Xi Yu pondered for a moment. “What connection is there between the Shen and Liu families?”
After things had gotten to this point, Shen Linchuan had still ended up marrying Liu Tanghuan.
From what Lu Zhixing had told him, Xi Yu felt that Shen Linchuan might not even like Liu Tanghuan that much.
If he really liked her, Shen Linchuan could have suppressed Liu Tanghuan’s negative news from the very beginning. At most, it would have spread within a small circle; it would never have become known to everyone.
He had shown no intention of protecting Liu Tanghuan at all.
………………………
But if he didn’t like her, he had never brought up breaking off the engagement either.
Even though the marriage had been arranged long ago, given Liu Tanghuan’s behavior, breaking off the engagement would have been completely reasonable.
Shen Linchuan had watched everything Liu Tanghuan did with cold indifference, yet he had continued supporting the Liu family.
Lu Zhixing lowered his eyes and saw Xi Yu’s dangling foot.
Perhaps his legs had gone a little numb from sitting cross-legged for so long. Xi Yu lowered his foot onto the carpet and swung it back and forth idly.
His skin was pale and fair, with faint blue-green veins showing beneath it. A small bone protruded from his slender ankle, tinged with a hint of pink.
Lu Zhixing’s gaze briefly settled on it. He immediately looked away after just one glance and answered Xi Yu’s question.
“When Chairman Liu was young, he lost a leg while saving Shen Linchuan’s father.”
Just as he thought.
“So it was to repay a debt of gratitude,” Xi Yu said. “Then how did Shen Linchuan and Liu Tanghuan end up getting married?”
“No one knows what really happened. I only know that after Liu Tanghuan disappeared for half a year, she came back and soon got engaged to and married Shen Linchuan.” Lu Zhixing paused before continuing, “After getting married, Liu Tanghuan rarely went out. And when she did occasionally appear in public, she was completely different from before—graceful, gentle, and quiet. Shen Linchuan has been gaining tremendous momentum these past few years, and after their marriage, he treated Liu Tanghuan with great affection. Gradually, no one dared bring up those ridiculous things from the past anymore.”
Xi Yu suddenly remembered that Shen Linchuan had once said on the variety show that he had truly fallen in love with Liu Tanghuan only after they were married.
Actually, emphasizing that was completely unnecessary. If it had been anyone else, Xi Yu might have wondered whether Shen Linchuan was afraid that his wife’s scandalous past would embarrass him.
But Shen Linchuan didn’t seem like someone who cared about what people said. Otherwise, he would never have allowed the situation to snowball in the first place.
At that time, Liu Tanghuan had been his fiancée, and even though he had been dragged into the scandal and humiliated by association, he had never said anything.
After falling in love with Liu Tanghuan, there was even less reason for him to say something like that.
Xi Yu felt that those words sounded more like a declaration of his feelings.
A declaration of his feelings to “Liu Tanghuan.”
Xi Yu had a guess in mind. “Can you find a way to get Liu Tanghuan to come out?”
“There’s no need to arrange a meeting. There’s a charity gala in two days, organized by the Shen Group to raise money for sick children and stray animals. It’s been held for five consecutive years. Liu Tanghuan has barely gone out these past two years, but she always attends the charity gala. The Luo family should have already received an invitation.”
“How come? You really want to meet Liu Tanghuan?”
“Yeah.” Xi Yu smiled. “I want to see just what kind of extraordinary person she is.”
The demonic aura on Shen Linchuan probably came from Liu Tanghuan.
And Shen Linchuan definitely knew about the existence of this demon.
If Xi Yu’s guess was correct, Liu Tanghuan should have been injured. It must have been something the hospital couldn’t treat, which was why Shen Linchuan had set his sights on Liuyun.
However, he couldn’t be certain yet whether his guess was correct, so he decided not to tell Lu Zhixing for now. If he was wrong, he didn’t want to wrongfully accuse someone.
Xi Yu yawned. Seeing this, Lu Zhixing stood up.
“You should get some rest. I’ll leave first.”
Lu Zhixing didn’t want to leave, but it was broad daylight, and Xi Yu had just begun suspecting him. He couldn’t keep lying anymore.
Even though he had already lied so many times.
Xi Yu nodded, snapped his fingers, and sent Lu Zhixing away. He then lay face-down on the bed without immediately going to sleep.
He had originally planned to rest for a while before searching for Zhuohua, but the look in Lu Zhixing’s eyes when he said he wanted to become a normal person…
Xi Yu sat cross-legged, formed a hand seal with both hands, and conjured a crisscrossing compass. He rotated it in his palm, pushed it above his head, and closed his eyes.
“Trace—”
Half an hour later.
Xi Yu sprawled across the bed, his eyes vacant.
“Little brat, you’re pretty damn good at hiding.”
How could he not find him?
Could he be dead?
How could there be not the slightest trace of him?
Back then, with only that tiny amount of spiritual power, he had still been able to sense the Liuyun Whip. Now that half of his power had returned, he couldn’t sense Zhuohua at all.
That shouldn’t be possible.
As long as Zhuohua was somewhere within the Three Realms, he should have been able to sense him.
Unless—
Xi Yu abruptly sat up in bed.
Unless someone had placed a barrier around Zhuohua.
But Xi Yu soon collapsed back onto the bed.
That made even less sense. After his death, Zhuohua would definitely have been sealed away and, like Liuyun, fallen from the Heavenly Realm.
Who would bother placing a barrier around a magical artifact that couldn’t even be used?
Xi Yu’s eyelids drooped. What a headache.
Whatever. He’d sleep first.
Xi Yu pulled the blanket over himself.
The next day, Xi Yu woke up unusually early.
It wasn’t because he had been woken by noise. He had gone to sleep yesterday afternoon and slept beautifully all the way until this morning.
A comfortable, soft bed. The faint morning sunlight.
Ah~ A new beginning~
“Big brother, big brother, big brother!!!!”
Just as Xi Yu stood there with his arms spread wide, welcoming the first breeze of morning, the clucking started again outside his door.
In a way, Luo Cheng’an had done a great job filling the gap left by the lack of roosters crowing in the city.
Xi Yu opened the door. “Sometimes I’m genuinely afraid you’re going to lay an egg right outside my door.”
Luo Cheng’an looked bewildered. “Huh?”
“Nothing.” Xi Yu glanced at Luo Cheng’an, who was dressed like a peacock showing off its feathers, then turned toward the bathroom. “Are you going out?”
Luo Cheng’an followed closely behind him. “Not me. Us. And Mom and Dad too.”
Xi Yu stuffed his toothbrush into his mouth and looked at Luo Cheng’an.
Luo Cheng’an said, “Mom and Dad said they’re taking us to go see Mom and Dad.”
Xi Yu’s hand holding the toothbrush stopped.
The way Luo Cheng’an had phrased it sounded like a tongue twister, and it took Xi Yu a moment to understand.
After washing up, Xi Yu dried the water from his face with a towel.
“Go wait downstairs for me.”
Luo Cheng’an answered obediently and ran off with a series of thumping footsteps.
Xi Yu changed into a black outfit.
When he went downstairs, he saw that Shen Qing and Luo Yuan were dressed in black as well. Only Luo Cheng’an was wearing bright colors.
Luo Cheng’an scratched his head. “I thought Mom and Dad would probably like me to dress handsomely… right?”
Xi Yu nodded sagely. “Could be.”
Luo Cheng’an was happy.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Xi Yu’s lips.
After he came back, Luo Cheng’an had gone to pay respects to his biological parents. He had gone alone.
During that period, Xi Yu had been busy dealing with Zhao Qi’s affairs. But even if he hadn’t been busy, Luo Cheng’an wouldn’t have asked him to come along.
With Luo Cheng’an’s personality, if he wanted to ask Xi Yu to go, no matter how busy Xi Yu was, he would have clung to him and pestered him until Xi Yu agreed.
If he hadn’t asked, it meant he didn’t want to.
Luo Yuan drove the car the entire way. They didn’t have a driver take them.
Xi Yu’s parents’ graves were in a neighboring city, nearly three hours away by car.
By the time they arrived, the sun was shining at its brightest.
Xi Yu got out of the car. Luo Cheng’an followed a step behind, looking somewhat nervous.
As for Xi Yu’s parents, Xi Yu actually no longer remembered much about them.
At the time, he had only just been reborn, his consciousness still muddled, and he was awake only for brief periods. He could only tell that Xi Yu’s parents had reached the end of their natural lifespans. That was a fate that could not be prevented.
It wasn’t until the villagers had raised him to the age of three that all his memories had fully returned and he was able to summon his spiritual power.
Xi Yu stood to one side and watched Shen Qing clean the area in front of the grave.
Luo Cheng’an placed down the fruit and flowers, then knelt.
“Dad, Mom, I came to see you!”
“I told you last time, I’m doing pretty well now.” Luo Cheng’an paused, his voice trembling slightly. “These are my—adoptive parents. They treat me really well, and my brother treats me really well too.”
Tears streamed uncontrollably down Shen Qing’s face. Finally, she couldn’t hold them back anymore and knelt on the ground.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
……………………
Shen Qing knelt on the ground. Luo Yuan didn’t stop her and knelt down as well.
Luo Cheng’an was startled. Tears hung in his eyes, on the verge of falling.
“Mom, Dad, what are you doing?”
“I’m sorry… We’re the ones who caused their deaths. If they hadn’t been killed because someone was trying to harm us, your parents wouldn’t have…” Shen Qing sobbed uncontrollably. “I’m sorry, Cheng’an. Our entire family has wronged you…”
Luo Yuan hunched over, his back bent deeply.
The husband and wife had never done anything bad, yet two living people had died because of them. Such guilt might mean little to a wicked person, but to people like the Luos, who possessed such a strong sense of morality, it was as heavy as a mountain.
Only Xi Yu remained standing, completely out of place.
There were no souls inside the grave. Xi Yu’s parents had long since been reincarnated.
He couldn’t kneel. The moment he did, this grave would collapse.
But he had been reborn into the Luo family. By all accounts, the Luo couple were fated to have no children. If he had not been reborn, none of this would have happened.
Luo Cheng’an had an exceptionally fortunate destiny.
If Xi Yu had not been reborn, Xi Yu’s parents would still have died, Luo Cheng’an would have been raised by the villagers, and would then have been adopted by the Luo couple.
Luo Cheng’an was destined to live a life of unparalleled wealth and prosperity.
The deaths of Xi Yu’s parents were also destined.
But no one could know that he had been reborn into this life.
If the Luo couple felt guilty, then in the eyes of the world, his birth was actually the root cause of everything.
For once, Xi Yu felt somewhat lost.
He had always viewed these matters from the perspective of an outsider, but the others had no way of knowing any of this.
He had taken on Xi Yu’s identity, so in truth, he should bear this karma.
The atmosphere became exceptionally heavy.
Seeing Shen Qing crying so hard that she was almost frantic, Luo Cheng’an hurriedly wiped her tears, then went to help Luo Yuan up. When he realized he couldn’t control the situation, he turned to Xi Yu with a pleading look for help.
Xi Yu sighed, bent down, and bowed to the gravestone.
“From now on, I’ll protect Luo Cheng’an.”
For the rest of this life, he would protect Luo Cheng’an and never let him suffer any more pain.
He would ensure that Luo Cheng’an lived a smooth and peaceful life, safe and healthy to a hundred years of age.