Chapter 47

On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, a cold front swept through, and snow began falling across most of northern China.

Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the remote town had one green-skinned train stop there on schedule every day. Few travelers ever got off at the town's station. Times had changed, and people had other ways to travel. Trains had gradually faded from their lives.

That day, when the train stopped, only two people got off at the station. One was a local, dressed in a thick black down jacket. The other was obviously from out of town, carrying a suitcase and wearing a gray trench coat. He looked elegant and refined—so much so that people couldn't help feeling cold on his behalf.

As the local uncle passed him, he couldn't resist glancing back. The young man was quite handsome, but he was dressed a little too lightly. In the north, dressing like that would guarantee a cold by nightfall.

After getting off the train, Yan Xiu received a warm welcome from the northern cold air. He stood still for a while to adjust before walking toward the station exit.

Outside the exit, a sturdy man in middle age was waiting for him. He was already showing signs of balding, though his build was quite robust.

When he saw Yan Xiu come out, the man extended his hand and introduced himself. "Hello, Mr. Yan. I'm Zhou Xing, captain of the Ning City's Special Case Division."

Ning City was very close to this small town. It was only a few hours away by train and ranked second in the province economically.

Zhou Xing's status was similar to Fang Chuan's. He was also in the middle of handling a case and was extremely busy, yet he had no choice but to appear here.

Two days earlier, headquarters had issued an order requiring him to assist Yan Xiu in visiting someone here.

"Hello, Captain Zhou." Yan Xiu shook his hand without bothering with pleasantries and asked directly, "Have you found the address?"

"Yes." The two walked out side by side as Zhou Xing continued, "I had people investigate the residents of five nearby villages. In the end, we found an old man who fit the description best. His name is Xu Jiunian. He has no children, and after his birthday this year, he'll be exactly eighty-four. He lives alone in Xiasan Village. Supposedly, he hasn't left the village in decades. The villagers look after him, and he's still in good health."

"Have your people contacted him?" Yan Xiu asked.

Zhou Xing shook his head. "You warned us, so my people didn't enter the village or approach him during the investigation. We only asked the village cadres in each place."

After hesitating, he finally couldn't hold back his question. "May I ask what this person actually does?"

"He's a Senior Gu Master who became famous many years ago."

"Wow, there's actually a big shot living in seclusion in our little corner of the world." Zhou Xing couldn't help sighing. Based on what he had learned from the Xiasan Village cadres, Xu Jiunian looked like an ordinary old man. If Yan Xiu hadn't been so certain, he would have suspected that he had identified the wrong person.

At the same time, Zhou Xing couldn't help feeling lingering fear. Fortunately, he had restrained his curiosity. If he had rashly gone to the man's door, who knew whether something might have crawled into his body?

The tempers of these old seniors were always strange. Keeping one's distance was the safest option.

"Exactly. Who would have thought?"

"Then shall we visit this Senior in Xiasan Village later?"

Yan Xiu shook his head. "No. Today isn't suitable for visiting. We'll go tomorrow."

Zhou Xing nodded. Those in their line of work paid attention to such things to some degree. Since Yan Xiu had said so, there must be a reason, and he wouldn't argue.

"All right. Let's get settled at the inn first. The conditions here aren't very good, so I hope you won't mind."

"I won't. Sorry for the trouble, Captain Zhou."

That night, Xiasan Village.

Snowy nights were always especially quiet. In the small village, after nine in the evening, the only sound to be heard was barking dogs.

The end of Xiasan Village connected to a stretch of mountains. There was only one household nearby: the Xu family. The Xu family had only one person. The village elders called him Old Xu Jiu, while the younger people called him Nine Lord.

Nine Lord's house had been built ten years earlier. Its walls were covered in white ceramic tiles and looked exceptionally clean. The courtyard was empty except for a large pile of firewood in the corner beside the gate, gathered by his neighbors.

Other households all raised chickens, ducks, or geese, but Nine Lord never kept any. Strangely, the village animals rarely came to the end of the village. Even the dogs that roamed freely would tuck their tails between their legs when passing Nine Lord's house.

Old people always went to bed early. It had only just turned nine when the lights in the Xu household went out.

On the heated brick bed inside, soft, clean bedding had been spread out. A bald old man with a short white beard was fast asleep. There were no curtains on the rear window, giving a clear view of the mountain behind the house.

Around midnight, four people came down from the rear mountain and headed straight for the Xu residence.

Their appearance caused no disturbance. They approached the rear window and pressed close to it, seeing the sleeping old man inside.

The leader made a hand signal. The people behind him silently circled around to the front door. The door was easily picked open without making a sound.

The four filed inside. But after they entered, the person who first pulled open the inner-room door suddenly stopped.

The others had no idea what was happening. They only heard the leader speak hoarsely. "Old Man Xu, sorry for the late-night visit."

The light inside the room wasn't particularly dim. At the very least, it was bright enough for them to see the man's face clearly.

Xu Jiunian sat on the heated brick bed with a cotton-padded coat draped over him. The sudden intruders hadn't startled him, even though they had woken him from sleep.

He rubbed his bald head and asked in a booming voice, "What do you want?"

The leader hesitated before answering cautiously, "We've come on behalf of our employer to purchase something from you."

"What?"

"The Longevity Gu."

"What is that? Never heard of it." The old man answered crisply.

The leader gave an awkward laugh. "You're joking, surely. If there is still a finished Longevity Gu in this world, it can probably only be in your hands."

If the Xu family hadn't been wiped out, the old man before them should now have been the head of the Xu family, a senior figure of immense importance in the metaphysical world. Unfortunately, he was nothing now.

The man's words were polite, but inwardly, he didn't think much of Xu Jiunian.

He was nothing but a dying old man. No matter how glorious he had once been, he had lost it all now.

Xu Jiunian was silent for a moment, then chuckled. "What's your employer's surname?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Tsk, tsk. You can't just sell something without knowing the buyer's name. Let me guess. Is it Yan, Qi, or Wang?"

The man didn't take the old man's abilities seriously. He maintained his smile. "Our employer said the Longevity Gu is precious. He is willing to buy it with the life of your old enemy. What do you think?"

"Oh? Did your employer really say that, or did you make it up on the spot? You're pretty skilled at picking locks. Did you often deceive old people for a living before this?"

The smile on the man's face faded. He had already understood Xu Jiunian's attitude. Clearly, the other party had no intention of negotiating.

"Looks like Old Man Xu doesn't want to discuss this deal."

"Sigh." Xu Jiunian sighed. "If I had a Longevity Gu, I would've used it myself long ago. Would I have waited for you to come looking?"

"After all, it was a Gu your family refined. There might be more than one."

"Sorry to disappoint you. There was only one, and it's already gone."

"I'm afraid your words won't satisfy my employer." The man lowered his eyes. "Why don't you come with us and meet my employer in person?"

As he spoke, he shifted slightly to the side. The three people behind him entered the room.

Xu Jiunian seemed to have no intention of resisting. He let the three men lift him up, all the while saying, "Hey, hey, why are you getting physical? Be gentle. Ouch, my old back!"

The man supporting his waist actually adjusted his grip obediently, making him a little more comfortable.

"You're squeezing my shoulder."

The man holding his shoulder immediately stopped applying force.

"My feet are cold, and you won't even let me put on socks. Are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated?"

The man holding his legs lowered them and went to find him some socks.

The only one who hadn't moved seemed to realize that something was wrong. He turned and tried to leave, but the old man spoke. "Why are you leaving? The New Year is almost here, and the house is empty of people. Come keep this old man company and have a chat."

The man stood there for a while before turning around. A smile still covered his face. It looked natural, but uncontrollable terror showed in his eyes.

Xu Jiunian was placed back on the heated brick bed. Someone even stayed at the foot of the bed to hold down his blankets, while two people stood guard at the door. The one who had done most of the talking remained inside to keep him company.

The old man seemed to feel a little chilly. He coughed and asked, "Which family are you from?"

"The Qi family." The man tried desperately to control himself, but the words came out against his will.

"Which branch?"

"The Second Branch."

"Ah, I'm old, and my memory isn't what it used to be. I only remember what a mess your Qi family is. The Main House stole the Second Branch's wife, and the two brothers fought at the wedding. That really happened, didn't it?" Xu Jiunian asked with great interest.

"You have a good memory, sir." Sweat had appeared on the man's forehead.

"Who does your employer want to use the Longevity Gu on?"

"The old master of the family."

"Oh, no wonder. Qi Changsheng is ninety this year, isn't he? He's about to die too." The man fell silent.

Xu Jiunian turned to look out the window. "He must have had a miserable time these past thirty years. Watching his body rot from the inside out must have been despairing. His name was poorly chosen. Why name him Changsheng? He spent every day dreaming of living forever.

"If his sons knew that I was the one who let their father live for thirty extra years, perhaps they'd come thank me in person today."

His voice gradually grew softer, and he had already fallen asleep.

In his dreams, he vaguely saw an old acquaintance who had not yet been old back then, coming to visit him under false pretenses and bringing ruin upon his entire family.

The four tall men who had originally stood on the floor collapsed silently.

Early the next morning, Zhou Xing drove Yan Xiu to Xiasan Village.

Standing before the Xu family's gate, Yan Xiu called out, "Senior Xu, your junior Yan Xiu has come to pay you a visit."

After about five minutes, the door opened. Xu Jiunian came out in his cotton-padded coat, yawning. Seeing Yan Xiu, he narrowed his eyes. "Oh, young man, you're quite handsome. Do you have a girlfriend?"

Yan Xiu smiled. "I'm still looking."

"Tsk, tsk. You should find one soon. Come in."

Yan Xiu and Zhou Xing walked through the gate. Yan Xiu's gaze swept past the corner of the house. Several indistinct footprints of varying sizes marked the snowless ground there.

Zhou Xing placed the fruits and seafood they had bought in the outer room, then went back outside. Yan Xiu followed the old man into the inner room.

After sitting down, Xu Jiunian brought him a cup of tea and drank from his own. "What have you come for? It's not time to wish me a happy New Year yet."

"I'm here on behalf of the Special Case Division to pay you a visit. The semi-finished Longevity Gu passed down from your family is currently in the division's possession."

"Oh." The old man didn't seem very interested.

"We mainly came to ask you to visit the capital. Research on the Longevity Gu can't do without—"

Before Yan Xiu could finish, Xu Jiunian waved his hand. "There's no need for formalities. Your surname is Yan, so you're from the Yan family. There are plenty of capable people in your family. You probably know that this old man's time is nearly up. So tell me, what do you really want to ask?"

Yan Xiu smiled and took a sip of tea. "Some of my elders were curious, so they specially sent me to ask: has someone already used your family's Longevity Gu?"

"Hahaha, isn't that obvious? After expending so much effort to research something, of course it was meant to be used on someone. Was it supposed to stay at home and hatch eggs? There are always fools who think they'll be struck by a lucky break. They're all dreaming."

"More than thirty years ago, I heard that you auctioned off a batch of antiques?" Yan Xiu asked suddenly.

The smile on Xu Jiunian's face faded, and a trace of viciousness appeared in his eyes. "You're a clever child."

"You're too kind. There should be quite a few people who thought the same as I did."

Back then, when news spread that the Xu family had refined the Longevity Gu, everyone had kept their eyes on them.

In the end, the Xu family was wiped out, and everyone believed the Longevity Gu was with Xu Jiunian. But he was about to die.

It wasn't difficult for a Gu Master to live a little longer. Living into one's eighties or nineties was perfectly normal. If the Longevity Gu developed by the Xu family could only let Xu Jiunian reach eighty-four, it would be a joke.

The Longevity Gu probably wasn't on him. That meant it had secretly been sent away back then, most likely through the batch of antiques that had been auctioned.

Xu Jiunian withdrew his gaze and smiled. "It doesn't matter. Let them search. Once I close my eyes, I won't have to concern myself with anyone else's life or death."

He seemed to be implying something, but Yan Xiu didn't ask further.

The purpose of today's visit had been accomplished. As for the Longevity Gu's whereabouts, headquarters would search if it wanted to. It had nothing to do with him.

Xu Jiunian chatted with Yan Xiu all morning and even invited him to stay for lunch.

Yan Xiu drank two glasses of wine with him. When the old man became a little drunk, he took the opportunity to say goodbye.

Xu Jiunian lay on the heated brick bed and waved at him. "Young man, see you again if there's a chance."

Yan Xiu paused, a smile at the corners of his lips. "It's better not to meet again too easily."

Xu Jiunian burst out laughing. The next time they met would be after death. He wondered whether the dead could truly see those old acquaintances who had gone down before them.

Zhou Xing had remained outside the whole time. He had eaten instant noodles bought from the village shop for lunch. When Yan Xiu finally came out, he couldn't help sighing in relief.

"Mr. Yan, did everything go smoothly?"

"Smoothly. Captain Zhou, you'd better have people keep watch nearby for the next few days. Don't approach."

"All right."

On the morning of the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Yan Xiu had just arrived in the capital by plane when he received a call from Zhou Xing.

The usually capable and astute captain's voice sounded dazed. "Mr. Yan, that Senior passed away last night. We found four people in the cellar in his backyard. One is dead, and the other three are still breathing..."

Yan Xiu paused. "Report it through the normal channels."

"All right."

Captain Zhou looked at the four men being carried out. It was still uncertain whether the remaining three could be saved.

Four strong men had gone up against a dying old man, only to all end up in a cellar. The old man had been extraordinarily ruthless.

The old man had probably prepared his own funeral long ago. When they entered, they hadn't found any Gu worms. He had lain on the heated brick bed in a shroud, and had even had his black-and-white portrait taken in advance.

The villagers arranged the old man's funeral, and the graveyard had been chosen long ago. He was buried before the New Year. Since it was a joyous funeral, and although the old man had no relatives, the neighbors were all very enthusiastic. The ceremony was lively enough.

Zhou Xing only told Yan Xiu after everything was over.

On the day Xu Jiunian died, the head of the Qi family, who had been bedridden for thirty years, finally breathed his last as well.

It was said that the Qi family head had been in poor health when he was young, so he had changed his name to Changsheng. Everyone had assumed he would die young, but no one had expected him to drag things out until he reached ninety, outliving most people.

Yet everyone who had seen him felt that living like that was truly worse than death.

It was said that when the Qi family went to collect the body, they found it horribly disfigured, and the stench could be smelled from far away.

Strange things happened every day in the capital. The Qi family head had been out of the public eye for thirty years, and no one cared about his life or death. They merely mentioned it in passing at gatherings.

The only pity was that the Qi family would have to mourn as a whole this year and might be unable to hold its New Year's banquet.

The banquets held by the Qi Family's Main House in previous years had always been worth anticipating.

On New Year's Eve, the Yan family's old residence was bustling with activity. There were five siblings in the older generation of the Yan family, along with more than ten members of the younger generation, and they were all spending the New Year at the old residence.

Yan Xiu played cards for a while with his father and two uncles. Fireworks had already begun exploding outside.

He glanced at the time. It was eleven fifty.

"Xiaoxiu keeps looking at his phone. Is he waiting for someone's call?" Yan Xiu's third uncle asked with a knowing smile.

Yan Xiu froze for a moment, then laughed. "I'm not waiting for a call."

"Your younger brother is already married. When are you going to bring a girlfriend home for us to meet?" His second uncle patted his nephew's shoulder.

"He's picky. I took a fancy to a girl from the Gu Family recently and wanted him to meet her, but she rejected him outright." Yan Xiu's mother passed behind him and complained with mild displeasure.

No matter what kind of family it was, the eternal topic during the New Year was always marriage.

The elders gathered together to urge him to marry. Yan Xiu merely smiled and listened, refusing to give them the slightest extra reaction. No one could see through his thoughts.

When midnight arrived, a jumble of phone notifications rang without pause. Only Yan Xiu's phone rang with a video-call tone.

The attention of the entire family was drawn over.

Under the curious gazes of his parents, elders, younger brother, and younger sister, Yan Xiu walked outside with his phone.

The instant the door closed, the entire family wished they could press their ears against it to hear whom he was video-calling and what they were saying. Only Yan Ling sat firmly on the sofa, hiding her contribution with perfect calm.

"Happy New Year~" Liu Mumu's rosy little face appeared on the screen. She was wearing a thick down jacket, and the background showed that she was outdoors. Fireworks kept exploding behind her.

"Happy New Year."

"Am I the first person to wish you a happy New Year?" Liu Mumu suddenly leaned close to the screen and asked in a tiny voice, "Is there a really big red envelope as a reward?"

"There is. I'll give it to you when I get back." Yan Xiu chuckled.

Ah, his smile is so handsome. Liu Mumu couldn't help regretting inwardly. I really want to tie him to my side and spend the New Year with him. Then I could collect lots of red envelopes and become rich overnight!

She was grinning foolishly at her phone when she suddenly heard Dong Yue call for her to settle things: "Sis, Dong Qi stole my Fairy wand!"

Liu Mumu's expression changed instantly. She turned toward the people in the yard and shouted, "Dong Qi, let go of that Fairy wand! Are you a fairy? What are you doing playing with it?"

After being thoroughly beaten down by society, Dong Qi had finally learned how to say things people liked to hear. "I'm the fairy's little brother. What's wrong with me playing with a few Fairy wands?"

He sounded particularly self-righteous.

Liu Mumu was instantly convinced.

As Liu Mumu turned around, about to say something, the door behind Yan Xiu suddenly opened. A whole crowd came tumbling out, unable to stop themselves, with a few people still sprawled on the ground.

The scene was unbearably awkward.

"Haha, haha, bro, we were just passing by. Just passing by. Sorry to interrupt. Carry on."

Yan Xiu's cousin waved awkwardly at him, revealing the wedding ring on his hand. Even after getting married, the man hadn't become much more mature.

Yan Xiu let out a quiet breath and said to Liu Mumu, "See you after the New Year." Then he ended the video call.

What happened on the other end of the video call was too awful to imagine.

Anyway, the next morning, his cousin was carried out of the old house by his own father, who looked at him with utter disgust, as if he were a pig's leg.

Their first New Year at the Dong family's home was fairly lively.

Old Dong raised his glass and delivered an impassioned New Year's speech, while several of the kids had already polished off the juice in their glasses.

By the time he finally finished and was about to raise his glass, only three empty glasses remained, still waiting to be filled. Dong Yue was holding the juice bottle and staring blankly at her father.

It was a time for bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new one. He shouldn't get angry.

Old Dong tried to comfort himself for a long while, but he still felt terribly aggrieved. He'd had a terrible year! He didn't want to look forward to the new one at all.

In the end, Jiang Li clinked glasses with him, successfully saving the Head of the family's face.

The family ate and drank their fill amid cheerful chatter. The Dong family didn't have a custom of staying up to see in the New Year, so everyone washed up and went to bed.

A little after three in the morning, Liu Mumu suddenly heard an ambulance.

At first, she thought she was dreaming. But the sound grew louder and louder, almost as if her hearing had brought it right to her front door.

She climbed out of bed, opened the door, and went outside.

She wasn't the only one in the house who'd been woken. Dong Zhenghao glanced at his two bleary-eyed daughters, put on his coat, and went out.

Before long, he came back inside, bringing a chill with him.

"Did something happen to someone?" Jiang Li asked.

"The neighbors called an ambulance. It seems Zhang's daughter-in-law had an accident—she nearly miscarried. They took her to the hospital to try to save the pregnancy."

Dong Zhenghao shook his head. What a mess. Couldn't that family keep the peace, especially during the New Year?

"All right, nothing for us to do. Go back to bed." He sent Liu Mumu and Dong Yue back to their rooms, then turned off the light and went back to sleep.

Tsk. He'd just been having a lovely dream, and now it had been interrupted before the ending. He'd have to go back and dream up the next part.

The accident at the Zhang family's house next door didn't dampen everyone's New Year cheer. But every so often, Liu Mumu saw Zhang Shijing return home from the hospital looking exhausted, only to grab something and hurry back to the hospital again.

As for Old Mrs. Zhang and Zhang Yang, they stayed home. Old Mrs. Zhang seemed to have reined in her temper, though. She no longer yelled and cursed all day long. Liu Mumu thought it might be because the curse had been removed, so she wasn't as irritable.

On the fifth day of the New Year, Liu Mumu went to the supermarket to buy ice cream. She happened to run into Zhang Shijing on his way out. After greeting him, she casually asked, "Uncle Zhang, how's Aunt Lü doing?"

Zhang Shijing forced a smile. "She'll be discharged soon."

The ambulance called in the middle of New Year's Eve had made the whole neighborhood aware of what had happened at his house. Zhang Shijing had no real desire to hide it, and besides, Liu Mumu was only asking casually, with no ulterior motive, so he answered.

Liu Mumu thought that if Lü Yao was about to be discharged, things must be all right. Who knew that what happened next would leave everyone dumbfounded?

Lü Yao didn't leave the hospital until the seventh day of the New Year. The first thing she did after returning to the Zhang family's home was call the police. She said her stepson had pushed her down on purpose, trying to make her miscarry.

Old Mrs. Zhang naturally stood up for her grandson, and Zhang Shijing sided with his mother, too. No matter how good he was to his wife, Zhang Yang was still his biological son. He tried to persuade Lü Yao to change her story, but this time, the usually gentle Lü Yao seemed like a different person. She wouldn't listen to him at all.

Lü Yao filed a report and produced the hospital's examination results. The police had no choice but to take Zhang Yang in for questioning. But the Zhang family had no security cameras, and the other two people in the house both said Lü Yao had fallen by herself and that Zhang Yang had nothing to do with it.

After investigating for a day, the police still had no evidence. Zhang Yang kept insisting that he was innocent, so he was released the next day.

The whole family had been put through the wringer. The police had come and gone twice, and the Zhang family had become the focus of the entire neighborhood. Everyone was watching the drama unfold.

The Dong family next door hadn't missed any of it, of course. Thanks to Jiang Li and Zhang Xueqi's relationship, they'd even gotten the inside scoop.

In short, according to Zhang Xueqi, her sister-in-law had lost her mind.

But the Zhang family's troubles weren't over, as they'd expected. On the very day Zhang Yang was released, Lü Yao reported the matter to the police again. This time, it wasn't so easy to resolve. She said Zhang Yang had switched her medication: the bottle she'd filled with folic acid tablets had been replaced with something else.

The police took the bottle that was supposed to contain folic acid for testing, and took Zhang Yang in for questioning again.

This time, Zhang Yang wasn't released.

The police found that the bottle did not contain folic acid. Though the tablets looked almost exactly like the original folic acid pills, their ingredients were completely different.

The result was shocking: the bottle contained "fertility pills."

Fertility pills had once been all the rage. Many people had taken them, whether willingly or not. Even after it was proven that they could only cause birth defects, some people still refused to believe it.

During the first three months of her pregnancy, Lü Yao had needed folic acid supplements. She had taken the pills for three whole months.

The situation quickly spiraled out of control. The police then found Zhang Yang's fingerprints on the bottle, proving that he had indeed tampered with Lü Yao's folic acid.

And according to Lü Yao's statement, she had a terrible relationship with her stepson. He never went into her room, and she kept the bottle on her bedside table. The chance that he'd touched it by accident was zero.

At the Zhang family's home.

Zhang Shijing had thought he'd be able to spend a peaceful New Year at home, but now he looked utterly exhausted. He'd spent the holiday at the hospital with his wife. At last, she'd come home, and now he had to run to the police station every day because of his son.

He couldn't understand how everything had been fine, only to suddenly turn out like this.

Looking at his wife across from him, Zhang Shijing broached the subject gently. "Yaoyao, maybe there's been some misunderstanding. You've lived with Yangyang for years. He may not be able to accept you, but he'd never deliberately hurt you."

Lü Yao looked up, her eyes reddened. "When you say he'd never deliberately hurt me, do you mean that during the New Year he only pushed me down, instead of pushing me while I was going downstairs?"

Zhang Shijing fell silent. He'd seen his son push his wife down with his own eyes. That was why he'd felt so guilty.

Old Mrs. Zhang's face was taut. After hearing them talk, she glared viciously at Lü Yao, then said to Zhang Shijing, "Look at the jinx you married. She can't even let us enjoy the New Year, and now she's trying to hurt my grandson. What's the point of talking to her? Tomorrow, you two are getting divorced!"

"Mom!" Zhang Shijing looked helpless.

"Fine. Then let's get divorced," Lü Yao said, as if she'd suddenly come to a decision.

She looked calmly at Zhang Shijing. "I thought that if I kept swallowing my grievances, we could make our life work. But I was only fooling myself. We probably can't live together anymore. So let's get divorced."

Zhang Shijing opened his mouth. He was still quite happy with his wife and didn't want a divorce.

But Lü Yao was right. They couldn't go on living together.

Once she'd insisted on calling the police and sent his son to the station, there was no way they could stay together.