I scrutinized the effeminate man wrapped in mink, surprised that even my spiritual eye couldn't detect his aura. But the fact that he exhaled frosty air in the sweltering summer heat practically screamed that something was off.
Huang Jiu had refused to take the job, clearly harboring concerns. Besides, the man's gentle approach gave off the impression of a fool—accepting money from someone like that might easily be seen as fraud. Given how many enemies we've made, it wouldn't be surprising if someone was trying to trap me into a jail sentence.
"Apologies, we're not taking any jobs these days," I said, picking the money off the floor and tossing it back into the case.
As I stepped closer to the man, a chilling aura immediately hit me in the face. I didn't even need my spiritual eye to sense the foreign presence attached to him.
No doubt—he was possessed.
But just as quickly, that eerie aura vanished.
My heart skipped a beat.
Was this sudden manifestation a threat?
But considering that it could evade my spiritual sight and appear freely in broad daylight, something like that wouldn't need to threaten—it could just take over the host completely.
I took two steps back and said, "My apologies if I've offended you in any way. Please, forgive my rudeness."
With that, I released my Daoist energy, probing to see how the entity inside him would respond.
As my yang energy clashed with the yin, the effeminate man suddenly squirmed like his body was crawling with lice. Flailing his arms and swaying his hips, he ran out of the shop.
His two bodyguards, clearly unaware of what had just happened, hurriedly grabbed the money case and followed him.
Once they were out the door, I quickly shut it.
Turning to Huang Jiu, I asked, "Why didn't you take the job?"
"He spoke to me as soon as he walked in—how could I take it?"
Very few people knew that Huang Jiu could talk. If someone approached and addressed him directly, only two possibilities existed:
Either they knew us well, or they immediately saw that Huang Jiu was a demon.
In the first case, people usually name their referral, hoping to gain favor. Since the man didn't, he likely belonged to the second category.
Anyone who could see through Huang Jiu at first glance wasn't someone we could handle easily.
But if that were true, why would he be spooked by a mere clash of yin and yang energy?
Could it be that some powerful ghost had possessed him just to mess with me?
The situation made no sense and left me deeply conflicted.
After a while, since he didn't return, I let it go. With Blood Thorn in hand and Huang Jiu on my back, we slipped out through the rear door.
Circling back to the main street, the man was already gone.
I splurged on a ¥500+ bottle of wine and headed to visit Old Cripple Song.
He was in the backyard, crafting urns for ashes. The wooden dummy I had made was still there.
Seeing I came bearing gifts, Old Cripple Song greeted me with a rare smile. Upon hearing I had other matters to attend to, he cheerfully told me to come practice anytime—after all, martial arts weren't learned in a day.
Leaving his shop, I hailed a taxi and went straight to the museum.
Today was its grand reopening after maintenance, and it was packed with visitors.
The old director was busy in his office, so I didn't disturb him. I took the opportunity to explore the exhibits and broaden my horizons.
Around 3 PM, I finally called Director Qian. Hearing I was already at the museum, he promptly came out and ushered me into his office.
I got straight to the point and brought up the topic of ancient Taoist alchemists.
Director Qian lowered his head slightly, peering at me over his reading glasses. "Why are you suddenly interested in that?"
I smiled and replied, "I've run into some related things recently. Thought you might have some insight. Didn't want to bother you while you were busy."
"You little rascal," he chuckled. "You've got a smooth tongue, I'll give you that."
He continued, "Taoist alchemists aren't exactly mysterious in history. Many bronze furnaces have been excavated recently—those are believed to be their alchemical cauldrons. During the mid-Eastern Han dynasty, the nobles were really into a substance called 'Five Stone Powder.' That was developed by Taoists."
I frowned.
He wasn't talking about the kind of Taoists I was referring to.
Lowering my voice, I clarified, "Director Qian, I'm asking about those Taoists from the Eastern Sea—ones tied to immortality. Not the charlatans and tricksters from the mainland."
"Oh!" Director Qian raised an eyebrow. "Then I can't help you. I'm an archaeologist. I deal only with things backed by artifacts and verifiable facts."
I couldn't hide my disappointment. I stood up to leave.
Just as I reached the door, he suddenly called out, "About those Eastern Sea matters—tomorrow's the weekend. Come to my house. This is my workplace—we deal with science and facts here, not the best place for open discussion."
My eyes lit up. "Thank you, Director! I'll let you get back to work then. See you tomorrow!"
He nodded.
Back in the exhibit hall, most of the tourists had already left. Huang Jiu grumbled, "Why didn't you bring up the ancient mirror?"
"You're too impatient," I replied. "That has to be eased in gradually."
"Your little sweetheart's all sunshine and rainbows—you're clearly not in a rush."
I didn't reply to his snark. Instead, my attention fell on someone—Shen Weiguo.
I called out to him. He turned, recognized me, and immediately panicked, turning to flee without so much as a greeting.
"That bastard," Huang Jiu said in disdain. "He used to cling to us like a leech when learning stuff. Now he pretends he doesn't know us."
"You think he was trying to steal something just now? There's priceless stuff in here—steal one thing and he could live easy the rest of his life!"
I shot Huang Jiu a look—don't judge others by your own standards.
Still, Shen Weiguo's reaction was definitely odd. Unfortunately, he ran off too fast for me to activate my spiritual sight.
I considered chasing him, but just then Huang Jiu mentioned Xiaocui. I realized I hadn't "checked up" on her in days—hadn't monitored her heartbeat—and my curiosity got the better of me.
Besides, Shen Weiguo had gone into an area off-limits to visitors. Without Director Qian, I couldn't get in anyway.
Eager to introduce Xiaocui to some treasures, I hopped in a cab and headed straight home.
With Tingting now living with us, the house felt a lot livelier.
Aunt Su Yimei asked where my second uncle had gone since only Huang Jiu and I came home.
"He got a call from President Wang this morning and left. Didn't go to the shop," I replied.
Apparently, Second Uncle hadn't told her. Seeing her worry, I gave him a call to check in.
He said he was still at the haunted building—they were supposed to demolish it today, but the detonators kept failing. Now they were waiting for demolition experts to come fix it.
Dealing with explosives wasn't my forte anyway.
I relayed the update to Aunt Su. Though concerned, she didn't press it—clearly, she was fully supportive of his work.
That night, I bought some cooked dishes and whipped up a few simple home-cooked meals.
After dinner, I couldn't wait any longer—I dragged Xiaocui straight into the room.