The One Who Swapped Fates

Before long, the container was full, and the room was permeated with a nauseating stench of blood.

The Taoist casually tossed aside his wife's heart, picked up two straw dolls, and pressed them directly into the blood. Written inside the dolls were the birth dates and eight characters of Chen Jun's son and Chu Xuan, respectively representing the two children.

That was right. The method of defying fate the Taoist had mentioned was to swap their destinies. Since his child was fated to die young, he would give him a destiny of longevity and health instead. The first person Chen Jun thought of was Chu Xuan.

He had fantasized countless times about what it would be like if he were Father Chu. He had never expected such an opportunity to fall into his son's hands.

That was fine too. Father Chu had stolen the life of luxury that should have been his, so the father's debt would be repaid by his son. Chu Xuan could have a taste of his son's suffering!

The Taoist instructed him, "Bring me everything I told you to prepare."

Chen Jun came back to his senses and took a document pouch from his bag. Inside were samples of Chu Xuan's hair, nails, clothing worn close to his body, and even his blood.

Father Chu trusted him greatly, and Chen Jun handled many aspects of his daily affairs, so obtaining those things had been incredibly easy.

The Taoist took them and did something unknown. The two dolls suddenly began burning fiercely. Chen Jun thought the fate swap had failed and charged forward with a howl, trying to put out the fire. Yet after he rushed through the curtain of flames, the two dolls were sitting intact on the altar, staring expressionlessly at the man before them.

The Taoist said, "It is done. My spell has been cast. Within three days, your son will recover his health."

Everything had happened too quickly, and Chen Jun still felt as though he were dreaming. But the Taoist had not deceived him. From then on, his son became healthy and intelligent, even more outstanding than children his age.

In contrast, Chu Xuan's condition worsened by the day. Watching Father Chu and Fu Siwen run themselves ragged with worry, Chen Jun would voice a few concerned words on the surface, but inwardly, he wished Chu Xuan would simply die of his illness.

He just had not expected Chu Xuan to pull through. His body had merely become extremely frail afterward.

Moreover, through Chen Jun's observations, he discovered that the two children's conditions rose and fell in opposition. Whenever the Chu Family performed some ritual and Chu Xuan's condition improved, his own son would suffer some minor ache or illness.

To ensure his son could rest easy for the rest of his life, Chen Jun sought out the Taoist again when Chu Xuan was six.

This time, he offered up his own mother, hoping only to strengthen the spell's effects and make Chu Xuan die immediately. Only by fulfilling the destiny of dying young could his son fully make use of Chu Xuan's fate.

People said the first time was unfamiliar and the second time came naturally, and this was no exception. Watching his mother die horribly before his eyes, Chen Jun merely calmly wiped the blood she had splashed onto his face.

Everything had gone smoothly, yet it still ended in failure.

Perhaps the Chu Family's ancestors were protecting him. Fu Siwen had actually encountered a truly powerful master then. The protective talisman he gave Chu Xuan blocked this calamity for him. Although Chu Xuan had never been able to leave the villa afterward, at least he was still alive.

Chen Jun had truly broken down at the time. He had even wanted to rush into the Chu Family ancestral hall and question those memorial tablets—why, when they were both descendants of the Chu Family, did no one protect him?

The story did not end there. Chen Jun was still waiting for another opportunity. So long as Chu Xuan did not die, he would not stop.

Though the banquet hall was bustling with people, the hairs on Su Minghui's arms stood on end. Chen Jun looked so refined and genteel, yet he had murdered both his wife and mother!

I found the person, but how am I supposed to tell Mom and the others?

Su Leyun bit his finger as he thought. Before long, drowsiness struck, and he drifted off in a haze.

This body was still too young. Every time he used his ability, it left him feeling drained, and he could only recover through sleep.

Seeing that he had fallen asleep, Su Minghui pulled Fu Siwen directly into a secluded corner. After making sure no one else was nearby, she asked, "Do you believe me?"

Fu Siwen did not hesitate in the slightest and answered firmly, "I do."

"Then listen. I'm going to tell you something. I can guarantee that it's true, but I can't tell you how I found out, so don't ask me about it, all right?"

Su Minghui's expression was so serious that Fu Siwen grew nervous as well. "What is it?"

Su Minghui lowered her voice. "Didn't that master say someone had swapped Chu Xuan's fate? I know who did it to Xuanxuan."

Fu Siwen was horrified and pressed her, "Who was it?"

"Chen Jun, your husband's special assistant."

"How could it be him?!"

Su Minghui roughly recounted what she had heard from Su Leyun, then continued, "You can have your husband investigate. Everything leaves traces behind. There will always be some clues to uncover."

"I believe you. I just..." Fu Siwen closed her eyes. "I'm too shocked. Assistant Chen has always been diligent and conscientious. He got along very well with my husband, and he even took a bullet for him. I can't believe someone like that would harm Xuanxuan."

That had been shortly after Chen Jun joined the company. He had gone abroad on a business trip with Father Chu, only to encounter a local gang shootout. At the critical moment, Chen Jun shielded Father Chu with his own body and was shot in the shoulder, nearly dying in a foreign land.

Because of that incident, Father Chu trusted Chen Jun even more. He treated him not only as his right-hand man in the company, but also as a friend in life.

Su Minghui was filled with complicated emotions as well. She did not press Fu Siwen too hard, merely patting her shoulder in support. However, Fu Siwen accepted it far more quickly than she had expected.

Though she found it hard to believe, this concerned Chu Xuan's life after all. Fu Siwen did not dare delay and hurried to find Father Chu to discuss a response.

After hearing her out, Father Chu looked up at Chen Jun, who was chatting and laughing with the company shareholders not far away. He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking in a hoarse voice. "Don't worry. I'll have someone investigate. I will never let anyone threaten Xuanxuan's safety."

Seeing that they both took the matter seriously, Su Minghui was finally relieved. Fu Siwen still looked grave, though. She was probably still unable to recover from the revelation about Assistant Chen.

Su Minghui was just about to say something to comfort her when she suddenly saw a group of familiar faces approaching.

They were the two women's university classmates. They had not seen one another in a long time, and had finally gathered again thanks to the Chu Family's dinner banquet.

The women came over warmly to greet them. "Minghui, Siwen, it's been so long!"

Su Leyun was awakened by the noise. He opened his eyes groggily, only to discover that he had been surrounded by a group of women.

"So this is today's little star. He's absolutely adorable."

"Exactly! Even someone like me, who doesn't like children, has been completely won over."

"Come here, let Auntie hold you. Auntie was very close with your mother back in university!"

The women chattered away in greeting. Fu Siwen quickly cast aside her bad mood, and just as everyone was happily chatting, an unwelcome guest suddenly cut in.