Chapter 2: My Own Brother Scheming Against Me the Moment We Met

Recognizing my younger brother Lin Yulang was not difficult. His features were almost identical to our mother, Liu Ruyin. Precisely because he resembled her, he looked fairer and more handsome than I did. Besides that, he wore a piece of Hetian red jade on his chest, intricately carved with auspicious clouds and dragon patterns that subtly formed the character "Lin." This was our Lin family’s heirloom jade, passed down to the eldest son through generations.

Originally, it should have been passed to me. Yet, when I was a child, I repeatedly begged my father for it, but he was reluctant to give it to me. Unexpectedly, now it had been freely handed down to the family’s youngest son—Lin Yulang. This clearly showed how biased my father was!

What surprised me even more was that Lin Yulang actually recognized me. The moment he saw me, his face was full of disbelief, muttering as if he had seen a ghost: “Lin Mazi, you’re not dead?!”

But this was understandable. I resembled my father Lin Yutang very much, and I was born with a distinctive bluish birthmark in the shape of the Big Dipper on my face. Among billions of people, there was no one else who looked like me.

After a brief moment of shock, Lin Yulang came forward, grabbed my arm, and asked, “Lin Mazi? Really you? You’re not dead? Weren’t you…” He stopped himself mid-sentence, realizing he had almost let something slip, and quickly corrected, “Weren’t you missing since childhood?”

I sneered quietly. He actually knew that I had been buried alive by my parents. It seemed Lin Yutang and Liu Ruyin had never kept this from him. They all thought it was only fair to exchange my life for Lin Yulang’s.

“Heh, I’m not dead,” I said coldly without expression, looking straight at my “good brother.” “I’m back. By the way, you’re Lin Yulang, right?”

He nodded, his sly eyes darting around, then a smile suddenly curved his lips, as if he had thought of something delightful. “Great! Lin Mazi, you’re not dead! Our family can finally reunite! You have no idea how much Mom and Dad have worried about you all these years—they searched everywhere for you!” he lied hypocritically.

His words, however, struck me as odd. Logically, my birth chart and Lin Yulang’s were in direct conflict; only if I were dead could he live prosperously. Shouldn’t the three of them have wished for my death?

Why then could Lin Yulang smile upon seeing I was alive?

There had to be something fishy.

At that moment, his shrewd eyes examined my tattered clothes and mocked, “Mazi, look at what you’re wearing—worse than a street beggar. Where have you been all these years? Why no news?”

I thought to myself, where else could I have been? Sleeping in a coffin on a mass grave. As for these clothes, of course, I had scavenged them from the dead.

But I didn’t want to alert him, so I feigned ignorance and lied casually: “When I was six, I must have been stolen away in my sleep, confused, and left home. When I woke up, I was in the wilderness.”

“An old beggar found me and took me around begging and performing, traveling far and wide to make money. After twenty years, when the old beggar died, I escaped back.”

Lin Yulang breathed a sigh of relief, probably thinking I was unaware of the truth about being buried alive. He patted my shoulder, pretending to care: “Mazi, you’ve suffered. Luckily, I found you today.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take you home right now. From today on, you won’t have to suffer.”

“Remember, it was your brother who saved your life, picking you up off the street. One day, you must repay this debt of gratitude—got it?”

His words made me sick. Clearly, he was the one who caused me to be buried alive by our own parents, yet now he fancied himself my savior. It was a blatant inversion of right and wrong!

But this was not the time to confront him. I pretended to cooperate and nodded, “I’ll remember this kindness.”

Lin Yulang was very pleased and cheerfully pulled me into the car. Disgusted by my dirtiness and odor, he first laid down two old newspapers for me to sit on.

The car started and headed toward the old Lin family residence.

Along the way, he boasted, “Mazi, you’re supposed to be the eldest son of the Lin family, so the family estate should have been yours. But since you were unlucky and went missing as a child, the inheritance has to be mine.”

“But don’t worry, I won’t treat you badly. I’ll pass down some of the Lin family’s feng shui traditions to you—enough for you to read fortunes and support yourself.”

“How’s that? Your brother’s been more than fair, right?”

I wanted to laugh. During those twenty years on the mass grave, isolated from the world, I had devoted myself to mastering the esoteric arts of the three teachings and nine schools.

Now accomplished, my strategic insight far surpassed not only Lin Yulang but even Lin Yutang and Liu Ruyin combined.

The Lin family’s mystical feng shui was but one of the minor schools—third-rate among the nine schools.

Such meager skills were nothing to me, barely worth a glance.

For Lin Yulang to try to control me with such trivial favors was truly ignorant beyond measure.

Half an hour later, the car entered the courtyard of the old Lin family mansion.

After two decades, I was finally home again.

But Lin Yulang did not let me in immediately; he made me wait outside, saying, “Mazi, you’ve been missing for twenty years. Suddenly appearing now might shock Mom and Dad.”

“So, stay here at the door. I’ll go inside to prepare them mentally, then I’ll bring you in.”

He left me standing in the yard and walked toward the house.

At that moment, Lin Yutang and Liu Ruyin heard the noise and came out to the door.

When they saw me standing there, their faces instantly turned pale as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

I found it amusing and deliberately stared at them without expression.

Lin Yulang quickly approached, pulling them aside to speak privately.

He thought I was too far away to hear, but little did he know I was versed in the esoteric arts, including the fourth flow of the lower nine schools—the Night Watchman—who specializes in lip-reading.

Simply by watching their lip movements, I could perfectly understand their conversation.

Lin Yutang said, “Is this Mazi? That ill-fated star isn’t dead? Yulang, where did you find him?”

Lin Yulang chuckled softly, “Funny story, I just happened to run into him on the street. I saw the seven-star birthmark on his face and knew he must be my unlucky older brother.”

Liu Ruyin frowned anxiously, “Yulang, does Mazi know about the time we buried him alive?”

Lin Yulang shook his head, “Mom, don’t worry. The kid’s so dumb he has no clue about that. He thinks he was kidnapped by traffickers. All these years, he was held captive by an old beggar, begging and performing. He only escaped after that old man died…”

Only then did Liu Ruyin relax, then grit her teeth and say, “Yulang, your and Mazi’s birth charts clash. There can be only one of you. Back then, your parents were careless and didn’t eliminate the threat. This time, we can’t be negligent. Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to get rid of him!”

Unexpectedly, Lin Yulang shook his head: “Mom, right now I need a scapegoat. Mazi’s return is perfect timing. He’s destined to take the fall for me. We’ll pamper him for a few days, then trick him into taking the blame. Killing two birds with one stone.”