"I can't say it's unrelated, it's exactly the same," Yu Longting concluded, and seeing my face flash with worry, he said, "If you're that concerned, you could give your mom a call."

"Ours... ours... um..." In the end, I just couldn't bring myself to repeat the word Yu Longting had used.

It seemed to be the first time he had referred to my mom in that way.

Given Yu Longting's typically unapproachable nature, it didn't seem like something he would do...

My face flushed as I called my mom, "Mom, it's Wanwan, are you okay?"

"Don't misunderstand, your mom left her phone in the outer hall, so I came out to help answer it," came a steady and gentle voice from the other end.

I clutched the phone, frozen for a full three seconds, "Oh, it's nothing; it's just that I called at a bad time, my mom... she's still sleeping... right?"

At this time of day, just past five in the morning, my mom was definitely asleep.

"Yes, Wanwan... do you have an emergency?" Zhang Che asked worriedly.

I was so nervous I almost bit my tongue, "I'm just... a bit worried about her, maybe because it's been so long since I've seen her, and..." With Zhang Che there, I could be pretty sure nothing was wrong with my mom.

"If you don't mind, I could go check on her in her room," Zhang Che offered, as if he could read my mind.

Even without knowing the full story, he understood what I needed most at that moment.

I knew he couldn't see me, but I nodded foolishly anyway, "Please do, thank you."

"Don't mention it," Zhang Che replied succinctly.

Then came the sound of steady, forceful footsteps.

My heart started pounding uncontrollably.

For a moment, I had to press hard against my chest to calm the wild beating of my heart.

Why... why am I... so nervous talking to my mom's childhood friend...

Calm down, calm down!

I shouldn't keep imagining the two of them together... I just can't!!

This is the adults' business, it has nothing to do with me, I shouldn't think such things.

I roared internally, urging myself to calm down.

Zhang Che's deep voice broke the silence, "She's asleep. Do you need a video?"

"No, no, no need, I was just overthinking," I laughed awkwardly.

They still sleep in separate rooms?

So, after all this time, they haven't progressed.

Wait, why am I worrying about their business again?

Do I really wish for a stepfather that much?

Maybe... deep down, I really do feel that way...

My mom has had a hard life for so many years; she deserves someone dependable like Uncle Zhang Che to take care of her.

Zhang Che said, "That's fine, I recorded the conversation earlier. You haven't called for such a long time, and she is too shy to bother you. It would be good for her to hear your voice, although it seems your voice is..."

"My voice has changed quite a lot, but it's okay, there's an antidote for Blood-weeping Syndrome, and it will change back soon. I'll call my mom when it does," I wiped the sweat from my brow and spoke quickly, "This time, don't play it for her. I don't want her to worry about me. If there's nothing else, I'll just..."

I didn't even get to say the word "hang up."

"Hang up, no need to stand on ceremony," Zhang Che said.

I paused for a moment, then ended the call.

Seeing Yu Longting had stopped digging, I asked, "Are you done?"

"Yes, it was buried quite deep, half a meter down," Yu Longting replied. It seemed he didn't want to get his clothes dirty, so he took off his Cultivation Spiritual Garment before reaching deep into the hole and pulling out an iron box.

Upon opening the iron box, a delicate porcelain bottle lay inside.

I took responsibility for pulling out the bottle, which felt cold and sinister to the touch, almost causing me to drop it, "The bottle contains corpse water and is marked with hexagrams... lower Gen above Kan, the thirty-ninth hexagram from the I Ching, it seems to be an ominous sign. This Feng Shui Bottle is too sinister."

The Feng Shui Bottle bore strange hexagrams and was filled with corpse water, buried at a place where Dragon Qi sank.

No wonder it could manipulate the Earth Veins; probably only Meishan Mountain Witchcraft could accomplish this in the world.

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