Chapter 645: Side Story 1: Is He Preparing to Exterminate the Line?

It's obvious, this matter is fishy.

Jin Wuya is most likely being used as a pawn by someone.

The key person is still my great-uncle.

In the whole Shi Family, aside from me and my grandfather, my great-uncle holds the most authority.

Grandfather said that he initially supported me bringing Jin Wuya into the Shi Family because he valued Jin Wuya's superb craftsmanship as a cunning artisan.

My great-uncle has served under my grandfather for many years; he knows exactly what my grandfather is thinking.

So, what my great-uncle values is also Jin Wuya's identity as a cunning artisan.

From water entering the ancestral tomb, to the coffin soaking and collapsing into the mud, to the Tomb-suppressing Beast's parts scattering—everything from start to finish is a scheme my great-uncle set up for Jin Wuya.

The Tomb-suppressing Beast may exist, but it definitely won't be those scattered, chaotic parts that Jin Wuya saw.

Then, if these parts were successfully assembled, what would they correspond to?

Seeing me stand there speechless for a while with a solemn expression, Jin Wuya knew something serious was wrong.

He flung down his pen and said, 'I'm not researching anymore; I'll sleep. If my great-uncle asks tomorrow, I'll say I still can't figure it out, and even if he calls me to the ancestral tomb, I won't go.'

After tomorrow, my grandfather will send me away.

Whether Jin Wuya cooperates or not, my great-uncle will not let him go.

We are already deeply entrenched in this; no one can escape.

Thinking this through, I said, 'Go! We must go!'

I picked up the pen and handed it to Jin Wuya, pulled a nearby chair to sit beside him, and said solemnly, 'You are my man; him using you as a pawn is tantamount to scheming against me. Moreover, what comes next may concern the entire Shi Family, even the Xielie Power Warrior lineage. We cannot stand by and let them stir up trouble. Jin Wuya, please work hard again to research this; we'll turn their scheme against them.'

Jin Wuya worried, 'What does my great-uncle want from you? What does he intend to do? Just because we lost two children, he's certain we can't have offspring and is preparing to exterminate our line.'

The three words 'exterminate the line' pierced my heart deeply.

Yes, isn't that exactly exterminating the line?

Grandfather has always insisted I bear my own child; isn't that to guard against this day?

However, my great-uncle's intention likely goes far beyond simply exterminating the line.

His target is not just the whole Shi Family, but... the Red Armor Army of the Xielie Power Warrior lineage!

The ancestral tomb, the coffin, the Tomb-suppressing Beast... all of this, the secrets hidden behind them, must be related to the Red Armor Army.

My great-uncle deceives Jin Wuya into entering the tomb, harboring some ulterior motive—my grandfather is not unaware.

He merely holds his troops in place, first stabilizing my great-uncle, sending me away, and only after ensuring my safety will he pierce this layer of window paper.

Grandfather still treats me as a fledgling that hasn't grown up, believing I must hide behind his wings at the slightest trouble, unaware that I have long been capable of standing on my own.

I cannot leave.

Grandfather is old.

Once my great-uncle seizes power, my grandfather won't survive, and Jin Wuya won't either.

My great-uncle won't truly let me live either.

He will use every means to eradicate us root and branch.

Therefore, this time the fate of the Shi Family rests on me—either he dies, or I perish.

I gritted my teeth, looked at Jin Wuya, and said earnestly, 'Sorry, the Shi Family's internal grudges have dragged you in for no reason. If you don't want to wade into this muddy water, I can arrange to send you away first; leaving now should still be possible.'

'Shi Rou, what do you take me for?' Jin Wuya snapped, 'In your eyes, am I just an irresponsible, cowardly person who clings to life?'

I hurriedly explained, 'I don't mean that; the Shi Family's background is too complex. You were originally an outsider, it's me...'

'I am no longer an outsider, Shi Rou.' Jin Wuya said solemnly, 'I stay to help you and also for self-preservation. Time waits for no one; I will continue researching, hoping to figure out the mechanisms of these two Tomb-suppressing Beasts before dawn. You should go rest; you don't need to wait for me.'

Under these circumstances, how could I possibly have the heart to sleep?

But I didn't disturb Jin Wuya; instead, I sat alone on the other side, silently reviewing the entire Shi Family and its whole network of connections in Lingnan.

Which people may have already been won over by my great-uncle, which are absolutely reliable and can be used by me at critical moments—setting aside the Lingnan connection network, how many external contacts I could still reach... all need to be clarified one by one, to be prepared.

Until the later night, around three o'clock, Jin Wuya finally set down his pen, his voice hoarse, and said, 'So that's how it is.'

I yawned and asked, 'Have you found another crucial part?'

'I was probably misled by my great-uncle.' Jin Wuya said, 'He said these are parts scattered from two Tomb-suppressing Beasts, so I naturally assumed that, since they're the same kind of Beast, the direction to find the crucial parts should be the same, which is why I initially only found one piece.'

I asked, 'Are the layouts of the two Tomb-suppressing Beasts different?'

Jin Wuya shook his head: 'If I haven't guessed wrong, there is actually no real Tomb-suppressing Beast. Starting from this point, I abandoned the original fixed mindset and examined the mortise-and-tenon structure itself; the core of a mortise-and-tenon joint lies in the tenon and the mortise.'

He pushed the white paper covered with parts toward me, pointing at one piece and saying, 'Look, this piece is the tenon; its head protrudes. Correspondingly, this piece is the mortise, which recesses inward. When they interlock, this is where the core component of a complete mortise-and-tenon structure lies.'

'No real Tomb-suppressing Beast?' I frowned, 'That means Second Cousin Uncle is lying, and he's in league with my great-uncle!'

Jin Wuya sucked in a breath of cold air and said, 'If Second Cousin Uncle is also problematic, then these people I've been frequently contacting recently all have a chance of being in this net; a heavenly net and earthly trap will descend, and none of us can escape.'

I gritted my teeth and said resentfully, 'If we can't run, then it's only fish die, net break.'

Jin Wuya said, 'I'll break it with you.'

At this moment, it's impossible for me not to feel moved.

They say spouses are like birds in the same forest, flying apart when disaster strikes; we aren't even truly husband and wife yet, but at this moment he is willing to stay and face it with me—how rare.

'Don't make a fuss for now; keep living as usual.' Jin Wuya further arranged, 'Tomorrow I'll continue cooperating with my great-uncle to enter the ancestral tomb, to see what he intends to do with this pair of mortise-and-tenon core components. Once I figure it out here, you can then take further action.'

He wants to be the vanguard, charging ahead.

I didn't want to agree, but there was no better alternative; after much hesitation I said, 'Then you must be extra careful, extra careful—I'll wait for your news...'