Han Jingchen told the truth, "It was left behind last night by the person who saved my life."
Old Master Han sighed deeply and looked at him with complicated eyes.
"Child, some truths are like Pandora's box. Once opened, they can never be closed again. Do you really want to hear it?"
Han Jingchen's eyes were firm, "Yes."
Old Man Han took him to open the secret room that had been sealed for many years.
Under the dim candlelight, a yellowed bamboo scroll lay quietly on the table, with the blurred handwriting on it vaguely discernible:
[On the seventh day of the seventh month of the Gengchen year, the total number of ninety-nine offerings]
"The events recorded in the painting took place on the night of the blood moon five hundred years ago. In the center of the Xingyu Village ancestral hall, the woman in a red skirt was named Jiuchen. She was the shaman of the time and the ancestor of the Gu family."
"At the time, she was performing a ceremony to restore the Nine Stars to their positions, attempting to seal away the evil spirit. And those three black-robed men... one of them was our Han family's ancestor."
Han Jingchen's heart was shocked. "What on earth did they do?"
"As you can see."
Old Man Han said in a hoarse voice, "The gray-robed man slaughtered all ninety-nine people in the village and took away two secret treasures. One is a silver bracelet, and the other is..."
He looked at Han Jingchen's wrist, "The silver key in your hand."
Before his death, Wu Zhu Jiuchen cast down two curses at the cost of his soul being shattered:
【Love will kill what you love, and seeking will never bring you what you love.】
"Our Han family has been burdened with the latter for generations. No matter how much we want something, when we're about to get it, we always miss it due to some strange combination of circumstances."
Han Jingchen frowned, "What do you mean?"
Old Man Han stroked the bamboo slips. "Do you remember that national calligraphy competition when you were a kid? You won the championship, but the night before the awards ceremony, a fire destroyed all your works."
His eyes dimmed. "I encountered something similar when I was young. I made an appointment with the girl I loved to elope, but she...she had a car accident on the way to see me."
Old Man Han smiled bitterly and shook his head, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepening.
"This is the fate of our Han family. Happiness is right before our eyes, but every time... every time it's just a little bit short."
He suddenly grabbed Han Jingchen's wrist with such force that it hurt.
"This silver key is more than just a key... It's the hub that connects time and space, capable of opening a rift in space and time when nine planets align. But more importantly..."
"It's proof of the curse! Whoever holds it will never find true love!"
Han Jingchen was struck by lightning.
No wonder Bai Yueguang suddenly appeared and interrupted everything when he and Gu Youran were about to get their marriage certificate.
It turns out that all this is not a coincidence, but a curse at work!
Han Jingchen suddenly grabbed Old Man Han's arm, his knuckles turning white.
"What about Youran? She looks exactly like Jiuchen. Could she also..."
Old Master Han was silent for a very long time, so long that the candlelight was almost extinguished.
He slowly raised his head, tears glistening in his eyes, "Child, You's birthday... is the day of the fifth nine-star conjunction."
"If on that night," Grandpa's voice suddenly became unusually heavy, "the nine stars cannot return to their positions as predicted..."
He closed his eyes in pain, "You girl will die under the blood moon just like Jiuchen did back then."
Old Master Han suddenly opened his eyes. "But if we can successfully restore the Nine Stars to their proper places, not only can we save You girl's life, but more importantly... this will be the only chance to break the Han family's five hundred year curse!"
Han Jingchen felt a sharp pain in his heart, "Then this key..."
"It is both a hope for life and a shackle that traps you!"
Old Man Han's eyes were filled with pain. "It will prevent you from ever winning Miss You's heart, but...it is the only thing that can save her life!"
He stared intently into Han Jingchen's eyes and asked word by word, "Knowing that you will be in excruciating pain, do you still want to keep going?"
…
The other side.
Renault stood on the stone bridge, staring at the flowing water in a daze.
Yuncheng is where Gu Youran lived, but he knew nothing about her past.
With an old travel brochure in my pocket, the ancient alleys, teahouses and second-hand book stalls circled on it are all must-visit places for tourists.
He followed the guide, trying to find her trace.
"Boss," Lei Shuangcheng came over with a piece of grass in his mouth, "If you don't say anything, I'll think I'm shopping with a statue."
Renault ignored him.
This time he only brought Lei Shuangcheng with him, and didn't even let any bodyguards follow him.
Steam from the candy shop wafted over from the corner of the street.
Renault suddenly remembered the way Gu Youran smiled with her eyes curved while holding sweet soup when she was two years old.
"Don't touch me! Get away!"
An angry shout with a Y country accent rang out.
Renault stopped abruptly.
"Tsk, so early in the morning." Lei Shuangcheng narrowed his eyes and looked towards the source of the voice.
In the alley, three thugs were surrounding a blonde girl.
The yellow-haired leader reached out to grab her bag and said with a playful smile, "Foreign girl, are you alone? Come play with us?"
The girl took a step back, her back against the wall. A hint of panic flashed in her blue eyes, but her tone remained stubborn. "I'm warning you, don't seek death."
"Oh, you have quite a bad temper?" The yellow-haired guy reached out to touch her face.
Next second.
His wrist was grabbed by a bony hand and twisted violently!
"ah--!"
The yellow-haired man screamed and staggered backward.
Before the other two thugs could react, Lei Shuangcheng was already standing in front of them with a smile.
"Everyone, it's not good to bully girls, right?"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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