Chapter 336

Chapter 336

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Lu Yanqi had been charged with unlawful confinement and was under investigation. The company’s books were also under audit by higher authorities. Aside from those required to remain for questioning, Lu Shikai had already told the younger generation to leave the country as soon as possible before returning to Fushan.

Though they didn’t know what had happened at home, their grandfather’s urgency left no room for questions. Whoever could get visas rushed to catch the earliest flights out.

But these people were stopped right at the airport.

The biggest problem in the coffin house had been resolved. The Lu family had long suppressed the tomb guardian beast—its fate intertwined with theirs. This guardian was the heart of that blessed land, so to protect their own fortune, they couldn’t destroy it, only feed it.

The beast was originally meant to suppress the tomb’s resentment. That was why the Lus risked exposure building a yin dwelling there. Later, someone advised them to feed it yang blood. By weakening the beast’s grudge, they could keep it dormant—for at least ten years of stability.

The Lu family had drawn blood every decade or so, but over time, the beast began to change. Ordinary yang-rich blood wasn’t enough anymore. They needed stronger yang energy—ideally, the blood of a Taoist master.

At this point, denying it was pointless. Once they saw how much power the Management Bureau wielded, and with the old patriarch laid up in the hospital from backlash, others cracked under interrogation and spilled everything they knew.

Lu Yanqi’s father knew more than his son: “My grandfather was a tomb guardian. No one knew which ancestor started it, but every year, they’d go up the mountain to make offerings. It was passed down through generations, always saying the incense must never be broken. Back then, my grandfather thought the tomb held their ancestors. Later, when famine and chaos hit and people starved, some banded together to dig for grave goods.”

Anyone who took the grave goods either died or went mad.

His grandfather was seven or eight then, too young to join, so he survived. But those in his family who did take part perished one by one.

Since their family made annual offerings, villagers assumed the tomb belonged to their ancestors. Now that they’d taken things from it, they believed the ancestors were angry. They begged his grandfather to bow and beg forgiveness, thinking their descendants would be spared.

It didn’t work—the deaths continued until a wandering Taoist master uncovered the truth. His grandfather learned then that it wasn’t their ancestors buried there—they were likely just hereditary tomb guardians.

“Back then, old and new ideas clashed. People wanted to stand on their own. My grandfather refused to serve like a servant guarding a tomb for someone he didn’t even know. Besides, the family was sick, poor, barely eating. Who had money for incense and candles?”

Once the offerings stopped, misfortunes struck—first injuries, then deaths, whether from illness or accidents.

That era was harsh, but families had many children. His grandfather’s family had seven sons, all raised with great effort to become workers—only to die one after another.

Later, his grandfather sought out the Taoist again, who told him their family was bound to the tomb’s unbroken fortune. Abandoning their duty brought backlash, hence the deaths.

Lu Yanqi’s father said, “My grandfather tested it—he resumed the offerings, and the misfortunes stopped. But he resented it. Why should they be trapped forever? As he grew older, he decided to take the tomb’s fortune for himself. If the tomb’s luck remained, why not channel it to his own descendants? Better to worship their own ancestors than a stranger.”

Afraid developers would ruin Shouling Mountain and destroy the tomb, the Lus bought the land during the gold rush era. Even if developed, they could preserve the original tomb site—to protect their lives.

With wealth and experience, they came to understand the importance of fortune and transformed Shouling Mountain into today’s Fushan.

At the time, the state was cracking down on superstition, and there was no unified control over Taoists. Those with strong wills followed moral codes; others, chasing fame or profit, would do anything for money—even harm others—as long as it didn’t touch them directly.

Later, his grandfather died, telling his son, Lu Shikai, to bury him in the yin dwelling. He said that when Lu Shikai himself reached the end of his life, he should find someone else with strong fortune to replace the Lu family. Their descendants would then be free from this burden.

Ye Junxing looked at him. “How exactly does replacing the family work?”

Lu Yanqi’s father replied, “It means transferring ownership of the yin dwelling. My father’s health has worsened these past years, so he prepared me early. He said Fushan’s secret might not hold forever. But feeding fortune with fortune had protected those living there. If the guardian beast ever broke loose, everyone sheltered would suffer—but as long as the beast stayed calm, they’d be safe.”

Lu Shikai had planned to choose suitable candidates after suppressing the beast, reveal Fushan’s truth, and find someone to anchor the ley line’s focal point. What businessman wouldn’t want fortune? As a beneficiary himself, he’d then find a replacement. If the beast ever got out of hand, they could throw someone to the wolves before disaster struck.

Feng shui changes with the land, and human fortune isn’t fixed. “Three generations, shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves” isn’t a curse—it’s the natural flow of fortune. Lu Shikai’s father knew if the Lus kept holding the tomb, they’d eventually be wiped out. That’s why he urged Lu Shikai to break free from Fushan for the sake of their descendants.

By this generation, only Lu Yanqi had scraps of the truth. The rest of the Lu family was clueless about Fushan’s dark truth, believing the graves were built that way on advice from a master. Some younger members even wrote it off as old wives’ tales.

They had hoped to quietly dump Fushan’s curse—but everything blew up at the worst possible time.

In the hospital, Lu Shikai briefly regained momentary lucidity before death. The good news was that they had never taken a life, so their evil deeds wouldn't lead to their line dying out. The bad news was that they had gorged themselves on decades of unearned wealth, and their descendants would have to repay every bit of it.

Lu Shikai closed his eyes filled with regret. He shouldn't have been greedy for those last ten years. He should have started planning the family's way out when his father had instructed him. He had thought his body was still strong enough to keep the family afloat for another decade. He couldn't bear to let go of the high-society life, the riches—but in the end, that moment of greed cost the entire Lu family everything.

Even after the Lu family's crimes were exposed, he had still hoped to persuade those living on Fushan to join them. But he never expected the Bureau's authority to be so vast. If not for the Bureau, if not for such an organization dealing with the supernatural, things wouldn’t have ended this way.

Lu Shikai died. When the Yin energy in that house was completely purified by the Taoist masters, the Lu family’s downfall became apparent. And it wasn’t just the Lu family—almost everyone living there was affected.

But they were different from the Lu family. They had fortunes of their own. Even if they were entangled in the cycle of exchanging fortunes, it wasn’t irreparable. As long as they were willing to part with some riches, at least their lives would be spared.

Lu Yanqi was sentenced to ten years in prison. His imprisonment of Xia Junyan could even be pursued as attempted murder. On top of that, there was the near-forced blood extraction from Xiao Ye. Though no actual harm was done, the intent alone was enough for the Bureau to impose a harsh punishment.

The Lu family also failed the tax audit. Lu Yanqi’s father and uncle were held accountable for the cooked books, resulting in several family members being imprisoned, with sentences ranging from three to ten years. Those who weren’t directly implicated still faced asset seizures and bankruptcy.

The Lu family of Rongcheng came crashing down overnight.

Ji Nanxing had exhausted all his reserves during that confrontation on the mountain. Xiao Ye hadn’t followed him up, so he didn’t know the specifics, but the fact that over a hundred Heavenly Thunder Talismans had been completely used up made him shudder just thinking about it. How dangerous must it have been to require such a massive expenditure? So, as soon as they returned, he didn’t even bother with homework—he immediately started restocking Naonao's arsenal.

When he heard about the Lu family’s fate from the Bureau, he couldn’t help but sigh. "In a way, the Lu family’s case is hard to judge. Were they evil? They didn’t kill anyone. Were they good? They stole someone else’s tomb and even scattered the bones to the wind."

Which wealthy family didn’t have skeletons in their closet? The more unscrupulous ones had blood on their hands. Yet the Lu family’s investigation only turned up financial crimes—no lives were taken. Comparatively, they were almost clean.

Ji Nanxing, threading his prayer beads, remarked, "That’s because they didn’t need to resort to murder. Only profit drives people to take desperate risks. The Lu family knew exactly where their luck came from—they just had to guard it. When that wasn’t enough, that’s when lives would’ve been at stake. Take Lu Yanqi—at first, he only took blood to suppress the tomb guardian. But when he couldn’t find suitable blood anymore, he plotted to offer up a Taoist’s life. It’s a good thing this was exposed early, or who knows how many more innocent people the Lu family would’ve harmed?"

Greed has no limits.

Xiao Ye set down his cinnabar brush, rubbed his wrist, and sat beside Ji Nanxing. "Why did their family have to guard the tomb? Why would they die if they stopped worshiping?"

Ji Nanxing: "It was likely an agreement made by their ancestors. Many ancient curses have been lost to time—like generational blood curses that bind families to complete certain tasks. The Lu family was probably under one."

Xiao Ye grew even more curious. "Now that the tomb is gone and that guardian beast is gone too, what will happen to the rest of the Lu family? Will they die for not worshiping?"

Ji Nanxing: "The original tomb owner was replaced by the Lu family, and the guardian was exorcised. The blood curse is gone. They won’t die for failing to worship, but the backlash from losing their stolen fortune will probably make them regret being alive."

Even if some of them didn’t choose this path, a family rises and falls together. Whether innocent or wronged, that’s just fate.

Xiao Ye sighed. "Tomb guardians… that’s another kind of archaic superstition. Guarding a tomb for generations—very few could do it. Sacrificing ancestors upon ancestors, only to end up with nothing. If you were born into that fate, it’d be hard not to resent it."

Ji Nanxing glanced at him. "If you think about it that way, it depends on what the original agreement was."

Xiao Ye: "What could it have been?"

Ji Nanxing: "Most likely one of three things: riches, reign, or life. But since they were guarding a tomb, riches and reign were out of reach—so it must’ve been life. The fact that the Lu family survived this long means they got what they bargained for. If they had suppressed things for another decade and Lu Yanqi took over, he would’ve demanded even more. Human greed grows endlessly. The backlash then would’ve been their bloodline wiped out. In that light, this exposure might’ve been a kind of repayment for the Lu family’s generations of tomb guarding."

Xiao Ye smiled. "You always see things differently. But thinking about it that way, it makes sense. I wonder what’ll happen to the others living on Fushan. With so many people involved, this won’t settle quickly."

Ji Nanxing worked his rosary. After watching for a while, Xiao Ye asked, "Is the original tomb owner really gone?"

No one would willingly sacrifice themselves. That tomb owner probably died against his will, only to have his remains destroyed and his spirit scattered by his own guardians. He was the most pitiful one.

Ji Nanxing shook his head. "It’s been decades. Not a trace of his presence remains in that house."

Xiao Ye sighed. "What’ll happen to the house afterward?"

Ji Nanxing: "It’ll be torn down stone by stone. There might still be remnants of the original tomb underground. They’ll dig it up properly. If they find anything related to the original owner, they’ll probably leave some record of his existence. The Bureau’s relevant departments will handle the specifics."

Demolishing it wouldn’t be easy, though. First, they’d have to resolve the issues affecting Fushan’s residents. If they tore it down immediately, those with weaker fortunes might suffer immediate backlash.

At least the truth was exposed. Those people had all hired Taoists, which lightened the load for the Bureau.

For those wealthy businessmen and tycoons, the past few days had been downright bizarre. That local heavyweight, the Lu family, was suddenly gone—wiped out overnight. Thinking they themselves might be caught up in the fallout, many feared meeting the same fate as the Lus. Under the guidance of their hired spiritual advisors, some began donating huge sums of money, hoping that by scattering their wealth, they could ward off any bad luck.

Others were too angry to let it go. Whether or not they had actually benefited from living on this so-called lucky land was unclear, but they knew one thing: residing there had brought them nothing but losses and suffering at the hands of the Lu family. So while also getting rid of their money, they went after the Lu Group with everything they had, trying to recover as much as possible. This only accelerated the Lu family’s downfall.

No one expected that the real winner in all of this would be the national treasury—the cha-ching of incoming cash sounded sweet indeed.

As for the unluckiest person of all, it had to be Xia Junyan, who nearly lost his life and ended up with nothing to show for it. His paycheck went up in smoke—after all, the person who promised to pay him had been arrested, and the bankrupt Lu family had no money left to give.

Once he’d recovered, Xia Junyan gritted his teeth and declared to Ji Nanxing, “From now on, anyone who wants me to help must pay upfront!”

Ji Nanxing glanced at his aura and almost said something about how if you’re not destined for wealth, you shouldn’t force it—but considering how miserable Xia already was, he decided not to pile on. Instead, he simply replied, “You do you.”

Xia Junyan: “Ugh!”