Chapter 67: The Huo family’s past on the 67th day of retirement.

Liu Anzhi couldn't understand why there were people who didn't want eight million.

Thinking about Sang Qiqi's past contact with Zhao Hanhai, could it be that Zhao Hanhai offered a higher price? It didn't seem likely. Now that Huo Chengji was in a coma, how could Zhao Hanhai have the guts to bid higher than him?

There can't be anyone so noble as to not care about money and only care about the truth, right?

Liu Anzhi stood there for a long while without moving. Huo Wenbin, who had caught a glimpse of his strange behavior out of the corner of his eye, finally paid more attention and asked lazily, "Is it taken care of?"

Liu Anzhi's body was stiff, and he had a terrible illusion that death was approaching.

If he could, he wanted to run away from this place. But he couldn't. He could only bite the bullet and turn around. His fingers were stiffly gripping the phone. He slowly handed it to Huo Wenbin and said awkwardly, "No, it's not good. There was a little accident."

Accident?

How could an accident happen with such a simple thing?

Huo Wenbin pushed the woman away from him. Reaching for the phone, he inadvertently brushed against Liu Anzhi's fingers, startled by the coldness of his hand. He frowned, then glanced up at him, but Liu Anzhi had already quickly lowered his head, huddled like a quail, and remained silent.

The young man was suspicious, and his eyes gradually focused on the screen of his mobile phone.

When Huo Wenbin saw clearly that the barrage was not mocking or blaming Huo Chengji, but instead had the huge words "Huo Er" on it, and bluntly said, "How can a guy like Huo Er, who only knows about romance, eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, be compared with Huo Chengji", his originally relaxed expression suddenly became gloomy.

He turned his head sharply, looked at Liu Anzhi, and asked through gritted teeth, "I asked you to find someone to take on Huo Chengji, but you asked someone to take on me? And you're even trying to pull me down?"

The rage in his voice threatened to burst from Huo Wenbin's eyes and burn Liu Anzhi's face. Liu Anzhi suddenly looked up, his expression terrified and waving his hands repeatedly, "No, no, it's... Sang Qiqi didn't agree to the deal. Not only did she not agree, she also released the content of my private message to her backstage. She also said that Huo Chengji's misfortune was set up by someone, and that the person who set him up was trying to seize power in the family."

Seeing Huo Wenbin's face gradually darken, Liu Anzhi swallowed nervously and continued, "Then someone broke the news that they saw you throwing money around in Chunfengxuan..."

This is exactly the same as pointing at Huo Wenbin's nose and saying that the Huo Chengji incident was designed by Huo Wenbin.

Huo Wenbin, who had heard the whole thing, was almost laughing out of anger. He stared into Liu Anzhi's eyes and asked word by word, "You mean, you've been messing around here for a long time, and not only didn't you throw the dirty water on Huo Chengji, but you also generously let everyone know that I was the one carrying the dirty water basin, right?"

Liu Anzhi: “…”

Huo Wenbin slapped him and yelled in frustration, "You idiot, you're more likely to cause trouble than to help. Get out of here!"

-

Live broadcast room.

Sang Qiqi let the audience discuss the Huo Chengji brothers until she received a call from Mingxin. She put the phone to her ear and listened briefly. When she heard that Huo Chengji's soul was not in his body, her eyebrows raised and she said, "I know. I'll come over to take a look now."

After hanging up the phone, she turned to the audience in the live broadcast room and said, "I previously recommended Taoist Mingxin to the chief assistant of Mr. Huo. I'm going to go meet Mingxin after the broadcast. You guys should go to bed early."

Everyone is fine with Sang Qiqi shutting down the live broadcast, but going to bed early... is impossible.

Having just learned about the gossip surrounding the Pingxi Group, the fire of gossip was still burning like crazy, and it wasn't going to be extinguished anytime soon. So, without the livestream, viewers immediately turned to Weibo, forums, and other social media platforms, reposting Sang Qiqi's screen recordings or livestream screenshots.

The deputy director of Pingxi Group's public relations department leaned back in his office chair, watched Sang Qiqi's live broadcast room close, and slowly exhaled.

He was really worried that Sang Qiqi would agree to Liu Anzhi's deal.

He could still find someone to suppress online public opinion, but Sang Qiqi's account on Lizi Live was different. Given its fan base and popularity, if he really used his connections to report and block the account, who knows how many people would react. That would backfire, and he would become the same kind of idiot as Liu Anzhi. Even in his grave, President Huo would be thinking of turning into a ghost to trouble him.

Thinking of this, the deputy director pursed his lips, found Zhao Hanhai's phone number and dialed it, and briefly talked about how Sang Qiqi was not tempted by the eight million in the live broadcast room and supported President Huo Chengji.

Zhao Hanhai was stunned when he heard this. When he came to his senses, he took a deep breath.

Liu Anzhi is indeed worthy of being the director of the public relations department. He has one trick after another to use, but his luck is just not very good.

The 'victim' found is simple-minded, and the 'partner' found is not willing to bow down for money.

I guess he's going crazy now.

"Okay, I understand. Boss Sang will be visiting President Huo later. I'll thank Boss Sang on behalf of President Huo." Zhao Hanhai relaxed his nerves that had been tense since receiving the call and added, "Director Li, please keep an eye on the public opinion during this period. Feel free to call me if you have any questions."

The deputy director keenly noticed that Zhao Hanhai omitted the word "deputy" when he mentioned him. A smile slowly appeared in his eyes, and he responded: "Don't worry, this is my responsibility."

Twenty minutes later, Sang Qiqi knocked on the door of the ward.

Xiao Fang went to open the door. As Sang Qiqi stepped in, she saw Zhao Hanhai hurriedly approaching. He shook her hand and bowed to express his gratitude. "Boss Sang, I've heard about your livestream. I'm truly grateful for your integrity. When President Huo wakes up, I'll tell him the truth."

By then, let alone eight million, Mr. Huo will be able to come up with eighty million.

Upon hearing this, Sang Qiqi simply said, "It's a small matter."

Passing Zhao Hanhai, Sang Qiqi approached Mingxin's side and, at his signal, cast her gaze upon the young man on the hospital bed. Huo Chengji looked to be about thirty years old, with deep features, somewhat resembling the Huo family's old lady, and rather handsome. However, perhaps due to the recent car accident and leg injury, his face looked pale, and he looked frail and shaky.

Sang Qiqi retracted her gaze and nodded to Mingxin: "The soul is definitely not here."

Mingxin: "I just performed a ritual and looked around the room, but there was no trace of the soul."

Sang Qiqi propped her chin up with her hand, thought for a moment, and then slowly said, "I didn't see Huo Chengji's spirit in the old lady's mourning hall either. Generally speaking, a major impact can indeed cause the soul to leave the body. If it was just a simple accident, Huo Chengji's spirit should have floated away when they were rushing him to the hospital."

"Isn't it easy to find out if it was an accident? Isn't it enough to just check if the old lady's soul is still there?"

"The old lady's soul has been taken back to the underworld by the ghost messenger." Sang Qiqi said, then turned to look at Zhao Hanhai and Xiao Fang, who seemed to be listening to some divine scriptures. She raised her chin to gesture to them to step aside, and then asked, "Could you tell us more about the situation of the Huo family?"

Zhao Hanhai hesitated for a moment.

Sang Qiqi and Mingxin did not rush him, leaving him enough time to think.

While they were waiting, they opened the door and sat on the chairs by the door. Mingxin briefly explained his opinion on the bad luck of Huo Chengji, Zhao Hanhai and his group: "It's very likely a curse. I heard my master mention that there was a very famous incident in Yuanli decades ago. The people there were always unlucky and almost choked to death while eating. Later, they found a few Taoist priests in the town, so they invited them to perform a ritual to remove the bad luck. After the Taoist priests finished the ritual, their bad luck really disappeared!"

"It's been about two and a half years since the people were unlucky and had to seek out Taoist priests to exorcise their evil spirits. A female Taoist priest from the Bixia Temple passed by Yuanli. Her original intention was to visit the temple and exchange scriptures with the Taoist priests, but she unexpectedly discovered that the local people's misfortune was entirely caused by these Taoist priests."

"Yuanli is a unique place. The entire village has the same surname, and the head of the clan isn't the village chief, but the clan leader. These Taoist priests made a deal with the clan leader's nephew, obtained the clan genealogy, and used the birth dates of each member recorded in it to cast curses on the clan members. When these clan members encountered bad luck, they sought help from the Taoist priests. The Taoist priests made money by exorcising the evil spirits for them, and they also gave a portion of the proceeds to the clan leader's nephew."

Sang Qiqi listened attentively and was very curious: "Is there such a spell?"

"That's what happens when a curse is placed on one's horoscope," Mingxin said. "Bad luck is just one of the characteristics. Besides that, the body of the one cursed will also gradually deteriorate."

No wonder Huo Chengji hit his head against the coffin and his soul was knocked away.

Sang Qiqi muttered, "If you Taoists really want to deal with someone, your methods are quite insidious."

Mingxin: "...It's okay, compared to your fighting power, it's not worth mentioning."

Sang Qiqi shook her head, raised her finger, and waved it in front of Mingxin: "Not really, not really. In some cases, force is not very effective in torturing people."

Mingxin: "...But as Taoist priests from a legitimate Taoist temple, we generally wouldn't resort to such underhanded methods."

Sang Qiqi sighed, "That's such a waste of talent and skill points."

Mingxin: “…”

The two of them discussed for a long time, and Zhao Hanhai in the ward finally made a decision.

He pushed open the door, looked at Sang Qiqi and Ming Xin, took a deep breath and said, "Come in, both of you."

After everyone entered the house, Zhao Hanhai continued, "I'd like to ask, if what you two said is true, and Mr. Huo's soul... uh, floated away, what consequences will there be?"

Ming Xin and Sang Qi Qi exchanged a glance. The former pointed at the young man on the hospital bed and said, "Those with good conditions will just lie there like this forever, like a living dead. Those with bad conditions will probably die in less than two days, right?"

Sang Qiqi: "Almost, but——"

At this turning point, Zhao Hanhai immediately stared at Sang Qiqi with a nervous expression. The latter said truthfully: "If you delay for one more day, after Huo Chengji's soul returns, you will lose a few years of life."

Zhao Hanhai: “!”

Xiao Fang: “?!”

Sang Qiqi wasn't exaggerating. While Huo Chengji's situation was different from Qi Hongkai's, his soul likely hadn't been forcibly ripped out, and the damage likely wasn't as severe as Qi Hongkai's. But his soul had been wandering around for so long, contaminated by filth. If it were put back into his body, it would undoubtedly be affected.

Not to mention that if Huo Chengji's soul encountered danger and was injured while wandering outside, his life span would be even shorter.

"Based on these circumstances, I suggest you tell us everything you need to know. If you're worried about us not keeping our mouths shut, you can sign a confidentiality agreement or something."

"No need. I trust Boss Sang and Taoist Mingxin." Zhao Hanhai gave a wry smile. "Actually, there's nothing wrong with talking about it. It's just that this matter involves the Huo family's scandal, so I've been hesitant until Boss Huo wakes up."

He raised his hand to signal Sang Qiqi and Mingxin to sit on the sofa, then he spoke:

"The story begins half a month ago. As you all know, although Huo Wenbin, the second young master of Pingxi Group, is idle and unemployed all day long, Mr. Huo has always been very tolerant of this younger brother. After all, Pingxi Group has him as the pillar of support, so as long as the second young master Huo does not commit any illegal acts, there will be no problem. But no one expected..."

Zhao Hanhai was a little embarrassed to say: "Huo Wenbin is not Mr. Huo's biological brother with the same father and mother."

Sang Qiqi: “?”

Mingxin: “?”

Sang Qiqi had originally suspected that Huo Chengji's actions were related to a dispute over the family fortune. After reading netizens' analysis, she also felt that Huo Wenbin was a little off-base. He had a brother who helped him earn money, so wasn't he happy just spending the money every day? Why did he have to step on his brother to get ahead in the fight for the family fortune? Now, after hearing what Zhao Hanhai said, it suddenly became clear.

Zhao Hanhai deliberately mentioned that they had the same father and mother, and that Huo Chengji's mother had died young. Thinking of Huo Gan, whom she had met in front of the Huo family's old lady's mourning hall that day, and the scent of perfume and lipstick marks on his body, she sneered: "Is Huo Gan a bastard born from another woman?"

Zhao Hanhai nodded: "Yes. And he kept this matter secret from the Huo family for a full twenty-seven years."

Ming Xin frowned as she listened. "That's not right. Doesn't your Huo Zong know whether the son is his biological mother's? Huo Wenbin is 27 this year, and your Huo Zong is 30. If Huo Wenbin was born, your Huo Zong should have been three years old. Even if he doesn't remember anything... doesn't your old lady know? I saw on the Internet that your old lady and your Huo Zong have a very good relationship."

Could it be another round of netizens' nonsense? Was Mrs. Huo helping her son hide this from her grandson?

Doubts were raised one after another, and Zhao Hanhai quickly waved his hands: "It's not that simple. President Huo's mother died of complications during childbirth."

Just one simple sentence made everyone present understand instantly.

Mingxin: "Li Dai Tao Jiang?"

Sang Qiqi: "A cat-for-prince?"

Zhao Hanhai: "Yes, at that time, Mr. Huo's mother actually didn't give birth to the child at all, or rather... Huo Gan didn't intend for Mr. Huo's mother to give birth to the child. Although Mr. Huo's mother was sent to the operating room, the group of doctors did not perform a caesarian section on her. Instead... they watched Mr. Huo's mother die with cold eyes before removing the child and discarding it. Huo Gan hid it from the old lady and Mr. Huo, replaced the child born to him by his mistress, and sent it to the Huo family, making that child the second young master of the Huo family."

It was the first time that Xiao Fang heard these secrets of wealthy families. When he heard Zhao Hanhai say that the doctor watched coldly as Mr. Huo's mother died at Huo Gan's signal, he got goose bumps all over his body and his face turned pale with fear.

Sang Qiqi and Mingxin looked at each other and said nothing.

Zhao Hanhai sighed and continued, "Huo Gan hates Mr. Huo's mother so much because he's taking his anger out on her. The Huo in the Huo family is the Huo from the old lady's family, and the old man is a son-in-law. Although he has some ability, the old lady noticed his ambition and stripped him of all his power. The old man naturally didn't want to do that, so he kept secretly opposing the Pingxi Group. Later, when he was driving to the old lady to seek forgiveness, he was hit and killed by a car."

"That's God's will." Mingxin took the apple from Huo Chengji's bedside without hesitation, wiped it briefly, and put it in his mouth and took a bite.

Sang Qiqi glanced at him twice.

Mingxin paused and immediately took out another one and handed it to her.

Sang Qiqi handed the apple to Xiao Fang, and Xiao Fang whispered thank you.

So Mingxin handed her another one.

Sang Qiqi looked at Zhao Hanhai, who waved his hand: "Thank you, I don't need it."

Hearing this, Sang Qiqi was also polite. She took the apple back, took a bite and said, "Then go on."

"After the old man passed away, the old lady disliked Huo Gan and always felt that Huo Gan inherited all of the old man's shortcomings. Later, when Huo Gan reached a certain age, he took the initiative to contact Ms. Xia Yan, the daughter of a wealthy family that the old lady liked very much. Huo Gan probably thought that if he behaved submissively and married Ms. Xia Yan, the old lady would treat him differently and hand over the Pingxi Group's assets to him."

But it didn't.

The old lady never considered him from beginning to end.

"The old lady wanted to wait for Ms. Xia Yan to give birth to a child, regardless of gender, and train her as an heir. Later, Ms. Xia Yan gave birth to Mr. Huo, and Mr. Huo has been kept by the old lady. Huo Gan probably realized the old lady's intentions, so he wanted to take revenge on her."

"After Ms. Xia Yan passed away, Huo Gan stopped pretending. He was either in a woman's bed or on his way there." At this point, Zhao Hanhai's eyes shone with disdain for Huo Gan. He simply couldn't understand why Huo Gan, with his limited skills, was so confident that the old lady would hand over the vast Pingxi Group to him.

What’s the difference between that and bankruptcy?

"Later, when Mr. Huo and Huo Wenbin grew up, Mr. Huo gradually realized that Huo Gan seemed to always say irresponsible things to Huo Wenbin, trying to sow discord between the two brothers. Mr. Huo was naturally unhappy about this, so he took action against Huo Gan and froze all his funds. Finally, he stopped."

"However, I'm not sure if it has always been quiet. But now that we know Huo Wenbin is not Ms. Xia Yan's son, Huo Gan must have been encouraging Huo Wenbin to compete with President Huo for power over the years. It's just that Huo Wenbin may be more self-aware than his father, or he may really love President Huo as his brother, so he has never succeeded."

"It wasn't until a few days ago, when Huo Wenbin returned to the old house drunk and the servants who went to serve him heard him mumbling, that Mr. Huo realized that Huo Wenbin was not Ms. Xia Yan's son at all."

"But Mr. Huo kept it secret. After investigation, we discovered that Huo Wenbin's knowledge of the truth had nothing to do with Huo Gan. Instead, someone claiming to be the doctor who performed Ms. Xia Yan's cesarean section came to Huo Wenbin because he was broke and wanted to use the truth to extort money from him."

Huo Wenbin didn't believe it at first, but later the doctor produced audio and video evidence.

With the evidence in hand, no matter how unwilling Huo Wenbin was to believe it, he decided to ask Huo Gan. After getting a positive answer from Huo Gan, he felt like the sky had fallen.

Then he drank a lot of alcohol and was exposed that night.

"That's probably what happened with Huo Gan and Huo Wenbin," Zhao Hanhai said. "Boss Huo hadn't said anything because he wanted to get the doctor's evidence from Huo Wenbin. But after Huo Wenbin went to see Huo Gan, he quickly sent the doctor abroad and destroyed the evidence. Boss Huo figured if one doctor was wary, the others would probably be too, so he's been investigating this for the past two days."

"It was going pretty smoothly until the old lady and Mr. Huo started having all kinds of bad luck, and then it turned into what it is now."

After hearing this story, which stretched back decades, especially the story of Huo Chengji's mother, Xia Yan, everyone fell silent. Sang Qiqi nudged Mingxin with her arm and, facing his skeptical gaze, said with a smile, "You know that a successful person is someone who is flexible and adaptable in their approach, rather than rigidly following rules, right?"

Mingxin: “…”

Seeing Sang Qiqi's sweet smile, Mingxin was not only not amazed, but also felt scared.

He hesitated and asked, "So?"

Sang Qiqi: "So I think you can also do things like casting curses on people's horoscopes."

Mingxin immediately refused: "No."

Sang Qiqi: "I'll record your merits."

Mingxin: “…”

Sang Qiqi: "Think it over. If you miss this opportunity, you'll miss this opportunity too."

Mingxin was still a little hesitant. Seeing his nagging look, Sang Qiqi couldn't help but encourage him again: "I'm not asking you to curse good people. What are you afraid of cursing a beast like Huo Gan? If your master scolds you, I'll protect you. If you don't believe me, a hundred thousand ghost messengers from the underworld will come to protect you."

Mingxin: "That's not necessary."

Sang Qiqi: "That's right. Besides, since you suspect Huo Chengji was cursed, after listening to Zhao Zhu's story, you should know that the only ones who had a motive to attack Huo Chengji were Huo Gan and his son."

However, since Huo Gan was so capable, why did he have to wait until something happened before taking action against Huo Chengji?

As early as thirty years ago, he could have killed Huo Chengji and the old lady and become the boss of Pingxi Group himself.

Sang Qiqi thought about it and felt that Huo Gan might have had an adventure during this period of time.

As for the adventure...it's probably related to the curse.

"After you cast the curse on Huo Gan, if there is really someone behind Huo Gan, they will definitely go find that person to remove the curse. We can take this opportunity to catch the tail of the mastermind behind the scenes and catch them all in one fell swoop."

Mingxin: "...Why is your mind working so fast?"

Sang Qiqi touched her head and said, "You can't envy me. I've been smart since I was a child."

Mingxin was speechless for a moment, but soon raised a question: "The curse requires Huo Gan's horoscope. Now that the old lady is gone and Huo Chengji is in a coma, who else might know Huo Gan's horoscope?"

It's easy.

Sang Qiqi went back to the underworld, and when she returned to the hospital, she was holding a stack of papers in her hand.

"What is this?"

"A copy of the Book of Life and Death."

Not to mention Huo Gan's birth date and horoscope, they have the birth date and horoscope of everyone in the world in the underworld.