Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

The two tiptoed into the master bedroom. In the dimly lit room, Xiao Luo's father lay quietly on the bed, his eyes closed, fast asleep.

Shen Jingshu stepped forward slowly, her gaze falling on the man's face, her eyes suddenly darkening.

She could see clearly that the life-giving lines on the man's face were disordered and broken, and the vitality surrounding his body was rapidly dissipating like flowing water, showing signs of decay and exhaustion to the naked eye.

"Your father's life force is rapidly draining away," Shen Jingshu said in a deep voice, her tone grave. "If this continues, his life force will completely dissipate within a month, and even a celestial being would be powerless to save him; there will be no way to bring him back to life."

After quickly assessing the situation, the two didn't linger and quietly left the bedroom, gently closing the door behind them.

Xiao Luo's face turned pale, and her voice trembled uncontrollably: "Master Shen, is it really about extending lifespan?"

"That's right." Shen Jingshu nodded, her words firm and certain. "Your father's lifespan was indeed stolen by someone using evil magic, and the one who could do that must be a blood relative."

Xiao Luo's heart sank, and she instantly locked onto the only possible candidate: "Then... the most likely one is my grandmother?"

Where is your grandma now?

"I'm still living in the old house in the countryside."

"There's no time to lose. Your father's condition can't be delayed. We need to go to the old house right now."

Xiao Luo didn't dare to delay, nodded quickly, and followed Shen Jingshu as she turned and left.

As soon as the two went downstairs, they bumped into Luo's mother, who was returning from grocery shopping.

Carrying a full bag of fresh fruits and vegetables, Luo's mother looked at the two of them hurrying away and asked with a puzzled expression, "Xiao Luo, where are you going? Why are you leaving so soon after you just got back?"

"Mom, we have some urgent business to attend to and will be going out for lunch, so we won't be home." Xiao Luo deliberately softened her tone, not wanting to add to her mother's worries.

Luo's mother was always gentle and kind, so she didn't think much of it and just gently reminded her, "It's alright, it's alright. You young people should enjoy your trip and be careful."

"Okay, Mom."

After saying goodbye, the mother and daughter quickly walked out of the residential area and hailed a taxi.

After giving the address of the old house in the countryside, the driver looked troubled and hesitated before saying, "Ladies, that place is a remote mountain village, very remote. If I take you there, I probably won't be able to pick up any passengers on the way back, it's really not worth it."

"Don't worry, driver, I'll settle all the round-trip fare. Any price is fine," Xiao Luo quickly said.

Hearing this, the driver breathed a sigh of relief and readily agreed, "Okay! Then you all better hold on tight!"

The car bumped along the way, heading towards a remote village. It took a full hour before we finally arrived at the village entrance.

After paying the fare, the taxi turned around and headed back, quickly disappearing at the end of the country road.

By this time, the sky had darkened, and the twilight enveloped the entire village in a hazy, tranquil atmosphere.

The village has very few permanent residents, mostly elderly people living alone. The younger generation has long since gone out to work, making the whole village seem particularly desolate and lonely.

As dusk settled, wisps of smoke rose from every chimney, drifting in the cool evening breeze, yet unable to dispel the heavy gloom that enveloped the surroundings. Old mud-brick houses were scattered about, weeds grew rampant along the paths, and all was silent except for the occasional bark of a dog, which only accentuated the village's desolate and secluded atmosphere.

The two followed the winding country road, walking step by step toward the old house where Grandma lived alone.

The two stood in front of the old wooden gate in the courtyard, and Xiao Luo raised her hand and gently knocked on the door.

The courtyard remained silent for a long time, and just when the two were almost convinced that no one was home, a hoarse, aged female voice slowly drifted from inside the house, tinged with impatience: "Who is it? Knocking on the door so late at night."

Xiao Luo turned her head to look at the calm and composed Shen Jingshu beside her, and called out, "Grandma, it's me, Xiao Luo."

The voice behind the wooden door paused, tinged with surprise: "Why did you come back so late at night? Your father isn't well; why aren't you in the city taking care of him? What are you doing in the countryside?"

"My dad asked me to come back and pick up some things."

"Get something? Making a fuss in the middle of the night..."

Accompanied by muttering incessantly, the old wooden door creaked open from the inside.

The moment the courtyard gate opened, Xiao Luo's breath caught in her throat, and she froze on the spot.

The woman standing at the door was nearly seventy years old, but she looked nothing like the woman who had been terminally ill and on her deathbed.

The old man had a rosy complexion, relaxed eyebrows and eyes, and his skin had an unhealthy glow. He was full of energy and vitality, without a trace of illness or old age. On the contrary, he was radiant and looked very energetic.

A chill ran through Xiao Luo as she stared at her grandmother in disbelief.

She clearly remembers that a month ago her grandmother called to say she was critically ill. At that time, she saw the old woman with her own eyes. She was weak and haggard, barely breathing, and looked like she could leave this world at any moment. It was heartbreaking to see.

After her father fell ill, she returned to the old house once. At that time, her grandmother had improved a lot and was considered a normal elderly person.

In just a few dozen days, the grandmother in front of me seemed to have become ten years younger out of thin air. Her wrinkles were light and her eyes were bright. She did not look like a seventy-year-old woman at all, but instead exuded a strange vitality.

The stark contrast made Xiao Luo's throat tighten, and her voice trembled slightly: "Grandma, Grandma."

The old lady glanced at her indifferently, then her gaze fell on Shen Jingshu, who had a cool temperament and outstanding appearance, with a scrutinizing look in her eyes.

"This is my friend, she came with me," Xiao Luo quickly explained.

The old lady spoke calmly and indifferently, "Come in."

The two walked into the courtyard as instructed, and the old lady casually suggested that they stay, saying, "It's so late, and the roads in the countryside are remote. It's hard to get a taxi at night. Why don't you stay here tonight and go back to the city early tomorrow morning?"

Xiao Luo instinctively wanted to decline, but turned to look at Shen Jingshu, waiting for her signal.

Shen Jingshu's gaze was calm as she nodded slightly: "Then let's listen to Grandma. It's indeed inconvenient to travel at night."

Just as the two agreed and decided to stay the night, a fleeting glint of golden light flashed in the depths of the old woman's eyes, which were lowered to her sides. It vanished in an instant, and she returned to the dullness and indifference of an ordinary country old woman, her tone languid and casual:

"Okay, you can sleep in the same room as before. I'll go find you two clean blankets. It'll get chilly at night, so don't catch a cold."

"Thank you, Grandma."

The old house exudes a somber, decaying atmosphere. The walls are mottled and peeling, and the wooden beams have taken on a dark, murky hue after years of wind and rain.

Several old locust trees stood in the courtyard, their gnarled branches stretching out in the deep night, casting mottled and eerie shadows. When the evening breeze blew, the leaves rustled, as if someone was whispering in the dark.

The old lady turned and went into the inner room to search for bedding. Her movements were nimble and agile, showing none of the slowness and clumsiness of a seventy-year-old.

It is normal for an elderly person in their seventies to walk with difficulty and have declining health, but she walked with light steps, straight back, and her vitality was excessive. This vitality, in the eyes of Shen Jingshu who understood the yin and yang, was strangely unsettling.