Chapter 208

Chapter 208

The speaker was a bespectacled middle-aged man in a suit. He looked more like a businessman than a fortune-teller.

Since Liu Ye had upset the old monk so badly that his eyes rolled back, the other masters could only preside over the preliminary preparations.

The man pinched his fingers and calculated for a moment.

“Would everyone born in the years of the Ox, Horse, Tiger, or Rat, as well as anyone born in March, May, or September, please turn around. When the coffins are raised, you must not look back.”

The people who matched those zodiac signs and birth months obediently turned around.

Another Daoist took out a bundle of Red String and distributed it among the remaining people, instructing them to wind it around their hands.

“Remember, if the Red String turns black, report it immediately. Do not try to endure it,” the Daoist warned.

Then he said to Second Uncle, “Patron Zhao, please gather the younger members of your family. The situation is extremely grave. Outsiders may frighten or anger your ancestors, so only Zhao descendants can break the ground and raise the coffins.”

“Very well.”

Second Uncle looked at John.

“John, you understand the situation. There are only so many Zhao family members here, so you must take part as well.”

“Naturally.”

John glanced at Second Uncle, removed his suit jacket, and stepped forward.

The other Zhao family members picked up tools and joined him. Some looked excited, as if this were a game.

Only Zhao Tianci stayed behind.

“Surely I don’t need to participate. Look at me. Do I seem capable of physical labor?”

Bandages covered his arm and head. He moaned incessantly, looking half-dead.

That was right. Second Uncle had forced him to come. Zhao Tianci had insisted his injuries made the trip impossible, but Second Uncle had brought him anyway.

“My head feels a little dizzy. I’ll lie down in the car.”

He turned to leave. Second Uncle seized his shoulder.

The sharp-eyed Xiaoshuai could see how much force Second Uncle used. Zhao Tianci’s bones even creaked beneath his palm.

“It hurts! Second Uncle, what are you doing? That hurts!”

“Zhao Tianci! This is a Zhao family affair. You will participate!”

Zhao Tianci’s face instantly went blank. Even as his shoulder swelled, his expression did not change.

“If I weren’t a member of the Zhao family, would I be excused?” he asked calmly.

“Of course. But think carefully about the price,” Second Uncle said, staring at him darkly.

They held each other’s gaze for a moment. Finally, Zhao Tianci raised both injured hands.

“Fine, fine. I surrender. I’ll participate. What choice does a filial son and worthy grandson of the Zhao family have?”

Everyone was astonished to discover that his supposedly broken arms had healed completely. Of course, perhaps they had never been broken in the first place.

“A clever plan,” Xiaoshuai said, rubbing his chin.

“Your older brother is no fool. He must have recognized Brother Liu from the beginning and deliberately provoked him. He wanted to use Brother Liu’s reputation to get himself injured so he could avoid the grave-relocation ceremony.”

“Of course. That bastard and I have fought since childhood. I kidnapped him. He broke my ribs. I put a cobra under his blanket. He put cyanide in my cup.”

John looked almost nostalgic. The corner of Xiaoshuai’s mouth twitched. No wonder this man was so sensitive to danger. He had trained since childhood.

Then again, under their grandfather’s high-pressure education, how could any idiot survive?
“Five years ago, however, he lost to me in a business deal. He has let himself go ever since. Thinking about it now, he must have learned something in advance.”

“Every member of your family has a stomach full of schemes,” Xiaoshuai remarked.

Zhao Tianci continued, “I’ll participate, but I have one condition.”

“What condition?” Second Uncle asked coldly.

“I want him beside me!”

Zhao Tianci pointed at Liu Ye.

Everyone was startled. They couldn’t understand why Zhao Tianci would actively invite a walking disaster like Liu Ye near him.

“No! This is a Zhao family affair. Why drag an outsider into it?” Second Uncle hurriedly objected, his heart tightening.

He was genuinely terrified of the walking catastrophe that was Liu Ye.

“That isn’t quite right,” John said, unexpectedly speaking in Zhao Tianci’s support.

“Brother Liu is my sworn elder brother. How could he be an outsider? Besides, no one is asking him to work. He will only watch from the side. What problem could that cause?”

Xiaoshuai stared at him.

The kid certainly knew how to seize an opening. Now he had gone and formally claimed Liu Ye as his older brother.

Liu Ye, meanwhile, was moved almost to tears. He had never imagined he was so important to John.

“John, since you’ve said that, your Brother Liu won’t waste words either. I’ll shoulder the Zhao family’s problem. As long as I’m here, no one will touch a single hair on any member of your family!”

The moment he finished, every Zhao family member felt an inexplicable chill.

Nearby, the Driver repeatedly slammed his head against a tree. Damn it! The opportunity to become rich was right in front of him, yet he couldn’t grasp it!

In the end, Second Uncle agreed. He had no choice. If he refused, John and Zhao Tianci probably wouldn’t work.

Missing the auspicious hour would be disastrous.

Everyone held their shovels and waited. As the appointed hour approached, the Daoist gave the command, and they immediately began digging.

This was no easy task. More than thirty people were buried across the graveyard, and every coffin had to be uncovered before noon.

In practice, the task proved extraordinarily difficult. John’s generation of the Zhao family numbered fifteen. They had all received elite educations, with special emphasis placed on physical fitness.

Even the youngest possessed greater stamina than an ordinary person. Yet despite that, progress remained painfully slow.

After only a few strikes, their shovels snapped. The soil seemed cast from solid steel and was nearly impossible to penetrate.

Second Uncle’s expression turned grim. He knew those things must be obstructing them. They did not want the grave-relocation ceremony to proceed.

At this rate, they could not possibly raise the coffins by noon.

Watching from the side, Liu Ye grew increasingly anxious. None of these people had ever done real work. How could digging a hole be this difficult?

He said to Second Uncle, “Let me do it. I’m an expert at digging holes. Back in my village, I dug every cesspit.”

Second Uncle fell silent.

“Amitabha. Patron Zhao, there is no other choice. We must have the coffins raised at precisely noon. If we miss the hour, something terrible may happen.”

The old monk had regained consciousness and now approached with his disciple supporting him.

When he saw Liu Ye, he couldn’t help trembling. He deliberately took several extra steps to go around him.

Liu Ye watched in silence.

The master might have misunderstood him.