A Good-for-Nothing 14: The Secrets of the Cinerary Casket

Bearing the cinerary casket in mind, He Zheng washed his face in haste, roughly unpacked and then strode towards the hall.

When he arrived at the entrance of the hall, the sound of someone heavily smacking his palm onto a table came from inside, mixed with an angry voice. "What a bastard! Someone actually tried to hurt my family. Does this person think all members of Zhu family are dead?! Please tell me, Supt. Li. Who's this person that attempted to kill my grandson? I swear I'll smash each and every single one of his bones!"

"Please calm down, Old Master Zhu," replied Li Zong in a bland tone of voice. "The attacker of He Zheng is probably someone in collusion with demons. Since demons are involved in this matter, naturally Supernaturalism Management Bureau (SMB) will conduct intensive investigation into it."

The sullenness on Old Master Zhu's face deepened. "Clearly the attacker is very powerful. Though my grandson is fairly bad-tempered, how come he made an enemy of this kind?"

Li Zong's voice was heard. "He Zheng is kind by nature. I don't think he would make an enemy of this kind either."

On hearing this remark of Li Zong, He Zheng, who was about to walk inside, paused, looking at Li Zong like a weirdo. 'What did he just say about me? 'Kind by nature?' Is he crazy?' he wondered.

He had a terrible impression of Li Zong. They were both from old and well-known families. One of them was outstanding, and the other was good-for-nothing. The contrast between them was so sharp, but it seemed as if people never got tired of talking about them.

Li Zong's reputation had struck He Zheng's ears like the roar of thunder long before he met Li Zong. His dislike of Li Zong had been building up every time he heard of his name. As a result, wherever Li Zong was present, He Zheng would always try to leave as soon as possible. The two had barely had any contact with each other before this day.

It was almost in the knowledge of everybody in Coastal City that He Zheng disliked Li Zong the most. This time, if it weren't for the matter of the cremains, their paths might never have crossed.

However, it had never occurred to He Zheng that Li Zong's comment on him would be "kind by nature". He believed that anybody else who heard this would literally laugh their heads off.

"Grandfather." He Zheng strode into the hall and interrupted their conversation.

"Why don't you just stay in your room and have a good rest, my dear?"

"I can't." He Zheng shook his head. Maybe because He Zheng's impression of Li Zong had slightly changed due to that remark of Li Zong, his tone of voice was not as aggressive as it had been previously. He turned his head aside to look at Li Zong, asking, "That dream created by the Dream Eater, was it true or not?"

"Every Dream Eater has predictive power of a certain level, so part of the dream it puts you in is true, and this is also the only way to have you believe it."

On hearing this, He Zheng clenched his teeth. 'Then the true part must be Qiao Peiyu giving father pillow talk to have him marry me to Li Zong.'

Since Qiao Peiyu had done that, naturally she would have a backup plan. He Zheng was no fool and he soon figured it out. "I think I know who is so eager to kill me." No outsiders hated him so deeply. Except for Qiao Peiyu and her son, he couldn't think of a third person who could have gone to so much trouble to try to kill him.

"Who is it? Tell grandfather. Grandfather will help you get justice." Old Master Zhu's face instantly darkened.

He Zheng shook his head. Suddenly, He Zheng asked Li Zong, "Is there anything else that you came to my grandfather's place for?"

Seemingly somewhat surprised that He Zheng's intuition was so keen, Li Zong fished a little black lacquered box out of his pocket and placed it in front of all people present.

"This box dropped out of that lacquered wooden casket of yours. There were half a page of divinatory symbols and a jade pendant."

"That lacquered wooden casket? There was this thing in it?" He Zheng was astonished. After saying this, he fell silent as that weird dream sprang to mind.

Before he came to Zhu family, he had once had a dream, in which his mother, who passed away over ten years ago, implored him to bring her cremains back to Shen City...

"Does this by any chance have anything to do with my dream?" He Zheng mumbled.

"What kind of dream?"

He Zheng told them all about it from first to last.

When a deceased relative appeared in someone's dream, either this living person had unduly deep affection for the deceased one and missed him or her too much, or... the deceased one had something to tell the living one. They carefully pondered over the conversation between He Zheng and his mother. A thought seemed to have suddenly struck Old Master Zhu. "Wait – Li Zong, what did you say were in the box?"

Li Zong directly opened that little lacquered box in front of them. In it, there were a page of divinatory symbols half of which had been burnt, and a glittering translucent emerald pendant.

On the sight of the things in the box, Old Master Zhu and those behind him got such a shock that their faces changed drastically.

"Is this...!"

Chapter end