Xiao Hongchen felt that his younger sister had been acting a bit strange lately. It was one thing that she ran to Kong Mingan's cold laboratory every day, unbothered by anything else in the world. After all, he had to admit that following someone to cultivate had its benefits.
Although the medicine was so bitter it could kill a person, and the body tempering method would occasionally be updated, forcing him to relearn it, the improvement in his cultivation and physique was undeniably fast. He could see the progress in his own spirit power and physical strength.
But the problem was, every time she returned from the laboratory, he would always see Meng Hongchen holding a thick stack of books or notes. She would read with such intense concentration that she often didn't hear him, her own brother, calling her name.
He could tolerate that, but what truly made Xiao Hongchen's heart pound was the content of those books Meng Hongchen was reading. He had secretly glanced at the covers and contents a few times when she wasn't looking.
They were all titles like Detailed Explanations of Human Meridians and Acupoints, Treatise on the Circulation of Tendons, Bones, Qi, and Blood, and Preliminary Exploration of the Origin of Life. There was even a book called Atlas of Human Physiological Structure.
Even more alarming was how she acted during meal times. Previously, his younger sister, though picky and preferring sweets, always had a good appetite. But recently, several times now, upon seeing the food on the table, her expression would crinkle into a frown.
She would cover her mouth, looking as if she was trying to suppress nausea and a gag reflex. Reading books about the human body, feeling like throwing up at the sight of meat, and running to Kong Mingan's place every day. These keywords flashed through Xiao Hongchen's genius brain, and finally, a terrifying conclusion emerged.
He couldn't hold back any longer. After lunch one day, Xiao Hongchen called Kong Mingan aside to a quiet corner.
"Kong Mingan, tell me honestly! What have you done to my sister?"
Kong Mingan just stood there with a blank expression. He listened to Xiao Hongchen's unprecedented seriousness and the hint of anger in his words. Slowly, a question mark formed in his mind. What had he done? Wasn't it just compiling a set of teaching materials for her to study? He had her help record experimental data, occasionally explained some basic energy theories, and let her start hands-on experiments. What else could he have done to cause such a reaction?
"Don't play dumb with me!" Seeing his innocent look, Xiao Hongchen became even more furious. "Meng has been reading those books on human meridians every day recently. She feels like throwing up at the sight of food, and she runs to your place all day long! You..." Xiao Hongchen paused, his tone becoming very serious. "You must take responsibility for her!"
"Huh?" Kong Mingan's thoughts stalled for a moment. He didn't understand what Xiao Hongchen was implying at first. Turning his head, Kong Mingan unconsciously cast his gaze towards the dining table not far away. He saw Meng Hongchen frowning and pushing away a plate of spicy rabbit head that had just been served.
His gaze swept back and forth several times between the girl's distressed expression and the plate of spicy rabbit. Combined with Xiao Hongchen's phrase about reading books on human physiological structure, a somewhat absurd yet perfectly fitting chain of misunderstanding began to form in his mind.
Kong Mingan was at a loss for words for a moment. He lightly rubbed his forehead, feeling a mysterious headache coming on. Although Meng Hongchen was indeed very cute, he wasn't some pervert. Having those kinds of thoughts about her at her current age would be grounds for execution. Was this the typical precociousness of people in the Soul Land? He had certainly witnessed it now.
Sighing, he began to explain. "You're overthinking it. I really haven't done anything wrong. As for why she feels like throwing up at the sight of food... perhaps it's because she's been having extra meals every day these past few days?"
Since the spirit ring experiments began, dozens of soft bones rabbits had to die in the laboratory every day. Throwing them away would be a waste, so a hundred ways to eat rabbit came into being. Because the cooking methods were new and the taste was good, Meng Hongchen had become quite addicted to eating them these past few days. With too many extra snacks, she naturally had no appetite for the main meal.
"Extra meals?" Xiao Hongchen frowned, his expression still unconvinced. "You're telling me this is the reaction one gets from having an extra meal? This guy really doesn't want to take responsibility, does he?"
He was about to open his mouth to accuse him again, but the next moment, Meng Hongchen poked her head out from the side. She glanced at Kong Mingan's helpless expression, then at her elder brother's face, which was full of anger and quite aggressive. In a moment, she came to a conclusion.
"Brother, what are you trying to do again!"
Xiao Hongchen looked at her with wide eyes. "Me? No, younger sister! It's not what I'm trying to do, it's what this guy next to you is trying to do!"
Xiao Hongchen tried to speak more, but seeing his expression, Meng Hongchen seemed to understand something. She directly hugged Kong Mingan's arm and pulled him back toward the lab. "Mingan is very good to me, big brother. You just focus on your cultivation, you don't need to worry about me."
With that, Meng Hongchen directly pulled Kong Mingan away, leaving her brother standing alone. Xiao Hongchen watched the two leave, his expression slightly stiff, but he didn't stop them after all.
It wasn't that he was dissatisfied with the boy; he simply felt that his younger sister was giving herself away too quickly, making her vulnerable to being taken advantage of. Still somewhat misunderstanding the situation, Xiao Hongchen hesitated for a moment and finally decided to tell his grandfather about this matter.
And then, just a few hours later, Kong Deming arrived at the laboratory with Jing Hongchen. With everything explained clearly, the misunderstanding was naturally resolved quickly. After understanding the situation, Jing Hongchen, who had originally been unsure whether to be happy or sad about the news, breathed a sigh of relief. He then left with Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
For a time, only the grandfather and grandson remained in the laboratory.
"I really didn't expect you, Grandfather, to make a special trip because of this." Looking at the dignified old man in front of him, Kong Mingan sighed softly.
"It concerns you after all, and moreover, this is not a small matter," Kong Deming said calmly.
"Uh..." Kong Mingan inexplicably had a bad premonition. As the sole descendant of the Kong family at present, he was aware of many situations. A long time ago, because the Kong family had some bloodline ties to the Sun Moon Imperial Family, they were naturally considered nobles, and thus their family flourished.
However, because the then-head of the Kong family chose the wrong side in a political struggle, the family was directly purged. Only his grandfather survived because of his good personal relationship with the former emperor.
From then on, his grandfather was the only bloodline of the Kong family. After that, his father was born, grew up normally, and had him with his mother. However, not long after he was born, his parents both died in a spirit tool experimental accident.
Yes, it was a genuine accident, not someone else's malicious plot. Because of this incident, he truly became the sole descendant of the family, and his grandfather doted on him, holding him in his palm, fearing that anything might happen to him. He had been watched over and raised like this until now.
But with a slight hesitation, Kong Mingan tentatively spoke. "Grandfather, you're not going to say that you want me to revitalize the Kong family bloodline right now, are you?"
Kong Deming looked at Kong Mingan strangely, but shook his head. "Not so."
Kong Mingan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good then." As he spoke, he unconsciously picked up a glass of water nearby and took a sip to moisten his throat.
"It's just that His Majesty intends to betroth a princess to you."
"Pfft!" Kong Mingan, rarely losing his composure, turned his head and spit out the water. He pointed a finger at himself, looking at his grandfather with some disbelief. "No... what?"