I was shocked by Huang Jiu's actions, and by the time I regained my senses, it had already finished eating.
"Can you be more considerate and not stuff everything into your mouth?" I said, a little disgusted.
Huang Jiu let out a burp and was about to respond when his pupils suddenly turned into vertical slits—cold and ruthless.
I jumped back two steps, quickly grabbed a yellow talisman and pressed it into my hand, "Brother Huang, are you alright?"
I called out to him twice before his pupils returned to normal, and he cursed, "A tiny earthworm, and it dares to challenge me."
"Brother Huang, are you sure you're okay?" I asked cautiously, a little suspicious. Things that could turn into spiritual creatures usually had some powers.
I was worried it had swallowed something like Sun Wukong and was now dealing with a stomachache.
"Don't worry, Jiu Ye knows what he's doing!" Huang Jiu patted his belly.
Although he said that, he didn't take it lightly and immediately ran behind a cupboard to sit cross-legged and meditate.
I had never seen a demon beast devour something like that, and Huang Jiu's earlier expression had left me feeling uneasy and unsettled.
At around four in the afternoon, my second uncle returned from outside. Upon entering, he immediately asked if I had eaten.
I glanced at the snacks on the table.
My second uncle furrowed his brows at once, clearly displeased, "Stop chatting with that woman so much."
I tried to defend her, "But Aunt Su is actually..."
My second uncle shot me a glare, "You're barely this big, and already turning your elbow outwards?" He threw a newspaper at me and said, "Look, this is the follow-up on the incident at Mr. Wang's house. The people behind it have been caught!"
Caught?
I picked up the newspaper, and the front page had a clear photo of a man with a shifty look—definitely not a good person.
Skimming through the content, it seemed to be about an engineering accident, corruption, and embezzlement. Looks like he'll be in jail for a while.
Mr. Wang really has his eyes and ears everywhere; just a few hours had passed, and he already arranged everything.
My second uncle took a sip of water, "This guy looks like a rat, with lifeless eyes—such a short-sighted person can't achieve anything. He's just a scapegoat."
I picked up the newspaper again, agreeing with what my second uncle said.
"My guess is that this incident at Mr. Wang's house was caused by a few people secretly manipulating the situation, hoping to get a large sum after it blew up. But we intercepted them midway, so now the blame will likely fall on us." My second uncle started tidying up the snacks on the table.
I said, "Then we should go find Mr. Wang and explain things, make him pay more."
My second uncle replied, "You already said it yourself. Once you step out of that door, it's business as usual. Besides, this doesn't follow the rules."
Indeed.
According to the rules, even if I didn't say anything, we shouldn't be going to Mr. Wang for more money.
We were being paid to do a job, and the family just wanted results.
Unless we encountered strong retaliation during the job, and the cost increased significantly, then we could ask for more.
If people tried to take revenge after the fact, that was on us.
My second uncle sat down, "If it's just one or two loose individuals, we don't need to worry. What I'm afraid of is if they're part of a larger gang. That would be troublesome."
I started to worry a bit too.
Because, historically, people in the jianghu (the martial world) are from the lower classes, easily oppressed when working solo. Over time, these individuals form groups—like the Lu Ban Gate for carpenters, the Pao Ge for dockworkers, the Pai Jiao for river transporters, and even the earlier beggar's gangs were similar.
But these groups had one thing in common: as long as you worked in their field, you were considered one of them.
In reality, unless the situation caused a massive uproar and angered the entire community, normally we wouldn't face retaliation from the whole group.
I suspected that the people behind the incident at Mr. Wang's house were just a small group of a few people.
And in truth, the Lu Ban Gate was merely a self-proclaimed name in the民间 (civilian sectors). The real Gongshu family had served the imperial family for generations, and only low-level techniques reached the public.
But it was often these lower-level techniques that were the hardest to defend against.
Seeing that I hadn't spoken, my second uncle took out a carpenter's chisel, "I got this from Old Song. Take it for self-defense."
I glanced at the chisel. The handle had been worn down from years of use.
I took the chisel and handed over ten talismans I had grabbed, then told him about Tingting.
My second uncle sighed, "They're all unfortunate people. If we can help, we should. But turning animals into spirits goes against the natural order, and it carries a huge karmic burden. In the future, don't act rashly in such matters."
I nodded.
Huang Jiu was still unconscious, and my second uncle went out to buy dinner.
While he was out, I checked on Huang Jiu. Two energies—green and blue—were still fighting inside its belly.
The green energy had the upper hand, gradually devouring the blue energy.
Since Huang Jiu wasn't in danger, I didn't interfere.
After dinner, my second uncle told me he had more things to do, and reminded me to be alert in the shop and not to take anything from Su Yi Mei anymore.
When someone gives you something, you should repay it, not take advantage.
I was still just a semi-grown kid, so it was naturally up to my second uncle to return the favor.
I also wanted to use this opportunity to help their relationship.
The shop didn't have fixed closing hours, but because of Huang Jiu's situation, I locked up as soon as it got dark and continued memorizing the ancient text.
I wasn't a genius, and memorizing such a thick book took me a lot of time.
At around 10 p.m., Huang Jiu finally woke up.
I put the book away. Huang Jiu glanced at me and sneered, "You're studying late at night. You trying to act all cultured?"
I shot him a glare, then asked, "Are you okay?"
Huang Jiu said, "It's a bit tough, but that three-legged cat's tricks can't defeat Jiu Ye. Just that I'm feeling a bit hungry now."
I left half a chicken for him since I'd paid for his meals; I couldn't let him starve.
While Huang Jiu ate, I told him about the possible offense to the Lu Ban Gate.
Huang Jiu listened and said with concern, "These people not only stick together, but they're all low-class individuals. For a few silver coins, they'll do anything. By cutting off their source of income, it's like killing their parents. You'd better stay alert tonight and not sleep too deeply."
"Brother Huang, why don't you stay in tonight?"
He went out every night, but I didn't know what he was up to.
Huang Jiu chewed on the chicken leg, "Since you left me some food, I won't go out tonight."
He said that, but when I went to the bathroom, I came back to find he was already gone.
"Damn it, you can't trust a word that beast says." I cursed.
I was alone in the shop and didn't dare to sleep.
I had been memorizing the book until about 2 a.m. when suddenly—bang! A stone shattered the window, and bits of it flew inside.
Are city people really this low-class? Looks like their manners aren't great either.
I was about to yell at the window, but just then, the lights in the room went out. I froze in shock, quickly closed my eyes, and then opened them again, adjusting to the darkness.
But just as I was about to check on the stone, it started moving on the tiles. Before I could get close, it suddenly released a large cloud of black mist and transformed into a black kirin.
They say the kirin is a mythical beast, but this black kirin made from mist was cold and sinister, exuding a dark and evil aura.