Chapter 55 — TVF Chapter 55

Metaphysics Master (12)  Ji Qing successfully placed a curse on her biological daughter. Satisfied, she left without a backward glance.

Moments later, Su Weiwei’s hired car arrived. Still in a daze, she got in, and soon disappeared from sight. Even the officers assigned to keep an eye on her couldn’t help muttering to one another, “Daring to act right outside the Ancient Martial Research Institute—Taixu Sect is getting way too arrogant.”

Her colleague snorted. “It’s all going in the little black notebook. Just wait.”

That said, Taixu Sect dared to be this arrogant precisely because the authorities found them troublesome to deal with. It wasn’t that the authorities lacked the strength to completely overturn Taixu Sect from top to bottom—it was that wiping out the enemy at the cost of crippling oneself was never an option.

If Taixu Sect fell, even counting those disciples who would jump ship to the authorities at the first sign of danger, Huaguo’s cultivation world would lose at least a third of its overall strength. And outside Huaguo, several other countries’ supernatural factions were watching like hawks, just waiting for Huaguo’s cultivation world to weaken so they could swoop in.

That afternoon, an official observer’s report on Su Weiwei’s encounter outside the institute was delivered to Qin Jingzhou through Vice Chairman Zhao.

At the time, Jin Yuansheng and Jin Ziyun still hadn’t finished arranging their rooms.

The original owner’s courtyard house had three rooms each in the east and west wings. The west wing, originally all guest rooms, was now given to Jin Yuansheng, while the three rooms on the east side became Jin Ziyun’s territory.

Gu Yu didn’t even mention moving into a nearby luxury apartment. Instead, he shamelessly stayed put at his father-in-law’s place.

He made no attempt to hide his desire to cling to his father-in-law’s thigh. After a long heart-to-heart talk with his wife Jin Ziyun that night, he cleared up their misunderstandings and then, watching her expression carefully, pleaded, “Let’s make up. I won’t bother with my parents’ mess ever again. Before, I couldn’t ignore it because of the old man and the family assets. Now? That bit of property—I don’t even want it.”

His bluntness made Jin Ziyun laugh.

Even so, though she was willing to reconcile, she still wanted to ask her father’s opinion before agreeing.

While her husband took their child to bathe, Jin Ziyun went to find her father.

Qin Jingzhou was in the study making talismans. When his daughter arrived, he didn’t hold back at all and directly handed her the task of grinding ink.

There wasn’t much technique involved in talisman ink. The main ingredients were cinnabar and powdered spirit stones. The only issue was that machines and ordinary people without cultivation aptitude would cause the spiritual energy to dissipate too quickly, so talisman ink could only be prepared by cultivators or prospective cultivators.

As Jin Ziyun manually mixed the cinnabar and spirit stone powder, she asked, “Dad, what he said is true. But after marrying him, I took a lot of crap from his elders. After I gave birth to the baby, his grandfather’s attitude improved, but his parents…”

Qin Jingzhou smiled. “Still feeling wronged?”

“A little,” Jin Ziyun drooped her brows. “But he was wronged too, and he had to endure it… Dad, he didn’t betray me, right?”

“He didn’t,” Qin Jingzhou replied.

Jin Ziyun asked again, “Then, Dad, I’ll make up with him.”

Qin Jingzhou deliberately teased, “You need to ask me about that too? What are you, a daddy’s girl?”

She stepped forward and hugged his arm. “Can’t I be?”

Qin Jingzhou burst out laughing. “If my daughter says it’s okay, then it’s definitely okay.” He really had no way to deal with a daughter who knew how to act spoiled, clingy, and still keep her head clear.

Leaning against her father’s shoulder, Jin Ziyun smiled smugly. Whether or not her father was reborn didn’t matter—what mattered was that he was sincere toward her and her brother. That was enough.

Half an hour later, Jin Ziyun happily returned to her room.

Ling Jing drifted over from the side room. “A sensible girl. And she lacked fatherly love growing up. With you suddenly appearing as her dad, of course she’s blooming with just a bit of sunshine.”

Qin Jingzhou lit a cigarette. “My task is to protect the siblings… three of them now. If they please me, I’ll naturally be more attentive.”

Ling Jing nodded deeply. “Only human.”

They soon compared notes on their respective versions of the plot. They quickly discovered that while the processes differed significantly, the endings were shockingly similar: the male and female leads had children and achieved a so-called perfect ending, while Chao Lan—who spared no cost to eliminate the female lead’s bad luck—comprehended his emotional tribulation, ‘let go,’ and returned to sit in his sect to cultivate in peace.

Combined with the report Vice Chairman Zhao had sent earlier that day, it was clear that the female lead Su Weiwei had inherited a charm-type ability from her biological mother Ji Qing. One mountain higher than another—Su Weiwei was still merely the knife Ji Qing used to kill with borrowed hands. But Su Weiwei was, after all, the female lead. Who would win or lose in the end hardly needed thinking.

Thus, in both versions of the plot they knew, Su Weiwei remained Su Weiwei. But whether Gu Yu or even Chao Lan were still truly themselves—or had parts of their consciousness erased to become Su Weiwei’s puppets—was another matter entirely.

After listening to Qin Jingzhou’s explanation of charm techniques, Ling Jing couldn’t help saying, “The female lead is really ruthless. From my experience, the plot’s male and female leads are destined to become entangled sooner or later—it’s a fated encounter and bond. Keeping the male lead around as bait isn’t a loss… Big boss, are you planning to have Jin Ziyun deal with Su Weiwei, and Jin Yuansheng deal with Chao Lan?”

Qin Jingzhou answered frankly, “I’m keeping the male lead because my daughter still has feelings for him. And honestly, I find him fairly agreeable.” He smiled. “Believe books blindly and you might as well not read them. Don’t think too rigidly according to the plot. Young people should deal with young people… and don’t assume Taixu Sect plays by the rules.”

Ling Jing fell silent for a moment. “So Taixu Sect has probably already dug a pit and is waiting for us to jump in?”

“Didn’t I say I’d open for business?”

Ling Jing immediately understood. “Once they probe your limits, they’ll start for real.”

“Mm.”

At the time, Ling Jing didn’t yet understand the true meaning behind Qin Jingzhou’s casual “mm.”

The very next day, the Ancient Martial Association indeed recommended a client.

The client looked haggard and travel-worn, but in the south he was a truly formidable figure.

His home was haunted. He’d hired several masters—at first, those masters merely retreated in embarrassment. His household remained unsettled, but at least no lives were lost.

Then his son brought back a ‘master’…

That half-baked master enraged the ghost occupying the house, transforming it from a relatively harmless earthbound spirit into a full-blown vicious wraith. By the time this client came seeking help, three generations of his family—six people in total—were reduced to just him, his eldest son who had become a vegetable, and his youngest son still in school.

Qin Jingzhou looked him over once. “I’ll take it.”

His sole condition was that when going out for business, the whole family had to be packed up and go together.

The client had no objections and directly arranged a private plane to pick them up.

After landing, they went straight to the haunted residence.

Everyone following behind Qin Jingzhou wore “safety talismans” he had given them. With Qin Jingzhou leading, even though one glance at the mansion made their hearts feel ominous, curiosity outweighed fear.

The client’s face was deathly pale. Even with many people present, he trembled uncontrollably as he led the way.

Finding him an eyesore, Qin Jingzhou waved a hand and shoved the client aside. Facing the ghostly annex, he said calmly, “Come out. Whatever grudge you have, say it plainly. I can uphold justice for you.”

The moment his words fell, a roaring torrent laden with dense blood qi surged forward.

Jin Yuansheng and the others were horrified. Qin Jingzhou—and Miss Ji, standing extremely close to him—were instantly swallowed by black qi. Before anyone could even think further, a loud, crisp pa echoed in their ears, jolting them awake.

Then Miss Ji’s voice rang out, “Refusing kindness, huh? I’ll knock your head clean off.”

Jin Yuansheng and the others: “……”

A point of light flared up—they recognized it as their father lighting a cigarette. In the blink of an eye, the pitch-black fog almost completely dispersed. Their father was standing there with his foot on a… head, while the ghost’s body remained upright not far away.

Since it was a ghost, there was no blood at the neck. The scene wasn’t terrifying at all—if anything, it was almost… funny.

Qin Jingzhou lifted his foot, his tone as gentle as ever. “Ready to talk now?”

The fierce ghost’s body rushed forward, picked up its head, and hurriedly pressed it back on. It even managed to smile, though its expression and voice were utterly twisted. “I give up. Just purify me.”

Qin Jingzhou grew curious. “Who told you I was going to purify you?”

Standing among Jin Yuansheng’s group, the client suddenly pointed at the ghost and shouted, “Little brother?!”

The ghost stared at him for a long moment, his expression softening slightly. “You still remember me…”

It turned out that before his death, the ghost had argued with his father—who was also the client’s father. In an accident, he was pushed down the stairs, hit his head, and died on the spot.

Even being mistakenly killed by his own father didn’t fill him with such hatred—at least, not enough to turn him into a fierce ghost. His mother, after learning the truth, chose to cover for his father.

What truly enraged him was being awakened one day and learning that his former girlfriend had been pregnant and given birth to his daughter. The girlfriend remained unmarried, raising the child through countless hardships. The daughter grew up beautiful and capable… only to be targeted by a rich playboy as soon as she graduated and started working.

At that point, the ghost returned home, merely hoping his family would help take care of his girlfriend and daughter.

Before he could even communicate with them, that playboy assaulted his daughter. The daughter and her mother refused to swallow the injustice. The playboy, terrified his family would find out, went to the client’s eldest son for help.

After learning the full truth, the client’s eldest son made the same choice as his grandmother back then—shielding the playboy.

That was what enraged the ghost.

After hearing everything, Qin Jingzhou turned to the client and said flatly, “Everything he said is true.”

The client stood dazed for a long while, then raised his hand and slapped himself twice, hard. “Little brother, I’ll give you an explanation!”

The ghost sneered and said nothing more.

Qin Jingzhou said to the client, “Ten million for the fee. You’ll also donate fifty million in cash.” He took out his phone and contacted Chairman Xie. “Found a helper. Send someone to take him in.”

Everyone: “……”

Even the ghost was dumbfounded. “Huh?”

Qin Jingzhou walked straight out, calling to his children, “We’re going home.”

Ling Jing floated behind him, deliberately explaining—and reminding—at the same time. “Think about it. Who woke that fierce ghost first? Why was it that right after he woke up, his daughter got harmed, and then a so-called Celestial Master showed up to pour oil on the fire… Think carefully.” She pointed at herself. “I was also a fierce ghost who got awakened out of nowhere. And both I and that ghost died with grievances. If we’d been taken care of directly, a huge amount of merit would’ve been deducted.”

Everyone: “……”

Damn it—Taixu Sect really laid out a massive chessboard.