Volume 1, Chapter 183: The Occult Club (7)

"The domestic abuser got what he deserved!"

"Is it just me, or is this man actually a bit pitiful? Just because he had a bit less luck than others, does that mean he's destined to be cursed forever?"

"Sigh! I can only say it's the cruel trick of fate!"

"No matter what, the undeniable fact is that he beat a woman and murdered his son! Everyone, please do not feel any sympathy for such a person!"

"Exactly, exactly! Let's separate one thing from another! Nothing can ever serve as an excuse for him to break the law and commit crimes!"

Qin Yu cast a calm glance at the screen. She reached out, but remembering that Muling had not yet returned, she awkwardly withdrew her hand. With a light cough, she said, "Many people believe that when faced with problems, the worst that can happen is losing one's life, ending it all once and for all. But is that really the case?"

Qin Yu posed a thought-provoking question, and the livestream's comment section instantly erupted, with viewers chiming in one after another.

Qin Yu glanced at the chat, noting that the comments were roughly divided into three camps:

The first camp believed that death was simply a form of release, marking the end of all karmic ties and worldly matters in this lifetime.

The second camp believed that if one accumulated too many sins during their lifetime, they might have to endure sufficient punishment in the netherworld before qualifying for reincarnation.

As for the third camp, they believed that money could make ghosts push millstones—that by burning more paper money at the time of death, one's sins from the mortal life could be washed away.

Qin Yu gently shook her head, pursing her lips as she said, "Comparatively speaking, those who get a chance at redemption in the netherworld are hardly heinous criminals."

She paused, thinking of a certain child ghost currently undergoing redemption in the netherworld, and a corner of her lips curved up. "Do you know what the heaviest punishment is? It is carrying the karma of your past life into your next existence."

At this point, Qin Yu's voice fell silent.

Some might think: a lifetime is a lifetime, why should the mistakes of a past life be counted against the head of this one?

Yet, the Heavenly Dao is fair to everyone.

Even if the wrongs you committed in this lifetime do not receive their due punishment, one day, your evil will rebound upon you...

This is the way of karma.

Zhao Kexin's star-struck eyes were glued to Qin Yu, unable to tear themselves away. "Babe, you are just too cool!"

In her excitement, she completely forgot Qin Yu's warning not to speak.

By the time she realized her mistake and tried to keep quiet, it was already too late.

The three ghosts locked their greedy gazes onto Zhao Kexin, refusing to look away for a long time. Their fierce and menacing expressions made it seem as though they would swallow Zhao Kexin whole in the next second.

"Hmph!"

Qin Yu let out a cold snap.

Hearing the sound, the three ghosts looked over. Upon meeting Qin Yu's chilling gaze, all three swallowed nervously. With malicious intent but lacking the nerve, they cast two more furtive glances at Zhao Kexin before finally withdrawing their eyes.

Qin Yu figured she roughly understood what was going on.

She raised her eyes to look at the faint moonlight spilling past the window.

Muling should be back by now, shouldn't he?

As the thought crossed her mind, a noise came from outside.

Startled like a bird frightened by a mere twang of a bow, Zhao Kexin hid behind Qin Yu.

The corners of Qin Yu's mouth twitched slightly.

Now that she was scared, wasn't it a bit too late?

"Xiaoyu, I'm back!"

Before Muling's dark little figure even came into view, his voice rang out.

Qin Yu narrowed her eyes and saw, emerging from the dark hallway, a tiny bun carrying a bundle hundreds of times larger than his own body, flying forward at lightning speed.

The next second.

*Thud.*

It was the sound of something landing on the ground.

Oh, that wasn't just "something"—that was a living person, or more accurately, a middle-aged man.

"Ouch, that nearly worked your grandpa to death!"

The little dark bun rested at the corner of a table, waving his hands continuously in the air and muttering indignantly.

Qin Yu frowned, recognizing that Muling's self-proclaimed title of "your grandpa" came from his recently binged television drama, *My Beloved Campus Prince*.

It seemed she would have to revoke his television-watching privileges. What on earth was he learning every single day?

"Is this Chen Xiaoxue's father?"

"But this guy looks at most around 30 years old! If Chen Xiaoxue were still alive, she'd be close to 40 by now. How could this man possibly be her father?"

"Then who is this person?"

"Don't you guys think this man looks a bit like Chen Xiaoxue?"

"Right! I had that exact feeling just now! Especially his nose!"

Qin Yu crouched down and discovered that the man had merely been knocked unconscious by Muling.

She formed a hand seal, and the man quickly woke up.

The moment he saw Qin Yu, his eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment. The next second, that perplexity was replaced by a trace of wariness. His voice was icy cold, so stern it could chill one to the bone: "Who are you?"

His peripheral vision swept across the surrounding environment. Upon realizing where he was, his pupils shrank violently. "What are you trying to do by bringing me here?"

Qin Yu's gaze grew increasingly limpid, her expression calm and unreadable to the man.

"What is your relationship with Chen Xiaoxue?"

The three words "Chen Xiaoxue" pierced like a sharp needle deep into the man's heart.

Perhaps because Qin Yu's demeanor was far too serene and peaceful, or perhaps because "revisiting an old place" caused the defenses deep within his heart to crumble one by one, the man choked up slightly.

After calming himself down for a long while, he finally spoke: "I've met many people, but very few can meet my gaze without fear."

This remark was a heartfelt compliment.

Then he shook his head, offering a self-deprecating laugh, "And here I thought it was because I'd killed someone and carried a murderous aura on me!"

"Hiss."

Beside her, Zhao Kexin drew a sharp breath.

Realizing she still wasn't supposed to speak, she covered her mouth, but not before giving herself a light slap on the cheek for good measure.

Her movement caught the man's attention. "You must be the Zhao family's daughter, right?"

Zhao Kexin froze, casting a helpless look at Qin Yu, her expression practically asking, "Am I really the Zhao family's daughter?"

Fortunately, the man wasn't looking for an answer from her. "How time flies! In the blink of an eye, twenty years have passed!"

There was a hint of release in the man's tone.

"This man is such a chatterbox!"

"Seriously, seriously! He's got me hooked, spit it out already!"

"This quick-tempered viewer is dying of suspense!"

"Chen Xiaoxue is your older sister, isn't she?"

"That's right!"

The man made no attempt to hide it.

Especially after seeing the three ghosts on the verge of going berserk behind Qin Yu, he knew for certain that Qin Yu was someone with genuine abilities.

"My name is Chen Haoxin, and Chen Xiaoxue and I are fraternal twins. Our mother passed away shortly after giving birth to us, so ever since we were little, my relationship with my sister has been exceptionally close."

"Precisely because we were twins, not long after she was born, my sister was diagnosed with congenital heart disease."

"Aside from avoiding strenuous exercise and emotional agitation, my sister was no different from any other normal girl."

"Until she met..."

Chen Haoxin glared at Zhang Wei, his eyes brimming with an endless, surging hatred.

"My sister was such a good person—why did you betray her? Do you have any idea that for your sake, she spoke up to our father for the very first time in her life? And what she asked for was actually your scholarship!"

Chen Haoxin could never forget how radiantly his sister had smiled that day, so bright that even the evening glow on the horizon was eclipsed by comparison.

At the time, he had felt nothing but disdain, because he had sneaked a peek at that man named Zhang Wei and concluded from the bottom of his heart that he wasn't worthy of his sister.

Yet, since his sister had finally managed to fall in love with someone after all these years, he couldn't bear to let her return to a world of solitary isolation.

Therefore, he figured that as long as he kept a close eye on Zhang Wei, the man wouldn't be able to hurt his sister.

At this thought, Chen Haoxin couldn't help slamming a fist into his own face, and blood instantly gushed from his nostrils. "If only I had stepped forward to stop all of this back then! If I had, my sister wouldn't have died!"

Yet, unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world.

Qin Yu furrowed her brow, pulling him back to the topic he had strayed from: "So on the night twenty years ago, it was you who entered the experimental building, not Chen Xiaoxue, am I right?"

Chen Haoxin fell silent, seemingly gathering his emotions.

Qin Yu didn't rush him, waiting quietly for his reply.

"The night I came back from the provincial competition..."