Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Mrs. Li's smile hasn't faded since her son woke up.

In her youth, she encountered misfortune, decisively divorcing her unfaithful husband during pregnancy and raising her son, Li Fengcheng, alone.

Li Fengcheng was obedient from a young age. Having just graduated from university this year and securing a decent job, their bright future seemed within reach, only to be shattered recently by his sudden health issues.

Li Fengcheng lay unconscious, and despite doctors confirming no physical issues, he wouldn't wake up, growing weaker by the day.

His condition became critical a few days ago when his brain waves stopped during a checkup, leading to several emergency interventions, yet the cause remained undiagnosed, leaving Mrs. Li to brace for the worst.

Fortunately, they encountered a master who diagnosed Li Fengcheng with a life-threatening curse, narrowly saving his life.

Mrs. Li went specifically to visit the Xie family yesterday, but unluckily missed the master.

She returned home early this morning to prepare chicken soup, hoping to nourish her considerably weakened son.

Li Fengcheng had learned from the buzz around him and his mother that he had been maliciously harmed, luckily saved by a remarkably skilled master.

Mrs. Li, fearing further attacks on her son, advised him to ponder over potential enemies and observe who might suffer repercussions.

After much thought, Li Fengcheng couldn't recall offending anyone, resolving to investigate further once he recovered and returned to work.

As someone knocked on the door, everyone instinctively looked over. Li Fengcheng's bed wasn't far from the entrance, and he glanced up, startled by the face visible through the small glass window, quickly asking his mother to answer the door.

The visitor was his university classmate and roommate of four years, now a colleague at the same company, with whom he shared a close relationship.

Mrs. Li recognized him as Cui, a student who had visited a few times, and hurriedly welcomed him in.

Initially, after Li Fengcheng's incident, classmates, friends, and colleagues had visited, but over time, to avoid disturbing them, Mrs. Li stopped inviting them.

However, she hadn't expected Cui, who shared such a close bond with her son, to visit again.

Since Cui occasionally visited, Mrs. Li, without any suspicion, warmly welcomed him inside.

Mrs. Li found it odd that Cui, who was usually so concerned about her, showed no expression this time and displayed not a hint of joy upon seeing Li Fengcheng awake, just silently staring at him.

Li Fengcheng was puzzled by Cui's demeanor, and while others in the room also glanced over, they didn't think much of it. But in the next moment, they saw the young man's face suddenly turn angry and resentful, teeth clenched, furiously questioning, "Why did you have to wake up? Why didn’t you just die?!”

In the midst of speaking, he unexpectedly pulled something from his jacket and rushed towards Li Fengcheng on the bed.

Everyone else in the room screamed in shock at this sudden turn of events.

Mrs. Li was initially stunned but quickly regained her senses and instinctively threw herself towards her son. Li Fengcheng, seeing the knife about to stab his mother, desperately tried to push the assailant away, but it was too late.

However, just as the knife in Cui's hand was about to reach Mrs. Li, it abruptly stopped mid-air.

Cui struggled to continue his attack, but his wrist was seized and, in the next moment, forcibly twisted.

Losing strength in his hand, the knife fell to the ground with a sharp clang.

Only then did the others seem to come to their senses, panting heavily, patting their chests, relieved and looking at Xie Qingfeng, who had stopped Cui.

Both Mrs. Li and Li Fengcheng were still shaken, and as they came back to reality, Mrs. Li, unable to steady her trembling hands and feet, slid down, held firmly by Li Fengcheng.

Li Fengcheng's hands and feet were also shaking as he looked at Xie Qingfeng with gratitude, barely managing to utter a thank you.

Xie Qingfeng effortlessly restrained Cui with one hand, seemingly holding him lightly, yet Cui was completely immobilized.

Xie Qingfeng's other hand was holding a phone, recording everything. After turning it off, he turned to Li Fengcheng and said, “I’ve recorded everything. It’s clear evidence of attempted murder. Let’s call the police.”

He refrained from intervening immediately when Cui entered the room, intending to gather evidence first. Otherwise, it would have been too easy for the assailant, who might have turned the tables to his disadvantage.

Once everyone's emotions had settled, they understood Xie Qingfeng's intentions and admired him greatly, especially those who had witnessed Li Fengcheng waking up, enthusiastically calling him a master and a sage.

They realized the master must have foreseen the trouble and caught the perpetrator red-handed. They eagerly sought Xie Qingfeng's insights before the police arrived.

Xie Qingfeng sent the video to Li Fengcheng and excused himself, mentioning he would be available for further statements if needed, then returned to his foster father's room.

There was some commotion there too, with everyone anxious until they saw Xie Qingfeng and breathed a sigh of relief.

An hour later, Cui was taken away, and the motive for his attack on Li Fengcheng was revealed.

Li Fengcheng, coming from a modest background, aimed to excel in his studies to provide a better life for his mother, consistently achieving top grades.

This inadvertently made the other three people in his dormitory feel inferior.

Though this wasn't an issue initially, resentment built up over time, culminating in an outburst after both Li Fengcheng and Cui joined the same company.

The reasons were twofold: firstly, both graduated at the same time, but their positions and futures, including salary, were worlds apart, inevitably leading to comparisons by colleagues.

Secondly, a female colleague at the company who Cui liked ended up liking Li Fengcheng instead, rejecting Cui.

A month ago, Cui visited his hometown and, upon learning his uncle could cast curses, initially didn’t take it seriously, treating it as a joke. He eventually obtained Li Fengcheng's birth details, blood, and hair, sending them to his uncle.

Unexpectedly, Li Fengcheng indeed fell into a coma, leaving Cui feeling relieved and energized at work. However, he was shocked to learn last night that his uncle had been struck by a backlash, falling into a coma and vomiting blood, all because of him. His uncle's family demanded compensation, threatening to expose him.

Faced with an astronomical sum and Li Fengcheng's unexpected awakening, Cui, overwhelmed by the double blow, decided to eliminate the problem once and for all.

After the police and others left, Xie Qingfeng returned to the ward and faced his foster parents, who seemed hesitant to speak.

Thinking that they would eventually hear some rumors, and having no intention of keeping secrets, Xie Qingfeng straightforwardly concocted an excuse: “Remember when I went to work in the neighboring city during the summer of my sophomore year?”

His foster parents were puzzled: “Yes, but why bring that up now?”

Xie Qingfeng continued his ruse: “Actually, I didn’t go there to work. I became a disciple of a Taoist priest who was nearing the end of his life and had no successor. So, he took me in, promising a salary as compensation for preserving and promoting his teachings.”

His foster parents were bewildered.

Xie Qingfeng kept a straight face: “At first, I thought it was a joke, but to my surprise, I really learned a lot that summer. I have a talent for it and learned quickly. By my senior year, I began trying things out privately. These experiences have changed my personality quite a bit.”

Hearing about the change in personality, his foster parents immediately recalled his unusual behavior during his senior year, which made them somewhat believe his story.

Such matters sounded incredible to them, let alone to Xie Qingfeng who was only 17 at the time.

Xie Qingfeng simply wanted to provide a plausible explanation for his abilities. Given their past reluctance to directly confront the issue of the mistaken child, he didn’t expect them to probe too deeply.

True to his expectations, his foster parents were more concerned about whether his activities might harm his health, and only relaxed upon learning they wouldn’t.

Worried that too many people might come to the ward seeking his fortune-telling services, and since his foster father was almost fully recovered and due to be discharged in a couple of days, Xie Qingfeng decided to spend the next day meditating in his hotel room instead.

In the evening, he changed his clothes, preparing to attend the charity auction mentioned by Hao Jixin.

Hao Jixin was already waiting outside the hotel, and they immediately headed to the auction, with Hao rubbing his hands in excitement, eager to find out who had taken advantage of his family and was plotting against them.

He was determined to find out who it was and, at the very least, teach them a lesson in private to compensate for the anxiety he had suffered these past few days.

Upon arriving at the club, Hao Jixin presented the invitation, and they entered, heading straight to the top floor of the venue.

Both of them picked up a bidding paddle, ready to bid if they found something of interest.

Xie Qingfeng wasn't particularly keen on the auction, knowing the items would be expensive and he didn't have much money to spare, so he planned to just look.

Besides, aside from jade, he wasn’t really interested in anything else.

They sat at the back, both wearing duckbill hats, keeping a low profile.

Once people arrived, Hao Jixin pointed out the three individuals suspected by his father to Xie Qingfeng.

After observing, Xie Qingfeng confirmed it was the middle-aged man currently toasting with Hao's father.

Hao Jixin was almost furious to hear this; the man had come to City C twenty years ago in poverty, initially working as a driver for their family. Recognized for his abilities, he was taken under Hao's father's wing and entered the family business.

Now, after two decades, having climbed to middle management, he had turned against them.

Grinding his teeth, Hao Jixin couldn’t stand the man's fake smiles with his father and handed the auction catalog to Xie Qingfeng, deciding to inform his father.

Xie Qingfeng gestured for him to go ahead, curiously flipping through the catalog to see what modern auction items looked like.

The first page captivated him with an exquisite picture of a jade vase, remarkably transparent and beautiful, but its spiritual energy couldn’t be discerned from just an image.

However, seeing the starting bid, Xie Qingfeng fell silent.

Eight million to start – it was a treasure beyond his reach.

Flipping to the next item, it started at five million…

Xie Qingfeng sighed, continuing to flip through, the lowest starting at two million.

With such starting bids, the final sale price would undoubtedly be much more than two million.

His total fortune at the moment was just over 1.2 million.

The majority of it had come from Mr. Hao just yesterday.

Xie Qingfeng sped through the catalog, rapidly losing interest, until he paused on the third-to-last page, fixated on an item.

This must be the lowest valued item in the auction, as the last two were likely the grand finale, expected to be of higher value.

But the starting bid for this piece was one million.

Xie Qingfeng gazed at the jade thumb ring displayed on the page, reminiscent of the one he had rendered useless in his stash, the two bearing at least a fifty percent resemblance.