My virtue is above yours.

Chen Jingxuan immediately panicked.

Touch porcelain?

He quickly asked, "Grandma, what's wrong?"

The blind old woman was still rolling on the ground, her hysterical screams alerting the maids outside.

A maid in red led a group of maids in green into the room and surrounded the old woman.

The green-clad maids held hands and surrounded the old woman, silently circling around her while chanting incomprehensible songs with eerie and mysterious melodies.

Chen Jingxuan felt as if he had entered some kind of cult, and he felt an indescribable sense of oppression.

The old woman's screams stopped abruptly. She vomited a mouthful of dark, purulent blood and then fainted.

Chen Jingxuan quickly asked, "Is she alright?"

The maid in red said to him, "Your spirit was damaged, but you are out of danger. Please return, Daoist. The information you seek is too valuable."

"What do you mean?"

The maid in red explained, "Grandma was just calculating the value of this news in your destiny. But the karma involved is too heavy, and Grandma has suffered a backlash from it. Qingluan Pavilion cannot bear the consequences. Please return, Daoist."

Chen Jingxuan was invited to the door.

He looked at the jade cicada in the painting, puzzled.

Everyone says that the Azure Phoenix Pavilion has connections everywhere, and even the sect leader has to ask questions, so why can't I, a mere jade cicada, get any answers?

Just how big are the secrets of one's own parents? Bigger than the sect leader himself.

He became even more determined to find the whereabouts of Yu Chan, not only to uncover his own destiny, but more importantly, because if this matter was of great importance, that major karmic event would happen sooner or later, and he needed to gather more information to avoid any unfavorable consequences.

Anyway, with the golden light that restarts the cycle of reincarnation as a safety net, let's just go for it first.

He strolled all the way to the market, hoping to see if the jade cicada would end up there. Although the hope was slim, he had nothing better to do.

The market in Luoxiafang is quite upscale, with no roadside stalls, only ornately decorated shops. Each shop sign is written in gold lettering, and the shop assistants all wear silk clothes.

Those coming and going were all dressed in elegant and luxurious attire.

Chen Jingxuan's pockets were even cleaner than his face, yet he still swaggered into a jade shop.

The elegant-looking shop assistant greeted him with a smile: "What would you like, young Taoist priest? We have all kinds of jade pieces, and if you're not satisfied, we can even make a custom order."

Chen Jingxuan took out a piece of drawing paper and asked, "I'm looking for a jade cicada like this, a second-hand one."

"We don't sell secondhand goods here. But I can keep an eye out for you."

The shop assistant examined the drawing carefully: "White jade, its quality is not visible in the drawing, but it somewhat resembles mutton fat jade. The cicada pendant is shaped like a three-knife cicada, symbolizing purity. The two water ripple patterns on its back are uncommon, and should be some kind of Buddhist symbol."

"What does 'Dharma mark' mean?"

The shopkeeper explained, "Cultivators will carve magical runes into jewelry and infuse it with their magic, turning ordinary jewelry into a magical artifact that can be used to cast spells hidden within. This item is indeed extraordinary, worth about a hundred taels, or even a thousand taels. As long as you have enough money, I will try to find one for you."

Chen Jingxuan never expected the number to be so astonishing; that damned traveling merchant had only given Xiaobao two taels of silver!

More importantly, his parents were just refugees; how could they possibly possess such a valuable magical artifact?

The parents definitely have secrets. They only found the mother's grave, while the father's fate is unknown, and he might still be alive. Only by finding this jade cicada can they find clues pointing to that unbearable karmic debt.

Chen Jingxuan left his address and asked the other party to find it. As for the missing few hundred or thousand taels of silver after it was found, that was something to consider later.

He visited several jade shops and jewelry stores, but still couldn't find the jade cicada. He asked the shopkeepers to keep an eye out for it.

He returned to the street and suddenly remembered something, so he took out a tube of toothpaste from his pocket.

"I almost forgot about that. I can mass-produce toothpaste, which is more convenient and has a longer-lasting fragrance than tooth powder. Wouldn't that solve the problem of acquiring Yu Chan?"

Chen Jingxuan, toothpaste in hand, strode into a general store. The clerk greeted him with a smile: "Sir, what can I do for you?"

"I'm not buying anything, but I'd like to introduce a product to you. It's a toothpaste I developed, and it's even better than tooth powder—"

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted: "Excuse me, sir, we already have toothpaste, so we don't need to order any more."

The shop assistant led him to the counter, where several exquisite boxes were displayed. Inside each box was a white toothpaste with a refreshing minty scent, and another box had a musky fragrance.

"These are some of the most popular toothpastes on the market right now, and they sell very well. We don't need your toothpaste anymore."

When Chen Jingxuan was a child, he specifically inquired and found that there was no toothpaste on the market; everyone was still using primitive tooth powder to brush their teeth. That's why he researched toothpaste. So how did toothpaste become so popular in Beijing? Who stole my idea?

He insisted, "Try my toothpaste, it's definitely better than these."

The shop assistant politely replied, "No need. Our toothpaste is specially supplied by Qingluanxuan. Our customers recognize the Qingluanxuan brand. No matter how good your toothpaste is, it's useless. In everyone's mind, nothing beats Qingluanxuan."

Chen Jingxuan asked, "What is the relationship between Qingluan Pavilion and Qingluan Pavilion?"

"Qingluan Pavilion is an enterprise under the name of Qingluan Pavilion Master."

Chen Jingxuan walked out of the shop dejectedly.

What exactly is going on with this Qingluan Pavilion?

First, they showed him the old lady having epileptic seizures, then told him that his jade cicada had too much karmic burden and refused to cooperate. Now they've stolen his patent, cutting off his source of income.

"I now suspect that Qingluan Pavilion is a fraudulent organization. Now I have to think of other ways to make money. The capital is too murky."

The next two days.

Chen Jingxuan had basically figured out the terrain of Qingyao Mountain and visited several markets, but still couldn't find Yu Chan's whereabouts.

I was also scolded a few times for touching products randomly at the stall because I didn't have money.

However, there was news of his senior sister. Zhu Lingyun told him that his third senior sister, Lu Yunci, had returned and invited them to dinner.

His senior brother was on duty, so he gave him the address and told him to go there first.

He picked up the medicine kit he needed for his shift the next day from Qingyao Mountain, and then went to the banquet.

Following the address, Chen Jingxuan arrived at the gate of a large mansion, with the words "Chen Residence" written on the gate.

He checked the address on the note repeatedly to make sure he hadn't gone to the wrong place.

"Weren't we going out for dinner? How did we end up at someone else's house? Do they have private kitchens these days?"

Chen Jingxuan knocked on the door, and a young servant came out: "May I ask who you are looking for?"

"I'm looking for Lu Yunci. I'm her junior brother, and she told me to come here for an appointment."

The servant immediately smiled: "So it's the master who's back."

Chen Jingxuan was completely bewildered.

The servant turned around and shouted inside, "The master is back!"

The gate was pulled open, revealing a large courtyard. Four maids stood on either side of the road and called out in unison, "Welcome home, Master."

Chen Jingxuan was stunned. He took a step back and glanced at the plaque above his head.

"Is the Chen residence the same as my residence?"