The Demon Hunters were quite professional in their approach. They thoroughly searched every corner of the Su family villa.
I hadn't planned to stay, especially since I hadn't slept all night, but soon after, Zhan Ling's team found something hidden in the rockery. They uncovered a Feng Shui pillar buried at a bend in the stream behind the rockery.
The pillar was capable of disrupting the flow of Feng Shui energy.
In the villa, they also found a voodoo doll with some unhatched insect eggs inside.
Seeing the doll, I was reminded of the Five Poisons, and I asked Zhan Ling if the Three Yin Sect had any connections to the Miao people.
Zhan Ling responded that it wouldn't be surprising if the Three Yin Sect had ties with any sect, given their history.
I could understand that, but I still found it hard to imagine.
Was immortality really such an irresistible temptation? Or was it just that I was still too young to understand the mindset of those who were about to face death?
The Demon Hunters quickly zeroed in on a person hiding in the villa—one of the maids who had broken her leg. Unfortunately, when they went to check on her, the maid had already fled the hospital.
Su Dazhuang brought up the name "Yi Jiangnan" again. This person was his biggest business rival.
The Demon Hunters may have had few numbers, but they had many methods. Since they had heard this name, it wouldn't take long to get to the bottom of things.
Zhan Ling said that they would center their investigation around the Su family and gradually expand their search to root out all the infiltrators from the Three Yin Sect, thereby putting pressure on them.
As for the grave, they would wait for the arrival of powerful figures from the Demon Hunter list before acting.
Since I wasn't directly involved, I just listened and didn't say much.
However, their thorough search would certainly make the Three Yin Sect think twice before acting. I reminded Zhan Ling to be careful, as the enemy might act rashly in desperation.
As for the grave itself, with the Su family's Feng Shui energy restored and the grave mound intact, the Three Yin Sect likely wouldn't dare touch it. After all, if they could, they wouldn't have to go through all this trouble and would have quietly opened the grave long ago.
During this time, I had a few things to take care of. First, I needed to complete Old Man Song's training plan. Second, I had to pay a visit to Director Qian to inquire about matters concerning the East Sea. Lastly, I wanted to see if I could borrow the Dragon and Phoenix Copper Mirror.
Su Yimei's aunt also drove over. Two cars arrived, and Su Yimei's aunt, along with Xiao Cui, Huang Xian'er, and Tingting, temporarily returned to my place.
My second uncle took me and Huang Jiu to the shop.
On the way, I asked about the copper mirror again. My second uncle said that Director Qian was worried we might lose or damage the mirror and had been refusing to lend it to us.
But Director Qian hadn't yet delivered the mirror to the temple for worship; it was still stored at the museum.
I thought the fox demon sealed inside the mirror was still a ticking time bomb, not to mention the vengeful spirit from the Republic of China era. They were both potential threats.
I might be able to approach the matter from this angle.
Huang Jiu suggested that my second uncle find some wealthy people to act as guarantors, so Director Qian wouldn't worry about the mirror getting lost. If it was damaged, the guarantors would compensate.
It sounded simple, but I said, "Bronze artifacts from the Western Zhou period are extremely valuable. Even though we're familiar with people like Mr. Wang, Mr. Zhang, and Su Dazhuang, they wouldn't risk such a significant item for us."
"Besides, in Director Qian's eyes, it's not about money. His concern isn't compensation; it's making sure the copper mirror remains intact."
Huang Jiu retorted, "We're not going to eat the mirror!"
That was true, but who could guarantee the mirror wouldn't have issues when its seal was broken? I suspected this was precisely why Director Qian was reluctant to lend it to us.
Huang Jiu grumbled and complained that Director Qian wasn't being considerate.
I had to calm it down and promised I'd go visit Director Qian myself one day.
Just as we were approaching the shop, my second uncle suddenly remembered something. "Liu Changxuan had a stroke a few days ago. He was saved, but now he's paralyzed."
"Everyone gets sick, but before his illness, he crossed paths with you guys. The people from Laoshan may not think the same way. Be careful recently."
Sick?
I didn't think so—it must have been Huang Xian'er's doing.
I didn't expect her to not want Liu Changxuan's life but to make him suffer worse than death.
When the car arrived at the shop, my second uncle was about to go in to check, but he received a call from Wang Shukun. He dropped me and Huang Jiu off and left again.
It seemed like the water and land rituals at the Ghost Tower had ended after seven days. They were probably preparing to make a move.
It was clear my second uncle's focus wasn't on the shop anymore.
But I didn't have any opinions on his change.
As long as he had stable work or a business to manage, I was happy for him.
I hadn't planned on opening the door, intending to rest for a while, but Huang Jiu insisted on opening it because it wanted to eat chicken.
Reluctantly, I opened the door and let it watch the shop while I hid in the VIP room to rest.
Around lunchtime, a commotion came from outside.
I quickly got up and went out to see a group of people had entered the shop. At the forefront was a short, slightly plump young man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties.
What was strange was that, despite the scorching heat, he was wearing a black mink coat.
Even so, he still looked cold.
His face was pale, and his breath came out in visible white puffs.
The young man was flanked by two burly bodyguards in suits. The contrast between him and them was striking.
By the time I came out, Huang Jiu was already in a verbal spat with them.
From what I gathered, the mink-coated young man had come to ask us to do something, but Huang Jiu had refused.
Anyone who carried bodyguards wasn't an ordinary person, and after being rejected, the young man was visibly upset.
He pointed at Huang Jiu with a menacing expression, looking like he wanted to turn Huang Jiu into a patch on his coat, but when he spoke, his voice was surprisingly effeminate. He scolded Huang Jiu in a high-pitched, delicate tone, "You little bastard, why are you opening a shop if you're not doing business?"
I was taken aback by the sound of his voice, feeling a bit nauseous.
Huang Jiu, who was already disgusted with not being in a human form, instantly flared up when it was called a "bastard." It jumped up on the tea table and angrily retorted, "You're the bastard! You're shorter than a jar when standing and fatter than one when sitting! It's thirty degrees outside, and you're still wearing a damn mink coat!"
Both were now openly insulting each other, getting more and more furious.
I sensed the effeminate young man was about to make a move, so I discreetly prepared myself. After all, we were in the shop, and I couldn't let Huang Jiu get the short end of the stick.
To my surprise, the young man's wildly fluctuating emotions slowly calmed down. He pinched his fingers delicately and said to Huang Jiu, "I prefer to win people over with virtue, so I won't stoop to your level!"
He turned to his bodyguards and said, "Pay them, 50,000."
One of the bodyguards quickly opened the suitcase in his hands and placed it on the ground.
What was inside made my eyelids twitch, and the food I had just swallowed almost came back up.
The bodyguard took five bundles of cash from the suitcase and threw them at Huang Jiu.
"Win people over with virtue" means throwing money?
Who is this, the foolish son of a landowner?
Huang Jiu's eyes lit up, but it still pretended to be disdainful and said, "You think I've never seen money just because I drink tap water?"
"Give more, 50,000!"
The effeminate young man twirled his fingers delicately and tapped his chin.
In his eyes, it seemed the suitcase didn't contain money, but paper.
Gulp.
Huang Jiu couldn't help but swallow.
Just as it was about to leap down to grab the money, I walked over to stop it.