Chapter 87: Conspiracy, the Causes and Effects of Contradiction

Li Ruoke’s tears never fell in the end, as though she had already exhausted all her grief over this shadow—only the heavy bloodshot gaze remained in her eyes. “Back then, my father merely refused Ding Tai’s proposal to acquire our family business. Not long after, my parents died tragically… And for a long time, Xiaolan and I believed it was just a calamity. We knew nothing of these things—how could we have suspected that someone had deliberately plotted it?”

“Xiao Yihong… It would have been bad enough if she merely took my father’s entire legacy and wealth, but she didn’t even spare his life! Xiaolan still knows nothing about any of this, even now! I never told him because I didn’t want him dragged into it… The last time I was with you, those people once again set their sights on us, wanting to use Xiaolan’s unique constitution as their scapegoat. If we hadn’t run into you by chance, he probably would never have made it back…”

Uncle Yan methodically unraveled the story, tracing its threads from past to present. “Even the disaster at the cultural exhibition this time was their doing. As soon as I learned that one of the sponsors was Ding Tai Group, I became vigilant. But people like us can never match their cunning; in the end, we were still several steps behind… The reason I went to Thailand that time was actually to personally investigate some matters—the meeting with you was incidental.”

Qi Yan pondered for a moment. “I saw that Japanese man with my own eyes, using some bizarre method to move a statue, and I even took photos… Oh! The camera!” At that thought, he realized his camera was nowhere to be found. It must have been taken from him after he lost consciousness.

“That’s right. The Shiva statue from Rayong, Thailand was their sole target this time. But the statue wasn’t what mattered—what mattered was the thing hidden inside it,” Uncle Yan explained in detail. “As I’ve said before, the Yin Palace’s talismans aren’t limited to yours. Xiao Yihong discovered the talisman’s secrets before any of us; everything she’s done has been to collect them all.”

“The first appearance of the Yin Palace was years ago, when a Sino-Thai collector obtained it—he was the first destined holder of a Yin Palace talisman. After he died of illness, he hid his talisman within the Shiva statue, perhaps hoping Shiva’s divine power could suppress the terrifying force of the talisman. After all, you know how dreadful these talismans are.”

Qi Yan was overwhelmed by so many unbelievable revelations at once. But since Uncle Yan and the others knew so much about the talisman, he voiced his biggest question. “You said you and Xiao Yihong have been investigating the Yin Palace and its talismans for so long—so why only tell me now? Why not explain everything in Bangkok?”

Uncle Yan apologized again. “That’s precisely why I owe you an apology. You’d only just come into possession of the seventh Yin Palace talisman then. For an ordinary person to be suddenly swept into all this—it would have been far too much. I intended to meet you after some time to explain things myself, but I never expected you’d get caught up in their latest dark scheme. That was beyond my anticipation.”

Qi Yan still couldn’t grasp the deeper meaning. “You say their goal is to take my talisman? I already heard that directly from that kid Watanabe. But… it’s strange, isn’t it? Why go to so much trouble? With all their power, couldn’t they just kill me—a nobody with no background—and take it? Why complicate it?”

This time, Xuanxuan spoke up to clarify. “Because the relationship between the talisman and its holder isn’t so simple. I doubt you can even rid yourself of it, can you?”

“Exactly. Throwing it away, destroying it—it doesn’t work. How can I break free from it?” That had been Qi Yan’s greatest torment for some time.

Xuanxuan folded her arms and leaned against the wall. “The key is causality! From the moment you were chosen by the Yin Palace—or rather, the moment the talisman chose you—you became bound to it by a kind of karma, an invisible chain that ties you to it. And this causality is extremely mysterious; even if someone kills you, the connection doesn’t break.”

“To this day, even we haven’t figured out how to help those chosen by the talismans sever that karma. But Xiao Yihong has discovered a method—the only method so far.”

Uncle Yan challenged Qi Yan, “You’ve held this talisman for some time, and it’s manifested its power according to your subconscious, hasn’t it? But have you noticed? Every time you use its power, your body weakens—this time most obviously. That’s because it’s draining your life force!”

Qi Yan listened, knowing Uncle Yan wasn’t exaggerating. He had noticed it himself for a while—the talisman’s power was domineering, but borrowing it always exacted a price.

Xuanxuan spoke gravely, echoing Watanabe’s words. “It’s like a drug. You may resist at first, but as you begin to experience the benefits it brings, your heart grows dependent on it.”

“The more dependent you become, the faster it drains you—and the sooner you die!”

Uncle Yan pointed at the talisman. “Only if the holder dies by the talisman’s hand does the karma end. In other words, to sever it, you must be killed by the talisman, not by someone else.”

“Once the karma between you and the talisman breaks, the talisman becomes ownerless—only then can someone else take it.”

Qi Yan’s eyes widened, finally understanding. “So, I can only be rid of it if ‘Mother’ kills me through backlash?”

“Yes. At least, that’s the method Xiao Yihong discovered—and so far, it’s the only way.”

With the confirmation, Qi Yan felt his mind about to explode. Such a contradiction!

Li Ruoke had by now suppressed her earlier sorrow, and offered a warning. “Qi Yan, I truly didn’t know about this at first. Otherwise, I’d never have encouraged you to use the talisman’s power! I only found out after taking you to Bangkok, when Xuanxuan told me… Thinking back, when we went to Yang Han’s house, that Yin-Yang spirit wasn’t really trying to kill you—it was cornering you, forcing you to plead for the talisman’s help, increasing your dependence… That way, the backlash would come sooner.”

Thus, to date, seven ‘destined ones’ remain tightly bound to their talismans by karma.

To break this bond, the only known way is for the holder to become so dependent on the talisman’s power it’s like poison in their marrow.

The greater the dependence, the faster death comes. When the holder dies from backlash, the karma ends, and the talisman becomes ownerless…

Judging by Qi Yan’s suffering in his hospital bed, Watanabe’s plan to “accelerate the process” had succeeded—remarkably so.