Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1255: Evil God and Emperor Song

In the water prison, Jimmy’s expression was mostly still angry… but from the moment ‘Tang Tianlin’ began asking questions, a hint of panic quietly appeared.

“How do you know about the Perfect Man…”

‘Tang Tianlin’ said calmly, “Is it strange… or did you forget who was in the original laboratory?”

Jimmy lowered his head and remained silent.

The original laboratory… Will Douglas, Human Genome Project, Qin Zheng, Nan Xiaonan… several names flashed through his mind in an instant.

“I don’t know.” Jimmy raised his head. “House never told me anything about the Perfect Man cells… I’m just a tool at his disposal. Do you really think he would tell me all his secrets?”

‘Tang Tianlin’ said coldly, “If you were truly just a private assistant by House’s side… it’s a pity you’re not.”

Jimmy frowned. At this point, he was in absolute disadvantage; life and death were entirely in the other’s hands—but as long as this man was interested in the Perfect Man cells, he might still have a chance to negotiate… even though he truly didn’t know where House had hidden the cells.

“I really am just House’s self-proclaimed assistant.” Jimmy shook his head. “Are you misunderstanding something? Do you think I could be his illegitimate son?”

‘Tang Tianlin’ glanced at Jimmy, seeming somewhat enlightened. “So you don’t even know your own identity… right, given House’s suspicious and distrustful nature, he certainly wouldn’t have told you this.”“Qin Zheng! Stop playing riddles with me here!!” he roared.

‘Tang Tianlin’ sighed. “It doesn’t matter if I tell you… I already said, you’re just House’s first failed experiment—and, moreover, you were created in the very first laboratory, by me and my teacher.”

“You’re lying!!!” Jimmy’s face suddenly turned furious… furious and terrified.

‘Tang Tianlin’ said calmly, “The fact is just like that. Cloning technology has existed for a long time. Do you think House only started planning today? House indeed wanted immortality, but the original concept wasn’t like it is now—transferring consciousness into a new body… Of course, the truth shows this is impossible, at least with human technology at present. So, ever since my teacher was captured, House has lived in a nightmare he could wake from at any moment but never did.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Jimmy’s voice trembled… thoughts he had never considered… filled him with extreme terror.

“Don’t you find it strange yourself?” ‘Tang Tianlin’ sneered. “You’ve been by House’s side, helping him. You should know his personality best. Let me make it clear… why do you think you were chosen by House? You think your abilities are outstanding, surpassing everyone else?”

“I…”

“You are merely the earliest clone created by House.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ looked at him with pity. “At first, House didn’t want consciousness transfer… he just wanted a complete, healthy body that could provide fresh organs at any time, fully compatible with his genes, without rejection. Simply put, you were a part House created. In fact, you were his last resort—if he really couldn’t survive until this experiment succeeded, you would have been sent to the operating table to provide organs for him.”

“You’re talking nonsense!!!” Jimmy roared. “I am me, I am Tang Tianlin, I am nobody else!!! I have complete memories from birth until now!”

“Stop deceiving yourself… do you remember anything before age ten?” ‘Tang Tianlin’ shook his head. “Your real memories only start from the last few years. Before that, from your birth, you were under hypnosis. We couldn’t transfer consciousness then, but through hypnosis and drugs, we could give you a fairly complete life.”

“Nonsense!! Nonsense!! Nonsense!!!!!!”

He frantically splashed the water with his chains.

But ‘Tang Tianlin’ took out a kerosene lighter from his clothes, flicked it open and closed, the metal clicks ringing clearly.

Jimmy didn’t know what he was doing, rushed like a beast to the edge of the water prison trying to climb out… in vain, even losing pieces of his nails from scratching the wall.

‘Tang Tianlin’ expressionless, spoke slowly, reciting seemingly unrelated and meaningless words in various languages: “snake, butterfly, paper, Leonardo-da-Vinci, 17, Femme, La-libertà-di.”

The nearly out-of-control Jimmy gradually calmed, following the rhythm of ‘Tang Tianlin’s’ words and the lighter clicks. Eventually, he stood motionless in the water.

‘Tang Tianlin’ finally said: “繰り返し (repetition/loop/iteration).”

Jimmy instantly felt wound-up like a clockwork toy, eyes hollow, voice slowly repeating: “snake, butterfly, paper, Leonardo-da-Vinci, 17, Femme, La-libertà-di… 繰り返し.”

‘Tang Tianlin’ smiled slightly, put the lighter away, looked at Jimmy and said softly: “Welcome back… No.1, remember me? I’m Qin Zheng.”

“Hello, Mr. Qin…” Jimmy spoke slowly, eyes still vacant.

“I need intelligence on the Perfect Man cells.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ said slowly. “How much did House tell you? Tell me everything.”

“He never told me anything about the Perfect Man cells.” Jimmy said slowly.

‘Tang Tianlin’ frowned: “But you obviously know about them.”

Jimmy lifted his head bit by bit. “I accidentally obtained the information. I overheard House talking on the phone with someone, about the Perfect Man cells.”

“Phone? Do you remember what was said?” ‘Tang Tianlin’ asked intently.

Jimmy said: “Saint… ceremony… he seemed to be pleading with the person on the other end, hoping they could help him escape the pain, hoping to accept the… initial…”

“Accept… initial?” ‘Tang Tianlin’ frowned, Jimmy paused. “Initial what?”

Jimmy shook his head. “He realized I was outside, immediately cut the call. Since then, he rarely made calls in front of me.”

“Accept… initial.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ paced the water prison, muttering: “Saint… ceremony?”

‘Tang Tianlin’ suddenly turned to Jimmy: “If you felt something was strange, why didn’t you do something?”

Jimmy, still slow in thought, finally said: “I traced the call… it was from the UK, probably Middlesbrough.”

‘Tang Tianlin’ pondered: “Has House been to Middlesbrough these years?”

Jimmy shook his head. “He’s been in China, never left.”

‘Tang Tianlin’ asked again: “Does he have secret properties in the UK?”

Jimmy answered directly: “He has a manor in Middlesbrough, two ranches, two yachts, and a private plane.”

‘Tang Tianlin’ looked at Jimmy for a long while, then sighed. He took out the lighter again, reproducing the same rhythm, reversing and reciting the previously meaningless words again: “…繰り返し.”

“La-libertà-di, Femme, 17…”

As Jimmy repeated the words, ‘Tang Tianlin’ silently left the water prison.

Until Jimmy finally slowly said: “繰り返し.”

His body shivered, his vacant eyes regained clarity, feeling the cold water and the pain in his fingers… he roared once again.

He couldn’t remember what had happened… or when the other party had left. But the feeling of being manipulated made him experience an unprecedented… fear!

……

When ‘Tang Tianlin’ returned to the office on the ground floor and closed the secret passage, more than an hour had passed.

He sat alone in the luxurious office, seemingly deep in thought, muttering to himself: “The woman that night… seemed like Nan… But how could Nan’s hands move so skillfully? Could it really be… no, the voice, the hints, the facial features are almost identical… even with disguises, I shouldn’t have been mistaken…”

He slowly exhaled and stood up. “Perhaps I should get in touch with Nan… as Tang Tianlin. But… not now.”

With that thought, he pressed the office phone on the desk. “Prepare a car for me.”

“Assistant Tang, where are you going?”

‘Tang Tianlin’ thought for a moment. “To the hospital. I want to check on Mr. House’s condition.”

“Understood, Assistant Tang.”

……

Beijing time, 10:23 PM.

The structure known as the Temple of Heaven had already turned off all its decorative lights… the tourists had long since left. The place was vast, incredibly empty.

On the massive circular platform was the dim night sky.

A young man in his twenties, with a square-shaped face, walked slowly across the plaza in front of the Temple, hands clasped behind his back—though it was very cold, his clothing was thin.

He did not seem cold. Even stranger, when the biting wind blew, it seemed to part around him… but it was late at night, and no one was nearby, so this strange sight went unseen.

“Built during the Yongle era…” the youth exhaled slowly, whispering to the night wind: “How many things have I missed…”

He gazed at the night sky over the entire city.

Coming from the coastal Minnan region, it had not taken him long, but the moment he stepped into this enormous historical capital, a sense of restraint came over him.

He could feel something terrifying buried beneath the capital’s streets. “What kind of master could set up such a massive formation… could it be a successor of the Plain-Clothed Dao?”

He had not forgotten why he had come to the capital alone… he needed to find the Zhao family, the one claiming to be the most legitimate descendant of the Zhao lineage.

But it didn’t seem easy… originating from the pervasive pressure throughout the city—ordinary people wouldn’t feel it, but someone like him could easily perceive it.

Especially since he had forcibly remained in the mortal world in the most extreme way; perhaps slightly better than a Demon, but not much different from a ghostly presence.

The closer he got to the center, the more the overflowing righteous energy of heaven and earth, and even the country’s grand humanitarian aura, weighed on him.

However, having once been an emperor, even though the Zhao family’s Dragon Vein had broken, some remnants remained… having an outstanding descendant with great destiny, hinting at the possibility of reuniting the Zhao Dragon Vein, actually benefited him, preventing the city’s underground formation from treating him as a ghostly menace.

Still, he had to be cautious.

“Enough.” He shook his head. “Better wait for Gong Fanxing to arrive.”

Thinking this, he felt a bit dispirited… partly because the strong fortune of this New Nation made him feel powerless, partly because after traveling north and seeing modern progress, it felt like walking through a dream.

He did not even know whether waking up a thousand years later was right or wrong in this world.

“What a beautiful night… it would be a shame not to drink…”

But just as he turned to leave, a long voice came from behind… He frowned and turned, seeing a figure stepping across the moonlight atop the Temple.

Wearing a white Tang-style martial arts outfit, hair streaked with gray and black, holding a wine jug in one hand.

Finally… the man in the white Tang suit landed lightly before him, with a half-smile: “Since when has a terrifying martial path master come to this capital, and I didn’t know? Lately, I’ve been too lazy.”

He furrowed his brow… this man in the Tang suit exuded extreme danger—stronger than previous subordinates, even Gongsun Wuwei, who had died by Song Haoran’s hand.

He squinted. “I… I’m curious as well. Such a martial cultivator exists in this world. What is your name, sir?”

The man in the martial outfit smiled slightly, sipped from the wine jug, and said: “Those who know me just call me Old Fool.”

He couldn’t help but smile, then said seriously: “A man’s rage, blood flows like a river… what an Old Fool!”

Old Fool… Firecloud Evil God sized up the youth—generally, martial cultivators can judge age easily, but this one, Firecloud Evil God could not. He could not gauge his age, only that he was bizarre and terrifying, his blood aura like a blood demon, ferocious energy surging, yet guarded by a strange Dragon Qi.

“Tonight’s moon is perfect. Friend, shall we test swords?”

(End of Chapter)

- "Yongle" (永樂) was the era name used during the reign of the Yongle Emperor.

- The Yongle era is considered a "golden age" in the Ming Dynasty due to the dynasty's power and prosperity during this time.

- The Yongle era spanned from 1403 to 1424.

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