Chapter Twenty-Five

After the statements had been recorded, the relationship between the Zhan family and Ning Yuan had basically been pieced together.

While Zhan Hongye treated Ning Yuan as an honored guest, he had secretly been in contact with Zhan Huitian. He had probably already planned the situation unfolding today back then.

Unfortunately, Zhan Huitian didn't know much about the private dealings between his father and Ning Yuan. He only knew that Zhan Hongye had paid a hefty sum to obtain the vase from Ning Yuan, along with instructions on how to use it.

As for where Ning Yuan had gotten it, he had no idea.

Zhan Huitian's statement wouldn't be useful for now. As far as the outside world knew, he was still on the brink of death and being resuscitated.

After leaving the hospital room, Fang Chuan pulled Yan Xiu aside and asked quietly, "Zhan Huitian's no longer in any serious danger. How's Zhan Ni doing?"

Yan Xiu shook his head. "She'll probably have a hard time waking up."

Yan Xiu had prepared him for this earlier, so Fang Chuan had already expected it.

"Without Zhan Ni's testimony, it won't be easy to nail Ning Yuan. He's not exactly an important figure, so we'll have to use him as bait." Fang Chuan thought for a moment. "I'll send Ning Yuan to the detention center for a few days, then let word out that Zhan Ni is unconscious. I imagine someone will come to check on Zhan Huitian."

"It won't be hard to make him look like he won't survive the night." Yan Xiu understood what Fang Chuan meant.

Fang Chuan smiled. "Good. How big a fish we catch will depend on how tempting our bait is."

After taking care of everything at the hospital, Fang Chuan generously treated Liu Mumu to dinner, then went with her to pick out a new phone. After that, he drove her and Yan Xiu to a hotel near the City Bureau.

Liu Mumu dashed into the hotel and slapped her ID card down on the counter. "One deluxe suite."

Before she could say another word, someone hauled her backward. Yan Xiu placed his ID card beside hers and handed them to the receptionist. "Sorry for the trouble. Two deluxe single rooms, please."

The receptionist pressed her lips together and smiled at Liu Mumu, who was baring her teeth and claws behind them, then lowered her head and began arranging their rooms.

Once the rooms were ready, Yan Xiu handed Liu Mumu her room card and ID.

Liu Mumu clung to the counter with both hands, gazing longingly at the price sign for the deluxe suite above it, hoping to catch Yan Xiu's attention.

Yan Xiu walked past her and casually turned her head forward. "Let's go."

Unmoved.

"Cold, heartless, unreasonable, and impossible to talk to. I just want to stay in a suite—what's wrong with that? Doesn't a master deserve a bigger room?" Liu Mumu grumbled under her breath in the elevator. He wouldn't even let her spend her own money.

Fang Chuan chimed in with a grin. "Do you want a suite, or do you want to share a suite with our Consultant Yan?"

"If the room's big, of course two people should share it. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste?" Liu Mumu declared, perfectly reasonable.

The elevator took them to the Twelfth Floor. Before they stepped out, Yan Xiu remarked, "That's why I chose a single room. So you wouldn't waste space."

Liu Mumu was about to faint from anger.

Fang Chuan spread his hands at her. Their Consultant Yan was just that hard-hearted and sharp-tongued.

The three of them went to Yan Xiu's room first. He replenished Liu Mumu's talisman, then told her, "Set a schedule yourself. Come by every two hours to replace it."

Liu Mumu sat on the soft bed and looked at him expectantly. "Since none of us needs to sleep tonight, why don't we..."

"No." Yan Xiu cut her off before she could finish.

"I haven't finished. I just want to play Fight the Landlord."

"There's no one to play with you."

"Fang Chuan would definitely be willing."

"Yes, he would, but he has to go back and work overtime soon. And I have work to do as well." Yan Xiu actually took the time to explain.

"Fine..." Liu Mumu wilted, as if she were the only one who didn't have a proper job.

Fang Chuan left after sitting around for a while. Liu Mumu had no excuse to stay, but before they went out, she made sure to grab Yan Xiu and add him as a friend.

Watching them add each other, Fang Chuan saw Liu Mumu skip out with her phone in hand. He couldn't help thinking that the ultimate purpose of her enthusiastic help might have been to add Yan Xiu as a friend.

Was this the difference between men? He was a little jealous.

Back in her room, Liu Mumu opened her new phone and found a string of missed calls from Dong Zhenghao, who was in the neighboring city.

As luck would have it, another call came in just then, and Liu Mumu answered.

"Mumu, where are you? Why haven't you answered all day? Aunt Jiang said you still haven't come home. Did something happen?" Dong Zhenghao had finally gotten through to her, and the questions poured out in one breath.

"I'm fine. I'm staying at a hotel tonight. I'll go back tomorrow."

"Why are you suddenly staying at a hotel? Are you alone? Should I send Yueyue to keep you company?"

"No, don't—no more!"

"Honestly, you..."

After the call ended, the person sitting beside Dong Zhenghao at the lively dinner joked with him, "Boss Dong, checking up on your daughter?"

"That's right. I've spoiled the girl. She won't listen to a word I say, and she's starting university this year. I can't control her anymore." Old Dong complained, half seriously and half in jest.

"Exactly. Girls these days are so delicate. You can't even be too stern with them, or they'll get mad at their fathers." The speaker looked as if he knew all too well.

The man beside him was a high-ranking official. It wasn't easy to pull strings with him; just getting him to dinner was a huge favor. Who would have thought that one phone call from Dong Zhenghao would catch his attention?

The two men eagerly started swapping tips on raising daughters. Old Dong acted like a seasoned father, and anyone who didn't know better would have thought raising Liu Mumu had been a great hardship.

The others at the table looked at Dong Zhenghao with envy. They said a monk from somewhere else preached best, and Boss Dong certainly had a way with people.

Liu Mumu had no idea she'd become Old Dong's tool-daughter. She set an alarm on her new phone, then downloaded a few casual games and started playing.

Time flew by. She lounged on the bed, playing games and watching shows, and before she knew it, it was midnight. For Liu Mumu, that was the time of night when she felt most alert.

Unfortunately, the show she'd been following had already finished airing. After scrolling through her phone for a while and finding nothing interesting, she tapped Yan Xiu's avatar.

Yan Xiu's avatar was one of the default options. It looked like a fake account.

She sent him an emoji.

Liu Mumu: Bunny sticking out its little feet.jpg

Yan Xiu: What is it?

Liu Mumu: Are you asleep?

Yan Xiu: Who do you think you're talking to?

Liu Mumu: I was just asking out of politeness. You could say you're still awake.

Yan Xiu: Oh, I'm asleep.

Liu Mumu: ...

It was so hard to chat with this man.

Liu Mumu: Bunny rolling around.jpg

Yan Xiu: Say it.

Liu Mumu: I can't sleep. Let's chat.

She waited a while, but he didn't reply. Liu Mumu pouted and rolled over, burying herself in the blankets.

The next moment, a voice call came through. She hurriedly answered.

Yan Xiu's voice carried a hint of drowsiness. "Whatever you have to say, say it quickly."

"Your tone makes it impossible to get into a conversation," Liu Mumu complained.

"Then I'll hang up."

"Fine." Liu Mumu gave in. She gathered her thoughts for a moment before speaking. "I suddenly feel a little sad. Comfort me."

"Because of Zhan Ni?"

"Mm..." Liu Mumu's voice was muffled. "I never told you this before, but when I read her fortune, I saw the turning point in her life."

Yan Xiu paused, realizing what she was struggling with.

When she read Zhan Ni's fortune, the outcome should have been good. Yet the final result had turned out to be completely different from what she'd seen.

"Didn't your grandfather tell you that a person's fate ultimately depends on themself, and a fortune-teller can't change it?"

"But it turned out this way because I got involved. If I hadn't done anything, she might never have found out, and she wouldn't have made that choice."

Sometimes Liu Mumu couldn't help wondering: her own fate was so terrible, so if she read someone else's fortune, wouldn't she just bring them bad luck?

Her grandfather had said no, but Zhan Ni's fate had left her uncertain.

"If you won't even believe in yourself, who do you expect to believe in you?" Yan Xiu's words were merciless. "Fortune-telling is just a transaction. Someone pays a price to glimpse their own fate, and they have to bear the outcome themselves. You just need to take the money and do the job."

"You really have no compassion," Liu Mumu said softly.

Unfortunately, even her softest words didn't escape Yan Xiu. "If you didn't get sentimental in the middle of the night, I wouldn't have to be so heartless."

"All right."

"Also, from the moment the first sacrifice was made, Zhan Ni was bound to be affected by the cursed artifact. The more lives the artifact claimed, the stronger its influence on her became. That wasn't your fault." Yan Xiu's voice turned grave.

"I understand." Liu Mumu checked the time and jumped off the bed. "Ten minutes left. I'm coming over."

She dawdled until there were only five minutes left before stopping outside Yan Xiu's door. It was ajar, as if he'd been waiting for her.

Once she went in, she saw Yan Xiu sitting casually at the desk in nothing but a white shirt. An open laptop sat in front of him, and his phone lay to his right.

A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on his nose, making him look much gentler. He was utterly unlike the cold, distant man he'd been during the day.

When she came in, Yan Xiu stood and went to the other side of the room to draw her a talisman.

Liu Mumu pulled over a chair, sat down, and propped her chin on one hand as she watched him draw.

"Do all mystic masters draw talismans?"

"No. It depends on the person."

"How long did you study?"

Yan Xiu handed her the finished talisman and answered casually, "Two years."

Compared with the abysmal level of divination she'd reached after studying for so many years, Liu Mumu silently seethed with envy.

She decided she had to show Yan Xiu what she could do, to prove that she was a technically skilled talent too.

She took out her coins and pushed them across the table toward Yan Xiu. "Is there anything you want to know? I can toss the coins and read your fortune."

Yan Xiu seemed amused. He had no idea what went on in that little head of hers. "You can't read it."

"Impossible!" Liu Mumu was displeased. Most of the time, she was pretty accurate!

As she'd grown older, she'd started to get a certain feeling when she cast a divination. That feeling helped her judge whether her reading was accurate.

Her grandfather had once told her to cast a reading every day, saying practice made perfect. She'd thought he was just trying to comfort her, but later she'd realized it was true. As a fortune-teller, she found that ridiculous.

And when her emotions sometimes fluctuated, she'd also catch glimpses of images without meaning to. Over the past year, those visions had become more frequent.

She thought she could just about call herself a master now.

Yan Xiu didn't argue with her. He picked up the coins on the table. "Then read my fortune for tomorrow."

He tossed them casually. Liu Mumu stared at the coins for a long time but couldn't see anything.

"That must have been a fluke. Again."

So Yan Xiu cast another reading.

Still, she saw nothing.

"Best of Five. Toss them three more times." Liu Mumu felt that her dignity as a fortune-teller had been sullied.

Yan Xiu sighed. Was she turning this into a competition?

He cast three more readings, driving the young woman into despair.

There was nothing. She couldn't see anything or sense anything. The reading didn't even show his fortune; the entire hexagram was a mess.

Yan Xiu stacked the coins one by one, then nudged them toward Liu Mumu with a finger. "Has no one told you that mystic masters' fates are hidden, and can't easily be read?"

"But I read yours before." Liu Mumu refused to accept it.

"Did it never occur to you that you might have read the wrong person? For example..."

Under Liu Mumu's furious glare, Yan Xiu silently swallowed Fang Chuan's name. Never mind.

"No! It was you!" Liu Mumu stormed out.

Watching the door close, Yan Xiu chuckled and sat back down. He'd never known that matchmaking could be forced on someone.

At eight thirty the next morning, Liu Mumu went downstairs to the hotel's buffet restaurant for breakfast, looking refreshed.

Having to wake up every two hours during the night hadn't been pleasant, but she'd still gotten at least seven hours of sleep.

After breakfast, she'd just returned to the Twelfth Floor when she saw Fang Chuan knocking on her door with someone beside him.

When she got closer, she realized the man was her father.

Dong Zhenghao had wrapped up his business the night before. After calling home and hearing that Liu Mumu hadn't been in touch with the family, he'd thought it over and decided to return early. He'd driven straight to the police station to ask about her situation.

He happened to run into Fang Chuan, who brought him over.

At first, Dong Zhenghao hadn't been very happy to hear that Liu Mumu was staying next door to one of Fang Chuan's colleagues. But he didn't show it. Instead, when he saw Liu Mumu, he pulled her aside and said quietly, "You're a young woman. How can you just stay in a hotel with a man?"

"We're not staying together." Though she kind of wanted to.

"That's still not okay. What if he takes advantage of you because you know each other?"

Dong Zhenghao was still talking when the door across the hall opened and Yan Xiu stepped out. His cool gaze swept over them, perfectly embodying the words handsome and refined, elegant and distinguished.

That kid was even more handsome than I was at his age.

Dong Zhenghao felt a little sour as he looked at Yan Xiu.

Yan Xiu's gaze swept over the few people gathered in the hallway before he gave Dong Zhenghao a slight nod.

Dong Zhenghao hurriedly smiled. "My Mumu can be a little thoughtless. Sorry for making you look after her."

"You're too kind."

Now that Dong Zhenghao had returned, Liu Mumu no longer needed the blood talisman. After she told Yan Xiu, he didn't press her for details. He simply gave her a freshly drawn talisman, just in case, then went downstairs with Fang Chuan to check out.

The father and daughter followed behind. Liu Mumu looked at the man ahead of them and said to Dong Zhenghao disdainfully, "You were worried he'd take advantage of me just now."

"I hadn't seen his face then. The young man looks pretty good. You didn't take advantage of him, did you?"

His eye for people was sharp. One glance was enough to tell him that Yan Xiu was a man of considerable means, with both an excellent bearing and handsome looks. Knowing Liu Mumu's habit of wanting her family to arrange a fiancé for her, he couldn't rule out the possibility that she'd acted on impulse and done something.

"Am I that kind of person?" Liu Mumu was displeased.

Dong Zhenghao stared at his daughter in surprise, his eyes asking, Aren't you?

The father and daughter looked at each other for a moment, then both turned away.

Blood relation was such a nuisance. Old Dong understood her far too well!

The father and daughter went home together. Jiang Li didn't ask anything, but when Dong Qi saw that Liu Mumu had only just come back, he crooked his mouth, ready to say something. His mother clapped a hand over his mouth.

A warm family of five.

Standing in the doorway, Dong Zhenghao ignored his younger son and sighed inwardly.

After that, Liu Mumu stopped paying attention to the Zhan family.

She only heard what happened later from Dong Zhenghao, when he told the story at the dinner table one day after coming home.

His eldest daughter had said she didn't like him coming home at midnight every day smelling of alcohol and disturbing everyone's sleep, so Dong Zhenghao had no choice but to work on changing his habits. He tried to get home on time every day after work, and even when he had business dinners, he made sure to be home before nine.

Before this, whenever he came home drunk, the whole family would be roused no matter what time it was. But ever since his mother passed away, his standing in the family had taken a nosedive. Even Jiang Li dared to threaten him with Liu Mumu.

A little after seven in the evening, the family sat around the dining table, eating in harmony.

After living together for nearly a month, Dong Qi had learned one thing: when his eldest sister was around, he should just keep his mouth shut. Whenever the two of them had a disagreement, even his father didn't dare take his side. Dong Qi had learned this after crying and throwing tantrums. It was an experience paid for in tears and blood.

The topic was brought up by Jiang Li. She had gone home today to visit her parents and had incidentally learned some news related to Jiang Jia.

She said to Dong Zhenghao, "I heard something happened to both of the Zhan family's children. Jiang Jia is feeling pretty pleased with herself, saying she might have a chance to reclaim all of Old Zhan's inheritance."

As she spoke, she glanced at Liu Mumu.

It had been Liu Mumu who said before that Jiang Jia was plagued by terrible luck. But now, it seemed she was about to turn things around?

After hearing the news, she felt a little regretful. She had been too impulsive back then and shouldn't have driven her away with such a hard-line attitude.

Dong Zhenghao let out a disdainful snort. "It won't be as easy as she thinks."

As if he had received some huge piece of news, he deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Something major happened today. I heard from Old Zhan's Deputy General Manager that several people went to their company with a lawyer, claiming they were there to take over the company. One of them had an agreement granting them the shares Zhan Hongye left behind before his death. It said that if none of the heirs remained, all his shares would belong to the other party."

"There's really such a thing? Is it true?" Jiang Li asked in surprise.

"It should be true. What's hard to understand is why he would sign an agreement like that."

The three children at the table were all quite interested in the topic. They had even stopped eating and were waiting for Dong Zhenghao to continue.

"What happened afterward?" Jiang Li asked eagerly.

"What happened next was even more interesting. You'd never guess." Dong Zhenghao left them hanging. "Everyone outside said that the Zhan family's eldest son had died in an accident. Who would've thought he would suddenly show up at the company? He was perfectly fine."

"Then those people wouldn't get anything, would they?"

"They really didn't get anything. They left with their tails between their legs." Dong Zhenghao took a sip of wine. "If I were Zhan Huitian, I'd sell the company shares for cash right now, so I wouldn't have to deal with trouble later."

"That's right. Whatever agreement Old Zhan left behind, it feels malicious no matter how you look at it."

Dong Zhenghao nodded. "Zhan Hongye built his fortune quickly back then. Everyone said someone was investing in him behind the scenes. I'm guessing this share-transfer agreement has something to do with those people who invested in him."

Later, Dong Zhenghao also made inquiries about the company Zhan Hongye had left behind. As he had expected, Zhan Huitian sold all the shares he had inherited, and no one knew where he had gone. After that, there was no further news of him.

As for the Zhan family's daughter, she never showed her face again from beginning to end.

No one knew whether she had truly met with an accident or had left with her brother.

As for the people who had come to take over the company, everyone watching the spectacle thought they had left with their tails between their legs. In reality, they had all been taken to the police station to assist with the investigation.

The police were very curious about how they had learned of Zhan Huitian's death. Each of them was held for the full twenty-four hours before being released.

Before they left, their identities had already been investigated thoroughly.

When people were anxious, they inevitably revealed some flaws. Even the wealthiest person would experience some emotional fluctuation when they were about to acquire several hundred million at a moment's notice.

One Ning Yuan might not have revealed anything, but with several people, there would always be one or two who could lead investigators to the threads behind them.

Fang Chuan worked quickly and investigated these people's backgrounds and past histories thoroughly.

However, aside from learning that these people had joined the Jing City branch of an overseas investment company, it was difficult to find any more useful information in their records.

He gave the files to Yan Xiu. In Yan Xiu's hands, the information took on a different significance.

For example, the lawyer they had brought with them, Lawyer He, was a leading attorney at one of the better-known law firms in Jing City. He usually handled affairs for certain families.

Traveling such a long way to handle business for an overseas investment company could also be considered conscientious.

Yan Xiu tapped Lawyer He's file and said to Fang Chuan, "I found it."

Fang Chuan leaned over to look. "He's represented Zhuo Yongqi in two lawsuits. What's suspicious about that?"

"Zhuo Yongqi's mother was a mystic. After marrying into the Zhuo family, she barely managed to bring the family into the mystic world."

Fang Chuan's expression turned serious. This was the only person whose connections involved the mystic world.

"After she passed away, the Zhuo family relied on marriage alliances and spent a great deal of money supporting retainers, barely remaining in that circle."

"Then were they the ones manipulating the Zhan family's affair from behind the scenes?"

Yan Xiu shook his head. "They aren't qualified. At most, they could serve as enforcers. There should be someone else behind them. It can only be one of those few families."

Fang Chuan was somewhat disappointed. "Looks like we can't touch them for now."

Too little evidence had been left behind in this case, and the other side had cleaned up remarkably well. Ning Yuan had committed every kind of evil, but because of the lack of evidence, he was ultimately only sent to a special prison instead of being sentenced directly to death.

Meanwhile, the major family manipulating everything from behind the scenes continued to enjoy their lofty lives.

"No rush. We've caught their tail. Are you still afraid they'll get away?" Yan Xiu looked out the window and spoke coldly.

This was only the beginning.