Chapter 48

"Xiao Yu, you're here."

It had been two days since Li Weijun said he would find a way to resolve the issue, and there had been no news. During these two days, Qin Yu had been staying at a five-star hotel near the construction site. It wasn't that Qin Yu was extravagant; the room was arranged by Li Weijun. If it were up to Qin Yu, he would have preferred a smaller hotel closer to the site.

Qin Yu's gaze swept across the office and noticed that besides his cousin, there was a girl sitting at the desk, inputting numbers from a ledger.

"This girl must be the accountant my cousin hired," Qin Yu thought, recalling his aunt's repeated instructions over the phone to help look after the girl and bring her home if she seemed nice.

"Xiao Yu, this is Tong Min."

Seeing Qin Yu's eyes fixed on the girl, Zhang Hua introduced her.

Tong Min, who had been entering data, looked up at the sound of Zhang Hua's voice and smiled at Qin Yu.

"You must be Qin Yu. I've heard a lot about you from Mr. Zhang."

"Indeed, she looks quite virtuous and beautiful. My cousin has good taste," Qin Yu said, sizing her up discreetly. "But really, my cousin never says anything good about me. On the contrary, I often hear him talk about you, saying you're beautiful and capable. Whoever marries you would be incredibly lucky."

Since he thought Tong Min was a good person, Qin Yu naturally wanted to help his cousin. Hearing his words, Tong Min glanced at Zhang Hua, her face turning slightly red. Qin Yu was pleased; it seemed Tong Min had some feelings for his cousin. This was good; as long as his cousin put in more effort, he still had a chance to win her heart.

"I'll go take a walk around the construction site."

Leaving his cousin, who was grinning foolishly, and Tong Min, whose face was still flushed, Qin Yu walked out of the office and headed toward the construction site.

The construction was almost complete, with many buildings already built, and only some interior decoration left. However, Qin Yu noticed that many balconies were hung with clothes and bedding, as some workers were living there, and these items were being aired out.

"Stinky Qiao Qiao, no one wants you, following beggars to pick up trash..."

"I'm not a beggar, and I don't stink."

In front of Qin Yu, a group of children were surrounding a little girl, singing a rhyme and mocking her. The girl timidly tried to defend herself, but it only made the children laugh even harder.

"Alright, let's go. Don't play with the stinky beggar no one wants." The leader of the children waved his hand, and the group ran off, leaving the little girl standing alone.

"Qiao Qiao, do you remember me?"

Seeing the frail little girl standing alone, Qin Yu felt a surge of affection and went up to her. "It's you, I remember you. You were with Uncle Zhang Hua," Qiao Qiao said, her innocent face lighting up with a smile as she looked up at him.

Qiao Qiao's eyes were pure, and she remembered this big brother. Her small, rosy face broke into a smile, revealing two little tiger teeth.

"Qiao Qiao, would you like to go to the amusement park with me?"

For some reason, seeing Qiao Qiao, Qin Yu felt an inexplicable sense of closeness, as if he were meeting a relative, making him want to take care of her.

"Thank you, big brother, but Grandma doesn't let me go with strangers." Qiao Qiao's eyes lit up at Qin Yu's words, but then she remembered Grandma's warning and her expression dimmed.

"Then I'll stay here and play with you. How about we play a game of hide and seek?"

Qin Yu pointed to a pile of sand in front of them. As a child, he often played this game with the kids in town, burying an object in the sand and having one person find it. Sometimes, they buried it so deep that even they couldn't find it, and in desperation, they would dig up the entire sand pile, often drawing angry shouts from the owner.

"Qiao Qiao, bury this stone in the sand and see if I can find it."

Picking up a fist-sized stone from the ground, Qin Yu placed it in Qiao Qiao's small, chubby hand and turned around, instructing her to call him when she was done.

"Big brother, I've hidden it." Qiao Qiao's clear voice came from behind, her pure, transparent eyes nervously watching Qin Yu.

"Qiao Qiao has hidden it, now I'll try to find it."

Qin Yu turned around and noticed that although Qiao Qiao's eyes were on him, they often glanced at a spot on the sand pile. He smiled, knowing the little girl's eyes had given her away, but he didn't go directly to that spot. Instead, he pretended to dig in other areas, saying loudly:

"Is it here?"

"It must be here."

"Big brother, you're so silly." Qiao Qiao's clear voice was filled with laughter. The other children on the construction site didn't want to play with her, and in recent days, she had been bedridden due to illness. Now that Qin Yu was willing to play with her, she was extremely happy.

Seeing Qiao Qiao's radiant smile, Qin Yu deliberately touched his nose, pretending to be frustrated, and pointed to the area where Qiao Qiao had glanced, saying:

"Qiao Qiao, you hid it so well. If I can't find it this last time, I'll admit defeat."

Seeing Qin Yu dig toward that spot, Qiao Qiao's face showed tension, her eyes darting around. This expression made Qin Yu find her even more adorable.

Qin Yu deliberately dug in the sand but kept a distance from where Qiao Qiao was looking. Seeing the little girl's tense expression, he stopped and shook his head at Qiao Qiao, saying:

"Qiao Qiao, I give up. Can you tell me where you hid the stone?"

"Big brother, you're so silly." Qiao Qiao pouted, walked to where Qin Yu had dug, rolled up her sleeves, and reached in, pulling out the stone and showing it to him.

"Qiao Qiao, you did a great job, oh!"

Qin Yu reached out to pat her head, praising her, but suddenly grabbed her hand, his expression shocked.

He hadn't noticed before, but when Qiao Qiao rolled up her sleeve, he saw a pattern on her inner arm: seven red stars arranged in a triangle, glowing eerily in the sunlight.

"Big brother, you're hurting me."

Hearing the little girl's fragile voice, Qin Yu snapped out of his shock and quickly let go. A red mark appeared on her arm where he had grabbed her.

"Sorry, I hurt you. Qiao Qiao, can you tell me where you got this pattern?"

Qin Yu's eyes were intense as he stared at Qiao Qiao, his mind still reeling, waiting for her answer.

"You mean these seven stars? This is..."

"Qiao Qiao, didn't I tell you not to talk to strangers? Come here."

Just as Qiao Qiao was about to answer, a cold,沧桑的声音传来，一个驼背、戴着帽子的人出现在不远处，帽子遮住了整张脸。

"Grandma."

The person who suddenly appeared was Grandma Qin. Her eyes fixed on Qin Yu, making him feel as if he had fallen into the bitter cold of December. Her eyes were devoid of emotion, the whites taking up two-thirds of her eye sockets, and her cloudy pupils seemed to have no focus, yet Qin Yu felt as if he were being stared at intently.

Hearing Grandma Qin's voice, Qiao Qiao ran to her side without answering Qin Yu. Although Grandma was very kind and loving to her, she hated it when Qiao Qiao interacted with strangers.

"Let's go."

Grandma Qin held Qiao Qiao's hand, her grip covering the triangle of seven stars, blocking Qin Yu's view. Qiao Qiao gave Qin Yu a sweet smile and followed her grandmother.

"Seven-star soul-sealing pulse, how... how could this be on Qiao Qiao?"

Qin Yu stood there, muttering to himself, his brows furrowed. He couldn't understand how the Seven-star soul-sealing pulse, a mystical technique from the Xiangxi lineage, could appear on a living person.

Mention Xiangxi, and the first thing that comes to mind is the Xiangxi corpse-driving. The Xiangxi lineage often dealt with the dead. In ancient times, people believed in being buried in their homeland, and those who died far from home wished to "return to their roots." Therefore, some mystical sects specialized in corpse-driving.

"When a person dies, their soul disperses."

Corpse-driving wasn't just about transporting the body; the most important part was preserving the deceased's soul, ensuring it followed the body back to their hometown. Only then was the task considered complete. The Xiangxi lineage had a unique technique: the Seven-star soul-sealing pulse.

A corpse that had this technique performed on it would have seven red stars on the hand, arranged in a triangle. This was a unique method of the corpse-driving sect. A person has three souls and seven spirits, and the triangle symbolizes the three souls, while the seven stars represent the seven spirits. With the seven stars and triangle present, the three souls and seven spirits would not disperse.

Seeing the Seven-star soul-sealing pulse wasn't what shocked Qin Yu the most; what puzzled him the most was how this mystical technique could appear on a living person, a little girl of only eleven or twelve.

A living person already has three souls and seven spirits; why would they need the Seven-star soul-sealing pulse?

"This Grandma Qin isn't simple either!" Qin Yu narrowed his eyes, watching the old and young figures disappear, a mysterious glint in his eyes.