The Fate Reversal

"You can rest assured!" Su Minghui said with complete confidence, casting a profound look at Su Leyun. "This master has an impressive background. I'm certain his method will work!"

Seeing Su Minghui's certainty, Fu Siwen finally made up her mind. "All right, we'll do as you say."

Not only because Su Leyun was Chu Xuan's benefactor, but also because she believed Su Minghui would never joke about her son's life. Since she was truly confident, she must have made thorough preparations.

Over the next few days, everyone in the Chu Family prepared for the ritual.

The items Su Leyun required were not easy to find. Fortunately, the Chu Family had money. As the saying went, a rich reward would always bring forth brave souls. The same applied to these ritual implements. After rushing everywhere, they finally gathered everything before the date Su Leyun had calculated.

As for the items related to Chen Jun's son, just as Chen Jun had easily obtained Chu Xuan's personal belongings, Father Chu acquired them without any effort.

The Chu Family had a vacation villa in the southeastern suburbs of the Imperial Capital. It happened to meet the requirement of being backed by mountains and facing water, so the ritual was set to take place in the villa's courtyard.

That afternoon, the group drove to the villa.

The staff had already arranged the altar table as instructed, with all the necessary items neatly laid out upon it. Strings threaded with copper coins hung all around, enclosing the entire altar.

Su Leyun was somewhat surprised when he saw it.

When did Mom find such a capable helper? Their ideas were actually exactly the same as Lord Bai Ze's. What an honor for him!

But can Mom really handle this herself?

Even if she can't, it's fine. Don't worry, Mom. I'm your strongest support!

Su Minghui felt more reassured. Judging by Su Leyun's reaction, everything they had prepared met the requirements.

As everyone waited anxiously, midnight finally arrived. The moon hung high in the sky, shining so brightly that the ground looked like daylight.

The villa's servants had been given the night off after setting up the altar. In the enormous villa, there were only the three adults and two children that night.

Although Su Minghui had repeatedly reviewed her notes over the past few days and memorized every step Su Leyun had described, she still felt nervous when it came time to actually perform the ritual.

She walked over to Chu Xuan, took Su Leyun's hand, and placed it in his. "Xuanxuan, Lele is still little, so he'll definitely be scared. Can you hold Lele's hand and help me protect him?"

Chu Xuan looked completely serious. He immediately enclosed Su Leyun's tiny hand between both of his own. "Don't worry, Auntie. I'll definitely protect little brother Lele!"

Su Minghui smiled. This was also one of the steps in Su Leyun's method. His body seemed to be the most important ritual implement in the formation. As long as Chu Xuan held his hand, the exchange of their fates could be completed through Su Leyun as the medium.

Su Minghui returned to the altar, nervously swallowing before turning to look at the others behind her. Everyone encouraged her. She closed her eyes to calm herself, and when she opened them again, the panic in her gaze had vanished.

She grabbed a handful of aged glutinous rice and drew a circle on the ground, enclosing two tightly bound roosters within it. Then, one by one, she tossed the prepared peach branches, cinnabar, Chen Jun's son's birth details, and the rest into the fire. The flames in the brazier burned fiercely, bathing everyone's faces in red light.

When she finished, a breeze had already risen. Su Minghui picked up a bronze bell, raised it above her head, and gently shook it.

The instant the bronze bell rang, the sky and earth darkened. Violent winds sprang up around them, making the leaves tremble with a tremendous roar. The ritual implements they had prepared floated into the air, glowing red. The two roosters in the formation stretched out their necks and crowed loudly, their cries exceptionally shrill.

The couple held the children tightly in their arms, their eyes squeezed shut as they prayed that everything would go smoothly. Chu Xuan had been somewhat frightened at first, but when he saw Su Leyun gripping his hand tightly and remaining so calm, nothing seemed so scary anymore.

Su Leyun closed his eyes as well, drawing upon the spiritual power throughout his body. All the black energy on Chu Xuan flowed into Su Leyun's body. As Su Leyun frowned, a massive cloud of black mist fled from his body, howling as it shot into the distance.

Su Leyun's head tilted to one side, and he fell asleep immediately. Yet the spiritual power around him continued to leak uncontrollably. To the others, it appeared to be a heavenly phenomenon.

The scene lasted for about a minute. Then the wind died down, and the floating ritual implements seemed to lose their power, clattering to the ground. The clouds dispersed, moonlight poured down once more, and everything between heaven and earth became clear and bright.

Fu Siwen and Father Chu exchanged glances before asking in confusion, "That's it?"

Compared to the suffering their son had endured, a ritual lasting only a few minutes seemed far too simple.

Although Su Minghui knew nothing about such matters, she had an inexplicable feeling at that moment. She nodded. "Yes, it's all over. Xuanxuan will be fine from now on."

Fu Siwen hurriedly lowered her head and looked Chu Xuan over from every angle, while Father Chu anxiously asked, "Xuanxuan, do you feel anything?"

Chu Xuan clenched his fist and nodded. "I feel great right now."

Ever since just now, he had felt a warmth between his brows, and his entire body was filled with strength. It was as though something he had lost long ago had finally returned to his hands, making up for the emptiness he had always felt and leaving him more whole than ever before.

Fu Siwen leaned against Father Chu's chest. The couple's eyes stung with emotion. Chu Xuan's health had hung over their family like dark clouds for nearly ten years. Today, they had finally seen the clouds part and the moon emerge. They would never again have to worry about their son leaving them at any moment.

Feeling his hand still tightly held by another small hand, Chu Xuan leaned over for a look and asked in confusion, "Lele seems to have fallen asleep."

Strange. He had clearly been so energetic just a moment ago.

And with all that commotion, even he, the older brother, had been too scared to look. Yet Lele had been able to sleep peacefully. His little brother was really brave!

Su Minghui walked over and took Su Leyun from Fu Siwen's arms. Sure enough, his eyes were tightly shut, and he had already fallen asleep, though his hand still refused to let go of Chu Xuan's.

Su Minghui simply assumed he was tired. "He usually goes to bed very early. At this hour, he's already staying up late."

Fu Siwen said, "It's not far from here to our home. Why don't you just come back with us?"

The villa had everything they needed, but Chu Yanxiao was still home alone, and none of them could stop worrying about him.

Looking at the sleeping Su Leyun in her arms, Su Minghui readily agreed. "All right."

Ever since Zheng Xiuru had moved in, she would make eyes at Zhou Guomin whenever she found the chance. Su Minghui saw it all but had to pretend she did not. Staying at the Chu Family home would be much more relaxing.