BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 67 Origins

According to Huang Ran, back when Lu Ruji had almost become Prime Minister, he used his position and influence to secretly appropriate the sacred object that generations of Hehuan Dao leaders had cultivated. At the time, his power was overwhelming, and the Hehuan Dao dared not offend him. They could only hope that after failing to understand its mysteries, he would eventually return it.

Unexpectedly, before the sacred object could be returned, Lu Ruji himself fell from grace. His rank was stripped away, and he was exiled to southern Guangdong. In order to recover the treasure, the Hehuan Dao sent several people south to demand its return. However, after arriving in Guangdong, Lu Ruji mysteriously disappeared. Despite exhausting every means, the sect could not find him. Later, the Hehuan Dao itself declined, and the matter gradually faded into obscurity.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the sect briefly experienced a revival. Its leader at the time, Lu Tianyi, once again sought to recover the sacred object. Coincidentally, the aftermath of the Hu Weiyong Case implicated members of the Hehuan Dao. Thus, Lu Tianyi led his trusted elders and disciples on a long journey to Guangdong, fleeing persecution while continuing the search for Lu Ruji.

This time, fortune favored them.

They discovered the tomb of the former Prefect of Guangzhou, Lu Zhonghe. Inside, they found a magical artifact that Lu Ruji had once given him. Engraved on it was the signature “Lu Hehuan of Zengcheng”—”Hehuan” being the courtesy name Lu Ruji had adopted during the height of his power.

From this, Lu Tianyi concluded that Lu Ruji had ended up in Zengcheng, Guangzhou.

After several more years of searching, he uncovered traces of Lu Ruji’s life there. Following those clues, he eventually located the tomb buried here. When they opened it, they indeed found the sacred object that the Hehuan Dao had lost for hundreds of years.

Unfortunately, by that point, the object had fused with Lu Ruji’s corpse and could no longer be removed.

With no other choice, Lu Tianyi made a bold decision. He brought the remains of more than ten former sect leaders from the Central Plains and created a tomb within a tomb, burying them together with Lu Ruji. He hoped that the bones of the deceased patriarchs could lure the sacred object out of Lu Ruji’s body.

Sadly, Lu Tianyi died beside Lu Ruji’s tomb in the third year of the Yongle era before seeing his plan bear fruit.

From then on, each successive leader of the Hehuan Dao remained here under the guise of grave keepers. They married, had children, and lived like ordinary people, waiting for the day when the sacred object would mature and separate from Lu Ruji’s remains.

But hundreds more years passed.

Even by the late Qing and early Republican era, the sacred object still showed no signs of emerging.

Over the generations, Lu Tianyi’s descendants multiplied and became a powerful local clan. However, apart from the clan head—the eldest son and grandson—no one else knew the secret.

Shortly before the liberation of China, some descendants of Lu Tianyi feared retaliation because they had once participated in the killing of Communist Party members. The entire family fled to Malaysia.

Through years of business, they became one of the most influential Chinese families there. Fearing revenge from old enemies, they changed their surname from Lu to Wan. Though they changed their name, they never forgot the tomb hidden here.

After China’s Reform and Opening-Up, the Wan family sent people back to make contact with the site. They disguised themselves as investors, leased the land above the tomb, and built a factory there. Secretly, they entered the tomb.

Unfortunately, after several more centuries, the sacred object still remained inside Lu Ruji’s body, like a seed waiting to sprout.

Helpless, they continued to wait.

Later, they even brought over the poisonous Hehuan Spiders, which the sect had bred in Malaysia, and raised them inside the tomb. Their original intention was to train these insects and perhaps find another way to recreate the sacred object.

At first, they used migrant workers who had come to Guangzhou as hosts for the spiders’ eggs and as food for the creatures.

As more and more people disappeared, they feared that the police would eventually investigate.

Someone within the clan then proposed a solution.

Instead of targeting locals, they began preying upon migrant workers from other regions. In this way, the number of local disappearances dropped sharply, and suspicion never fell upon them.

But before long, the police began investigating the disappearances of migrant workers as well.

To solve the problem once and for all, they eventually shifted their attention to foreigners.

Then, several years ago, the government unexpectedly reclaimed the land for a real estate project.

With no alternative, the current Wan family poured out their wealth and spent tremendous effort to win the bid. After considerable lobbying, they persuaded the authorities to alter the project, turning it into a resort instead.

After hearing all this, Sun Desheng chuckled.

“So now I get it. Boss Wan isn’t really surnamed Wan at all—he should be called Boss Lu, right?” he said. “But what was he trying to accomplish? They’ve kept their heads down for centuries. Why suddenly start making such a big fuss?”

“He was trying to lure me here,” Huang Ran replied with a strange smile. “Sorry for dragging all of you into this.”

He paused before continuing.

“When I first joined the Bureau of Folklore Investigation, Director Gao Liang already suspected something about the disappearances here. He sent me to investigate, and by a stroke of luck, I uncovered the truth. That’s when I became enemies with Wan Changluo. Back then, however, I still didn’t know what the sacred object was, so I didn’t act rashly.”

Glancing at the foreigners accompanying him, Huang Ran continued:

“Over the years, whether in the Bureau or later after returning to that Committee, I’ve never forgotten this place. Even the land development project was something I orchestrated behind the scenes. I intended to raise funds, buy the property, and personally investigate below.”

“But during the auction, Wan Changluo offered a price even I couldn’t accept.”

“That purchase drained his finances badly. In desperation, he sold off part of the resort’s shares. Some went to Ma Xiaolin. Knowing he’d never sell to me directly, I used a front man. A friend purchased shares on my behalf, and as his representative, I was able to participate in the resort’s daily operations.”

At that point, Che Qianzi, who had been quietly listening, suddenly interrupted.

“Then doesn’t that mean those people who died here before were because of you? You wanted to make such a huge mess that the truth couldn’t be hidden anymore.”

“What benefit would I gain from exposing everything?” Huang Ran replied with a smile, cutting him off.

Looking at the young Daoist, he continued:

“No. What happened was that the sacred object finally separated from Lu Ruji’s body. The disturbance it caused was enormous. It triggered a collapse, exposing the entrance to the tomb.”

“Many people saw the entrance appear, and some even jumped down before Wan Changluo arrived and saw the coffin.”

“News of the ancient tomb’s discovery even attracted archaeologists.”

“And it was from that day onward that the side effects of the sacred object began to manifest.”

“It indirectly and directly killed several people.”

According to Huang Ran, anyone who saw the sacred object would experience terrifying hallucinations.

Some were frightened to death by the visions they saw.

Others, bewitched by the object, would unknowingly walk into rivers and somehow entangle their own feet in aquatic weeds, drowning themselves.

Several incidents of that nature occurred afterward.

As he spoke, Huang Ran led everyone to a massive stone slab.

Pointing toward it, he said:

“Beyond this lies the joint burial chamber of most of the past leaders of the Hehuan Dao. The sacred object is inside.”

“It was originally nurtured with the blood and essence of generations of sect leaders. Back then, Lu Tianyi hoped to use its former hosts to lure it out.”

As he spoke, Huang Ran searched around the stone slab for a mechanism.

At that moment, Che Qianzi suddenly asked again:

“If that Wan fellow knew you were his mortal enemy, why did he just sit there and watch you come in?”

By then, Huang Ran had already found the mechanism and activated it.

As a crack slowly opened in the enormous stone slab, he answered calmly:

“Because the sacred object disappeared…”

“And only I can find it.”