“Who exactly is Madam Jing?” Qin Su asked, getting to the question that concerned her most.
The ghost didn’t dare conceal anything.
Although Madam Jing had controlled them, they had also died because of her. Deep down, they wished for nothing more than to see her suffer.
“Madam Jing is the mistress of Lin Yangwen, the vice president of the Lin Group. They have a son together named Lin Jinhong. She is extremely bothered by being nothing more than a mistress, so she makes all of us address her as ‘Madam.'”
Lin Jinhong?
Hearing the familiar name, Qin Su’s eyes lit up.
Since Cui Mingyu and Lin Jinhong were rivals, Cui Mingyu had casually gossiped with her about the Lin family during their drive.
Lin Yangwen had an elder brother, but his brother was frail and sickly, so Lin Yangwen had long been regarded as the Lin family’s next successor.
Lin Yangwen had two sons and one daughter.
His eldest son and daughter were born to his wife, Chen Meizhen.
As for his youngest son, Lin Jinhong, although the public claimed he was also Chen Meizhen’s child, everyone in the industry knew he was illegitimate. Just a few months before his birth, Chen Meizhen had still been going clubbing and taking part in various risky recreational activities. No genuinely pregnant woman would have dared do that.
However, no one knew who Lin Jinhong’s biological mother was.
Since there had never been any news about her, most people assumed she had taken the money and quietly disappeared.
Qin Su recalled the first time she had met Lin Jinhong.
All the scattered clues suddenly connected into a complete picture.
So that’s how it was.
Lin Jinhong had never been innocent from the very beginning.
He had known the truth behind the blood jade all along. The reason he had publicly cut open that jadeite rough was to make a name for himself in a single stroke.
He simply hadn’t expected Qin Su to ruin his plan, turning him into a laughingstock instead.
To avoid anyone discovering his connection to the blood jade, he had deliberately portrayed himself as the victim.
After all, he was young, and gemstone gambling relied heavily on experience. Even if his judgment proved poor, people would merely laugh it off as inexperience.
But if anyone uncovered the truth, his life would be completely ruined.
The blood jade displayed at the exhibition hall had most likely been delivered through intermediaries acting on behalf of the Lin family.
If all that blood jade were sold, they would make tens of billions at the very least.
The profits were indeed astronomical.
In the face of money, human lives had become completely insignificant to those people.
As Qin Su listened to the ghost recount one bloody crime after another committed by Madam Jing, her expression remained calm, yet anger slowly ignited in her eyes.
To Qin Su, nothing surpassed the Great Dao.
Before the Great Dao, she would not yield even to her closest friends.
However, she had principles of her own.
She would never deliberately harm innocent people for the sake of cultivation.
To Madam Jing, on the other hand, human lives were worth less than grass.
Relying on abilities far beyond ordinary people, she acted without restraint.
Lowering her eyes, Qin Su spoke in a calm voice that carried the stillness before a storm.
“How did Madam Jing find out about me? Did Lin Jinhong tell her?”
The ghost continued,
“It was Dong Dashan who mentioned you to her. Madam Jing was worried you would discover the truth, so she sent us.”
Of course, the main reason was that Madam Jing had taken a fancy to the talent possessed by both Qin Su and Tu Qing.
Being able to command ghosts already proved they possessed some level of ability.
However, Qin Su’s youth had caused Madam Jing to underestimate her.
Qin Su narrowed her eyes slightly.
If that was the case, then she would probably be meeting Madam Jing face to face very soon.
So Dong Dashan had this connection with Madam Jing all along.
No wonder an ordinary jeweler like him had been able to command ghosts. He had merely been borrowing Madam Jing’s power.
Even if she had to face Madam Jing directly, Qin Su felt no fear.
Her cultivation might have been considered only the foundation level in the cultivation world, but in this modern world, it was already more than sufficient.
She continued asking questions, including Madam Jing’s appearance, age, and where she lived, until she had extracted everything she wanted to know.
Terrified that Qin Su would roast her brain, and knowing she was competing with the other ghost for leniency, the ghost held nothing back.
Qin Su also learned that, besides these two female ghosts, Madam Jing commanded five other fierce ghosts, all of whom were even more powerful.
Not long after Qin Su finished questioning her ghost, Qianjin returned as well.
There was no need for Qianjin to recount everything verbally. She simply returned to Qin Su’s body and transmitted the interrogation memories directly to her.
That was one of the advantages of a natal spirit treasure. Their minds were linked by blood and soul, making communication incredibly convenient.
The confession Qianjin obtained differed little from Qin Su’s.
However, the female ghost on Qianjin’s side knew a bit more. She even knew that Lin Yangwen’s elder brother, Lin Yangzhuo, had been frail because he had suffered a car accident in his youth and had never fully recovered.
Both the accident and his subsequent decline had been orchestrated by Madam Jing.
From a certain perspective, Madam Jing truly did love Lin Yangwen.
Not only had she willingly become his mistress, she had also cleared away every obstacle standing in his path.
“Susu, can I eat them? Those two female ghosts helped the wicked and committed many crimes.”
Qianjin tried hard to persuade Qin Su to let her devour them.
Qin Su’s gaze swept over the two ghosts as she said calmly,
“I understand that Madam Jing coerced you. But all these years, did it never occur to you to seek help from monks or Daoist priests?”
The long-haired ghost’s lips trembled.
“She has our ashes. She could make our souls scatter at any time. We… we didn’t dare.”
Qin Su quietly watched them, her voice tinged with mockery.
“But when it came to frightening people, you seemed to enjoy yourselves well enough.”
Madam Jing was certainly no good person.
But neither were these two ghosts.
To be more precise, any ghost unwilling to harm others had long since been eliminated by Madam Jing.
She said slowly,
“Still, considering you’ve told me quite a lot, I can spare you from having your brains roasted.”
The next moment, understanding Qin Su’s intentions instantly, Qianjin opened her mouth and swallowed both ghosts in one bite.
Qin Su patted Qianjin on the head.
“Can you still eat more, or do you need time to digest first?”
Qianjin tilted her head.
“Another hundred servings wouldn’t be a problem!”
Qin Su smiled.
“Good. Then go eat all the baleful energy surrounding the blood jade at the exhibition.”
The moment she finished speaking, Qianjin had already disappeared.
She had run off faster than light.
Qin Su silently fell into thought.
Her natal spirit treasure seemed to be becoming increasingly extraordinary.
She had once asked her junior sisters about their natal spirit treasures. Although theirs also possessed intelligence, their strength was closely tied to their owners’ cultivation.
Qianjin, however, was different.
Although she was Qin Su’s natal spirit treasure, she could hunt for food on her own and even strengthen herself independently.
Could it be because there was something wrong with the materials I used when forging her?
Thinking back, one of the materials used to forge Qianjin had been a drop of blood said to belong to an ancient divine beast.
Could that be the reason?
Qin Su pondered it briefly before letting it go.
After all, Qianjin had already grown into this personality.
There was no way she could simply forge another natal spirit treasure.
Back then, she had truly lacked talent in artifact forging.
To successfully forge Qianjin, she had wasted at least five sets of materials, pouring most of her wealth into the process.
Even now, thinking about it made her heart ache.
…
After Qianjin devoured all the baleful energy surrounding the blood jade, those jadeite rough stones revealed their original appearance.
As luck would have it, every one of those stones had been among the most closely watched exhibits.
In other words, they transformed right before everyone’s eyes.
This time, there was no way to keep the matter under wraps.
Rumors spread everywhere like wildfire.
Even Cui Mingyu specifically came to ask Qin Su about it.
The incident was simply too bizarre.
As a result, many people began to distrust the rough stones on display.
Everyone feared that a rough stone purchased for an enormous sum might suddenly turn into something nearly worthless.
Cui Mingyu said in a relieved tone,
“Fortunately, this was exposed in advance. Our Cui family had originally planned to buy part of that batch.”
If the problem had only surfaced after they purchased them, who knew how great the losses would have been?
Since Cui Mingyu intended to compete for the position of family successor, he couldn’t afford even the slightest mistake.
Seeing how respectfully he had treated her all this time, Qin Su decided to offer him a reminder.
“They were created using unorthodox methods. Lin Jinhong’s stone was the same.”
Cui Mingyu’s expression turned serious.
“You could tell?”
Qin Su nodded.
“Not just me. Any capable master of metaphysics would be able to see it.”
Cui Mingyu fell into thought.
“That reminds me of something. The Lu family originally planned to bring Master Xie with them this time. But right before departure, he apparently fought another cultivator and was injured, so he couldn’t come. And Daoist Tao had only just arrived when he accidentally fell down the stairs, broke a bone, and is now recovering at the hotel.”
Realization dawned on Qin Su.
No wonder no one at the venue had discovered anything.
Everyone capable of exposing the truth had been dealt with before they even arrived.
Cui Mingyu respectfully asked,
“Would you be willing to help the Cui family identify which stones have problems?”
The Cui family had never been stingy.
If Qin Su helped them, they would certainly reward her generously.
She nodded in agreement.
Cui Mingyu couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
His uncle’s luck really was exceptional.
To have befriended someone as genuinely capable as Qin Su.
No matter where they went, true masters of metaphysics were always treated as honored guests.
His thoughts suddenly drifted to Qin Su’s ex-boyfriend, Xu Xiao.
Does he even know his ex-girlfriend is this incredible?
Probably not.
Otherwise, how could he possibly have let someone like her slip away?
…
At a luxury hotel elsewhere.
The glamorous woman wore a dark expression.
“Damn it! Who did this?”
She had invested tremendous effort into creating those blood jades, only for them to be destroyed just like that.
Logically speaking, with that much accumulated baleful energy, even the elders of the major cultivation sects would have had to expend considerable effort to deal with it.
Lin Jinhong frowned.
“Mom, now that all the jade has been ruined, how are we supposed to make money?”
The profits had originally been intended as the startup capital for his own career.
Madam Jing sneered.
“We’ll simply make another batch.”
Lin Jinhong sighed.
“I was hoping this would make Dad think more highly of me, and at the same time deal the Cui family a blow. That Cui Mingyu is incredibly annoying. And my so-called good elder brother has been making plenty of moves lately.”
“Besides, his status is far more legitimate than mine. He’s the eldest legitimate son, so he naturally receives far more resources within the family.”
Madam Jing looked at him lovingly.
“Don’t worry. Let him continue standing out front as the target. Whether he gets the last laugh depends on whether he has the fate for it. Your father doesn’t like him at all. Sooner or later, the entire Lin family will belong to you.”
Hearing the certainty in his mother’s voice, and having witnessed many of her methods firsthand, Lin Jinhong’s brows relaxed once more.
“Why haven’t Number Six and Number Seven come back yet?”
Lin Jinhong had never bothered remembering the names of the people working under his mother. He simply referred to them by their numbers. Madam Jing doted on him and naturally indulged the habit. Mere tools could never compare to her precious son.
The smile faded from Madam Jing’s face.
“It seems the other side has some ability. I’ll go meet her myself when I have time.”
A strange gleam flashed across her eyes.
“However, the better her aptitude, the more beautiful the blood jade she can produce.”
Lin Jinhong asked,
“Could she be the one who tampered with the batch of jade at the exhibition?”
Madam Jing shook her head.
“She was at the hotel at the time, not at the exhibition hall. Besides, she’s just a little girl. She couldn’t possibly have that kind of ability.”
Thinking of Qin Su’s and Tu Qing’s beauty, Lin Jinhong couldn’t help smacking his lips.
It would be a pity for such beautiful girls to die.
Better to let him enjoy them first.