Chapter 32

Xu Gui was taken on a tour of Zheng Fulai's house by Zheng Fulai.

They first went to the pond where the problem had started, but before they even reached the pond, they could smell the stench of dead fish wafting from the air ahead.

Zheng Fulai couldn't help but frown.

As they approached, they finally saw the situation at the pond. The Zheng family's servants were standing by the pond, using fishing nets to catch fish. The fish they caught only turned their white bellies slightly before becoming still.

Upon seeing Zheng Fulai, the servants greeted him one after another: "Young Master Fulai."

"Aunt Chen, the fish in the pond have died again?" Zheng Fulai asked worriedly.

The middle-aged woman, referred to as Aunt Chen, nodded and sighed, "The batch of fish we put in a couple of days ago has almost all died. Sigh, these fish were so expensive."

Chen's mother felt quite sorry for her.

Xu Gui glanced at the pond. This pond was in the backyard, fed by running water. A winding stream flowed down from above and merged into the large pond in front of him. Lotus flowers were planted in the pond, their leaves lush and green, their buds unfurling. It should have been a vibrant and beautiful scene.

The reason I say "should be" is because the pond now looks rather unpleasant. Instead of beautiful lotus leaves floating on the surface, there are dead fish with their white bellies turned up, lifeless and sullen. The lotus leaves that should be showing their tender tips are withered and dead, showing no signs of life.

The scene before me, coupled with the lingering fishy smell, was anything but beautiful.

"Have you had the water in this pond tested?" someone asked the Zheng family's servants. Xu Gui glanced at them and recognized one of the people from the reception room earlier.

"Yes," the maid replied. "When the fish in the backyard had a problem, the old gentleman had his second son-in-law take the water for testing, and the test results showed that there was no problem."

Zheng Fulai also turned his head to introduce this "second son-in-law" to Xu Gui: "The second son-in-law is my second sister's husband. He is a doctor."

This person probably couldn't stand being talked about, because Xu Gui and the others started talking about this second son-in-law. Not long after, a handsome young man with a slender figure came from the front to the backyard.

Upon seeing the other person, Zheng Fulai immediately called out, "Brother Qilin!"

Wei Qilin, the second son-in-law of the Zheng family.

Wei Qilin smiled when he saw Zheng Fulai and said, "Feiran said you had guests in the backyard, so I came to check. What, did you notice anything?"

He spoke to Zheng Fulai in a very friendly tone.

Hearing this, Zheng Fulai pursed his lips and said somewhat unhappily, "Did Fei Ran say something to you again? Did he say something bad about me? Did he call me stupid and say I was fooled?"

Wei Qilin was amused by him and said, "Your brother Feiran is just concerned about you. Who told you to be so naive and rich, always getting scammed?"

"Have you forgotten the time you were tricked into going to a bar and almost got scammed? If it weren't for your brother Feiran arriving in time, you probably would have lost everything, even your underwear!"

"And the time before that, your so-called friend said there was a family emergency, and you gave him two million without hesitation, only to find out later that he was lying to you..."

"Oh right, and the time before that..."

As Wei Qilin spoke, Zheng Fulai's face gradually turned red. Seeing that Wei Qilin was about to continue, he quickly said, "Alright, alright! Brother Qilin, stop talking."

He glanced furtively at Xu Guihe, who was filming him, and felt somewhat embarrassed.

Wei Qilin smiled and said, "I'm not saying all this to expose your shortcomings, I just want to tell you that your brother Feiran only cares about you. Whenever you're in trouble, isn't he the first one to run away?"

“I know Fei Ran is good to me,” Zheng Fulai said somewhat awkwardly, “but, one thing at a time, it’s true that he was wrong this time! Master Xu was a guest I invited, and he was rude to her. This is not only disrespectful to Master Xu, but also clearly disrespectful to me!”

Wei Qilin was somewhat surprised that he could say such a "philosophical" thing, and couldn't help but reach out and pat his head, sighing, "Our Fulai has grown up."

Zheng Fulai: "...I'm already twenty-five years old, okay? You still treat me like a child."

He introduced Xu Gui to Wei Qilin, "Brother Qilin, this is Master Xu. Let me tell you, Master Xu is really, really amazing. If you knew what she has done, you would also think she is amazing."

Perhaps fearing that Wei Qilin might think Xu Gui was a fraud like Zheng Feiran did, he tried very hard to convey to him how amazing Xu Gui was.

"You don't know, yesterday someone went to Master Xu for fortune telling, saying that they received a phone call from their deceased father in the middle of the night. Master Xu calculated that it was his father who was not dead. They went to dig up the grave, and after digging his father out, his father was actually still alive..."

Zheng Fulai chattered on and on: "Oh, and there's more! There was a Mr. Li who said his family was possessed by evil spirits. Master Xu calculated that it was because Mr. Li's mother had sprinkled pesticide in the rice jar. Their family wasn't possessed by evil spirits, but poisoned!"

Finally, he concluded, "Brother Qilin, tell me, isn't Master Xu amazing?"

Wei Qilin's gaze fell on Xu Gui with a probing look, his expression unreadable. He said, "According to you, Master Xu is truly amazing."

Zheng Fulai nodded vigorously: "That's right, that's why I asked Master Xu for help. With Master Xu here, I believe our family's problems will definitely be resolved quickly!"

"Right, Master Xu?" He looked at Xu Gui expectantly.

Xu Gui nodded: "Mm."

Wei Qilin smiled, extended his hand to shake hands with Xu Gui, and said meaningfully, "Then we'll leave our family's affairs to you, Master Xu."

Xu Gui lifted his eyelids to glance at him, smiled, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Mr. Wei, you are too kind."

Xu Gui felt that Wei Qilin and Zheng Feiran were actually quite similar. Both of them seemed to be well-educated, gentle, polite and courteous. However, one was more peaceful and shrewd, unfathomable; the other was like a needle hidden in cotton, and you could easily get pricked by him if you weren't careful.

Wei Qilin looked at the dead fish that the servants had pulled out of the pond and casually asked, "I wonder if Master Xu has figured anything out after looking at this for so long?"

Master Xu solemnly stated, "We still need to observe further." At least we need to observe until the client feels that the money is worthwhile.

"Oh, really?" Wei Qilin's lips curled up slightly. "Then I'll have to trouble Master Xu."

“…I understand.” Just then, a long, drawn-out sigh came from the side. A middle-aged Taoist priest with a beard and wearing a Taoist robe, exuding an air of otherworldly wisdom, said, “It’s the work of a vengeful spirit!”

Everyone present was drawn to what the other person was saying, even the "colleagues" who were holding compasses and studying something in a serious manner looked at the other person.

Xu Gui:

Wei Qilin asked, "Master, what does this mean? What kind of vengeful spirit is at work?"

The middle-aged Taoist priest stroked his beard, looking unfathomable, and said, "You must have had the feng shui of your house checked before it was built, right?"

“Yes.” Wei Qilin nodded. “Back then, we consulted Master Huiyuan of Fajue Temple.”

The middle-aged Taoist priest exclaimed in realization, "It's Master Huiyuan! No wonder I felt the feng shui of this house was extraordinary as soon as I entered. It has the aura of a hidden dragon in the abyss, attracting wealth and gathering energy..."

Xu Gui listened, turned slightly to the side, and asked Zheng Fulai in a low voice, "Who is Master Huiyuan?"

Listening to this, they seem really powerful, even more powerful than those Xuan Turtle? Could they be some extraordinary human?

Zheng Fulai: "Master, don't you know Master Huiyuan?"

Xu Gui honestly shook his head.

Zheng Fulai then introduced Master Huiyuan to her: "...Master Huiyuan is a high-ranking monk of Fajue Temple. He is skilled in divination and feng shui. He is a very well-known figure in the circle of wealthy people."

Xu Gui: "Wow..."

Zheng Fulai got excited and continued, "Master Huiyuan is very powerful. He is best at feng shui and setting up feng shui formations. You know the Qin family of Shengshi, right?"

Xu Gui continued to shake his head.

"..." Zheng Fulai had to briefly introduce the Qin family again, "The Qin family started out in real estate, but it is said that the reason why Boss Qin was able to get rich was because Master Huiyuan arranged a wealth-attracting feng shui layout for him. Since then, the Qin family has risen rapidly and has become a new elite in City A in just a few years!"

After this incident, Master Huiyuan's already renowned reputation became even more prominent, and his value skyrocketed, making it difficult for ordinary people to hire him.

“When my house was built, we invited Master Huiyuan to take a look. The arrangement and construction of many things were arranged according to his plan. My brother Feiran said that this feng shui can ensure peace and bring wealth!”

Zheng Fulai spoke fluently about these matters, clearly knowing them very well. However, after finishing, he sighed and said softly, "It's because the feng shui of our house was specially arranged that something bad happened recently, causing everyone to panic. My grandfather not only lost his appetite because of this, but he also fell ill."

He lowered his voice and muttered, "That's why everyone suspects that our family's feng shui has been broken, which is why all these bad things happened."

After listening, Xu Gui couldn't help but exclaim, "Your family is so superstitious!"

Zheng Fulai glanced at her furtively: "...Shouldn't you have said that, Master? You're doing the most superstitious things."

"I didn't, I'm not, don't slander me." Xu Gui directly denied it three times in a row, stating confidently, "I'm different, this is scientific fortune telling. Have you seen my fortune telling banner? It clearly says 'Scientific' on it!"

Zheng Fulai: ...Because you wrote about science, does that mean what you did is scientific?

While the two were whispering to each other, the middle-aged Taoist priest continued to explain to everyone in a profound and unfathomable tone why it was said to be "the work of vengeful spirits."

"...Mr. Zheng, your family's feng shui is too good. It can gather energy and wealth, and also bring continuous blessings. So, unknowingly, it attracted this vengeful spirit. After it appeared, it caused your family's magnetic field to become chaotic, and the feng shui also changed. The originally good feng shui turned into a very bad one, full of evil energy. Therefore, the people living here, or other living beings, will be affected."

The middle-aged Taoist priest asked with a serious expression, "Excuse me, has anyone in your family fallen ill recently? And has anyone suffered financial loss?"

Wei Qilin looked surprised, then frowned and said, "Someone in our family is indeed sick. As for the financial loss... my wife was in a car accident when she went to work this morning. The police said it was entirely our fault."

"Second sister was in a car accident?" Zheng Fulai's expression changed.

Wei Qilin looked at him and comforted him, "Don't worry, he's fine. It's just that the car was damaged and taken to the repair shop. The police said they'll have to pay a lot of money in compensation."

Zheng Fulai breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good that everyone is alright." Paying compensation is secondary.

“No wonder you were home today, Brother Qilin. I was wondering if the hospital wasn’t busy?” he said again.

Wei Qilin said, "I took leave from the hospital today and swapped shifts with someone to deal with this... You know your second sister, she knows absolutely nothing about these things."

Zheng Fulai pressed further, "What about my second sister?"

Wei Qilin said, "Of course I went to work, so it was me who came back."

“That’s it!” the middle-aged Taoist said. “First, the plants and animals in the house were affected, and then the effect spread to people. When it affected people, some people fell ill. I guess the elderly in the family fell ill. The elderly are weak, so when something happens, the elderly in the family are the first to be affected.”

Zheng Fulai's eyes widened. He turned to look at Wei Qilin and exclaimed, "Brother Qilin, he's right about everything!"

Wei Qilin pressed on, "Master, how can we resolve this matter?"

The middle-aged Taoist priest said solemnly, "Naturally, it's to exorcise ghosts... Let me prepare some things first, and I will perform the exorcism in a moment!"

He spoke with great seriousness, and Xu Gui listened: ...

"...A vengeful spirit seeking revenge? I don't think so." A middle-aged man dressed in Tang suit, who wasn't a Taoist priest, held a different opinion. He said, "I think this is purely because the feng shui was broken, causing a disharmony in the magnetic field."

The middle-aged Taoist priest raised an eyebrow: "What makes you say that?"

The man in the Tang suit chuckled and said, "If it's the work of a vengeful spirit, then where is that spirit? If you're so capable, summon it now so I can see... Ah, I see, are you going to say that people and ghosts cannot be detected by the naked eye?"

"It's alright, I have ox tears here. Ox tears connect the living and the dead. If there really is a wronged spirit, we'll drip some ox tears on it and take a good look!"

He took a bottle of "cow tears" out of his pocket.

Middle-aged Taoist priest: !

"Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble?" he snapped.

The man in the Tang suit said sarcastically, "Oh dear, so you're angry because I've exposed your lie? Mr. Zheng, I think this guy is a liar. Everything he just said was probably a lie to you..."

"Pah! You actually have the nerve to call me a swindler? Humph, I heard that the last time you arranged a feng shui arrangement to bring wealth to someone, that person went bankrupt not long after, and that customer even almost killed you with a knife because of it... And now you're giving me advice? If anyone's a swindler, it's you!"

"...At least I wouldn't do anything that disregards human life, nor would I be as heartless as you! Do you think I don't know? Last time you tried to exorcise a child and fed him talisman water, you fed the child to death. The whole story has spread throughout the circle! Aren't you afraid that child will come back to haunt you tonight and seek revenge?"

"you……"

“I%*……￥”

The two stood there, and started attacking each other. In the end, they were undermining each other, exposing each other's shortcomings, and revealing all sorts of bad things. The atmosphere was full of tension.

Zheng Fulai, who was watching this scene, was speechless. His expression, which was initially shocked and excited by the middle-aged Taoist's words, gradually turned into a blank expression.

"Master, let me show you other places..."

He turned to look at Xu Gui, only to see Xu Gui watching the two arguing with great interest, his gaze shifting back and forth between them.

Zheng Fulai's lips twitched slightly.

Upon hearing his words, Xu Gui reluctantly turned his attention back and said, "...Okay, okay."

However, despite what she said, her eyes lingered on the two of them, her expression one of pure excitement at seeing such a scene—it was the first time she had ever seen people arguing like this.

"Do you think they'll fight?" she whispered to Zheng Fu.

Zheng Fulai honestly replied, "...I don't know."

A sly glint flashed in Xu Gui's eyes as he said, "I bet they will. In two minutes, they'll unleash their deadly attack on each other, then one of them will slip and fall into the pond. Because of the awkward landing, their face will be scratched by the rocks on the edge of the pond, and blood will gush out..."

"The other person was pulled into the water by the other person. Although he was unharmed, he almost drowned in the pond because he couldn't swim."

Xu Gui's voice was clear and melodious, and her slow, deliberate manner made people want to stop and listen. However, after hearing what she said, the expressions of the others couldn't help but become a little strange.

“…The water in our pond isn’t deep,” Zheng Fulai said softly. “When I go down, the water only comes up to my waist; no one can drown.”

Xu Gui replied, "For someone who can't swim, even if the water only reaches their calves, they can still drown."

Zheng Fulai: "..."

Wei Qilin's probing gaze fell on Xu Gui once again.

*

After that, Xu Gui and the others didn't move, but watched the two who were arguing more and more fiercely—they were very curious whether the scene Xu Gui described would really happen.

This is something that not only Zheng Fulai and his group are curious about, but everyone in the live stream is also very curious. If the scene that Xu Gui described really becomes a reality, then... wouldn't she really be a diviner?

Therefore, with a very subtle feeling, everyone's eyes were fixed on the two arguing people.

Of course, the Zheng family's servants tried to persuade the two, but the two argued more and more fiercely, completely ignoring the advice of those around them. Moreover, in their anger, they directly revealed all the disgusting things the other had done.

Now, the two have completely broken off relations, and given the situation, it's not surprising that they ended up fighting.

They were tearing at each other while cursing and swearing.

Then, suddenly, one of them slipped and fell into the pond behind him. Because they were fighting, when one of them slipped, the other also fell into the water.

"thump!"

A huge splash of water erupted from the pond amidst gasps of surprise.

Having anticipated this, Xu Gui quickly hid behind the paparazzi two seconds earlier. The paparazzi were strong, one body being equivalent to two of Xu Gui's, completely blocking her from getting wet.

As for the others...

The cameraman wiped the water off his face, then touched the camera that had been splashed with water, thankfully saying, "Thank goodness, this thing is waterproof."

Xu Gui peeked out from behind him and saw that almost everyone present had been caught in the crossfire. She said "almost," because she was one of the few who had escaped.

Zheng Fulai looked at her with a mournful expression and said, "Master, why didn't you tell us beforehand?"

Xu Gui looked at him innocently and said, "I just remembered that too..."

As a Xuan Turtle in her true form, she actually quite likes water, but she prefers to be completely submerged rather than standing there getting splashed with water, especially after she transformed into a human, she disliked it even more.

"...Ah! Blood! Help!"

Suddenly, a cry of surprise came from the edge of the pond. Zheng Fulai and the others suddenly remembered Xu Gui's "prophecy". They looked at each other and walked to the edge of the pond in unison, looking into the water.

By this time, servants had already jumped in to rescue people. The scene in the pond was chaotic, and bright red blood could be seen spreading on the turbulent water. The red blood looked particularly glaring.

"Sir! Sir! Are you alright?"

The person in the pond was helped up. He was soaking wet, his eyes were closed, and one hand was stiffly covering his left cheek.

On his left cheek, where his hand wasn't covering the area, a blood-red liquid could be seen meandering down, sliding over his chin, and finally dripping onto the water below.

When he released his hand from his left cheek, everyone saw that the skin and flesh on his left cheek were torn off, and a hideous, gruesome scratch, constantly dripping blood, was clearly visible on his left face.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Fulai was shocked—he knew Xu Gui was very capable and that she was shrewd and resourceful, but that knowledge was nothing compared to the impact of witnessing this scene firsthand.

Wait, the person with the facial injury fulfilled their prophecy, but what about the other person...?

Zheng Fulai's gaze quickly fell back onto the pond, and this time, he finally saw another figure splashing around.

They had both fallen into the pond, but the middle-aged Taoist priest was already standing up with the help of the servants at the edge of the pond, while the man in the Tang suit was already almost in the middle of the pond.

His entire body was submerged in the water, thrashing about without any foothold. Because the commotion was so great, no one noticed him at all.

Seeing the man in the Tang suit sinking lower and lower, Zheng Fulai shouted in panic, "Help! Help! There's another one over there!"

The scene erupted into noise again.