I actively went forward and cheerfully greeted Su Yimei, calling her "Aunt," which made her beam with happiness.
Uncle was like a tree suddenly blooming in spring, and he seemed a lot more confident.
In the afternoon, Uncle and Aunt Su Yimei took me to look at houses. After everything was tallied up, the total came to over six hundred thousand. Uncle also discussed the financial situation—Mr. Zhang had given us 150,000, and we had 150,000 left from before, plus the 100,000 from Chen Kai, but we were still short by about 200,000.
However, Aunt Su Yimei covered the remaining amount, saying it was a small gift from an aunt to her nephew.
A 200,000 yuan "small gift" wasn't exactly small.
Although Uncle and I had earned 400,000 in just a few days, it seemed simple, but only we knew the risks involved and the time it cost us.
I didn't know about Uncle, but as for me, I had spent ten years learning from Grandpa. If it weren't for the fortuitous discovery of the second part of a scroll from a female corpse, that 400,000 would have cost us our lives.
I had previously taken advantage of Aunt Su Yimei for some small snacks, but that was just to bridge the gap between Uncle and her. When it came to 200,000, it was Uncle's decision to make.
But when I looked over, I saw Uncle handing his bank card to Aunt Su Yimei to pay the rest.
I really liked the house; it was a four-bedroom, one-living room place, and it felt cozy.
If a family could live there, it would be a beautiful picture.
Since I was still young, the house had to be registered under Uncle's name. I trusted him as my uncle.
Moreover, a large part of the money came from him.
In the afternoon, we quickly finished the paperwork and got the keys. Uncle then found a three-wheeled cart and five workers to move in the dowry from the female corpse.
Aunt Su Yimei brought daily necessities from her house and bought some furniture, so tonight, I could stay in the house.
Tomorrow, Uncle would finish the remaining paperwork, and the house would officially be mine.
As the sun began to set, I suggested that Uncle move in with me. But before I could say anything, Aunt Su Yimei shot me a stern look and told me not to worry about adult matters, that they didn't need a place to stay.
Uncle turned red and was dragged out of the house by Aunt Su.
They left in the car, and I had no idea where they went.
Huang Jiu and I spent some time exploring the new house, but after a while, I realized something was missing. I wandered around for a bit and finally realized that we didn't have a TV.
However, all the money had been spent, and if we wanted to buy a TV, we'd need to earn more. Huang Jiu and I discussed it and thought maybe we could wait in the shop; there might be some work coming in.
On a whim, I grabbed the shop key and decided to go out.
I'd been in the city for a few days now, and the female corpse had passed the critical stage. But now, she had sent the dowry—she seemed rather eager.
Of course, what I was more concerned about was whether she could breathe yet.
Were her eyes still terrifyingly bloodshot?
I thought about this all the way to the shop, and by the time I arrived, it was already dark.
I opened the door, sat down behind the desk, and eagerly waited for the TV to be delivered.
But as it goes in this business, when nothing comes, you might as well be waiting forever.
After 10 p.m., when fewer people were out on the streets, I worried about bumping into people from the Lu Ban Men, so I locked the door and went back home. I lay down on the soft bed and couldn't help but chuckle.
For a while, I felt happy, but then a sense of emptiness settled in.
The bed had two pillows...
My mind involuntarily drifted to the female corpse. If she were here, I could check her heartbeat. With something in my hands, I would feel more at ease while sleeping.
But if she could breathe now, I wouldn't have an excuse anymore.
I felt a little melancholy.
As I thought about her heartbeat and whether she could breathe, I became conflicted and frustrated. I decided to get up and practice my studies instead.
When I activated the Fang Xiang statue, I followed Huang Jiu's advice and kept a base to ensure faster recovery and prevent feeling weak.
Of course, the primary issue was that the Wǒng Xiàng had taken a full day to gain power. If it fed on a few more days' worth of dead brains and hearts, I wouldn't have enough to counter it.
While reciting the scriptures, I circulated my energy, which helped me feel more alert and focused.
But just then, a child's cry suddenly echoed from outside.
Huang Jiu, who had been lying on the floor, jumped up and perked its ears. "This is a residential area. Who's crying at this time of night?"
I put on my shoes and walked into the living room, where the crying became even clearer—it was just outside my door.
It sounded like a little girl, crying her heart out, as if she had been subjected to some terrible pain.
I pressed my eye to the peephole and saw a small, frail figure huddled in the hallway.
She seemed to be in immense pain, and her weak body trembled with every cry.
When I looked a second time, I quickly opened the door and rushed outside.
The poor little girl was none other than Tingting.
She wasn't supposed to be here—she had gone back to the hospital with her mother. How could she have ended up here?
I was confused, but seeing her body trembling in pain, I didn't think too much. I opened my spiritual vision and quickly picked her up, bringing her into the room.
Tingting seemed to be in excruciating pain, her emaciated body rigid, and I couldn't even lay her flat—her small form was too stiff.
In a panic, I told Huang Jiu to temporarily distract her mind.
Once she fell unconscious, the crying stopped, but her small body still twitched uncontrollably. Her face was pale and devoid of color.
When I saw her tiny hand clutching her chest, I carefully pried it open and pulled her clothes aside.
The next second, both Huang Jiu and I gasped in shock.
On Tingting's chest, there was a blood-red axe-shaped mark, about the size of a thumb. The blade was perfectly aimed at her heart.
"It's the Heart-Splitting Curse, it's the work of the Lu Ban Men!"
Huang Jiu gritted its teeth.
I was also shaking with anger.
The Heart-Splitting Curse is one of the most vicious and despicable methods in suppression magic. The victim feels as if their heart is being split open by a blade.
The pain is so intense that even a grown man wouldn't be able to hold back tears, let alone a small child.
Once this curse is placed, there's no cure unless the caster is found, and the blood axe is obtained.
It's said that the blood axe is no ordinary object—it's forged from the blood of a thousand-year-old corpse.
At that moment, I truly wanted to kill someone.
The feeling was stronger than anything I'd ever felt before. I wanted to drag the people from the Lu Ban Men out right now and tear them apart.
I took a deep breath and used my energy to press down on the blood axe mark on Tingting's chest.
Huang Jiu said, "Your energy is too weak. You can only suppress it for 24 hours. After that, you'll have no way of stopping it, and she'll die from the pain."
"You need to come up with a solution!"
A solution...
For a moment, I couldn't think of anything, but the desire for revenge burned fiercely in my heart.