Chapter 66: A Father’s Love is Like a Mountain

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: A Father’s Love is Like a Mountain

Hu Zi was carried outside the room by Aunt Lin.

Qin Shoucheng and Qin Wanyue sat in the main hall, chatting and laughing with Concubine Lin. Uncle Qi and Qi Da waited nearby.

At the door, a goldfish measuring a full ten feet long lay motionless on the ground, clearly having been dead for quite some time.

Inside the inner room, Zeng Shilin calmly looked up at Zeng Anmin, who sat across from him. The father and son savored their fragrant tea in complete silence, the atmosphere settling into an eerily quiet state.

"Father," Zeng Anmin finally broke the silence, unable to hold back any longer as he looked up.

"Mm." Zeng Shilin lifted his eyelids, his tranquil gaze resting on his son. "Speak."

Zeng Anmin opened his mouth, then paused.

"Am I the black cat Martial Artist? That’s a bit too terrifying. Or did I obtain the secret of the Dragon Inspection Map? Or maybe I have a cheat system? None of these things are easy to bring up..." he thought.

He agonized over his words, hesitating for a long while before finally gritting his teeth and bracing himself. "Well, I..."

Before he could finish, his father’s deep voice interrupted. "An Shiyi is from the Demon Race. You knew that, right?"

"Hmm?" Taken aback, Zeng Anmin quickly nodded. "I only found out this morning."

His father nodded, slowly closing his eyes as he rubbed his fingers against his teacup. After a long while, his voice sounded again. "I only learned of this last night as well. However, I’ve known about King Jiang’s intention to rebel for four years now."

"Ah?" Zeng Anmin jerked his head up, his eyes filled with confusion. "But didn’t you only take office four years ago?"

Zeng Shilin slowly opened his eyes. There was no trace of cloudiness in them, only a sharp, calculating gleam. "If he weren’t planning to rebel, how could I have governed Fengqi Road with absolute authority?"

Zeng Anmin drew a sharp breath. His mind worked quickly, and he instantly grasped his father’s meaning. "Are you saying you forced him to rebel?!"

"If he had been willing to remain a powerless, idle Prince, things naturally wouldn’t have come to this," his father scoffed, a dark look flashing in his eyes. "I just didn’t expect him to deceive his superiors and subordinates, collude with Qi Xiande, and try to secretly accumulate power to turn the tables on me...

"Moreover, he dared to take the risk of conspiring with demons... That was the only thing I discovered a little too late.

"It’s a pity about Wang Deli. Though he was a bit crude, he didn’t deserve to die at the hands of the filthy Demon Race."

Zeng Anmin’s mind was in turmoil. He forced himself to speak. "But for King Jiang to rebel... he must have had some chance of winning, right?"

The implication was clear: King Jiang was nothing but an unfavored Prince. Where did he get the courage? Where did he get the resources?

"He didn’t think he was rebelling," his father said, a mocking expression appearing on his face. "Even right before he died, he was probably still thinking about how to scheme against me, kill me, and frame me for the rebellion instead, wasn’t he?

"Besides, why do you think a mere merchant like Shen Liu would ever catch King Jiang’s eye?"

This...

Zeng Anmin jerked his head up, almost losing his voice. "Shen Liu is..."

He suddenly felt a deep sense of unreality. This feeling stemmed entirely from his father’s casual tone. Sitting right in front of him was the most cunning old fox in the world!

"That’s right. Shen Liu of Jin Taiping was my planted agent," Zeng Shilin stated calmly. "That is also the reason I had you become the Left Chief Clerk—to protect Shen Jun."

His father slowly stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to him. His voice was long and distant. "Of course, whether you managed to protect him or not didn’t really matter. By then, King Jiang was already an arrow on the bowstring; he had no choice but to fire."

GULP.

Zeng Anmin swallowed hard. His sense of security was at rock bottom right now. He almost wanted to blurt out, "My ID number is 118... I surrender, Dad..."

"But then again..." His father’s voice suddenly softened. The heavy pressure in the room dissipated along with it, allowing Zeng Anmin to temporarily catch his breath. "The reason the Demon Race cooperated with King Jiang was for the Dragon Inspection Map."

"What?!" Zeng Anmin thought, his entire body violently tensing up as his pupils shrank to pinpricks.

"You... actually... knew??" His throat felt inexplicably dry.

Although he had long felt that he couldn’t hide anything from his old man, having it said directly to his face still sent a violent shock through his heart. The secret of the Dragon Inspection Map... he had always thought he was the only one who knew it!

Zeng Shilin looked at his son’s wide, staring eyes, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up. He had always enjoyed this kind of feeling.

"Actually, I didn’t know at first." Extremely satisfied with the sheer shock on his precious son’s face, Zeng Shilin picked up his strong tea, took a light sip, and continued, "It wasn’t until that day when Qin Shoucheng brought his daughter to the mansion and showed me the Confucian Saint’s Handwriting, which the Qin Family had passed down for nearly three thousand years."

Ah?

Zeng Anmin was stunned. He had thought Qin Shoucheng came to the Governor’s Mansion that day just to show off, only to fail miserably and get completely outclassed by his father instead.

"The Confucian Saint’s Handwriting had been in Qin Shoucheng’s hands for nearly forty years, yet he never saw through its secrets. However, the moment he showed it to me, I figured it out." A laugh suddenly came from his father’s turned back, carrying a hint of smugness. "Although I saw through its hidden secrets, I kept my guard up and flat-out told him that I hadn’t."

"Uh..." Zeng Anmin blinked. "My dad’s personality is so much like mine!" he thought. "We truly are cut from the same cloth..."

Zeng Shilin remained standing by the window. With his back still turned, his voice grew distant once more. "Ever since the Confucian Saint beheaded the Demon Emperor Diqin, the world has only known that there are a total of Four Great Celestial Dao Maps in existence."

At this point, he slowly turned around and looked straight at Zeng Anmin. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice turned cold. "But who would have thought that the Dragon Inspection Map is actually the fifth Celestial Dao Map—the Celestial Dao Map of the Demon Race!"

BOOM!!!

It was as if a bolt of thunder had struck directly on top of Zeng Anmin’s head.

For a moment, he felt dizzy and disoriented. He stared, completely dumbfounded. "The Fifth Great Celestial Dao Map?!"

A monstrous wave surged within Zeng Anmin’s heart. It was only at this moment that he truly understood the secret of the Celestial Dao Maps!

"So that’s how it is! So that’s how it is! There are actually five Celestial Dao Maps in this world!" he thought.

He had just opened his mouth to speak when Zeng Shilin silenced him with a look. His father stared at him intently, his voice deep but incredibly forceful. "Do not ask.

"All you need to know is that from now on, I will use all my power to help you awaken the Dragon Inspection Map, so that you can become the Awakener of the fifth Celestial Dao Map!!"

Zeng Anmin blinked, his expression turning a little weird. "Awaken the Dragon Inspection Map? Become the Awakener?"

"Yes!" The sharp light in Zeng Shilin’s eyes intensified. He slowly walked up to Zeng Anmin, a solemn expression on his face. "According to ancient records, if the Four Great Celestial Dao Maps are awakened, the Awakener will possess talents far more unique than ordinary people! As the Fifth Great Celestial Dao Map, the Dragon Inspection Map naturally has the same effect!"

"Then... haven’t you ever thought about awakening it yourself?" Zeng Anmin couldn’t help but ask.

Zeng Shilin stared blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter. "What belongs to me is naturally yours."

"Dad!!!"