Volume One, Chapter 86: Luo Tianshang Survives by the Skin of His Teeth

Qin Yu sat up abruptly, the silk blanket slipping from her body.

For a moment she was disoriented. She looked at Mu Ling and asked for confirmation, “Did I just fall asleep?”

Mu Ling rolled her eyes at her. “Obviously. If you weren’t asleep just now, were you awake? You really scared me with the way you looked.”

Qin Yu gestured for her to go on.

“No matter how I called you, you wouldn’t wake up, and your breathing got shallower and shallower. If I didn’t know you were a Taoist, I’d have thought you were being haunted!”

Qin Yu frowned, thinking of Lin Changxiu.

Wasn’t it just a haunting?

“Why were you calling me?”

“Your phone’s been ringing all morning. It’s Luo Yiyi’s number. I thought she might have something urgent, so I wanted to ask you.”

Hearing this, Qin Yu reached for her phone. As expected, thirty-two missed calls in red glared back at her.

She dialed back, and the call was answered the instant the ringtone began.

“Master, my father is missing!”

The girl’s voice was frantic and terrified.

Qin Yu’s brows furrowed, recalling the deathly omen on Luo Tian Shang’s face.

“Did your father show any unusual behavior before he disappeared?”

“Yes!” Luo Yiyi was certain. “Last night, after we settled on the countryside address, my father seemed uneasy. He even strangely said that if he didn’t come back, we shouldn’t wait for him and should go to the countryside first.”

Qin Yu’s frown deepened. It seemed Luo Tian Shang knew he faced certain peril.

Humans are truly strange at times.

Even knowing the odds are slim, they still choose to gamble.

“Did you call the police?”

“We’ve filed a report at the station, but since it’s been less than forty-eight hours, they can’t officially open a case.”

Qin Yu pressed her lips together. “For now, follow Mr. Luo’s instructions. Move with your mother to the countryside. Whatever happens next, don’t come out.”

“Okay.” Luo Yiyi hesitated, then asked, “Master, is my father still alive?”

Most likely not.

But Qin Yu couldn’t bear to tell her that.

“As long as he’s alive, I will reunite him with you and your family.”

Qin Yu’s words left Luo Yiyi so moved she didn’t know what to say, just kept repeating “Thank you.”

“Live well! As long as you’re alive, there’s hope,” Qin Yu encouraged.

Luo Yiyi wiped her tears. “But now I’m even more worried about my mother… I’m afraid she won’t make it through…”

“Can you give the phone to your mother so I can speak with her?” Qin Yu suggested after a moment’s thought.

“Alright, I’ll go get her!”

Moments later, Zhang Wanwan took the phone.

Qin Yu couldn’t hear any voices on the other side, only the faint sound of breathing.

“Mrs. Luo, your husband loves you very much.”

That single sentence shattered the facade Zhang Wanwan had tried so hard to maintain.

She clutched her chest in agony, every fiber of her body aching.

“What he wants most is for you and your daughter to live in peace. Whatever happens, only your safety will put his soul at ease.”

A sharp sound.

Something fell to the floor.

Luo Yiyi reached out and picked it up—a whole bottle of sleeping pills.

She let out a cry and threw herself into Zhang Wanwan’s arms. “Mom, Yiyi already doesn’t have a father, I don’t want to lose my mother too. Please don’t leave me, Mom. I’m scared!”

Mother and daughter clung to each other, crying bitterly.

Zhang Wanwan seized this moment to let all her pain and sorrow pour out.

During this time, Qin Yu didn’t hang up.

She knew Zhang Wanwan still had something to ask.

When the tears finally subsided, Zhang Wanwan wiped her face, patted Luo Yiyi’s back, and forced a strong, gentle smile. “Yiyi, go pack your things. In half an hour, we’ll go to the countryside.”

A woman may be weak, but a mother is strong.

Seeing the despair fade from Zhang Wanwan’s face, Luo Yiyi finally felt a bit reassured.

She hurriedly hid the sleeping pills. “Okay, okay, I’ll go pack right away!”

Soon, the other end of the phone quieted, broken only by occasional soft sobs.

“Master…”

Zhang Wanwan tried her best to compose herself, but her voice still carried the weight of tears. “I have a selfish request: If he really is gone, could I see him one last time? Whether he’s a man or a ghost.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you, Master.” Her tone became suddenly awkward. “Master, how much will this cost?”

“Your last painting of green bamboo is priceless—more than enough.”

Zhang Wanwan finally breathed easy, thanked her several times, and hung up.

Qin Yu gazed at the ended call, lost in thought.

If Luo Tian Shang had managed to escape to the countryside with his wife and daughter, their days, though humble, would have been happy. His daughter Luo Yiyi would one day marry the village’s college-educated official, and though their lives wouldn’t be wealthy, they’d be respected.

Now that Luo Tian Shang was dead, the fate of the entire family would change.

Qin Yu raised her hand and took a piece of yellow paper from the small bag at her bedside, folding it casually into a paper crane.

Then she sat cross-legged and closed her eyes.

Last time, when she purified Luo Tian Shang’s antiques, she’d discovered traces of his aura lingering on those objects.

While the aura still remained, Qin Yu captured and refined it, then placed it inside the paper crane.

“Go find the owner of this aura,” Qin Yu commanded.

The instant the aura entered, the paper crane came alive!

It clumsily flapped its wings twice, then, as if adapting to its new body, flew low for a moment before leaping up, passing through the wall and out the window.

“I’m going to wash up. Let me know if there’s any news,” Qin Yu said, yawning.