Ch 202: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

ARC 13: The Cat Demon’s Revenge

“Xingxing, tomorrow the Zhong family’s second son is coming back to the country, let’s go have a drink at the old place.”

When he heard this, Mu Xing was sitting on a soft sofa.

When he first arrived in this world, the original body had been playing golf with a group of childhood friends.

He used the excuse of needing rest and went back to the lounge.

The plot slowly appeared in his mind.

After being a god for so many years in the last world, where everything moved according to his will, returning to the heavy human body, he felt a trace of discomfort.

But only a trace.

The young man who spoke to him had delicate features, his hair dyed a flamboyant silver, dressed in very trendy clothes.

He was the childhood friend of this body, named Cheng Yao.

The Zhong family’s second son, Zhong Lin, whom he mentioned, was also a member of Z City’s wealthy second-generation circle. Four years ago, his father had thrown him abroad to be polished up, and the news was that he was returning tomorrow.

A group of friends planned to celebrate together tomorrow.

The story began with tomorrow’s gathering.

At the gathering, someone died.

The one who died was Zhong Lin, who had just returned.

The so-called old place was a high-end club that several rich young masters used to frequent. These people, all from well-off families with no real ability, only loved food, drink, and entertainment.

But although they fooled around, they had never done anything truly harmful, only living off the capital left by their fathers like salted fish.

At the club’s KTV, a group of them wailed into the microphone. Zhong Lin said midway he was going to the restroom. Half an hour later, he still hadn’t returned. The group joked and cursed, saying the guy must be unaccustomed after just coming back, when suddenly they heard a waitress screaming outside.

Zhong Lin was found dead in the restroom.

His body was clean, without any signs of struggle or wounds, nor any shameful traces.

Zhong Lin had been a salted fish slacker too, causing small trouble often, but never daring to stir big trouble. He had never done anything truly wicked and had not offended anyone.

Besides, he had just come back after three years abroad, so there should not have been any chance for old grudges.

And since the police quickly came, with all evidence ruling out homicide, they concluded it was sudden death.

Mu Xing frowned. “Tomorrow I have something to do, I can’t go.”

Cheng Yao was surprised. “What could you possibly have to do? You and Zhong Lin are so close. If you don’t go, he’ll definitely be upset.”

Mu Xing also knew this, and smiled. “Let’s gather the day after instead. Besides, what’s fun about the old place? It’s noisy. The day after, let’s go to the new villa I just bought. No one has lived there yet. We’ll barbecue ourselves, consider it a housewarming.”

Cheng Yao was instantly envious. “You bought another villa? Uncle Mu really dotes on you. When will my dad ever treat me that well?”

He grew excited. “That’s a good idea. I’ll tell everyone in the group…”

Mu Xing casually tilted his head to glance at Cheng Yao, then suddenly asked, “What’s that hanging around your neck?”

“This?” Cheng Yao pulled out a thin black cord from around his neck, from which hung a crystal-clear jade plaque of peace. “Oh, my mom got it for me, supposedly blessed by a master.”

Cheng Yao’s tone carried some disdain. “I’ve said so many times this thing doesn’t match my style. My mom scolded me for not knowing its worth, said it’s a treasure money can’t buy. If I dared throw it away, she wouldn’t give me any pocket money.”

Mu Xing agreed. “It really is a good thing. Keep it safe, don’t lose it.”

Cheng Yao was puzzled. “Since when do you believe in this stuff? I remember you hated talk of ghosts and gods since childhood. You even got beaten by Uncle Mu for it.”

Mu Xing thought, I can see the spiritual glow on this jade plaque, how could I not recognize its worth?

After chatting a little more with Cheng Yao, he excused himself and went home.

Driving, Mu Xing began to think about this world’s background story.

This body was the youngest son of the Mu family.

His father, Mu Rong, started from small business and by now was a famous tycoon in Z City.

But Mu Xing’s mother was not Mu Rong’s original wife. Above him was an elder brother, Mu Qiong, born to Mu Rong’s first wife, back when Mu Rong had not yet made his fortune.

Later, Mu Rong divorced, married Mu Xing’s mother, and had his youngest son, Mu Xing.

Mu Qiong was seven years older than Mu Xing and lived with their father.

Anyone who knew the Mu family knew Mu Rong was extremely biased, doting on his youngest son Mu Xing. From childhood, Mu Xing got whatever he wanted. When it came time for university, Mu Rong couldn’t bear to let him go far, so he donated a building to buy Mu Xing a degree.

Last year, when Mu Xing graduated, Mu Rong arranged for him to enter the family company, starting directly as a department manager.

And the elder son Mu Qiong?

He had long been sent abroad by Mu Rong, practically ignored. After returning, perhaps to avoid gossip, Mu Rong let him enter the company as well.

Only, when Mu Qiong entered, it was as a mediocre low-level employee. After six or seven years in the company, he had only climbed to the position of a small supervisor.

Outsiders all said: they’re both sons, but Mu Rong’s favoritism was outrageous.

Because of this, Mu Xing’s mother’s reputation wasn’t very good either.

With such favoritism from the father, how could the stepmother’s influence not be part of it?

Still, whether her reputation was good or bad was only something people gossiped about privately.

On the surface, everyone flattered Mu Xing. With Mu Rong’s blatant bias, who didn’t know the Mu family’s future would go to Mu Xing?

But Mu Xing always felt something was wrong.

In his understanding, true parental love was not like Mu Rong’s.

Giving whatever was wanted, spoiling the child into a scoundrel, was the behavior of a nouveau riche.

Mu Rong went from being a small businessman to now sitting on a vast fortune. From what Mu Xing saw in the original plot, he was a calculating man, impossible not to understand such a simple truth.

The original body, on the other hand, seemed to have been spoiled into uselessness.

But this small matter only flashed through Mu Xing’s mind.

Because there were more important things behind it.

For the first twenty-four years of his life, the original body lived a plain, typical rich second-generation life. From the moment his childhood friend Zhong Lin returned to the country and died suddenly, everything began to go wrong.

He became very unlucky.

Often tripping flat on the ground while walking, constantly losing his phone and belongings for no reason.

The few projects he nominally managed at the company kept running into problems one after another.

His body also became inexplicably weak, his nights full of muddled nightmares. Every day he woke forgetting everything, only vaguely remembering someone whispering debt collection in his ear.

All these symptoms were strange.

The original body went to the hospital for tests, but nothing was found.

Later Mu Rong said maybe he had encountered something unclean, so he invited a master to take a look.

The master also found nothing.

But the symptoms grew worse, even his mother Wen Li began falling ill.

Later, seeing her son like this, Wen Li begged her family to invite a powerful master from her hometown to help.

Unfortunately, before the master arrived in Z City, the original body saw a student jump into a river to take his life. Believing himself a strong swimmer, he jumped in to save him and never came back up.

That was the end of his life.

Mu Xing looked suspiciously at himself in the rearview mirror.

Although he wasn’t a professional, he had lived through countless reincarnations in all kinds of identities, so his judgment was far sharper than ordinary people’s.

This body’s features and face all suggested blessings and long life.

Of course, if that were truly the case, he likely wouldn’t be here.

Mu Xing had long since understood every life he reincarnated into: no matter the background, there was never a good ending.

The typical fate of a cannon fodder.

Mu Xing drove home, where his mother had already greeted him cheerfully: “Your father’s been back for over an hour. He was just asking for you, said he got something good to give you.”

Wen Li was fifty this year. In her youth her family had been well-off. Although her marriage to Mu Rong was a second one, her husband adored her, her son was filial, and she had never worried a day in her life. She looked at least ten years younger than her actual age.

Mu Xing chatted with her with a smile, and was about to head to the study when another man walked in.

As soon as this man entered, the living room fell briefly silent.

Seeing the two, the man gave a cold nod. “Hello, Aunt Wen.”

Then he said, “I need to see Dad about something.”

He didn’t acknowledge Mu Xing at all, going straight upstairs.

This was Mu Rong’s elder son, Mu Qiong, the original body’s half-brother.

When Mu Rong remarried, Mu Qiong was already old enough to understand. From a young age, he had felt the difference in how he and his brother were treated. He was not close to Wen Li, and he could never like Mu Xing, who had taken everything from him.

In his teens, before adulthood, he was sent abroad to study. After returning, he moved out of the Mu family home. No wonder anyone who knew the details would say Mu Qiong was pitiful.

Not long after, Mu Qiong came back downstairs, declined Wen Li’s invitation to stay for dinner, and left coldly.

Mu Xing went upstairs to see Mu Rong.

Though nearly sixty, Mu Rong was in good spirits. Seeing Mu Xing, he smiled warmly and handed him a wooden box.

The box was made of rare huanghuali wood. When opened, it was lined with red silk, and inside sat a small qilin carved from black jade, exquisitely crafted.

Mu Xing looked at the little qilin with curiosity and asked, “Dad, what is this?”

Mu Rong carefully placed the box into his hands. “This is our Mu family heirloom. It’s been passed down seven or eight generations. I’m giving it to you now.”

Mu Xing didn’t take it, asking instead, “Does big brother have one?”

Mu Rong smiled kindly. “Xingxing, I’m glad you think of your brother even now. Don’t worry, I’ll give him something else as compensation. But this black jade qilin—there is only one in the family. It’s not favoritism. You’re the younger brother. It’s right for your elder brother to give way to you.”

Mu Xing gently picked up the black jade qilin.

It was only half the size of a fist, cold to the touch.

He admired it for a long while, then reluctantly muttered, “Forget it, better give it to big brother. Dad, you don’t know how ugly the rumors outside are. Everyone says you’re biased and that big brother is pitiful. If this heirloom went to him, no one would have anything left to say.”

Mu Rong’s expression darkened. “How could that be?”

Mu Xing looked at him in confusion.

Mu Rong said solemnly, “This is the Mu family heirloom, meant for the heir. Xingxing, you understand what I mean, don’t you?”

Mu Xing stared in surprise, then stole a glance at Mu Rong. Seeing his father smiling at him, he quickly shed his unease and joyfully hugged the box tight to his chest.

Mu Rong smiled kindly at the sight. “Haven’t had dinner yet, have you? I had Aunt Li make your favorite dishes. Let’s eat together.”

*

After dinner, Mu Xing drove away from the family home, naturally taking the black jade qilin with him.

There was a room for him in the family house, but unlike Mu Qiong, who seemed at odds with the whole household, the original body had chosen to live elsewhere, simply preferring not to be controlled and to enjoy his own freedom.

Glancing at the quietly resting black jade qilin in the passenger seat, Mu Xing recalled Mu Rong’s gentle, kind expression and shook his head.

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣