“Are you two siblings incapable of understanding plain Chinese? We’ve already told you, nobody was bullying your sister. We were simply explaining why we couldn’t switch seats with her!”
Tang Yuan finally exploded.
The class monitor had been patient and polite, but the Meng siblings refused to listen.
Fine.
If reason didn’t work, then it was time for the invincible Little Cannonball, Tang Yuan, to step in.
Not even Shen Sangyu could stop her.
“I, Tang Yuan, have already said no! I’m not switching seats, and we never bullied your sister! If you’ve got the guts, call the police!”
Shen Sangyu and Jing Fan hurriedly grabbed hold of Tang Yuan.
Otherwise, judging by her temper, she might actually have rushed over and punched Meng Ming’en.
“You… Is this really the quality of students in Haishi Experimental No. 1 High School’s elite class?”
Realizing he couldn’t win an argument against Tang Yuan, Meng Ming’en shifted his attack toward the school itself.
Shen Sangyu had stayed silent until now.
But hearing that, even she couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Classmates Meng, don’t forget that the two of you are students of this school now as well.”
The classmates who had been quietly watching the drama also joined in.
“Exactly! If you think our school is so terrible, why transfer here in the first place?”
“That’s right! Nobody begged you to come.”
…
“Ms. Li, I think the new transfer student in your class is arguing with your class monitor…”
The commotion in Class Three naturally didn’t escape the teachers’ sharp eyes.
In the end, both Meng Chengxi and Tang Yuan, the two main participants in the dispute, were ordered to write self-criticism reports.
As for Meng Ming’en…
He wasn’t even a senior.
His own homeroom teacher from the second-year classes dragged him away, and he would no doubt be writing one as well.
After school, Tang Yuan stubbornly insisted that Shen Sangyu come home with her.
Her excuse?
“So we can do our homework together.”
Shen Sangyu knew perfectly well what the little cannonball was really after.
She wanted Shen Sangyu to mark all the important topics that would appear on the final exams.
Contrary to what Meng Chengxi had assumed, Tang Yuan’s family wasn’t poor at all.
If anything…
They were probably wealthier than the Meng family.
After all, the Tang family belonged to one of the luckiest groups in Haishi.
They had become fabulously rich through urban redevelopment compensation.
“Sang Sang, my dad heard you’re amazing at authenticating antiques. He’s been wanting to invite you over for dinner for ages.”
Tang Yuan blinked innocently.
Shen Sangyu pressed a hand against her forehead.
That loudmouth…
“But I never mentioned the bronze vessel! Don’t worry, I can keep a secret!”
Yeah, right.
Shen Sangyu wasn’t buying that for a second.
The moment she arrived at the Tang family’s detached villa with its spacious private garden, she immediately understood why everyone called them nouveau riche.
Rumor had it that the entire property had been purchased outright, without a mortgage.
Back when Haishi’s housing regulations were much more relaxed, private villas could still be freely bought and sold.
Nowadays, even if someone had the money, the government wouldn’t necessarily approve the purchase.
Tang Yuan’s father firmly believed in feng shui.
When the family first moved in, he had even hired a professional feng shui master to inspect the property.
Well…
That certainly showed.
Looking at the pair of enormous stone lions standing at the front gate, each one taller than she was, Shen Sangyu couldn’t help twitching at the corner of her eye.
Tang Yuan’s mother was already waiting by the entrance.
“Sang Sang! You’re here. Why are you two so late today?”
They had arrived much later than usual.
Beside Shen Sangyu, Tang Yuan desperately wiggled her eyebrows and made exaggerated faces, silently begging her not to mention that they’d both been punished by the homeroom teacher.
“Auntie, finals are just around the corner. I stayed behind to help Tang Yuan review the important topics.”
Shen Sangyu quickly walked over and affectionately linked arms with Tang Yuan’s mother.
“What a thoughtful girl. Auntie made your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs today.”
“You’re back. Sang Sang’s here too.”
Uncle Tang greeted her with the same warm smile she remembered, urging her to eat as much as she liked.
This was Shen Sangyu’s first visit to the Tang family after her rebirth.
In her previous life, she’d visited countless times.
Yet this visit felt…
Different.
Using the excuse of taking a walk after dinner, Shen Sangyu wandered through the small garden.
“Sang Sang, what’s so interesting about the garden?”
Tang Yuan hurried after her.
“You still haven’t marked the important exam topics for me.”
She lowered her voice noticeably as she finished speaking.
Before darkness completely settled in, Shen Sangyu carefully examined every corner of the garden.
“Tang Yuan, what’s that?”
“You mean those?”
Tang Yuan followed her gaze.
“I think Dad hauled them back from some construction site a few days ago.”
She didn’t remember the details.
During the New Year’s holiday, her father had suddenly brought home several large jars.
Each one reached nearly to their knees and was still covered in mud.
Since they were completely different from the paintings, jewelry, and antiques he usually collected, Tang Yuan hadn’t paid them much attention.
Her father loved collecting old artifacts.
Unfortunately…
He had terrible judgment.
Which meant he was far more likely to get scammed than find genuine treasures.
The moment Shen Sangyu entered the Tang family’s living room, she’d already realized it.
The house was practically hosting a convention of counterfeits.
Fake dragon jade pendants.
Fake ancient swords.
Fake porcelain.
Almost everything on display was an imitation.
Yet these large jars sitting in the garden…
They didn’t look fake at all.
Squatting beside one, Shen Sangyu used a fallen tree branch to scrape away the thick layer of dried mud.
It was a pottery storage jar.
She bent down and reached for the heavy lid.
“Sang Sang…”
Tang Yuan tugged nervously at her sleeve.
“Maybe don’t open it. It gives me the creeps.”
Perhaps it was because dusk was falling.
Or perhaps it was something else.
But standing near those jars made Tang Yuan feel inexplicably uneasy, as though a heavy stone were pressing against her chest.
Ignoring the warning, Shen Sangyu continued lifting the lid.
“Tang Yuan, you said your dad brought these back from a construction site?”
“Yeah. I heard… the workers dug them up underground.”
“Dad thought they might be valuable, so he had them transported home.”
“Then that explains it.”
After removing the lid, Shen Sangyu poked inside with the branch.
When she pulled it back out, tiny fragments of grain husks clung to the tip.
She activated the relic eye in her right eye.
Just as she’d expected…
The sinister black aura was coming from inside the jar.
“Uncle Tang.”
Her expression turned unusually serious.
“I think you’d better contact the proper authorities and have these jars removed.”
She wasn’t joking.
Tang Yuan’s father knew from his daughter that Shen Sangyu was unusually skilled at identifying antiques.
He didn’t dare dismiss her warning.
“Sang Sang, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Are these jars authentic?”
Could it be…
For once, he’d actually bought the real thing?
“They’re genuine.”
Shen Sangyu nodded.
“But they absolutely cannot stay here.”
These had been excavated from a tomb.
She continued explaining.
“I checked just now. They’re pottery storage jars, and they probably contained wheat or other grains.”
“I can’t determine the exact dynasty without further examination.”
Seeing Uncle Tang’s growing excitement, she quickly added,
“But regardless of their age, they have virtually no commercial value.”
“They’re funerary objects buried with the tomb’s owner.”
In ancient Huaguo, pottery jars filled with grain were commonly placed inside tombs as burial offerings.
They represented the hope that the deceased would continue to enjoy abundance in the afterlife, reflecting the ancient belief of embracing life even in death.
These burial objects were collectively known as mingqi, funerary artifacts.
Even if someone wanted to collect them, they should never be kept inside a home where people lived.
Through the relic eye in her right eye, Shen Sangyu could clearly see the ghostly yin aura clinging to the jars.
That energy could gradually affect a person’s physical health, mental state, and even the feng shui of an occupied home.
That was exactly why she’d felt uncomfortable the moment she entered the Tang residence.
Her relic eye possessed an extremely pure, yang spiritual energy, making it exceptionally sensitive to objects associated with death.
Fortunately, Uncle Tang had only left the jars in the garden, and not for very long.
If they had been placed inside the house instead…
The consequences would have been much more serious.
Even someone with a destiny as extraordinarily powerful as Fu’s could be affected by ghostly yin energy.
Ordinary people wouldn’t stand a chance.