“No way?”  

Mother Qi’s eyes filled with terror. Would they really go that far? This would completely cut off their family’s livelihood.  

“What I said might even be an understatement.”  

The outcome of his past life was something Qi Han couldn’t explain clearly now, as it hadn’t happened yet in this lifetime.  

In his previous life, Father Qi had refused to entangle himself further with those people. What weighed most on the couple’s minds was the safety of their eldest son.  

Thus, they had no choice but to pay to settle the disaster.  

Father Qi planned to sell some of the precious wood in the warehouse at a discount to raise the money quickly. But misfortune never comes alone. Just as he had lined up a buyer, the warehouse caught fire!  

Overnight, all the stored wood was reduced to ashes. This final blow shattered the couple’s resolve.  

The core of their family business was the wood stored in that warehouse, which included many rare and valuable types of timber. Essentially, all their capital was tied up in that wood.  

But a single fire took everything.  

The total loss far exceeded the 20,000 yuan they needed to compensate!  

The incident was so sudden that the couple didn’t even have time to consider the suspicious circumstances before the other party barged into their home with a group of men, taking anything of value they could find.  

The intruders were aggressive. Father Qi, being a gentle and scholarly man, could only try to reason with them, but the group wouldn’t listen.  

Mother Qi, as a woman, didn’t dare to confront a gang of men directly. She could only do her best to protect her two children. As for the eldest branch of the family, they never showed up from start to finish.  

Somehow, an argument broke out between Father Qi and the intruders. He was pushed to the ground, and in the chaos, Mother Qi couldn’t even fight her way through to intervene. All she heard was Father Qi’s agonized screams.  

Soon, the gang left in a hurry, carrying their loot, while Father Qi lay on the ground, his face deathly pale.  

Father Qi’s leg had been crippled.  

One calamity after another left the couple utterly heartbroken. Mother Qi wept day and night. Fortunately, her elder brother from her maternal family sent some emergency money, saving them from being kicked out of the hospital.  

But even then, the ordeal wasn’t over. Although the intruders had looted their valuables, it still didn’t cover the 20,000 yuan debt.  

The Shen family offered to help, but Father Qi refused. He didn’t want to burden his in-laws with his family’s troubles.  

The Shen family wasn’t nobility, but they were a well-respected scholarly family with several literati and academics among them. Pooling their resources, they could have scraped together the money.  

In the end, Father Qi handed over the woodcarving shop to settle the debt, buying them temporary peace.  

“…” The couple fell into complete silence, unable to speak for a long time.  

Qi Han and Qin Tianru sat quietly beside them, not disturbing their thoughts.  

Several minutes later, Father Qi finally regained his composure. “How did you know about the eldest branch’s plans?”  

He even knew exactly what their next moves would be?  

Father Qi wasn’t doubting his son—he was just curious how he had found out. As Qi Han himself had said, he only realized something was wrong after arriving at the location.  

“I told him,” Qin Tianru suddenly spoke up.  

The couple turned to their future daughter-in-law in surprise, their eyes filled with questions.  

Qin Tianru flashed a sweet smile and tilted her head playfully. “What if I told you I can see the future? Would you believe me?”  

This was the story they had agreed on during their journey back.  

As for the matter of rebirth, Qi Han had no intention of telling his parents. It would only add to their guilt and suffering, serving no practical purpose. Why bother?