Zhang Youguo sighed and said he could no longer remember how many people he had offended.
I was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.
But it made sense. A big boss who could afford such a luxurious villa must have business entanglements with many people.
So I didn't ask further.
I could only deal with the matters at hand first.
I went to Chu Yue's bedroom.
Chu Yue was sleeping soundly, her breathing even, a slight smile on her lips.
It seemed she was having a good dream.
I didn't waste time and started searching the room for what I was looking for.
Seeing his daughter sleeping peacefully, Zhang Youguo was also very happy.
He went to the bedside and gently stroked Chu Yue's forehead, his face full of tenderness and affection.
He choked up, saying:
"This child, Yue Yue, has suffered since she was young.
When I was just starting my business, I was chased by creditors and had to hide everywhere.
I could only have Yue Yue's mother take her to study in a remote area.
Later, when our living conditions improved, her mother was murdered by hired killers from a rival company.
After that, I was busy with work every day, and my temper became bad.
I rarely spent time with her, and I was often harsh with her when she was young.
But this girl never blamed me.
Now that the company is developing steadily, I understand everything.
My daughter is my only family, the only person I want to treat well.
I want to give her everything and make her happy.
But Yue Yue is also very ambitious.
Instead of sitting in the office, she ran out in over thirty degrees Celsius weather to hand out flyers, wanting to start from the ground up.
Such a diligent, filial, and wonderful child.
And now, she's been harmed like this..."
The last few words seemed to be squeezed out from between Zhang Youguo's teeth.
It showed how angry he was at that moment.
Hearing this, I finally understood.
Why Zhang Chu Yue could attend the same rundown village school as me.
And why I could meet her handing out flyers in the herbal medicine market.
So their family had gone through such ups and downs.
Chu Yue, on the other hand, had not become a delicate flower sheltered from the storm due to her family's wealth...
I searched the room from chest to chest, but I still couldn't find the carving my master mentioned, "evil horse entangling a snake."
I started to wonder.
I had searched almost every corner of this villa, yet I still couldn't find it.
Had I missed something?
Thinking of this, my gaze suddenly locked onto the Miku figurine on a wooden base on Chu Yue's bedside table.
This Miku figurine was about thirty centimeters tall and very exquisite.
The base was made of rosewood, shaped like a crescent moon, with Miku sitting on it.
Her entire body was enclosed in a glass casing.
Now, besides the ceiling and the bed Chu Yue was lying on, this figurine was the only thing in the room that hadn't been checked.
I walked slowly to the bedside and picked up the glass case of the figurine.
It was new, with a QR code and manufacturing date at the bottom.
According to the date, it was new stock from the last half month.
This must have been bought recently and placed on the bedside table.
It indicated that Chu Yue really liked this Miku figurine.
Looking at the release date and the time Chu Yue's pseudo-illness started, they seemed to coincide.
A strange thought suddenly popped into my mind.
Could the carving I was looking for be on this Miku base?
With that thought, I didn't hesitate. I directly opened the glass case.
With one hand, I picked up the Miku figurine and began to examine the base.
The base was as thick as a little finger, a round disk with many detailed carvings, looking very impressive.
However, if you looked closely.
You would find that beneath this base, Bagua symbols were carved.
Specifically, Qian, Kun, Xun, Dui, Gen, Zhen, Li, and Kan were carved.
This was very strange.
Why would a figurine of a two-dimensional anime singer have Bagua symbols carved on its base?
I immediately became vigilant, feeling that there was something wrong with this item.
I touched the base; it was hollow.
When I tapped it lightly, it made a dull "thump thump thump" sound.
Seeing me frowning and carefully examining a figurine, Zhang Youguo asked:
"Xiao Qin, is there anything unusual about this figurine?"
Hearing Zhang Youguo's question, I answered without hesitation:
"Uncle Zhang, this figurine has a problem."
After saying that, I started to forcefully disassemble the figurine's base.
Upon hearing that there was a problem, Zhang Youguo also leaned in.
Soon, I directly disassembled the figurine's base.
And the moment I opened the base.
With a "plop," a very small, thin wooden board fell out.
Seeing this, Zhang Youguo quickly picked it up from the ground.
As he looked closely, his face instantly turned ashen:
"Snake, snake and horse, and also... Yue Yue's name and birthday."
Hearing this, my heart sank.
"Uncle Zhang, let me see!"
Zhang Youguo quickly handed it over, and I took it and examined it closely.
Good heavens.
This was exactly what I was looking for.
It was a small black wooden board, only the size of a palm.
It was very thin, but a strange pattern was carved on it.
A person lying flat, with a snake around their neck, the snake flicking its tongue.
In front of the person, there was a horse, with one of its hooves stepping on the person's chest.
This perfectly matched the feeling of Chu Yue's neck being constricted and her chest being trampled.
At the bottom of the pattern, the name Zhang Chu Yue was carved, along with her lunar birthdate and time.
Most bizarrely, on the back of the wooden piece, there were strange scribbles.
They were all carved, but these talismans felt very different from what I usually saw and studied.
"Uncle Zhang, it's this thing.
It's this thing that caused Chu Yue to have this pseudo-illness."
I said with a frown, my voice deep.
Uncle Zhang's eyes were wide open, as if about to spew fire:
"It was him, it was him who did this..."