Chapter 646: Extra Chapter 1: Breaking the Taboo

He barely slept all night; early the next morning, Jin Wuya received a call from his great-uncle, asking if there were any leads here and urging him to hurry to the ancestral tomb to meet.

Jin Wuya tidied up, took some tools that might be useful, and prepared to leave.

I'm usually not indecisive, but seeing Jin Wuya about to leave, I instinctively grabbed his hand, opened my mouth wanting to say something; Jin Wuya reached out and pulled me into a hug, gently patting my back, saying: "Don't be scared, Shi Rou. The fact that he's targeting me shows I have great utility value. The Shi Family is big and prosperous; if an ordinary artificer could replace me, I wouldn't need to go to the ancestral tomb. So I won't die easily. As long as I have a breath left, I will surely hold on to that breath to come see you."

I wrapped my arms around him tightly and said, "Mm, I'll wait for you to come back."

Jin Wuya left.

I immediately began mobilizing the absolutely trustworthy people at my disposal to start deployment.

Not only the ancestral tomb, but this net must also be spread outward; every aspect of the Shi Family and even Lingnan must be taken into account.

Of course, the ideal outcome would be for this matter not to leave the Shi Family.

But what I didn't expect was that as soon as I made a move here, my grandfather's side noticed immediately.

Before ten o'clock, my grandfather's people knocked on my door: "Miss, the flight has been rescheduled; the old master means for me to send you away from Lingnan right now."

The person who came was my grandfather's confidant, Shi Yin.

In the entire Shi Family, besides my grandfather and me, no one knows of his existence.

Including my great-uncle.

I still don't know how old Shi Yin is or what he looks like.

He suddenly appeared when I was fourteen; my grandfather told me he is a death warrior of the Shi Family, never showing himself before others, and at critical moments he can unhesitatingly die for me.

Although I've always known of Shi Yin's existence, so far he has appeared before me only a handful of times—countable on one hand.

His appearance here now already shows my grandfather's attitude; there is no room for negotiation on this matter.

But if I were to leave Lingnan with Shi Yin right now, what would happen to Jin Wuya?

Having just promised him, would I go back on my word?

Shi Yin knocked again: "Miss, did you hear what I said? If you don't open the door, I'll come in myself."

I immediately walked a few steps to the door and flung it open.

Standing outside was none other than Shi Yin.

He is very tall, 1.92 meters, with an excellent build—the kind that looks slim in clothes but muscular when undressed, an inverted triangle shape.

He wears a mask that tightly covers his whole face; every time I see him, he is dressed in all black with cuffs and pant legs tightly bound, looking very neat.

I have never seen him take action, so I don't know what weapon he uses or how strong he really is.

Shi Yin reiterated his earlier words: "Miss, we need to leave."

"I'm not leaving," I said firmly. "You can go back and report to grandfather; I won't be a deserter—I want to stay and share the Shi Family's fate."

Shi Yin stepped forward; I sharply retreated two steps, keeping distance and staying alert.

Shi Yin paused, thought for a moment, then said: "Miss, if you don't leave, we will have to redo all our upcoming plans; at times like this, any adjustment to our actions could expose us, so for the sake of the bigger picture, please cooperate."

"What is your plan?" I countered. "Is it just a fight to the death, piling up corpses? Shi Yin, I know you death warriors are always preparing for this day, but for me, things haven't come to that point yet. Give me a few more days; trust me, I will surely give grandfather a satisfactory answer."

Shi Yin remained unmoved: "Miss, you only see what's before you; you don't know how deep the implications behind this matter run, nor the gravity of it—understandable, we don't blame you, we only hope you will cooperate."

I felt really annoyed: "So, grandfather, and you all, you know exactly what's buried beneath the ancestral tomb, right? As the sole heir of the Shi Family, I should have the right to know, yet you've kept me in the dark all along—how is that reasonable?"

"Go back and tell grandfather to kill the idea of making me leave; I'm not going anywhere—I'll stay home and wait for news!"

Seeing my firm attitude, Shi Yin realized reasoning wouldn't work and didn't dare to lay hands on me, so he temporarily withdrew.

I know that since Shi Yin could come, my residence is already surrounded by my grandfather's people on all sides.

Struggling is useless; I just sit quietly at home, waiting for news from Jin Wuya and from my grandfather.

About a quarter of an hour later, I suddenly received a message: The tomb chamber beneath the ancestral tomb has been opened; the taboo has been broken.

The Shi Family's first household rule: No one is allowed to descend into the tomb!

This is the Shi Family's taboo.

The Shi Family originally came from grave‑robbing; to descend into the tomb again means the Shi Family is returning to its old trade.

The Red Armor Army of the Mount‑moving Strongmen lineage has reappeared in the world.

And this taboo… was broken by my great-uncle.

To be precise, it was my great-uncle who broke it using Jin Wuya.

Jin Wuya should now be inside the tomb chamber.

Does the Shi Family's ancestral tomb actually conceal another tomb beneath it?

What is the origin of that tomb?

Building the ancestral tomb atop that tomb—does that mean the Shi Family settled in Lingnan actually to guard this tomb chamber?

Strangely, after Shi Yin left, he never came back.

I don't know whether it's because there was movement at the ancestral tomb that he was sent there.

If Shi Yin can go there, at least there is still hope to save Jin Wuya's life.

But after about twenty more minutes, another message came through my phone: The Shi State Army has withdrawn from the ancestral tomb, and Jin Wuya is nowhere to be seen.

My heart gave a sudden jolt.

How could my great-uncle withdraw so quickly? And what about Jin Wuya?

Wasn't the taboo broken, meaning they had already gone down into the tomb?

What on earth is going on?

I could no longer sit still; I stood up and headed out.

Sure enough, before I even left the courtyard of my residence, two death warriors appeared at the gate and turned me back.

I immediately drew my weapon and clashed with them.

"A Rou, stop causing trouble!"

My grandfather's voice suddenly came from outside, and everyone stopped fighting.

I watched Grandpa walk over step by step, and before he opened his mouth trying to persuade me, I took the initiative: 'There is a tomb hidden beneath the ancestral grave, Grandpa, you know that, right? Jin Wuya, once he goes down there, can't come back up, you know that too, right? Grandpa, what exactly do you want to do?!'

Grandpa calmly looked at me, waited for me to finish asking, then he countered: 'Arou, have you really fallen for that brat Jin Wuya?'

I was stunned—what time is this, my life is almost over, who still has the heart to talk about love and affection?

"This is only the first step, Arou, you can't hold out?" Grandpa shouted sternly, "The news has been completely blocked; if Jin Wuya really dies down there today, everything that's happened these days will not leak out, and it will also cut off your uncle's longing. From now on, our Shi Family will still be the premier occult family of Lingnan—nothing has ever changed."