Chapter 303: Some People Are Still Alive

Lan Shiwen was a man who drew intense hatred; wherever he went, he had enemies, and within the occult circles both domestic and foreign, few wanted anything more than to kill him.

Ning Zhe suspected that Tu Yu, who had originally adopted Lan Shiwen, had also intended to kill him—but failed.

“Lan Shiwen is backed by the government and possesses the ability to foresee the future; all occult incidents across Yunzhou fall under his jurisdiction. Over the years, he has amassed no shortage of methods.”

Liu Hongwen gazed at Ning Zhe’s face and said: “The occult power he can mobilize alone may exceed the combined strength of your entire Dai Ke family and all its affiliated factions.”

Ning Zhe rubbed Fan Daike’s beard and smiled: “I know that.”

“So, to kill a man like him requires careful planning,” Liu Hongwen added.

Xia Yubing’s flush faded slightly; she frowned: “Careful planning… how long exactly?”

“Eighteen years long,” Shen Qing said softly.

Liu Hongwen sighed and nodded: “Eighteen years ago, during the Millennium Massacre, when the four-year-old Lan Shiwen was carried into the Yin family ancestral home by his adoptive father, someone had already begun plotting how to kill him.”

Upon hearing this, Ning Zhe’s expression shifted subtly—he knew perfectly well who Lan Shiwen’s adoptive father was, and what had happened during the Millennium eighteen years ago.

Liu Hongwen unbuttoned his coat and pulled out a paper document, placing it on the table: “This is Lan Shiwen’s record. It is top-secret within Yunzhou—I believe this sufficiently demonstrates my sincerity.”

Ning Zhe picked up the document and glanced at it; he already knew most of its contents:

Lan Shiwen was a born Elevationist. His mother died in a bizarre incident that had been completely erased from all records; her name could no longer be traced. All that was known was that the pregnant woman, awaiting childbirth in a hospital, had been caught in the incident.

The infant crawled out of his mother’s corpse and was discovered by Tu Yu, who had come to investigate the event. Tu Yu took the child in and named him Lan Shiwen.

When Lan Shiwen was four years old—in the year 2000, the Millennium—a major event occurred in Yunzhou: four Elevationists broke into the Yin family’s ancestral home in Yun Capital and slaughtered the ancient lineage. Only a few distant relatives, who changed their names and fled, escaped the purge; every other member of the family perished. Since then, no one in Yun Capital has borne the surname Yin.

“The four Elevationists who annihilated the Yin family were: Fen Wu, Wu Tong, Tu Yu, and the four-year-old Lan Shiwen, held in Tu Yu’s arms.”

Liu Hongwen continued: “Tu Yu is a man of deep calculation. Yet during the massacre of the Elevationist clan, he inexplicably brought along a four-year-old child. I believe there must be some reason—Lan Shiwen’s presence must have played an irreplaceable role in their plan to destroy the Yin family.”

But he still could not fathom it: what could a four-year-old child, even one with the ability to foresee the future, possibly contribute? Such a young child could barely speak properly, could he?

That was because Lan Shiwen’s ability was not “foreseeing the future”—it was “Death Return.” Of course, Ning Zhe could not tell them this. He merely smiled faintly at Liu Hongwen and asked:

“You said someone had been plotting to kill Lan Shiwen eighteen years ago—who was that person?”

“Ji Bochang,” Liu Hongwen replied firmly. “The Elevationist who wielded the rule of Wu Tong and entered the Yin ancestral home alongside Tu Yu and Fen Wu—the one known as the God of Wealth: Ji Bochang.”

“It’s him…” Ning Zhe was surprised, then chuckled: “Isn’t he dead? Are you counting on a dead man to help you?” Had Ji Bochang left some posthumous scheme? Or had he never died at all?

“Ji Bochang is dead, but his family still lives,” Shen Qing said with a smile, turning his bodhi seed rosary in his fingers. “The God of Wealth foresaw this. His younger brother, Ji Boying, had long since established ties with Europe, securing protection for himself and his children who later emigrated under the Fuliimisileite family.”

Liu Hongwen’s gaze darkened; he shook his head: “Had Ji Bochang not prepared in advance, the Ji family would surely have been branded with false charges by Lan Shiwen’s beastly hand—accused of plotting to seize the throne—and exterminated in full.”

Watching the two play their parts in tandem, Xia Yubing frowned: “So the fact that Ji Bochang’s family still lives—how does that relate to killing Lan Shiwen?”

“It relates to the God of Wealth,” Liu Hongwen said. “After Ji Bochang’s death, Wu Tong lost control and possessed his corpse. As far as I know, it was Lan Shiwen who resolved this incident—he very likely has since seized Wu Tong and become the new ‘God of Wealth.’”

Shen Qing picked up the thread: “Ji Boying knows the core rule of Wu Tong. Ji Bochang and Ji Boying were inseparable brothers. Before Ji Boying left for overseas, the God of Wealth revealed Wu Tong’s core rule to his younger brother—precisely for this moment.”

Liu Hongwen picked up champagne and poured golden liquid into Xia Yubing’s glass:

“Though my Liu family is dead, my father left behind some hidden connections that still endure. Since Ji Bochang’s death, the funding for Yunzhou’s assassins has not been cut off—it has even grown more generous. This suggests Lan Shiwen has very likely seized Wu Tong and become the new God of Wealth. And Ji Boying knows Wu Tong’s core rule…”

Shen Qing placed his bodhi seed rosary on the table, his cloudy eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ning Zhe, and said softly: “As an Elevationist, if your core rule is known to outsiders, do you understand what that means, Mr. Dai Ke?”

Ning Zhe smiled: “Of course.”

The moment an Elevationist’s core rule is exposed, he is already a dead man.

Rules are absolute. Rules are fair. The rule of Tai Yi is identity theft: ghosts can steal human identities, and humans can steal ghost identities—that is Ning Zhe’s fatal flaw.

One word, one letter, one character, one detail—none must be overlooked!

Suppose someone one day accidentally learns the rule of Tai Yi, steals Ning Zhe’s notebook, and writes in it—so that when Xia Yubing sees the writing through another notebook, she mistakenly believes it was written by Ning Zhe… then her false perception becomes the medium, and the identity of “Ning Zhe as perceived by Xia Yubing” is stolen.

No matter how mysterious, powerful, or arrogant an Elevationist may be, the moment his core rule is exposed, he is already a dead man.

Elevationists may be mighty gods or terrifying spirits, but ultimately, they are nothing but fragile mortals.

“So… Lan Shiwen is already a dead man,” Liu Hongwen said, fingers interlaced, his dark eyes ablaze with vengeance.

“The ladies of the Fuliimisileite family have arrived at Weian Port. Along with them are Elder Ji Boying and Ji Bochang’s children. After today’s swimsuit show ends, we will meet,” Shen Qing chuckled. “Let us wait and see.”

Ning Zhe smiled too: “Let us wait and see.”

(End of Chapter)