Chapter 304
Chapter 304
When Song Xiaotian became violent, he truly resembled a Living King of Hell.
He had not been this brutal when I first met him. For some unknown reason, his hostility had grown increasingly heavy afterward.
No matter how arrogant Lin Jinhua was, he still had to submit before Song Xiaotian.
He obediently explained how he and Du Yunting had planned everything.
At first, Lin Jinhua had known nothing about Life Extension. But after meeting Seventh Master, he developed an interest in mysticism.
That was why I had found so many books on the subject in his study.
The book that first gave Lin Jinhua the idea of using mysticism to save his son Lin Xiaohua was Resolving Fate Patterns, the same book I had seen on his desk.
The book came from folk practitioners, but its contents were overly abstract. In my opinion, many of its techniques could not possibly work.
Lin Jinhua was only an enthusiast and naturally could not understand it, but it planted the idea of Life Extension in his mind.
Later, on an online forum devoted to the supernatural, he published a post asking about Life Extension. He stated that anyone who understood the method, knew how to perform it, and could help him would receive a reward of at least one million.
The post immediately drew attention, but most users merely gathered to watch the spectacle. They did not believe it was genuine, since many posts on forums like that existed only to attract attention.
Yet among all those spectators, someone responded seriously.
That person contacted Lin Jinhua through a private message and explained the principles of Life Extension in detail.
The principle he described was the complete procedure for the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange.
His explanation was so thorough that Lin Jinhua did not question it at all. But when he learned that Life Extension required seven lives and that his son’s soul would then have to be transferred into someone else’s body, he hesitated.
He believed trading the lives of seven innocent people for his son’s survival would be inhumane. It would be murder, a crime.
But during a later phone call, the person who explained the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange told him about a real case.
That case involved Du Ruhai, the famous Lanjiang City businessman and head of Weihai Group, becoming Du Yunting.
To make Lin Jinhua believe it, the man gave him Du Yunting’s private contact information.
From then on, Du Yunting communicated directly with Lin Jinhua.
Lin Jinhua even traveled to Lanjiang City to meet him. They got along immediately and conversed happily. Du Yunting displayed composure and wisdom far beyond his age, convincing Lin Jinhua completely.
By then, Lin Jinhua had begun to waver. As he himself said, he had performed so many good deeds and helped so many people. Now he only wanted to save his son.
Those good deeds should be enough to offset the sins he committed to save the boy.
And so he began cooperating with Du Yunting, though it would be more accurate to call it a transaction.
Du Yunting would exchange Lin Jinhua’s son’s life, while Lin Jinhua would cooperate with Du Yunting to eliminate one person.
Once that person died, Du Yunting would personally perform the Seven Deaths for Life Exchange on October 20, Lin Xiaohua’s birthday.
The person Du Yunting wanted to eliminate was none other than Seventh Master.
By coincidence, Lin Jinhua and Seventh Master were friends who had known each other for years.
Du Yunting was overjoyed and immediately declared that Heaven itself was helping them.
Why did he call it Heaven’s help?
He knew Seventh Master was extraordinarily cunning, an experienced veteran of the martial world who also possessed formidable abilities. Killing him would be as difficult as ascending to Heaven.
But Seventh Master and Lin Jinhua were close friends. That was their opportunity!
If Lin Jinhua personally controlled every part of the plan, Seventh Master was certain to lower his guard.
And that was exactly what happened.
The entire plan centered on the original site of the Luo Mansion, the present construction site.
Lin Jinhua formally began cooperating with Du Yunting three months earlier, after he had already taken the construction project from Jiang Dahai.
At the time, none of the strange incidents had occurred, and Lin Jinhua did not know the site had once been the Luo Mansion.
Du Yunting was the one who told him.
I was surprised to hear this.
I asked Lin Jinhua, “Are you saying Du Yunting told you both the story of the Luo Mansion and the story of the Thunder Ancestor Temple? How did he know any of it?”
Lin Jinhua sat up from the floor and lowered his head. “I don’t know. He was the one who told me. I was shocked too, because if those stories were true, my project was finished.”
I asked again, “So the materials you showed Seventh Master and me weren’t collected by people you sent to investigate? You heard everything from Du Yunting? Was the version in those materials the one he originally told you, or had he altered it?”
Lin Jinhua sighed. “He fabricated it. Not all of it, of course. He knew what happened at the Luo Mansion and which details to change, making the story half true and half false so you wouldn’t become suspicious.”
Seventh Master and I exchanged looks.
After all that, the first version we saw had been fucking written by Du Yunting for our benefit.
But how did Du Yunting know what had happened at the Luo Mansion?
Seventh Master and I knew because the Ghost Wall had shown us events from a century ago, and because we went to Xujia Village and questioned the Ninth Concubine, who had witnessed them.
How could Du Yunting know?
Seventh Master said, “The Ninth Concubine’s cousin Xu Changming was a member of The Organization. He must have told The Organization about the Luo Mansion, and it kept a record of the incident.”
“Du Yunting probably learned of it through The Organization.”
I nodded. That was likely the answer.
Lin Jinhua continued. Du Yunting was extremely cautious. His original plan was to use the wronged spirits of the Luo Mansion to kill Seventh Master, so he sent people to bury objects at the construction site. Even Lin Jinhua did not know what those objects were.
While designing the plan, Du Yunting realized the men burying those objects needed a plausible identity. After considering every possibility, he concluded that only Jiang Dahai could fill that role.
To ensure the scheme proceeded without any flaws, Du Yunting ordered Lin Jinhua to destroy Jiang Dahai and send him to prison. Afterward, Lin Jinhua would impersonate Jiang Dahai’s forces.
That was why we mistakenly believed Jiang Dahai had been behind everything.