The faint candlelight cast a stark contrast on the old man's face, making it look rather terrifying. I unconsciously inched closer to Yan Yan.
"You've finally come," the old man said, as if he had been waiting for us all along.
Shi Yuhan stood beside her grandfather. Fatty wanted to go over, but I grabbed him. "It's a family moment for the grandfather and granddaughter. What are you butting in for?" Fatty stood back awkwardly.
"I knew you'd come," the old man looked at us. To be more precise, he was looking at me.
"Thirty years have passed. It's all about cause and effect," he sighed.
I was confused. I was only 25 this year. I wasn't even born thirty years ago. "Grandpa, what do you mean?"
The old man looked at me and asked, "You're from the Chen family, aren't you?" I nodded. He then continued, "How's Chen Qingyi?" Why did he suddenly bring up Uncle?
"If you have something to say, just say it. I'll tell you everything I know," I said to the old man sincerely.
The old man looked at me thoughtfully. "You're Chen Qinghong's child?" I nodded. Chen Qinghong was my father.
"Your parents passed away, and you were raised by Chen Qingyi?" I nodded again. Uncle had always treated me like his own child and loved me dearly.
The old man shook his head. "It's a great sin." I felt like an outsider. He was making his judgment as if I didn't even exist. It was as if I was an extra.
"Hanhan, pour them some tea. Sit down, all of you," the old man told Shi Yuhan to play the role of a little maid and pour tea for everyone.
The five of us sat around the round table, looking at the senior Shi. The old man scanned all of us and finally fixed his eyes on me.
"I'll tell you a story. After you hear it, you'll understand," the old man said. The rest of us looked at each other blankly.
———— Story Divider ————
A long time ago, there was a couple. They were deeply in love. In just a couple of years, their child was born. But our story doesn't start here. It starts before they got married.
The man was handsome and had many admirers. The woman was talented but plain-looking. She wasn't exactly beautiful but had a delicate appearance. The man approached the woman to avoid his many pursuers.
"Mumu, please agree to this. I'm really fed up," the man pleaded, holding the woman's hand.
"Brother Qinghong, it's not that I don't want to. You know this will cause misunderstandings," Yang Mu refused.
Chen Qinghong's eyes showed a hurt look. Yang Mu had never been able to resist that look since they were kids. So she reluctantly agreed. "But don't let your brother know. Otherwise, we're doomed."
The Chen family was involved in tomb raiding, so there were many restrictions. For example, when a man in the family looked for a partner, she had to have strong yang energy. Tomb raiding was a deed that damaged one's yin virtue, so it was not good to have too much yin energy in the family.
Yang Mu really liked Brother Qinghong. He was a fine young man, but he had too many admirers, and she felt she wasn't outstanding enough.
After a while, their fake relationship turned real. They were a good match, but the Chen family didn't think so. They thought Yang Mu had too much yin energy and couldn't be controlled.
"You're being absurd!" a deep voice said. "Yang Mu has too much yin energy. You two can't be together."
Chen Qinghong knelt down with a thud. "Dad, I'm begging you. We really love each other. I swear to you, nothing will go wrong. Please let us be together."
"Give up this idea."
"If you don't agree, I won't get up."
"Then just kneel there and reflect," the father said and turned away.
Chen Qinghong knelt in front of the Chen family ancestral hall, hoping to soften his father's heart. He knelt until the middle of the night, but his father never came to check on him.
"Hong'er," a magnetic voice sounded.
"Second brother," Chen Qinghong said. "Please talk to Dad. He listens to you the most."
Chen Qingyi looked at his third brother kneeling on the ground and felt a pang in his heart. Everyone knew that the two brothers had the best relationship.
Chen Qingyi stroked Chen Qinghong's head. "Third brother, why do you have to do this? You know the situation in our family." Chen Qingyi was just as good-looking as his younger brother, but he had never been in a relationship because of the family's special situation.
As a child of the Chen family, marriage was just a means of balance, not a symbol of love. As long as the family needed it, one had to give up everything and put the family first.
Chen Qingyi was the most valued one. He was capable and responsible. But only he knew how tired he was. His whole life had been planned out, and he had no room to resist.
What was the meaning of life if there was no freedom to pursue one's own happiness?
"I'm here to talk to you about something, Qinghong," Chen Qingyi said, looking at his younger brother.
Chen Qinghong still knelt there, looking at him silently.
"Tomorrow, all the outstanding people in the clan will go on an adventure in an ancient tomb. I want to take you with me. Do you want to come?" Chen Qingyi asked his suffering brother.
"Brother, you know I don't like these things. I just want to live a peaceful life," Chen Qinghong said painfully. Chen Qingyi stroked his head. "Get up. I'll talk to Dad."
Chen Qinghong felt relieved when he heard his brother say that. His father listened to his brother. If his brother went to talk to him, success was not far away.
The adventure Chen Qingyi mentioned was actually to find out the real situation of each family and see if there were any suitable candidates to complete the final task. Of course, they didn't know this.
Chen Qingyi went to his father's room and explained the situation. As expected, his father flew into a rage, thinking they were being reckless.
Chen Qingyi kept assuring him that nothing would go wrong. Finally, his father agreed but told him to stand out during the adventure.
The next day, outstanding talents from each family gathered in front of an ancient tomb. There were also capable elders from the family. The elders led them in.
There were both men and women. Everyone had their own agenda and wanted to be the best in this mission.
As soon as they entered the tomb, the elders all withdrew, leaving everything to these young people. It was up to them to save themselves. The tomb they found wasn't extremely dangerous, but it was still quite a challenge.
Those outside didn't know what was going on inside. In the end, Chen Qingyi led the others out. The others were so scared that their legs went weak and they cried, but he remained calm.
The two people who disappeared just vanished without a trace.
Chen Qingyi won favor, but after that, misfortune kept befalling him. The elders in the family were very angry when they found out. The yang energy in the family was insufficient, and they couldn't suppress the things in the tomb.
Chen Qinghong had caused trouble!
To relieve his younger brother of the psychological burden, Chen Qingyi got married first and took the blame on himself, so that his younger brother could get married without worry.
Later, problems also started to appear in Chen Qinghong's life. After having a child, misfortune kept coming.