Chapter Twenty-Two: The Siren and the Sorcerer (Part One)

"Alright, enough with that unhappy face. Do you realize your greed nearly cost your brother his life?" Sun Meng looked at Little Tiger's sister as he spoke.

"Why wouldn't you let me bring the gemstone back? If I had, the village would be rich!" Her desire for the gemstone wasn't merely because it was beautiful; she wanted the village, especially her own family, to prosper.

"Stop dreaming. Even if you brought the gemstone home, it would only bring disaster. Possessing great wealth without power only invites others' envy and ultimately brings calamity. Not even the Shaolin Temple could fend off so many covetous eyes." Though Sun Meng said this sternly, in truth, the situation wasn't as dire as he painted.

To commoners, that gemstone might be priceless, but it was not to be forgotten that Shaolin Temple had recently saved the Crown Prince. Thanks to that connection, improving the circumstances of Little Tiger's village would be a simple matter.

However, if that happened, whether Little Tiger would still be allowed to stay and train in martial arts would be uncertain.

"Fine, fine! Now I understand why Brother Little Tiger is always lecturing me—he's learned it all from you monks." The little girl made a face at Sun Meng and dashed off toward the village. Arriving at Little Tiger's house, her brother Chen Xin thanked Sun Meng for bringing her home.

"Come in and have some water," he said with a smile. "Can you tell me how Little Tiger is doing?"

Sun Meng nodded. "He has a real talent for martial arts, though he always seems to find himself involved in unusual matters. In any case, he’s doing well, and his future is promising."

Chen Xin nodded, relieved. "Then I can rest easy. He's not going to become a monk, is he?"

Sun Meng laughed. "Of course not. Though the abbot treats them as his own disciples, they are still lay disciples—there is no requirement to take vows. Also, there’s been a group of thieves called the Black Fox Gang lurking about lately; children shouldn’t wander off alone." He cast a meaningful glance at Junxiu, Little Tiger’s sister.

She snorted and looked at her brother. "He’s awful! He had the gemstone in hand and still wouldn’t let me bring it home. With it, you could have married Sister Meili!"

Sun Meng turned to Chen Xin. "So that’s another reason. I’m curious, Brother Chen—which young lady has captured your sister’s concern?"

Chen Xin smiled awkwardly. "I do care for her, but her family will never agree. Our circumstances are too different. She’s a kind and good person, but her parents would never let us be together."

"Her family is the richest around. If you gave me the gemstone, my brother could surely marry Sister Meili!" the girl insisted.

Sun Meng smiled to himself—another tale of a poor youth and a wealthy girl. But in these times, overturning one’s fate was no easy task.

"Brother Chen, is the young lady so beautiful that you’re utterly smitten? Is she truly the only one for you?" Sun Meng asked. As Little Tiger’s brother, if he could help, he was willing.

"No, Meili isn’t particularly beautiful, but she is good and kind. She’s told me herself that she isn’t happy at home—her parents keep a close watch on her. Except for a few times at the beginning, we’ve always met in secret." Seeing Chen Xin’s expression of love and longing, Sun Meng decided to lend a hand.

Affection was mutual, and she wasn’t unwilling to live a humble life with Chen Xin. How could Sun Meng not intervene for Little Tiger’s brother? "If that’s so, I’ll do what I can. When I return, I’ll look into her family’s situation." With that, Sun Meng turned and left. Chen Xin wanted to call after him, but it was already too late.

Meanwhile, the screen was filled with viewers’ eager messages—they too wanted to see what this Meili looked like. Although the Wei family was the wealthiest in the area, they didn’t live in town but had instead built a compound resembling a small fortress, known as Wei Stronghold.

Sun Meng had no intention of entering through the main gate. He slipped over the wall in a hidden corner and nimbly made his way across the rooftops to Meili’s quarters. Just then, Meili appeared at the window, gazing outside.

“No way!” Many viewers exclaimed—not because Meili was too beautiful, but because she was so awkward to look at.

She wasn’t so ugly as to be frightening; her features were, in isolation, quite pleasant. But combined, they created a strange discomfort, even an inexplicable aversion.

Even the birds on the balcony flew off the moment Meili’s face appeared, leaving her visibly distressed.

“Am I truly so repulsive? Even animals don’t wish to approach me…” she sighed.

But her voice was lovely—no one could dislike her if they only heard her speak.

“In a few days it’ll be the busy farming season. I’ll see Brother Chen again then. If only he could ask Father for my hand…” Meili murmured to herself, closing the window with a sigh.

Just as Sun Meng prepared to leave, he heard voices at the door.

“Oh come now, Master Wei! You should be grateful your daughter has a suitor! This is the county magistrate’s son—he’s willing to accept Meili even as a concubine, but he’d marry her as his wife!”

“Out! Out with you, matchmaker! My Meili wouldn’t marry the magistrate’s son, nor even the emperor’s!” came the angry reply.

Sun Meng peeked out: a matchmaker and her porters were being sent away in a hurry.

“Contestant, something’s not right,” a red message flashed on the screen.

Sun Meng nodded. “Indeed, there’s something odd here. It seems the Wei parents truly do not want their daughter to marry.”

From what he’d heard, Meili was already considered a spinster, subject to double taxes because of her age. Not only did her parents keep her hidden, they refused every suitor, regardless of background. Was she some kind of treasure?

Sun Meng crept above the parents’ room, hoping to overhear something useful.

“How was it today?” a woman’s anxious voice asked.

“Ah, that ugly thing hasn’t produced any diamonds in days. Do you think I should send someone to take care of Chen Xin?” the man replied.

“Are you mad? Their younger son is training at Shaolin—do you want to provoke the temple?” the woman snapped. “Why don’t you just agree to one proposal? Meili won’t truly give her heart to any of those young men. I’ll stay with her, and after the wedding, we’ll just have her move back.”

“Absolutely not! You know the curse—if she sincerely wishes to marry, it will be broken, and at best, she’ll never return to her original form.” The man’s voice rose in agitation.

Sun Meng’s brows lifted. “So there’s a secret here after all.” He didn’t wait to hear more; instead, he kicked through the window and leapt inside, immobilizing the man with a pressure point strike.

He turned to the woman. “I heard everything. Explain yourselves—every detail, or your wealth will be for nothing. You won’t live to spend it!” Sun Meng’s fierce expression, drawing from the original Shao Tan’s memories, frightened the woman so badly she collapsed to the ground.

“Spare us, great hero! We’ll give you money, just don’t kill us!”

Sun Meng smiled. “How much money do you have?”

The woman crawled to a cabinet, retrieved a box, and opened it—inside, it was filled with diamonds.

“You can have it all, just spare our lives!”

“So many diamonds!” Sun Meng was genuinely astonished. Sold, these were worth far more than Wei Stronghold itself.

“I heard you mention a curse. What is it?” Sun Meng seized the woman by the throat, lifted her, and threw her to the ground.

Then, using Shadow Seizing Technique, he hid her husband’s shadow. “Heh, with this secret art, if his shadow doesn’t return in half a month, he’ll surely die!”

The woman burst into tears. “I’ll tell you everything! It began one night more than ten years ago, when we were still running a small business. That night, we heard something outside the door…”

After hearing the whole story, Sun Meng couldn’t help but marvel at the strangeness of the world. “Not only did you kill Meili’s real parents, you’ve deceived her all this time. It’s time you paid for your crimes