This was the first time I had heard these stories, and my heart was filled with shock. I asked, "Then these four great families are our family, Yao Liang's family, Mom's maternal family, and Zhu Yun's Zhu family?"
Mom nodded, slowly pacing around the stone statue, and said leisurely, "Yes. For so many years, our families have lived and thrived in this place, becoming the prominent families here. The fact that we can obtain so many resources and the social status we have today is because of the actions of our ancestors."
"However, what outsiders don't know is that there is a very important reason that our four great families settled here," Mom said solemnly.
"What reason?" I asked, looking at my mother's beautiful face.
Mom sighed slightly and said, "Taoist Yu Hai, was a wandering Taoist priest who had traveled far and wide. When he came to this place, he learned that the reason Jingzhou was so desolate and villages so empty was because a demon had appeared here."
"A demon!?" My heart jolted.
"Mmm, the demon's name has long been forgotten. But it was known for its lustful and cruel nature. It preyed on women and brought great harm to the world. It defiled, plundered, and pillaged everywhere. The Taoist priest was a righteous man, and he couldn't just stand by and watch all this. He and his four disciples worked together to find a way to eliminate the demon."
I watched my mother recounting this fantastical tale with such seriousness. If I hadn't already known that she was an intelligent and very sharp woman, I would have been afraid she had lost her mind.
"Xiao Bin, I know you probably don't believe what I'm saying and think it's all fantasy. Until a few years ago, I was just like you. I was also completely in the dark about any of this. That's why I had to bring you here, to show you this treasure called the 'Vajra Mirror.' Only then would you understand that Mom isn't just talking nonsense."
I was truly bewildered. I looked at the treasure Mom had called the 'Vajra Mirror'. There were still some purple halos around the mirror, but as the blood on my finger gradually dried, the purple halos also began to fade.
Mom reached out and took my hand, giving me a gentle glance with her enchanting eyes, and pulled me upstairs. As we walked together, she said, "This treasure and the mark on our foreheads can only be seen down here. That's why I brought you to this place but it's too stuffy. Let's go upstairs and talk."
Mom and I returned to the living room and sat down on the sofa. This time, Mom held my arm, sitting intimately with me. Her bath robe was extremely loose at the top, the neckline plunging so low it exposed almost all of her large, snow white breasts to my eyes. Looking closely, her deep red areolas and tender pink nipples were also visible.
A faint, elegant fragrance wafted from her, making my heart beat faster.
Leaning close to me to my ear, she whispered, "I didn't want to tell you these things, but seeing as you've already been dragged into this, I have no choice."
"The Taoist priest and his four disciples managed to capture that evil demon together. But they discovered the demon was too powerful, and they probably couldn't destroy it completely. So, they came up with a plan."
I thought for a moment and asked her, "Did they imprison it?"
Mom pursed her full lips and chuckled lightly. She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and continued, "Yes. They found a place to suppress the demon. Then, the Taoist priest ordered his disciples to reside here for generations, to guard the demon."
My heart jolted. So that's how it was. I asked, "Mom, are you saying that our families have lived here all this time just to suppress that demon!?"
Mom nodded. I felt frustrated as I remembered what Dad had told me about the "600-year-old treasure" and the "mission" of our family, Why hadn't he explained it to me clearly before?
"When the Taoist priest captured and suppressed the demon, he had used four treasures, which he gave to his four disciples. The one given to the Zhou family is this treasure, called the 'Vajra Mirror.' It can not only see through the demon's disguise but also ward off misfortune and protect the safety of the Zhou family's successive heads."
Mom took the mirror from my hand, examining it for a moment. The purple halos had already disappeared. She solemnly placed the mirror on the coffee table.
She sighed softly and said melancholically, "It's just that times have changed and so did human hearts. After so many years, I'm afraid the members of the four families have long forgotten their original mission. They each have their own ulterior motives. That's why the tragedy from twenty years ago happened, and why there are so many problems right now. Xiao Bin, I was also entrusted with this mission in a time of crisis. The things I've done all these years… I'm truly sorry to you and your dad, but..."
I looked at her radiant face, listening to her soft murmurs in my ear. Tears seemed to be glistening in the corners of her eyes. My own heart swelled with emotion, leaving me without words.
Mom composed herself a little, sat up straight, and said to me, "Alright, now I'm going to tell you why you cannot get involved with the women of the Zhu family anymore."
My heart trembled. Mom continued, "The magical power the Taoist master used to seal the demon will gradually weaken over the years. Therefore, a Sealing Ritual must be performed every twenty years to continuously reinforce the seal. The four great families each have their own role, and when the twenty-year cycle arrives, they all gather together."
The corners of her mouth twitched slightly. "The Zhu family, as the descendants of the founding master's eldest disciple, were entrusted with a crucial responsibility. They are always the hosts of the ritual and the key to it. But twenty years ago, something happened in the Zhu family that directly caused the ritual to fail!"
"An accident!?" I exclaimed.
Mom's expression was cold. Her soft, small hand tightly gripped mine, as if thinking of something terrifying. The corners of her mouth trembled slightly as her large eyes stared into mine and she said slowly, "The ones who performed the ritual last time were your grandfather, my mother, Yao Liang's grandfather, and... Zhu Yun's brother, Zhu Yu. The ritual was proceeding normally, but something caused them to lose all their power at that moment. And an accident occurred."
"An accident?" I cried out, my heart churning like a stormy sea, feeling as if I was approaching the core of some great conspiracy.
"That accident directly caused the ritual to fail. The elders who attended it either died or were injured, and the demon escaped!"
A chill rose in my heart.
*****
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