Chapter 275: The Cycle of Karma

Lin Xuanzhi silently lowered his head. My heavens, the little princess’s inner voice is so rich.

This is a big secret and must be protected.

He tightly grasped the protective charm. Nothing had happened earlier, but as soon as Taoist Baiyun gave him the charm, he could hear her inner voice. It was clearly the charm’s doing.

What a good charm!

Taoist Baiyun had been eyeing the big apple in Ah Bao’s hand when he suddenly felt a scorching gaze beside him.

Meeting Lin Xuanzhi’s eyes, Taoist Baiyun quietly stepped to the side.

Lin Xuanzhi’s gaze was so intense—it was almost like he was looking at a lover.

The Grand Tyrant, with a proud expression, accepted the big apple. “So sweet.”

Look how considerate his daughter was.

Not like these few brats!

[Eat as much as you like. The offerings here aren’t claimed by any deity, but if you make a wish to me, it’ll still come true.]

Leng Qingliu had experienced this before.

“Eat, eat, eat…” Ah Bao pointed at the offerings on the altar.

Ah Bao only ate meat, not fruit—too plain.

[Eating the offerings will make you immune to the plague.]

Everyone looked at the fruit in their hands. Was this fruit?

No.

This was the amulet of immunity for the city of Lingnan!

Ah Bao, after eating her fill, let out a satisfied burp. [Time to get to work. This broken dojo—don’t let me find out whose it is, or I’ll curse it. How could they just abandon a dojo like this, allowing it to attract evil energy and become the source of the plague? Ugh, I’m so mad! Damn it!]

Several people quickly lowered their heads.

Lin Xuanzhi and General Lei stifled their laughter.

The little princess’s inner voice was so cute.

“Daddy, this place is about to collapse, let’s run.” Ah Bao tugged at the Grand Tyrant’s sleeve. [Daddy, run quickly. I need to get to work.]

“Hmm.” The Grand Tyrant didn’t need to ask why. He could hear everything through her inner voice.

Ah Bao was surprised. Besides her daddy, Minister Lin, General Lei, and her brothers were all very obedient.

They must have been poisoned by the plague.

Lian’er hesitated to speak, and the Eldest Prince approached her. “Lady Lian’er, do you need my help to support you?”

Lian’er shook her head. “No need to trouble you, Eldest Prince.”

She glanced deeply at the hall. The memories of her death surfaced again. Before she died, she had clearly held a golden statue. Where was that small golden statue now?

Just as they retreated from the underground palace, there was a sudden burst of cracking sounds from below, with dark smoke billowing out and stones seemingly falling.

[Wow, this dojo is sturdier than I thought. But sturdy or not, I’ll smash it anyway.]

Ah Bao stood on the ground, looking at the dark hole below. [Smash, smash, smash! Smash it to pieces! Evil energy, begone!]

As soon as Ah Bao spoke, the black smoke indeed scattered like mad, fleeing in all directions.

Just as they emerged from the underground palace, ready to fly away…

【Still trying to cause trouble? Watch me blast you all to pieces!】

Most of the evil spirits had been hiding underground in the palace. Now that the sanctuary had been destroyed, the black mist and evil spirits had lost their dwelling and were fleeing. They clearly wanted to escape, but there was no way Ah Bao was going to let them get away.

Ah Bao dug around in the small pouch on her chest, and after some effort, she finally pulled out a small string of something.

Baiyun, who was closest to Ah Bao, asked, “Boss, what’s that?”

Curious, he whispered his question.

“You’ll find out in a bit.”

Ah Bao trotted outside, stood on her tiptoes, and hung the little string on a broken piece of wood by the door. She then borrowed a firestarter from Di Chenyu, and after a few crackles, the sound of firecrackers filled the air.

“Firecrackers! My dear little sister, where did you get those firecrackers?” Di Zian exclaimed, completely surprised.

Inside the room, the Tyrant helped Ah Bao cover her ears. “I secretly saved them up during the New Year.”

“And you just carry them around with you? Aren’t you afraid they might explode on you?”

【Little firecrackers? I’m not scared of them! When I get fired up, I’m way scarier than they are. My power is far greater!】

Di Zian: …

However, as soon as the firecrackers went off, the evil spirits in the black mist, which were about to escape, panicked like headless flies and exploded on the spot.

【Hahaha, even firecrackers can scare away the Nian beast. You think they can’t scatter you little evil spirits?】

The Tyrant rubbed his forehead in disbelief. Who would have thought to use firecrackers to blast away evil spirits? Only Ah Bao.

When it comes to cleverness, his precious daughter takes the prize.

Her little head is filled with so many tricks and ideas.

Ah Bao, however, was distracted by something golden and shiny in the distance.

She quietly walked over, and behind a broken door panel, she found a small mound of dirt. She dug at it with her little hands.

【Wow, it’s a piece of gold! Dad, look at this, look at this! I found a huge piece of gold!】

Ah Bao rubbed her little hands together. Although the tribute was full of gold and silver, nothing compared to the satisfaction of unearthing a big gold nugget herself.

In an instant, Ah Bao was so happy that her little mouth almost stretched to the back of her head.

“Daddy, come here, come here! Hahaha, a treasure, a treasure!”

Ah Bao was overjoyed, using her little hands to dig out a large gold nugget. “It’s so heavy… it’s…”

She looked down, expecting it to be a big gold lock or a large gold ingot, but when she saw what it actually was, her wide eyes nearly popped out!

It was a golden statue.

It was covered with a layer of cloth that had rotted over time, revealing the golden light inside.

【This gold statue… it’s me, it’s actually me!】

Ah Bao was shocked.

The Tyrant immediately looked at the small golden figure in Ah Bao’s hands.

The statue was only the size of a palm, with delicate features that were somewhat worn with age, making it hard to see clearly. However, being her father, the Tyrant recognized at a glance that the face was indeed Ah Bao’s.

It bore about an 80% resemblance to Ah Bao’s current appearance!

The Eldest Prince, Sixth Prince, and Seventh Prince all looked over. They were standing further away and couldn’t see clearly.

Di Zian was puzzled. He remembered that last year, the Emperor had ordered the Goldsmith Workshop to cast a golden statue for his sister. Although it was supposed to be a secret, he had learned of it through his sister’s inner thoughts.

In the end, all seven of the goldsmiths’ workshops exploded.

Later, their mother also tried to create a golden statue for his sister, but again, every attempt ended in an explosion.

Now, in this desolate and abandoned city of Lingnan, there was a golden statue of his sister?

“Thud.”

Lian’er knelt in front of Ah Bao.

The Eldest Prince quickly stepped forward, “Miss Lian’er, what are you doing?”

Lian’er was too focused on the golden statue in Ah Bao’s hands to think about why the Eldest Prince was always helping her. Her entire attention was on the statue. “I see it, really, I’ve seen it again.”

Lian’er began to cry.

Ah Bao grinned, “Don’t be afraid, Sister Lian’er, it’s all in the past.”

Lian’er sobbed quietly.

The others had no idea what was going on.

【Back then, it was Sister Lian’er who cleaned this little golden statue, wrapped it in cloth, and hid it in the underground palace.】

【That day, two thieves broke into the temple. To protect this little statue, Lian’er was beaten to death by those two men.】