Chapter 35

Ke Xingzhou poured the powder back into the sealed bag and went out to wash his hands.

The group was left exchanging glances, each showing different expressions.

Xie Zhiwen, unwilling to accept it, took a photo of the bracelet and sent it to a familiar Taoist priest. The result was exactly as Ke Xingzhou had said—the bracelet, which had nearly ruined their family, had been completely destroyed.

The Taoist priest, seeing that he had doubts, carefully explained: "The beads on the outside don’t serve any purpose. Did you see the thread in the middle of the bracelet? This thing was soaked in corpse oil, and it carries the soul of a vengeful ghost, which is why you’ve been so unlucky, always experiencing life and death calamities."

A person has three souls and seven spirits, and none can be missing; the same applies to ghosts.

If the bracelet had been attached to a vengeful ghost with all three souls and seven spirits intact, other, weaker ghosts wouldn’t dare to approach. Only this particular vengeful ghost would threaten the safety of the bracelet’s wearer. But now, this bracelet only carried one soul, which made it an excellent supplement for other evil ghosts trying to strengthen their powers, so naturally, they swarmed toward it and wouldn’t let it go.

The group, already on edge, was further shaken by the explanation and felt even more unsettled.

Especially Pu Li.

Although the bracelet was something he had asked for, the real instigator behind it was unknown, and he had no name. His experience was a pure disaster, much like the family who had to deal with a forced demolition.

But it was also because the bracelet had been handed over by him that the entire incident was inextricably linked to him.

Pu Li wanted to cry but had no tears. Now, he couldn’t face that family anymore.

The Xie family also had nothing more to say, and the atmosphere fell into silence.

After finishing his explanation, the Taoist priest suddenly became curious: "Mr. Xie, is this your friend’s bracelet? I don’t remember you mentioning it before."

Xie Zhiwen had contributed a lot to this Taoist temple, so the priest was familiar with him and asked a couple more questions.

The incident where his family almost got killed by their own mother was not something to talk about openly, so Xie Zhiwen hesitated and nodded vaguely: "Sort of."

Covering up the part where his mother had been greedy and deceived them, Xie Zhiwen told the priest everything that had happened to his family and to Pu Li.

"Then you should have had your daughter contact us earlier." The Taoist priest thought Xie Baiqiu had approached them for these bracelets and kindly reminded him, "This kind of thing is quite difficult to resolve. Because the vengeful ghost's soul isn’t attached to the beads but to the cord soaked in corpse oil."

The priest looked at the bracelet on the screen that had already turned to powder and spoke confidently from his experience: "Even if we brought it to our temple, it would need to be suppressed with ritual tools for forty-nine days. Then we would have to invite several Taoist priests to perform a ritual together to dispel the resentment."

Only their Longsheng Temple in the entire capital had the depth and confidence to gather enough priests in such a short time to deal with such a dangerous object.

As the Taoist priest spoke, he couldn’t help but puff out his chest, clearly proud of his temple’s abilities.

After a pause, he asked with concern: "But Mr. Xie, it seems your daughter contacted us a few days ago. Did she encounter some insurmountable difficulties? Or is she worried that the remaining bracelets won’t be handled properly and intends to transfer them to our temple?"

"There’s no problem with that. It’s just that with the New Year approaching, the priests in the temple have all gone out to perform rituals for the believers. We can only suppress these things for now with ritual tools, and the formal rituals will have to wait until after the New Year." The Taoist priest spoke to himself, then added, "How about this, I’ll have my disciples come over to collect the remaining bracelets from your house."Ke Xingzhou was always a loyal follower of their Daoist temple. Logically, when Ke Xingzhou encountered such a sinister object, he would have contacted them immediately for help.

Thus, the Daoist priest smoothly arranged everything and did not notice Ke Xingzhou's hesitation.

As the Daoist priest was about to contact the young monk to prepare things, Ke Xingzhou, sweating, stopped him. "M-master, there's no need. Actually, the problem has been solved. I just wanted to ask you to confirm it."

He told a small lie, his gaze wandering unconsciously.

"Resolved?" The Daoist priest was momentarily stunned but not too surprised.

Ke Xingzhou's family was known for their superstition. Last time, when the Daoist priest went to their house for a ritual, Ke Xingzhou had invited priests from other temples as well. So, the priest was used to Ke Xingzhou's wide-net approach to seeking help.

He even thought to himself for a moment.

Before the New Year, he had declined other followers’ invitations and specifically performed rituals for Ke Xingzhou. Could it have been the priests from Qingyun Temple?

Come to think of it, the last time Ke Xingzhou invited someone, it was also a priest from Qingyun Temple.

It seemed Ke Xingzhou had donated just as much incense to Qingyun Temple as he had to their own temple!

With this thought, the priest felt a slight pang of jealousy. A moment later, he remembered something. "By the way, after the New Year, our temple is holding a ritual. We are currently notifying all temples. If you bring out the priest from Qingyun Temple, I’ll talk to him too."

However, when the words fell, there was no response. The priest raised his eyes, only to find that Ke Xingzhou's expression had become even more awkward.

"Well... it’s not a priest from Qingyun Temple..."

Not from Qingyun Temple?

Now the priest was genuinely curious.

There were only two or three large and reputable Daoist temples in the capital, with Qingyun Temple and their own temple being the most powerful. Together, they could destroy such a cursed object with a possessed spirit in the shortest time.

If it wasn’t Qingyun Temple, then perhaps it was the other temple?

The other temple had a shallower connection with them, but they would still invite them for the ritual.

The priest waved his hand and insisted, "Alright, we’re not concerned about which temple helped you. Whoever it was, they should come to the ritual. Go ahead and bring them over."

At that moment, Ke Xingzhou returned from washing his hands, his fingers still dripping with water. Hearing this, he looked up and glanced over.

"You’re looking for me?"

The priest saw Ke Xingzhou’s startled reaction, as he respectfully greeted the young man and, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, introduced him. "Daoist priest, this is the master who helped me resolve the deathly crisis. The bracelet you saw earlier was also handled by him just now."

"Master Ke, this is Daoist Qian from Changsheng Temple."

The events that happened to Ke Xingzhou's family had reached Daoist Qian’s ears. It was indeed extremely dangerous. Even if he had gone there, he might not have been able to warn Ke Xingzhou in time to help them avoid the disaster.

Daoist Qian immediately felt some respect for him. But when he focused on the young man, he couldn’t help but pause.

Looking at the exceptionally beautiful brows and eyes of the young man, his brow involuntarily furrowed.

Pu Li, standing nearby, noticed the change in his expression and felt a strange sense of relief.

After all, at first, he didn’t believe that Ke Xingzhou had real skills—what kind of master wore trendy sportswear, with a program logo on it, sunglasses missing a leg, and even played with water droplets on a cat's head after washing his hands?Moreover, Ke Xingzhou's appearance was really not convincing. Rather than saying he was a fortune teller, it was more like he was some top celebrity trying out a role.

Daoist Qian looked at Ke Xingzhou’s attire and behavior and hesitated for a moment. "May I ask which master this young Daoist is apprenticed to, and at which temple do you serve?"

Ke Xingzhou instinctively wanted to mention Zhu Chu but then remembered that Zhu Chu had gone home for the New Year. The task of revitalizing the sect had fallen onto his shoulders.

He replied, "Xiaoyao Sect. My master is Xiaoyao Zhenren."

Upon hearing this, Daoist Qian's frown deepened. "Xiaoyao Sect?"

Wasn’t that the Daoist cultural tourism experience center that had just opened this year?

Ke Xingzhou could tell what the other was thinking. After a moment of silence, he nodded. "Yes, it's the Xiaoyao Sect you're thinking of."

Daoist Qian: "…………"

He thought about the promotional video his disciples had shown him for the "Xiaoyao Sect Daoist Cultural Tourism Experience Base," where the experience ticket was only 29.9 yuan, leaving him at a loss for words.

Ke Xingzhou, however, didn’t feel awkward. Instead, he actively asked, "You mentioned there's a ritual after the New Year? Can any Daoist temple attend, is that true?"

Ritual...

He had indeed said that any temple could attend the ritual, but the Xiaoyao Sect...

Daoist Qian paused for a moment, and faced with Ke Xingzhou’s expectant gaze, he didn’t quite know how to respond.

He could only awkwardly glance at Xie Zhiwen and change the topic. "You just said the bracelet was handled by him? Have you known each other for a long time?"

If it were another Daoist priest from a large temple, he definitely wouldn’t ask so many questions. But Ke Xingzhou, whom Xie Zhiwen had invited, was young, with a handsome appearance that didn’t look like a Daoist at all, and his sect was...

Not wanting to let his loyal follower be deceived, he had to swallow his pride and ask a few more questions.

However, despite his obvious hints, the usually shrewd follower didn’t pick up on the underlying meaning at all.

"Actually, not really!" Xie Zhiwen scratched his head and laughed heartily. "We met Ke Da Shi after the car accident last time. But my son and he were both contestants on the same show. My son was actually the first one to greet Ke Da Shi!"

Daoist Qian: "……"

At this moment, Daoist Qian felt suffocated.

Who asked you this?!

However, Xie Zhiwen had clearly already been charmed by this young Daoist to the point of being a fool. If he kept being subtle, he was afraid that the young man might even empty his entire family’s coffers.

So, he could only speak directly, "I want to know how this young Daoist handled this bracelet. Do you have any other bracelets with you that I can observe the process on?"

Once those words were spoken, it was clear to everyone present what he meant. The atmosphere froze.

Xie Zhiwen was startled and hurriedly looked at Ke Xingzhou’s expression.

Fortunately, Ke Xingzhou was not angry.

Originally, he would have spoken up because he had heard the mention of the ritual, thinking that his wandering master might make an appearance.Seeing how aggressive the other party was, it was clear he wasn’t going to give him the ritual entrance ticket, and Ke Xingzhou lost interest in the matter.

"Housekeeper? Housekeeper!" Ke Xingzhou shouted towards the window.

The housekeeper, who was over fifty, immediately appeared, holding a camera that had been damaged, clearly the one that the reporter who had been secretly filming just now had used.

Ke Xingzhou pointed at the picture of Daoist Qian on Xie Zhiwen’s phone and instructed casually, "Show him the surveillance footage from the guest room."

Daoist Qian: "……"

The call was hung up.

Looking at the surveillance video sent by Xie Zhiwen, Daoist Qian felt an overwhelming urge to explode.

But Ke Xingzhou’s actions had nothing wrong with them. He said he wanted to observe the process, so Ke Xingzhou had sent him the surveillance footage with the process included—efficiency couldn’t have been higher.

But for some reason, Daoist Qian was still furious.

There was this suffocating feeling, stuck in his chest, neither able to go up nor down.

After opening the surveillance video, the feeling became even more apparent—the camera in the guest room was set behind Ke Xingzhou, so from this angle, all you could see was his arm moving. You couldn’t see what they had actually done.

What kind of observation was this?!

Slamming his phone down, Daoist Qian was about to lose his temper when his disciple knocked and entered.

"Master, I’m back."

Daoist Qian had no choice but to suppress his anger again and let him in.

He scanned the weary disciple up and down and frowned. "Where have you been? Today is the busiest day, and your fellow disciples are all busy to the point of exhaustion, and you're not even here. In the end, I had to do all the preparations myself!"

The disciple looked a bit innocent. "But Master, you sent me to the Xie family to get something..."

He said, pulling out a box covered with yellow talismans and carefully placing it on the table with a guilty look.

When Daoist Qian saw the box, his expression changed.

He suddenly remembered that he had purposely cleared a few hours to wait here for this box.

—Xie Zhiwen had contacted him yesterday, but hadn’t mentioned anything about the bracelet, only that his friend had captured a little ghost. However, Qingyun Temple didn’t have the means to take care of it at the moment, so they needed to temporarily store it.

His focus at the time had been on the little ghost and how Qingyun Temple was busier than their own temple this year. He hadn’t thought to question the fact that Xie Zhiwen had a friend who could capture ghosts, other than their temple or Qingyun Temple.

Now, it seemed that this friend was indeed the young man who claimed to be a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect.

Thinking of that exceptionally handsome face, Daoist Qian’s usual caution began to waver, and the tension he felt looking at the box diminished. He thought to himself, a "Daoist" from a tourism hotspot, the ghost he caught was probably just the spirit of a child who had died young.

Seeing the layers of yellow talismans on the box, he tapped his disciple on the head and scolded, "Is this how you waste yellow talismans? For such a little ghost, one or two talismans would have been enough. Since you can draw so many, go back and draw me 100 more!"

The disciple screamed and collapsed, looking miserable.

"I didn’t waste them! This level of ghost isn’t something I can handle, so I added talismans according to the temple’s rules. Woo woo woo, Master, it’s the New Year! How long will it take me to draw 100 talismans?!"Daoist Qian remained unmoved, thinking to himself, what regulations? A mere ordinary little ghost requires so many talismans? It was just an excuse for his disciple’s mistake.

When the lid was lifted and he looked inside, he almost couldn’t catch his breath—

A completely black ghost baby was hugging its own legs, crouching motionless in the box, staring vacantly at a point on the box.

If it weren’t for Daoist Qian clearly remembering that he had opened his heavenly eye, the ghost baby’s body was still vaguely transparent. From the outside, one might have thought it was just a normal statue ornament.

However, just as he opened the box, the ghost baby lifted its head.

Those eyes, devoid of pupils, emotionlessly met his gaze. The chilling aura of a vengeful ghost spread through the room in an instant, startling Daoist Qian, who staggered back a few steps, his scalp tingling.

—It really was a ghost baby that had been refined!

The appearance of a normal ghost baby was completely different from that of one that had been refined into a little ghost.

A normal ghost baby usually refers to an infant that died before being born, thus underdeveloped, with a large head and small body, some even deformed. Since it died without ever seeing the world, its eyes are typically pupil-less, entirely white.

As for a ghost baby that had been refined into a little ghost, it was an infant who had been born and then killed in a cruel manner, with its soul refined before it could dissipate.

This kind of ghost baby was completely the opposite—it kept the normal appearance of a human infant, but had suffered the most terrifying human pains. Even after being refined, all its memories were lost, and its eyes were filled with darkness.

The one in front of him was clearly the latter.

Daoist Qian, shocked, was momentarily speechless. The young and handsome face of Ke Xingzhou popped into his mind, and he couldn’t believe that this clearly malevolent ghost had been subdued by him.

The training period for orthodox Daoist practices was long. Even his disciples, whom he had selected for their talent, were now in their twenties or thirties, still only assisting him.

Not to mention vengeful ghosts, even ordinary malevolent spirits had hardly ever been subdued by them.

Ke Xingzhou appeared to be just over 20. Daoist Qian could never believe that someone so young could deal with such a powerful little ghost.

But Xie Zhiwen hadn’t mentioned any assistants when talking about his friend. Could it be that there was some experienced elder helping him? Or perhaps he was involved in some unorthodox practice…

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it became. His heart tightened as he remembered Xie Zhiwen’s family still in Ke Xingzhou’s hands. His expression darkened.

His disciple, however, thought that this meant there was no room for discussion, and could only accept the reality with a long face.

But he did remember the instructions Xie Zhiwen had given him: "Mr. Xie’s friend said he was playing a game of 'statue' with this little ghost. The ghost broke the rules and is now under punishment. It cannot speak or move. If we have any issues, we can wait until the punishment is over to discuss."

Daoist Qian: "???"

The disciple glanced at the ghost baby, which had raised its head and was now motionless again, and thought back to the journey home. The ghost baby had indeed been very well-behaved, making no sound. It seemed logical that it was being punished by its master.

After all, from the results, none of the talismans had been of any use.

His sorrow deepened: "Master, you are right. I shouldn’t have wasted so many talismans on such a little ghost. Woo woo, I really haven’t learned enough, I’m so ashamed to have embarrassed you…"

Daoist Qian: "…"

In a way, his disciple’s thought process was really enough to drive anyone crazy.

"Shut up." He interrupted his disciple’s endless crying, glanced at the ghost baby still enduring its "punishment," and fell into an unspoken silence for a moment. "...Go, bring your uncles and aunts here."The disciple froze, his face falling: "Master, are you going to expel me from the sect over a stack of talismans?"

"…" Daoist Qian's vision darkened, and with a suppressed breath, he shouted in anger: "Get them over here to help exorcise this little ghost!!"

Disciple: "…??"

Wasn’t this supposed to be just a little ghost that couldn’t even use a single talisman?

At the Ke family’s place.

Xie Zhiwen sent the surveillance video to Daoist Qian and nervously dared not look at Ke Xingzhou.

Fortunately, Ke Xingzhou didn’t care at all about him simultaneously reaching out to Daoist Qian, and while speaking, he started chatting with Pu Li.

Pu Li was overjoyed. Although he hadn’t been able to say a word during Xie Zhiwen’s exchange with Daoist Qian, he had clearly realized one thing—

Ke Xingzhou was truly capable!

When Daoist Qian mentioned the bracelet, he immediately brought up 49 days, saying they’d have to wait until after the New Year to begin the rituals. But Ke Xingzhou, without saying a word, solved the problem in a flash.

He didn’t understand metaphysics and didn’t care about any authorities, but he knew that with Ke Xingzhou around, he was saved!

Pu Li immediately invited Ke Xingzhou to join him in going to the hospital to resolve the strange incidents with the relocated family.

At first, he was worried that Ke Xingzhou, a person of high status, might be too busy to bother with someone like him, a lay believer, but to his surprise, Ke Xingzhou readily agreed.

However, he then added a "but."

Pu Li’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly responded: "Master, don’t worry, everything regarding treatment will be at the highest standard! I’ll add 50% on top of Mr. Xie’s payment, not 100%! What do you think?"

Actually, aside from the one million his son had given away, Xie Zhiwen hadn’t been able to contribute a single cent: "…"

Then, remembering that he had just made decisions without consulting Master Ke, like asking another Daoist for remote guidance, Xie Zhiwen finally realized his mistake. He felt a strong sense of disorientation.

Just as Pu Li was about to inquire about how much money Xie Zhiwen had spent on the ritual, Ke Xingzhou’s next words caught his attention.

"Forget about the relocation family for now, but the issue with your construction project has nothing to do with that bracelet."

Pu Li: "Huh?"

He withdrew his eager words, thinking, could this problem really be solved without relying on metaphysics?

Then he saw Ke Xingzhou get up: "Let’s go."

Pu Li, momentarily stunned, asked: "Go? Where?"

"To the construction site." Ke Xingzhou looked up and gave him a strange glance. "You said the family’s problems happened on the construction site, didn’t you? Let’s go quickly, I’ll still make it back in time to make dumplings."

Pu Li: "…!!!"

Mrs. Ke, standing at the door holding a basin of dumpling filling and eavesdropping: "!!!"Mrs. Ke didn’t know where the sudden burst of energy came from. Holding the dumpling filling, she anxiously paced back and forth at the door. Eventually, she realized there was nowhere to hide and could only stand there in despair and awkwardness, meeting the surprised gazes of everyone walking out.

"Mrs. Ke, what’s going on…?"

Mrs. Ke forced a smile, trying to salvage her dignity: "I… I just wanted to ask what kind of dumplings you’d like to eat. And, and I was just… exercising! Yes, exercising!"

Exercising…

Mrs. Xie glanced at Mrs. Ke’s trembling, delicate arms, a bit puzzled. She suddenly remembered meeting Ke Zhengye at the door and realized that the man, who seemed to be suffering from mania, was actually the husband of this beautiful woman. Her gaze shifted slightly.

"We won’t eat the dumplings," she said, stepping forward to take Mrs. Ke’s hand, her expression gentle yet firm. "Here’s my contact information. If you run into any difficulties, don’t hesitate to reach out to me."

Mrs. Ke: "???"

Although she didn’t quite understand what kind of difficulties she might have that would require Mrs. Xie’s help, Mrs. Ke couldn’t be bothered to dwell on the details. She nodded absentmindedly and exchanged contact information.

After everything was done, she turned to look at Ke Xingzhou and stammered: "Um… I watched the performance stage today with my girlfriends, and they all praised you, saying they envy me for having such a good son…"

That wasn’t exactly the case.

Ke Xingzhou’s appearance did indeed stun these rich ladies once again, but the fact that Ke Xingzhou had died and come back to life brought them much more anger than surprise.

—The bags and jewelry they had given Mrs. Ke these past few days!!

Not to mention that they had been racking their brains to flatter and comfort Mrs. Ke, trying to praise her; they had even lost a few more strands of hair.

Now, they were being told that everything was fake?!

Mrs. Ke, who had just realized what had happened, still hadn’t fully understood it. The limited-edition bags and jewelry she had just received were snatched back by her "plastic sisters."

After giving up several of her favorite limited-edition bags, the ladies finally reconciled, sat down, and resumed watching the program.

The praise for Ke Xingzhou naturally came after that. After all, when someone gives you something, you still have to show some respect to Mrs. Ke.

Mrs. Ke didn’t know why she suddenly brought this up. She had been thinking about Ke Xingzhou calling her "Mom" lately, and it made her feel complicated inside.

However, despite her thoughts, she had no common ground with Ke Xingzhou.

This time, when Ke Xingzhou came back, even Ke Zhengye spoke a few words to him, but she hadn’t made any progress on her end, which made Mrs. Ke feel more anxious.

That was why she ended up holding a basin of dumpling filling and standing at the door.

Having exhausted all her ideas to come up with a common topic, Mrs. Ke eagerly looked at Ke Xingzhou, hoping he would respond to her.

But Ke Xingzhou just raised an eyebrow and gave her a deep look.

"I’ll try my best to be eliminated."

"Huh? No…" Mrs. Ke froze, then remembered why she had pushed Ke Xingzhou into this show in the first place, and her heart suddenly panicked.

She wanted to explain, but when she opened her mouth, she didn’t know what to say.

It was their own idea to have Ke Xingzhou become a stepping stone for her biological son on the show, but now was she supposed to tell Ke Xingzhou that she regretted it?But the matter at Ke's company, she had no say in it.

While hesitating, Ke Xingzhou and his group had already walked out.

Ke Yuanbai finally came out of the reception room, glanced at Mrs. Ke, who was at a loss, paused for a moment, and then went upstairs to his room.

Mrs. Ke: "…"

Somewhat embarrassed, she watched her two sons leave, and the vast corridor suddenly felt empty with just her standing there. Mrs. Ke stood alone for a moment, feeling like something was wrong with her.

She could have walked in openly to help entertain guests, but when she reached the door, she inexplicably felt guilty and even went to get a bowl of dumpling filling, intending to cover up her actions and pretend to be simply being hospitable.

Seeing that her adopted son had just come home but was taken away again, and her biological son also seemed distant, Mrs. Ke couldn’t help but sigh deeply, regretting her previous coldness.

She then pulled up SA's WeChat and sadly ordered a bunch of things.

After an intense shopping spree, Mrs. Ke finally felt a little better after seeing the order confirmation sent by SA. She returned the dumpling filling to the kitchen lady and happily went back to get some beauty sleep.

On Ke Zhengye's side.

As soon as he arrived at the company, he was buried in work, dealing with various tasks in a frantic manner. When his phone rang, he thought it was a message from a business partner. He casually picked it up and nearly stared his eyes out—

A flood of payment notifications kept popping up as soon as he picked up the phone, sending Ke Zhengye into a panic, nearly throwing the phone away.

After focusing, he saw what his wife had bought, and it made him even angrier.

"Dragon Year limited edition leather fortune sticks," "Dragon Year limited edition lucky charms," "Dragon Year limited edition PVC (plastic) wooden fish"… Besides the usual luxury brand items and the word "limited," what Mrs. Ke had bought this time was surprisingly consistent.

—Everything was related to superstitions!

Ke Zhengye: "…………"

This is outrageous! Completely outrageous!

But he had always cared about face, and even though he was extremely angry, he didn’t have the nerve to return the things his wife had just bought. He could only stew in anger.

The more he looked at the payment information on his phone, the more furious he became. With a grim expression, he wondered if smashing his phone would damage his reputation at the company, when suddenly a phone call came in.

It was from Xie Zhiwen.

Ke Zhengye snorted coldly, thinking that Xie Zhiwen had finally realized that he had been tricked by Ke Xingzhou and was calling to mend the relationship!

He picked up the phone, but before he could speak, he heard Xie Zhiwen’s voice, full of regret: "I was careless today and made a huge mistake. But Master Ke wouldn’t accept my apology, and after thinking it over, I can only come to you."

Ke Zhengye, who had been feeling triumphant, suddenly felt something was off after hearing this: "Aren’t you here to apologize to me?"

"What are you talking about? What do I have to apologize to you for?" Xie Zhiwen snapped back, not understanding what was going on in this middle-aged man's head.

From what his wife had said, Ke Zhengye might even be an abuser.

As a college classmate who had shared a dorm with him, Xie Zhiwen regretted not realizing sooner that Ke Zhengye was an abuser. He wasn’t about to apologize to him now!

If it wasn’t for the fact that Master Ke happened to be Ke Zhengye’s adopted son, and he couldn’t get in touch with anyone else’s wife, he wouldn’t have bothered making this call!

Xie Zhiwen’s sense of justice boiled up, and he almost wanted to punch Ke Zhengye.Until he remembered Ke Xingzhou, his tone once again became polite: "I noticed the area outside your house is a bit empty, and I thought it would be nice to place an incense burner there. I'm planning to get one about your height to put there. I'll donate more incense, and Master Ke will surely appreciate it. What do you think?"

Ke Zhengye: "…………"

He felt like banging his head against the wall!

Does no one remember that this is his house! HIS house!!!

Under Pu Li's guidance, Ke Xingzhou entered the construction site, suddenly raising his eyebrows and letting out a light laugh.

Pu Li immediately stiffened, cautiously looking around.

Ever since Ke Xingzhou said he was coming to the site, Pu Li had been anxious, constantly imagining countless possibilities. Now, looking at the dark surroundings, he felt like a frightened bird. Any slight noise made him break out in cold sweat.

Xie Zhiwen and his wife went home to deal with the remaining bracelets, and Xie Baiqiu was called away by a phone call, leaving only Xie An to follow.

Xie An raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking at the spacious construction site: "Didn’t you say you were still negotiating with the residents? Why has construction already started?"

Pu Li didn’t notice anything unusual and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "It's being done in phases. The residents from the first phase have already moved out, and the construction team has started. The residents we're negotiating with now are from the last phase. Once they move out, the entire site will be fully sealed off for construction."

Xie An looked around, confirming what Pu Li said—only the area they were in had been leveled.

The other areas still had houses standing, with lights on inside, suggesting that people were still active in those buildings.

Pu Li looked at the lit area with a troubled expression: "The residents in the second phase were supposed to have all moved out, but because of recent events, many of them are demanding to return and have caused trouble, making it impossible to continue construction. We had to temporarily halt. The workers have all gone on early vacation."

Fortunately, it was already close to the Spring Festival, so taking time off wouldn’t delay progress too much. It had actually earned him a good reputation with the workers.

This was probably the only consolation he had gotten since the whole thing started.

The empty construction site felt eerie, filled with a damp chill.

Pu Li found the main light switch and turned it on. The lights were dim for some reason, and even the shadows they cast were indistinct, almost blending into the darkness.

He had been somewhat of a materialist, but after experiencing the strange events at the Ke family home, he had become increasingly jumpy. Even in a place he was familiar with, the site, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in his heart.

Especially when he shifted his gaze and saw a large patch of red suddenly appear in his line of sight.

He jumped in surprise and couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah!"

Xie An quickly followed his line of sight and was also startled—at the edge of the light, several blood-red banners were fluttering in the wind. At first glance, it seemed like someone in red clothes was standing there.

However, even after seeing more clearly, it was still quite unsettling, as the banners didn’t have good words written on them. Instead, they accused Pu Li's company of violent demolition and profiteering.

Pu Li felt even more embarrassed seeing this and quickly stepped forward to pull down the banners, stubbornly explaining: "It’s not like that. Our family’s tradition is to be kind to others. Since my father’s generation, we’ve always given the fairest compensation for demolitions. None of the residents from previous demolitions were dissatisfied. If it were truly violent demolition, how could we have spent several years negotiating with them?"

The housing market has plummeted in recent years, okay!

The pressure from public opinion in recent days had made Pu Li anxious. In a fit of frustration, he slammed the banners to the ground, staring at the words "violent demolition" and "black-hearted workshop" for a long time, unable to recover.

Xie An hesitated for a moment, glanced at Ke Xingzhou, and slowly moved over to pat his shoulder.Pu Li, with reddened eyes, looked up at him, tears welling up, and just seeing that baby face brought him immense comfort.

He thought to himself, Mr. Xie was right. His son was indeed a good child who was very empathetic. But then, he heard Xie An's mature reminder: "You can be sad, but don't forget to give the divination gold to my brother."

Pu Li: "…………"

To hell with empathy!!