How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Chapter 146 The Tomb of My Great-Grandfather (3)

Yan Ru watched the back-and-forth conversation between Lü's father and Guo Zixing, but her attention wasn't entirely drawn to them. While the two were talking, she circled her great-grandfather's stone coffin.

This stone coffin was larger than ordinary coffins, and it took quite a while to examine it. Although at first glance the stone coffin appeared to be perfectly sealed, a closer look revealed a hair-thin gap between the lid and the outer coffin.

On the surface, Dad only saw the wooden boxes filling the room, but he actually glanced at the stone coffin in front of him several times. Could it be... that there is something extraordinary inside?

Yan Ru secretly plucked a hair and stuffed it in, but after a while there was no reaction, she immediately lost interest and went to look at other places.

Suddenly feeling agitated on her arm, Lü Peijun raised her hand and gently soothed the little black snake.

He glanced in Yan Ru's direction as if sensing something, a relieved smile appearing in his eyes, before discussing the transportation plan with Guo Zixing.

"The underground is deep and there are so many of us. It's not impossible to transport everything up one by one, but it will take more time."

Lu Peijun said, "There's nothing we can do about it. The Qing Dynasty was defeated so quickly back then. It was already quite an achievement that we were able to transport my great-grandfather here and build his tomb in such a hurry. Anything else is asking for too much."

Guo Zixing nodded, but he wasn't entirely convinced. Although Lü Peijun's words made sense, the fact that such a large tomb could be built and inscribed with the secret language of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams didn't seem like something that could be done in a hurry.

Since the other party didn't say anything, Guo Zixing stopped asking and simply pretended not to know.

Yan Ru seemed lost in thought, but Qing Ru remained completely oblivious.

This return to the city caused quite a stir in wealthy circles, which was also at Lü Peijun's request.

Although he returned to the city in a low-key manner, a few of his underlings "inadvertently" leaked the news, and the story of Lu Peijun digging up his ancestral property and making a fortune spread like wildfire.

"Originally, I wanted to thank Master Song, but now that the news has reached his ears, he's probably kicking himself," Lü Peijun said when Guo Zixing asked why.

Those dozen or so large boxes were moved home and stored in the warehouse. From then on, Lao Hei focused on guarding them and rarely appeared in public again.

Half a month has passed, the grass is growing and the birds are singing, and the first batch of flowers have bloomed. Yan Ru, along with Qiu Shuang and Gui Ying, picked the first batch of forsythia from the yard, put them in a vase, and took them into Lü Peijun's room.

"Dad, you didn't go out today?"

When Lü Peijun saw her youngest daughter return, she stopped writing and took the vase. "Golden blossoms and emerald calyxes carry the chill of spring, and among the yellow flowers are several varieties. I didn't expect that after not paying attention for a while, the forsythia would all be in bloom."

Yan Ru smiled and said, "Spring has come early. You and your sister have been so busy lately that you haven't noticed the scenery outside the window."

"What? Are you bored staying at home? Take Qiushuang and the others out for a stroll." In the past, Lü Peijun was very strict with her two daughters, but now she has become more open-minded, especially with Yanru. Seeing more of the outside world can only benefit her.

“How could I feel bored at home? This yard is much bigger than our old one. I’m so busy decorating it, how could I feel bored?”

Recently, Song Yuanliang has been sending small gifts frequently. He is also a decent and polite person. Although Lü Peijun has not yet approved of him, she thinks that Song Yuanliang is a good young man.

"Is school about to start?"

"Well, I said before that something came up and the start of school was delayed until March. It's almost tomorrow, so I came to discuss with you about going back to school."

Lü Peijun laughed and said, "So that's what you wanted to tell me after going through all this trouble."

Yan Ru blushed, somewhat embarrassed. "I just want to go back to school to continue my studies. If I were to talk to you about anything else, I wouldn't know what to say."

Lu Peijun told Qiu Shuang and the other two to go back first, then closed the door and took out something for Yan Ru, saying, "Here, take this little snake. I don't object if you go back to school, but these are turbulent times, so it's good to have something for self-defense."

Yanru looked at the small white snake swimming in Lü Peijun's hand, which was a perfect match for the small black snake in the mountain tomb, and it was quite adorable.

Lu Peijun had been observing Yanru's reaction. The cold and eerie little snake not only did not frighten her, but also aroused her interest.

"What is this? Was it also brought back from the tomb?"

"Yes, didn't you also notice the stone coffin that day? This is exactly what's inside."

"A huge stone coffin used to imprison a small snake? What's so strange about that?" Yan Ru wasn't embarrassed at all when her father exposed her, and instead asked about the unusual events of that day.

"These two snakes are both tomb guardian beasts. Have you heard of Liu Bang's uprising after slaying a snake?"

"I've heard of it. What does it have to do with the tomb guardian beasts in the Lü family tomb?"

"Liu Bang slaying the white snake was just a gimmick to show that his rebellion was ordained by Heaven. The reason he was able to slay the white snake with his bare hands was because that snake was raised by my Lü family. Which family that made it into history two thousand years ago didn't have some special skills? Our Lü family's strength was in controlling snakes, which is also the origin of our totem."

As Lü Peijun spoke, she took out the ink-painted double fish pendant and showed it to Yan Ru, "Look here, you've never looked at it carefully before, take another look today."

Yan Ru took the ink-wash double fish pendant. She had seen this jade pendant countless times, and apart from being a little special, she had never really discovered anything magical about it.

When the ink-wash double fish pendant is held up to the light, you can see the ink-wash traces moving within the transparent jade. Before, it only had a few artistic conceptions, but now, after being reminded by Father Lü, it is clear that these are not ink-wash traces at all, but two tiny ink snakes.

"Ah!" Yan Ru was startled, and Lü Peijun quickly took the jade pendant.

"Don't be afraid, there's no real snake in there, just snake patterns."

"Dad..." Yan Ruyi felt a little scared when she thought about how she had kept the jade pendant close to her body.

"It's alright, the snake is the guardian of our family, it won't harm us."

Lu Peijun carefully put the jade pendant away and explained, "This little snake is extremely venomous. If you are bitten by it, you will basically not survive for more than a minute. You must use it with caution and never take it out unless absolutely necessary. I have taken the things from my great-grandfather's tomb, and the news has already spread. I believe that it will not be long before other members of the Lu family come knocking on our door. You must be very careful."

"Then let's give it to my sister. She's busy with cases every day, which is much more dangerous than what I do."

"You don't need to worry about your sister. Although Guo Zixing has some selfish motives, your sister's safety is not a concern as long as she follows him. But you are so weak. If you don't have someone to rely on, I'm afraid you won't live to old age."

Hearing her father's plans for her, even putting her before her sister, Yan Ru's eyes welled up with tears.

"It's all my fault, Dad. Don't worry, Yanru will grow up well and won't cause you any more trouble."

Lu Peijun patted Yan Ru on the shoulder, "You don't need to worry so much. You two sisters just need to live well. Once the Lu family's affairs are settled, we'll move to a new place and live a good life with our heads held high from now on."