Chapter 52 — TVF Chapter 52

Metaphysics Master (9) When Qin Jingzhou revealed the simulated Core Formation realm, most of the unwritten rules and habitual measures of this world’s cultivation circles lost their effectiveness on him.

With his realm laid bare, it was perfectly normal for the authorities to treat him politely. But allowing Jin Yuansheng—the “culprit” who had released demonic qi—to remain by his side, and returning Gu Yu, who had been contaminated by demonic qi, straight back to him… this went far beyond politeness. This was a full-on green light.

A courtesy that deep always came with a request attached. And Qin Jingzhou knew very well what Chairman Xie and the others were after.

He acted as if nothing were amiss, finishing breakfast at the table with his son and son-in-law before turning to Chairman Xie, who was smiling as he sipped his tea.

“The entire cultivation circle is extremely wary and tense about demonic qi. I’d actually prepared to redeem my son and son-in-law.”

Chairman Xie laughed. “That’s far too distant, Senior. Cultivators of Huaguo are all one family.”

That line sounded oddly familiar.

Qin Jingzhou didn’t even have to ask—his system volunteered the answer. “That line appears in the original story too. But Chairman Xie has a second half—Taixu Sect excluded.” Qin Jingzhou nodded slightly. “I see.”

So that was it. They wanted him on board, to stand together against Taixu Sect.

The original work was a classic romance novel. The emotional entanglements of the leads and supporting characters took up the overwhelming majority of the word count. The male lead’s career got maybe thirty thousand words at most, while Chao Lan’s so-called career line was barely mentioned at all.

In the Huaguo cultivation world, Taixu Sect was a heavyweight—but in the novel, it was little more than background scenery. Reality, however, was another matter entirely. Just look at how Chao Lan harvested other people’s luck at will—it wasn’t hard to imagine Taixu Sect’s usual style of conduct: domineering, overprotective, and utterly unreasonable.

Since Qin Jingzhou had to protect his two children anyway—oh, now it was three children—he was bound to clash with Taixu Sect sooner or later.

He put down his chopsticks and instructed his son and son-in-law, “Pack up. We’re going over together. Seeing is believing—it’ll save me trouble.”

Words alone held no weight. To show sincerity, he’d flex a bit of muscle first.

Because they were heading to the Gu family’s old residence, Qin Jingzhou tidied himself up slightly. He trimmed his hair, shaved, and put on one of the original owner’s custom-tailored suits—there were no Tang suits in the wardrobe; he made a mental note to have some made later.

Returning to the living room, he pointed at his chest pocket. “Yunyun, come here.”

Jin Ziyun’s eyes lit up. Floating over, her entire soul seemed especially energetic. “Wow, Dad—you’re so handsome!”

Qin Jingzhou smiled. “If I weren’t handsome, how could I have given birth to such a great beauty like you?”

Jin Ziyun didn’t rush into his pocket. Instead, she boldly sat on his shoulder, cupping her face and giggling.

Before long, Jin Yuansheng finished tidying up and returned to Qin Jingzhou’s side.

Gu Yu had taken a shower. Since his build was similar to his brother-in-law’s, he simply borrowed Jin Yuansheng’s clothes—after all, his brother-in-law had an entire row of brand-new clothes in the wardrobe, tags still attached.

With the “left and right guardians” in position, Qin Jingzhou led them straight across the street to the family flower shop. Pointing at two utterly ordinary-looking potted plants by the window, he said, “One pot each.”

Jin Yuansheng and Gu Yu carefully held the pots, both sensing something strange—the plants in their hands seemed to be greeting them.

Jin Yuansheng had another version of himself explaining things in his head, so he managed to stay calm.

Gu Yu, on the other hand, looked decidedly unsophisticated. He exclaimed, “Dad—the flowers… the flowers are talking!”

Qin Jingzhou hummed in acknowledgment, then turned to Chairman Xie. “Let’s go.”

He deliberately let both the authorities and Taixu Sect conclude that he was a wood-element Core Formation cultivator.

Wood-element cultivators were universally acknowledged to have average combat power, but they excelled at nurturing spirit plants. The vast majority eventually became medical cultivators or alchemists.

Any sane person wouldn’t casually offend a doctor—and the same logic applied in the cultivation world.

Moreover, wood-element cultivators were generally mild-tempered and easy to deal with.

Chairman Xie exchanged a few quiet words with the deputy minister of the Special Affairs Department beside him, then quickly followed along.

The Gu family’s old residence lay near the Fifth Ring Road of the capital. The straight-line distance wasn’t far, but it required crossing several main roads, so Chairman Xie directly arranged a helicopter.

Once aboard, Gu Yu received permission from his father-in-law to contact the old residence while holding the flower pot, giving advance notice to Old Master Gu.

Gu Yu’s parents had long since gone their separate ways, each with their own affairs and illegitimate children. Deeply disappointed in his eldest son and daughter-in-law, Old Master Gu had kicked them out, keeping only his eldest grandson and grandson’s wife in the old residence.

Gu Yu and Jin Ziyun’s son lived right under the old master’s watchful eye, so the couple felt fairly at ease.

Hearing that the old residence was haunted, the couple were uneasy for only a moment. Remembering that Dad had shown up in time and was practically omnipotent, they once again calmed down in tacit agreement.

The journey passed without incident. When they arrived at the Gu family’s old residence and the helicopter touched down, Old Master Gu personally came out to greet them upon receiving the news.

This wasn’t his first time dealing with “outsiders,” and he didn’t mind his in-law’s cool attitude at their first meeting.

But when Chairman Xie introduced himself, the old master didn’t feel excitement—only worry written plainly on his face. Officials didn’t visit without reason, and it was never good news.

The group moved to the small reception hall Old Master Gu used for honored guests. The nanny brought the child over as well.

Three-and-a-half-year-old Gu Chen wasn’t shy at all. After sitting beside Gu Yu, he blinked his big eyes and stared fixedly at Qin Jingzhou’s… shoulder.

This cheap grandson also had spiritual roots—though of such poor quality that they were basically worthless for cultivation in this world. But he seemed able to sense the presence of his mother’s soul.

That meant the child’s spiritual perception was unusually strong.

Qin Jingzhou beckoned to the little one, rubbed his head, and said to Chairman Xie—who could see Jin Ziyun—“Mother and child are connected.”

Everyone present could hear the implication in his words. He smiled faintly and formed a hand seal out of thin air.

The two plants in Jin Yuansheng’s and Gu Yu’s arms seemed to wake up. Their branches forcibly twisted direction, pointing straight out the window in unison.

Old Master Gu felt an ominous chill and hurriedly had the butler fetch his medicine.

Qin Jingzhou kindly waited for the old master to take it before letting Gu Yu and Jin Yuansheng carry the pots and follow the direction indicated by the branches.

The Gu family’s old residence connected six villas into one complex with some modifications.

Thus, the group arrived at the westernmost area, beside the small garden next to the youngest son’s villa. Qin Jingzhou pointed at a cherry tree. “Dig.”

Though Old Master Gu’s face was ashen, he still nodded. The butler hurried to summon bodyguards with shovels and spades.

The Gu estate was practically a small manor, staffed with gardeners, electricians, and maintenance workers, so tools were readily available. The butler, always meticulous, even contacted a tight-lipped construction crew and prepared two small excavators just in case.

But there was no need. After seven or eight shovelfuls, the bodyguards unearthed a section of white bone… likely a radius.

Ever since meeting his father-in-law, Gu Yu felt as though a whole new door had been opened. Besides—when he’d heard they were coming to his home, he’d had some mental preparation.

His heart pounded wildly, but he still held the flower pot steady, lifting a hand to cover his son’s eyes.

Seeing the bone, the Jin siblings immediately thought of the Gu family’s sordid affairs. The same thought flashed through both their minds: I knew it. After that, they could only exchange silent looks.

Chairman Xie and the others were far more experienced. They weren’t unmoved, but neither were they shocked.

Only Old Master Gu was thrown into utter panic. He staggered back three steps. The butler caught him just in time, fed him another pill, and moments later the old man sighed deeply. “A misfortune of the family…”

If a body was buried on his own land, how could he possibly dissociate himself from it?

Qin Jingzhou was smoking when he suddenly watched a tear open in the air above the exposed bone. A familiar figure with a golden orb above her head emerged from the spatial rift—and then merged directly with the bone.

Holding his cigarette in his left hand, Qin Jingzhou stepped forward. Everyone instinctively parted. He grabbed the bone, gave it a light pull, and dragged the entire figure out of the ground.

Only then did everyone fully see the “person” in his hand: a straight line ran from left shoulder to right rib. The upper half was indistinguishable from a living human, while the lower half was a grotesque interweaving of rotting flesh and white bone…

Before anyone could react, the freshly unearthed “person” suddenly opened her eyes. Her feet hovered above the ground as she stared straight at Old Master Gu and smiled sweetly.

“Do you still remember me?”

Ling Jing pretended not to recognize him, and Qin Jingzhou naturally played along. With the hand holding his cigarette, he flicked a wisp of wood-element spiritual energy toward Old Master Gu. “Think carefully. How are you going to explain this?”

Chairman Xie and the others took one look—this woman radiated ghostly qi, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of blood resentment. Clearly, she had no human lives on her hands.

This was a wronged soul who had been remarkably restrained even in revenge.

Wrongs had their causes, debts their owners. They observed without intervening.

Old Master Gu absorbed the wisp of spiritual energy through his forehead and immediately felt invigorated—his headache vanished, his panic eased. After thinking rapidly for a moment, he said, “I remember—you’re Xiao Qing’s younger sister. So it was Xiao Qing and her son…”

Ling Jing nodded, her smile twisting slightly. “Yes. Otherwise, why would they bury me on your land? That mother and son have been full of excuses lately, refusing to return to the old residence no matter what. The reason… care to guess?”

Old Master Gu’s face turned deathly pale. “I will give you justice!”

With so many powerful figures present, he understood perfectly well: if this female ghost were enraged and struck out, none of these experts would help him.

So he yielded decisively.

Old Master Gu had three wives in total. The first was Gu Yu’s biological grandmother, who died young due to poor health. The second bore him a daughter, then separated peacefully after fifteen years of marriage. The third was Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing was over thirty years younger than him and bore him a son. Compared to his unreliable eldest son and daughter-in-law, this obedient, considerate mother and son had always been favored.

Thus, in his most recent will, Old Master Gu had left them considerable assets and a significant share of stock.

Mercy couldn’t command armies, and righteousness couldn’t manage wealth. The old master, who had built a trillion-yuan fortune, was no saint—but he never imagined that the mother and son would kill someone and then deliberately bury the body at home, before refusing to return afterward!

His blood pressure skyrocketed in rage. Were they trying to kill with a borrowed blade? If the ghost killed him, wouldn’t that mother and son benefit from disaster?!

At that moment, Qin Jingzhou suddenly spoke. “Look.”

Everyone followed the direction of his finger and saw an indescribable golden glow swirl above Qin Jingzhou’s head for a moment before vanishing.

Chairman Xie was shaken. “Merit… can actually be seen?!”

“It can,” Qin Jingzhou said. “Let’s go. I’ll teach you how to use merit.”

On the helicopter, Jin Ziyun sat on her father’s shoulder. Watching her dad and the female ghost sit side by side without exchanging a word, she felt there was… something there.

Sudden enlightenment struck her. Oh. My brother and I might be getting a… rather extraordinary stepmother…