Chapter 18: What Does the Ancestral Master Mean by This?

Li Xiao was the first to notice Mu Yunzhe’s unsettled demeanor. He approached and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Mu Yunzhe looked up, his expression strained. “I came here once before. It’s completely different now! There were people burning incense and a deity statue back then. Now the statue’s gone, and everything looks even more dilapidated!”

Li Xiao frowned but said nothing.

Yan Qiao, who had been inspecting the area, walked over and asked casually, “So they told you to buy top-grade incense, yellow paper, and cinnabar last time too?”

The answer was obvious.

Mu Yunzhe nodded. “They insisted on the best quality!”

…

“If you’d bought those, they’d have been used on you—or other victims,” Yan Qiao stated coldly.

Mu Yunzhe shuddered. “Thank the heavens I met you, Master Yan.”

“Don’t call me ‘Master.’ Most so-called masters are frauds. Address me as ‘Abbess Yan.’” She was the sole inheritor of the Dragon Jade Temple.

“Understood, Abbess Yan.”

“Do you remember what deity was enshrined here before?” Yan Qiao pressed.

Mu Yunzhe strained to recall but finally shook his head. “My memory’s hazy.”

“No matter. It’s expected.” Even without his recollection, Yan Qiao surmised the temple had housed no righteous deity.

She grew increasingly certain these corrupt priests operated as a group. With two members recently eliminated, their activities might temporarily cease.

“Let’s return.”

“Already?” Mu Yunzhe blinked in surprise.

Before Yan Qiao could respond, Li Xiao cut in icily, “Would you prefer to stay?”

“Absolutely not! I want to get as far from this cursed place as possible!” Mu Yunzhe waved his hands frantically. His current residence was clearly unsafe.

“Xiao-ye, got any spare rooms? I need a place to crash.”

“You may stay,” Li Xiao agreed without hesitation.

Yan Qiao added unexpectedly, “Since Mr. Mu donated generously today, he should pay respects to the Ancestral Master. Let them recognize his face.”

Mu Yunzhe brightened. “Will this protect me from bad luck?”

“In theory.”

“Then I’ll go! I’ll burn mountains of incense!”

Li Xiao’s eyes flickered at their exchange before the group departed.

---

In a decrepit house near the abandoned temple, two emaciated priests lay dead, blood oozing from their orifices. Three fellow priests in matching robes stood nearby, faces grim.

“Senior Brother, how could both juniors suffer backlash? Did their targets hire someone powerful?”

“Our curses shouldn’t be breakable.”

The senior brother—a tall, plain-faced man with shrewd eyes—growled, “This bodes ill. Report to Master immediately. No further moves until instructed.”

---

Upon returning to the Yan residence during dinner hour, Mu Yunzhe eagerly followed Yan Qiao to the Ancestral Master’s shrine. The family—save Yan Jue, who remained with his fiancée—gathered anxiously in the living room.

Su Min rushed to inspect her daughter. “A-Qiao! Are you hurt?”

“I’m unharmed,” Yan Qiao replied calmly.

Yan Hao pouted. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You were sleeping.”

As Li Xiao and Mu Yunzhe entered, Yan Zhengtian hurried to greet them. “Xiao-ye, Mr. Mu! To what do we owe this honor?”

Li Xiao’s tone softened uncharacteristically. “We’ve come to pay respects to Abbess Yan’s Ancestral Master.”

Yan Zhengtian froze at the intimate address “A-Qiao” and the mention of temple matters. Before he could process this, Yan Qiao interjected, “We’ll offer incense first. Dinner can wait.”

---

In the shrine room, Yan Qiao lit incense and reported the day’s events, mentioning the generous donation. The sticks burned brighter—clearly pleasing the Ancestral Master.

She then gestured to Mu Yunzhe. “This benefactor wishes to offer incense personally.”

As Mu Yunzhe piously raised his incense sticks, the Ancestral Master’s tablet suddenly toppled over.

Silence descended.

Mu Yunzhe paled. What does the Ancestral Master mean by this?