Chapter 53 – “Is It Really This Down-to-Earth?”

Tu Shanju drank the last sip of her fruit wine.

After finishing her food and drink, she wiped her hands with a tissue and turned to look at Lu Zeyuan again.
“Want to credit a knife? Since you’re Xie Shiyu’s friend, I can give you a friendly discount.”

“Credit what?” Lu Zeyuan didn’t understand.

Tu Shanju was just about to explain when Xie Shiyu stepped in.
“Knife credit. You credit a knife, and Xiao Jiu will give you a prophecy. Once it comes true, you pay the price.”

Lu Zeyuan suddenly remembered—he had vaguely heard Old Master Lu mention that the Xie family had only managed to make a comeback and sustain their legacy thanks to the help of a Knife Creditor.

And that Xie Shiyu’s fiancée was a descendant of such a person.

He had just forgotten for a moment earlier. Now, with Xie Shiyu’s explanation, it all came back.

Tu Shanju smiled faintly. Every time she had to explain it, she grew more tired of it. The script never changed—it was always one of three lines.

She peeled open a lollipop, popped it in her mouth, and started switching it from left to right cheek like a child entertaining herself.

Xie Shiyu caught the scene in his peripheral vision and let out a small chuckle, swirling the wine in his glass.
“Lu Zeyuan, opportunity only knocks once.”

“I’m not dumb, okay?” Lu Zeyuan retorted immediately. “I just didn’t react fast enough.”

He eagerly scooted over to sit by Tu Shanju—but kept a meter’s distance—and asked excitedly,
“Sis-in-law, how does this knife credit work? Do I need to go with you guys to the old house to get it?”

“No need. I have it on me.” Tu Shanju lowered her head and reached into her pocket.

“On you…?” Lu Zeyuan went silent the moment he saw what she pulled out: a tiny nail clipper, which she placed on the table.

This wasn’t at all what he imagined.

He picked it up and examined it. It was just an ordinary nail clipper. You could get one at any supermarket for three yuan.

Scratching his head, he asked, “Sis-in-law, your knife-crediting trade is supposed to be super mysterious… isn’t this kind of too down-to-earth?”

He had at least expected some custom blade, or something engraved with a special knife-crediteer’s emblem or whatever.

Tu Shanju was confused. She thought for two seconds and replied,
“If you don’t like the small one, I also have a cleaver, a sickle, and a bone-chopping knife—but those are at the old house. You’d have to come with me and Xie Shiyu to get them.

But I think there’s no need, since this thing is just the medium used to establish the contract.”

Once the contract was formed, no one could break it—not even gods or immortals.

Lu Zeyuan nodded, “Got it. So how do I store this nail clipper? Should I wrap it in red cloth and worship it or something?”

Tu Shanju had been asked this a million times. She waved it off.
“It’s just a sharp nail clipper. Just don’t clip your flesh with it.”

Lu Zeyuan: “…”

Okay… that was surprisingly casual.

On the other side, Qi Chen had been staring at the nail clipper for quite some time. He pursed his lips and, saying nothing, turned away and took a big gulp of wine.

Xie Shiyu noticed and patted his shoulder. “Fate and timing.”

Qi Chen nodded in agreement. “Yeah. If only it had been six months earlier.”

Just then, two nail clippers suddenly appeared on the table—right in front of Xie Shiyu and Qi Chen.

Both of them were stunned.

Xie Shiyu: “Xiao Jiu…”

Qi Chen: “Sis-in-law!”

Tu Shanju simply nodded calmly. “Initial transaction complete.”

Then she turned to Lu Zeyuan and said as well,
“Initial transaction complete.”

All three men nodded.

Tu Shanju, as always, had no patience for sucking on candy—she crunched it in one bite, stood up, and said,
“Work’s done. The formalities are over. Let’s go in order. First, we handle the Lu family matter.”

Lu Zeyuan, suddenly being addressed, got nervous.
“Alright, Sis-in-law. Say it, I’m listening.”

“First, your grandfather has a long lifespan. His recent health problems were caused by someone tampering with his food.”

Lu Zeyuan’s expression changed drastically. He shot to his feet.

His face was full of rage, teeth clenched. “Who tried to hurt my grandpa?”

Old Master Lu had always doted on him the most since childhood. Now hearing someone had tried to harm him, Lu Zeyuan wanted to drag the culprit out and skin them alive.

At the same time, someone popped into his mind.

The one who hated Old Master Lu the most in the whole family… was his stepmother: Han Linran.

When she married into the family, Grandpa had strongly opposed it.

In fact, Grandpa had warned his father never to have illegitimate children. If he did, he would sever ties, revoke all shares and rights in the Lu Corporation.

So even though Han Linran eventually married in, she never had a child.

Recently, Lu Zeyuan had a huge fight with his dad and stormed off abroad—because his dad wanted him to transfer 1% of company shares to Han Linran.

He figured it must’ve been Grandpa who stepped in and blocked it, which is probably why Han Linran held a grudge.

“F*ck!” he cursed under his breath, fists clenched so hard they cracked.

Tu Shanju looked down and said quietly,
“It’s not her. The one harming your grandfather is someone else.”

Lu Zeyuan looked up in disbelief. “Not that woman? Then who?”

“Later, go to your grandfather’s house and install a hidden camera in the kitchen. In two days, you’ll know. That’ll be your evidence—and your bargaining chip.”

Tu Shanju didn’t name the culprit directly.

First, because Lu Zeyuan’s temper might backfire if he knew too soon.

Second, because these days, everything required evidence. Without it, one wrong move would only alert the enemy.

Still… she worried that once he saw who it was, he might not be able to handle it emotionally.

But there was no avoiding it. This was part of his growth.

The next time she saw him… he’d probably be a changed man.

Lu Zeyuan looked completely lost. His prime suspect had been ruled out, so who else could hate Grandpa that much—to the point of wanting him dead?

He was filled with doubt and fell deep into thought.

Tu Shanju turned her attention to Qi Chen.

Qi Chen met her gaze—and for once, his heart skipped a beat.

Even facing life-and-death missions, he’d never been this on edge… but one look from Tu Shanju had him bracing himself.

Tu Shanju said,
“He’s not dead. You can rest assured. Next month, on the 3rd, at 10:30 PM, at the border—go to the no-man’s zone and send a team to intercept. You can save his arm.”

Qi Chen straightened up, eyes flashing with hope.
“He went to…”

Tu Shanju cut him off. “Mm. Yes.”