Chapter 655: Extra Chapter 1: Boomerang

I return to River City with Jin Wuya, not truly intending to abandon this mess, but I know the earth fetus affair will inevitably erupt; being in Lingnan and in that circle, I could never have peace, so I cannot calm down to handle it.

Just as Jin Wuya raised this question—to relocate to a place rich in spiritual qi and suppress it again, a family must step forward to bear the burden of the earth fetus's backlash.

I currently have no descendants; even if I wanted to shoulder this burden, I couldn't.

The Shi Family has already successfully transformed by my generation; I am decisive in business, but against the earth fetus I only have theoretical skill.

After all, the first precept of the Shi Family's ancestral teachings is 'No going underground.'

"What a mess." I said irritably, "Everyone says the Shi Family rose to wealth thanks to this earth fetus's spiritual qi; too many people are envious, and even more are willing to take risks."

Jin Wuya patted my shoulder and said, "Once someone harbors greed, you can't dissuade them; since they dare to take and seize, they must prepare themselves for the backlash, or have absolute confidence to suppress the earth fetus's backlash. Instead, we should use this time to rest and recuperate, consider what to do next, proceed steadily, and only then can we settle this matter."

"Find Shi Yin." I immediately said, "Our first task is to locate Shi Yin; I have always believed he is the breakthrough point of this whole affair."

Jin Wuya asked, "Shi Yin is the old master's confidant; it's normal for the old master to entrust him in a crisis. Do you think he might now be on his way to that tomb?"

I nodded: "Very likely."

I then added, "Shi Yin is not only my grandfather's confidant; his ancestors were the Shi Family's dead warriors—in other words, he is a descendant of the orthodox Red Armor Army. I have reason to believe that he may know some of the truths my grandfather does not."

Jin Wuya thus became more certain: Shi Yin is our breakthrough point.

His views closely align with mine.

We both decided to stabilize Lingnan on one hand while sending people to search for Shi Yin on the other.

My second uncle and eldest cousin died one after another; what I worried about most was my second cousin.

As it turned out, my second cousin was fine, but my eldest cousin's wife suffered a miscarriage.

My eldest cousin's wife didn't even know she was pregnant; this is a posthumous child. Although they already had two kids, their feelings now are inevitably different.

My eldest sister also called me, gave me a long lecture, and only with difficulty did I hang up; I was mentally and physically exhausted.

Two days later, a major event occurred in Lingnan: the richest man in Lingnan, Mr. Qian, passed away.

Mr. Qian was under sixty this year, well maintained, looking like he was in his forties; no one expected his death to be announced so suddenly.

For a time, rumors flew and everyone had their own speculation.

Among them, some gossip claimed Mr. Qian died an unnatural death, but the information was blocked; the official announcement said he died of heart disease.

My people passed along word that Mr. Qian's condition of death was the same as my second uncle's.

In other words, after that small coffin was stolen by my second uncle's childhood friend, it was resold to the Qian family?

The buyer was Mr. Qian himself.

How ironic.

He was already the richest man in Lingnan—why would he wade into this muddy water?

Losing his own life pointlessly wasn't enough; he also dragged his whole family into it!

I saw the news in the morning, and by the afternoon I had received a call from Mr. Qian's eldest son.

At first he kept a low profile, admitting his father had bought the small coffin, and he had heard about the painful ordeal of my second uncle's family and that of his childhood friend's family; he hoped I could help him put an end to this calamity.

I replied truthfully, "Sorry, Boss Qian, I'm willing but unable to handle this matter; otherwise I couldn't possibly stand by and watch my second uncle's family suffer such disaster, could I?"

I never expected that this sentence would completely enrage Boss Qian, who roared on the other end of the phone, "Isn't the Shi Family supposed to be Lingnan's foremost clan of mystics? Usually you're so arrogant, yet at the crucial moment you desert—Shi Rou, you deserve to have your line die out; the Shi Family's reputation is utterly ruined by you……"

I have competed and cooperated with Boss Qian in the marketplace; we are similar in age, both rising stars of Lingnan's business world, and our relations have been fairly harmonious.

His outward image has always been gentle and courteous, but now, with the 'earth fetus' knife hanging at his throat, he too has collapsed.

After he finished venting, I then said, "Boss Qian, since things have come to this, I think what we should do is cooperate……"

"I'm about to die, what cooperation is bullshit!" Boss Qian shouted, "Shi Rou, I feel terrible, and you'd better not expect to feel good either—just wait for me!"

Boss Qian hung up after uttering those harsh words.

I held the phone, somewhat dazed.

Originally I wanted to say, let's first steady our emotions—on one hand guard our respective business interests, on the other hand exert our abilities, each seek clues, and complete the information integration.

But Boss Qian gave me no chance to speak.

But I underestimated Boss Qian's vengefulness; that small coffin appeared that very evening on the offering table in the main hall of Jin Wuya's home, placed before his master's spirit tablet.

Jin Wuya and I stared at each other, both giving a bitter smile.

From the moment my grandfather first suggested throwing away this hot potato, I knew this day would come.

Only this boomerang returned a bit sooner than I had imagined.

What's more frightening, both Jin Wuya and I noticed that the two soul‑suppressing talismans pasted on the front and back of the small coffin have faded in color.

Even the cinnabar‑written runes on the coffin's body have faded considerably.

This indicates that the seal on the small coffin has loosened, and whatever is inside could escape at any moment.

Jin Wuya did not move the small coffin; he merely set up a formation array around the entire main hall and added an extra layer of security.

Looking at the small coffin, both of us felt heavy‑hearted.

We deliberately stayed away from the vortex's center, yet the vortex pursued us.

Boss Qian truly lives up to his reputation—these methods, this efficiency, are beyond what an ordinary person could match.

Jin Wuya and I each contacted our own networks again, but still there was no news of Shi Yin.

Tossing and turning, we only fell into a dazed sleep late into the night.

I had a terrifying dream.

In the dream, I saw a boy and a girl, two children, sitting on my belly.

The slightly older one was the girl, the younger the boy.

Both little guys were skin and bone, making their eyes appear large.

Their toothless little mouths moved, calling me 'mom' over and over.

"Mom……"

"Mom……"

Even in my sleep, hearing that tender call, my heart still felt as if torn by a knife.

They are my children whom I never met, already dead!

My poor children……

I opened my mouth to answer them, and at that moment another child appeared behind them.

That child looked a bit older, about a few months old.

He wore no clothes, standing there naked.

A Coffin Nail was driven into his forehead, and two lines of blood-tears streamed down his cheeks.

His throat, wrists, ankles, and heart each had a Coffin Nail driven into them.

And on his chest, a rune drawn in cinnabar pierced his entire small upper body……