Chapter 115 - 112: Heart in a Turmoil
Ancient Contract Scroll!
The first thing that came to mind was the word "contract," which had been swirling in his head since last night.
Hearing this, Sun Tian’s heart pounded violently twice. Even the hand holding the phone tightened unconsciously.
He forced himself to breathe steadily, but his voice over the phone still couldn’t help but grow heavy.
"Dad! What was that Ancient Contract Scroll? Have you seen it?"
The old man on the beach felt his son was being a bit emotional today. But since there were no personal safety issues, he figured there was no harm in reminiscing a little.
"Your great-grandfather was a strong-willed man his entire life. Your great-grandmother, after spending decades with him, picked up a similar temperament. They both loved to collect antiques and rare treasures."
"Dad, forget all that! I just want to know if you ever got a good look at that Scroll!"
Hearing his old man start to ramble on about the past, Sun Tian grew anxious.
"Watch your tone. I was just about to tell you! You kid, you have the same temper as your great-grandfather. I don’t know where your mother and I went wrong with your education..."
"Okay, okay, Dad, my mistake, all right? Please, continue..."
Just then, his secretary knocked on the door, tapped her watch, and pointed toward the conference room, signaling that Sun Tian had a meeting about to start.
Sun Tian had to ask his father to hold on, then covered the phone’s receiver and spoke toward the door.
"Xiaoli, tell them something’s come up. Let the marketing department hold today’s meeting themselves. Just give me the minutes when they’re done."
"Understood, President Sun."
The boss had spoken, so what could be done? Still, the team in the marketing department would certainly be happy about this.
After the secretary left, Sun Tian hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on his office door and got back on the phone.
"Dad, are you still there? Go on, go on. What did the Scroll look like?"
This time, Father Sun didn’t keep him in suspense and slowly recounted some things from memory.
It also allowed Sun Tian to see a different side of his great-grandfather and great-grandmother than he remembered.
The Sun Family had been in business since their early years, surviving both internal and external wars to stand firm. Elder Sun managed his affairs with a mix of gentleness and strength. He was lenient with outsiders but not without his methods, and strict with his own family but not without educating them.
Thus, he accumulated considerable wealth. Their home had a large collection of antiques, some inherited and some acquired.
He had only taken particular notice of the silver-inlaid Scroll back when his own beloved son was beaten, and at the time, he had examined the Scroll carefully.
Over the phone, Father Sun’s description was as follows.
"The Scroll was about two palms wide. Its silver sheath was covered in engravings—couldn’t make them out, they were really complex anyway. When you unrolled it, it was about a foot long. It seemed to be made of some kind of animal hide, which made it very tough."
Hearing this, Sun Tian asked impatiently.
"So what was written on it?"
"I’m not sure. I don’t know if it’s because your great-grandfather didn’t preserve it well or if I’m just old and my memory is failing me. Anyway, I remember the text was mostly a blur. As for that symbol you mentioned, it was definitely there, in the top-left corner. Only that symbol and the first few words were clear."
As Sun Tian’s mind raced, imagining what the Scroll looked like, he suddenly realized a problem.
His great-grandfather had died early, and his great-grandmother had taken care of the antiques after that. But when his great-grandmother passed away, he and his parents had been abroad. And after his paternal grandparents’ car accident, he hadn’t heard anything about the antiques.
"Dad, where are Great-Grandma’s antiques now? Do you have them?"
The old man took a sip of his iced cocktail on the other end.
"The remaining part of the collection is with me."
An inexplicable tightness gripped Sun Tian’s heart.
"What do you mean, ’the remaining part’?"
"It means I sold some of it, of course."
"What~~~!?"
Sun Tian’s sudden shout startled his old man.
"How could you... How could you sell them!!"
"What a joke. What capital do you think I, your old man, used to bail you out when your business ran into trouble all those years ago?"
Sun Tian was speechless.
"I see you’re just nervous about that Scroll, kid. Relax. That thing was so faded, and it didn’t seem to be anything special. It was basically worthless, so it’s still safe at home."
Sun Tian’s heart, which had leaped into his throat, settled back down.
"Dad, you haven’t changed the locks on the villa, have you?"
"You little brat, so eager to raid your old man’s stash. No, I haven’t changed them. If you want to play with antiques, go get them from the storage room yourself."
A grin spread across Sun Tian’s face, and his mood relaxed.
"Okay, Dad. You and Mom have fun!"
"Aren’t you going to say a few words to your mom?"
Before Sun Tian could reply, his mother’s voice came through.
"Fine, you and your father are both so impatient. No need to chat with me. Your dad’s had you on speakerphone this whole time!"
’I was wondering why it was so noisy!’
Sun Tian complained internally, then said his goodbyes to his parents again and hung up the phone.
’Oh, Dad... that Scroll might not be ’nothing special’ at all!’
From his father’s words, he had just gained a new understanding of his great-grandfather and great-grandmother. He realized that while they were strict, they were also people of great principle.
’Did Great-Grandma really beat me so hard back then just because I broke a family rule?’
’Probably not!’
’What if I had tried to steal just some jewelry or other antiques?’
Damn it. His whole body felt like it had been dusted with itching powder; he couldn’t sit still for a second longer.
Sun Tian gave his secretary a quick heads-up, left the company, and took the elevator straight to the parking garage.
...
Although, conventionally speaking, spying on others is a very immoral act, many things have two sides.
Qin Xiaoxia had to admit, the twin brothers did beautiful work.
And aside from the text Qin Xiaoxia provided, the advertisement page design for the "XXX Rejuvenation Pills" had the distinct flair of a classic Chinese-style pop-up ad.
Presumably, the mission to help the association find its "former partners"—a task filled with a sense of purpose—had left them full of motivation.
Of course, Father Sun’s opportune assist was a pleasant surprise.
It saved Qin Xiaoxia a great deal of effort.
Father Sun’s villa wasn’t in Shen City, but in Su City. Sun Tian drove there himself.
He arrived right around noon. With his mind preoccupied, he didn’t stop at a restaurant to eat. Instead, he bought some bread and a drink from a small shop along the way and hurried off on his treasure hunt.
The two elders hadn’t been home for a long time, but the inside of the villa was cleaned regularly, so there wasn’t much dust. However, the security door to the storage room wasn’t something the cleaning staff could open.
So, stepping into the storage room, he could see a fine layer of dust on the floor.
He ignored all the ceramic and Jade Artifacts on the shelves. Chewing on his bread, Sun Tian used both hands to open two large safes.
He had gotten the combinations from his father on the way.
The answer was about to be revealed. Sun Tian felt that his practiced composure was failing him; his heart began to race uncontrollably.
He opened the first one. Inside were mostly jewelry, along with some gold bars and cash. Sun Tian gave it a quick scan and closed it immediately.
He opened the second one. It contained some rolled-up paintings. He impatiently reached in and nudged them.
Then, a few seconds later, he froze.
His heart rate suddenly skyrocketed.
The silver casing, the ancient design... The blurry image from his memory suddenly became crystal clear.
"The state has its laws, and the family has its rules! At such a young age, you show no ambition, you’re addicted to games, and you resort to petty theft! If you are not severely punished, how can you bear the heavy responsibility of the Sun Family in the future!"
His great-grandmother’s powerful words seemed to explode in his ears once more.
"The heavy responsibility of the Sun Family..."
Sun Tian murmured, carefully taking the Scroll out of the safe.
The Scroll, like the other paintings, was enclosed in a transparent bag.
He pulled the bag open and gently took it out.
Something was wrong!
What? It was warm!
The Scroll in his hand had been cool to the touch when it was in the transparent bag, but the moment he held it, it suddenly felt searing hot, though it didn’t burn his hand.
It was as if the sensation was purely on a mental level.
This was too strange, far too strange!
Sun Tian took one deep breath after another, slowly unrolling the Scroll, afraid he might tear it with too much force.
’Is this the source of the heat?!’
In the top-left corner of the Scroll’s surface, a symbol resembling both a scorching sun and a blazing fireball was glowing with a faint, fiery light.
In the blink of an eye, the fiery light vanished, and the surface returned to normal.
’Was it a hallucination?’
A residual warmth lingered in Sun Tian’s hand, but his mind was in turmoil.
...
Although Sun Tian’s cautious vigilance made it impossible for Qin Xiaoxia to inject Magic Power into him without being noticed, he could briefly attach a tiny bit of Magic Power to the surface of his body, where it would last for a while before dissipating.
At this moment, Qin Xiaoxia and Su Su were sitting in a restaurant in Shen City, waiting for lunch.
Su Su was very frustrated that she and her Mentor hadn’t succeeded in getting Sun Tian to embrace "Dawn." Although her Mentor said everyone has their own choice, since the Sun Family had made an Oath hundreds of years ago and still possessed the Scroll, they should take responsibility for it, even if they’d forgotten. Otherwise, could any mistake be excused just by saying "I didn’t know"?
She was still pouting. Forgetting something so important was just incredible. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most people. ’Forgetting is your loss, serves you right!’
’Sigh, Mentor is just too lenient!’
Looking at Qin Xiaoxia, who was resting with his eyes closed while waiting for the food, Su Su couldn’t resist secretly taking out her phone to snap a picture.
Qin Xiaoxia, who had his eyes closed as he drew the last bit of use from the Magic Power on Sun Tian before it dissipated, suddenly opened his eyes.
Startled, Su Su, who was still adjusting the flash, almost flung her phone away in her panic.
"What are you doing?"
"N-Nothing! By the way, Mentor, the service here is really slow!"
Qin Xiaoxia glanced around the packed restaurant.
"Well, it is crowded. But just now, I think I felt an Oath Scroll being activated."
"Huh? What Oath? Could it be the Sun Family’s?"
Currently, Su Su only knew of two of the association’s Oath Scrolls: one was with some young people in France who had already returned to Dawn, and the other was with the Sun Family.
"I don’t know. Even as the Scepter’s wielder, I can’t be sure which one it is. It’s also unknown how many of the intact Scrolls still exist today. I might even need you to do a divination."
"However, judging by the distance, it doesn’t seem to be in Shen City. So maybe it’s not the Sun Family."
"Oh, I see..."
Su Su was still a little disappointed.
PS: Chapter 2/3.