Ke Xiaodong left, grumbling, and along the way, he asked many more details. It was evident he was headed to court. Yao Yao found it quite interesting, for human nature was complex. Something seemingly incredible had happened quite reasonably.
Thinking carefully, her own divinatory calculations seemed to be the same: upper-yang, lower-yin, minor yin, minor yang, greater yin, greater yang... There were only a few sticks, yet casually mixed, they held many possibilities. Until the very end, no one knew the outcome.
"Yao Yao, stop thinking! Time to eat!" Qingyun had been busy for a long time, finally bringing out two plates of stir-fried dishes from the kitchen: stir-fried beef with cilantro, and spicy diced chicken. He glanced at his disciple-niece, who was still lost in thought in her chair, and couldn't help but chuckle, then called her to eat.
"Oh, it's mealtime! Coming, coming!" Yao Yao's eyes instantly lit up, and she immediately pushed all thoughts to the back of her mind. She scurried to the dining table. Today's dishes were very abundant. Qingyun, to celebrate his precious hero of a disciple-niece, had brought out all his signature skills. The table was filled to the brim with dishes, almost to the point of overflowing.
"Wow, Uncle Master, you're amazing! So many dishes..." Yao Yao very naturally sat on her small stool. The dining table in the Daoist temple had been specially modified for her by her Master when he was alive. This was because Yao Yao wasn't tall enough; normally, sitting at a table, she couldn't reach anything.
Plus, Yao Yao could only eat what her Master placed on the table for her. So, it wasn't realistic for Qingyun to help her with chopsticks, as he also had to eat. After going back and forth, he thought of this compromise to make the table shorter! Then, the problem was naturally perfectly solved, leaving only the worry of how to eat enough under the whirlwind of his disciple's chopsticks.
"As long as you like it. These are all prepared for you." Qingyun, unlike his junior brother, was not so foolish. He had already dished out a small bowl of food for himself and ate leisurely and contentedly.
After finishing dinner, Yao Yao had to return to the Gu family. She had been hiding for long enough; it would not be good if she didn't return. Qingyun didn't stop her. He took out a good-luck bean pendant from his bosom, strung with a red cord. "This is a Tianhuang jade I found in the storeroom, personally carved by your Uncle Master. It's not particularly valuable."
"But you've brought such great honor to the Daoist temple, your Uncle Master can't not show his appreciation."
"Here, your Uncle Master will put it on you." Qingyun also knew that he often acted unreliably, but that was only for insignificant matters. When it came to the crucial moments, he considered himself to be quite the elder, absolutely not allowing his disciple-niece to suffer any grievances.
"Thank you, Uncle Master, it's so beautiful! Yao Yao loves it very much." Seeing the red cord hanging around her neck, Yao Yao reached out and pinched the good-luck bean. She saw that it was a uniform bright yellow, like wax, and on its smooth stone surface, there was a lifelike small Xiang (a type of elephant). Looking closely, Yao Yao recognized it as herself, feeling a little surprised.
Because this good-luck bean was only thumb-thick, and its surface was not a flat expanse. Carving on it would have been very troublesome. However, Uncle Master had carved it so well.
The difficulty was absolutely not as easy as he made it sound. Yao Yao held the good-luck bean, loving it a hundredfold, which made Qingyun quite relieved. At least he didn't embarrass himself in front of his junior.
Yao Yao jingled as she carried the talismans and magical artifacts she had drawn during this period back to the Gu family.
...
In the Gu family living room, Yao Yao bustled like a peddler, pulling out items one after another. Not only talismans, but also many small magical artifacts inscribed with formation patterns.
"This is Sixth Brother's, this is Dad's, this is Mom's, oh, and also Grandpa and Grandma's..." As each name was called out, Yao Yao's large satchel gradually deflated. Half an hour later, she was finally done distributing everything.
Because there were many Gu family members, after she finished busying herself, a faint blush rose on Yao Yao's face. Coupled with her fair and tender skin, she looked especially endearing at that moment.
"Quick, sit down and rest. Drink some water to moisten your throat." Chen Hui's eyes were soft. She restrained herself for a moment, but ultimately couldn't resist. She reached out and pinched her daughter's little face; it was warm and smooth. The more she touched, the more reluctant she was to let go... until her daughter's milky voice softly drifted over, "Mommy, your touching tickles Yao Yao a little..."
This voice instantly pulled Chen Hui back. She sheepishly withdrew her hand and chuckled awkwardly. She couldn't be blamed; her daughter was simply too adorable. Yao Yao saw her mother withdraw her hand and said nothing more,
instead turning to sip warm water from a small cup. This water was made from sweet-aftertaste mountain spring water. But it had no sweetness, which Yao Yao didn't particularly like, so she drank it very delicately.
"Yao Yao, you've worked hard this time. I'll see what I can give you later, or if there's anything Yao Yao wants?" "Just say it, Sixth Brother will do his best to get it done for you." Gu Huanzhen paused before speaking.
He had a unique amount of items in his hand. After all, Yao Yao only prepared a few emergency ones for her family. But he had asked for items for his entire unit behind him, so the quantity was naturally astonishing, and everyone in the family was now staring at him.
This made him a little embarrassed. He scratched his head in an attempt to alleviate the awkwardness.
"No rush, Sixth Brother, dealing with the main business is more important!" Yao Yao responded softly. Of course, her strenuous efforts were not for nothing; what she wanted was simply a bit different it was Sixth Brother's safety.
Her actions earlier could only be said to have severed the elite forces of the Onmyōji, but it didn't mean she had eradicated the Onmyōji of R Nation. If a real fight broke out, Sixth Brother would inevitably encounter them.
And these talismans and magical artifacts would at least ensure that when he encountered Onmyōji, he wouldn't be utterly defenseless. The greatest technique of Onmyōji was their shikigami. Once their attack failed, even ordinary people could easily kill them.
"Alright, then Sixth Brother will write it down first." Seeing his sister's candidness, Gu Huanzhen no longer acted coyly.
"Hehe, that's more like it!" Yao Yao nodded softly, leaning back on the sofa to accept her mother's feeding of various berry snacks.
As she was eating happily, she saw the butler rush in. Behind him was a man in a brown Zhongshan suit, his hair completely white, but his posture exceptionally upright. Yao Yao was quite familiar with this person; it was Chen Qiushi, the head of the action team.
His face had been pale when he entered, but upon seeing Yao Yao leaning calmly on the sofa, his heavy eyes brightened slightly. And his expression made Yao Yao, who was about to eat another cherry, pause slightly. She subtly raised her slender eyebrows, knowing that the latter's visit at this moment likely meant trouble.
Sure enough, the next moment, she heard the latter's anxious voice. "Master, something big has happened. Ikeda Masahiro... he's dead!" As soon as these words were uttered, the entire hall instantly fell into dead silence. Everyone present knew Ikeda Masahiro's identity. Precisely because of this, everyone's faces were filled with unspeakable shock.
...
"How is this possible? He was still alive and well two days ago, attending various events. How could he be dead?" Gu Huanzhen was the first to exclaim in disbelief. As if thinking of something, his pupils suddenly constricted.
As a military man, he was well aware that the sudden death of R Nation's true power holder would cause immense turmoil globally. Not only that, but the latter had also died after being 'dealt with' by his own sister. If it were to be investigated, his sister would likely be in big trouble.
And Gu Huanzhen understood his sister; her actions were always measured, and she would never truly take someone's life. So, the latter's death in this manner became even more suspicious, especially at this critical juncture.
Gu Huanzhen had a misconception that the death of this R Nation power holder would undoubtedly become an excuse for R Nation to launch a war. From this perspective, it was undoubtedly very wise of him to have his sister prepare more talismans.
Of course, if possible, he would prefer not to escalate the situation, as once fighting began, countless lives would be caught in the crossfire.
Yao Yao also stopped eating. Her face became serious. "Uncle Chen, what exactly happened? Please tell us." Compared to the fragmented answers on the internet, asking the latter was naturally more accurate. Chen Qiushi shook his head and said,
"This matter is truly unexpected. Ikeda suddenly committed suicide at home last night, by the most extreme method: seppuku." One must know that there were many forms of suicide in R Nation, but seppuku was undoubtedly the most painful and bloody,
as it required one to disembowel oneself. Generally speaking, only if one had committed an irreparable grave error against the country would they undergo such a brutal torture. Some said Ikeda was taking responsibility for his forced sewage discharge crimes.
But that was the thought of an amateur. Chen Qiushi, as the highest leader of the Special Action Team, had dealt with the latter many times and thoroughly understood his cowardly and malicious nature.
Did you ask him to admit his mistakes? He would definitely say it better than anyone, but if you asked him to take concrete action? It would be harder than climbing to heaven, let alone committing seppuku. There was definitely a hidden truth here, but this person died without a trace.
Chen Qiushi always felt uneasy. He always felt that the latter's death was brewing some conspiracy, but he had no evidence and couldn't investigate it. And his visit tonight was also to ask the Master if she could deduce any useful information. At the same time, he also harbored the thought of confirming information.
After all, when he first learned of a mysterious person attacking the Onmyōji at night, the first person who came to his mind was Yao Yao. It wasn't that he was a genius detective, but rather that there were simply too few powerhouses in the world who could almost single-handedly destroy an entire Onmyōji establishment. Chen Qiushi asked himself, he only knew one person who had the motive and the ability.
He also wanted to see if the Master had left any uncleaned traces. If so, he would immediately set about helping the Master clean them up, so as not to give others leverage. After all, having beaten up those scoundrels from R Nation, how could something so satisfying go wrong? They had to truly achieve "destroying the evidence" to prevent those bastards from using it as an excuse.
"Seppuku?" Yao Yao frowned upon hearing this. She didn't pay much attention to the latter's probing. Because she was genuinely concerned about the latter half of the sentence. She had personally observed the opponent's facial features and perfectly understood the latter's worries.
That Onmyōji head was indeed a treacherous and self-serving villain. Such a person would absolutely not have any sense of national righteousness; in his eyes, nothing was more important than himself. She had indeed taught the other party a lesson.
To prevent any oversight, Yao Yao still instinctively began to calculate, wanting to get a clear answer. However, as soon as she started calculating, her face suddenly changed, because she found that the latter's past karma was being shielded at this moment. This was very unreasonable. The latter had just passed away.
Traces couldn't dissipate so quickly. So there were only two possibilities. Either he died some time ago, or someone with a cultivation level not below her own had deliberately interfered with the heavenly secrets in reverse. In that case, she wouldn't be able to find out. And no matter which of these two possibilities it was, it would definitely cause trouble.
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