What Did You Bury Under the Tree

"Let her go!" Lena shouted anxiously, striking out with her palm to make Grace Wan release Grace.

The Protective Talisman doesn't just defend—it also backfires.

The harder you hit, the stronger the backlash.

But Lena didn't really understand this.

As her palm landed, the Protective Talisman on Grace Wan suddenly flashed with a burst of white light.

Minister Zhuo's face changed dramatically. He rushed in front of Lena, taking the full force of the backlash himself.

Luckily, Lena hadn't used much force, so the backlash wasn't strong. Otherwise, Minister Zhuo would've been seriously hurt.

Still, it hurt like hell.

"Grace Wan! Are you out of your mind?" Minister Zhuo spun around and roared. "Let Grace go!"

Grace Wan finally let go of Grace, though not without a hateful glare.

"Grace has never known anything about talismans since she was a child," Minister Zhuo said. "But you, you seem to know them inside out!"

"I—"

"After living together for over twenty years, I feel like I don't know you at all," Minister Zhuo interrupted, his eyes full of suspicion.

To Minister Zhuo, Grace Wan was becoming more and more of a stranger...

Grace Wan felt a sudden panic under his gaze and quickly explained, "It's just a Protective Talisman my father left me! Once it's activated, I get some talisman power. Plus, when I was little, my dad taught me a few simple spells, so I only know a little."

"I've never heard that your father was a Spiritual Talismanist?"

"No, he's not!" Grace Wan replied quickly. "My father isn't a Spiritual Talismanist, he just knows a few simple spells."

Minister Zhuo frowned, "Then why are you so sure Grace put some kind of talisman on Kenneth Lawrence?"

Grace Wan said, "He's close with the Spiritual Alchemist, the Spiritual Alchemist—"

"Nonsense!" Minister Zhuo's face darkened. "You even dragged the Spiritual Alchemist into this? He has no grudge against Kenneth Lawrence—why would he want to hurt him?"

Grace Wan bit her lip and didn't say another word.

"Grace, you should go home now," Minister Zhuo comforted her. "Your aunt is probably just overstimulated—she's talking nonsense!"

"Oh! Okay!" Grace gave her a barely noticeable smile.

Then, nervously, she shrank behind Minister Zhuo.

...

The talisman Grace put on Kenneth Lawrence was a Death Talisman.

Shannon said that anyone who'd cultivated talisman power could spot this kind of talisman right away.

And it's pretty easy to get rid of, too.

Kenneth Lawrence may be a jerk, but Grace never wanted to kill him.

After all, he's Minister Zhuo's own son.

Grace didn't want her dad to know the pain of losing a child at his age.

She used the Death Talisman on Kenneth Lawrence just to force Grace Wan to show her talisman powers.

So Madam Lawrence, Minister Zhuo, and the others would know Grace Wan could control talismans.

Then...

"Miss Lawrence, what did you bury under the tree?" Late at night, Xi'er crouched beside Grace and asked.

"Something good," Grace replied. "You'll know soon enough!"

"Miss Lawrence, are you really going to get sick?"

"Don't worry! I won't die!"

"But I still can't help worrying. What if you end up like Kenneth Lawrence today? That looked terrifying!"

"I won't be foaming at the mouth and convulsing all ugly like that."

"Oh! Then I'm relieved!" Xi'er said.

"But it'll be even worse!"

Xi'er: "..."

...

Grace and Lena's illness came on fast and fierce.

It was even worse than what Kenneth Lawrence had gone through.

Their faces turned as pale as paper, and they lost consciousness completely.

Both had the same symptoms. In just one day, the Spiritual Alchemist issued a death notice to Minister Zhuo and Madam Lawrence.