Chapter 067

Under her son’s comfort, Madam Jiang’s emotional breakdown quickly stabilized.

She was helped onto the sofa. As she used a tissue to wipe the tears from her face, Jiang Yucheng stood by her side, holding her cold hand reassuringly, his expression still somewhat dazed.

From the moment Madam Jiang interrupted their search ritual, events had spiraled beyond anyone’s expectations.

As the person at the center of it all, Jiang Yucheng was the most lost.

“Mom, what did you mean by what you just said?” he asked with great difficulty. “What do you mean, ‘saving him’? Did you… did you always know that I wasn’t your biological son?”

Madam Jiang turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.

“Mom…” Jiang Yucheng called out to her, his voice trembling.

“I’ll start from the beginning,” Madam Jiang said.

Qiao Man looked up, exchanged a glance with Lu Jianxing, and climbed onto the sofa opposite Madam Jiang. He straightened his back, set his small face, and nodded solemnly. “Go ahead.”

Maomao went to the small bar to get drinks for everyone. He placed milk in front of Qiao Man and mineral water in front of Madam Jiang.

Among everyone present, Madam Jiang was the only one who knew the whole truth.

Because she was the one who had personally swapped the babies.

Shortly after giving birth, she had endured the agonizing pain of her surgical incision to swap her own child with the baby boy born on the same day in the neighboring ward, while everyone else was asleep in the middle of the night.

Madam Jiang looked at her foster son with apology in her eyes. “From that moment on, I made up my mind that I would raise you as my own biological son, and that you would be my only son. Yucheng, it’s okay if you hate me. I’m the reason you were separated from your biological parents, and I’ve kept it from you for so many years.”

Jiang Yucheng remained silent.

“Why did you feel you had to send your biological son away?” Qiao Man asked, puzzled. “Why did you say it was to save him?”

Madam Jiang gave a cold laugh. “Because if he had stayed in the Jiang Family, he would have ended up like Jiang Hong’s other children. He would have been doomed to die.”

Jiang Hong was Father Jiang’s name.

Jiang Yucheng stammered, “My… my father?”

Madam Jiang asked, “Yucheng, don’t you think the deaths of your father’s illegitimate children were very suspicious?”

Jiang Yucheng froze. “Weren’t they… didn’t they inherit Dad’s illness?”

“Your father has lived for so long, how could they have been so short-lived?” Madam Jiang closed her eyes. “You never saw them, so you don’t know. Every single one of them was a perfectly healthy child.”

The story began more than twenty years ago, before the two children were born.

Father Jiang had started from nothing, building a massive family business as a successful entrepreneur. The only thing lacking was his health; he had been born with a weak constitution, and the blood and sweat he poured into his business during the startup phase had ruined his body further. Initially, when Madam Jiang married him, she was worried she might become a young widow.

Yet Father Jiang had lived until now, surviving long enough for his son to reach adulthood.

Father Jiang was not a faithful man. Back when she was heavily pregnant, a mistress had shown up at their door, leading a young boy of a few years old. He was a very healthy boy, lively and quite rude, clearly lacking any proper upbringing.

At the time, Madam Jiang was extremely displeased and felt a flicker of dread. Father Jiang’s health was in critical condition, and he had been hospitalized several times. The mistress had heard the news and rushed over with the child, hoping to grab a share of the fortune before he died. Father Jiang gave the mistress a large sum of money and kept the child.

Cradling her pregnant belly, Madam Jiang worried about her husband’s illness, fearing her child would lose a father before being born. She also loathed the illegitimate son who had suddenly appeared, fearing he would steal what belonged to her own child. Consequently, she suffered from insomnia.

One night, she woke up with a start and couldn’t fall back asleep. She went downstairs to get a glass of water, only to find that Father Jiang wasn’t asleep either. Standing beside him was a Taoist wearing a Taoist Robe and the illegitimate son.

That Taoist looked familiar; he had been to the house several times.

After falling ill, her husband had begun to dabble in mystical and occult matters, even inviting Taoists to the house to perform rituals. Madam Jiang had no interest in such things and had avoided them every time.

But that night, she watched the entire ritual from start to finish.

She saw the Taoist draw a small bowl of blood from the child. Then, he extracted something invisible from the boy and placed it into the bowl. After Father Jiang drank that blood, his pale complexion turned ruddy before her very eyes. His back, which had been hunched from pain, straightened. He transformed from a dying man at death’s door into a healthy person.

Meanwhile, the child whose life force had been snatched away saw his face turn grey and withered. He lay weakly on the floor, his healthy breathing becoming faint as he gasped “Daddy” with his dying breath.

Madam Jiang bit her hand hard to keep herself from screaming.

She saw Jiang Hong address the Taoist as “Master.” The Master even said, “Mr. Jiang, this Life Extension method cannot last forever. It will lose its effectiveness in a few years, and you will need to perform it again.”

Jiang Hong smiled with utter indifference and said coldly, “I will have other children.”

A few days later, that child developed a high fever. The sudden illness easily claimed his life.

“Life… Life Extension?!” Maomao’s face turned white as a sheet. “Does such a thing really exist?”

The others didn’t look much better, especially Jiang Yucheng, whose face was whiter than the wallpaper. They all turned to Qiao Man, hoping for a denial.

But Qiao Man’s small face was grave. “It’s real.”

“There’s actually such a terrifying spell in this world?” Maomao shuddered, instinctively leaning closer to Lu Jianxing for a sense of security.

“Just like Luck Borrowing, this is an evil art that harms people.” Qiao Man’s entire face wrinkled in distaste. “Forcibly connecting one’s own life to another’s is an act against the heavens. It’s even more terrifying than Luck Borrowing, because only a blood relative can…”

A blood relative?

The group quickly realized that all of Father Jiang’s illegitimate children had passed away, and a chill ran through their hearts.

If he had to perform the ritual every few years, just how many people had Father Jiang murdered?

These people were no strangers; they were his own flesh and blood!

Maomao couldn’t help but curse out loud. “Using his own children to extend his life? That’s absolutely insane! How can someone like that be allowed to live in this world!”

“So…” Jiang Yucheng’s lips were pale and trembling as he stared blankly at his mother. “The reason Dad was so angry is because…”

Madam Jiang said coldly, “He can no longer find anyone else to use for his Life Extension.”

Jiang Yucheng’s body swayed. Beside him, Pei Xiwang quickly supported him, his gaze filled with worry.

Madam Jiang said with a pained expression, “Over the years, his health has fluctuated. Whenever it took a turn for the worse, he would bring back one of his illegitimate children. Yucheng, you were his last child, and his last hope.”

It was no wonder Father Jiang had flown into such a rage, even going so far as to kick his adopted son out of the house.

To outsiders, the child appeared to be pampered and loved, but in his eyes, the boy was merely nourishment to extend his own life.

As he grew older, the effects of the forced Life Extension became weaker, and his hospital visits became more frequent. Feeling the approach of death once more and terrified of the looming Reaper, Jiang Hong had been impatient to open his final gift box, only to discover that the fruit he had prepared long ago had been swapped.

To Father Jiang, it was nothing short of a bolt from the blue!

And so, he ruthlessly turned his back on the child he had once doted on, casting him out of the house, unwilling to spare him another glance. He poured countless resources and manpower into finding his biological child. He hated Jiang Yucheng, not because the boy had usurped another’s place, but because he had destroyed his hope for survival.

He never would have imagined that despite his secrecy, the woman sharing his bed had long ago seen through his secret and personally swapped the children.

That night, Madam Jiang had not slept a wink. Afterward, she spent every single day thinking of how to save her unborn child.

An abortion? Not only was she far along in her pregnancy, but if she personally snuffed out the child’s life, how would she be any different from Jiang Hong?

Divorce and take the child? Even if she could successfully leave, Jiang Hong had a Taoist by his side; they would be found sooner or later.

Expose him? Where could she even go to report such a thing?

In the midst of her despair, her due date arrived, and she gave birth to the child she had carried for ten months. In a moment of desperation, she took a gamble and swapped her child. The other parents were a visiting couple who were transferred and left shortly after being discharged.

Perhaps even Heaven could not stand to watch such evil, for everything went incredibly smoothly.

She altered Jiang Yucheng’s medical reports every year. Because Jiang Hong had other illegitimate children available, he never discovered that Jiang Yucheng was not his biological son.

When Jiang Hong was hospitalized again due to poor health, Madam Jiang was even somewhat happy, seeing a glimmer of hope for liberation. She had been waiting for this day. As long as Jiang Hong had no more life to steal and was forced to face death, her child would finally be safe. Since Jiang Yucheng was not Jiang Hong’s biological child and could not serve as material for Life Extension, both of her children would be fine.

To hide her biological son’s whereabouts, Madam Jiang had also sought the help of a Master to prevent him from being found.

Even she did not know exactly where her biological son was. She knew Jiang Hong was sending people to search for him, but so far they had found nothing, which filled her heart with satisfaction.

And yet…

“…You found him so easily,” Madam Jiang said sorrowfully. “Since you could find him, does that mean Jiang Hong can too?”

Was all her effort going to be in vain after all?

Qiao Man gripped the hem of his shirt guiltily, his eyes wet as he looked at her, filled with remorse.

This was the first time his attempt to help had backfired, nearly making him an accomplice to a villain.

Qiao Man lowered his head sadly, the rims of his eyes turning red. “Auntie, I’m sorry…”

Lu Jianxing held his small shoulders, giving them a reassuring pat. He spoke up to Madam Jiang, “Our Master Xiao Man is very capable. He’s even more powerful than the Master by Mr. Jiang’s side. He can help you.”

Qiao Man suddenly looked up, his eyes brightening. “That’s right, I can help you!”

His back straightened instantly, and he tilted his small head up proudly. “I’m very powerful!”

Madam Jiang looked at him with hope. “Really?”

Qiao Man jumped down from the sofa and grabbed his Luo Pan. The moment it touched his hand, the compass began to spin wildly according to his will. He ran to the floor-to-ceiling window, pushed it open, and stepped out, looking toward a distant direction.

The others followed him out one after another.

He looked back at the Jiang mother and son. Invisible thin lines connected them to the distance, reflected clearly in his eyes.

Following the direction where the lines stretched, Qiao Man looked into the distance. He reached out his small hand and brushed his fingers over those invisible threads. For a moment, the Jiang mother and son shared a look of realization. When they looked back at the child, the clear sunlight fell upon his small frame, as if coating him in a layer of divine radiance.

Qiao Man raised his hand. Across the vast distance of mountains and rivers, his small hand made a gentle grasping motion in the air, as if he had caught something invisible in his palm.

…

In the hospital room.

Jiang Hong, who was speaking with his secretary, suddenly clutched his own throat. His eyes bulged in terror as he struggled to breathe with all his might, but each breath became more difficult than the last. The heart monitor beside the bed soon let out a piercing, continuous shriek.

The secretary was startled. “President Jiang? President Jiang, are you alright?!”

“Heh… heh!” Jiang Hong’s withered hand reached out toward someone in the room, calling out with great difficulty, “Master… Master Zhu…”

By the window, a middle-aged man wearing a Taoist Robe shook the hem of his garment and stood up unhurriedly.

He watched Jiang Hong’s condition with a cold eye for a moment. “President Jiang, it seems you’ve offended a true expert.”

“Master… Master Zhu… save… save me…” Jiang Hong clutched his collar in agony, feeling his life force draining away continuously, faster than ever before. He watched his outstretched hand tremble uncontrollably. Terrified, he gasped, “I’ll give you money… so much money…”

The Taoist slapped a piece of Talisman Paper onto his body. Soon, Jiang Hong’s rapid breathing gradually steadied. He slumped back onto the hospital bed, his blue-and-white striped patient gown soaked with cold sweat.

“What is this?” Jiang Hong asked, eyeing the talisman on his body with trepidation.

The Taoist spoke with a hint of reluctance, as if parting with a great treasure. “This is a talisman I went to great lengths to obtain. It allows you to temporarily ‘vanish’ from this world, hiding you from any search, but its duration is very limited.”

“Then what do I do? Once the effect wears off, am I going to die again?” Jiang Hong said in a panic. “Master Zhu, you have to find my son quickly! I don’t want to die, I need more Life Extension¹!”

“Don’t worry.”

The Taoist continued, “Someone has targeted you. We have to deal with that person first.”

Recalling the sensation of his health plummeting just moments ago, Jiang Hong broke into a cold sweat. He didn’t dare utter a word of protest, placing all his hopes on the man before him.

“Perfect timing.” The Taoist pulled out a bronze bell and gave it a shake. As the clanging echoed through the room, a gust of yin wind swept past, causing the temperature in the hospital ward to plummet instantly. He curled his lips into a chilling smile. “I recently took control of a vengeful spirit. Let’s see what he can do.”

Translator’s Notes