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At that thought, Gu Jiuque suddenly felt that something was off—

If the fire in this life had been caused by Bai Yuesheng "accidentally," then how had the fire in his previous life started?

Thinking of the blaze that had indirectly destroyed the Gu family and killed its members, Gu Jiuque's expression swiftly darkened.

Unlike after his rebirth, when he had immediately inspected the entire residence for fire hazards and promptly hired someone to investigate the cause after the fire, Gu Jiuque in his previous life had been seriously injured and fallen unconscious in the blaze. Then he had lost his parents and family in its aftermath. By the time he woke up in the hospital three months later, every trace of the fire had long been destroyed.

No one had investigated the cause of the fire at the Gu Family Ancestral Residence. And with his disability, disfigurement, and aphasia, Gu Jiuque's only obsession had been restoring the Gu Family Ancestral Residence and reviving Antique Appreciation Studio. He had blamed himself for everything and had never thought to pursue the cause of that fire.

It was only after his rebirth that Gu Jiuque unexpectedly discovered how fixated Bai Yuesheng was on the Jade Celestial Pivot. He had even pretended to be drunk and remained in the burning west wing, waiting for Gu Jiuque to save him. That series of actions sent a chill down Gu Jiuque's spine.

If not for the Jade Celestial Pivot's warning, Gu Jiuque would never have imagined that Bai Yuesheng had been faking his drunkenness in the raging fire. He could fake it in this life—what about the previous one?

How exactly had the fire at the Gu family started? Had everything he suffered been arranged by the plot, or was it a disaster someone had deliberately engineered?

Was Bai Yuesheng truly as innocent and blameless as the book had portrayed him?

Chapter 7

Given a second life, Gu Jiuque suddenly realized that Bai Yuesheng, the harem-protagonist who appeared pure, kind-hearted, and extraordinarily lucky, was probably not as innocent and blameless as the book had made him out to be.

But if Bai Yuesheng had truly set fire to the Gu family residence in order to seize the Jade Celestial Pivot, when and through what channel had he learned of its secret—a secret even the Gu family themselves had not known?

Gu Jiuque thought again of the Jade Celestial Pivot, which had vanished after burrowing into his brow.

Fortunately, when Gu Residence caught fire this time, the Jade Celestial Pivot had given him a timely warning, allowing Gu Jiuque to avoid the regrets of his previous life. The various miraculous abilities it had displayed had also amazed him beyond measure. Whether it was the restoration skill that could be practiced repeatedly ten thousand times over, or the naked-eye X-ray vision and 3D structural diagram that had appeared out of thin air during the firefighting, none of these functions had existed in the book.

Gu Jiuque clearly remembered that the book he had seen before his death had repeatedly mentioned that the Jade Celestial Pivot, which Bai Yuesheng had snatched away from him, possessed only one ability: its owner's palm would heat up upon touching an antique. The older the item, the more heat their palm would radiate. The principle behind this ability was probably similar to thermoluminescence, except the sensory effect was the opposite, and its results were comparatively simple. It could not be used for specific appraisal or dating.

Whenever Bai Yuesheng identified an antique, he would also feel noticeably drained. In serious cases, he would even faint on the spot. And after successfully picking up a bargain, he would encounter a string of dangerous incidents. Fortunately, he had many admirers. Under their united protection, Bai Yuesheng was able to turn danger into safety every time and gain even greater benefits.

Gu Jiuque had originally thought the same would happen to him. Yet with the Jade Celestial Pivot's help, he had repeatedly practiced the steps of calligraphy and painting restoration tens of thousands of times. During the firefighting, he had personally "seen" the west wing's X-ray view and 3D structural diagram. Logically, he should have expended more energy than Bai Yuesheng, but from beginning to end, Gu Jiuque had not felt the slightest physical discomfort.

Just as he was deep in thought, Grandpa Gu asked curiously, "By the way, where's the Jade Celestial Pivot?"

Prompted by Gu Jiuque, the Gu family members were shocked to discover that the Jade Celestial Pivot, which had been hanging around Gu Jiuque's neck, had disappeared.

Gu Jiuque abruptly came back to himself. After thinking for a moment, he got up and walked to the door.

The night air was slightly cool, cicadas chirped in waves, and a bright moon hung quietly above the treetops. Silver moonlight illuminated everything in front of and behind the house. The flowering trees cast deep shadows, and there was no one in sight.

Gu Jiuque returned to the room and told his family every secret of the Jade Celestial Pivot without holding anything back.

The Jade Celestial Pivot had originally been a Gu family heirloom. If, in his previous life, the Gu family had truly been plotted against because of it and ultimately met the fate of having their family destroyed and their loved ones killed, then in this life, they should at least know why they had fallen into someone else's scheme.

Whenever he thought of Bai Yuesheng, who had not only set fire to a house to seize the Jade Celestial Pivot but had even dared to use himself as bait, Gu Jiuque felt a cold shiver run through him. Given another life, he would no longer believe Bai Yuesheng's glib tongue, nor did he want his family to fall into Bai Yuesheng's schemes without any preparation.

The Gu family looked at one another, unsure what to say.

After a long silence, Father Gu said hesitantly, "Son, have you been too tired lately? Or under too much mental stress?"

A family heirloom jade could recognize its master through blood, then burrow into their brow and awaken all sorts of supernatural powers? How could something so fantastical possibly happen in reality? Father Gu could not help complaining, "Have you been reading too many webnovels?"

Grandpa Gu looked at the narrow wound on Gu Jiuque's forearm, which had yet to heal. "So you cut this yourself with a utility knife?"

He had originally assumed Gu Jiuque had been cut by broken glass while saving Bai Yuesheng.

Gu Jiuque nodded.

Grandma Gu scolded him anxiously, "How could you be so ruthless with yourself? You're not a surgeon. What if you didn't know your own strength and injured a tendon? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Lu Xunmei also held Gu Jiuque's wrist with an expression full of distress. "Grandpa and Grandma are right. How could you be this naughty? If you really wanted to use blood to recognize a master, couldn't you just use a syringe to draw a tube of blood and smear it on? You had to cut your own arm with a utility knife... Didn't it hurt?"

Gu Jiuque: "..."

Gu Jiuque had never imagined that this would be his family's reaction after he told them the Jade Celestial Pivot's secret. They had not immediately focused on its miraculous powers, nor had they cared about Bai Yuesheng's plot. Instead, they had all gathered around Gu Jiuque and asked whether he was in pain, simply because he had chosen to cut his arm with a utility knife when offering blood.

The feeling of being cherished and cared for so deeply left Gu Jiuque somewhat dazed.

He sat quietly among his family and said softly, "It didn't hurt at all."