Lu Fei and Xu Bei exchanged a glance.
Without Father Zhuang saying so, they already understood.
"Brother Zhuang hopes that we go with you to find that master?" Xu Bei replied without hesitation, "Of course it's our duty, but thirty years have passed, can we still find him?"
"No matter what, we must try to find him!" Father Zhuang's aged fingers clenched tightly, his eyes revealing anger and confusion, "We have no grudge or enmity, I must find out why he would persecute my Mingcheng like this!"
The master, who could use such an obscure curse as the inversion spell to harm others, was clearly a man of considerable skill.
Lu Fei also wanted to know who this person was, so he nodded at Father Zhuang.
"Thank you both very much!" Father Zhuang was extremely grateful.
After taking a bath and changing into fresh clothes, Zhuang Mingcheng came out looking completely refreshed.
He greedily breathed in everything around him.
From now on, his world would no longer be surrounded by stench.
"Old Xu, Manager Lu! I cannot express my gratitude for your great kindness!"
In fact, after all these years, he had long been worn down and was ready to give up. He never expected a turn for the better at this juncture, a glimmer of hope in the darkest moment.
"Dear, let's just drop it? Mingcheng is better now, and the most important thing is that our family is safe and sound." Mrs. Zhuang looked at her son, her face filled with worry.
For her, it was enough that her son could return to normal; she did not want any more disturbances in their hard-won happiness.
"If we don't eliminate the hidden danger, they can harm Mingcheng again," Mr. Zhuang said firmly.
"Dad is right! I cannot let my years of suffering go in vain, and I absolutely cannot let the person who harmed me off easily!" As the victim, Zhuang Mingcheng was seething with anger.
"At that time, Mingcheng fell seriously ill for no reason. We took him everywhere, to big and small hospitals, but none could diagnose his problem. Just when we were at our wits' end, we met a practitioner who called himself Xuan Yinzi."
"I didn't know him at all, but he accurately described our family situation, saying that it was because of the clash between father and son, and only one of us could survive."
"After I pleaded with him repeatedly, that Xuan Yinzi gave me what he called a father-son life linkage talisman, tying our fates together."
"He also told me that from then on, I must carry the talisman at all times to keep my son alive!"
Mr. Zhuang took a deep breath, clenching his fists tightly.
"I wore it for thirty whole years, never thinking that this thing would be the cause of my son's downfall!"
Lu Fei couldn't help but frown: "This isn't a chance encounter, it was clearly premeditated."
"Xuanyinzi? I've never heard of this person, but it doesn't matter, I'll ask someone to investigate..." Xu Bei immediately picked up his phone.
"No need to trouble yourself." Father Zhuang waved his hand and looked at Old Jiang on the side, "Old Jiang, you should remember, when we went to the hospital, we were not supposed to pass by the place where we met Xuanyinzi. It was you who said that route was shorter."
Old Jiang's shoulders trembled, and his face turned very grim.
Lu Fei's eyes widened, could it be that this old assistant really had an issue?
After all, Old Jiang's performance earlier was too standout, making it hard not to be suspicious.
Zhuang Mingcheng finally caught on, and his expression changed immediately.
"Big Brother Zhuang, after so many years, I don't remember that incident." Old Jiang stammered under the gaze of everyone in the room.
"Old Jiang, how have I treated you all these years?"
"You treat me...like an elder brother."
"Yes! I've always treated you like a brother, even when the factory was in dire straits, I never mistreated you," Father Zhuang said with a self-mocking, bitter smile, "But what about you? How much money have you embezzled from the factory over these years, did you really think I was too old to notice?"
He could turn a blind eye to the embezzlement, but since his son was harmed by Old Jiang, that was a different matter altogether.
"Brother Zhuang, I, I didn't....."
Old Jiang was visibly panicked, waving his hands vigorously.
But no one would believe him now.
"Uncle Jiang, why?" Zhuang Mingcheng asked in disbelief.
His family's incense factory had been declining year by year, and most of the old employees had left one after another, but Old Jiang had always stayed by his father's side.
All these years, he had been filled with gratitude, thinking that it was because of Old Jiang's companionship that his father had managed to hold on. He never imagined that the person he thought to be a loyal partner was actually the mastermind behind their troubles.
"I didn't do it, I just didn't! That day I just happened to pass by that road, what does that prove?"
Old Jiang, seeing the situation, simply clenched his teeth and refused to admit it.
Thirty years have passed, without evidence, no one can do anything to him.
"You..."
Father Zhuang trembled all over.
Xu Bei frowned, as a member of the Mystical Sect, there were too many ways to deal with an ordinary person, but he was restrained due to his position as vice president.
At this moment.
Lu Fei suddenly picked up the bowl on the table and splashed a bowl of water onto Old Jiang.
"It's very simple to prove your innocence! This bowl of water contains the power of inversion. If you lie, the inversion curse will backlash onto you."
"Impossible! Just a bowl of water." Old Jiang's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly wiped off the water from his body.
"If you don't believe it, you can try! This is the water from the bowl just used. You should be well aware of how painful it is for your sense of smell to be inverted, right?" Lu Fei shrugged.
Of course, he didn't really know the reversing spell; he was just trying to scare Old Jiang.
Old Jiang's face turned ashen, his heart in turmoil. Suddenly, he caught a whiff of an indescribable stench.
He was utterly terrified.
Could it be that he had really been hit by the reversing spell?
"Brother Zhuang, I was wrong! It was just a moment of foolishness!" He fell to his knees with a thud, "I truly didn't mean to harm you! I owed money to loan sharks, and if I didn't do what they said, they would have really killed me!"
"You! It was really you!"
The three members of the Zhuang family were profoundly shaken.
Father Zhuang slumped onto the sofa, gasping for breath.
With their suspicions confirmed, he felt more chilled to the bone than anyone else.
In truth, the stench from earlier was caused by Lu Fei, who had made Hu Zi spray some foul water that had been used by Zhuang Mingcheng on Old Jiang.
Old Jiang had a guilty conscience.
Xu Bei gave Lu Fei an appreciative look, then fixed Old Jiang with a cold stare: "Who are they?"
"I only know that they are in cahoots with Xuan Yinzi. They made me pass on your information to Xuan Yinzi and deliberately led you down that path! I didn't know it was the Reversal Curse, that would harm Mingcheng..."
Old Jiang squeezed out some pitiful tears.
"Brother Zhuang, I'm sorry! I was wrong! I'm telling the truth; I was forced into it. Please remove the Reversal Curse from me!"
Lu Fei looked at him indifferently: "Do you expect us to believe you just because of a few words?"
"If you don't believe me, I'll take you to them! They harmed Mingcheng, and I feel terrible about it! They have been threatening me with my debts, forcing me to do their bidding. I've wanted to settle scores with them for a long time, but I don't have the means."
Old Jiang got up from the ground, speaking with great sincerity.
"My goodness! I've never seen such a shameless person. Your face is thicker than a toilet bowl!" Hu Zi was almost laughing at this man's audacity.
Lu Fei and Xu Bei exchanged a glance.
"Alright! Take us there now, and if you dare to tell a single lie, forget about ever having this curse lifted!"