Chapter 22: Shen Kai Disappears

Mu Tong toyed with the small sphere in her hand, a faint smile lingering on her lips. She had just returned from the forest ranch, and this little orb was a gift from the indigenous people of the forest to their “deity,” Xiao Qiang.

The sphere was made of no metal, no silver, no wood—Mu Tong couldn’t discern its material at all. Yet the aura emanating from it piqued her interest. The orb felt incredibly soothing and carried a strange sense of familiarity. Mu Tong racked her brain but could recall nothing about it.

“I’ll study it more slowly later,” she thought, casually slipping the small sphere into her ring.

That fellow Xiao Qiang had once received some benefits, which he now gave to Mu Tong in exchange for a chance to visit Hidden Immortal Town again. Mu Tong had no idea what treasures the intelligent brain had obtained from the indigenous people, nor did she care to investigate. In the end, he would reveal them anyway—just like this little sphere.

Suddenly, a luxury car sped up and stopped below Mu Tong’s house.

“Excuse me, are you Miss Mu Tong?” a polite man in black asked as she opened the door.

“Yes, who’s asking?” she replied.

“The young master is about to leave. He wishes to see you once more before he goes,” the man answered with formal detachment.

“Your young master is?” Mu Tong inquired.

“Shen Kai.”

Mu Tong thought silently: What good would seeing him do? They each had their own lives now, and it was best not to interfere with each other.

“There’s no need to meet again,” Mu Tong said calmly. If it was truly over, why cling to the faintest connection?

“The young master is dying soon! How can you be so heartless as not to see him?” another black-clad man’s emotions surged. “If it weren’t for this woman, the young master wouldn’t be avoiding Miss Jiang! If he hadn’t avoided her, he wouldn’t have been hit by the car!”

Dying soon? Mu Tong was shocked. How could that be? Yet judging from the man’s expression, it didn’t seem like a lie. Hastily, she gave a few instructions to her parents and followed the two men into the car.

The car roared through the streets and pulled into a private hospital.

As soon as it stopped, the two men hurried Mu Tong up to a second-floor ward. Mu Tong saw clearly—lying on the bed was none other than Shen Kai. His breath was faint, life nearly extinguished, clinging to the last thread of existence.

Shen Kai’s mother and father were there as well. Seeing their son’s pitiful state, they were overwhelmed by grief: If only he hadn’t been forced into an alliance with the Jiang family, their son might still be alive...

Upon seeing Mu Tong, Shen’s parents wore complicated expressions—uncertain whether to blame or hate this woman before them. It was because of her that their son’s thoughts remained fixed on her even as death approached. He Mei Qi never understood what Mu Tong had that made her so unforgettable to her son.

“Xiao Tong, you’re here? I’m so happy,” Shen Kai’s lips curved into a faint smile as he saw her standing at the door, then...

“Kai’er, how could you leave your mother like this...” He Mei Qi burst into tears. Though Shen Kai had never been her favorite, he was still her biological son, and losing him so young caused her immense sorrow.

Shen Qiao, witnessing the loss of his youngest son, also wept silently: Why did he obey the old man’s demands and agree to marry into the Jiang family? As the family head, he felt utterly powerless!

Mu Tong stood at the door, expression blank—neither crying nor shedding a tear. Death was a transition, the end of one life and the beginning of another. She hoped that in his next incarnation, Kai would be born into a good family and find a woman who could truly love him.

Suddenly, Mu Tong’s eyes narrowed. A strange, tiny golden blood droplet was rising from Shen Kai’s body!

Clearly, no one but her could see this eerie droplet. The mourners wept and grieved unabated. While Mu Tong pondered the nature of the blood droplet, it flew toward her with unnatural speed, entering the small sphere that had automatically emerged from her storage ring.

As the blood droplet was absorbed into the orb, Shen Kai’s body gradually turned transparent—until it vanished completely into thin air.

The sudden event startled everyone, even the deeply sorrowful Shen family elders. Shen Kai’s corpse had disappeared in broad daylight. Had they not raised Shen Kai themselves from childhood, they might have suspected some supernatural being.

Yet Shen Kai was undeniably He Mei Qi’s son—a fact both parents knew well. How could he be a demon?

This was too bizarre and unfathomable. Even Mu Tong was at a loss.

Shen Kai was a living person; there was no way he could be a demon! Mu Tong was certain of that. But how to explain what had just happened? No one could offer an answer.

Instinctively, Mu Tong scanned the ring with her spiritual senses. The strange small sphere had flown back into the storage ring by itself. She could clearly see that within the previously opaque orb was a tiny space. The golden blood droplet from Shen Kai remained inside, along with a pair of earrings Mu Tong had personally given him—now lying quietly within the orb.

When had those earrings entered? Why hadn’t she noticed? Her curiosity deepened, but no one could provide an explanation.

After urgent discussions, Shen Qiao and He Mei Qi ordered everyone present—including Mu Tong—not to leak a word of this incident. The people in the room were Shen Qiao’s trusted confidants, so he trusted their loyalty implicitly. As for Mu Tong, since Shen Kai had asked her to protect him and to see him one last time before dying, surely she would not do anything to harm the Shen family or Shen Kai’s memory.

With a heavy heart, Shen Qiao chose to trust Mu Tong. If this matter became public, it would serve no benefit to her, only anger the Shen family. He believed that Mu Tong was wise enough not to act foolishly.

Mu Tong left, and how the Shen family handled Shen Kai’s funeral was beyond her control. Even if she wished to intervene, no one would allow it. Now, all she wanted was to return home quickly and study the mysterious orb and the strange blood droplet.

Could this be divine essence blood? After hours of research at home, Mu Tong finally arrived at this shocking conclusion! A pure golden blood droplet could only belong to a deity. The vigorous divine power radiating from it was strikingly similar to that of the great gods she had encountered in Hidden Immortal Town.

If she was not mistaken, the owner of this essence must have been highly cultivated; otherwise, how could they possess such pure divine blood? It was said that pure divine essence blood, refined by heaven and earth and nurtured by the spiritual energy of the world, could develop intelligence and reincarnate as a human—though such cases were extremely rare. Mu Tong had at least heard of this from the tea houses in Hidden Immortal Town.

People reborn from divine essence had no soul or spirit and found it difficult to cultivate.

Could Shen Kai have been such a person, reborn from divine essence? No wonder his bone structure was unique yet lacked spiritual roots.

Mu Tong pondered: Her cultivation was too low to see through one’s soul and spirit directly. If she could, she would know for certain whether Shen Kai was indeed a being formed from divine essence blood.