Chapter 48

The entire Ke family was in chaos.

The butler hurriedly asked someone to bring Mrs. Ke and Ke Chenyu down. When Mrs. Ke and Ke Chenyu, both in their pajamas, rushed out in a panic and saw the scene, they fell silent.

Mrs. Ke patted her chest and said, "You scared me! I thought something major had happened!"

Ke Zhengye’s cries of pain paused: "…？？？"

How could this not be a big deal when he was in this much pain?!

But then, his gaze swept over to Ke Chenyu, who also had a frustrated and impatient expression, showing no concern for his father. Instead, it seemed like he thought his father was making a fuss over nothing.

Ke Zhengye immediately became furious, struggling to get up and scold someone. But as soon as he moved, the sharp pain in his back turned his curses into wails: "Ahhh, my back!"

Everyone: "…"

Nie Chen couldn't bear to watch anymore and said in a deep voice, "Call a doctor."

Ten minutes later, both parties sat in silence in the living room.

Ke Zhengye lay on the sofa, his face pale, glaring at Nie Chen across from him.

Nie Chen, for some unknown reason, also had a blank expression, looking displeased. His right index finger was raised high, his posture very formal, which was completely mismatched with the situation.

His eyes were cold, as if blaming Ke Zhengye for hurting his back.

"…" Ke Zhengye was very angry.

It was already humiliating enough to have hurt his back while secretly moving the water tank in the middle of the night, but now Ke Xingzhou had brought so many people to watch his misfortune!

This was absolutely disgraceful!

Especially the person sitting right across from him—

Ke Zhengye glanced at Nie Chen's raised middle finger and thought this person was so strange.

No wonder Ke Xingzhou, that rebellious child, was so mysterious; even the friends he made were abnormal.

He already had a bad temper, and this situation only made him even more enraged. But it wasn't appropriate to scold the others' children, so he finally turned the blame on Ke Xingzhou: "You good-for-nothing! Do you even have any manners? Bringing people home in the middle of the night without even telling us? Do you still see me as your father?!"

He had asked this question many times before, but Ke Xingzhou completely ignored him. Instead, he turned to the doctor and said, "Please, help him wrap it up too."

Ke Zhengye wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but after Ke Xingzhou said that, the atmosphere in the room suddenly lightened.The tall man sitting across from him suddenly relaxed, and the oppressive tension in the air disappeared. He looked at Ke Xingzhou, and it seemed like a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.

Ke Zhengye: "???"

Ke Zhengye glanced at Ke Xingzhou’s flushed ears and messy clothes, suddenly feeling suspicious. He carefully looked at Nie Chen's appearance, and his expression subtly changed.

Over the years, Ke Xingzhou had been living in the countryside. Although Ke Zhengye hadn’t paid much attention, he wasn’t completely indifferent.

For instance, during last year’s ancestral worship, he heard people in the village mention that Ke Xingzhou had once had a boyfriend, someone with high nose and big eyes, and also a mixed-race person. Unfortunately, the other party broke up with him because he was poor.

The young man in front of him, dressed in a suit, also seemed to be mixed-race.

Alarm bells went off in his mind, and he angrily said, "What’s the point of wrapping up such a tiny injury? It'll heal on its own if we just wait a bit longer!"

An He Guang and Xie An both looked at him in shock, unable to believe that someone would dare to stop Mr. Nie from being treated.

Their reactions made even Ke Chenyu realize something was wrong.

Although the Xie and An families were not top-tier families, they were leaders in their respective fields, and most people around their age would not need to be so cautious with them.

The key was that Nie Chen remained calm, not at all feeling that something was wrong.

Ke Chenyu felt uneasy and couldn’t help but whisper, "After all, this is Xingzhou's friend. Dad, you should let the doctor check him out…"

For some reason, these words seemed to hit a nerve with Ke Zhengye. He snapped, "Check what? I forbid it!"

He had only stopped watching over this rebellious son for a few days, and now he was bold enough to bring someone home so openly. If he let this slide today, what would happen next?!

Ke Zhengye’s anger flared as he grabbed the doctor, who was about to get up, and glared at him. "Which side are you on?!"

Family doctor: "…"

After all, it was the person who paid his salary. The family doctor hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ke Xingzhou with an uncomfortable expression.

Ke Xingzhou calmly said, "Your salary comes from Madam's card. He can’t control you."

The butler also chimed in, "Yes, yes. Madam always likes good-looking kids. She'll definitely agree. This gentleman's finger is injured. If it leads to tetanus, it’ll be bad. Doctor, please take a look at him."

Ke Zhengye opened his mouth, originally wanting to scold Ke Xingzhou, but after hearing that, he immediately leaned back in disbelief, looking at the butler: "I hurt my back earlier, why didn’t you show this much enthusiasm then?! You bastard, who is your master?!"

The butler trembled, "S-Sir, my salary also comes from Madam's card…"

Ke Zhengye: "……"

He fell silent for a moment, then shouted angrily, "So what? I’m her husband, the head of this family! When I say no, it’s NO! Do you believe I’ll call Wanru down now and fire both of you?!"

Ke Xingzhou ignored him and called to the family doctor, "He can’t control the household matters. Please just come and check him out first."

If we don’t wrap it up, it’ll heal on its own soon.

Ke Zhengye, constantly being slapped in the face by his son, especially in front of all these younger people, was so angry that he screamed, "I said no! Didn’t you hear me? You bastard, look me in the eye and say it again! Do you think I’m dead?!"

Everyone: "…"

Under the surprised gazes of An He Guang and Xie An, Ke Yuanbai sat uneasily, then fell silent for a while before simply getting up and returning to his room.He truly couldn’t stay in this place for even a minute.

An He Guang had no choice but to look away, feeling helpless as he watched Ke Zhengye, as if he were watching a fool.

That’s Nie Chen!

Recently, there had been frequent personnel changes within the Wanli Group, and the outside world was speculating that Old Master Nie was preparing to officially hand over power to Nie Chen.

In an instant, families in the capital were all starting to stir, and even his irresponsible parents had, for the first time, warned him to be more cautious and not to provoke Nie Chen.

Ke Zhengye was at least the head of a prominent family; he couldn’t possibly not know who Nie Chen was, right?

How could someone push away the God of Wealth?

However, Ke Zhengye felt that these people were indeed the ones Ke Xingzhou had brought with him—each one more impolite than the last.

What kind of look were they giving him?!

Ke Xingzhou was indifferent towards the other two, obviously uninterested, so Ke Zhengye didn’t pay much attention.

Feeling very displeased, he glanced at Nie Chen, then directly ordered Ke Xingzhou to show them out: “What time is it now? What decent person visits others' homes at this hour? Hurry up and get them to leave! You're disturbing my rest!”

Ke Xingzhou was speechless.

However, after all these years, he had long gotten used to Ke Zhengye’s temper, so he ignored him completely and began rummaging through the family doctor’s small medical kit to disinfect and treat Nie Chen’s injured finger.

Nie Chen lowered his eyes, focusing on him.

Ke Zhengye wasn’t mistaken. Since they had barged into the Ke family’s home together, Ke Xingzhou’s usual hostility towards him had inexplicably eased a lot. They were now standing very close, their breaths almost overlapping, and Ke Xingzhou didn’t even try to avoid it.

Especially when he saw the deep and shallow old scars on Nie Chen’s finger, Ke Xingzhou froze for a moment and couldn’t help but reach out and touch them.

These injuries…

Before Xie An and the others could figure out what was wrong, Ke Zhengye jumped up, his anger reaching a boiling point. He looked like an agitated fish, pointing at the two of them and almost exploding in rage: “What are you two doing?! In front of me, what do you think you’re doing? Get away from each other! Do you hear me? I knew it—bringing this kind of person back home would only lead to trouble! I don’t agree!! Get him out of here right now!!”

He was so furious, his brain almost deprived of oxygen. Seeing Ke Xingzhou still unmoved, his anger flared even more. He forgot about his own injury and picked up the ashtray from the nearby coffee table, throwing it at Ke Xingzhou.

The next second—

“Ah, ah, ah, hiss… My back!”

Everyone: “…”

The ashtray fell to the ground with a crash, and everyone stared in disbelief as Nie Chen quickly raised his hand to shield Ke Xingzhou, the visible red marks starting to appear on his arm.

Nie Chen stared at Ke Zhengye expressionlessly, his gaze as if he were looking at a corpse.

Ke Xingzhou watched this scene, his brows furrowing.

The two’s gazes were deep, and Ke Zhengye, upon meeting them, subconsciously shrank back. The curse he was about to say seemed to be choked in his throat.

After a moment, he finally spoke again, his face red with anger: “What kind of look is that?! If you hadn’t been so blatant, would I have gotten this angry? Hurry up and separate! Do you dare act like this in front of me? Do you even respect me?!”Xie An stared blankly at Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen.

The two were standing very close to each other, with Ke Xingzhou almost being embraced by Mr. Nie. Strangely, it looked perfectly natural, and Ke Xingzhou, who usually disliked physical contact with others, seemed completely unaware, not even standing farther away from Mr. Nie.

Listening to Ke Zhengye’s angry scolding, Xie An had only felt it was noisy at first. But as he listened carefully, he suddenly felt enlightened.

Ke Xingzhou and Mr. Nie...

Suddenly, a figure squeezed between Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen. Both of them turned to look, only to see Xie An staring at Nie Chen with a vigilant expression, using his body to separate them. He said with righteous indignation to Nie Chen, "Mr. Nie, what you're doing is wrong!"

Nie Chen furrowed his brows.

Then Xie An continued, "I was the one who met my brother first! Relationships should be prioritized, how can you just cut in line?!"

He hadn’t been paying attention for a moment, and now his brother’s relationship with Mr. Nie was so close that even Ke Zhengye had misunderstood!

Xie An was on high alert!

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

Nie Chen: "..."

"What are you two talking about?!" Ke Zhengye’s eyes widened, his gaze shifting between the three of them in disbelief. He couldn’t believe his ears. He angrily stared at Ke Xingzhou: "This too?! You good-for-nothing! How many other ridiculous things have you done?! That’s Old Xie’s son! How am I supposed to face Old Xie in the future?! We’re rivals, not enemies, how could you do this?!"

Even the butler was startled by his sudden outburst, rushing forward to calm him down: "Sir! Please calm down, your back can’t handle it!"

"No, wait!" Ke Zhengye suddenly looked suspiciously at An He Guang, his expression changing. "What are you doing!!"

An He Guang: "???"

—

Nie Chen and the others were still kicked out.

Ke Zhengye looked like he was about to be killed by anger. After all, they were his elders. Xie An was afraid he might have a heart attack. Plus, after Ke Zhengye’s reminder, Xie An finally realized why An He Guang had been hanging around Ke Xingzhou all evening.

He was alone and couldn’t keep an eye on both Mr. Nie and An He Guang, so he decisively took the two potential friendship crises away.

Ke Chenyi saw them off, looking completely drained, as though he had been tortured.

When he returned and saw Ke Zhengye still angrily cursing, he felt even more tired.

He had stayed upstairs since he got home and hadn’t come down, but after looking at the scene, he could roughly understand why Ke Zhengye had hurt his back.

He felt helpless, but after all, he was his father, and unlike Ke Xingzhou, who had the luck of suddenly discovering he wasn’t the biological child, Ke Chenyi could only sigh: "Dad, what are you doing sneaking around and moving the water tank at this time of night?"

Hearing this, Ke Zhengye got angry, glaring at Ke Xingzhou: "Ask him! Why did he suddenly take the door off my study and move my water tank to the yard?!"

Although this was a villa area with better security than an ordinary neighborhood, that antique water tank had cost him several million! What if it broke?!

Ke Chenyi: "..."

He glanced at the door, which was still partially visible at the top of the stairs, and realized that Ke Xingzhou must have taken it down. He had thought that Ke Zhengye had finally realized he couldn’t keep any secrets in the study and was planning to replace the door with a regular one.

However, there were indeed many collectibles in the study, and after hearing that, Ke Chenyi also thought Ke Xingzhou had gone too far. He frowned and looked at him: "Xingzhou, apologize to Dad."With the eldest son backing him up, Ke Zhengye felt that the place where he twisted himself no longer hurt. He straightened his back, glaring intensely at Ke Xingzhou, as if he were really waiting for him to apologize.

"..." Ke Xingzhou directly ignored him.

However, he also couldn’t be bothered with this older brother. Pointing at the ceramic water jar, he reiterated: "This thing is very sinister, having it in the house will affect your luck. Ke Zhengye’s recent emotional instability is thanks to it."

Ke Chenyi was stunned for a moment and subconsciously looked at the water jar.

To make it easier to move, Ke Zhengye had emptied the water from the jar, but the water lilies inside remained.

Earlier, the water had masked the smell, but now without the water, the stench was overwhelming. The entire house was filled with a foul smell, and after a while, it gave a splitting headache.

Speaking of which, Ke Zhengye’s temper had indeed worsened in the last couple of years. Just now, when he acted out, Ke Chenyi was also startled.

Ke Zhengye prided himself as a cultured man. Usually, even when angry, he wouldn’t resort to violence, especially not in front of so many people. He cared about the family’s image and wouldn’t act like that.

But as for metaphysics...

Ke Chenyi furrowed his brows and sighed. "Stop angering Dad... Never mind, you should go back now. I’ll talk to Dad about this."

As he spoke, he pushed Ke Xingzhou upstairs.

When Ke Xingzhou turned around, he heard him say to Ke Zhengye, "Dad, it's just a water jar. What difference does it make if you give it to Xingzhou? If you really like it, I’ll buy you another one."

Ke Zhengye thought he was speaking up for him and was immediately enraged. He tilted his head back and shouted, "You’re talking nonsense! He was the one who dismantled the door of my study and barged in, taking things! This water jar cost me millions! And you want me to give it to him! What are you implying! Do I need to give you face?!"

Then another round of chaos followed.

Ke Xingzhou was speechless. "Why bother with him? Anyway, this water jar can’t stay in the house, I’m taking it out."

Saying that, he bent down and indeed moved the water jar out.

"Look! Look!" Ke Zhengye watched him effortlessly carry the jar, fuming. He grabbed Ke Chenyi’s sleeve and shouted, "He’s mocking me!!!"

Ke Chenyi couldn’t stand it anymore and yelled back, "...Dad, you're fifty! Just grow old gracefully!"

Why is he always comparing himself to Ke Xingzhou, a young man?

Outside the house.

The emptied water jar was even easier to move for Ke Xingzhou. He placed it on the other side of the fountain pool, paused when passing by the incense burner, and answered the phone.

On the other end, Ji Han’s voice came through. "Master Ke! We found him! That person really did want to harm me again. As soon as I returned, he came knocking, but was caught by the masters on the spot! He’s already been sent to the police station!"

His voice sounded much more lively than before, clearly free from the rumors that had troubled him.

Ke Zhengye’s shouting still echoed in the background. Ke Xingzhou looked up, through the smoke of the incense, at the scene in the house where Ke Zhengye was still trying to get up to scold the unfilial son, while Ke Chenyi helplessly reminded him to take care of his health. He couldn’t help but feel that this winter was really cold.

He murmured softly, "Congratulations."

Ji Han sensed the indifferent tone and felt a jolt of unease. He thought Ke Xingzhou might be unhappy that he only sought help without mentioning a reward. He quickly spoke sincerely, "Master Ke, I wouldn’t have been able to clear my name without your help. Recently, I’ve been terminated from so many contracts that I really can’t offer much in return, but rest assured, if you need anything in the future, just contact me. I’ll do everything I can to help!"Placing his hand on the incense burner, Ke Xingzhou withdrew his gaze and paused for a moment on the intricate patterns on the surface of the incense burner.

Before leaving, Xie An passed by the incense burner and added three more sticks of incense. An He Guang, not wanting to be outdone, also asked the butler for some incense and added three more. Nie Chen, silently following the trend, also added a stick. Now, in addition to the large incense stick, there were a total of nine sticks of incense.

Compared to the flourishing incense at other temples and Taoist temples, these few sticks were quite modest, but when Ke Xingzhou’s hand rested on them, he could vaguely feel a hint of warmth.

He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Can anything really be done?"

Ji Han's voice was strong and clear: "Of course!"

The next morning.

As netizens, with panda eyes, anxiously followed the hot topics of the "All-round Idol" haunted house incident and the Mo Lili incident, the common party involved in both events finally made an appearance.

The crowd of bystanders was suddenly in a complicated mood, especially since Ji Han had been viciously attacked at that time, and a large part of that blame fell on them.

In the hot topic, apart from the details of the entire incident, those who had unfollowed and turned against him also expressed their apologies and regrets. By now, Ji Han's backstage was probably as overloaded as it had been in the past few days, right?

Just as everyone was guessing what Ji Han, who had endured so much grievance and had been terrified in the haunted house, would say—whether he would seize the opportunity to gain traffic or despair and quit the entertainment industry—Ji Han finally posted a slow update:

[Ji Han V: Thank you to the fans who have always believed in me, and thank you to Daoist Ke Xingzhou of the Xiaoyao Sect for his help. After the contract termination, I didn’t have much savings, so I personally bought some fortune-changing talismans. I’m giving away ten of them to fans who share this post!]

The picture explained the function of the talismans in detail, claiming they could dispel evil, drive away ghosts, harmonize yin and yang, turn bad luck into good fortune, and also help with Feng Shui.

The onlookers and fans were confused: "……？？？"

Wait... no.

The Master Ke you’re talking about, it’s not Ke Xingzhou, is it!