Human nature is often complex
"Should I beat you until you confess, or should you just tell me the truth yourself?"
Wen Dai stood with her arms crossed in front of the bound ghost, her gaze sweeping over the paper-thin spirit. The guardian beside her appeared at the right moment. The inexperienced ghost was no match for the earth immortal, and immediately trembled.
The little ghost stared wide-eyed, its mouth instinctively gaping open, revealing a scarlet line that severed its upper and lower face. It chuckled sheepishly, pleading, "Master, it wasn't me! I'm just an innocent ghost forced here, really. There's this river... there's a really—powerful ghost in that river. I can't beat it! It's incredibly powerful. If I don't help it, it'll eat me..."
Wen Dai clicked her tongue impatiently. She flicked her hand and pointed at Qian Tong, who was lying quietly on the bed but shivering. Her gaze swept over his tightly closed eyes before she coldly glared at the brat spouting nonsense. "He's lost his soul. Don't try to fool me. There's no soul I can't call back unless something deliberately takes it. I'm not some master, nor am I like those with orthodox lineages. No one in my family does this, and all the relatives I care about are dead. My abilities are purely innate—"
She stepped closer to the little ghost chained to the wall, leaning forward slightly to close the distance between herself and the terrifying face, threatening, "So, I don't care about heaven or the way of heaven, or cause and effect. If lightning strikes me and doesn't kill me, don't expect me to act according to the 'way.' Heaven is unkind to me and ignores the souls of mortals; I can see that. If you keep beating around the bush, I'll destroy your soul."
The words, forced out between her teeth, coupled with Wen Dai's sinister gaze, terrified even the already dead little ghost into silence. Its eyes nearly popped out of its sockets as it stammered, "His soul was captured by that vengeful ghost I just mentioned. Tonight the moon is full, and that vengeful ghost will devour all the souls it captured at midnight. It really is like that. Please don't kill me! I'm hoping to be reincarnated. I'm just a pitiful ghost forced into this situation."
Suddenly, a hand landed on her shoulder, and Wen Dai turned her head. It was Chen Sizhe.
He used very light force, just enough to straighten her up.
"Watch your emotions and your words. You just seemed to be going astray." Chen Sizhe, who was chosen as a disciple by the wandering Taoist priest, was no ordinary person. He opened his third eye and saw the flickering fire in Wen Dai's heart. Meanwhile, he silently retained her words from earlier—"All the relatives I care about are dead."
Wen Dai's eyelids drooped, her pupils hidden beneath her dark lashes concealing a secret she dared not reveal; her knuckles seemed about to burst through her skin—her fists were clenched tightly. Her face lacked its usual frivolous smile, appearing as if carved from lifeless stone.
After a brief silence, she turned her gaze to Qian Yan, who was wiping the unconscious Qian Tong's body with a damp towel. Her eyes lingered on the wrinkled skin as she spoke: "I need to strengthen this child's soul and set up an array in the coming days. If you have something to do, you can leave now. Thank you for bringing me here. I don't know why you happen to be downstairs from my house. If you have anything to say, you can say it now."
"...Regarding the cooperation, I drafted a contract. I was originally going to call you and ask you to come down and pick it up. I do have a case to handle, but since we've reached a cooperation agreement, I won't let my partner work alone. I'll come over tonight; as for the contract, we'll deal with it after we take care of that vengeful ghost." Chen Sizhe's eyes were filled with complex emotions, and he struggled to look away from her face. He raised his chin again, and his gaze shifted towards the doorway, drawing his body away.
Time was money to him, and he certainly couldn't find the time right now, so he left without waiting for Dai to say anything more.
Along with it came indescribable emotions.
Wen Dai calmed down. She had no idea what kind of trouble her careless words would bring her.
From experience, she knew that Heaven would never tolerate her. The bound little ghost wore a miserable expression, but its pleading eyes were ignored by those around it.
Wen Dai placed the canvas bag on the wooden cabinet on the other side. She took out a ritual implement and a box of cinnabar powder, poured some cinnabar powder into her palm, bent down and sprinkled it around Qian Tong's bed, chanting: "Cinnabar as the boundary, evil spirits retreat, Samadhi True Fire..."
Sitting on the bed beside Qian Tong, Qian Yan wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. A melodious and folk-style song entered her ears. When she looked up, she saw Wen Dai holding a ritual implement. She could only understand the tune of the song; the language Wen Dai used was completely incomprehensible to her.
After setting up the magic array, Wen Dai went to the wooden cabinet and took out a small box she had kept in her canvas bag. She took the box and walked to Qian Tong, putting the Five Emperor Coins bracelet inside on his left wrist. Her fingertips paused slightly as they brushed against the boy's protruding bones. She lowered her eyelids, her lips parting slightly after a brief pursing: "I'm sorry, sister, I was in such a hurry to leave. I had some protective magic items that I had refined in the house, but I forgot to bring them. I'll just put the Five Emperor Coins on Xiao Tong for now. I don't dare leave here today; I'll bring them back tomorrow."
Her usual crisp, sweet voice was gone, replaced by a low, lifeless tone, with only the breath that had been inhaled before remaining.
"Little sister, you've really gone to so much trouble. I have no way to repay your kindness. I only hope that heaven will have eyes and allow you to quickly overturn the case from back then, so that those who did evil will receive the retribution they deserve." Qian Yan patted the bed repeatedly, her face swaying from side to side, her tearful eyes fixed on Wen Dai. Deeply etched pain exists in many corners of the world.
*
He patted his thigh repeatedly with his palm.
A male voice, as thin as a leaky paper window, drifted through the office, occasionally punctuated by the sound of coughing and clearing his throat.
The man sitting in the chair had a face like a walnut shell, with dark, wrinkled skin.
His eyes were a little moist as he patted his leg and complained, "When I was young, I was a boatman. Owning a boat wasn't easy, and no matter how much money I earned, it was all hard-earned. Attorney Chen, tell me, isn't it normal for water to take on the hull at sea? It's easy for water to come in when the wind and waves are high. How can I avoid such uncontrollable factors? That lawyer before was really incompetent; he made me liable, and the logistics company only had to pay 10% of the compensation, while I had to pay more than two million!"
Chen Sizhe leaned back in his chair, his pale fingertips tapping rapidly on the table. His cold gaze, emanating from his fox-like eyes, swept over Wang Hefeng's face like a detector. "I charge by the hour, eight thousand per hour. I suggest you be concise, otherwise you'll have to pay extra for overtime. Also, if you want me to act as your agent, the commission starts at three hundred thousand."
The man pouring out his grievances to him was putting on a very poor act. His forehead wrinkles were asymmetrical, his chin was steady except for the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were half-closed, glancing down and then down at him.
"Well, I'm thinking of applying for a second trial now, and I'd like to ask you how to handle it." Compared to paying two million in compensation, Wang Hefeng would rather spend hundreds of thousands to hire a senior lawyer, but he would still try to save on the eight thousand per hour consultation fee. He quickened his pace, and his facial muscles seemed to be frozen, neither smiling nor crying.
Chen Sizhe turned his finger, which had been tapping on the table, and beckoned to him, "Did you bring the first-instance judgment?"
"I brought it, I brought it." The man hurriedly pulled the document from the bag tucked behind his waist. He handed the document to Chen Sizhe with both hands, but tightened his grip as the latter took it, only letting go after Chen Sizhe glanced at him. He swallowed hard, sat back down, and unconsciously rubbed his hands together on his knees.
The office fell silent, with only the rustling of papers being turned over. Chen Sizhe picked up his phone, seemingly looking up something.
Before long, the document he had finished reading was tossed back onto the edge of the table near Wang Hefeng. The document slid off the table a little bit and was caught by Wang Hefeng just as it was about to fall.
His eyelids drooped, and he lifted himself from the back of the chair, but his gaze no longer fell on Wang Hefeng, his refusal to accept the outcome abruptly: "I won't answer."
Refusing to cut off Wang Hefeng's hopes like scissors, he jumped up from his chair, his eyes, which had been almost glued shut, widened, and his voice rose: "Why won't you answer? I've already prepaid you eight thousand for the consultation fee, and it hasn't even been an hour yet, and you're already telling me you're not going to answer?"
Chen Sizhe showed no concern whatsoever for Wang Hefeng, who was nearly out of control. He glanced at the man, whose face had turned from black to reddish-black, and calmly said:
“Not only will I not accept the case, but I also don’t recommend that you hire a lawyer. At first, I asked you to present your chain of evidence, and you complained to me and put on a crying show in front of me. This is a law firm, not Hengdian World Studios, and I am not a casting director. Since you are concerned about the consultation fee, let me explain it to you more clearly.”
"First, you consistently downplayed the seriousness of the matter, and your emotional outbursts were dramatic. Second, the facts in the first instance judgment were clear, yet you only emphasized uncontrollable natural factors. Although the first instance judgment did not determine the cause of the flooding, I checked the timeline above, and there were only level 2 winds during the incident period. According to the Maritime Law and maritime precedents, level 2 winds are considered minor and usually do not cause serious accidents such as flooding. Mr. Wang, don't treat your lawyer like an idiot. There must be mutual trust between lawyers and clients, and you can't even be honest."
The act of concealment was now laid bare. Wang Hefeng choked back a few steps, his chair sliding to the side as he took a few steps back. He looked resentful, his lips pursed and then pulled out from between his teeth, as if unwilling to give up. He asked again, "Is there really no hope? Am I just going to have to accept my fate and pay these two million?"
Meeting Wang Hefeng's hopeful gaze, Chen Sizhe remained unmoved and turned his attention to the timer on the table. Seeing that there was still some time left, he indifferently shattered Wang Hefeng's faint hope: "Yes, there is no hope. Even if you apply for a retrial, the court will reject it directly."
Time ticked by, and Wang Hefeng stood there like a tree stump that had been cut down, until Chen Sizhe reminded him that the one-hour consultation was over. Only then did he grow legs and slowly move towards the door.
Two million is just a drop in the ocean for some families, but a devastating disaster for others; and for still others, it's something they can't even imagine.
The "shack area" that Wen Dai had followed to earlier came into view again, and Chen Sizhe lowered his eyelashes.
Human nature is always associated with complexity.
...
The window of the shed was half open, and steam billowed from the pot on the stove, occasionally lifting the white noodles mixed in with the boiling water. Wen Dai stood in front of the pot, stirring the noodles with wooden chopsticks to prevent them from sticking to the pot.
Qian Yan, who had been sent to rest, was still embarrassed to sit back and enjoy the benefits. She had already benefited too much from Wen Dai, and she felt a mix of gratitude and shame. Unable to sit still, she went to stand in front of the stove again, her eyes glancing at the bed from time to time.
"Sister, you go and stay there and watch over Xiaotong. I know you've got something on your mind. I'll cook dinner; although my cooking skills are definitely not as good as yours, it'll still be edible, so don't worry." Wen Dai smiled at the woman who was hesitating beside her, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere with a joke.
Qian Yan sighed, her brows furrowing again, her face a mixture of embarrassment and apology. Her outstretched hand hovered in mid-air. "Little sister, you know that's not what I meant. I just felt... that you've been wronged and that you've had a hard time. We don't have anything good here, so don't just eat vegetarian noodles all the time. Add an egg if you like."
Upon hearing this, Wen Dai squatted down, took an egg from the basket under the stove, cracked it into the spatula to make a poached egg, added a little white sugar to enhance the flavor, and then poured in some light soy sauce to finish.
She served two bowls of noodles, and handed the one with a poached egg to Qian Yan. She moved her pupils and looked at the egg in the bowl, her peach blossom eyes filled with concern. "Sister, I guess you haven't eaten much these past two days, and you've been worrying about Xiao Tong. At least eat an egg to replenish your energy. As for me, I prefer vegetarian food."
A soft, melodious female voice slipped through the crack in the white iron gate and went outside. Chen Sizhe, who had rushed over according to the route he remembered, heard their conversation clearly. His hand rested on the door, and his gaze, which had been fixed on the concrete floor, froze.
Perhaps it's his narrow-mindedness. Even with his eyes open, there are things outside his field of vision that he overlooks.
There was another "clang," and the dim light from outside streamed in, mingling with the incandescent light from the bulb hanging from the ceiling.
The man who walked in with his back to the light then faced the light. The light behind him was dim, cool, and thin, while the light in front of him, though artificially created, was dazzlingly bright.
Chen Sizhe picked up the takeout bag in his hand, and after making eye contact with Wen Dai for a short while, he looked away. He took two steps forward and placed the takeout bag on the low table. The takeout box inside the bag hit the table with a heavy thud.
"I wasn't sure if you had eaten dinner, so I ordered a few dishes from the restaurant to go."
Glancing at the restaurant name on the takeout bag, Wen Dai raised an eyebrow and clicked her tongue, "No wonder they're rich. I remember this restaurant charges 68 yuan for a dish of broccoli, it's practically robbery."
"Alright, thank you. Sister Qian Yan, go and try this windfall. Of course, you should also thank the person who gave it to you." She held another bowl of noodles in one hand and gently pushed Qian Yan forward with the other hand behind her back.
The bowl of noodles was placed on a low wooden table. Wen Dai squatted down in front of the table, raised her chin to meet Chen Sizhe's gaze, and gave him a genuine smile, a rare occurrence: "Thanks for your timely help, but this doesn't count as an order, so I can't give you the order fee; but next time we do an order together, my share is yours."
“No need.” He shifted his gaze from her smiling face, his chin tucked in, and his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. “If you want to do good deeds, I have no reason not to cooperate. Accumulating merit is also something we can do together.”
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