Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 195 [I Was Your Accomplice] (6000)

Chapter 189 [I Became Your Accomplice] (6000)

Chen Yan took out his phone to shine a light and looked at the corpse for a moment.

This is clearly a male corpse. Judging from the degree of decomposition and desiccation, it must have been quite old—but not too long ago.

The clothes on the corpse were modern attire, likely from over a decade ago.

The guy was lying on the ground with a small shovel next to him and an oilcloth bag tied to the back of his pants.

After taking a few more glances, Chen Yan was certain that this person was a tomb raider. However... after entering, he probably couldn't withstand the dense death aura here. His consciousness was corrupted by the death aura, and he fainted in this place. There was no one to call for help here, so he died here.

As for this person's identity...

After a moment's thought, Chen Yan roughly guessed that it must be Lu Xiuting's cousin who had been imprisoned for tomb raiding and trafficking in cultural relics.

This scene was discovered by Chen Yan, who traced the source of the deathly aura emanating from the package of funerary objects he unearthed from under the bluestone slabs by the river near the Lu family's old residence.

Based on what the shopkeeper at the village entrance had said, Chen Yan pieced together a rough guess.

Lu Xiuting's family all worked the land by tilling the soil; her father and her cousin were both farmers.

This ancient tomb was clearly looted by Lu Xiuting's family.

It's quite possible that they didn't steal everything; there's still something inside.

After her cousin was released from prison, he had no job and stayed in the village for two or three days, probably to prepare for tomb raiding. After he was ready, he came back here, dug a hole, and went down into the tomb to get to work.

As a result, he died here.

·
This tomb chamber appears to be a side chamber, with another door to the north—though this door has clearly been destroyed.

There were signs of prying on it, and there was a cable inside the door that had been jammed and secured.

Chen Yan glanced at the mechanism and roughly figured out its workings. A copper rod was inserted where the cable was jammed. If the copper rod hadn't jammed the cable, the cable inside the gate would have pulled the east gate down.

However, after being damaged, the gate was left suspended in mid-air, and the gap below was just big enough for a person to bend down and crawl through from the ground.

Chen Yan thought for a moment, then threw two [Six Yang Righteous Qi Talismans] into the crack in the door. After seeing flames emerge from inside, he waited a while before slowly bending down and crawling inside.

The inner tomb chamber is much larger!

Its height, width, and length are almost several times that of the outside!
The tomb chamber was surrounded by thick, neatly cut granite walls! Upon seeing these walls, Chen Yan immediately concluded that this was definitely not an "ancient tomb"!
Ancient tombs shouldn't have been made of such neatly cut granite using modern techniques.

This place is probably only a few decades old.

Then, after Chen Yan raised his phone and waved the flashlight around a few times, his expression suddenly changed!

"Gathering Qi Gate... Dragon Locking Pillar... Qi Suppressing Nail... Holy crap!"

Chen Yan swayed, and the expression on his face suddenly became quite interesting!

this place……

"This isn't a cemetery!!" Chen Yan couldn't help but exclaim.

This place is NOT some ancient tomb or hidden dwelling where the dead are buried!

It's not a magic chamber, but a formation built to suppress something!
The utensils scattered throughout the room, the energy-gathering gate, the dragon-locking pillar, the energy-suppressing nails...

Chen Yan had only seen these things in the magic array section of the manual, but had never seen the real thing!
Especially noteworthy is the thick bronze pillar on the wall, which takes two people to encircle, running straight through the stone chamber!
It plunges deep into the ground, its depth unknown! At its top, a stone chamber emerges, piercing the mountainside, its height unknown!

This is the combined might of the entire mountain, gathered here to suppress something!
Although Chen Yan couldn't understand the magic array for a while, he had been learning for quite some time. Based on the principles of the magic arrays he had learned, he was able to quickly find the location where the energy was gathering and suppressing!

But when he got there, he saw that on the surrounding granite walls, there were thirty-six "qi-suppressing nails," each corresponding to one of the thirty-six Heavenly Generals, with the nail heads pointing in different directions...

It was just a pile of rubble!
Whatever it was that was being suppressed... in short, it has now been dug up!

·
It was evening, by the car in the countryside.

After patting himself dry with the willow branches he had just picked from the tree, Chen Yan casually tossed them into the wild.

He took out an oil drum from his storage jade pendant, threw his outer clothes into the oil drum and burned them, then put on a new set of clothes.

After attaching another "Good Fortune and Protection Talisman" to his body, Chen Yan carefully examined himself to confirm that the deathly aura tainted on him had completely dissipated.

He didn't want to bring any deathly aura home with him.

This stuff, if you only use a tiny bit, it's fine, but if you get in contact with it for a long time, it can cause health problems.

After checking and making sure nothing was missing, Chen Yan turned around, got into the car, and drove towards the city of Jinling Prefecture.

On his way home, Chen Yan drove while pondering the series of discoveries he had made that day.

Chen Yan has already uncovered quite a few secrets about Lu Xiuting.

The deathly aura emanating from her must have come from that tomb-raiding family. Spending so many years in her youth surrounded by funerary objects, she inevitably picked up some of it. Over time, this deathly aura became intertwined with her destiny, and could never be completely eradicated.

Although it is unknown whether Lu Xiuting herself has ever been to a tomb, her family makes a living by stealing funerary objects, selling them for money to support her. Once you spend money on funerary objects, the death energy becomes linked to your fate!
According to the theory of "Qi Yun Zhou Shu" that Chen Yan studied, this belongs to "ill-gotten gains".

Good fortune brings good luck, while bad fortune naturally brings bad things.

That's why the ancients said, "A gentleman loves wealth, but he acquires it in a proper way."

If you take the wrong path, the money spent may not even benefit you.

Looking back at Lu Xiuting's photos, she looked like she did in high school. Her appearance was ordinary, but for some reason, there was a hint of wickedness in her appearance. That was because she had spent money through shady means, which caused her fate to be filled with death energy, thus affecting her appearance and spirit.

But why did the deathly aura around her suddenly fade considerably when she graduated from university and started her internship, and why did her appearance also improve...?

Chen Yan didn't care what secrets Lu Xiuting had—to put it bluntly, in his eyes, this woman was nothing more than Lu Sisi's biological mother.

If Lu Sisi and her mother have a deep bond, Chen Yan will naturally treat her with the respect due to an elder.

But now, Chen Yan feels it's too much trouble to even glance at Lu Xiuting.

However, Lu Xiuting's secret is related to Lu Sisi, which makes Chen Yan take it to heart.

Lu Sisi was born with a top-tier, perfect destiny—such a good destiny is what attracted the covetousness of that old devil in Hong Kong, who stole her fate.

A little girl, only a few years old, caused the ancestral tablet of a family to crack open with just one kneel!

Chen Yan will gain a lot of merit by helping her break free from her misfortune, which will be directly converted into cultivation!

These events eventually converged into a truth that Chen Yan could not ignore: Lu Sisi's identity must have some hidden secret!
·
That evening, Chen Yan returned home and did not tell Lu Sisi what he had done that day. He simply accompanied Lu Sisi in her evening practice, guiding her in meditation and helping her to sense the vital energy. Although Lu Sisi still made no progress in her cultivation, Chen Yan only offered gentle words of comfort.

"Anyway, your physique has already changed, and I have other medicines that can further enhance your physical body. Even if you fail in your cultivation, you can greatly extend your lifespan—we have plenty of time!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Sisi smiled gently: "I don't care about cultivation. As long as I can spend enough time with you, that's enough. But if I can succeed in cultivation, wouldn't I be able to spend even more time with you? I will work hard."

Chen Yan patted his girlfriend on the shoulder and went to the kitchen to make her some late-night snacks.

He genuinely felt sorry for Lu Sisi—especially after witnessing firsthand how Lu Sisi's parents treated her.

Although I had no parents, I had an old lady by my side since I was a child. She cared for me without reservation and treated me very well, giving me enough affection and warmth.

As for Lu Sisi, this poor girl, she has never experienced any family affection from childhood to adulthood.

Whether it's Yang Jiaming or Lu Xiuting, their attitudes towards her are hard to describe.

Considering what I saw in the investigation, Lu Xiuting quickly dumped her college boyfriend during her internship and threw herself into Yang Jiaming's arms. They confirmed their relationship before the internship ended, got married and had Lu Sisi within a year...

Chen Yan strongly suspected that the woman had given birth to Lu Sisi on purpose, in order to marry into a wealthy family and have Yang Jiaming marry her as soon as possible.

How much can a mother expect to love a child born with ulterior motives and ambitions?
No wonder Lu Sisi was completely devoted to him, giving him her whole heart without reservation.

Chen Yan understood that to Lu Sisi, his existence was more than just that of a boyfriend or a savior.

Rather, it was the only ray of light that shone upon her during the eighteen years of suffering and loneliness in her life.

My only solace, my only warmth, my only bond.

Honestly, this kind of feeling isn't very healthy.

but……

Chen Yan sighed.

In this world, who the hell doesn't have a bit of a mental illness deep down?

Where did I go from being normal again?

Lying in bed at night, Chen Yan held Lu Sisi in his arms, gently stroking her back.

"I want to ask you a question."

"Hmm?" Lu Sisi raised her eyelids and looked at Chen Yan.

"What if I were a bad person? What if I were an utterly wicked villain, would you still like me...?"

"Then I'll be your accomplice!"

Lu Sisi answered without a moment's hesitation.
The next day, Chen Yan went to see Lu Xiuting.

Lu Xiuting's phone number was in the investigation materials that Chu Keqing gave her.

When Chen Yan called and introduced himself, Lu Xiuting was somewhat surprised: "What do you want to see me for?"

"Let's talk about Sisi."

“…Okay.” After a two-second silence, Lu Xiuting agreed and quickly sent an address—a teahouse and a private room number.

Chen Yan went out to see Lu Xiuting at 2 p.m.

When I arrived at the teahouse and entered the private room, I saw Lu Xiuting wearing a purple cheongsam.

After looking the woman up and down from the doorway, Chen Yan realized something.

The reason why her appearance is not as good as Lu Sisi's is 90% due to the death aura on her body!
The aura of death has become deeply entangled with her destiny. Because of this aura, her spirit and energy carry a hint of malevolence, which in turn affects her body and consequently her appearance and looks.

After closing the door to the private room, Chen Yan walked over and sat down opposite Lu Xiuting.

Lu Xiuting seemed to want to maintain her composure, so she deliberately adopted a nonchalant attitude, picked up the teacup in front of her, and took a small sip.

A mocking smile appeared in Chen Yan's eyes.

He opened a large bag he was carrying, reached inside, pulled something out, and threw it on the ground!
Bang!

He threw a small shovel on the ground!

The shovel, covered in dirt, landed on the wooden floor of the private room, startling Lu Xiuting. Her fingers, which were holding the teacup, trembled slightly.

"You? This is..." Lu Xiuting's eyes showed a hint of shock.

Because she clearly recognized what this shovel was!

"Aunt Lu, let's chat." Chen Yan sat down with a smile, picked up a clean teacup from the table, and poured himself a cup.

Lu Xiuting's gaze fell on the shovel on the ground, then she looked up at Chen Yan, her face filled with surprise and uncertainty.

“You have a cousin named Lu Ding, who works with your father in the soil-moving business, right?” Chen Yan took a sip of tea and said slowly, “To be precise, your whole family does this. I don’t know if your mother and you are members of your family’s tomb-raiding gang. But the scent on you tells me that you should be one of them.”

"Smell?" Lu Xiuting panicked at first, then sneered, "You've probably read too many tomb raiding novels. What tomb raiding gang? I don't understand what you're talking about."

Chen Yan shook his head: "It's no use denying it, and you know what I'm talking about."

Before Lu Xiuting could refute him, Chen Yan continued speaking on his own.

"Then tell me a story."

In a certain village, there lived a couple with a daughter and a nephew.

His wife died young, so the family consisted of the husband, his daughter, and a nephew.

This family is in the business of tomb raiding; in slang, it's called "daodou," but we call it "fantu" (turning over soil).

The family that ran this business consisted of an adult husband and nephew, who were likely the main perpetrators, responsible for digging the tunnels, exploring the burrows, and retrieving the items. The daughter, on the other hand, was probably the assistant. After all, a young girl might not be physically strong, but she was likely intelligent enough to handle the auxiliary tasks.

This kind of business is actually quite immoral; if you do it for a long time, you'll naturally reap the consequences.

So, in a certain year, this family found an ancient tomb in the mountains, and during the tomb exploration, the husband was unfortunately seriously injured and died.

Moreover, the police subsequently arrested the gang, and the nephew was arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison.

However, the little girl was a minor, and there was no evidence to prove that she participated in the crime, so she escaped the net.

The little girl was quite clever, and after the police arrested and searched her, she probably still managed to hide some of the stolen money.

With this ill-gotten money, the little girl was able to continue to survive after her father died and her cousin went to jail. Moreover, she was quite smart and was able to get into university.

It seems that, apart from being an orphan, her life is no different from that of an ordinary female student.

After graduating from university, I found an internship at a Hong Kong-funded company. To my surprise, I discovered that the company's boss was actually quite young and single.

So, the girl quickly dumped her boyfriend on campus…

"Enough!!" Lu Xiuting's face was pale, her anger rising, and she shouted resolutely, "Shut up!"

"Uh? But I haven't finished yet." Chen Yan laughed, "I haven't told you how the girl pulled off this, how the hunter disguised himself as the prey, quickly hooked up with the boss of that Hong Kong company, and then quickly used pregnancy to climb the social ladder, achieving his wish of marrying into a wealthy family and becoming a young mistress."

"..." Lu Xiuting's body trembled as she stared intently at Chen Yan: "You, you investigated me!"

“Your husband is an outsider,” Chen Yan said calmly. “He’s the owner of a small Hong Kong-funded company, and he’s not the primary heir to the Yang family business; he’s just a youngest son. He doesn’t have much influence in Jinling Prefecture, so there are many things he can’t find out—he definitely didn’t find out these things before he married you, even if he did try to find out some things about you indirectly.”

But... after you graduated from high school, you left the village to go to university and never went back, losing contact with the people in the village.

When your husband was dating you, he probably only asked your college classmates about you, so he probably doesn't know any of the things I'm telling you, right?

Lu Xiuting was indeed no simple person. After the initial shock and tension, she quickly forced herself to calm down. She stared at Chen Yan: "So what if you found out all this?"

She pointed at Chen Yan: "You found out some of my dark history and are using that to blackmail me? I've been married to my husband for nineteen years! We have a son and a daughter, and I'm currently three months pregnant!"
Even if you know all about my past, how do you plan to blackmail me? Tell my husband? Ha!
I didn't cheat on my husband, I didn't do anything to betray him! Even if you try to blackmail me with these old stories, it won't hurt me at all!

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!" Chen Yan laughed. "I didn't intend to use these things to blackmail you, Aunt Lu."

As he spoke, he picked up the plate of dried fruit on the table, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and while cracking the seeds, he laughed and said, "Let's continue with the story I was just telling."

Actually, the most important thing is that the husband in that tomb-raiding gang died during the tomb raiding—perhaps they discovered some amazing treasures in that ancient tomb.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to an accident during the crime, the husband died.

My nephew was later arrested.

That ancient tomb is still there, and the things inside are still there.

And then...

After serving eight years in prison, the nephew, still thinking about the treasures in the ancient tomb, secretly ran back to the tomb after his release, hoping to retrieve them.

Unfortunately, he died in that ancient tomb.

Lu Xiuting was stunned, a complex look flashing in her eyes.

As Chen Yan spoke, he pointed to the shovel on the ground: "Look, this is the tool your cousin Lu Ding used—I kindly picked it up for you."

boom!
Lu Xiuting slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "You, what did you say!"

"You should be thanking me." Chen Yan curled his lips: "I saw your cousin Lu Ding's body, and before I left, I kindly helped to collect his body."

"..." Lu Xiuting's body was trembling, but at this moment the expression on her face had turned into fear.

Chen Yan raised his head, spat out the sunflower seed shells in his mouth, and laughed, "Is this a favor your Lu family owes me?"

Yes, regarding the encoffining, Chen Yan felt he hadn't lied.

However, they didn't help dig a hole to bury the body.

Chen Yan didn't have the time to dig a pit and bury someone.

He simply set the body on fire and burned it.

As for the ashes, scatter them!

It was a bit hasty, but Chen Yan didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Grave robbers who dig up ancient tombs deserve to die a gruesome death, don't they?
How many evil deeds have the Lu family committed in their lives, such as digging up ancestral graves? This is retribution they deserve.

If we can burn his body and scatter the ashes, thus preventing him from being left to rot in the wilderness, that would be a good deed!
"However, your cousin died unjustly."

Chen Yan deliberately sighed, looking at Lu Xiuting's expression: "He was obsessed with the treasure in that ancient tomb. He served eight years in prison, and after he escaped, he secretly went back to explore that ancient tomb, only to die inside."

Actually, he didn't even know... that the treasure in that ancient tomb was long gone!
But Lu Ding didn't know that. He ran back to explore the tomb and died inside—if he had known the treasures inside were long gone, perhaps he wouldn't have had to throw his life away.

Lu Xiuting's face was pale. She slowly sat down and returned to her chair.

Chen Yan tossed the sunflower seed shells in his hand onto the table and smiled slightly, saying, "The only part of this story that I haven't figured out yet is..."

The treasure from that ancient tomb—the one your father secretly brought back without your cousin Lu Ding's knowledge when he went down into the tomb to steal it, the one that led to his serious injury and death.

Or...did you secretly dig it up while your cousin Lu Ding was in prison?

Lu Xiuting was silent for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "I don't understand anything you're saying!"

"Oh." Chen Yan nodded. "I'm not surprised you'll deny it, since there's no evidence."

"Don't try to use this to manipulate me." Lu Xiuting shook her head: "Do you expect to use this to force me to back down and ignore my daughter?"

“I didn’t think that way.” Chen Yan shook his head: “In fact, whether you care about Lu Sisi or not makes no difference to me, because you can’t care anyway. I won’t let you have the ability to interfere with her choices.”

"Based on you?" Lu Xiuting sneered, "You think I haven't inquired about you?"

·
(End of this chapter)