Ancestral Seed

Old Wu still made breakfast. Wenren De was still suffering from a hangover headache; strong liquor and beer really were different.

As they ate breakfast, Wenren De rubbed his head, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Reeking of alcohol, he said, "Old Wu, after eating your cooking, I'll treat you as a true brother from now on. My home is your home. You have to visit often."

"Hmph, what a superficial brother. You just want to slack off," Wu Liansong said disdainfully out of habit, then quickly caught himself. "Uh, since you've put it that way, Little De, I can only reluctantly agree. Since we're true brothers, of course we should keep in touch often."

Wu Shanshan said nothing. After breakfast, she left with Wenren Sheng in her red sports car.

The two men then stood at the courtyard gate, watching their car head south.

"Even though you're far better than me, Old Wu, when it comes to raising children, I win hands down..." Wenren De said smugly.

"You were just lucky," Wu Liansong said dismissively, patting his shoulder. "Go back. I think your illness has gotten worse. Let me see if there's still any medicine that can cure you."

"I'm not sick. I'm not taking medicine." Wenren De turned and ran.

"If you won't take medicine, I'll stick some needles in your head and drain some water out. Don't worry, I'm actually quite skilled with needles." Wu Liansong's expression darkened as he spoke, then he turned and chased after him.

Outside the Xu residence.

Xu Yunshuang stood with a young, handsome man whose features bore a fifty-percent resemblance to hers, welcoming Wenren Sheng and Wu Shanshan.

The young man looked youthful, only seventeen or eighteen at most, but he carried himself with maturity. Everything about him exuded the bearing of a great family.

Wenren Sheng studied him carefully and finally reached a gratifying conclusion—well, he wasn't as handsome as him now, and he definitely never would be in the future...

A handsome guy among ordinary people—no threat.

"Teacher, thank you for your trouble. It's rare for you to have a Saturday off, yet you still came all this way. I truly don't know how to thank you." Xu Yunshuang bowed, her silver hair falling down like that of a divine consort or Female Immortal.

"In that case, you can only offer yourself to him," Wu Shanshan said faintly from the side.

"..." Xu Yunshuang immediately became awkward, a faint blush rising to her face.

The young man recovered quickly and held out his hand to Wenren Sheng. "I'm Xu Yuchen. Teacher Wenren, we're deeply grateful that you came personally to help."

Wenren Sheng's expression did not change as he shook his hand. "Mm, I recognize you. You look just like your picture. Is your father home?"

"My father isn't home. He often goes out on weekends," Xu Yuchen explained.

"All right, Brother Chen. Let's invite Teacher and Shanshan to talk in the back," Xu Yunshuang said after glancing around.

"All right, please come in."

Xu Yuchen immediately led the way through the courtyard gate, with the other three following behind.

As they walked, Wu Shanshan asked, "Yunshuang, you must have noticed this long ago, right? Otherwise, Wenren wouldn't have let you know about it too."

"Uncle was actually doing it for the good of this family. I didn't want to cause everyone trouble." A trace of inexplicable melancholy appeared on Xu Yunshuang's face. Then she said apologetically, "It was all Brother Chen's stubbornness that made things difficult for Teacher."

"No, it isn't difficult for me." Wenren Sheng shook his head. "I've always believed that the truth doesn't hurt people. Only people hurt people."

"Is that so? Perhaps if some truths are never uncovered, everyone can remain happy forever," Xu Yunshuang said softly.

Wenren Sheng glanced back at her thoughtfully.

He then quickened his pace and walked shoulder to shoulder with Xu Yuchen.

"The timing of your project submission was rather clever. It happened right after He Shiqiang died in a duel. Can you tell me why?" Wenren Sheng stared into his eyes.

Xu Yuchen had the same clear eyes as Xu Yunshuang. Hearing Wenren Sheng's question, he let out a breath. "Because I suddenly realized that Father had gone too far. He even dared to plot against an expert from the Mysterious Realm. If I let him continue like this, I was afraid he really would reach a point of no return."

"Is that so? What a pity. He's already beyond return." Wenren Sheng shook his head. "Those were his own words to me earlier."

Xu Yuchen slowed, struggling to speak. "Can his life still be spared?"

"The only ones who can decide his fate are himself—or you." Wenren Sheng looked ahead.

The Xu Family's courtyard was enormous. That was probably the blessing left by their ancestors. No matter how much money one had, it was impossible to buy such a large plot of land in this area.

More than ten minutes later, in a pavilion within a bamboo grove on the small hill behind the Xu Family's backyard.

The green bamboo was lush and flourishing, while the bamboo pavilion was secluded and quiet.

They sat facing one another. Wenren Sheng had his head lowered as he read the more detailed documents Xu Yuchen had just sent to his phone.

"The creation and transplantation of Ancestral Seeds? Just as I thought. No wonder every missing young worker had blood-related siblings behind them." He shook his head.

The documents showed that the Zhang Rong and Zhang Yi brothers were not an isolated case, but an inevitability. Zhang Yi was merely the only one willing to spend an excessive amount in compensation to seek out his biological brother. The others shed tears for a few days, then never did anything else.

"Yes. Two years ago, when my cousin had that accident, it was Manager Wei who saved her. Afterward, Father asked Elder He and Li, whom he supported, to examine her. That was when the nightmare began. My cousin was originally the hope of the entire family. The family had long reached a decision: gradually strip away bad assets, reduce the group's scale, retain only a few quality industries, endure for ten years, and then develop again."

Xu Yuchen replied as he looked toward the bamboo grove nearby, his gaze drifting.

The greenery before them was so vibrant. In the height of summer, who could imagine that deep winter would follow? "And then your father decided that merely having descendants of Otherworldly Users wasn't secure enough. He thought it would be best to turn it into an Ancestral Seed, so that even if Yunshuang died, you could inherit it through the same bloodline?" Wu Shanshan suddenly sneered. "What an idiot. An amateur is an amateur. He thinks he can solve the Goldbach Conjecture with elementary mathematics."

Xu Yuchen became awkward at once, unsure how to respond. She was a guest and Teacher Wenren's partner, but she was still talking about his own father.

Wenren Sheng smoothed things over. "Forget it. President Xu's intentions were good, but in the Mysterious Realm, good intentions often bring disaster instead."

"I tried hard to persuade Uncle," Xu Yunshuang said with her head lowered. "But he said that if I had been a man, he would have been willing to endure a little longer."

"What a bastard. What's wrong with women? It's not as if only one or two families have women inheriting the family business. England has been ruled by Queens for generations." Wu Shanshan immediately said indignantly, taking Xu Yunshuang's hand in a comforting gesture.

"That is indeed strange." Wenren Sheng remained composed. "But I don't think President Xu meant inheritance of the family business when he said that. In my view, he isn't that narrow-minded. Could he have meant..."

He suddenly stopped there.

Wu Shanshan immediately glared at him and reached out as if to pinch him, but in the end, she withdrew her hand helplessly. "Can't you stop leaving half your sentence unfinished? There are no outsiders here."

"No." Wenren Sheng glanced beyond the bamboo grove and shook his head.

Otherwise, how would I make you think I'm mysterious and impressive? The old me was too honest—whenever people asked me something, I told them everything. Then they would say, "I thought you were amazing, but that's all it was."

"Damn it, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're good-looking." Wu Shanshan looked at him disdainfully.

"Right back at you," Wenren Sheng said without changing expression.

Xu Yuchen stared blankly at them.

A trace of loneliness appeared in Xu Yunshuang's eyes, along with a hint of envy.

"I can't be bothered arguing with you. After all, you're just a younger brother." A flash of delight passed through Wu Shanshan's eyes before she asked, "So what are you planning to do now? Go straight in, or wait for the Patrol Division to act?"

"Yunshuang, what do you want to do?" Wenren Sheng did not answer. Instead, he turned to Xu Yunshuang.

"Please stop my father before he makes an irreversible mistake. At the very least, preserve his life. The family business can be rebuilt from scratch. There are many opportunities now. Many ordinary people can rise from nothing and become first-generation founders, even building businesses far greater than our Xu Family's. I'm confident I won't be much worse than them." Xu Yuchen stood, gritted his teeth, and deeply bowed to the two of them.

"Yes, having the whole family together and happy is the best outcome. Little Chen is right. Since our ancestors could build this business, their descendants can build one as well." Xu Yunshuang brushed back a lock of hair and looked at her cousin with some relief.

"I already told President Xu that if I wanted to persuade him, I could only use my fists. Looks like I really did have foresight. Sign here." As Wenren Sheng spoke, he switched his phone to handwriting input mode.

Xu Yuchen did not quite understand. Xu Yunshuang explained from the side, "This is a special provision of the Patrol Division, modeled after how hospitals handle critically ill patients—once immediate family members sign, professional Doctors can take all kinds of emergency measures, such as risky surgeries. Likewise, Mystery Experts have similar authority."

"I see. In a sense, Father really is terminally ill." Xu Yuchen's expression was complicated. He sighed, then decisively wrote his name on the phone screen.

Xu Yunshuang took the phone from Wenren Sheng's hand, signed it as well, and handed it back to him.

Wenren Sheng checked the signatures and nodded. He stood from the pavilion, stretched his body, and looked into the distance.

"All right. With the family's signatures, we can proceed with the surgery..."