Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Dalin looked at Grandma Lin in anguish: "Grandma, you’re the one pushing me to this."

If it weren't for her relentless pressure, he wouldn't have resorted to this, and his father wouldn’t have left so decisively back then.

"I told you to have a son, continuing the Lin family line. Did I do something wrong?" Grandma Lin, clutching her chest, cried out in sorrow, "You and your father are both unfilial, forgetting your mother after getting wives. Aren’t you afraid of being scorned for your unfilial behavior?"

Dalin, looking at Grandma Lin's demeanor, remained firm: "My mother would never be like you. Don’t you understand that children have their own fate? Grandma, stop using your outdated ideas to harm my wife."

"Harm your wife?!" Grandma Lin covered her face, crying loudly, "I raised you with so much effort, and now you choose your wife over your grandmother."

"I even made carp soup for your wife early this morning, and this is how you two treat me. Am I, an old woman, supposed to be bullied by you…"

Crying, Grandma Lin thought about how her son also left because of his wife, and now her grandson was doing the same.

She couldn't help feeling overwhelmed with sorrow. Initially, her cries were more for show, but now genuine tears streamed down her cheeks.

Seeing her like this, Dalin felt uneasy. He turned away, looking at his wife and daughter, and with a deep breath, he steeled his resolve.

"Grandma, I will take Meimei and our daughter away. They won’t be a burden to you at home anymore," Dalin stated firmly, "Don’t worry, I will definitely provide for your old age."

But his wife and child, he definitely wouldn't leave them alone with Grandma Lin anymore.

Grandma Lin turned sharply to her grandson, her heart skipping a beat.

Dalin and his father resembled each other, both tall and robust. Now, with his resolute expression and determined eyes, he reminded Grandma Lin of her son many years ago.

After her son went to the city with his wife, he never missed sending monthly expenses and had arranged for villagers and neighbors to care for her. Everyone praised him for his thoughtfulness... but only Grandma Lin felt the distance.

Her son had truly drifted away from her.

Now, her most cherished grandson was showing the same resolve as his father had.

Grandma Lin panicked, clutching the thermos she had brought, looking earnestly at her grandson: "Dalin, I cooked carp soup for your wife, it's good for lactation..."

The other onlookers: “......”

Calling this old lady not smart would be an insult to the phrase itself.

"No need, you can have the carp soup yourself," Dalin said coldly.

What could have been a kind gesture of bringing soup, ruined by that unnecessary comment about lactation...

Several onlookers couldn't help but shake their heads.

Dalin no longer engaged with Grandma Lin. He carefully took his baby, stiff as if holding a bomb: "She's so small."

The baby, only as big as two of his palms, looked somewhat ugly, yet made him smile ear to ear with disbelief and joy.

As a new father, Dalin's heart seemed to overflow with love. He looked at his daughter and then at his wife, his smile goofy and tender. The anger he had felt towards Grandma Lin vanished at the sight of them.

"My wife has worked so hard," Dalin said with a beaming smile.

The couple was loving and harmonious, leaving Grandma Lin awkwardly standing aside, her eyes filled with confusion and fear.

She couldn't understand why her desire to continue the Lin family lineage had alienated the two men of the family. Now, she truly felt isolated and alone.

Grandma Lin felt extremely wronged and distressed, her aged face streaked with tears, evoking a bitter feeling in those who saw her.

Shen Wang, however, felt no pity for her. "One reaps what they sow," he thought. The old lady’s current plight was entirely of her own making.

The new mother's husband had already returned home, and their relatives, informed of the situation, began arriving one after another.

Shen Wang and Mother Xu left in the afternoon, not wanting to disturb the new mother’s peace.

Back at the Xu household, Mother Xu couldn’t help but lament, "Had they known this day would come, why act so at the beginning? Still favoring boys over girls in this day and age, causing such unrest at home... Luckily, Dalin has his head on straight."

Shen Wang nodded in agreement: "Indeed, they already had a lesson in the past, yet refused to learn."

"Some don’t turn back until they hit the wall, but she seems to have hit the wall and still not turned back."

As he spoke with Mother Xu, Shen Wang glanced towards the opposite mountain.

Hidden among the trees was the feng shui master’s house, resembling a fierce beast lurking in the jungle, greedily eyeing its prey from behind the dense foliage.

Ready to pounce and devour the moment opportunity struck.

Lost in thought, Shen Wang suddenly heard a chilling voice and abruptly turned, locking eyes with Lin the feng shui master.

Mother Xu cheerfully said, "Shen, this is Lin the feng shui master, you've met him... He's joining us for dinner today. Cheng, aren’t you happy?"

Xu Cheng: “......”

Mother Xu remarked, "You used to adore Grandfather Lin so much. Whenever you got upset with us, you'd say you wanted to be his son. Thinking about it now, it seems so funny."

Xu Cheng forced a smile: "Grandfather, Grandfather."

He surreptitiously glanced at Shen Wang, his eyes screaming: Save me, save me!

Having just seen the ghosts at Lin's house the night before and not having time to process it, encountering Lin in person the next day nearly brought Xu Cheng to tears.

"Cheng has grown up," Lin smiled at Xu Cheng. "I remember naming you. Cheng, as in 'future'... In the blink of an eye, you're twenty, and I've grown old."

Perhaps knowing the truth made Xu Cheng find Lin's gaze eerie, like a vulture eyeing a corpse, contemplating its next move.

Feeling panicked, Xu Cheng instinctively stood behind Shen Wang.

Shen Wang met Lin's gaze squarely, his eyes sharp: "Indeed, you're not getting any younger. Wouldn’t it be better to find a nice place to spend your remaining years rather than running around causing trouble?"

"This young man is right. I'm getting on in years; I really should rest," Lin nodded. "Once I complete my last task, I'll find a suitable place to retire."

The old and the young both wore radiant smiles on their faces.

"Seeing you two get along so well reassures me," Mother Xu chimed in, smiling.

The previous night, Shen Wang had been quite displeased with Lin. Mother Xu had been worried about potential friction between them, but now seeing their smiling faces, she was relieved.

Xu Cheng, the only one aware of the truth, remained silent.

The words were sharp enough to wound, reeking of opportunism and murderous intent.

Shen Wang, unfazed, retorted, "We do have a knack for opportunism. Although he's a flamboyant charlatan and I'm a bona fide successor of socialism, staunchly against feudal superstition... but I do respect the old and love the young."

Lin Yinyang chuckled, "The city has its way of life, as does the countryside. You're young, so it's normal not to grasp these differences."

Both men kept their composure, but their expressions changed once they turned away.

Lin Yinyang's friendly smile vanished in an instant, his eyes turned sinister, glinting with sharpness.

Xu Cheng pulled Shen Wang aside and whispered, "Brother Shen, what do we do now?"

Shen Wang sneered, "What to do? Call the police, of course."

"Didn't you catch his implication? He plans to flee after taking your life."

Startled, Xu Cheng fumbled with his phone, "How could it happen so soon? I'm not ready. Is calling the police useful? Should I dial 110?"

"Dial 110? Bringing ordinary police into this is like serving them on a platter," Shen Wang snatched the phone irritably, "Don't worry, with me here, not even the King of Hell can take your life."

Xu Cheng, with tears in his eyes, looked at Shen Wang, deeply moved, "Brother Shen, I adore you! From now on, my life is yours. I'll work like an ox or horse for you, and if you don't mind, I'm even willing to offer myself."

Shen Wang declined, "No, thanks. If you offer yourself, I'd be at a loss."

After saying that, he looked at Xu Cheng with disdain.

Xu Cheng immediately withdrew into himself.

After this round of jesting, Xu Cheng's racing heart finally calmed. During dinner, he was so preoccupied he just kept his head down and ate.

Listening to Shen Wang and Lin Yinyang clinking glasses, subtly probing and countering each other.

There were eight hundred tricks under the table, with Shen Wang and Lin Yinyang each holding 401, and Xu Cheng at negative two.

After dinner, Lin Yinyang leisurely sipped his tea. "It's been a long while since I've had so much to drink. Brother Shen, you're full of surprises with your high tolerance."

Despite drinking throughout the meal, Shen Wang's complexion remained fair, his eyes clear. "It's natural. Envious?"

Hidden in Shen Wang's pocket, the tiny spirit gaped, burping from the alcohol.

Lin Yinyang laughed heartily, "Interesting, very interesting. Had I met you decades earlier, I'd have taken you as my apprentice. You have talent!"

Finishing his laugh, he staggered to his feet. "It's getting late, time for me to leave."

"Alright, I'll have Chengcheng see you out. You've had quite a bit to drink, and it's not safe to walk at night," Xu's mother quickly volunteered Xu Cheng.

Shen Wang also stood up. "I'll join in escorting Lin Yinyang."

After leaving the Xu residence, out of Xu's mother's sight, Lin Yinyang asked Xu Cheng meaningfully, "Chengcheng, you didn't speak much with Grandpa today. Don’t you like him anymore?"

Xu Cheng, trembling and helping Yinyang walk, left footprints of cold sweat, too tense to even hear Lin Yinyang's question.

"Whether he likes it or not, what does it matter?" Shen Wang, who was suddenly serious and upright, had lost his smile.

They had now arrived at Lin Yinyang's house.

The oppressive black mist over the courtyard grew denser, suffocating, with something sinister weaving through the shadows above.

"Which family's young man are you? Quite bold," Lin Yinyang commented as he stepped into the yard, which exploded in black mist like a balloon filled with black powder.

The resentment trapped within the formation soared, and the malevolent spirits hidden in the mist, with their green faces and sharp teeth, red eyes glaring, lunged towards Shen Wang!

Lin Yinyang grinned, "But no matter which prestigious family you hail from, your good days end today."

"Brother Shen!" Xu Cheng's heart skipped a beat. Ignoring the need to conceal his ability to see ghosts, he yelled out.

Lin Yinyang's gaunt hands, like iron clamps, gripped Xu Cheng's wrist tightly, causing bone-crushing pain.

"Grandpa, please let my friend go. He's just here on vacation..." Xu Cheng, looking desperately at Shen Wang swallowed by the mist, pleaded with Lin Yinyang, "Grandpa, I've called you that for twenty years, for my sake..."

"Don't worry, it will soon be your turn." No matter how much Xu Cheng begged, Lin Yinyang maintained his usual gentle, kind smile, his eyes eerily unsettling, "Twenty years, a full twenty years. You're my successful creation, Chengcheng, don’t be afraid, Grandpa means no harm."

"You will become very powerful, immensely strong, to help me defeat those obstinate old fools."

Lin Yinyang dragged Xu Cheng towards the ancestral hall, his breath ragged, face flushed with excitement, nearly dragging Xu Cheng off his feet in his haste.

Behind them, a pitch-black mist loomed, from which the shrill roars of little ghosts echoed.