Chapter 98 - Regret
Chapter 98: Regret
“Third Uncle, Third Uncle?” Looking at her Third Uncle who was suddenly in a daze, Shen Xiaoxiao called out with some doubt.
“Oh, what’s wrong? Quickly kneel down and wait for Third Uncle to light the wax.”
Shen Xiaoxiao was very obedient and directly knelt down to the futon. She really should kneel down properly to the ancestors of the Shen family. She did not know that it was that ancestor who had accumulated great virtue that gave Shen Xiaoxiao a chance to turn the tables in her life.
“Ancestors above, the fifth generation of the Shen family, Shen Xiaoxiao, acknowledges her ancestors…”
Shen Xiaoxiao respectfully kowtowed and lit the incense. After the entire ceremony, Third Uncle did not call her up but said to her, “Xiaoxiao, now that you have acknowledged your ancestors, you must always remember your identity and the burden on your shoulders. You must not do anything to humiliate the Shen family, do you understand?”
Hearing her Third Uncle’s solemn words, Shen Xiaoxiao gradually understood. In her previous life, although she was an innocent child and was forced to be a prostitute for three years. If this had happened in earlier times, such a girl would have been taken back by the family, what awaited her was the life of a pig cage. Who would have thought that they would be so open-minded and still be able to accept her?
However, accepting was still accepting. However, things like entering the ancestral hall and offering sacrifices to the ancestors were really something that could not be done. Even though Third Uncle knew that Shen Xiaoxiao was the only descendant of the Shen family, he still could not accept it in his heart.
Therefore, when she heard Third Uncle say this, Shen Xiaoxiao was truly grateful to the ancestors for their blessings, allowing her to have this fate to be reborn, and she could even turn her life around.
“Ancestors, if you come again, I, Shen Xiaoxiao, will definitely not disgrace the family name of the Shen family, and glorify the Shen family.”
After saying that, she kowtowed three more times.
Only then did her Third Uncle stand up shakily. Shen Xiaoxiao hurriedly used her hand to support him. Only then did Shen Xiaoxiao realize that her Third Uncle’s body was no longer the same as before.
Perhaps after finding Shen Xiaoxiao, he also realized that Shen Xiaoxiao did not need him to spend too much effort to know what she wanted. She was very sensible, so after this mental energy was slowly withdrawn, his body was no longer the same as before.
All these years, Shen Xiaoxiao had been living abroad. Third Uncle was also living a wandering life abroad, searching for her day and night. His life was not much better than hers.
Therefore, looking at her only relative who was getting older and older, Shen Xiaoxiao felt an indescribable pain.
“Okay, Third Uncle is fine. Go. There’s still one incense stick left. You should go and offer it yourself.”
“Okay. Third Uncle, sit by the side.”
Third Uncle took the opportunity to sit on a chair at the side. Shen Xiaoxiao took the incense stick and walked to the front of the incense burner. She inserted three sticks of incense into it.
Just as Shen Xiaoxiao was about to turn around and leave after inserting the incense stick, she was surprised to find that there was a groove under the incense burner.
This was strange. The incense burner was an old, bronze-like object. It was triangular in shape and had two joules. It was the size of a football. It was placed steadily in front of the Shen family’s memorial tablet.
According to this, the table where the incense burner was placed should be made of solid wood. However, the rectangular frame underneath was like a piece of wood that had been dug out by someone. It was rather strange.
Shen Xiaoxiao immediately asked her Third Uncle, “Third uncle, why is there a dent under the incense burner? It looks like there’s a piece of wood missing.”
Shen Xiaoxiao’s words did not arouse the slightest bit of curiosity from Third Uncle. He seemed to have known about it a long time ago, and even said rather helplessly, “Yes, it’s missing a piece. After your grandfather passed away, the Black Ganoderma that was originally worshipped there disappeared. That is the other half of the key to our Shen family’s foundation.”
“What?”
Shen Xiaoxiao could not believe what she had heard? What did Third Uncle say? Black Ganoderma mushroom? The other half of the key?
This, this, this was too exciting, okay? No matter what he said, it made Shen Xiaoxiao want to vomit blood.
“I know you will be surprised. This half of the key is this Black Ganoderma mushroom. It is not an ordinary key like the one that was rumored to be given to the Pei family as a keepsake.
“When your grandfather passed away, your father was still alive. The funeral was very grand, and many people went to the Shen family’s old residence to pay their respects. However, I don’t know when, but when the people who sent them away realized that the Black Ganoderma had been stolen… I’ve been searching for it all these years, but alas, I’m old, and my energy is limited. I can only focus on finding you, and I’ve neglected the Black Ganoderma.”
“But when I think about it, it’s good that the Black Ganoderma is gone, because no one knows that the Black Ganoderma will be the other half of the key. Those who know it all think that it’s a rare medicine, but, Xiaoxiao, if you need these funds… You’ll have to start looking for the Black Ganoderma again.”
‘Please don’t let it be the Black Ganoderma from before. That Black Ganoderma, I just handed it to Yan Kuan personally a week ago. If it really is that thing, I’ll regret it until my intestines turn green.’
Hopefully, it was something with a different name. It had to be. However, Third Uncle’s words shattered all her hopes.
“Sigh, that Black Ganoderma is the only one in the world. I don’t know who took it. I heard that there is a mysterious Dark Empire overseas. As long as you can afford it, you can find everything you want. Xiaoxiao, do you think we should go and try?”
Dark Empire?
This thing was in the hands of the Black Emperor. There was no need to issue a reward. Moreover, it was personally given away by Shen Xiaoxiao. Just thinking about it made her feel very aggrieved.
“Third Uncle, isn’t this Black Ganoderma a medicinal ingredient? How could it be a key? What if it is used by someone?”
Shen Xiaoxiao still remembered this Black Ganoderma. Yan Kuan had taken it to save people. Perhaps it had already been used.
“No way. Although this Black Ganoderma is a medicinal ingredient, it is named black because not only is it extremely potent, it is also extremely poisonous.”
“Unless the other half of our Shen family’s key is used as a cutting knife to slice it open, even if they obtain this Black Ganoderma, they would only obtain a dead object.”
“Ah? It’s that magical?”
“Yes, that’s how magical it is. In other words, the Pei family has helped us to preserve the object. That’s why I have never been worried that the thing belonging to the Shen family would be taken away by outsiders.”
“Even though Gu Yuehua secretly wanted to know the secret, your father knew that this thing could only be known by the successive family heads of the Shen family. He didn’t tell her. Otherwise, how could he have kept it?”
Was this considered a blessing in disguise? However, Shen Xiaoxiao was still feeling extremely aggrieved. It seemed like she had to get the Black Ganoderma and the other half of the key back. In any case, she had to have one of the keys in her hands before she could rest assured.
Although she had never thought of getting the funds, the things of her Shen family had to be passed down from generation to generation. How could it be broken in her hands? Shen Xiaoxiao immediately made a decision. At this moment, she couldn’t wait to go back, she wanted to ask Yan Kuan for that Black Ganoderma mushroom.
“But Third Uncle, how can this Ganoderma mushroom be made into a key?”
“I’m not sure about that. This is how our Lord passed down. I don’t even know how to use it. Your father left suddenly and did not explain clearly, so I have no idea.”
“Oh, I see.”
It seemed that she had found the Black Ganoderma. As for how to use it, she was afraid that she would have to spend some time studying it.