I was about to pick up the box.
Dai Sheng stopped me. "Wait."
Ye Jinghong glanced at it. "What, are you going back on your word?"
Dai Sheng gave a bitter smile. "What is there for me to go back on? If you truly are the fated ones, I'd be happy beyond words. It's just that what's inside is extremely strange. I wanted to remind Mr. Jiang to be careful."
"Strange? In what way?" I asked.
After thinking for a moment, it said, "There's a bead inside, a red bead. I don't know what kind of bead it is, but you absolutely must not touch it with your hand. If you do, it will devour your life force."
The moment it said that, not only did I become wary, even Ye Jinghong was on guard.
Good thing it told me. Otherwise, the moment I opened the box, I definitely would have reached in and taken out the bead.
"Why didn't you say so earlier? Do you realize you nearly got someone killed?" Ye Jinghong shouted.
Dai Sheng looked aggrieved. "Didn't I simply not have the time? Who knew you would move so quickly? Still, it's fine. Mr. Jiang hasn't opened the box yet."
I narrowed my eyes at it. "So neither you nor your clansmen have ever been able to take it out of the box."
It nodded. "That's right. I didn't dare take the risk, much less gamble with the lives of my entire clan. Besides, our ancestors said that no member of our clan, no matter who it was, could touch that bead. Once touched, it could very well cost them their life. If it triggered an explosion, our entire Xiao Clan might be wiped out. I believe our ancestors were not exaggerating. Those words were passed down