"Cao Man" widened his eyes and looked, seeing the "Dao Soldiers" surrounding a young and handsome general.
The young general was exceptionally handsome and refined, with an extraordinary aura.
Where he stood, he was like a peerless divine sword drawn from its scabbard, sharp and full of power, captivating hearts!
"Cao Man" trembled all over, his heart about to melt.
He stammered, shouting with immense excitement.
"Pi'er, my Pi'er..."
The three Cao brothers were raised by "Cao Man" from childhood, a deep father-son bond.
Cao Pi had never had a chance to return home to visit since he began cultivating at "Dragon Tiger Heavenly Sect." This was the first time in many years that "Cao Man" had seen Cao Pi.
Therefore, "Cao Man" was immensely excited.
Cao Pi was even more excited than "Cao Man."
He took two quick steps forward. Ten paces away from "Cao Man," he heavily knelt down.
Bang!
Splash!
Water sprayed everywhere!
Cao Pi actually performed a "slide-kneel," sliding a full ten paces to reach "Cao Man's" side.
He heavily "kowtowed."
"Father!"
This "trick" was performed brilliantly!
The Cao family servants following "Cao Man" almost couldn't resist clapping and cheering.
Good!
What a beautiful kneel!
Oh, do another one!
...
Seeing Cao Pi's filial piety, "Cao Man" felt immense comfort and joy. Tears of happiness welled up in his eyes. He tremblingly reached out and gently stroked Cao Pi's head.
"Good, good son, it's good that you're back. Get up quickly, *cough*..."
"Cao Man" was full of happiness, smiling broadly, and then, as he laughed, he began to spew fresh blood...
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
Laughing and spitting blood.
This "trick" was also performed brilliantly, so brilliantly it was somewhat bizarre and grotesque!
"Father, Father, what's wrong?"
Cao Pi was extremely anxious, jumping up immediately and supporting "Cao Man."
"Cao Man" still had a smiling face.
He spoke with a chuckle while spitting blood.
The scene was as bizarre as it could be.
"Hehe, Pi'er, what nonsense are you talking about? I'm fine, *pfft, pfft, pfft*... See, I'm perfectly fine, *pfft, pfft, pfft*... I'm just so happy to see you back, I feel like I've become over ten years younger, *pfft, pfft, pfft*..."
Cao Pi
o ( ( ⊙ ﹏ ⊙ ) ) o
Was completely terrified!
Father, you're not getting younger by ten years, you're losing ten years of your life!
You're spitting blood like crazy, don't you feel anything?
He felt nothing!
He truly felt nothing!
"Cao Man" looked at Cao Pi with paternal affection, a very happy smile on his face, and then... he spat blood.
The scene was as bizarre as it could be!
...
After "Cao Man" had spat out a full three liters of fresh blood, he finally came to his senses and realized he was spitting blood.
He gave Cao Pi an apologetic smile, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Pi'er, I must have scared you. My apologies!"
Cao Pi
o ( ( ⊙ ﹏ ⊙ ) ) o
Was still in shock, unable to extricate himself!
"Cao Man" had to explain again.
"I was just too happy and too excited earlier, I couldn't control myself, so I spat out a little blood... It's fine, you'll get used to spitting, spitting, spitting!"
That's right, you'll get used to spitting, spitting, spitting!
Now, "Cao Man" was used to spitting blood.
When he got emotionally agitated, if he didn't spit out three liters of blood, he felt something was missing, and the world felt incomplete.
Cao Pi finally came back to his senses. Heartbroken, he hugged "Cao Man" and wept.
"Father, why must you be like this, why!"
"Cao Man" was deeply touched. He hugged Cao Pi back and wept.
The father and son embraced and cried, a profoundly moving scene.
All the Cao family servants were also moved and began to shed tears.
"Second Young Master is truly filial, pfft, a great filial son!"
"Compared to him, Third Young Master is too much!"
"If it weren't for what Third Young Master did, Master wouldn't have developed this spitting blood habit... we wouldn't have to research 360 ways to eat blood tofu..."
This was just the servants' "habitual grumbling," no one would have taken it seriously.
However, Cao Pi, upon hearing this, realized there was a "problem."
Third brother?
Was he related to Father's "spitting blood" ailment?
Right, Third Brother visited Father half a year ago and hadn't returned to the sect since. What exactly had happened to him?
A series of questions surfaced in Cao Pi's mind.
The matter of Cao Zhi, the third son of the Cao family, "defecting to the rebel army," had not yet spread widely.
Firstly, the "rebel army" was considered less than an ant in the eyes of the "Great New Dynasty."
Well, with the leadership of a "born cheat" like "Liu Xiuer," and the assistance of a "born famous general" like Cao Zhi, the "rebel army's" strength had surged, and they had already crushed several "dynastic armies," their fame growing by the day.
But even so, the "rebel army" was, at best, an "ant."
Heh, just an "ant," still not worthy of the "Great New Dynasty's" attention.
The dynastic forces sent to "quell the rebellion" were merely local troops, ragtag armies.
The dynasty didn't even know that the "rebel army" had a peerless celestial prodigy from the "Dragon Tiger Heavenly Sect."
Secondly, Cao County Magistrate "Cao Man" had specifically blocked this news.
His third son surrendering to the "rebels" was an embarrassing situation for "Cao Man," who was loyal to the country and served diligently until his death.
His "loyal minister" persona was at risk of collapsing at any moment.
Therefore, Cao County Magistrate "Cao Man" blocked the news of Cao Zhi's defection.
So, someone might ask, how could "Cao Man," a mere county magistrate, have the authority to block news?
Good question!
Because the Cao family had ancestral property!
"Cao Man" had sold off another portion of his ancestral property, exchanged it for a large amount of spirit stones, and used "money power" to block the news.
"Money power" was more effective than any "divine ability!"
As of now, the news of Cao Zhi "defecting to the rebel army" had not spread, and even Cao Pi was unaware of it.
"Father, did Third Brother do something?"
Cao Pi looked at "Cao Man," voicing his question.
Hearing Cao Pi's question, "Cao Man" felt a surge of emotion, and his old eyes welled up with tears.
"Alas, what a karma!"
"Cao Man" sighed and no longer hid anything from his second son, explaining the entire cause and effect of Cao Zhi "defecting to the rebel army."
"Initially, I sold off ancestral property and spent a fortune hiring the five-star assassin Gao Shou from the Heaven-tier Ranking to assassinate the rebel leader Liu Xiuer..."
"...Five-star assassin Gao Shou, in this manner, defected, abandoning the righteous path for darkness and joining the bandit chief Liu Xiuer's command!"
"Next, I sold off more ancestral property and spent a fortune hiring Technician No. 7 Gao Ren..."
"Father, please wait a moment!"
A gleam flashed in Cao Pi's eyes, and he said sternly.
"Five-star assassin Gao Shou is fine; it's in character for a Heaven-tier Ranking assassin. But this Technician No. 7 Gao Ren, the style is clearly wrong. He wouldn't happen to be from the 'Heaven and Earth Foot Massage Palace,' would he..."