Chapter 74: Seventy-four days after quitting the circle, someone said they had a grudge against 377...
"So you're not contributing enough now?"
"No, I have provided them with a lot of connections over the years, but if they want to break the curse, they must first find the person who cast the curse."
Sang Qiqi finally understood.
After all, the organization that Bai Yuan was loyal to was just an empty promise.
Bai Yuan was obviously very clear about this. He knew that it was not easy to find the hot-tempered Taoist priest in the vast crowd, let alone kill the Taoist priest to remove the curse for him. That was why he was so straightforward when Duan Sui proposed the deal.
It seems that Bai Yuan has been suffering for a long time.
Or perhaps he was somewhat dissatisfied with the organization's long-term inaction.
If the latter conjecture is correct, then it can be used to your advantage.
Sang Qiqi appeared calm, but she muttered to herself for a while. Having come up with an idea, she didn't waste any more time. She raised her chin towards Bai Yuan and whispered, "Now, let's talk about the organization and the so-called adults you mentioned."
"I don't know much about the organization. When Fellow Daoist Qing Wan first mentioned it to me, he only told me that it was called the Tongshen Society."
Theosophical Society? What an arrogant name.
The people in this organization... have really big ambitions and desires.
She sighed twice and was about to make a comment, but Bai Yuan's next words made her expression change slightly.
Bai Yuan said, "Later, I found the organization with the address given by Daoist Fellow Qing Wan. It was only through the introduction of my introducer that I learned the full name of the organization was the Jiuyou Tongshen Society. That introducer also mysteriously told me that the original founder of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society came from the Jiuyou."
"Nine Netherworld Communication..." Sang Qiqi muttered these words, turning her gaze to Duan Sui. Duan Sui lowered his eyes, hiding the dark shadows beneath them. After a moment, he met Sang Qiqi's gaze and said, "In the eyes of cultivators, the Nine Netherworld is the deepest part of the earth and the deepest part of the underworld. If what this introducer said is true, then the other party is most likely an evil spirit that escaped from the underworld."
Of course, it is also possible that some ignorant employee of the underworld is secretly developing his own power outside.
"Hmm... To be honest, there's a good chance this introducer is bluffing," Sang Qiqi analyzed, then asked Bai Yuan, "Who is this introducer?"
"He's an ordinary person," Bai Yuan replied. "He's only responsible for bringing me to that master, and occasionally acting as that master's messenger."
After saying this, Bai Yuan saw that Sang Qiqi and Duan Sui did not ask any more questions, so he started talking about the other information he knew.
"I don't know the identity or name of that gentleman. In the years I've worked for the Jiuyou Tongshen Society, I've only met him twice. Once was when I first joined the society, and the second time was two years ago. My introducer told me that the Tongshen Society had a new sponsor. That evening, this sponsor booked a party at the best hotel in northern Beijing, and it was said that several core members of the Tongshen Society were in attendance. The talisman paper I used on him was also delivered to me at that time."
Speaking of 'this person', his wings pointed at Duan Sui.
"So, you've met a few other core members?"
"No, I'm just a bird. Even though the place is booked by the sponsor, it's still strange for a bird to go in and eat."
Most importantly, the Theosophical Society's membership was a mixed bag, and most of them were arrogant. They had ridiculed him many times about the curse that had locked his soul in the body of a grey ibis. If he actually appeared at the dinner table, who knew how humiliated he would be.
But there is no need to mention these to Sang Qiqi and the others.
Although Sang Qiqi was interested in the identities of those core members, she didn't feel any regret after hearing Bai Yuan's words. She just continued with the next key question, "Do you know who the financial sponsor is? Also, tell me the name of the hotel and the specific time of the dinner."
"I don't know the sponsor's name, but the person who introduced him seemed to call him Mr. Ning. The hotel was the Boyue International, and the time... let me think, it seemed to be July two years ago, but I can't remember the exact date."
"Platinum International?"
The four familiar words made Sang Qiqi stunned for a moment, and then her eyes revealed a hint of surprise.
Duan Sui asked in a low voice: "Do you know?"
Sang Qiqi leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I just met the CEO of Boyue International in Huo Chengji's ward this morning."
Huo Chengji's good brother, Shen Wanglan, has the Shen family as his backer, and Boyue International is exactly what the Shen family owns.
"That's a pleasant surprise." Duan Sui turned to Bai Yuan and asked, "Do you have anything else you want to share about this gentleman and the Divine Society?"
"No, I don't know much."
"Okay, then tell me about your 'contributions' to the Theosophical Society."
In fact, Bai Yuan mentioned before that he provided a lot of connections for the Tongshen Society, which was his greatest contribution to the Tongshen Society.
Bai Yuan was furious and helpless when he realized he was trapped in a bird's body and couldn't read fortunes or use talismans like a normal Taoist priest. Fortunately, he had a quick mind and quickly thought of training an apprentice to serve as his hands and feet.
This apprentice is Bai Tong. Bai Tong is the successor he has been looking for in the orphanage for a long time. Although he is still young, he is unexpectedly talented in Taoism. As long as he gives a little guidance, he can smoothly draw a complete talisman paper, and the effect of the talisman paper is quite good, even better than what he was able to do back then.
Then, with Bai Tong, Bai Yuan began his own plan.
Initially, in Yuansong City, Huan Province, he put Bai Tong in touch with a woman who was the mistress of a small-time business owner there. By casting a curse on her, he obtained the business owner's birth date and time. Bai Tong then placed a curse on her birth date and time, creating a period of bad luck for the business owner, who desperately needed a Taoist priest or monk to help him.
At this time, Bai Tong was recommended by his lover and successfully caught the eye of the young boss.
Hearing this, Sang Qiqi couldn't help but interrupt the other party's narration: "So you gave that unlucky guy's spell such a fancy name."
It is not easy to be a Taoist priest. At least you need to have a high level of literary skills.
Bai Yuan: "...That's not the point."
Sang Qiqi retorted, "That's quite the point. It reminds me that every time I mention the Lunar Eclipse, I always use the words 'unlucky curse' to describe it, which makes me seem quite uncultured."
Bai Yuan couldn't stand it any longer: "Do you still want to listen?"
Yes, of course I do.
Sang Qiqi put her finger to her lips and zipped up her clothes. Then she politely flipped her hand in front of Bai Yuan, signaling him to continue.
After successfully contacting the small boss, Bai Yuan's subsequent progress became extremely smooth. With the help of the small boss, he infiltrated the wealthy circles of Yuansong City, Huan Province, and amassed considerable wealth for the Jiuyou Tongshen Society. Later, he unexpectedly met the chairman of the Huan Province Pharmaceutical Company and recommended him to the Tongshen Society's leader. Perhaps due to the difference in status, the leader was very pleased with this connection and, for the first time, asked the referral to inform him that he would give him a reward.
"Is this reward the talisman paper?"
"To be precise, it wasn't just one piece. They gave me five pieces of talisman paper. But what made me even happier was that they had already found out that the Taoist priest was there for me."
Sang Qiqi nodded: "And then you were fooled until now."
Bai Yuan: “…”
Black Bean's eyes rolled up, and Bird's Beak continued to chatter, "After that, it was all about expanding my network. Until a while ago, Bai Tong met Huo Gan through the introduction of a boss. Huo Gan learned of Bai Tong's abilities and approached him to ask for his help."
Afterwards, Bai Tong cast a curse on Huo Chengji and Old Madam Huo.
Madam Huo, frail and old, died a few days later from a wall collapse. Huo Chengji survived longer, but was also due to die. Unexpectedly, Chief Assistant Zhao Hanhai gave him a glimmer of hope and brought Sang Qiqi and Mingxin with him.
"What's the reward Huo Gan gave me?" Sang Qiqi thought of how Bai Tong had mentioned the so-called reward when Huo Wenbin came to visit her. "Money?"
Bai Yuan paused and said, "Yeah."
-
The interrogation came to a temporary end.
Originally, Sang Qiqi had intended to throw Bai Yuan and his apprentice into the storage room, but the room was cramped and the soundproofing wasn't that great. Having these two around to eavesdrop seemed inappropriate no matter how you looked at it. After much deliberation, she said hello to Jing Yu and then tossed Bai Yuan and his apprentice into the haunted house next door.
When leaving, he ordered Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai to guard the man and the bird well.
Back at the funeral service, Zhang Lin had already packed up and left after hearing the story. Perhaps, he'd gone to chat in his parents' dreams. Duan Sui was still there, his shirt sleeves rolled up. A red string dangled from his thin, pale wrist. The interweaving of red and white, two extremes of vibrant color and pure purity, was a surefire way to capture the eye. Sang Qiqi, obeying her inner desire, took a second longer look.
Then he walked over to Duan Sui, handed him a can of yogurt, and confirmed again: "Is the evil curse that Baiyuan Bird Dao cast on you really not a problem?"
Having extracted nearly enough information from Bai Yuan, the master and disciple had no reason to remain alive. Although Bai Yuan had carefully avoided mentioning the number of victims in his earlier account, simply stating that he had used the Lunar Shifting Evil to infiltrate the inner circle, his calm and composed demeanor when he mentioned Madam Huo's death suggested that this wasn't the first time such a situation had occurred.
So, I just killed him, and it was a good opportunity to see if it was reliable to ask Duan Sui to take the blame.
"It's okay." Duan Sui could guess what Sang Qiqi was thinking, so he slowly unbuttoned his snow-white shirt. As the arc of the collar became wider and wider, Sang Qiqi, who was confused, widened her eyes. Her gaze followed the slender fingers that loosened the shirt, bypassing her rationality. Then, a strange crimson symbol slowly emerged from his chest.
"hiss."
No matter how dazzling the red color was, Sang Qiqi's pupils were completely occupied by the man's chest muscles.
It’s so white, so big, and must feel great.
Click.
The moment the bright red symbol left Duan Sui's body, it seemed to have lost its soul and turned into a pool of blood, falling straight to the ground, leaving a faint water stain and emitting an extremely pungent smell.
It also completely awakened Sang Qiqi from the temptation of male beauty.
She took two steps to the side in disgust and handed the mop to Duan Sui naturally.
Although chest muscles look just as good as abdominal muscles, cleaning work still needs to be done.
"Thank you for your hard work. Do you want to eat barbecue tonight? I heard from Xiaobai that there's a new barbecue place on Huaishui Street that's really delicious. Why don't we go try it?"
"Okay, wait until I'm done."
Duan Sui leaned over to mop the floor, his shirt, untied, opening even wider as he fell, exposing his entire chest, waist, and abdomen. Sang Qiqi looked at him twice, chanted the Heart Cleansing Mantra twice, looked again, chanted the Heart Cleansing Mantra twice more, and repeated this cycle until Duan Sui had mopped the dirt clean and turned to wash the mop.
After closing the door of the funeral service, Sang Qiqi took Duan Sui to find the barbecue stall that Bai Yingxin mentioned.
The people of northern Beijing have a rich nightlife. Although it was almost ten o'clock, the barbecue stall was bustling with people, and the small tables were all occupied. The proprietress, noticing new customers, immediately had her children bring out the folding tables and chairs. She gave Sang Qiqi and the others an apologetic smile and said, "It's a bit crowded. Can you two sit here?"
"certainly."
After saying that, Duan Sui took the initiative to select some skewers and handed them to the owner who was grilling them vigorously. He returned to sit down across from Sang Qiqi and said to her, "Although the evil curse has no effect on me, I suggest that Master Bai Yuan and his apprentice stay for a while longer."
Sang Qiqi, who was browsing on her phone to see which milk tea shops were still open, froze for a moment. Her finger paused on the screen, and she blinked as she asked, "Are you worried that Master Bai Yuan and his apprentice aren't telling the truth?"
Duan Sui nodded.
Sang Qiqi thought about it and felt that it was not impossible.
Her gaze returned to the phone screen, and she chose a 24-hour milk tea shop. As she placed her order, she said, "Then let them live a few more days. Tomorrow morning I'll go find Huo Chengji and contact Shen Wanglan."
Speaking of Huo Chengji, it’s time to resolve the Huo family’s issues.
While waiting for the barbecue to be served, Sang Qiqi browsed her phone for a while and, unsurprisingly, saw the video of Huo Wenbin falling into the pond today on Weibo and other related social media apps.
She admired it with great interest, and when she noticed Duan Sui's gaze, she moved the stool towards him. The two people who originally sat opposite each other were now sitting shoulder to shoulder. "Look, look."
The pond where Huo Wenbin fell wasn't very deep; according to the villa's property manager, it was only about a meter deep. But Huo Wenbin was too weak to struggle due to the injuries to his lower body. When the security guards rescued him, his face was as pale as a thousand-year-old zombie. Although his consciousness was hazy, he kept mumbling, "Sang Qiqi... Sang Qiqi, you bitch, give me back my things... give them back to me!"
Sang Qiqi: “…”
She felt something was wrong and opened the comments.
[? ]
[Why is there something about Sang Qiqi again?]
[I've always said that anyone who has a grudge against 377 will have a bad ending, and here we are, another distinguished guest.]
[No, what happened? Did Sang Qiqi steal something from him?]
"I did grab some of the attention," Sang Qiqi muttered to herself, pretending not to notice when netizens joined in the fun and @ed her account. But then she scrolled down again and discovered that Pingxi Group had already begun responding to the netizens' attention being diverted to her.
First, the property manager of the villa area announced the whole process of Huo Wenbin falling into the water as if he was possessed by evil spirits. Then Pingxi Group took over and told the public that they would find a doctor to specifically check Huo Wenbin's brain.
Huo Wenbin probably never dreamed that during the one-hour coma he was in, his infertility would be further complicated by the fact that he had a brain disease.
Sang Qiqi changed her mind and clicked "like" on Pingxi Group's new Weibo post.
After mocking Huo Wenbin, the barbecue finally arrived. Sang Qiqi felt a bit cramped sitting next to Duan Sui, so she moved her stool across from him. As soon as she settled down, the man across from her offered her a skewer of grilled chicken wings. Sang Qiqi didn't argue, just tucking into her meal. Meanwhile, several fans from the funeral home came by to take photos with her and Duan Sui, and neither of them refused.
"Thank you so much!" The girl in the photo held her phone, her eyes shining as she bowed to Sang Qiqi and Duan Sui. "My friends and I all love you so much. It's a pity that one of my friends happened to be back home, otherwise she would have been even more excited to see you, Qiqi."
Sang Qiqi smiled with her eyes curved. "It's okay. I'm usually in the store anyway. You can come over if you're on your way."
The girl scratched her hair a little embarrassedly. "Actually, we came to Beijing North for a trip. After this meal, we have to catch a bus back home tomorrow morning. But Beijing North is very fun. We will come again next time."
The other two girls nodded vigorously: "That's right, next time we will come to your store to play with you, Qiqi."
Naturally, there was no reason for Sang Qiqi to refuse.
After eating the barbecue, she felt lazy and yawned slowly. Two tears appeared in the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away casually. She turned her head and asked Duan Sui: "Are you going back to the funeral dragon or the underworld?"
"The Underworld, what about you?"
"I'll go find Huo Gan and try to resolve his issue before dawn, so Huo Chengji doesn't have to worry about it all the time."
If you make the employer wait too long, the 100 million yuan will be a bit too hot to handle.
After parting with Duan Sui at the intersection of the barbecue stall, Sang Qiqi returned to the funeral home, left her body in the store, and her soul disappeared in a flash.
The hospital seemed unusually quiet late at night, though occasionally the groans and cries of pain from various patients could be heard from the ward. Huo Gan lay in bed, having undergone amputation surgery. The anesthetic had worn off long before the pain had numbed him.
The nurse quietly opened the door to check on Huo Gan, then quickly closed it behind her and left. She approached her companion, a suspicious look on her face as she lowered her voice and said, "This patient in bed 08 is really strange. I've checked on him several times, and every time he's awake, his eyes fixed on the door... It's creepy."
The companion thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe he's waiting for someone. I heard that even after the surgery, no one from his family has visited him yet."
Huo Gan was indeed waiting for someone, he was waiting for Huo Wenbin.
But since Huo Wenbin took away the Taoist Master Bai Tong, there has been no news, which makes Huo Gan feel extremely uneasy. He knows that Huo Wenbin, his son, has no feelings for his father and cooperates with him purely because he is afraid that his illegitimate identity will be exposed and Huo Chengji will take action against him.
Huo Wenbin knew very well that Huo Chengji's kindness to him was based on the fact that they were brothers from the same mother. If one day Huo Chengji knew that he came out of Huo Gan's lover's belly and that Huo Gan had replaced Huo Chengji's real brother with a cat as the crown prince for more than 20 years, Huo Chengji would definitely kill him.
Therefore, he would not hesitate to give up the family relationship he had built with Huo Chengji over the previous twenty years and try to replace Huo Chengji.
Huo Wenbin... Could it be that he wanted to get rid of Huo Chengji and his biological father at the same time?
Thinking of this possibility, Huo Gan's emotions suddenly began to fluctuate, and the medical equipment that was constantly monitoring his physical condition began to emit beeping alarms.
Click.
Before the nurse could be drawn in, a hand silently reached out from the darkness and turned off the detector.
The alarm sound disappeared in an instant, and the flashing red lights returned to darkness at this moment.
Huo Gan seemed to have sensed something and turned his head with difficulty to look at the side of the detector. Under the dim light, a slender shadow was faintly visible.
"Although Mr. Huo has just finished the operation, he is quite alert." Sang Qiqi stepped out from the darkness and raised her hand to the side as if no one was around. Black mist spread from her fingertips and grabbed a single chair. In Huo Gan's constricted pupils, she slightly hooked her fingers, and the chair suddenly slid from the ground and finally stopped beside the bed.
Sang Qiqi sat down.
She looked at Huo Gan leisurely, her smiling face looking soft and innocent, and she said, "We meet again, Mr. Huo."
Huo Gan's eyes widened little by little, and he looked at Sang Qiqi as if he was looking at a scary ghost, and his breathing became rapid.
His Adam's apple rolled, but his throat was so dry that he couldn't squeeze out a word.
-
The next day, eight o'clock in the morning.
Sang Qiqi drove to the funeral home and stepped into Madam Huo's mourning hall. It was much the same as her first visit. The old lady's icy coffin sat in the center of the empty room. A young girl knelt on a cushion, silently gazing at the portrait above the coffin.
The only difference is that there are a few more people in the funeral hall today.
Zhao Hanhai stood to one side, slightly bent over, while Huo Chengji, sitting in a wheelchair, gently approached the ice coffin and stared at Mrs. Huo's pale face through the transparent lid. After a moment, he turned his head to look at Sang Qiqi: "Miss Sang."
Sang Qiqi raised her right hand towards him.
A button-like recording device was hanging on her slender white fingers. The recording device shook along with her fingers and was finally handed to Huo Chengji's palm.
Sang Qiqi explained, "Yesterday, I dug out information from Huo Gan. He revealed the names and identities of all the doctors who performed your mother's Caesarean section. The doctor who revealed the truth because he was short of money and used it to threaten and blackmail Huo Wenbin was shot and killed on the day he left the country. Another died on the roadside from an alcohol overdose. The other three are still alive."
Huo Chengji was slightly stunned.
He looked at the tiny button in his palm, which was about the size of his fingernail, but concealed a shocking crime.
He opened his mouth and said, "Thank you. I'll let Zhao Hanhai make money for you."
Sang Qiqi shook her finger. "I'm not done yet. Our deal is worth a hundred million, after all. I've never seen so much money in my life. So, to feel comfortable taking it, I spent some time last night tracking down those three doctors and getting the recordings and videos they had."
The simple three words "to get it" actually include coercion, inducement, and forced confession.
Sang Qiqi even personally operated on the arm of one of the doctors and took out the special memory card that was sewn under the skin.
I am determined to be worthy of the 100 million yuan hiring fee in every way.
Shoving another USB drive in, Sang Qiqi continued, "I've also sent the person to the Fuping District Public Security Bureau. I guess the police will call you soon."
Huo Chengji: "..."
Zhao Hanhai: “…”
Good, very considerate service.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
