Chapter 7

Jiang Zhuochen quickly ran downstairs. The female ghost's seal had just been broken. She turned around and glared at him with hatred, making hoarse sounds from her throat from time to time.

He pulled out the talisman, and the female ghost's hands trembled slightly with force as she confronted him for a moment before silently disappearing from the spot.

Jiang Zhuochen dragged Li Hui to the sofa and slapped him twice. "Wake up, wake up."

Li Hui suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily as he looked around. "Master, did you see that?! A ghost! A ghost!"

"It's not surprising that I can see it," Jiang Zhuochen said casually. "But do you know what it means that you can see it?"

Li Hui was taken aback: "What?"

Jiang Zhuochen gestured with his hand across his neck.

Li Hui immediately collapsed, his hands trembling as he grasped Jiang Zhuochen's hand, tears streaming down his face. "Master, Master! Please save me! I'll give you anything you want!"

Jiang Zhuochen, afraid that his snot and tears would get on him, turned his head away in disgust. "Answer me a few questions honestly."

"you say."

"Did you recognize that female ghost from just now?"

"No, I don't know her." A hint of panic flashed in Li Hui's eyes, and as if eager to confirm himself, he continued, "She doesn't even have a head, I don't know what she looks like."

“I checked for you,” Jiang Zhuochen replied, “It matches your description.”

“Oh…” Li Hui replied dryly, his neck stiff.

"You should already know why your wife didn't reincarnate as a vengeful ghost, right?" Jiang Zhuochen asked. "Aren't you going to tell me the truth?"

Li Hui's voice was a little weak, "Maybe my wife died with her eyes wide open because my son's whereabouts are unknown."

Jiang Zhuochen pressed his advantage: "Why did you cover your room with talismans after your wife died? Who are you afraid of? And why is there blood in the bowl in your room?"

"I can't see it, Master. How would I know it's my wife? If she's been haunted, she should definitely find a Taoist priest to exorcise it, right?" Li Hui rubbed his hands together. "Isn't it normal to put a bowl of dog's blood in the room for exorcism?"

Jiang Zhuochen met his gaze; the other man's lips were tightly pressed together, his face tense from clenching his back teeth. He leaned back on the sofa and changed the subject: "Was there anything unusual before and after your son's disappearance?"

"No...yes, yes, I remember now. I was busy then and didn't have time to take care of him. It just so happened that I took away his allowance because of his studies, and he threw a tantrum and ran away from home. He never came back." Li Hui said earnestly, covering his face. "If I had known, I would have just let him go."

"Master, Master, you have to believe me!" Jiang Zhuochen's silence panicked Li Hui. He knelt on the ground and grabbed Jiang Zhuochen's arm tightly. "I'll give you anything you want, please save me."

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t save you.” Jiang Zhuochen pulled his hand away. “That female ghost used up a lot of energy to fight against the magic array, so she probably won’t come out for the next couple of days. Let’s wait until she shows herself.”

Li Hui was bewildered. "Then, what should I do?"

"You?" Jiang Zhuochen said calmly, "Anyway, you won't die in the next couple of days."

He stood up and turned to leave, but Li Hui, in a panic, grabbed his pants to stop him. "No, Master, you can't leave! Name your price, and I'll give you everything."

"Shut up!" Jiang Zhuochen grabbed his pants and turned around to yell at him, "Let go! What's wrong with you? Didn't I say you wouldn't die?"

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't use his spiritual power on mortals, Jiang Zhuochen would have given this person a good beating to teach him a lesson.

"One million, no, five million! Or do you want a house? I'll give you anything you can help me with, Master, you can't leave!"

Who cares about the houses here? They're not even as big as a pond outside the mountains. Jiang Zhuochen was annoyed and had no choice but to say, "Don't go back to that room to sleep for the next couple of days."

“But…” Li Hui hesitated.

"But what do you mean, 'but'?" Jiang Zhuochen took advantage of his momentary daze to pull his leg away and took a few steps back. "If your talisman really worked, would you be able to see ghosts?"

"Yes, yes." Li Hui patted the sofa excitedly. "Thank you for your guidance, Master."

"Return the tag back first, and I'll replenish the spells you used up."

Upon hearing that it could protect him, Li Hui handed over the tag without hesitation. Jiang Zhuochen, taking advantage of the fact that the other party couldn't understand it, openly drew a puppet eye on it and returned it.

"Remember to wear it around your neck and don't take it off."

Li Hui put it on without hesitation, saying, "Thank you, Master!"

Having finally gotten rid of Li Hui, Jiang Zhuochen returned to the hotel, took a shower, and then lay in bed monitoring Li Hui's every move.

The moonlight outside the window faded from a warm, yellowish glow to a cool, silvery white. Jiang Zhuochen lay on the bed, half-asleep. He thought the other party wouldn't make any moves today, and just as he was about to close his eyes, Li Hui opened the door, holding a familiar-looking bowl in his hand.

Jiang Zhuochen frowned and sat up, staring ahead through the puppet's eyes. But Li Hui, carrying a bowl, stopped after going down to the first floor, stood there for a long time, and then returned the way he came.

"Huh?" Jiang Zhuochen threw himself back onto the bed in disappointment.

Li Hui, being a mere mortal, would certainly not know what he had done. The fact that he stopped walking was clearly a sign of hesitation. Could it be that because he had the possession talisman he had given him, he was now reassured and doing nothing?

Jiang Zhuochen sighed. "Why don't we let the female ghost scare him a little more before he goes over?"

The next day, Jiang Zhuochen arrived at Ruyi Hair Salon. The staff were too busy to attend to him. He casually found a seat and sat down, his gaze aimlessly following the figures moving around.

He seemed a bit idle, and felt embarrassed after a while. Suddenly, his half-closed eyelids snapped open, and he thought of a way to pass the time.

He could open a shop, or even a Taoist temple to revive his old profession.

He wanted to ask someone for advice on how to open a shop here, and as soon as he stood up, Li Hui hurriedly pushed open the door.

"Master, Master, save me!"

Jiang Zhuochen rubbed his temples; he was sick of hearing that phrase these past few days. He led Li Hui to the lounge and closed the door. "What happened?"

"I listened to you last night and slept in another room, but I woke up in my original bedroom this morning." Li Hui's eyes were bloodshot, and he was on the verge of collapse. "Do you think that female ghost is trying to take my life?!"

“That’s your wife,” Jiang Zhuochen reminded him. “If you’ve truly done nothing wrong to her, why are you afraid she’ll come after you for your life?”

"That's a ghost!" Li Hui shouted. "How could a ghost have reason? It just kills anyone it sees. Master, you must go and destroy it!"

"If I could destroy it, I would have done so long ago." His cultivation level was insufficient, and his spiritual power was also lacking. How could he possibly pull out a ghost? "Right now, she can only scare you. Don't worry, just wait a little longer."

Li Hui took a check out of his bag and handed it over. Jiang Zhuochen took it and shook it; it looked somewhat familiar.

"What is this? Tens, hundreds, thousands..."

"This is a check," Li Hui said with a fawning smile. "There are three million inside."

Jiang Zhuochen raised an eyebrow. "Why would I give you money? Didn't I already say I'd help you?"

“I’d like Master to stay with me these next few days.” Li Hui swallowed hard, and as if afraid Jiang Zhuochen wouldn’t agree, he added, “If you think the money is too little, we can discuss it further.”

"Oh, thank you." Jiang Zhuochen dragged out his words and accepted the check without any hesitation. He had just been worrying about opening a shop, and now someone was eager to help him.

"You want me to protect you, right?" After Li Hui nodded hurriedly, Jiang Zhuochen took the opportunity to say, "Sure, I recently ran away from home and have nowhere to stay. If you help me open a Taoist temple nearby, I'll help you."

Li Hui was overjoyed, "Great, no problem, give me three days."

"make a deal."

Feeling protected, Li Hui couldn't hide his smile. He took Jiang Zhuochen to his company and let him rest in his office.

Jiang Zhuochen walked into the office amidst a jumble of stares. The other person seemed like a country bumpkin who had been struck by money. From the crystal chandelier on the ceiling to the unknown collectibles on the wall cabinets, everything about the place exuded luxury and splendor.

He curled his lip in disdain, sat on the sofa in front of the French windows, leaned back and gazed into the distance, listening to Li Hui's incessant chatter.

Just as he was dozing off, Li Hui walked over. There were a few other people nearby. He said politely, "Xiao Jiang, I have to go out for a bit."

Jiang Zhuochen got up and followed him out, not caring where the other was going, since this work-related matter had nothing to do with him.

After moving from one company to an even larger one, Li Hui thought he would be turned away again today. To his surprise, the receptionist called to inquire, and Xu Xing actually agreed to let him up.

Li Hui acted impulsively and started walking forward, but after taking two steps, he stopped and hesitated.

He shouldn't have brought Jiang Zhuochen with him when he went up to discuss cooperation, in case he accidentally displeased that person and was afraid of being kicked out. But he was restless without Jiang Zhuochen by his side.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Hui led Jiang Zhuochen to the rest area in the hall and asked him to sit down, saying in a low voice, "Master, wait for me here."

If Jiang Zhuochen had known that the other party had chosen money over fate, he wouldn't have waited in this shabby place all afternoon. The elevator doors opened and closed, and a large number of people walked out. As the crowd thinned, the outdoor light became dim.

He left without a second thought when his stomach was about to protest; even the most important matters had to wait until he was full.

Li Hui waited in the lounge for almost an hour before Xu Xing finally arrived. The group then moved to the conference room and talked for the entire afternoon. Although Xu Xing remained silent, he had at least not completely rejected the offer.

He greeted Xu Xing respectfully, then hurriedly turned and left. Sure enough, Jiang Zhuochen was nowhere to be seen downstairs.

He wanted to call the other party, but when he took out his phone, he realized he didn't have the other party's phone number. Helpless, he could only stand at the gate and pray that Jiang Zhuochen would remember to come back.

Xu Xing drove his car out of the underground parking garage. He caught a glimpse of Li Hui still there, so he turned the steering wheel around and stopped at the main entrance, then rolled down the window.

Li Hui hurried over to greet him, "Mr. Xu, is there anything else?"

"Everyone on the team has left, but Mr. Li is still standing at our company entrance," Xu Xing asked. "Isn't it something else you need?"

"No," Li Hui waved his hand and said vaguely, "I'm waiting for someone."

Xu Xing had no interest in other people's private affairs. He lazily responded and had just rolled up the car window when he saw someone walking towards him in the rearview mirror. Li Hui, who was next to the car, immediately smiled.

"I'm good-looking, so I'll smile when I see you." Jiang Zhuochen was puzzled. "Are you done yet? If you're done, hurry up and leave."

He assumed the car in front was there to pick up Li Hui and didn't look closely. He opened the door and half-sitting in, when his head snapped up and met Xu Xing's gaze in the rearview mirror. In that instant, he was caught in a dilemma: whether to get out or not.

So he glared angrily at Li Hui.

Li Hui was on the verge of tears; neither of these two people were people he could afford to offend.

Finally, Xu Xing spoke up: "Is he waiting for you?"

"Yes, he needs to see me." Jiang Zhuochen slowly moved away. "I won't bother you any longer, goodbye."

He closed the back door and urged Li Hui, "Hurry up and go."

Li Hui said politely, "Deputy Manager Zhang drove us here. I forgot to ask him for the keys, so we might have to wait a while."

"You have such a bad memory, how can you be a boss? I've waited for you for so long, and you want me to wait again?" Jiang Zhuochen said incredulously, turning around and leaving immediately. "I'll come over tonight, you can go home by yourself."

Xu Xing turned his head to the side, and Jiang Zhuochen, who was passing by, suddenly pouted. Why wasn't it his master? He hated this place.

Where are we going?

Jiang Zhuochen stopped. "Let's go to his house."

Xu Xing turned his head, the discomfort that had just risen in his heart disappearing when he saw Jiang Zhuochen's wrinkled face. "Going to his house so late at night?"

"Yeah, right." Jiang Zhuochen retorted, "Do you believe they'd go ghost hunting?"

Xu Xing didn't say whether he believed it or not, but said, "Come on up, I'll take you there."

"How can this be..." Li Hui hurriedly refused, his heart pounding in his throat. Before he could finish speaking, he received a look from Xu Xing and bit his tongue. "I, I'll drive."

Just as Jiang Zhuochen was about to walk around to the passenger seat, Xu Xing got out of the car and came to his side, opening the back door and raising his chin.

Jiang Zhuochen stopped in his tracks, sat down to the side, while Xu Xing went around to the other side, opened the door, and sat down next to him.

Li Hui drove the car in front, barely daring to breathe, while the person beside him propped his head up and looked out the window, Xu Xing half-closing his eyes to suppress his doubts.

The car was driving smoothly on the road when suddenly the windshield went black. Xu Xing thought they had entered a tunnel until he saw Li Hui's hand tremble violently and his throat make a hoarse sound.

A note from the author: