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"Uh—not really? Why does your backside hurt then? I followed all the right steps and methods for the ritual!" Shawn Young scratched his head, thoroughly puzzled.
"Ah—Shawn Young, you—you bastard!! How dare you even say that—I, damn it, my whole body hurts! You guys scalded me with boiling water, stabbed me with needles! ***—even my hair is falling out because of you, sob sob—" Charles Morin had just regained his senses. The moment he saw Shawn Young, he started shouting in utter confusion.
"Uh—Charlie, I did all this to save you! Otherwise, you wouldn't be alive right now!" Shawn Young quickly explained.
"Damn! If you're saving me, why did you throw me into a pack of male dogs?!" Charlie's eyes welled up with tears of agony as he shouted, still feeling a sharp pain in his little daisy behind.
"Uh—Charlie, you gotta stay calm! Please, just stay calm! It was a desperate situation—you know if the Yan Twins of Terror found you, you wouldn't have gotten your soul back. There was really no other way!" Shawn Young hurriedly explained.
"I—I'm back to my senses now, but damn it, just thinking about those male dogs... they were ruthless, sob sob—even now, my backside is burning! Now I finally know what 'worse than death' means—" Charlie kept rubbing his sore, itchy butt, shouting in distress. He would never forget the nightmare of those past ten-plus hours—it was the worst experience of his life!
"Oh—well, I didn't expect things to go that way! Besides, they're just animals, so don't take it personally! It won't help! Just grit your teeth and it'll all blow over!" Shawn Young tried to comfort him, a bit sheepishly.
"***, endure—I've already endured more than anyone should! Those male dogs didn't care if I wanted it or not, they just jumped me and—***—I hate them—I hate all male dogs—I—I hate force, violence—I—" Thinking about his miserable ordeal, Charlie became incoherent with emotion.
"Sigh—now you know it's not easy being a female dog! Imagine how tough it is for women—so be nicer to the ladies who hang around you, they've got it rough too—" Shawn Young shook his head and sighed.
"Sob sob sob—I hate the Daisy-Busters!! I hate them so much—" The more Charlie thought about it, the more miserable he felt, and he burst into tears, utterly aggrieved.
Just then, Skyler Shangguan outside heard the commotion and hurriedly wheeled Samuel Morin inside. As soon as Samuel saw his beloved son Charlie had recovered, he was overjoyed, but seeing Charlie's heartbroken face, he was startled and quickly asked, "Charlie, you should be happy to be alive and back in your body! Why are you crying so sadly?!"
Charlie heard his dad's voice, looked up, and felt even more wronged. He wailed, "Dad—I, I got humped by male dogs!!"
"Uh—male dogs?! Humped? What does that mean?!" Samuel Morin was clueless about Charlie's trendy 'descriptions.'
"Sob sob—It means—those male dogs ravaged me—my backside still hurts so much—" Charlie wailed like a banshee.
"Uh—Brother Shawn, what exactly happened here?" Samuel Morin had no choice but to ask Shawn Young.
"Oh—here's what happened—" Shawn Young quickly gave Samuel Morin a rundown of the events, but made sure to emphasize how important it was that Charlie's soul had possessed a female dog.
"Uh—so that's what happened! Sigh—I used the Ironplate Divination and foresaw Charlie would face a major disaster! But I never imagined it would be like this—fate really plays tricks!" Samuel Morin shook his head, stunned by the bizarre turn of events.
"Oh, Ironplate Divination? Mr. Morin, you know that stuff too?" Shawn Young asked curiously.
"Yes, yes—our Morin Family's Ironplate Divination was passed down from the Song dynasty master Shao Kangjie, so it's not quite the same as the stuff floating around in the martial arts world. It's much more accurate. The other night, I suddenly had a hunch and used our family method to divine Charlie's fate—I found his birth chart was suddenly hit by the powerful Nine Calamity Star! I was so shocked, I rushed here from Beijing, but I still didn't make it in time. Luckily, even though Charlie encountered the Nine Calamity Star, he had the Polaris Ziwei Star to help him, so he managed to escape death! But this disaster may be avoided, the suffering can't be escaped—it's Charlie's destiny, set by fate, and no one can go against the heavens!" Samuel Morin said with deep emotion.
"Oh—Big Brother, yesterday when Shawn and I were facing danger at the port, you suddenly showed up just in time. Did you predict that too?" Felix Eagleclaw asked curiously from the side.
"Yes, that's right. I saw the Big Dipper tilt and the Polaris star dim in the southwest, so I knew Shawn would be in trouble. That's why I rushed over—and luckily, it worked!" Samuel Morin said.
"Oh! So that's why. I always wondered how you managed to show up just in time, Mr. Morin!" Shawn Young finally understood.
"Sigh—Charlie, stop crying. You can't blame Shawn for this. He's your destined savior, and this disaster was unavoidable for you. But it's over now, you're back to being human, and that's what matters—being alive is better than anything. Actually, part of this is my fault—your mother passed away suddenly, then I became inexplicably paralyzed, and you're my only son left in the Morin Family. I spoiled you too much, and you picked up some bad habits. This ordeal is heaven's way of teaching you a lesson—so learn to control your temper and be a better person! Don't be so arrogant anymore!" Samuel Morin gently comforted Charlie, looking every bit the loving father.
"Sob sob—Okay—I, I'll be a good person from now on—" Charlie thought about all the bad things he'd done, and after his dad's comfort, his mood improved a lot.
But as Charlie took a few steps, he felt a sharp pain in his little daisy again. He grimaced and cried out, "Dad, my backside still hurts—"
"Uh—I'll get a doctor to treat you when we get home! For now, just come back and rest with me." Samuel Morin said.
"Oh—okay!" Charlie replied helplessly. After this ordeal, he was a lot more subdued.
At that moment, Shawn Young remembered he had an important question for Samuel Morin, so he quickly asked, "By the way, Mr. Morin, I want to ask—what exactly happened here? Why did so many powerful experts suddenly show up to target the Morin Family? Why has your family attracted so many strong forces and enemies?!"
"Uh—Shawn, that's a long story! Actually, this isn't just about the Morin Family—the other two Great Houses are involved too!" Samuel Morin suddenly revealed.
"Huh? The other two Great Houses are involved too? This is huge!" Felix Eagleclaw was the first to react in shock. He knew that anything affecting all Three Great Houses of China would be earth-shattering!
"Yes, that's right. This will directly affect the fate of all Three Great Houses of China, and even the whole country. Now it's time for everything to come to light. When I rushed here from Beijing, I already notified the heads of the other two Great Houses to come to Nanning City for a meeting. Tomorrow night, at my private club Emerald Court in Nanning City, the Three Great Houses will hold a secret gathering. Shawn, you can join us—there you'll learn all the secrets you want to know!" Samuel Morin said.
"Uh, oh! Okay—" Shawn Young hadn't expected Samuel Morin to invite him personally, which saved him a lot of trouble.