Chapter 27 - Soul-Capturing Yin House (Part III)

After the Zhuo Family Members hung up the phone that day, they rushed directly to the airport. Their thought was simple: no matter where they went first, as long as they could leave this place, it would be better. However, upon reaching the airport, the Zhuo Family Members lost consciousness again.

When the Zhuo Family Members woke up, they were devastated to find themselves back at their own home, with bloody footprints all over the floor and the Three Purity Bells smashed on the door. The talisman seal that had been on their chest was nowhere to be found. Unlike previous times, the Zhuo Family Members had slept straight through to this morning.

What made the Zhuo Family Members even more desperate was that they all had two pieces of flesh gouged out, and eerily, the wounds had already scabbed over.

When they checked the surveillance footage, many members of the Zhuo Family broke down. The footage showed that the flesh was self-harvested by the Zhuo Family Members themselves, then cooked into a broth, and consumed by them.

This footage was from the day before yesterday. The Zhuo Family Members dared not look at yesterday’s footage, let alone think about it. They could only wait in despair for death.

Upon waking, Zhuo Junfan immediately wanted to go home; she preferred to die with her family. Zheng Lei decided to go with Zhuo Junfan.

Zheng Tianpeng suggested they first seek Chen Shaoxian to see if he had any way to cope, but Zheng Lei immediately rejected the idea.

The Zheng Family was now in complete chaos.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shaoxian realized how much emotion was contained in the words Zheng Lei had said to him that day. Chen Shaoxian knew that if Zheng Lei had asked for his help that day, he would have definitely agreed. But Zheng Lei had not.

Chen Shaoxian felt a sting in his eyes and said to Zheng Ruirui, “Let’s go to your house.”

Without bothering to wash his face, Chen Shaoxian went straight to the Zheng residence with Zheng Ruirui.

Arriving at the Zheng home, they could hear the chaos inside.

Chen Shaoxian marched straight in, and upon entering, saw Zheng Lei grabbing his luggage, pulling Zhuo Junfan along to leave, followed by a weeping Zheng’s mother. The entire family seemed to be sending Zheng Lei off to his execution, each of them sobbing uncontrollably.

Chen Shaoxian rushed over and stood directly in front of Zheng Lei, saying, “I’ll go with you.”

“Wait…” Zheng Lei opened his mouth, only managing to utter one word before his throat choked up, rendering him speechless. He could only place his hands on Chen Shaoxian’s shoulders, pressing down heavily a few times.

Zheng Lei did not ask Chen Shaoxian for help, not just because Zheng Ruirui had feelings for Chen Shaoxian, but more importantly because of the friendship between them. Despite Zheng Lei and Chen Shaoxian often joking around, when it came to serious matters, both would unhesitatingly step forward to take a bullet for the other, yet neither wanted the other to be the one to face danger.

The Zheng family and Zhuo Junfan were tearfully watching the two, and although all were shedding tears, the reasons behind them were different.

Chen Shaoxian sat in the airplane rented by the Zheng family, with his eyes closed, lips pursed, fists clenched tightly, and legs stretched stiffly; he remained rigidly seated without moving.

Zheng Ruirui noticed something was off with Chen Shaoxian, so she asked, “Shaoxian, what’s wrong?”

Chen Shaoxian shook his head without speaking.

“Is this your first time on a plane?” Zheng Ruirui asked curiously.

This time, Chen Shaoxian nodded but still didn’t speak, only gripping his hands tighter.

Zheng Ruirui rubbed Chen Shaoxian’s back, soothing him like one would comfort a child, “It’s okay, you’ll get used to it.”

With Zheng Ruirui’s comforting, Chen Shaoxian relaxed a bit and finally spoke, “I have a fear of heights.”

Zheng Lei and Zhuo Junfan, sitting opposite, also noticed Chen Shaoxian’s unease, but with Zheng Ruirui there, they remained silent, giving her a chance to handle the situation.

However, upon hearing about Chen Shaoxian’s fear of heights, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter, even Zheng Ruirui couldn’t help but giggle.

Zheng Lei said to Chen Shaoxian, “The plane hasn’t even taken off yet.”

“What?” Chen Shaoxian relaxed immediately, sprawled in his seat, panting heavily.

Zheng Ruirui, although laughing, still blushed and glared at her older brother.

Chen Shaoxian sprawled on the couch, thinking back to the recent events at the Zheng family’s place.

Upon arriving at the Zheng family’s home, Chen Shaoxian expressed his intentions to accompany Zheng Lei, which touched everyone there.

Seeing that Chen Shaoxian wanted to accompany Zheng Lei to the Zhuo Family, Zheng Ruirui decided to go as well, which greatly alarmed the Zheng family. It was understandable for Zheng Lei to go, considering the Zhuo family’s girl was to be wed into the Zheng family.

From the old master Zheng Junlai to the not-yet-married Zhuo Junfan, including Chen Shaoxian standing there, all expressed their opposition.

But Zheng Ruirui only had to speak two sentences, and everyone fell silent.

Zheng Ruirui assertively told her family, “If you don’t let me go, I’ll sneak out. None of you can stop me.” The Zheng Family was silent; indeed, no one could really stop Zheng Ruirui, the two-time school taekwondo champion.

After making her statement, Zheng Ruirui glanced at Chen Shaoxian, causing him to feel quite uneasy.

Chen Shaoxian heard Zheng Ruirui say, “If you don’t let me go, what will you tell Grandpa Liu?”

Upon hearing this, Chen Shaoxian fell silent too, thinking to himself, “It’s tricky. If she goes to the Liu Family and creates a scene, Liu Baodong will be worried. I’ll definitely have to accompany her, and Liu Iron Mouth is not one to sit still. The aunt is pregnant; if anything happens, it would be hard to explain.”

A group of them discussed on the side. If they didn’t let Zheng Ruirui go, and she ended up going anyway, it might cause even more trouble.

So, everyone agreed that it would be safer to let Zheng Ruirui go, especially with Chen Shaoxian by her side.

Nobody expected that what seemed like a farewell could end with a comedic twist once Chen Shaoxian and Zheng Ruirui returned. Perhaps this was a good beginning.

Later, they split up. Zheng Lei went to handle some paperwork for Chen Shaoxian, while Chen Shaoxian and Zheng Ruirui headed to the Liu Family to cover up the lie.

Zheng Ruirui and Chen Shaoxian arrived at the Liu Family’s building.

Chen Shaoxian said to Zheng Ruirui, “Once we’re up there, you do the talking.”

Zheng Ruirui glanced at Chen Shaoxian, “You’re an adult and still can’t lie?”

Chen Shaoxian scratched his head awkwardly, “It’s not that I can’t, but when I lie, I have a tell, and my family knows it.”

Curious and secretly delighted, Zheng Ruirui pressed, “Tell me, what’s the tell?”

Seeing Chen Shaoxian remain silent, Zheng Ruirui spoke rapidly, “You see, I also have a tell when I lie; I can’t keep secrets. If you don’t tell me, that’s fine, but if I slip up later and the whole Grandpa Liu’s family ends up going to Hong Kong, don’t blame me.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Shaoxian felt a tinge of regret and silently cursed himself, “I talked too much.” Consequently, he had no choice but to tell Zheng Ruirui, “When I lie, I tend to bite my lower lip.”

Having achieved her goal, Zheng Ruirui left Chen Shaoxian behind and went upstairs to knock on the Liu Family’s door.

The Liu Family was thrilled to see Zheng Ruirui and Chen Shaoxian. Their excitement grew when Zheng Ruirui mentioned going on a trip with Chen Shaoxian. Grandma Liu went back inside, retrieved a card, and handed it directly to Zheng Ruirui, instructing Chen Shaoxian to take good care of Zheng Ruirui and to be safe on their journey.

This left Zheng Ruirui and Chen Shaoxian feeling quite guilty, but it was unavoidable. The lie was told for the Liu Family’s sake.

The two left with the blessings of the Liu family, and once outside, Zheng Ruirui took a deep breath and angrily said to Chen Shaoxian, “You tricked me just now, didn’t you? You knew it would turn out this way upstairs, so you made up a reason for me to go.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Shaoxian’s eyes darted around, and he sternly pressed his lips together, saying, “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” After finishing, he twisted his head slightly, deliberately turning his face away. However, Chen Shaoxian didn’t realize that his actions had already given him away.

Seeing Chen Shaoxian’s stern face, Zheng Ruirui really thought she had been fooled. But when she saw him turn his head, she, being very sharp, stared intently at his mouth and indeed saw Chen Shaoxian unconsciously biting his lower lip, then quickly straightening up.

With a long “Oh,” Zheng Ruirui drove home.