Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 74

While the family ate their dinner in a state of warm affection, Jiang Rui was called into the study by Zhou Yongping.

His uncle pulled the document from the drawer—the one Zhou Yan had wanted but failed to obtain. “Ruirui, do you know this man, Xiao Lunan?”

“I do,” Jiang Rui nodded with a smile. “I know he handles the other end of this trade chain. I don’t know the specifics of the business, but…” Jiang Rui paused, then added firmly, “Xiao Lunan is a man who will never betray his own.”

Unless the evidence was absolute, Xiao Lunan’s character dictated that he would never turn on a friend, regardless of the circumstances. It was precisely because of this that Jiang Rui had intentionally facilitated this partnership between his uncle and Xiao.

Zhou Yongping smiled and nodded. “Someone told me Xiao Lunan wasn’t ‘clean,’ so I had been hesitating. With your guarantee, I feel much better.”

Having checked on the children he worried about and finding himself with a bit of “boredom” in Qing City, Jiang Rui returned to his Hidden Realm.

Inside the realm, he went to the jade vein where he had left the Little White Tiger. Sensing Jiang Rui’s presence, the cub immediately scrambled out of the ore and buried its head in Jiang Rui’s arms.

“Miao Xuan, how have you been lately?” Jiang Rui asked without looking back at the “Bun-faced” spirit who had just materialized behind him.

Miao Xuan sat cross-legged in mid-air, his arms crossed and his face scrunched up. “Fine!”

Jiang Rui laughed. “I haven’t visited in a few days and you’re already sulking?”

Miao Xuan huffed and turned his head away. Jiang Rui shrugged and carried the tiger cub deeper into the vein. The spiritual energy here was becoming denser.

“Since this little thing arrived,” Miao Xuan admitted, forgetting his anger, “the air in the realm has improved significantly. It actually helped me stabilize my human form.”

Jiang Rui stroked the cub’s fur. “Being a Jade Essence in the form of a White Tiger, does it have the power to protect others?”

“Naturally,” Miao Xuan pointed a chubby finger at the cub. “This little thing is a King.”

Jiang Rui looked at the cub. It wagged its tail and licked its nose, looking exactly like a goofy puppy from the cartoons the twins liked to watch.

“From now on,” Jiang Rui whispered, “you will go and protect A-Jing.”

The cub immediately put on a miserable face, as if it were an abandoned orphan being kicked out by its father. Jiang Rui just smiled. The cub licked its nose, hopped down, and began “packing its bags” in its nest.

Jiang Rui returned to the Rong residence that same day. Rong Jingtang wasn’t home, so Jiang Rui headed to the backyard.

The Peach Tree waved its branches happily. “The little monk from back then has returned!”

“Yes,” Jiang Rui sat on a stone bench. “You still remember him.”

“I remember. But the negative emotions are gone from him… he doesn’t quite seem like a human anymore.”

“Buddhism says that to attain Buddhahood, one must discard all but love and kindness,” Jiang Rui mused. “But Gashi clearly isn’t that…”

“The Demon Realm records say that many cultivators try to pull out their inner darkness,” the tree replied. “If they can’t find a true breakthrough, they become ascetic monks—walking the world alone, devoid of interest in life.”

“Is he one of those?”

“Yes. And I realized recently… the reason the Gamo-suo (artifact) has both Buddha and Evil polarities is likely because Gashi extracted all his own malice and placed it inside the artifact.”

Jiang Rui looked at the moon as he sensed Rong Jingtang’s return. He stood up to leave, the tree rustling a goodbye.

In the main hall, Rong Jingtang was drinking tea. Uncle Cheng was treating him like a child, producing a medicinal pill from a bag and promising it to him only after he finished his meal.

“This is for you,” Jiang Rui said, placing the Little White Tiger on a chair.

Rong Jingtang wiped his mouth with a cloth. “Where did you get a tiger?”

“It’s a cat,” Jiang Rui lied without blinking. “It’s very well-behaved and can protect the house.”

Rong Jingtang rested his chin on his hand, watching the “cat” as Jiang Rui forced it to wave a paw. His eyes seemed to brighten. “I’ll take it. But its name… must be A-Rui.”

“?” Jiang Rui stared at him as if he were insane.

“Rui as in ‘Fortune’,” Rong Jingtang clarified. He picked up the cub and walked toward the inner chambers, leaving Uncle Cheng behind to stifle a laugh.

A rustle from the Peach Tree called Jiang Rui back to the garden. There, he found Rong Anchen.

Despite his suspicions, Jiang Rui had always felt Rong Anchen was a gentle soul. He couldn’t imagine this man harming Rong Jingtang.

Rong Anchen turned, holding an infant no more than six months old who was fast asleep. “I remember you… Gashi told me to give this child to you.”

Jiang Rui took the baby. The child’s features were a seventy-percent match to the photos of Rong Jingtang as a boy. “This child is… Jingtang’s brother?”

“You really do know everything.” Rong Anchen sighed. “I owe this child too much, but I am powerless now.”

“The Guanyin Jade around Jingtang’s neck—you gave it to him?” Jiang Rui asked.

“Yes. A-Jing was weak and afraid of the sun. Someone told me that jade would neutralize the energy in his body so he could walk in the light.”

Jiang Rui sighed. It was a tragic misunderstanding. “This child is no longer among the living. His soul is currently attached to Rong Jingtang. To return the soul to the body, we need that very jade.”

Using Yin to nourish Yin—the jade could bridge the gap and allow the soul to return.

As Jiang Rui prepared to leave, he looked at Rong Anchen one last time. “Mr. Rong, I’ll be blunt: the ‘Marriage Knot’ in your fate has been severed.”

He had sensed it before—Rong Anchen’s aura was missing something. Gashi had forced his own malice into him, ruining his destiny. He should have met his fated partner fifteen years ago, but Gashi’s intervention had broken everything.

Rong Anchen simply waved a hand with a smile. “Thank you. You needn’t worry about that.”

Jiang Rui saw a flicker of something else in his aura but remained silent. He watched as Rong Anchen stood alone, looking toward a secluded room in the back of the estate.

“Gashi…”

A sigh drifted on the wind. It was unclear who was whispering, or to whom.