Chapter 80

Few ordinary citizens in Long Country know the name He Jianbo, but he is well-known in the business world.

This businessman, under fifty this year, left his hometown early to make his fortune along the coast—few now remember the details of his early rise.

Yet the outcome is clear: today he owns a publicly traded company with a market value exceeding ten billion, and over the years he has invested widely, holding shares in several major industry firms.

A few years ago, he even appeared on the wealth ranking list; though his position wasn't high, his net worth should still have been nearly ten billion.

His business interests are mainly concentrated in Jin Ling Prefecture, Hu Zhou, and Lin'an Prefecture—a region in Long Country known as the Triangle economic hub.

But his hometown is in a rural village.

Moreover, He Boss has a family matter unknown to outsiders.

The fifty-year-old He Boss has no father; his household contains only an elderly mother living alone.

Yet only close family members know that this elderly mother is not He Boss's biological mother.

When He Boss was young, his original family belonged to a collateral branch of the clan and was poor, with three brothers—his biological parents both died in an accident.

Unable to support themselves, the three brothers were placed under the clan elders' decision to be adopted out.

He Jianbo was adopted into a main-line household.

The man in that household had already died, leaving only a widow; since he passed away early, he left no children to carry on the family line, thus ending the lineage.

Fortunately, before his death, the man left behind a decent estate that ensured the widow lived comfortably.

Thus, the clan elders arranged the adoption: the three-year-old He Boss was taken in, recognized the widow as his mother, and honored the deceased man as his father, thereby continuing the lineage.

His surname did not change—he was already a He by birth, merely from a collateral branch.

This shift, ironically, made him a legitimate main-line descendant, eligible to be recorded in the clan genealogy—his original collateral status was too distant to qualify.

He was adopted at age three; the adoptive father was already dead, so he grew up under the care of the widow.

It is said the widow treated him exceptionally well, doting on him; after being adopted, he never suffered hardship. They lived many years in a harmonious mother-son bond.

As He Boss grew, the widow even sold off family property to fund his education and support his business ventures abroad.

She even arranged a good marriage for him.

He Boss was deeply filial toward this non-biological mother; after achieving success, he returned to his hometown and built her a large house. Though he had seen the glittering world outside, he willingly accepted her arranged marriage, marrying a humble, virtuous woman and leaving her behind in the village to care for his mother and fulfill his filial duties.

Every year during festivals and holidays, He Boss always put aside all business to return and visit his mother.

In his hometown, He Boss was widely known as a model filial son.

The Old Grandma had adopted this son many years ago, and it was truly a blessing—her son became successful and deeply filial; neighbors all said the Old Grandma had a kind heart, and this son brought her comfort.

Indeed, that was how things were.

But people, after all, are subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death.

A few days ago, the Old Grandma passed away at over seventy, living a good life.

The ever-filial He Boss attended her bedside until her final breath, watching her die.

Devastated by his mother's death, He Boss threw an elaborate funeral, reportedly grand in scale, honoring her with full rites.

Then came the burial—the elderly woman held traditional views, having insisted in life that she did not wish to be cremated, but to be buried in the earth for peace.

He Boss, the filial son, remembered her wishes.

Although Long Country's laws forbid earth burial, He Boss had wealth and influence, and the He family was a deeply rooted traditional clan; after some maneuvering, they succeeded in burying her in the ground.

The Old Grandma's body was interred in the He family ancestral graveyard.

—Up to this point, everything was normal.

What followed was unnatural!

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Ten days after burial, a heavy rainstorm struck, pouring relentlessly for a day and night, triggering a landslide that engulfed the hill where the He family's ancestral graves lay.

The He family hurried up the mountain to inspect the damage—and discovered that the very grave where the Old Grandma had been buried…

…had collapsed!

Hearing this, He Boss rushed back to his hometown in panic to handle the matter.

He family members mobilized manpower and excavated the entire landslide area, unearthing the Old Grandma's coffin.

The coffin remained largely intact, its lid still firmly nailed shut, though the sides were damaged and the surface cracked in places.

Deciding the coffin was ruined, He Boss ordered a new one—surely the Old Grandma could not rest in a broken coffin.

Thus, they invited a renowned master from nearby to perform rites and open the coffin to transfer the body.

Result… on the day they opened it, every member of the He family—including He Boss—was frozen in shock!

The coffin was empty!

The Old Grandma's body was gone!

·

"On the day of burial, dozens of He family eyes watched her placed into the coffin!"

"The coffin was buried under dozens of He family eyes!"

"When filling the grave, He Boss himself wielded the spade alongside He family members to shovel the earth."

Chu Keqing said here, her tone softening: "To be honest with you, I was there on the burial day—He Boss hired me to inspect the grave's feng shui."

"How was the grave's feng shui?"

Chu Keqing answered without hesitation: "An auspicious site."

Chen Yan frowned, thinking: "Could someone have a grudge against He Boss and stolen the body after burial?"

Chu Keqing sighed: "To be honest, I thought the same—perhaps He Boss made enemies abroad who hired a master of occult arts to steal his ancestor's body to cast some vile curse.

But… this doesn't make sense.

First, such vile curses require blood kinship. He Boss and the Old Grandma were not biologically related.

Second, the coffin was intact; when dug up from the landslide, the lid was still nailed shut. If someone stole the body, the lid would have been pried open. Moreover, if this were tomb robbery, the coffin still contained several valuable burial items—gold and jade artifacts—and all remained undisturbed."

Chen Yan's face was expressionless, yet his mind was pondering.

So... the Old Grandma's corpse simply vanished into thin air like that?

After pondering for a moment, Chen Yan finally nodded: "This matter... I will go with you to take a look."

Seeing Chu Keqing, a smile immediately appeared on her face: "Does the senior truly agree to intervene?"

"Let's go take a look first." Chen Yan shook his head: "We must see what the matter is before saying anything."

Joy flowed into Chu Keqing's eyes: "The senior's magical power is profound; success is certain!"

Afterwards, the two made an agreement: Chen Yan would prepare at home, and early tomorrow morning, Chu Keqing would come to pick him up and take him away to the hometown of that Master He.

Chu Keqing then took her leave; as she departed, she cast two glances at the blue stone strips arranged around the courtyard.

Although she did not understand the Dao of arrays, she could roughly discern that the patterns carved on the blue stone strips must be some kind of rune.

However, they were far too complex for her to comprehend, and without the permission of Chen Yan, this high expert, she dared not look too closely—peeping into another's magical arts and supreme skills without permission was a grave taboo!

·

"What, swayed by this sum of money?"

After Chen Yan saw Chu Keqing off, he had just returned home when he saw Gu Qingyi in the living room, holding the paper with numbers written on the table, looking at him with a half-smile.

"It's not truly for the money; mainly, this matter is too bizarre, sparking some curiosity in me, wanting to see exactly what is going on."

Chen Yan spoke these words with an unchanging countenance.

Not truly for the money, huh.

Mainly, this old man has a maiden's heart and simply loves that pink color of the banknotes!

Is that not allowed?

Gu Qingyi shot Chen Yan a sidelong glance and suddenly asked: "This friend of yours is quite striking; where did you meet her?"

"What's wrong?"

Gu Qingyi took a deep breath, her small face wearing an expression of seriousness: "Didn't you say last time that you already have a girlfriend? Since you have a girlfriend, then do not go provoking these flowers and grass."

Pausing for a moment, Gu Qingyi shook her head: "That woman just now had some cultivation upon her, but I do not like her much; judging by her appearance, she is not one to be at ease with."

Alas!

You cannot say things like that, can you?

One cannot assume a person's nature is also burning just because they are beautiful... Chen Yan shook his head: "You are overthinking it; I have no such relationship with this woman as you imagine. She is a fellow disciple from Luo Yun Zhai's Luo Qing..."

Upon hearing the three words "Luo Yun Zhai," Gu Qingyi's eyes immediately drifted into the distance; she coughed once, quickly stuffed the remaining half of the fried dough stick in her hand into her mouth in one go, and lowered her head, cheeks puffed, chewing fiercely.

Chen Yan briefly recounted Chu Keqing's background, and Gu Qingyi, her gaze evasive, fell silent.

Chen Yan then asked again: "How about it? Do you want to go with me to take a look?"

Gu Qingyi immediately shook her head: "No interest! I just heard about this matter; a corpse has gone missing. Either some spirit monster has emerged in the mountains, or someone is maliciously targeting that Master He in the dark. If you are willing to go, then go ahead; I will stay home."

Chen Yan was somewhat surprised: "You... are not going?"

If this powerful little stepmother was not going, he seemed to truly lack a sense of security.

Gu Qingyi let out a cold sneer: "You just want me to go be your bodyguard?"

Chen Yan spoke with righteous indignation: "When you agreed to let me recognize you as my stepmother, you promised you would help me beat people up and let me walk with my head held high."

Gu Qingyi's breathing became unsteady; she coughed once, averted her eyes from Chen Yan's gaze, looked elsewhere, yet extended her hand.

"I never said I would ignore you. This... take it with you."

In her palm lay two talisman papers.

Chen Yan took them and looked... Could it be that, just like last time when dealing with the Mountain Ogre, she gave him a talisman to summon her?

But this time, the place he was going was very far; Master He's hometown was quite a distance from Jin Ling Prefecture.

She, Gu Qingyi, could not teleport a thousand li; could she summon herself?

However, upon taking the talisman paper in hand and examining the runes upon it, Chen Yan froze: "What is this?"

"Formless Calamity-Cleaving Slash!"

Chen Yan's eyes widened: "Holy crap?!"

Gu Qingyi looked into Chen Yan's eyes: "I have sealed two Formless Calamity-Cleaving Slashes within the talisman."

"However, I am not skilled in magical arts, so these two Formless Calamity-Cleaving Slashes sealed within the talisman paper, each strike, possesses only thirty percent of my current power."

"Wait, let's clarify first: thirty percent of what power? Thirty percent of your Heavenly Human Realm, or..."

"Dreaming too big!"

"If it were the Heavenly Human Realm, even a Formless Calamity-Cleaving Slash at only thirty percent power could severely injure an ordinary Heavenly Human Realm!"

"What I give you certainly cannot be thirty percent of the Heavenly Human Realm!"

"In this world, I cannot manifest the Heavenly Human Realm. I am currently only at the Ascension Platform Realm here. However, my Formless Calamity-Cleaving Slash at thirty percent power while at the Ascension Platform Realm... is enough for you to use!"

That was far more than enough... Chen Yan's expression was very satisfied.

A couple of days ago, Gu Qingyi had said that the Formless Calamity-Cleaving Slash that eliminated the Mountain Ogre had used less than ten percent of her power at the time.

Now, thirty percent?!

"Your world has no inheritance of magical arts, and there is even suppression from the Heavenly Dao; the strongest existence is merely at the Ascension Platform Realm. Moreover, in my view, they are all weaklings at the Ascension Platform Realm with incomplete inheritances."

"The Formless Calamity-Cleaving Slash sealed within the talisman I give you, even at only thirty percent of my Ascension Platform Realm power, is a supreme skill of the Gu family, specializing in killing! Even if you encounter the weakling Ascension Platform Realm of your world, it is enough to slay the opponent!"

After Gu Qingyi finished speaking, she turned her back to Chen Yan, yet still spoke softly: "Go finish the matter early and return early; I am still waiting for you to return to help me complete the ghost marriage."

Chen Yan smiled, pinching the talisman paper in his hand. Suddenly, a thought stirred in his heart:

Huh? These two talismans, she must have drawn them beforehand, right?

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