Chapter 74 Yin Peach Blossom (4) "That's half of Mr. Su He's school..."
The once lively reception room fell into an odd silence because of Su He's words.
Song Zhengxiang's words caught in his throat, and he froze, as did the other masters, who were all surprised and then suddenly realized what was going on.
The Song family is not as powerful as the Xia family, but that's normal. The Xia family is dominant in Diqiu City, and the Song family is one of the top tier below the Xia family. Anyway, they are all clients that the Song family cannot afford to offend and that they should maintain good relations with.
But this boy is acquainted with the Su family's wolves, and they seem to be quite close!
Who has ever seen Black Goat care about the Xia or Song families? There are even rumors that it was Black Goat who secretly helped Xia Yuanchuan become wealthy back then!
Is Xie Tan also a member of the Su family? No wonder he's so arrogant; he certainly has the right to be.
Even Xia Changfeng, who had originally intended to smooth things over, was taken aback.
Xia Yuanchuan, chairman of Changsheng Group, had been overworked in his early years, and his health has been deteriorating in recent years. He is no longer able to manage the company and has handed it over to his eldest son. He is now recuperating at home and rarely sees outsiders.
All sorts of rumors are circulating outside, saying he's paralyzed on one side, has Alzheimer's, etc., but they all boil down to one despicable point: this old man is not long for this world.
Unfortunately, surrounded by wolves, the eldest son, Xia Changfeng, was excellent and ambitious, and steadily took over the business empire, failing to fulfill their wishes and Changsheng's destiny.
However, this also left the extremely busy CEO Xia with no time to spend with his family, which made him feel guilty. In particular, upon hearing that his sister was being haunted by a ghost, he immediately postponed his trip and rushed back, spending a lot of money to hire a skilled and extraordinary person.
The Su family was certainly on the list, and was even one of his top choices. There was a joke that "Diqiu's surname is Xia"... That was the Diqiu in the eyes of ordinary people. In another world, there was a saying that was not a joke, but a fear: "Diqiu's surname is Su".
Although things are different now, the once-giant tree has fallen and rotted, and its pus can still soak the soil of the entire city.
But he also knew that the Su family had been out of contact for many years, and that this old family had a very strange temper. He was just grasping at straws in desperation and didn't have much hope.
But unexpectedly, the Su family seems to have emerged from seclusion.
Moreover, he is not an ordinary member of the clan, but a pillar of the Black Goat family. No matter how the direct line changes, he is the one with the sharpest claws and teeth of the Black Goat. Mr. Su He actually agreed to come in person!
Xia Changfeng was on high alert, treating the audience like royalty, almost bathing and burning incense to show his respect.
He was a businessman, so he had a knack for judging people. After entertaining Mr. Su He for a while, he got a sense of Mr. Su He's temperament. Seeing a group of people exchanging pleasantries, he knew that Mr. Su He was getting impatient.
To avoid the VIPs bluntly telling the other guests to get lost, he was about to end the small talk with a single sentence and get straight to the point.
Unexpectedly, Su He, who had previously ignored him, suddenly changed her expression and greeted the last boy to enter the room familiarly.
Both their attitude and the content and tone of their words were much more intimate than before.
Xia Changfeng knew that the two young men were his sister's friends.
But he didn't take his sister's "request" seriously. They were still students, just like his sister. He just thought of it as inviting his sister's friends over. She hadn't been resting well lately, so it would be a good opportunity to keep her company.
With trusted and close friends around, she can relax a bit.
Now, he immediately adjusted his attitude and looked at the two young men seriously. Seeing that Xie Tan was listless and did not answer Su He, he first greeted them warmly, asked everyone to sit down, and then asked, "Does Mr. Su He know Mr. Xie?"
Su He crossed her legs, staring at Xie Tan with a half-smile: "My junior."
Xia Changfeng asked in surprise, "Is Mr. Xie also a member of the Su family?"
Master Yun Song exclaimed, "I knew it! Young Master Xie has an extraordinary air about him."
Su He didn't answer, after all, he also wanted to hear Xie Tan's reply, and was somewhat looking forward to a good show.
But when his gaze inadvertently fell on Xie Tan's clothes, his eyes turned cold, and he glanced at Song Zhengxiang with a hint of malice.
After taking his seat, Song Zhengxiang looked unwell. He hadn't expected that this person was from the Su family, but he still managed to keep a low profile and try his best to make his presence known.
At that moment, he suddenly felt the sense of danger of being targeted by predators, and he shuddered for no reason, nervously looking around.
Xie Tan seemed to scoff softly.
"I wouldn't dare."
This attitude was clearly one of disdain and disgust.
This time, it was the questioner's turn to be nervous, and Master Yunsong also regretted that he shouldn't have spoken up.
It's one thing to criticize Song Zhengxiang, but Su He is sitting right here, criticizing the Su family?
Song Zhengxiang sat up straighter and immediately looked at Su He, waiting for his cold face... preferably a complete falling out!
The others also observed Su He's expression, but to their surprise, the white-haired man suddenly smiled, not only seemingly unconcerned but also in a good mood, saying, "It's just a matter of dealing with him for a while."
The words weren't clearly stated, but the implication was that "he wasn't a member of the Su family." Xia Changfeng wisely stopped dwelling on the matter and instead said, "He was Mr. Su He's half-student."
Xie Tan neither mocked nor answered.
Not answering meant not denying it, and Su He seemed to be in a better mood: "Let's get down to business."
Xia Changfeng then instructed the steward to summon Xia Wujin down.
Xie Tan had actually been secretly observing these people... Were there no members of the cult among them?
He thought it was unlikely.
The Cult has indeed been busy lately, as you can tell from Xi Rui. He's been hard to find since returning to school, and another story arc has passed without him giving Xie Tan any signal, as if he hadn't reported it to the Cult.
There's also Chang Mingai, who may or may not have officially started working yet. Besides her demanding coursework, she's so busy in her free time that you hardly ever see her.
When Xia Wujin encountered something strange, her first reaction should have been to look for Xi Rui, since that's how they met, and she and Chang Mingai were close. Normally, the people who should have come to the manor at this moment were the two of them.
Another piece of evidence is that the previous story wasn't actually orchestrated by the Mirror Cult, but by the Black Goats who have been making moves recently.
The black goats also mentioned that there were cultists harassing them in secret. Xie Tan guessed that the cult might have released a large number of followers to further investigate other observations by following the goats' movements.
And I heard the cult has been holding a service recently? Or maybe they call it a "dharma assembly"? Anyway, it's a cult gathering.
He's certainly busy. But Xie Tan believed that the sect would definitely react to his veiled proposal for cooperation, especially with Su He present.
Xie Tan thought that since the story chose to feature him, it was unlikely that the sect would be short of members.
So, among these four masters, who is a cult member?
Xia Wujin arrived, his face still somewhat pale. He greeted them politely and then sat down next to Xia Changfeng.
Xia Changfeng then showed them something on the table in the reception room, almost as big as the table itself. He lifted the red cloth, revealing two temperature- and humidity-controlled glass display cases, like those in a museum, containing a pair of bronze geese and a pair of jade geese.
Lu Jinzhao immediately recognized the one on the left: "Hmm? This is an artifact from the basement of the musical theater?"
Xia Wujin nodded: "Yes."
She recounted what happened.
After the exploration of the unfinished musical theater, the underground artifacts have been handed over, including this pair of bronze geese.
But before the vacation, the nanny said that while cleaning, she found an extra item in the collection room. Xia Wujin took a look and saw that it was the pair of bronze wild geese.
They appeared out of nowhere in her house.
She immediately contacted the cultural relics bureau and the police, and the cultural relics were taken away.
Then, when she returned from her vacation, she found that the pair of geese had returned silently to the floor of her room, and there was also a pair of jade geese, which were among the most prized artifacts of the Diqiu City Museum. They had been loaned out of the province and had just returned to the city a few days ago, but had disappeared on the way.
The Xia family is wealthy and powerful, but they are not insane and would never steal cultural relics. The investigation also showed that there were no signs of theft during the transportation process.
If all possibilities have been investigated and it still doesn't make sense, then there's only one possibility.
It's haunted.
Xia Wujin rubbed his temples and said, "Before sneaking into the music theater at night, I always dreamed of someone. At first, I couldn't see their face clearly. I couldn't tell if they were a person or an object, let alone a man, woman, or child. They were just a blurry red. When I woke up, I didn't remember anything."
"Then I started having this dream every day. The dream became clearer each day. I could see the outline of a person wearing red clothes, who seemed to be talking to me, but I couldn't hear him or remember him. Gradually, I could see that the person was very tall and broad-shouldered, so he should be a man. Then I could see his limbs, and then his torso. He seemed to be in his twenties or thirties, but his face was always blurry, and I couldn't see it clearly no matter what I did."
"He even comforted me, saying we'd see each other soon. I asked him who he was, and he should have told me, but I forgot when I woke up. The next time we met, he said the same thing again, saying soon..."
"Until the day of Qixi Festival, I saw his face. It wasn't scary, it was even quite outstanding. He told me his name and his address. When I woke up this time... I remembered everything. I remembered what he looked like and some of the things he said. I could also remember some things from my previous dreams, which were the dreams after I could remember what he told me."
Master He asked, "What is the address?"
Xia Changfeng replied with a grim expression, "It's the cemetery at the foot of the mountain."
The witch asked, "Whose name is it from in the cemetery?"
“His name is Zhang Chengxiao. His name is not in the cemetery, but there are many graves in the woods above the cemetery. One of the solitary graves has this name on it. There is only one name, and its origin cannot be found.”
Master Yun Song: "What kind of thing did you attract? Are you haunted by vengeful ghosts? But you had a dream before you discovered the artifact, and you saw that it was there before that, so it wasn't brought out from that unfinished building."
Master He frowned: "Could it be the work of an enemy? There are quite a few people who are envious of the Xia family."
The witch suggested another possibility: "The Yin Peach Blossom could also be a karmic entanglement from a past life, which he is trying to continue."
Xia Changfeng is already searching for people with this name. Unfortunately, Xia Wujin is unable to draw his appearance. His features are not particularly distinctive, such as slanted eyes, a hooked nose, or moles. Every feature is just right, and he can only be described as a very well-proportioned and pleasing-to-the-eye type.
The witch asked, "What about his clothes? What material are they made of? Are they modern clothes?"
Xia Wujin shook his head: "It's like modern clothes, with separate top and bottom, long sleeves and long pants, but the material is very rough and has no special features... I think it looks like the red-dyed prison clothes of ancient times without the word 'prisoner'."
That's likely some old ghost trying to capture a living person for a ghost marriage, or it could be a karmic entanglement from her past life.
Grandma Yao said gently, "Yin Taohua, did he ask for your name?"
Xia Wujin: "Yes, and I've asked him many times, but I haven't told him."
Grandma Yao praised, "You absolutely mustn't tell him. He also has your birth date and time. He's probably going through the proper formalities of marriage. I don't know what methods he used to get into your dreams. This is the first step of betrothal. The wild goose is the gift he prepared to act as a matchmaker and propose marriage."
Master He continued, "The next step is to match your birth dates and times with his. I will then create a dream-dispelling and evil-repelling ritual for you. But if he still has other methods, you must be vigilant."
Master Yunsong said, "I will assist from the sidelines."
Grandma comforted her, "I will give you a hint in your dream to keep your mouth shut, so that you will not be misled by him and answer out loud."
The witch said, "Let me figure out what kind of person this is."
Xia Changfeng thanked them one by one, but the others remained silent. He was unsure about Xie Tan's situation and was also afraid of putting the child in a difficult position, since Xie Tan was his sister's classmate. In any case, Su He was his teacher, so he respectfully asked Su He for his opinion.
Su He said lazily, "Isn't everything allocated quite well? Let's see when she dreams about it again. If it doesn't work, I'll just go into her dream and kill him."
"Alright, thank you very much, Mr. Su He. With the help of these masters, I can finally rest easy. You all haven't eaten yet, have you? I apologize for my poor hospitality. Please follow me..."
Having regained his composure, Song Zhengxiang suddenly interjected with a smile, "Brother Xia, have you forgotten about Mr. Xie? He's Mr. Su He's student, his abilities are beyond question, he's trusted by Jin Jin, and he even saw the flowers that ghost sent. He must have discovered something."
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