Chapter 25 - Soul-Capturing Yin House (Part I)

The hall lights dimmed and the spotlight came alive. Today’s protagonist, Zheng Ruirui, dressed in a purple evening gown, appeared not with her usual quirky spirit but rather in a noble and elegant demeanor. She slowly descended the staircase, holding her grandfather’s hand, flanked by two girls. The trio made a striking impression once positioned.

Gasps of amazement filled the room-each girl resembling a different kind of beauty: one fiery as a rose, another pure as a lily, and the third as regal as a snow lotus. All eyes were fixated on them.

It was unclear who initiated it, but a round of applause broke out and the banquet began.

After the cake was cut, guests presented their carefully selected and valuable gifts to Zheng Ruirui.

Chen Shaoxian approached Zheng Ruirui to hand her his prepared birthday gift, smiling as he said, “Happy Birthday.” However, what followed was unexpected.

When Zheng Ruirui received the gift, she unexpectedly kissed Chen Shaoxian on the cheek.

This caused quite a stir. Despite her quirky behavior and having studied abroad, Zheng Ruirui was very traditional and had never been intimate with any boy. Moreover, it was well known that she did not have a boyfriend, so this gesture was very telling.

Chen Shaoxian was momentarily stunned by her act.

Even the Zheng family did not anticipate such a bold move from the usually conservative Zheng Ruirui.

To break the awkward silence, her older brother, Zheng Lei, chimed in playfully, “Ruirui, go on and see what Shaoxian has given you.”

Zheng Ruirui, her face as red as a ripe apple, fumbled nervously with the gift box upon hearing her brother’s words.

Everyone’s curiosity was piqued, eager to see what was inside.

Upon opening the gift box, a wave of exclamations swept through the room, from Zheng Ruirui’s grandfather, Zheng Tianpeng, the Liu family father and son, Boss Chu, Han Yi, Xiao Zhuang, and everyone else present.

Old Master Zheng certainly knew the true worth of the bracelet. Its monetary value was secondary; the key was that it could save a life in certain situations. The last time he had a mishap, despite being friends with Chen Shuntian for over a decade, it cost him dearly to obtain such a bracelet, albeit of lesser quality than this one.

All eyes were focused on the bracelet Chen Shaoxian had given to Zheng Ruirui.

Zheng Ruirui had thought the gift from Chen Shaoxian was just a regular birthday present, but even her grandfather’s exclamation of surprise left her somewhat at a loss.

Zheng Tianpeng walked over to Zheng Ruirui’s side, took the gift in his hands, and after examining it, said to Chen Shaoxian, “Shaoxian, this gift is too precious. We appreciate the gesture, but you should take it back.”

Although Chen Shaoxian was aware of the bracelet’s high value, he hadn’t expected it to be so valuable that even a wealthy man like Zheng Tianpeng would hesitate to accept it. However, Chen Shaoxian had no intention of taking it back. The old man had taught him, “A gift once given is like water spilled; especially when it’s given to someone who holds a dear place in your heart, no matter how valuable, it is worth giving.”

Otherwise, Chen Shaoxian wouldn’t have given Xiao Zhuang half a million of his own money.

Chen Shaoxian took the bracelet back from Zheng Tianpeng, but instead of keeping it, he presented it again to Zheng Ruirui, repeating the words his grandfather had told him to the Zheng family father and daughter.

At that moment, Liu Iron Mouth came over and said, “Don’t make it difficult, just keep it. Chen Shaoxian’s family has a warehouse full of such items. If you don’t dare to accept this, what will you do in the future?”

Hearing Liu Iron Mouth’s words, Zheng Ruirui’s cheeks turned even redder. She nodded without saying a word and immediately wore the bracelet on her wrist.

Seeing Zheng Ruirui wearing the bracelet, Liu Iron Mouth also took out a gift from his pocket and handed it to her with a smile, saying, “Grandpa Liu doesn’t have a warehouse full of things like Shaoxian’s family, so I can only give you this little trinket. Please don’t look down on your Grandpa Liu’s humble gift.”

In fact, calling it humble was just a joke from Liu Iron Mouth. Zheng Ruirui had already been accepted by the entire Liu Family, and Liu Iron Mouth, treating Chen Shaoxian like his own grandson, would not give his granddaughter-in-law a humble gift.

Zheng Ruirui hesitated to open Liu Iron Mouth’s gift, mustering the courage to gently lift the lid of the box.

Standing nearby, Zheng Tianpeng almost couldn’t keep his footing after seeing the contents. Despite the Zheng Family’s wealth, not just any birthday warranted such an extravagant gift.

Everyone’s eyes shifted to the item inside the box-a pair of agate pendants, each as valuable as the jade bracelet presented earlier.

Thus, Su Jingya’s birthday party came to a successful close amid the guests’ astonishment, leaving some to speculate about the identities of Chen Shaoxian and Liu Iron Mouth.

As the Han family prepared to leave, Xiao Zhuang approached Chen Shaoxian, surprising him by revealing that he was a military officer, a major, and an alumnus of the Hunter Military Academy in Venezuela. An unexpected incident during a mission had led to his being saved by Su Jingya’s father, which explained his presence to assist with Su Jingya’s recent predicament. With the matter resolved, Xiao Zhuang was due to return to his unit, bidding farewell to Chen Shaoxian and leaving his contact information behind.

After saying goodbye to Xiao Zhuang, Chen Shaoxian was about to head home when Zheng Ruirui stopped him and led him to the small living room.

Upon arriving, Chen Shaoxian found the Zheng family gathered there, along with a girl he had met earlier, who he remembered was named Zhuo Junfan.

Zheng Tianpeng approached Chen Shaoxian, took his hand, and got straight to the point, “Shaoxian, I need your help,” he said, then gestured towards Zhuo Junfan, “Junfan is a friend’s daughter, and the Zhuo Family has long been close with ours. But the Zhuo Family has encountered some trouble, and I kept you here to discuss a possible solution.”

Chen Shaoxian, puzzled, asked, “Uncle Zheng, could you please start by explaining the situation?”

Zheng Tianpeng invited Chen Shaoxian to sit beside him and said, “Here’s the situation: our family owns a piece of land in a three-party collaboration. One party is our Zheng Family, another is the Zhuo Family from Hong Kong, and the final one is Shoten Co., Ltd from Japan. However, the Zhuo Family had an accident and withdrew a while ago. We only found out the reason today, so I thought of you to see if there might be a solution.”

Then Zheng Tianpeng turned to Zhuo Junfan and said, “Junfan, please explain the details to Shaoxian.”

Zhuo Junfan nodded slightly at Chen Shaoxian before she began, “I only found out a few days ago myself. My father called me recently to say the house was being renovated and advised me not to come home since I was busy with my work; I didn’t think much of it. But now that I’m on vacation, I called home to tell my family I’d be visiting, and they absolutely refused to let me. That made me suspicious. After much pressing, they finally revealed what had happened.”

Zhuo Junfan continued, “My father said he didn’t know what was going on at home lately, but there were a lot of strange occurrences. Every night, they could hear a woman crying, and someone seemed to be running back and forth in the hallway. One of the braver servants went out to check and found the floor covered with wet footprints of a woman, which really frightened everyone.”

The Zheng Family felt a chill at Zhuo Junfan’s words. Zheng Ruirui leaned closer to Zheng Lei.

Zhuo Junfan then added, “But those aren’t even the scariest things. The worst is yet to come.”