Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Lucky Charm

“Dad, what are you doing in my room?” The young man slowly approached Gan Enxin. When he saw what Gan Enxin was holding, his expression changed instantly.

Gan Enxin held the Buddha Talisman, his body trembling uncontrollably. “Why did you carve my name and birth details on this Buddha Talisman? Are you trying to kill me? For so many years, I’ve fed you, provided for you, paid for you to study abroad… and in the end, this is how you repay me? By cursing me?”

As soon as he said this, the viewers in the livestream chat immediately started flaming:

[What kind of son is this? Cursing his own father?]

[What’s the point of keeping a son like that? Just beat him to death!]

[What is that thing? It looks like a Buddha Talisman. Could Gan Enxin’s bad luck be related to it?]

[Why would a perfectly normal son curse his own father? If the company goes bankrupt, he won’t get anything out of it!]

[Hasn’t anyone noticed the real issue? The biggest problem is that Gan Enxin could tell something was wrong with the Buddha Talisman at a glance.]

[Same here. When I first saw that Buddha Talisman, I thought it was for a blessing!]

On screen, the young man stared at his own father, his voice full of resentment. “Why? Don’t you know? You’re the one who sought out this Lucky Charm in the first place!”

“You… you know…” Gan Enxin staggered back a step. “I had no choice back then. Our family was poor, and debt collectors were at our door every day. I really had no other way… I know I let you down, which is why I planned on leaving the company and all our property to you.”

“Your company, your properties, your money—it was all bought with Mom’s life! I don’t want any of it!” the son roared, his eyes filled with venomous hatred.

“Over ten years ago, you got ambitious and had to start a business, but you just ended up deep in debt and ran away! The debt collectors came to our door every day, beating Mom and me. They gave us no peace, day or night!”

“Then, you came back. And after you returned, you suddenly struck it rich. You not only paid off all the debts but also started making a name for yourself in the business world.”

“But not long after you came back, my mother started getting sick all the time. Eventually, she was diagnosed with an incurable disease. I watched her waste away, losing her vitality bit by bit. I always thought Mom was just unlucky, that she never got the chance to enjoy the wealth your success brought.”

“It was only much later that I discovered a Buddha Talisman under your and Mom’s bed. On the back were my mother’s name and birth details. After asking around, I finally learned what it was: a Lucky Charm.”

“By writing the name and birth details of a close relative on a Lucky Charm, you can siphon away all of that person’s good fortune for yourself, gaining wealth and prosperity.”

“You drained all of Mom’s luck, which led to her being plagued by illnesses until she passed away.”

“Unfortunately for you, a Lucky Charm is effective for one zodiac cycle—twelve years. Only then do the engraved words disappear, allowing a new name to be carved and a new cycle of luck transference to begin.”

“Back then, you used your wife’s good fortune to trade for twelve years of riches. So, I’m using the same method on you! I want you to know what it feels like to be betrayed by family. I want you to be cursed with misfortune and have bad luck for the rest of your life!”

“You… you unfilial son!”

Furious and desperate, Gan Enxin swung the Buddha Talisman, hurling it hard at his son.

The son tilted his head and dodged the blow.

The Buddha Talisman flew past him, smashed against the bookcase behind him, and shattered into pieces.

“It… it broke?” Gan Enxin froze for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. “It’s shattered! My bad luck will be gone! No one can take my good fortune, no one!”

Gan Enxin was shouting maniacally, clearly overjoyed.

Shen Zhiyao was quick to pour cold water on his celebration. “Unfortunately, even though the Lucky Charm is broken, the contract it created does not disappear. Each contract is effective for twelve years. The beneficiary will enjoy boundless wealth for twelve years, while the victim will be plagued by misfortune until they die.”

“Shut up! Shut your mouth!” Gan Enxin scrambled over in a rage, trying to turn off the phone, but his foot slipped. With a THUD, he slammed into the foot of the bed and passed out.

“Dad? Dad, you’re not dead, are you? Hang in there, I’ll call an ambulance! I’ll definitely save you, because I want you to get a good long taste of being cursed with misfortune. I want you to feel a pain worse than death…”

Before the video feed cut out, the son’s last words sent a chill down the spines of every viewer in the livestream.

[Oh my god, Lucky Charms actually exist? That’s so evil!]

[Making your closest relative suffer endless misfortune just for your own luck… that’s depressingly human!]

[Can I just say, good for the son? Making that evil scumbag father pay the price and get a taste of his own medicine!]

[A man like that deserves to die. His poor wife was dragged down by him and ended up dying a terrible death.]

[So, if you use one of these Lucky Charms, you really get twelve years of good luck?]

[Where do you even get something so sinister? I’m not saying I want one, just curious.]

Seeing how curious everyone was about the Lucky Charms, Shen Zhiyao couldn’t help but add a few words. “Of course, there isn’t just one of these things in the world, but I urge you all to stay as far away from them as possible. If you ever encounter one, take a wide berth. A Lucky Charm can grant someone a meteoric rise in a short amount of time, but it also sows the seeds of karmic retribution. Gan Enxin is the perfect example.”

In the past, whenever they saw talk of “karmic retribution,” they would just think of it as a form of self-comfort for the weak.

But after seeing Gan Enxin’s fate today, the viewers suddenly realized it wasn’t just that.

Good is rewarded with good, and evil is punished with evil. It’s not that there is no retribution; it’s just that the time has not yet come.

Next up was the second divination. As the number of viewers in the livestream continued to rise, the competition to be chosen grew fierce, and the chances of being picked became slimmer and slimmer.

[Everyone get out of the way! I’m an old fan, I’ve watched every single livestream from start to finish! I was so busy enjoying the drama last time I forgot to ask for a reading!]

[Once, an opportunity was placed before me, and I did not cherish it. Now I must seize this chance! Host, “Pick me!”]

[Host, look at me! I’m your die-hard fan, please pick me!]

[I’m an old lady, you all need to make way for me! Don’t you understand the meaning of respecting your elders?]

[Get lost! An old lady who can type that fast? Who are you kidding! Shameless!]

…

Shen Zhiyao started the connection again, and an elderly woman with graying hair, who looked to be over fifty, appeared on the screen.

The elderly woman’s screen name was: Granny Xunzi.

Granny Xunzi peered at the screen, then said with sudden excitement, “Oh, I really got picked! I really got picked! My son can be saved! My son can be saved!”

Next to her was a teenage girl, her neighbor, who had just been pulled over to help her type.

The young girl handed the phone to Granny Xunzi and said patiently, “Granny, you can tell the host whatever you want a reading on. Her divinations are very accurate, so don’t be shy. I’m going to do my homework now.”

With that, the girl turned and left. Granny Xunzi took the phone and said timidly to Shen Zhiyao, “I saw your livestream yesterday. Your readings are very accurate. Can you do a divination for me?”

Shen Zhiyao asked, “Are you asking where your son is right now?”

The granny said excitedly, “Yes, yes! You really can tell fortunes!”

Shen Zhiyao hadn’t actually started the divination. She knew what the granny wanted to ask simply because her screen name, Granny Xunzi, had already revealed her heart’s greatest wish.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep