“Miss, buy this jade pendant. It’s only 2000 yuan.” Ruan Sui’an, who was looking down at her phone, heard an aged voice.
Looking up, she saw an old man in a worn-out Daoist robe standing before her, exuding an otherworldly, sage-like air.
His long white beard fluttered gently in the wind. The old man was beaming at her, holding a brocade box in one hand.
In his other hand, he held a horsetail whisk, looking just like a Daoist priest.
Ruan Sui’an glanced at the brocade box, then back up at the old man. She subconsciously looked around and realized there was no one else in sight.
Only the poplar trees lining both sides of the road still stood tall and straight, like loyal guards.
Ruan Sui’an wasn’t afraid. Her intuition told her that the old man before her meant no harm.
“Old man, you’re not a scammer, are you!” Ruan Sui’an asked doubtfully.
She felt that something about today was strange. She walked this road to her residential complex every day, and it was always bustling with people.
But today, there wasn’t a single person. The benches along the road, where people usually sat and chatted, were now completely empty.
No, that wasn’t right! It would be more accurate to say there were only the two of them.
This was truly strange.
Thinking this, she looked around again and saw that it was still the same road, with no changes whatsoever.
It was just abnormally quiet. What on earth was going on?
The old man seemed to notice Ruan Sui’an’s confusion. He just smiled without speaking, merely extending the brocade box in his hand a little further.
His voice was tinged with a smile, “Little girl, want to buy a jade pendant? It’s only 2000 yuan! You won’t lose out, you won’t get cheated. It’s an absolute bargain.”
What kind of scammer is this, and why is he targeting me? Do I look that gullible?
Then again, why did the old man’s words sound so familiar?
It was as if she had heard them somewhere before.
Ruan Sui’an quickly remembered why they sounded so familiar.
Weren’t those the lines she often heard from live-streamers on various platforms? This old man was definitely a scammer!
“Old man, you’re so old. Why are you still out here scamming people?” Ruan Sui’an blurted out.
Fine, be a scammer! But why be so blatant about it?
Isn’t this a bit too disrespectful to me? Do I really look that easy to fool?
Ruan Sui’an subconsciously touched her face. Could it be that she had the face of a naive ditz?
“Little girl, I’m not scamming you. You definitely won’t lose out if you buy this jade pendant. Please, have pity on this old grandfather. I haven’t eaten in two days. Just buy this jade pendant!” The old man started to play the pity card, a sorrowful look on his face.
Actually, he wasn’t entirely faking it. He truly hadn’t eaten in two days.
To find this little girl, he had spent all the money he had on him after coming down the mountain, leaving him with nothing left for food.
Ruan Sui’an looked at the old man’s frail body. Although she thought he was a scammer, she also found him quite pitiful.
He’s so old, yet he has to resort to swindling. Don’t his children at home care for him?
Looking at the old man was like seeing her own Grandfather, and her heart couldn’t help but soften.
Forget it, forget it…
It’s just 2000 yuan, right?
I have plenty of money; I’m not short on 2000 yuan.
In truth, it wasn’t just that she was soft-hearted; it was mainly that she didn’t feel the old man was a bad person.
Perhaps the old man was really just hungry and wanted a few full meals?
Her intuition had always been sharp and had never been wrong.
She took out her wallet from her bag, pulled out all the cash inside, and counted it. It was exactly 2000 yuan.
How could it be such a coincidence that it was exactly 2000? She looked up at the old man and saw him beaming at her.
Why did she feel like the old man could see right through her, as if he knew exactly how much money was in her wallet?
It was as if he had come specifically for the 2000 yuan in her wallet.
She immediately shook her head, telling herself it was a coincidence. It had to be a coincidence.
Forget it, I won’t overthink it. Ruan Sui’an handed the 2000 yuan in cash to the old man.
“Old man, here’s 2000 yuan for you. Go get something to eat. As for the jade pendant, you can keep it,” Ruan Sui’an said, preparing to walk past the old man blocking her way.
She would just consider it her good deed for the day, saving a pitiful old man who couldn’t afford a meal.
But the old man wouldn’t have it. No way. His purpose in coming today was to give the jade pendant to the little girl.
How could he not sell the pendant?
He quickly stuffed the jade pendant into Ruan Sui’an’s hand. Before she could react, he took the 2000 yuan and left like the wind.
He moved so fast it was as if a dog was chasing him, and his figure vanished in an instant.
Holding the brocade box, Ruan Sui’an stared dumbly at the old man’s disappearing back, her eyes wide with astonishment as she swallowed hard.
That speed could rival a rocket. Was he that afraid I’d change my mind?
Or is this jade pendant not a good thing? Suddenly, the brocade box in her hand felt a little hot. What was going on?
However, Ruan Sui’an didn’t throw the brocade box away. She shook her head helplessly, put the box in her bag, and walked home.
She noticed the surrounding scene had changed. The once-quiet place was now bustling with people, and the previously empty benches were now occupied by elderly men and women chatting.
Ruan Sui’an looked around, thinking of the old man from just now. She thought to herself, That old man couldn’t have been a deity, could he?
Ruan Sui’an lived in a high-end residential complex where all the apartments were spacious, single-story flats, expansive and bright.
The complex’s landscaping and security were both excellent. This was because her Father had been afraid that when he wasn’t home, she and her Mother might encounter danger.
It was a man’s way of protecting his wife and child.
Back home, she tossed her bag onto the sofa and threw herself onto it as well, staring up at the ceiling for a while.
The pattern on the ceiling sent her into a contemplative state. It was completely quiet all around.
She had long grown accustomed to the quietness of her home, and long grown accustomed to living alone.
Ruan Sui’an had just graduated from university this year. Many of her classmates had found jobs at companies.
They were busy from nine to five, repeating the same routine day after day.
Ruan Sui’an, however, had decided not to work for the time being. She loved freedom and disliked being controlled.
Besides, working yourself to death for just three or four thousand yuan a month wasn’t even enough to cover a month’s worth of food.
In any case, with the money in her bank account, she could live very well even without a job.
Being a slacker was pretty good too.
Staring at the ceiling, Ruan Sui’an fell deep into thought.
She was already 24 this year, and could be considered an orphan.
Her Father was a special police officer. For as long as she could remember, he was often not at home.
But the two of them had an excellent relationship. Every time her Father came back, he would bring her gifts, take her out for good food, and go to amusement parks.
Although she had complained, she knew it was her Father’s job. Her initial complaints eventually turned into understanding.
However, just a few days after celebrating her 18th birthday, her Father was killed in the line of duty.
She was heartbroken for a long time, even taking a three-month leave of absence from school, locking herself in her room every day.
It was as if doing so would bring her Father back.
She didn’t cry or make a fuss; she just lay in bed staring at the ceiling, like a walking corpse.
It wasn’t until her Mother announced she was remarrying that she finally emerged from her grief.
Ruan Sui’an had never thought her Mother could be so heartless.
Less than three months after her Father’s death, her Mother was already getting remarried, and to her first love, no less.
Ruan Sui’an was no fool. It didn’t take much to figure out that the two of them must have had an ambiguous relationship even before her Father passed away.
Thinking of this, Ruan Sui’an truly felt indignant on her Father’s behalf. Her Father had been exceptionally good to her Mother.
Because of his work, he couldn’t be with her often, but every time he returned, he would bring her gifts, which was better than what many men did.
Moreover, whenever her Father was home, he never let her Mother cook. He gave his entire salary to her Mother.
Her Mother could buy whatever she wanted without a single word of complaint from him. Yet, after her Father’s death, her Mother did something like this.
Ruan Sui’an really wanted to sue them for undermining a military marriage, because she trusted her intuition that this shameless pair had been involved for a long time.
But in the end, she gave up. After all, that was her mother.
What saddened Ruan Sui’an the most was that, to prevent her from being a hindrance to them, her Mother directly gave her a check for 50 million yuan, saying it was to buy out their mother-daughter relationship.
Ruan Sui’an was quite heartbroken at first, but she quickly came to terms with it. So what if they disowned each other? She wasn’t a three-year-old child.
She wouldn’t be unable to live without her mother. She just considered her mother to be dead, just like her Father.
From the age of 18, she decided to live on her own. And from the age of 18, she never saw the woman who gave birth to her again.
It was as if that person had never existed. She threw away all of her Mother’s things, taking only her Father’s belongings, and moved back to her Father’s old hometown.
She lived with her Grandfather and Grandmother, fulfilling her filial duties on her Father’s behalf.
Her Father was an only son with no siblings. After his sacrifice, her Grandfather and Grandmother were left with only her, their granddaughter.
But her Grandfather and Grandmother were already old, and their health deteriorated day by day due to the pain of losing their son.
She tried every possible treatment, but nothing worked. Within two years, her Grandfather and Grandmother also passed away, one after the other.
She had gotten into a local university, just a second-tier one. But she was still quite satisfied, as Ruan Sui’an was self-aware.
She was not cut out for studying.
Getting into a second-tier university was already quite good. Therefore, after graduating from university, she moved back to her large, single-story flat.
Ruan Sui’an pulled herself out of her memories, sat up straight, and remembered the brocade box. She took it out of her bag.
Opening the box, she saw a milky-white jade pendant lying inside. The first time she saw the pendant, Ruan Sui’an loved it.
She reached out and took the jade pendant from the box to examine it closely, feeling the warmth it radiated in her palm.
Ruan Sui’an discovered that this pendant was actually a piece of warm jade. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was carved with red spider lilies.
She caressed the jade pendant, unable to put it down, liking it more and more the longer she looked.
After a long while, Ruan Sui’an noticed a piece of paper in the brocade box. She clutched the jade pendant tightly in her left hand, feeling the warmth emanating from it.
With her right hand, she picked up the white paper from the box.
Unfolding the paper, eight large characters came into view: Blood bind, gather supplies.
These eight short words sent Ruan Sui’an into deep thought.
Why did these words feel so familiar? They were very much like a phrase that often appeared in the space novels she used to read.
That old man was definitely a master. Yes, thinking of the astonishing speed at which the old man had left…
Could it be that she was the chosen one?