"Don't try to sow discord with me. Aren't you just worried that I, this old lady, will soften when Chen Ke comes back? Let me tell you, Pan Weiyin, don't try to play tricks on me. I may be old, but I'm clearer about right and wrong than you are!"

“Mother, look what you’ve said about me. How could I dare to play tricks on you? I know you’ve been devoted to the Chen family. Look how hot it is. I’ll make you some mung bean soup to cool you down. Please sit down, I’ll go right away.”

Pan Weiyin left before Old Madam Chen could even speak. Old Madam Chen stomped her cane in anger. Neither of her two daughters-in-law pleased her! Luckily, the other one had already left, otherwise she probably wouldn't have lived to be a hundred before meeting her ancestors.

Chen Zhengxin originally thought it would be easy to find a child with poor health, but to his surprise, there was no news for two whole days. What was even more worrying was that Chen Daozhi had developed a high fever since yesterday. With this illness, the Chen family couldn't sit still and started looking for people everywhere.

On the third day, Chen Daozhi's fever finally subsided, but he had lost a lot of weight. Pan Weiyin felt sorry for her son and cursed Chen Ke viciously, wishing she could curse him to death.

Chen Ke, whom the Chen family had searched high and low for, was standing right outside the Chen family's gate.

Looking at the century-old courtyard before him, he couldn't help but give a thumbs up to the Chen family ancestors. It seemed that they had some real skill to build such a large courtyard in Luochuan, where land was so valuable.

However, it's likely that the ancestral graves weren't chosen well, resulting in a string of unsuccessful descendants.

The courtyard design was very artistic. There were no flowers or trees planted, only lush grass. Several stones were placed on the green lawn. Chen Ke walked closer and took a look. It turned out to be a feng shui formation for gathering qi.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? This isn't a place you can just walk into," a butler-like man said as he approached.

"Really? I came to Luochuan for tourism, and seeing how beautifully these houses are built, I thought it was a scenic spot."

Seeing that Chen Ke was dressed in a Taoist robe and was also a Taoist practitioner, the butler spoke politely, "This is the Chen family's private ancestral home, and outsiders are not allowed to visit."

"That's a real pity," Chen Ke said with a regretful tone.

"Who is this butler?" Just then, Chen Zhengxin walked in from outside.

"Reporting to Second Master, this man has taken the wrong path and wandered in by mistake. I will ask him to leave immediately."

"Yes, Daozhi hasn't been feeling well these past few days, so don't let anyone in casually, lest they disturb his rest." After saying this, Chen Zhengxin stepped into the courtyard, but his gaze inadvertently met that of Chen Ke, who had turned around.

Chen Ke's eyes were extremely calm. He nodded to Chen Zhengxin as if he were a stranger and then walked out.

"etc!"

Chen Ke paused, "Is there something you need?"

Chen Zhengxin looked at the young man in the tattered Taoist robe in front of him and suddenly found himself speechless. His emotions were churning and his expression was complicated. After a while, he calmed down and asked, "Are you called Chen Ke?"

Chen Ke frowned, as if puzzled. "How did you know?"

"I...I am your father," Chen Zhengxin said, suppressing the bitterness in his heart.

Chen Ke sneered inwardly, but on the surface he looked even more puzzled and replied, "Impossible. My master said that my father fell into a cesspool and drowned as soon as I was born. My mother couldn't afford to raise me, so she sent me to a Taoist temple. When I was twelve years old, I accidentally fell into a well and drowned."

Chen Zhengxin's initial feelings of guilt and sadness were suddenly replaced by anger. "Nonsense! How could Master Wudao say such a thing!"

"Don't be angry. I don't know why my master said that either. Why don't you go and ask him yourself? He just left not long ago."

Chen Ke's calm tone made Chen Zhengxin think, if he hadn't already known that Master Wudao had passed away, that "just left" meant he had just left this place.

"You, you, you are so ill-mannered and impolite!" Chen Zhengxin felt that he had only said two words to Chen Ke but was already full of anger.

Chen Ke looked at Chen Zhengxin, who was already furious, and his face became even more innocent. "Didn't I tell you before? It's normal that you lost both your parents when you were young and no one taught you these things."

"Second brother, this is..." Pan Weiyin was carrying medicine through the courtyard when she heard the voice and deliberately went around to take a look. "This, this, could it be Chen Ke?"

Pan Weiyin was a little unsure. Her sister-in-law, Su Mei, had brought back photos of Chen Ke, but Chen Ke was only twelve years old at the time. He was very thin and looked like a girl when he timidly smiled at the camera.

When Pan Weiyin saw him, she was completely relieved. With his sickly appearance, he would never be able to threaten her son.

But the young man standing in front of her now was tall and straight, with a fair complexion but a normal rosy glow. He didn't look sickly at all. If it weren't for the fact that his features were exactly the same as Chen Ke's in the photo, Pan Weiyin would never have recognized the person in front of her as Chen Ke.

"Yes, this is Chen Ke. Chen Ke, this is your aunt. Please greet her."

Hearing Chen Zhengxin's affirmative words, Pan Weiyin, who still had a sliver of hope, suddenly felt her vision go black and almost lost her balance.

Chen Zhengxin quickly stepped forward to support her, "Sister-in-law? What's wrong? Are you alright, sister-in-law?"

At this moment, Chen Ke slowly said from the side, "I think we should stop calling her 'Auntie' and call the doctor quickly. I see that this aunt has a mean face and a high nose bridge, which may be an omen of someone who will bring death to others."

"Ah! What nonsense are you spouting, you brat!" Pan Weiyin, who was about to faint, suddenly perked up and angrily threw the medicine bowl in her hand at Chen Ke.

Chen Ke shifted his feet and dodged to the side, but his gaze turned cold as he looked at the two of them again. "Heh, it seems this mansion is probably not a mental hospital. The people who come out not only talk nonsense but also behave abnormally."

"You, Chen Ke! Who taught you to be so unrestrained and disrespectful to your elders!" Chen Zhengxin was truly disappointed in Chen Ke this time. He had originally thought that if possible, he would let him stay in the Chen family and live his life as an ordinary person as long as he did not violate the Dao. However, it seems that this is impossible now.

This child is unruly and rebellious by nature, completely unruly and impossible to discipline. If he were to learn about the incompatibility of two fates, he would likely harbor even more resentment, which would be detrimental to his path.

The commotion at the gate of the courtyard quickly attracted the attention of the people inside. Chen Zhenghong helped the old lady Chen out quickly, followed by Chen Daozhi, whose face was somewhat pale.

The moment Chen Ke saw Chen Daozhi, his eyes lit up. He resisted the urge to pull out his wooden fish. "This, isn't this Master Chen from the ghost-catching family? Master Chen, what happened to you? You look like you've had your life force drained in just three days!"

"It's you? What are you doing here!" Chen Daozhi was afraid that Chen Ke would reveal what had happened before, so he didn't speak with much confidence.

"I'm not doing anything, I'm leaving now."

"etc!"

"stop!"

"Chen Ke!"

The group, who were frantically searching for Chen Ke, were not about to let him go, and in their panic, they all spoke up at the same time.