Chapter Five: The Ominous Sign

  In the afternoon, many police officers arrived in the village and took a lot of photos at the scene of the mine accident as evidence. Some photos were also taken inside the mine pit, but due to lighting issues, they did not conduct an in-depth inspection. The town's police station has already obtained quite a bit of information about the mine accident.

  With the village elder's connections, contractor Li had also been sent to jail. At dusk, the lawyer invited by Uncle Dagang arrived, and Yu Xianyao bid farewell to Uncle Dagang and returned home.

  It was already five o'clock when I got home, and Pan Ling'er was cooking dinner for Yu Ju Luo. Six-year-old Yu Ju Luo was in kindergarten, playing and making trouble, wrapping himself around Pan Ling'er while laughing and shouting.

  Yu Xingyao hadn't even entered the door when he heard the little girl's giggles, and as soon as the door opened, Luo Luo rushed towards him and fell into his arms.

  "Uncle, where did you go yesterday? Why are you just back now?" Sparkling big eyes, a soft and chubby little hand was right in front of him. Yu Xingyao's nose was pinched by this little girl, the soft small hands weren't very strong, but they pinched his nose ticklishly.

  "Lolo, stop messing around, Uncle is tired, let me rest for a while!" Yu Xingyao put Lolo down and sat at the table. Pan Ling'er was walking out of the kitchen with a tray of food.

  "Back? Is Xiao Hai okay?" Pan Ling'er walked over and gently placed the rice bowl on the table, seriously looking at Yu Chengyao.

  Yu Xianyao was young and vigorous, with a good physical condition. Although he had been up all night and tired for a day, at this moment he didn't look particularly exhausted.

  He looked at Pan Ling'er and sighed: "Sister, it's all my fault. Why did I invite Xiao Hai to the mine? Otherwise, such a thing wouldn't have happened!"

  "Don't blame yourself, are you hurt?" At this moment, Pan Ling'er didn't have the indifference she had in front of the mine cave earlier, but instead looked at Yu Xingyao with concern and asked.

  "No, but Xiao Hai suffered internal injuries and his lung was fractured. After a night of emergency treatment, he's been stitched up now. But recovery will be tough. Who knows if there'll be any after-effects in the future!" Yu Xingyao looked utterly dejected, like a child who'd done something terribly wrong, his vulnerable side completely exposed.

  Pan Ling'er patted Yu Chengyao's shoulder and got up to head towards the kitchen.

  Luo Luo was holding a plate of dishes and running out from inside, if this house didn't have this mischievous little girl, it would be extremely quiet. The Yu family only had two brothers. Yu Xianyao's older brother, who is also Pan Ling'er's husband, is named Yu Xiantian.

  However, this man abandoned his wife and daughter and never returned. Whether he existed or not had long lost its significance in this household. On the other hand, the relationship between Yu Xingyao and Pan Ling'er was even better. Yu Xingyao lost his parents at the age of six, and it was Pan Ling'er who took care of him until now.

  Pan Ling'er is the daughter of Master Old Spirit Head, as for why Old Spirit Head wants to marry her off to his own irresponsible brother. He never quite understood, but upon careful recollection. His brother Yu Chengtian didn't used to be like this, he still remembers that when he was eight years old, his brother and sister-in-law's relationship was still good.

  When she was ten years old, her sister-in-law became pregnant, and her brother began to fool around outside until he completely left home at the age of twelve and never came back. Four years may not be a long time, but it's enough to numb people's nerves. Yu Xianyao didn't know what Pan Ling'er felt, but he was very clear about his own feelings.

  In these four years, he even harbored endless hatred towards his own brother. Yet he still hoped to see him again and ask him why. The blood ties that were supposed to be thicker than water, why did they become so worthless on his part?

  The dishes are on the table, and Pan Ling'er's call awakened Yu Xingyao from his contemplation: "A Yao, what are you thinking about? Let's eat. As long as Xiao Hai is not in danger of losing his life, I'm not afraid. Later, let Father take a look at him, maybe the aftereffects can be cured."

  "Sister, has Master found me in the past few days?" Yu Xingyao's body trembled slightly after mentioning the two words "Master". The bowl in his hand almost fell, and he looked at Pan Ling'er with some embarrassment.

  "Cough, cough, Father wants you to go up the mountain for a trip. Nothing else was said, just stay home today and go again tomorrow!" Pan Ling'er added a bowl of rice for Luo Luo, and began coaxing Little Niuzi to eat.

  Yu Xianyao lowered his head, and his heart began to feel a little uneasy. This time, such a big thing had happened, Master must have known about it too, how would he punish himself?

  A meal was like chewing wax, and there was no taste at all. The next morning, Uncle Da brought a lawyer to find Yu Xingyao and asked for some details about what happened on the day of the incident, as well as finding some evidence. After that, he said to Yu Xingyao: "If Mr. Li can take full responsibility for this matter, then we don't need to go to court. If he wants to shirk his responsibilities, then we will fight this lawsuit with him!"

  Yu Xingyao nodded and said: "If he doesn't pay compensation, then he's dead for sure!"

  Due to the master's summons, Yu Xianyao didn't dare to linger for too long. After sending off Da Gang Shu and his lawyer, he immediately went up the mountain. What Yu Xianyao didn't expect was that this time it wasn't just a simple punishment, but he was actually locked up on the mountain for a whole month.

  Panlong Mountain is not high, but the mountains are connected like a coiled dragon lying down, hence the name Panlong Mountain. Standing on the top of the mountain and looking around, the pines and cedars are in patches, rolling up like waves in the sea in the blowing mountain wind. A thatched cottage is on a flat ground at the top of the mountain, where sandalwood is burning inside the house at this moment.

  Fragrant scent wafts afar, carried by the wind. I present a worried heart, slowly walking towards the bamboo hut.

  "Ah, Turtle Kid, you've finally come back!" The old man's voice was laced with scolding words, but his tone remained forever calm and unruffled. The owner of the bamboo hut, also Yu Xianyao's master, was an enigmatic old man. Not to mention his abilities, just the fact that at 133 years old he could still leap around in the mountains like a young person already showed how extraordinary he was.

  This old man, only 155cm tall, has a very mysterious background. He was born in the late Qing Dynasty and experienced two dynastic changes. For this master over a hundred years old, Yu Xianyao had no temper at all.

  In front of him, Yu Xingyao felt like the Monkey King in the hands of the Buddha, able to play tricks but unable to jump out. In the end, he still had to be pressed under his five fingers and then begin to suffer.

  "Master, I..." Yu Xingyao walked away listlessly, but just as he entered the wooden hut, Lao Lingtou suddenly stood up and grabbed Yu Xingyao's collar, staring at his forehead.

  "What's wrong?" Yu Xingyao was startled, thinking that the master was angry and was about to grab him for a beating. Just as he was panicking, he saw Lao Lingtou slowly release him. Then his wrinkled forehead became even more furrowed.

  "Shouldn't there be some other changes in the Zhuzi cave?" The old spirit head turned his back, hands clasped behind him, looking at Tanxiang, and asked in a low voice with his back to Yu Xingyao.

  The abrupt question made Yu Xingyao feel a sense of foreboding, and since his master hadn't left the house, how could he have known that something else had happened at Zhuzi Cave? At this point, he didn't dare to conceal it either, and hastily told him about the skull person in Zhuzi Cave. This was a supernatural event, and even if he spoke out, no one would believe it, so he hadn't mentioned it in front of the villagers either.

  "It seems like fate, Ah Yao, you're not young anymore, it's time to learn to take responsibility!" The old spirit head suddenly turned around, his eyes tightly staring at Yu Xianyao.

  "In another month, your sister-in-law's great calamity will arrive. Whether she and Luo Luo can survive or not is entirely in your hands! For this one month, don't go anywhere else, just stay here with me to learn how to control the Golden Snake Gu and also the Ghost-Driving Technique!"

  Lao Lingtou's expression was extremely solemn, and he looked at Yu Xianyao with an unmistakable gaze, scaring Yu Xianyao into only nodding repeatedly, but he didn't understand the meaning behind Lao Lingtou's words.

  What a great calamity for Sister, is all this related to the stone coffin in Zhu Ziyan Cave? But since Master knows about it, why not take action himself to save Pan Ling'er's life?

  "Remember, the things I've told you are for you to experience yourself. In two days, I'll be going out for a while. And during this time, it will be your sister-in-law's turn to fulfill her destiny." The old spirit master sighed, he was so old and had experienced many things, but he rarely sighed like this.

  "Master, isn't there a special plane? Can't you go out?" Yu Chengyao was still in the dark, not understanding what Lao Lingtou meant.

  As for the idea that fate is predetermined, he was an educated person and knew that it was unscientific. However, this thing called fate, although vague and intangible, seemed to really exist, leaving him very conflicted.

  "I can't change what's going to happen, but I won't just sit here and wait for death. I'm going out to make preparations for Ling'er." Old Spirit Head didn't explain any further, he simply turned around and entered the inner room, which was his bedroom and also where he stored things.