AWB Chapter 45 Human life is as cheap as grass
Chapter 45 Human life is as cheap as grass
The New Year's bell rang. Lao Xiao and Xiao Hui's family went back to their hometown for the Spring Festival, while Gong Yong and Lin Yue celebrated the holiday at their small home in Rongcheng. Two days before the Spring Festival, Gong Yong bought several fish, and Lin Yue fried them in oil in advance, waiting to enjoy them on New Year's Eve.
As the New Year's bells rang, the fireworks that used to light up the streets were breathtaking. Lin Yue and Gong Yong knew that while fireworks were beautiful, they were expensive. Although they were now quite well-off, their past poverty taught them how hard-earned money was. But for their children's sake, the couple still took their three kids to the designated area below their apartment complex where fireworks were allowed. They bought a small amount and let the children play to their hearts' content for an hour. Afterward, they slowly led the children to enjoy the night view before heading home. This New Year, their family of five spent a warm and happy time, free from the tedious social obligations and complicated mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships. Spending the New Year in Fuzhou was a warm, happy, and anticipated experience for them.
Not long after the New Year, on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the hot pot restaurant reopened. The staff gradually returned to the restaurant, and the head chef also came back early. On opening day, customers flocked in, all drawn by the delicious food. Among the crowd, however, was an unexpected person: Ouyang and the old Taoist priest.
Ouyang and the old Taoist priest approached Lao Xiao and asked, "When will this year's batch of chickens, ducks, and rabbits arrive?" Lao Xiao was a little confused and replied, "I'll tell my friend, and we'll see."
Lao Xiao then told Lin Yue about the two people coming to the hot pot restaurant to find him. Lin Yue said, "I will go then. Tell them to wait at home."
That night, Lin Yue put the three children to sleep. Before they went to sleep, she told Da Bao to look after Xiao Bao and Er Bao. Then she took the rat spirit away, released the two snow wolves to guard the door and prevent them from going out, and released the eagle to perch on the clothesline inside the house to watch over it. She didn't release the ginseng spirit, the chubby baby, for fear it would run away.
Gong Yong went downstairs, got in his car, and sped off. When he got close to Ouyang's house, he put the little mouse spirit back into his spatial dimension and had it choose 500 rabbits, 100 chickens, and 100 ducks from the rabbits. Because Lin Yue hadn't sold any of them that year, they were all stockpiled there; the uneaten chicken and duck eggs had been hatched into chicks and ducklings, and there were still many eggs left. He also took 1 chicken eggs and 1 duck eggs, which the little mouse spirit put into its spatial dimension.
After placing the mice, they arrived at their destination. They stopped on the outer road outside Ouyang's villa, at the usual feeding spot, and the little mice quickly darted into Ouyang's newly renovated villa.
Upon arriving at Old Ouyang's villa, Ouyang and the old Taoist priest sat cross-legged on the sofa in the living room. A little mouse scurried up to the dining table in the open kitchen, squeaking. Hearing the squeaking, Ouyang and the old Taoist priest quickly opened their eyes. The mouse took out its phone, typed a few words, and Ouyang walked over and placed the phone in front of him. "Where do I put the animal?" Ouyang said. "Come on my shoulder, I'll take you there." The little mouse quickly scrambled onto Ouyang's shoulder and went to the basement. In the basement, the cage Ouyang had prepared earlier was there.
The little mouse quickly opened a cage, put five hundred rabbits into the largest cage, and one hundred chickens and one hundred ducks into the other two smaller cages. It also placed stacks of chicken and duck eggs in the empty spaces. The little mouse then took out its phone and typed, "Where's the money?" Ouyang then led the little mouse up to the second floor, to the study of the villa. As usual, Ouyang opened the cabinet under the bookshelf and had the little mouse collect the cash. Ouyang said, "You brought quite a lot of goods this time; we don't have enough cash." Ouyang then took a small box of gold bars from the safe and handed it to the little mouse. The mouse stored it in its spatial storage, swaggered out of its study, quickly went downstairs, and jumped out of the window to Lin Yue's car window.
Lin Yue rolled down the car window, and the little mouse jumped into the car through the window. Gong Yong stepped on the gas, and the car drove away again. Actually, there were many cultivators watching around Ouyang's villa, but tonight they didn't find out anything. They only knew that a car was parked on the road outside Ouyang's house, and then it left, only for less than five minutes.
The elders from all sides were furious at losing track of them again. They had thought that this close surveillance would yield results, but Lin Yue and Gong Yong had cleverly evaded them, causing their plans to fail once more.
These patriarchs were furious in their respective caves, berating their subordinates for their incompetence. They knew that the secrets Lin Yue and Gong Yong possessed might involve enormous interests and power, but they were still unable to uncover them.
Some of the elders wore grim expressions, secretly plotting an even more meticulous tracking plan; others were furious, vowing to severely punish their subordinates if they failed again. For a time, the entire cultivation world was filled with tension and anger due to these repeated failures to track down their targets.
What was the most foolish thing they did? The most foolish thing was that they didn't know the deliverymen were Gong Yong and Lin Yue. These self-proclaimed patriarchs, who thought themselves incredibly clever and had laid an intricate trap, failed to identify even the most crucial figures. They expended enormous resources, eagerly anticipating uncovering the mystery of the transaction, only to make a mistake at this most basic step.
They were still racking their brains analyzing all the possibilities, guessing the identity and background of the person behind the scenes, never realizing that the answer was right in front of them, but they missed it because of their own blindness and arrogance. This foolish mistake put them at a disadvantage from the start in this covert contest, and also gave Gong Yong and Lin Yue more opportunities and space to deal with possible troubles in the future.
However, three months later, Gong Yong's good friends, the couple who had come to customize the space at 11 o'clock last time, ran into some trouble. When the couple purchased a small number of items to store in the space, Gong Yong's friend's mother, who was also his wife's mother-in-law, accidentally revealed her son and daughter-in-law's secret to others.
This old woman was a big gossip, always chatting about other people's business. That day, perhaps caught up in the conversation, she blurted out this secret she shouldn't have.
She was completely unaware of the trouble her actions would cause her son and daughter-in-law, still indulging in her fleeting vanity and satisfaction. By the time she realized something was wrong, it was too late.
Just as the couple was gradually selling their remaining two properties and using the proceeds to buy supplies to store in their spatial storage, they attracted attention because of the mother-in-law's gossip. The person watching them told another friend who was practicing cultivation about a friend who had bought a lot of supplies but then disappeared into thin air, asking if such storage bags or spatial storage devices existed in the world. This friend initially didn't believe it, but still followed the worldly person to observe, secretly watching the couple buy things and how they stored them every day.
Finally, on a dark and stormy night, the couple was involved in a car accident on their way home after collecting supplies. The accident was captured on surveillance footage. The Taoist priest, in an attempt to obtain a storage item around the couple's necks, pretended to be a nearby resident and went to their aid. When the priest touched the necklace around the wife's neck, a tremendous force sent him flying three to five meters into the air, followed by a bolt of lightning striking him. The wife was left with a deep ligature mark on her neck, nearly suffocating. Nearby traffic police noticed something was wrong; this scene had been captured on video.
This incident quickly caused a huge uproar, and the traffic police immediately launched an in-depth investigation. Seeing the situation was turning against them, the friend who practiced cultivation quickly went into hiding. Although the couple were seriously injured in the car accident, they were fortunately out of danger. However, their secret was now exposed to the public, and whether the future held blessings or curses for them remained to be seen.
The couple, the man surnamed Tang, we'll call him Mr. Tang for now. Mr. Tang's wife surnamed Yuan, we'll call her Mrs. Yuan. Fortunately, they weren't seriously injured in the car accident. The necklace they wore had been imbued with a blessing of good fortune, capable of warding them off from a life-or-death ordeal.
However, their secret was still exposed. All that was known was that Mrs. Yuan wore a necklace with defensive properties that would activate if anyone harmed her. The secret of this space remained unknown. This was because the Taoist priest was struck by lightning on the spot, while the other person, although within the surveillance range, did not make any unusual moves and was therefore not under the police's special scrutiny.
The couple kept their mouths shut, only saying that the two necklaces had been blessed by a spiritual practitioner and were protected by talismans. But they knew in their hearts that things probably wouldn't end so easily, and that more trouble might come their way in the future.
After the incident escalated, it became a widely discussed topic. Some political figures and even some cultivators took notice. The cultivator who was struck by lightning hadn't died; he returned to his sect in a disheveled state to complain to his master. However, his master hadn't yet emerged from seclusion and couldn't immediately confront Mr. Tang and Mrs. Yuan.
However, some older, cowardly people in politics, as well as equally cowardly businessmen seeking protection, approached Mrs. Yuan and Mr. Tang. These people used both threats and inducements, hoping they would give them the contact information and address of the "master," or even sell them their belongings, claiming they were willing to pay any price.
Mrs. Yuan and Mr. Tang were overwhelmed by the harassment from these people. They knew they couldn't easily reveal any information about Mingyue, but they felt extremely conflicted and fearful in the face of the pressure from these powerful individuals. The couple clung to each other, pondering how to deal with this difficult situation.
During the Qingming Festival, Mr. Tang and Mrs. Yuan drove their entire family to their hometown to sweep the tombs. On their way back to Rongcheng after sweeping the tombs, they were completely unaware that their car had been tampered with.
The tragedy struck so suddenly that all five members of the family perished. Even more shockingly, the two necklaces worn by Mr. Tang and Mrs. Yuan were also missing. Police, traffic police, and armed police were all mobilized for a full-scale investigation, but no useful clues were found in the vicinity. Clearly, their killer possessed extremely strong counter-surveillance capabilities.
The incident continued to escalate, and when Gong Yong, Lin Yue, Lao Xiao, and Xiao Hui learned of it, they were all utterly shocked. Beyond the shock, they deeply realized how fragile life could be, as fragile as grass, in the society of the lower classes. Having good things meant one had to be extremely discreet, otherwise, one never knew when it might bring about their own demise.
They felt sorrow and anger for the plight of Mr. Tang and Mrs. Yuan's family, and at the same time, they were more aware of themselves that they must carefully protect what they have in this complex world and not easily expose it, so as not to repeat the same mistakes.
The instant the two necklaces left Mr. Tang and Mrs. Yuan's necks, Lin Yue sensed something was wrong and knew that something must have happened to them. Lin Yue didn't activate the necklaces' explosion mechanism; she waited, wanting to know who was so coveting these two items.
As long as the other party wants to open these two strings of beads, and as long as they are a spiritual practitioner, and whoever has the necklace with them for more than 7 days, she will know. Therefore, Lin Yue and Gong Yong carefully waited for the 7 days to arrive.
Seven days later, one necklace went to Xiao Rizi, and the other went to the United States. This was completely unexpected for Lin Yue; items that were clearly in China had somehow ended up abroad in just seven days.
Lin Yue and Gong Yong were shocked and furious, realizing that the forces behind this were far more complex and powerful than they had imagined. However, they were also more determined to get to the bottom of this and seek justice for Mr. Tang and Mrs. Yuan's family.
That evening, Lin Yue texted Lao Xiao, instructing him: "Lao Xiao, you must tell your other two friends that they absolutely must not leak the information and must not cause any trouble. For now, only the two of you should know; do not let your family know. Secondly, you must protect yourself and not reveal any information. Possessing a treasure is a crime."
Seeing Mr. Tang and Mrs. Yuan die so tragically, the other two families were filled with fear and unease. They were utterly terrified, remaining silent and afraid to utter a single word, lest they suffer the same fate. Every small action became cautious, and they lived in extreme tension and worry.
A month later, in the small country across the ocean, a cultivator attempted to open the spatial bracelet by dripping his blood. As he dripped his blood to signify ownership, more than twenty cultivators sat in his room, all watching anxiously to see if he would succeed.
In that instant, Lin Yue sensed through the bracelet that many people around her were activating it. Without hesitation, Lin Yue activated the bracelet's explosive function with her soul.
In an instant, a massive burst of energy erupted, impacting all twenty-odd cultivators present. Simultaneously, three bolts of lightning struck down. An hour later, two more bolts followed. None of the twenty-odd cultivators present escaped the shattering of the beaded string. Five died instantly, and the rest were all severely injured.
This incident instantly caused a huge uproar in the cultivation world of Little Days Kingdom, spreading panic and doubt. Meanwhile, Lin Yue, far away in the country, knew that her actions would inevitably cause more trouble, but she would never allow others to covet or infringe upon what belonged to her.
Meanwhile, in the beautiful country across the Atlantic, when the collector acquired the necklace, he heard about what had happened in the country of Little Days. His hands trembled uncontrollably, and the necklace fell from his grasp to the ground, fortunately without any damage.
After much deliberation, the collector returned the necklace to the cultivator who had sold it to him. The cultivator, feeling it was a hot potato, eventually returned it through official channels to a top-tier cultivator in the country.
Having obtained this item, he was like a cat scratching a sticky rice cake—unable to get rid of it. Left with no other option, he had to hand it over to the government for them to handle. After all, this pair of bracelets, being a pair, contained a mysterious and powerful force that was not easily controlled by an individual.
When the nation obtained the bracelet, they were also extremely anxious. On the one hand, it was a priceless treasure, but the person who possessed it had already passed away; on the other hand, those who were only interested in profit would either be struck by lightning or blown up if they tried to open it, while the cultivators on their side who possessed it dared not open it.
Finally, the nation summoned all the top cultivators and patriarchs to sit down and begin studying the string of beads. Among them were cultivators specializing in talismans, those proficient in mechanical arts, and those who delved into the study of the stars. They brought out fragments of ancient texts left behind by their respective sects and carefully perused them.
From an ancient book, they discovered that by magnifying the lucky bag in the center of the necklace many times, they could see tiny engraved patterns, symbolizing abundant fortune and prosperity. Each bead, though small, was engraved with the same auspicious patterns. They examined each bead individually under magnification and found that a single golden stripe represented a rule, a single line of fortune and prosperity. Each bead had five such stripes, and the imperial green pendant also had five, which astonished everyone.
None of the cultivators could understand this blessing. The surviving manuscript contained one or two entries about blessings: one about the rules of heaven and earth, and the other about the laws of space. After recognizing these two entries, everyone remained ignorant of the other three. Everyone realized that this was undoubtedly a spatial storage object, but it already had an owner.
Faced with such a mysterious and powerful treasure, everyone fell into deep thought and research, trying to uncover more secrets and powers hidden within it.