn't have married his daughter to him..."

The drought demon sneered: "It's amazing that you've remembered such old, trivial matters for three hundred years."

Unfortunately, life is unpredictable, like a game. This once glorious family, the Ji family, whose wealth and scholarly tradition were admired for three hundred years after their death, was shattered in the blink of an eye.

All the imperial examination champions and wealthy young ladies, along with their carved beams, painted rafters, and precious valuables, were utterly destroyed.

The outcome wasn't just tragic, it was awful, something no one could have predicted, utterly disgusting.

When Li Tingyun killed his father with his own hands, he felt nauseous.

He was terrified when he saw his mother die of anger.

When he finally pulled out the "Golden Silkworm Gu" that was causing trouble in his father's body and strangled it, he felt a sense of relief.

However, he remained confused throughout. He knew he had made a mistake, but he didn't know what the right thing to do was.

He was eight years old then, and he learned to kill people at that age. The first person he killed was his own father.

Later, he raised his knife again and hacked the dog meat butcher to death. His hand didn't tremble at all. He felt neither disgusted nor afraid. He only felt great pleasure. Killing people was great pleasure, and being inhuman was even more great pleasure.

“But you’re still mistaken,” the drought demon suddenly thrust his face forward. “I, Li Tingyun, am Ji Yuanbao. What, do I look completely different now than when I was a child?”

He was asking the question sincerely.

Could it be that he has changed so much since childhood that the difference between a person and a dog is greater, so that Mei Shiyu could not recognize him no matter what?

“Although…but…” The vendor shrank back in fright. “I don’t know if it looks like you…I only saw you at your first birthday party. A few days later, I left my hometown to do forced labor…If you say it is you, then it is.”

Therefore, he was completely unaware of everything that happened afterward.

"You said you're Li... Li Tingyun, but that's not right, is it? How come you have the surname 'Li'?"

"Why do I have the surname Li? Of course, it's because my father's surname is Li."

"How come your father's surname is Li?"

"Because my grandfather's surname is Li."

"Then what about your grandfather...?"

"My ancestors for eighteen generations have all been surnamed Li. Is that clear?"

"I understand, I understand."

I have absolutely no idea.

But the vendor knew he couldn't ask any more questions.

Even if he continued to ask, he still wouldn't know why Li Tingyun's surname was Li and not Ji, but he would definitely know very well how he died, because he was blind enough to realize that the other party didn't want to talk about this topic at all.

"You...you just said that you killed your father...how is that possible?"

Hanbao glanced sideways at him.

"Okay," the vendor thought to himself, "it seems he doesn't want to talk about this either."

Let's find another one to chat with then.

"You killed your father... then how did your mother die?"

The drought demon remained silent.

"Forget it, the person has been dead for hundreds of years, there's no point in asking these questions."

Death is meaningless, but life always has meaning, right?

Then he asked something meaningful:

"How...how have you survived until now?"

"Where have you been all these years, and what have you been doing?"

"How did you become... become the Master of the Taiji Hall?"

"His reputation isn't doing too well."

The atmosphere became even more tense.

The vendor asked himself: Am I really a master of conversation?

Well, his questions aren't unreasonable in themselves.

How one's parents died and how one survives are major life questions. If you were to ask them, they could hold an ordinary person captive for half a day. They would then tearfully tell their fellow villagers how they cared for their parents until their death, how they struggled for half their lives, and how hard they had worked to get to where they are today.

But these problems are particularly distressing for Li Tingyun.

Every sentence hits home.

The vendor noticed his pale face, though he'd never seemed to look well before... Anyway, feeling a bit nervous, he started rambling: "Your father and mother were both wonderful people. I still don't believe you, saying you killed your father? That's utter nonsense!"

“When I was alive, the Ji family distributed porridge and alms to the people every year, giving away their wealth to help those in need. Good people are rewarded, and even if the reward is slow to come, it is still wrong for father and son to kill each other. It is too sinful!”

"Your father was very respected in Huangliang City. He upheld justice and never discriminated against the poor or favored the rich. Back then, more people came to your house to plead their cases than to the county government..."

"Your mother was also a talented woman, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She was beautiful and kind-hearted, and I have received many favors from her..."

“Even after she died, she received your kindness,” the drought demon interrupted him.

"Wh-what?" The vendor was clueless.

"The woman you saved, the one with the cough, she... is my mother."

"Huh? Her?! Is it her?! I thought she came from a poor family." The vendor was so surprised he couldn't close his mouth.

The woman was mentally unstable and couldn't speak clearly. She was suffering from tuberculosis and was so thin that she was unrecognizable. He didn't recognize her at all. She was the young mistress who had helped him before, a well-educated and sensible lady from a prominent family!

Suddenly, something occurred to him. Pointing at the drought demon, his finger trembled, he exclaimed, "Wait! If she's your mother, then aren't you that...that little devil? What have you been doing for the past three hundred years?! You've been spending your whole life in hell!"

Hanba: "..."

The vendor felt his head buzzing.

It was as if someone inside was banging drums and gongs, playing suona horns, and erhu, making a deafening racket.

The young master of the Ji family, who enjoys endless wealth and luxury, the fearsome master of the Taiji Hall, and the little devil whose soul was torn apart and suppressed in hell—are they all the same person?!

How did he manage to go through such a life of ups and downs, going through both death and rebirth?

In the end, the vendor sighed deeply, "My God! Why are you causing so much trouble?!"

"Me, causing trouble?" The drought demon sneered. "It's that 'God' you're talking about who's causing trouble!"

The vendor didn't dare say much about it, and awkwardly changed the subject: "You changed your surname later, but not your given name..."

"You probably think the name 'Tingyun' is pretty good, right? Do you know who gave it to you?"

"It wasn't your father, your mother, or your grandparents... but a Taoist priest named it."

Hanbao laughed and asked knowingly:

"Could it be that Taoist priest you mentioned before, who asked you for directions and even told your fortune?"

"That's right! It was him! He even gave you a gift at your first birthday party. The gold ingot you picked up during your first birthday celebration was the one he had the Taoist boy put on the table. Not only did you take the gold ingot, you also grabbed the little Taoist boy's hand and wouldn't let go!"

The vendor twitched the corner of his mouth.