Chapter Twenty-Nine: Entrusted

Zhengzheng saw Lai Jiayu was present as well, and her heart leaped with joy. "Jiayu, did you finish helping my dad with his business?"

Lai Jiayu nodded. "The chairman is waiting for you all inside."

Though Ye Dong and his companions harbored doubts, it was less about not understanding why Lai Jiayu was here, and more about not comprehending how Officer Li had so easily let him go. The two sides merely exchanged glances, tacitly choosing not to ask questions. Ye Dong thought to himself, "This is getting stranger and stranger."

The grand doors opened slowly. Contrary to what Ye Dong and the others had imagined, the chairman’s office was not gilded and resplendent, but instead was arranged with a natural, simple elegance. The curious arrangements of plants and trees inside quickly dissolved their tension, leaving them with a sense of clarity and calm.

By the window that overlooked the entire commercial center stood a tea table, and on the wall opposite was a calligraphic painting, the brushstrokes bold and flowing. A middle-aged male secretary walked out of the lounge holding a stack of documents, greeting them, "Zhengzheng, you’re here? Friends, please wait a moment, the chairman will be out shortly."

Zhengzheng smiled. "Alright, Fourth Uncle."

Before a minute had passed, Wan Tianze strode out in casual clothes, face beaming with happiness. "My princess, what breeze blows you here today?"

Ye Dong and his friends greeted him in turn, but Zhengzheng got straight to the point. "Dad, we’re not just here to visit. We have something we’d like your help with."

Wan Tianze, well aware of his daughter's impatience, replied, "I know. Speak freely. As long as it’s within my power, I’ll see it done."

Glancing at the bodyguards and assistants behind Wan Tianze, Zhengzheng hesitated, unable to get a word out. Observing this, Wan Tianze smiled gently, took up his teacup, and with a few taps of the lid on the leaves, signaled for everyone but Fourth Uncle and Lai Jiayu to leave the room.

Zhengzheng sat down beside her father. "Dad, be honest with me. Is there something wrong with Star Orphanage?"

Wan Tianze raised his brows. "Oh? What happened? Did you get into trouble?"

She shook her head. "Dad, just answer me first."

Wan Tianze pondered for a while before replying, "Yes, there’s something amiss there."

The group seemed to have already guessed this, and Zhengzheng pressed further, "What exactly happened there?"

Wan Tianze put down his cup and hesitated again. "I can tell you about Star Orphanage, but you must promise me one thing first. How about it?"

Zhengzheng pouted, a little annoyed. "Alright, chairman sir, let’s hear it."

Ye Dong and the others felt it wasn’t their place to interrupt, so they quietly sipped their tea.

Wan Tianze nodded, his smile fading. "The condition is this: once I’ve told you everything, you must not set foot in that place again."

The group was startled, all turning to Wan Tianze with questions in their eyes.

Zhengzheng was especially puzzled. "Why?"

But Wan Tianze gave no explanation. "Can you promise me?"

Frustrated, Zhengzheng clenched her fingers until her knuckles whitened. After a long pause, she finally said, "Alright, tell us."

Wan Tianze sighed. "A promise is a promise. I hope my daughter can do the same."

Ye Dong whispered to comfort her. "Zhengzheng, you can’t go in, but the kids can still come out to play, right?"

Zhengzheng’s eyes lit up. "That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that?"

Wan Tianze laughed. "Young people are full of ideas. Ye Dong, who is your master?"

The sudden question put Ye Dong on alert. He replied, "Uncle Wan, why do you ask?"

Wan Tianze continued, "Didn’t you all ask me earlier how I knew you once helped the police solve a case?"

Ye Dong put down his cup and smiled. "My master is Daoist Rihui. For you to be where you are today, you must have your own talents, Uncle Wan. I suppose inviting us to dinner tonight isn’t just about the meal, is it?"

Seeing Ye Dong didn’t probe further into how he learned of police secrets, Wan Tianze’s estimation of him rose. "This young man knows when to press and when to yield. Not bad, not bad. It seems my guess was right about their master being a true expert."

He nodded. "You’re right. You must have some inkling of my purpose for inviting you here?"

Ye Dong glanced at Zhengzheng. "If I’m not mistaken, you want us to protect Zhengzheng—or perhaps you want my master himself to protect her?"

Zhengzheng was utterly confused. "What are you two talking about? Protecting me from what?"

Seeing his daughter’s bewildered face, Wan Tianze soothed her. "Don’t worry. Listen to my story, and you’ll understand."

Ye Dong looked at Nianxue, as if to ask with his eyes, "Is there really a story behind all this?"

Nianxue nodded, her gaze settling on Wan Tianze.

Outside, the sun slanted westward. The automatic curtains slowly drew shut, dimming the light in the room and thickening the atmosphere.

Wan Tianze began his tale: "More than 170 years ago, the Star Orphanage did not yet exist. In its place stood an academy called 'San Zai Academy.' Its headmaster, Si Kou Xuan, was a man of vast learning, particularly skilled in the mystical arts—a rare genius in Daoist magic."

Ye Dong thought, "A history from over 170 years ago? That must have been during the war-torn years."

Wan Tianze continued, "It’s said he mastered many strange and secret arts, the most wondrous of which was 'Soul Binding for Eternal Life.'"

Nianxue was startled, interrupting, "Soul Binding for Eternal Life? The legendary technique that allows a person to persist as a ghost?"

Ye Dong and the others were amazed. "Such a spell really exists?"

Wan Tianze gave a wry smile. "Indeed, but the technique goes against the natural order, and whoever practices it will suffer divine retribution."

Liang Lingzhi asked, "Was this Soul Binding ever used?"

Wan Tianze gazed at his teacup and spoke softly. "As far as I know, it was only used once. Si Kou Xuan, in his old age, was blessed with a son—a great joy. But fate was cruel. It was a time of chaos; war and marauders ravaged the land. Even the humble San Zai Academy was not spared. Over sixty people, including Si Kou Xuan’s pregnant wife, were all killed—a true human tragedy."

At this, Wan Tianze resembled a storyteller of old. Seeing Ye Dong and his friends sigh, he sipped his tea and continued, "By chance, Si Kou Xuan returned to witness the aftermath of the massacre. Confronted with his wife lost to the underworld, rage overtook him. Drawing on his supreme magic, he slew over a hundred bandits, then, sacrificing his own lifetime of cultivation, used himself as the catalyst to cast the Soul Binding for Eternal Life. He imprisoned the souls of those evildoers in his wife’s womb, condemning them to suffer eternally the pains of 'life’s suffering.'"

Ye Dong asked, "What is 'life’s suffering'?"

Nianxue explained, "For humans, the hardships of existence begin before birth: the torment of confinement in the womb, the filth of blood and water, the pressure of opposing forces, the pain of nerves awakening, the confusion of formlessness. Yet, once a baby is born, these torments end, and a new life begins."

Liang Lingzhi frowned. "So we all endure so much pain before we’re born. No wonder life should be cherished."

Suddenly, Ye Dong asked, "If those hundred souls are eternally imprisoned, does that mean they suffer endlessly?"

Wan Tianze replied gravely, "Exactly. Even now, they are still enduring 'life’s suffering.'"

Zhengzheng asked, "But what does all this have to do with the orphanage?"

Wan Tianze gave a bitter smile. "It has everything to do with it. When Si Kou Xuan defied the heavens, a demonic priest happened to witness the entire process. After a divine thunderbolt struck Si Kou Xuan dead, the priest, emboldened, gathered the evil spirits trapped by the Soul Binding technique. He spent a fortune building a tomb beneath the academy grounds—a place containing all his life’s knowledge, called the 'Tomb of Eternal Life.' Before his death, he used secret arts to seal the evil spirits inside, making them his eternal tomb guardians."

Everyone was stunned. "My god! There’s a tomb under the orphanage?"