Chapter 649: Extra Chapter 1: The Limit Is Approaching

Waiting is long and agonizing.

Every minute and every second feels like death by a thousand cuts to me, because I cannot confirm Jin Wuya's life or death, nor can I take the initiative to intervene.

Everyone is watching!

Only Jin Wuya himself walking out of the underground tomb will allow him to steady his footing after this upheaval of the Shi Family.

The capture and imprisonment of the Shi State Army shocked not only the Shi Family but the entire Lingnan region.

Who in Lingnan doesn't know the Shi State Army? How many people rely on their connections to make a living?

Once the Shi State Army falls, it's as if the main artery of Lingnan's both yin and yang factions and the business world has been struck.

For a time, the calls of inquiry, pleas, reproaches, and so on nearly blew up my phone.

Another part were those who went with the wind, coming to my door to show friendliness.

Those two days, people's hearts were troubled and uneasy.

I rejected all the calls from everyone.

The news outsiders know is what Grandfather wanted them to know; the vast majority of internal true information has long been blocked.

Even if one deliberately inquires, nothing can be found out.

I personally interrogated the Shi State Army and found that not only were his bodily injuries too severe, his whole person seemed dazed and sluggish, a stark contrast to his previous smooth worldliness.

That is a feeling of emptiness after a mental collapse.

Since Grandfather decided to act against the Shi State Army, he must have investigated in advance the crimes he committed and the network behind him; otherwise, how could he silence the endless gossip?

The Shi State Army lost too fast and too suddenly; even he himself hadn't reacted.

I am not interested in his years of covert maneuvers; Shi Yin has ways to get the truth from him. I only want to obtain some news about the ancestral tomb, the underground tomb, and Jin Wuya from the Shi State Army's mouth.

But after several rounds of interrogation, the Shi State Army suddenly spat a mouthful of blood at my face; fortunately I was agile and dodged by shifting sideways.

The Shi State Army laughed maniacally, almost neurotically: "He has never trusted me, never!"

"From the very beginning he has been on guard against me, year after year, playing me like a fool!"

"The death warriors at my disposal, my confidants, my like-minded brothers... ninety percent of them were actually planted by him around me; I am merely a puppet he toys with in the palm of his hand, a clown!"

"Haha, ridiculous, truly ridiculous to the extreme!"

Yes, even if Shi Yin personally led the death warriors cultivated by Grandfather into action, they shouldn't have been able to take down the Shi State Army so quickly.

Given the Shi State Army's abilities, they should have stirred up a bloody storm.

But there was none.

He spent his whole life painstakingly building his career, believing his achievements were his own, but they were nothing more than a millet dream woven for him by Grandfather himself.

If he had stayed law-abiding, after Grandfather's death, when I fully controlled the Shi Family, his elder brother and his descendants would still have become my left and right arms.

Moreover, as my elder, his status would be even higher.

But he is not satisfied with that; he wants to replace me.

One misstep, and every step is wrong.

He not only took the wrong path, but even looking back at the road he came from is a mess.

No wonder he ended up so dispirited and listless.

Though he is not yet dead, his belief has already collapsed with a bang.

Even if he is not detained now, he is already a completely useless wreck.

He immerses himself in his own world, constantly cursing and accusing, while incessantly denying himself, going mad.

But just as I turned to leave, he suddenly grew quiet again and said in a gloomy voice: "Shi Rou, do you think you've won?"

"No, you could never beat me!"

"I had someone calculate it—that old thing won't survive tonight; just wait to collect his corpse!"

"Besides, you want a child, don't you? Let me tell you, stop daydreaming; even if you conceived ten or a hundred, you could never give birth to a lively child. Don't blame me for wanting to exterminate your line; even if I don't, your lineage is destined to die out."

My steps paused only slightly, then I strode out without lingering.

The Shi State Army's line "that old thing won't survive tonight" left me incredulous.

Although Grandfather personally told me his time is up, I always felt it was still early; perhaps after breaking the taboo in the underground tomb, he could live a few more years.

But the Shi State Army said he wouldn't make it through tonight.

I don't want to believe his words, yet I cannot help but believe them.

After all, when a person is about to die, their words are kind; the Shi State Army has no need to curse Grandfather with such talk at this juncture.

Grandfather has always lived in the old residence, not far from my current home; I quickly returned to the old residence, and upon entering I saw him lying on the lounge chair in the courtyard.

At that moment the sky had just darkened, a crescent moon hung slantingly in the sky.

The little old man wore a long robe; his thin and gaunt body sank entirely into the lounge chair, looking somewhat withered.

The lounge chair creaked as it slowly rocked; at a glance I first saw his head full of silver hair and his wrinkled profile.

He was like a withered leaf on an autumn branch, hanging there alone; a gust of wind could blow him away at any moment.

He closed his eyes, his breath extremely light, as if he were asleep.

Seeing him like that, I inexplicably felt uneasy; I lifted my foot and strode forward a few steps, my gaze passing over the lounge chair, and I stood frozen on the spot.

My legs felt as if filled with lead, unable to move forward even an inch.

I saw… I saw that on the main hall of the old residence's main house, a coffin was conspicuously placed!

That was a longevity coffin, which Grandfather, at age sixty, personally had made for himself.

Around here, many people over sixty prepare a longevity coffin in advance.

Such longevity coffins are usually placed in the attic or a high spot in the home; some families even hang theirs directly above the main hall.

Elders often say that the longer a longevity coffin is enshrined at home, the deeper the family's blessings, and no one considers it taboo.

Grandfather's longevity coffin was originally placed in the attic, but now it has actually been brought down.

So the Shi State Army wasn't lying; my grandfather's time of death actually is tonight.

But two days ago his spirit was clearly still very good, his thoughts clear, his eyes bright; when he besieged and exterminated his great-uncle, he showed an iron-blooded resolve.

How could someone in such a vigorous state possibly say he can't go on?

When my gaze fell again on that frail little old man in the recliner, I finally realized: this little old man had been holding on all along for the Shi Family, for me.

His only wish in this life was nothing more than to see my next generation with his own eyes.

Unfortunately, I let him down.

I could no longer hold back; I strode forward, leaned against the recliner, and choked out, "Grandfather…"