Chapter 192

Chapter 192: Three Owners of the Water Contract

Chang Xiang’s words made Lou Yun freeze, as he needed time to gather his thoughts.

Not every descendant of the Shui family possessed the water contract or the ability to control water. Only one person in each generation could possess it. In Shui Lingluo’s generation, she held the water contract. Now, her aunt was also an owner of the water contract, meaning her aunt was the one who held it in the generation before Shui Lingluo!

Two water contract owners from consecutive generations of the Shui family now stood before him. Yet, both were ordinary people without any cultivation skills; one was even severely ill. What puzzled Lou Yun more was Chang Xiang’s firm declaration that only he could cure her aunt’s illness!

“Even if her aunt possesses the water contract, how can you be so sure I can cure her when you don’t even know her illness?”

“You must have sensed a chill inside her body. I suspect it’s linked to the water contract. Since you harbor the Fusang Fire within you, I believe you can heal her.”

Lou Yun didn’t fully trust Chang Xiang’s speculation, but he found it somewhat plausible. Bracing himself, he spoke up loudly, “Aunt, if ordinary elixirs can’t heal your illness, perhaps I can!”

The aunt inside the room remained silent. Outside, Shui Lingluo first stared in shock, then delightedly asked, “Really, Mr. Lou? You can cure my aunt? She’s been unwell for a very long—”

Cough, cough! The aunt’s abrupt coughing cut Shui Lingluo off. Recognizing she’d spoken too much, Shui Lingluo promptly closed her mouth and retreated two steps—widening the distance between herself and Lou Yun.

This sudden turn made Lou Yun realize that Shui Lingluo’s aunt seemed determined to hide something.

It dawned on him that the aunt knew something about their family secrets. Since he’d arrived abruptly with Tie Sha and Wen Hou, she’d naturally be cautious until his motives were clear.

Lou Yun decided to lay his cards on the table upfront. After all, to earn trust, one must first be honest.

“Miss Shui, Aunt, I’ve come for two reasons. Frankly, I know something of your family’s situation. My first purpose is to request Miss Shui’s assistance in accompanying me to the sea domain. I vow to return her safely. Second, I possess certain unique abilities that might aid your family’s current plight.”

His words, entirely truthful, came out naturally without hesitation. As he finished, Shui Lingluo kept glancing at the room, but silence lingered—the aunt was clearly considering his proposal.

After a long pause, the aunt finally spoke. “Mr. Lou, you claim knowledge of my clan. How much do you truly know?”

Lou Yun instantly replied, “I know only this: each generation of your family produces one bearer of the water contract. Once released, this contract grants them the ability to control water.”

To outsiders, such words would sound unthinkable—gaining power over water defied belief. Yet Wen Hou and Tie Sha showed no reaction: Wen Hou wore a light smile, Tie Sha’s face remained expressionless.

Quiet fell again until the aunt’s voice broke it moments later. “Lingluo, come help me out.”

Shui Lingluo hurried in to assist her aunt. Lou Yun quietly sighed in relief; her willingness to meet him was progress.

Soon, Shui Lingluo helped a woman in her forties from the inner room. Though pale-skinned, her features bore resemblance to Shui Lingluo’s, hinting at past beauty.

Lou Yun stepped forward respectfully and bowed. “Junior Lou Yun greets Aunt.”

The aunt sized him up, nodding to herself. His appearance and demeanor won her favor, as had Shui Lingluo’s frequent praise of him in recent days.

“Mr. Lou, no need for formalities. Please sit.”

Lou Yun thanked her before briefly introducing Wen Hou and Tie Sha, then took his seat.

Leaning on Shui Lingluo, the aunt settled into a chair and cut straight to the point. “Mr. Lou, what you stated about my family is essentially correct. How did you learn this?”

“I heard it mentioned by an elder.”

“Where is this elder now?”

“I don’t know. He likely roams the world.”

“I see.” Disappointment flashed in the aunt’s eyes before she regained composure. “Did he say anything else?”

Lou Yun steeled himself before replying, “He said I might help lift your family from decline… even possibly release the water contract.”

Instantly, disappointment morphed into hope on the aunt’s face. “Truly? He said that?”

Lou Yun nodded. “Yes. That’s why I came here.”

At this moment, the aunt suddenly closed her eyes, clasped her hands together and placed them on her chest, her lips slightly trembling as she silently murmured something.

A moment later, she opened her eyes and said, "Mr. Lou, to be honest, our Shui family has truly declined to the brink of extinction! Apart from us, the aunt and her niece, only about forty people remain in the Shui family. The underlying reason is our inability to break the water contract. Also, one thing you probably don’t know: if we fail to break the water contract by the age of twenty, we suffer its backlash instead, and that’s the root cause of my illness!"

Lou Yun took a deep breath and thought, what a bizarre contract this was—it couldn’t be broken and would backlash if mishandled. No wonder she had said her illness wasn’t something common pills could treat.

Suddenly, a thought struck Lou Yun, and he looked at Shui Lingluo, asking, "Miss Shui, how old are you this year?"

"Nineteen, and in two months, she’ll be twenty! Thankfully, Mr. Lou appeared in time, or else Lingluo would suffer the backlash of the water contract like I do, enduring lifelong agony!"

"Oh!" Lou Yun nodded calmly, but inside, he felt deeply troubled. If he couldn’t help Shui Lingluo break the water contract, it was only a minor loss of face for him, but her enduring suffering through much of her life was a far bigger problem.

"Aunt, although that elder said I might help your family break the water contract, honestly, I truly have no idea how you can dissolve it."

The aunt nodded and said, "It’s natural you wouldn’t know, since only the men of our Shui family can learn it."

Lou Yun wasn’t fazed and said, "Then Aunt, you ought to know it too?"

But she shook her head and said, "No, I don’t!"

"Ah!" This shocked Lou Yun—as a possessor of the water contract, she had no idea how to dissolve it? What absurdity was this?

But then it dawned on him: Chang Xiang had prompted him to ask Shui Lingluo the first question back then: whether in the Shui family, men dominated while women were subjugated.

Now he finally grasped it a bit: clearly, even as a revered water contract possessor, the dissolution method was held solely by men. No wonder the status of women in the Shui family was so lowly. Moreover, the current situation implied that no one capable of truly breaking the water contract had emerged in the Shui family for a long while!

Although he understood this, it wasn’t what he needed to focus on, so he quickly steered his thoughts back and asked, "Aunt, if even you don’t know, are there any male members of your clan nearby?"

"There is, my son!"

Lou Yun had already scanned this small room with his spiritual sense and found no others besides Shui Lingluo and the aunt, so he asked doubtfully, "Then where is he?"

"He went out to play; he should be back any moment now!"

As she spoke, a childish voice sounded from outside the door: "Mom, sis, I’m home!"

The door swung open, and a boy of about seven or eight years old skipped in. But seeing so many people inside the room, he froze in the doorway.

Lou Yun was equally astounded, never envisioning the aunt’s son to be this young—could such a small child know how to dissolve the water contract?

Shui Lingluo smiled, walked over, and guided the stunned boy inside, pointing to Lou Yun as she said, "This is Big Brother Lou, the one who saved my life."

The boy’s eyes darted swiftly, and he promptly ran to Lou Yun, sweetly saying, "Big Brother Lou, I’m Shui Lingtong. Thank you for saving my sister!"

While speaking, the boy stooped respectfully and gave Lou Yun a proper bow.

Just then, as he was bending down, Lou Yun, with his sharp gaze, spied right through the boy’s collar—there on his chest was a distinct, water-like birthmark!

Could Shui Lingtong also be a possessor of the water contract?

This revelation jolted Lou Yun to his feet, his mind racing: What was happening? He’d always heard that in each generation of the Shui family, only one person was born bearing the water contract. Yet now, on the siblings Shui Lingluo and Shui Lingtong, it was clear they all carried it!

And right here, all three of these Shui family members possessed the water contract!