Chapter 216: Jian Yuan
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xi Mo seemed to have finally found a breakthrough and asked nervously, "Did you get anything out of this Yang Shirong? What exactly happened to Mom back then?"
Jian Hui said, “We did.”
As she spoke, she looked at Jian Sun. Jian Sun’s expression was somewhat grim, as he nodded at her.
So Jian Hui continued, "Back then, Sister Yuan was very prestigious in the antique world, and had excellent connections. At that time, Jian Sun was still in school, so he more or less knew some of those people, but not deeply. Later, when he took over the business, he quickly became familiar with those dealings. Initially, many people were only willing to do business with him because of Sister Yuan. After some years, once Jian Sun got the inventory records of incoming and outgoing goods for the Lingzhi Jade, he continued investigating along this line, and eventually traced it to Yang Shirong. Many people in the antique business move goods with one another. Sister Yuan had helped Yang Shirong back then, and Yang Shirong had also worked as her assistant. Yang Shirong had a sharp eye for antiques and good character. Sister Yuan trusted him very much.”
"Yang Shirong had always worked for the Shi family in Changsha. The Shi family had a large antique business and a complex network of relationships. When Sister Yuan was still alive, many of the business dealings between the Jian family and the Shi family were handled through Yang Shirong. Later, when Jian Sun visited Yang Shirong to ask him about the matter of Sister Yuan communicating with him about the Lingzhi jade, Yang Shirong had promised Sister Yuan to keep it secret, so he looked troubled at the time and didn’t speak immediately.”
Perhaps to make things clearer for Xi Mo, Jian Hui explained in as much detail as possible.
"So how did you finally get the information?" Xi Mo listened intently.
Jian Hui replied, "Jian Sun knelt down and begged him. Jian Sun told Yang Shirong that his sister did not die in a car accident, but was murdered. He could only continue to investigate the truth if he knew what happened back then, otherwise the clues would be lost."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Yesheng remained silent for a long time.
She deeply understood the hardship of searching for the truth about a loved one.
Sometimes one clue was equal to a ray of hope. Once the clue broke, much of the previous investigation could go to waste, or there might be no progress for a very long time afterward.
Jian Hui added, “Also, I’m good friends with someone in the Shi family. We studied in the same university and major. At that time, that friend was still young but had already become the head of the Shi family. Yang Shirong listened to her very much, so she also helped me and said a few words to Yang Shirong. In the end, Yang Shirong told us what happened to Sister Yuan.”
Xi Mo's heart tightened immediately.
Next, she finally learned about her mother Jian Yuan's long-buried past.
When Xi Mo was five years old, Jian Yuan received a fine item, a top-grade Lingzhi Jade.
Lingzhi Jade was formed from lingzhi growing on ancient corpses and naturally turning into jade. The chances of this happening were extremely low, which created its shockingly high price in the antique market. Whenever Lingzhi Jade appeared at an auction, it would always stir up waves.
Jian Yuan valued this item very much and planned to arrange it for auction later.
Lingzhi Jade came in different forms and colors, and sizes varied too. This had much to do with the process of formation and the environment where it formed. Some had the common fan shape of lingzhi, some looked like twisted tree roots, and some were very beautiful, like lotus flowers.
However, this piece of Lingzhi Jade was entirely blood red, with many protrusions of varying lengths, resembling countless deer antlers gathered together. Overall, it looked like a blooming blood coral.
Maybe this Lingzhi Jade had some unique charm, Jian Yuan was drawn to it and couldn't stop herself from studying and admiring it.
Important items like this were usually kept in a special storage place. Whenever Jian Yuan was busy working and suddenly thought of it, she would go to where the Lingzhi Jade was kept, take it out, and carefully observe and study every detail.
But when Jian Yuan came back to her senses, she did not even realize that she had somehow put down her work and come to the Lingzhi Jade.
During that period, Jian Yuan felt as if someone was watching her. That peeping gaze seemed to follow her like a shadow. Jian Yuan thought she was imagining things and had people around her investigate, but nothing unusual was found.
Until one day, she discovered the Lingzhi Jade’s shape had changed. Those uneven protrusions no longer seemed to be the same length as before, and some angles had twisted.
A few days later, the change appeared again, only very slightly. If Jian Yuan had not often studied the Lingzhi Jade, the change might never have been noticed.
But in theory, once Lingzhi became jade, it should already be stable like jade artifacts and would not change at all.
Jian Yuan found it strange and realized this item was unique. She planned to find a helper skilled in appraising goods to look at it again, and Yang Shirong became the best choice.
During that period, Jian Yuan always felt like she was being watched, and even though she thought it was a hallucination, she subconsciously changed some of her daily behaviors. One of these changes was that she preferred to communicate by letter on matters she considered very important.
Although that period was far less developed than now, for a businesswoman with Jian Yuan’s wealth, phones were still convenient. But during the process of contacting Yang Shirong, Jian Yuan still chose to write letters.
She felt letters made no sound like phone calls, so maybe they could not be secretly overheard.
This led to her writing a letter, forgetting to mail it, and then writing another one the next day, which also went unsent. By the time she finally managed to remember to look for Yang Shirong, she had already written three letters with the same message. As a result, the other two unsent letters became Jian Yuan's belongings; one was taken by Jian Sun, while the other remained hidden among the many relics in the Xi family manor until it was eventually discovered by Xi Mo.
After Jian Yuan successfully sent one of the letters, she contacted Yang Shirong and received a reply from him. The two agreed to meet next month.
Although it was said to be next month, the letter was actually sent at the end of the month, so the two arranged to meet very quickly. A few days after receiving the reply, Jian Yuan took the item to Changsha.
Yang Shirong noticed Jian Yuan’s condition wasn't good. After talking with her for a long time, he learned about what had been happening recently. He also carefully studied the Lingzhi Jade and discovered it had changed again.
At that time, Yang Shirong quickly told Jian Yuan that this item could no longer be kept. It seemed to be alive and was growing.
Jian Yuan was somewhat dazed at the time, and seemed hesitant when she heard that the item could no longer be kept. Yang Shirong sensed something was wrong and spoke loudly to her, telling her that she must destroy the item, and if it could not be destroyed, it must be buried.
Reminded loudly by Yang Shirong, Jian Yuan snapped back to her senses for a moment through her own willpower. She immediately made one move, picking up a knife from Yang Shirong’s antique cleaning room and decisively stabbing her own thigh.
The intense pain kept her awake. She told Yang Shirong that she should have been mentally affected by the item. It was no longer her looking at the item, but the item looking at her.
Those hallucinations, the confusion of being watched, forgetfulness, all of it was caused by the item.
At that time, Xi Ji was temporarily away from home because of work, but he called every day. Jian Yuan subconsciously wanted to tell Xi Ji about this matter, but because of the item’s influence, she forgot every time to tell Xi Ji about the strange things happening with the item.
Now the item did not want to be destroyed and was trying to control the decisions in her mind. If she showed hesitation again, or if she could no longer stay clear-headed, then Yang Shirong should stab her with the knife again to help her gain time to stay awake.
Unfortunately, the item could not be burned. After Jian Yuan and Yang Shirong tried hard, they finally found a hidden place, and the item was buried deeply.
As the item was dealt with, Jian Yuan’s mental state somewhat improved.
But then she felt her nose itching and started getting nosebleeds. Along with the blood came some red thread-like fibers, similar to cotton fluff. Jian Yuan immediately went to the hospital with Yang Shirong. In the end, the doctor cleaned her nasal cavity and removed all those red fibers.
The doctor didn’t know what those red fibers were. He thought she had breathed dirty air, and it mixed with blood inside the nose and hardened. He reminded Jian Yuan not to go to dirty environments to avoid respiratory infection.
But Jian Yuan knew she had never gone anywhere like that. The air around her had always been clean.
After returning home, Jian Yuan and Yang Shirong were still shaken. Yang Shirong told her that Lingzhi Jade was formed from Lingzhi that grew on the body of an ancient corpse. It is a fungus and is itself a kind of organism. However, this organism is already a "dead object". After being jadeified, it should no longer have life.
But this item was very likely not Lingzhi Jade. It had simply been mistaken by people.
Or rather, the item was interfering with people’s judgment and making them think it was Lingzhi Jade.
Actually, it was something else.
And it was alive.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Upon hearing this, Xi Mo's face turned ashen, and Ruan Yesheng felt a chill run down her spine.
“If the item was not Lingzhi Jade, then what exactly was it?” Xi Mo softly asked.
Jian Hui said heavily, “Yang Shirong believed this thing might be... a kind of Tai Sui*.”
*太岁 (Tàisuì) is a major concept in Chinese astrology and folklore, often called the “Grand Duke of Jupiter” or “Year God.” It refers to deities linked to Jupiter’s orbit, believed to govern each year’s fortune. Offending Tai Sui is thought to bring misfortune, so rituals are performed to appease it.
“...Tai Sui.” Xi Mo murmured. “Could there be many kinds of Tai Sui?”
Jian Hui nodded. “There are many kinds of Tai Sui. For example, one type is called ‘Flesh Lingzhi’. This kind of flesh lingzhi is somewhat similar to lingzhi. Part of it is fungus, but part of it is not. It can grow from certain special ancient corpses and can also turn into jade, forming Lingzhi Jade, but it is much rarer.
“So the item Mom collected was this Flesh Lingzhi Tai Sui?” Xi Mo quickly asked.
Jian Hui’s gaze turned colder. She said, “Yang Shirong told us, that thing was not Flesh Lingzhi Tai Sui, but some other extremely dangerous Tai Sui. He did not know exactly what it was. He could only guess based on the fibers infecting Jian Yuan at the time. Those fibers should have been the mycelium of that kind of Tai Sui. After infection, it could change Jian Yuan’s mental state and even control some of her behavior.”
