Chapter 212
Chapter 212
It was far too quiet around them. All the trees on the mountain had withered, but they had still seen birds while climbing the mountain earlier. Now, however, there were no chirping insects or singing birds. They could not even hear their own footsteps.
What was happening?
Zhao Jie was Second Uncle’s eldest son. One year younger than Zhao Tianci, he was exceptionally accomplished in his own right. After graduating from university, he had joined the Zhao Group. In only three years, he had quadrupled the performance of the subsidiary where he worked.
By any measure, he was an outstanding young talent.
If one asked whom he hated most in the Zhao family, the answer could only be Zhao Tianci. Zhao Jie had learned the truth when he was a child.
From that moment on, he had been consumed by jealousy. He often thought that if he had been the one exchanged back then, the position of Zhao family heir would undoubtedly be his.
He certainly would not have been as useless as Zhao Tianci, who had actually lost to John and then crumbled completely beneath the defeat.
If Zhao Jie had been in his place, he would have wrested the Zhao Group back from John long ago.
A few days earlier, his father had told him that the Old Master would be watching all of them throughout this grave relocation ceremony.
Zhao Jie had therefore decided to distinguish himself and leave a lasting impression on the Old Master.
No matter how dangerous the journey became, his own father would be there. Surely his father would not let him die.
Thus, he had maintained a calm front all the way here. Now, however, as he descended the mountain carrying a memorial tablet, regret began to creep into his heart.
There was something far too strange about this road.
Not only was there no sound, but the faces of the people around him had also become peculiar.
He could almost see an eerie smile on the face of the cousin walking beside him.
Gulp.
Zhao Jie swallowed hard and continuously tried to reassure himself. He had deliberately studied the path on the way up. This mountain road was not particularly long. At their current pace, they should reach the foot of the mountain in a little over an hour.
Just then, a voice sounded beside his ear.
“Zhao Jie…”
“Zhao Jie…”
“Zhao Jie…”
The voice came from behind him, making his scalp prickle. Fortunately, he kept the old monk’s warning firmly in mind. He did not respond and continued walking forward.
Very soon, however, he discovered to his horror that everyone ahead of him had vanished except for the old monk.
How could this be…?
Zhao Jie’s heart clenched. Panic swelled endlessly inside him, and his lips began to part beyond his control.
He hurriedly clapped one hand over his mouth. His fingernails dug so deeply that they tore flesh from his cheek, but he hoped the pain would help him regain control.
To his despair, the fear within him seemed entirely beyond restraint. Instead of easing, it grew even worse.
“Zhao Jie…”
“Zhao Jie…”
“Zhao Jie…”
The voice continued to sound beside his ear. Zhao Jie’s teeth began to chatter. For some reason, it seemed familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before.
“ZHAO JIE!”
The voice abruptly rose into a roar. In that instant, Zhao Jie finally realized where he had heard it.
It was his father’s voice!
The realization drove his terror to its peak.
“Aaaah!”
He could no longer hold back his scream. The next second, horrifying laughter rang in his ears.
Gulp!
Hearing the sound beside him, Zhao Jiang looked over in horror and discovered that his cousin had vanished. In his place walked an ancient old man.
The old man wore an antiquated burial robe. There was not a trace of expression on his face. Holding a memorial tablet in both hands, he walked forward with the same wooden gait as everyone else.
Zhao Jiang scarcely dared to breathe for fear of drawing the old man’s attention. Yet for some reason, the man seemed vaguely familiar. At the same time, an inexplicable fear rose within his heart.
Zhao Jiang bit down hard enough to pierce his tongue. The taste of iron filled his mouth, and only then did he manage to suppress a scream.
His tears still fell despite himself. Among his generation of the family, he was one of the youngest. The recent events had gone far beyond anything he could bear. First, his father had suddenly been taken away. Then came this bizarre grave relocation ceremony.
There had never been so many rules before. Why was everything so abnormal this time?
“Zhao Jiang…”
“Zhao Jiang…”
“Zhao Jiang…”
Call after call suddenly sounded beside his ear. He instinctively began to open his mouth, but caught himself at once.
His teeth chattered uncontrollably. He immediately realized why his cousin had disappeared. Zhao Jie must have encountered the same thing now happening to him.
The voice also seemed extremely familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before.
Unlike Zhao Jie, however, Zhao Jiang immediately emptied his mind. He did his best not to think about the voice or why it sounded familiar. Keeping the old monk’s warning firmly in mind, he refused to utter a sound or do anything unnecessary.
Over and over, he told himself in his heart that he absolutely must not speak. But then a hand abruptly landed on his shoulder.
“Aah!”
The sudden shock unleashed all the fear inside him, and a scream burst from his throat.
I’m finished!
The moment the sound escaped, a freezing presence enveloped his entire body. Despair flooded Zhao Jiang’s heart. But in the next instant, white light suddenly shone from his body.
A shriek rang beside his ear, and the freezing presence dissipated at once.
Zhao Jiang froze, then hurriedly looked down at his neck. The wooden protective charm hanging there had suddenly split apart.
John had given it to him before they set out and insisted that he keep it on him at all times. Zhao Jiang had never imagined it could possess such power.
At that moment, his heart filled with gratitude toward John.
Who said their family lacked affection? At least in his brother’s heart, Zhao Jiang clearly mattered a great deal. Otherwise, John would never have given him something so valuable.
An object that could save a life was surely expended with each use. It was even possible John did not have another for himself.
Big Brother!
Zhao Jiang cried out emotionally in his heart.
Meanwhile, the object of his gratitude nodded to himself from his place in the procession.
Just as I thought. Anything Brother Liu makes is bound to be extraordinary.
In truth, John had not thought nearly that far ahead. He had simply used Zhao Jiang as a test subject.
When he first learned that Liu Ye had set up a street stall, he sent people to buy every item Liu Ye was selling.
Originally, he had only planned to hang them in his room as keepsakes. But while packing after the incident the previous day, he accidentally dropped one of the protective charms. When he saw how terrified Miss Zhang was of it, he immediately realized the items were not ordinary.
The only reason he had given one to Zhao Jiang was to test how powerful they truly were.