Reborn As Super Heiress

Capítulo 1874: Chapter 1777: Huang Chengxiang’s Secret

Huo Sining almost instinctively picked up one of the letters, on the cover was written in elegant handwriting:

Dear Brother Ming, I hope this finds you well.

The signature was her grandmother’s name, Chengxiang, hoping for your reply.

Huo Sining instinctively looked at Li Changming, using her eyes to ask if she could open it and read.

Li Changming smiled, pulled the letter out, handed it to Huo Sining, and said:

“This was written by your grandmother when she just got married. Most of it is trivial, but by that time she had already decided to find out about her ancestry, and had even openly discussed it with the Huang Family parents, bringing along some keepsakes she had at the time.”

Huo Sining lowered her head and read through the letter, indeed finding the term about searching for one’s biological parents as Li Changming mentioned.

“What happened later?”

Huo Sining asked curiously.

Li Changming pulled out a few more letters: “Later, your mother must have found something, she excitedly informed me she discovered some clues related to her ancestry, but initially didn’t tell me specifically, though the letters were filled with excitement, indicating her anticipation of her relatives.”

“But months later, her letters became less frequent, occasionally mentioning strange words, like asking me about the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Jiaoren (Merfolk), and asking about the myths of the Five Lakes and Four Seas, Nine Provinces and Ten Countries.”

Huo Sining paused, reading as Li Changming described, indeed finding letters where her grandmother seemed to seek validation, repeatedly asking Li Changming if he believed that immortals existed in the world, and whether immortality was real.

Huo Sining finally understood why when she entered the room, Li Changming asked if she knew Diaoti Country and said her grandmother held a secret. It turns out, Huang Chengxiang’s letters long revealed her origins and secrets, and the insightful Li Changming must have noticed early on, yet his deep affection for her grandmother kept him from exposing it.

Li Changming smiled bitterly: “After that, your grandmother stopped writing to me. Naturally, I felt something was wrong, so I wanted to investigate what changes occurred, unexpectedly finding things that surprised me.”

Huo Sining couldn’t help but lift her head to look at the old man: “What did you find?”

Li Changming took out a thick stack of letters from the top of the box, revealing what was at the bottom.

Li Changming carefully took out the items from the bottom—a very old book, thick but entirely in Latin, leaving Huo Sining puzzled.

Li Changming opened the book to the marked page, pointed at the text inside, and said to Huo Sining: “This is a navigation journal, supposedly written by a Roman navigator from the Tang Dynasty.”

“This journal mentions Kyushu, even recording a firsthand sighting of Jiaoren (Merfolk) in certain areas, and how the locals caught them, keeping some imprisoned, whose tears turned to pearls, while others had their skin peeled to make Jiaoxiao, with their body fat refined into medicinal materials, or their eyes extracted to use as Changming Lamp.”

Huo Si stared dumbly at the crooked texts recorded in the book, momentarily lost.

Li Changming’s eyes were also complex, as he took out a long-forgotten box from the trunk, opening it to reveal a familiar Green Bead, causing Huo Sining to uncontrollably widen her eyes.

“Honestly, I found a lot of information related to these things back in the day, but always felt they were exaggerated tales, unwilling to believe they were true, until one year in Latium at a small Indo-European language country, I accidentally saw this box.”

“At the time, I didn’t know what this bead was, and only understood after the box’s owner explained.”

Li Changming paused before continuing: “That person told me this bead came from a distant ancient country in the East, with his ancestor having visited this Oriental country and brought back this bead. Then, the person mysteriously told me that this bead was the eye of a Shark from the sea, with local nobles using it for illumination, naming it the Luminous Pearl!”

Huo Sining’s heart trembled, no wonder when she held such a bead from Madam Yan, she always felt something was off, as if being watched, unsettlingly eerie.

If the eyes of Jiaoren (Merfolk) were the true source of Luminous Pearl, then a plausible explanation arose as to why the Tang Dynasty’s celebrated Night Pearl vanished without a trace in modern times, why archaeology of numerous ancient tombs from various dynasties failed to uncover historical records or understand the material composition of the Night Pearl.

The thought of those bloody and cruel scenes when imagining Jiaoren (Merfolk)’s eyes left Huo Sining feeling a chill down her spine.

Huo Sining raised her head to look at Li Changming: “Did you conclude that the secret my grandmother kept, related to Jiaoren (Merfolk), based solely on seeing that bead?”

Li Changming shook his head: “I made that conclusion after your grandmother had passed away, roughly twenty years ago, when I received that bead. It was indeed the last straw for me, but actually, even before you were born, I had started to guess.”

“Guess? How could you guess such a thing? It seems completely beyond normal people’s awareness?” Huo Sining raised an eyebrow.

Li Changming didn’t refute, only smiled bitterly: “In fact, it wasn’t a guess but something I witnessed.”

“Back then, upon hearing that your grandmother divorced and moved out, I immediately returned to the country, intending to persuade her to leave with me. By then, I had some achievements in America, not wealthy but able to ensure her mother and son’s well-being.”

“But your grandmother rejected my proposal. She refused to leave Hua Country, yet I wasn’t one to give up easily, always hoping persistence would make her relent.”

“Little did I expect to witness such a scene. Looking back now, perhaps she deliberately showed me.”

Huo Sining frowned: “What did you see?”