In the past, he thought that he was just purely fortunate to have obtained the Apocalyptic Book with a stroke of luck. Recently, however, his uncle had mentioned that his parents had once obtained the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book, and this led him to speculate that there might be a connection between the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book and the Apocalyptic Book itself, but he lacked concrete evidence. Now, he had suddenly discovered that the manager of Vintage Deluxe, named Raymond, was actually a good friend of his father from over twenty years ago. Moreover, it was Raymond himself who had delivered the jade vase to his father-in-law, Jacob.At that time, Charlie was waiting outside the VIP room while Raymond and Jacob were inside. Charlie hadn't witnessed what exactly had happened, but according to Jacob's account of the incident later, Raymond had taken the jade vase out of its exquisite packaging and handed it to Jacob. However, it had slipped from Jacob's hands and fell to th

Charlie felt like his brain had short-circuited at that moment. Now, it seemed highly likely that Raymond had been arranged to appear in Aurous Hill, and the person who arranged all this was probably his own father, who had passed away twenty years ago.This made Charlie feel a kind of inexplicable tension and pressure. What exactly had happened to his parents back then? Not only did it bring about fatal consequences, but it also involved such distant and extensive planning for him even before the incident occurred.When his parents met with the accident, Stephen immediately placed him in the welfare home. This was an arrangement his father had made long ago. Unexpectedly, his father had also arranged for Mr. Cole to go to Aurous Hill and set up a trap for him almost twenty years later.As Charlie thought about this, he picked up the phone again and called Jasmine. He had another question that he needed to confirm with her.After the call was connected, Jasmine respectfully asked,

“But my father passed away twenty years ago. He wasn't a Feng Shui master such as yourself, so how could he have known twenty years ago that I would need to break through that predicament at twenty-seven years old?”Vera could not help but frown. After much thought, she said, “What you’re saying makes sense. While I don't mean to offend anyone, your father couldn't have predicted things so accurately twenty years ago.”Charlie added, “When I met Master Lennard on Mount Wintry, he said he came to Eastcliff to select Mount Wintry as geomantic treasure land for the Wades at the request of my grandfather. I've confirmed this with my grandfather and others. At that time, the Wades were in a bad situation, and my grandfather did indeed seek help everywhere before finally reaching out to Master Lennard. So, my father shouldn’t have been able to plan for me to break through my dragon stranding predicament in advance.” Vera asked further, "Did Master Lennard tell you exactly when you got

Jacob said unhappily, “Of course, I'm not clumsy. It’s not as if you don’t know about my financial situation. Elaine handles all the money at home, and I can barely save a few thousand dollars. So, no matter what antique I'm looking at, I'm always extremely cautious. I'm afraid of dropping, touching, or being accused by others that I was tampering with something…”At this point, Jacob continued speaking with frustration, “That day, that jade vase also seemed to be cursed as well. As soon as I touched it, it slipped out of my hand like it was greased. It fell to the ground and shattered to pieces. Perhaps Mr. Cole was the one who deliberately set me up.”Charlie wondered, “Dad, after the jade vase broke, I repaired it with egg whites. I don't remember it being greased, and I recall that its surface wasn't very smooth because it's from the Tang Dynasty. Its glaze was rather rough, and it had a certain sanding feel when held. How could it slip from your hand?”“Well…” Jacob, who was on

Charlie knew that Stephen used to be his father's most trusted aide and that his father must have made very detailed arrangements back then. Even though Stephen had served the Wades for many years, in reality, most of his time and energy was spent on completing the tasks his father had assigned him.When Charlie thought about how Raymond was also part of his father's arrangements, he estimated that Stephen might have heard something about him too. So, Charlie said to Vera, “I haven't asked Mr. Thompson too many details before, but it seems like I need to talk to him and get some clear answers from him today.”At that moment, Charlie's thoughts were focused on unraveling everything that had happened in the past and all the arrangements his father had left behind. Even if it meant placing psychological hints on Stephen, he was determined to get all the information Stephen knew.With that in mind, he said to Vera, “I'm going to look for Mr. Thompson now.”Vera nodded and asked him, “Y