After Hu Ergou finished disciplining his son, I should explain why I came to see him. So I said, "Uncle Hu, I would like to ask you to help send that little girl away."

Hu Ergou poured me a cup of tea and said slowly, "Tu Dao has already told me the general outline. I'll go over there tonight and take care of things for you."

"Thank you, Uncle Hu." I hesitated for a moment before saying, "But Uncle Hu, I wonder how much it would cost to ask you for help?"

I never intended for someone to do a service for free. Even close brothers keep clear accounts. It's better to discuss the fees beforehand to avoid any unpleasantness later.

"Silly boy, I used to admire your grandfather very much. Why are you taking money? You're being too polite," Hu Ergou said softly, taking a sip of tea.

"Uncle Hu, let's keep things separate. How can you perform a ritual without charging money? You're making me uneasy." Although Hu Ergou said he didn't want it, if people took his polite words seriously, who would dare to play with him in the future?

"Alright, whatever you say. I'll give you 666, for good luck." Hu Ergou put down his teacup, looked at me and said calmly, "You've had it tough too. You and your fifth grandfather are each other's only support now. I'll just accept a little bit as a token."

“Okay, but Uncle Hu, what should I prepare?” I asked.

"Prepare a bowl of sweet rice, two bowls of clean rice, a small bowl of each of the three kinds of food, incense paper, tea and wine, and a white candle." Hu Ergou said, glancing at me, and asked, "Changming, in my opinion, it would be easier to just kill her."

"Uncle Hu, but she's a pitiful person too. She didn't mean any harm. Let's send her away." I know it would be easier to just kill her, but that would mean she would lose her chance to be reincarnated.

“Changming, I need to tell you something. These kinds of unclean things that have a dwelling place can change. If they stay there for a long time and absorb enough yin energy, they may turn into yin spirits. If they harbor resentment, they can easily become vengeful ghosts. Even if I send her away, it is still unknown whether she can cross the Bridge of Helplessness.” Hu Ergou patiently began to tell me.

“I understand, but Uncle Hu, I still want to send her away.” I thought of the helpless little girl in my dream and said earnestly.

"Okay." Hu Ergou nodded in agreement.

"Uncle Hu, I don't know what's wrong with me lately, but I keep encountering these kinds of dirty things?" After settling things with Xu Huihui, I chatted with Hu Ergou. Since it was still early, I took the opportunity to ask him about some things in the industry.

Hu Ergou stared at me for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't see through your fate. How about I tell your fortune?"

"Uncle Hu, can you tell fortunes too?" I asked curiously.

"Hehe, I know a little bit, but not as much as your grandfather. I've just been figuring things out over the years, and I don't know if it's accurate or not," Hu Ergou waved his hand and said frankly.

"My grandfather can tell fortunes?" I became even more curious. I've lived with my grandfather for so long, but I've never seen him tell fortunes or heard him mention it.

"Changming, actually your grandfather was very capable." Hu Ergou said, his face showing admiration as he spoke of my grandfather.

"Okay, Uncle Hu, then please tell my fortune." I nodded in agreement.

"Wait a moment," Hu Ergou said, and then walked into the inner room.

A short while later, Hu Ergou came out carrying a tortoise shell, and in his other hand, he had three ancient coins.

Hu Ergou put the ancient coins into the tortoise shell, then gently pressed the shell on my head before taking it off and shaking it up and down in front of me three times. He then poured the ancient coins out of the shell and looked at the coins on the ground.

I followed along out of curiosity, but somehow the three ancient coins on the ground had broken apart, each one splitting into several pieces.

"Uncle Hu, why are they all broken?" I asked, carefully examining the shattered ancient coins on the ground.

After I asked, I didn't get an answer from Hu Ergou. I looked up at him and saw that he was pale, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his body was trembling slightly. Seeing him like this, I hurriedly asked, "Uncle Hu, are you alright?"

"Uh, it's nothing." Hu Ergou seemed to have just come to his senses and said softly. Then, he bent down, picked up the broken coins on the ground, and threw them into the trash can.

I was even more puzzled by Hu Ergou's strange behavior. Could there be something wrong with my divination? So I hurriedly asked, "Uncle Hu, how is my divination?"

“Uh…” Hu Ergou paused for a moment before continuing, “Changming, actually I didn’t figure out anything about your divination. Maybe my skills aren’t up to par yet.”

"Since we can't figure it out, then forget it." I had a feeling that Hu Ergou wasn't telling the truth. Judging from his strange behavior just now, it seemed that he had figured something out, but he just didn't tell me.

Since Hu Ergou wouldn't say, I didn't press him for details, lest I annoy him.

"Changming, I'm a little tired today. I'm going to take a nap. I'll come over tonight to help you with your matter." After saying that, Hu Ergou hugged his tortoise shell and went back to the inner room.

“Okay, Uncle Hu, you can rest now,” I said, nodding.

As I left Hu Ergou's house, the scene from just moments ago was still on my mind. When Hu Ergou left, he looked terrible, and his body was trembling as he walked.

Could it be because of the fortune telling I did?

But that shouldn't be the case. How could it possibly get injured after just two throws?

Judging from his appearance, he seems to have some kind of hidden health problem, but he didn't mention going to the hospital. He should be fine after some rest.

I shook my head, glanced at my watch, and saw it was already 2 PM. No one had called to ask me to pick up the package, so I rode my electric bike to the courier station. I needed to prepare the things Hu Ergou had asked me to prepare first.

I bought everything and went back to the small house. It wasn't time to get off work yet, but I didn't go to the station. The reason was simple: I had that awkward encounter with An Lili this morning, and I was too embarrassed to face her if nothing had happened.

I plan to wait until she gets off work before I clock out.

I called Tong Liu and told him that I had asked Hu Ergou to perform the ritual tonight and that he shouldn't come over. But Tong Liu refused and insisted on coming with me. I couldn't persuade him otherwise, so I had to let him have his way.

I know very well why Tong Liu came over; he was just worried about me and wanted to keep me company.

After hanging up the phone, I lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. Thinking about the broken ancient coin that Hu Ergou had used to tell my fortune earlier that day, I suddenly had an idea. I picked up my phone, typed the scene from the fortune telling into Baidu, and clicked search.

Immediately, the results displayed on Baidu on my phone left me speechless.