I had temporarily suppressed the yin energy in Shen Weiguo's body, but the tattoo had already begun to invade his soul. The moment he woke up, he immediately spoke in Zhao Laoda's voice, saying viciously, "Little bastard, I'll make sure you have a miserable death!"
I was startled, as this was the voice of someone I had personally sent away. Hearing it now sent a chill down my spine.
As soon as Zhao Laoda finished speaking, Zhao Laer, Zhao Lasan, and Zhao Lasi followed suit, each of them throwing in a harsh curse.
I ignored them.
If they wanted revenge, they could come to my door.
After they all took their turns, Shen Weiguo's true consciousness finally regained control.
When he came to and saw me, he awkwardly tried to sit up with the bed frame as support. Due to the earlier incident with Zhao Laoda and the others, I stayed standing, not offering any help.
Qian Guanzhang helped him sit up and spoke with a heavy tone, "Weiguo, you've really messed up. Why didn't you listen to Li Master?"
"Old Qian, I…" Shen Weiguo, aware of his mistake, started to speak but couldn't continue.
I said, "It's no use saying regretful words now. Let me explain the situation. The problem now is beyond my ability to handle, so we need to hire someone, and it will cost one million."
Shen Weiguo froze for a moment, but quickly nodded. It was clear that one million was a large sum for him, but it wasn't something he couldn't gather.
I continued, "Also, your little lover's yin tattoo has been mixed with the residual souls of four people. Although they haven't fully fused, they're close enough to being integrated."
Hearing about the qipao girl, Shen Weiguo grew anxious and asked me, "Will it hurt her?"
"It will!" I replied. "There's a high chance she will disintegrate into nothingness, and the best outcome would be for her to lose her memories and become a wandering soul."
I wasn't trying to scare him; it was the truth. The souls of the Zhao brothers and the qipao woman had been merged into one. Unless Zhao Laoda's ming deng (life lamp) was still intact, there was no way to save her. Even if Xiao Cui came, the outcome would still be the same.
Huang Jiu, seeing Shen Weiguo's stunned expression, lectured him, "Adults have to take responsibility for their own actions."
It took Shen Weiguo several seconds to snap out of it, and he pleaded, "Li Yang, Master, is there really no other way? I'm willing to pay an extra one million. If that's not enough, I'll give you all my salary for the next few months."
I sighed. If only I had known it would come to this, I wouldn't have taken such a path. But I didn't say it out loud. At this point, scolding him or reprimanding him would be pointless.
I said, "I'm not a god. No amount of money can help, no matter how much you offer. However, you do have one choice: you can choose to ignore it. In that case, the four evil spirits inside you will slowly devour your soul, leading to your death. That process will be very long, and the pain—well, you should already know what kind of suffering I'm talking about."
Shen Weiguo shuddered, clearly knowing just how agonizing the pain would be.
Qian Guanzhang, hearing this, was a bit confused, and with some reproach, asked, "Li Yang, this is a matter of life and death! We must prioritize saving the person's life."
I wasn't just being difficult. Shen Weiguo and the qipao woman might be annoying, but they were also pitiful in their own way, so I gave him the chance to make his own choice. At least that way, he wouldn't regret it later.
Shen Weiguo fell silent.
Qian Guanzhang pulled me out of the room, and after a lengthy conversation, he told me that my responsibility was to exorcise demons. Now that Shen Weiguo was clearly under the influence of the ghosts, I shouldn't let him make the decision.
I didn't know how to respond. Maybe each person sees things differently, but I didn't think letting Shen Weiguo choose was wrong. I also didn't want to become the kind of hypocritical Taoist that others talk about behind my back.
But Qian Guanzhang wouldn't let up, so I finally said, "Let's wait and see what Weiguo decides."
A few minutes later, we returned to the room.
Shen Weiguo was sitting on the bed, looking completely dejected.
Zhan Ling, clearly impatient, said, "Mr. Jiang can't be reached right away. We need to make a decision quickly."
Qian Guanzhang continued trying to persuade Shen Weiguo.
Shen Weiguo seemed torn, and finally asked, "Can I see her?"
"Not right now," I said. "If I don't suppress the yin energy in your body, you'll fall into a coma, and if I suppress it, she can't come out."
To be honest, seeing this scene made me feel uneasy as well. But even if Mr. Jiang came, the outcome would still be the same.
Some things, once they've reached a dead-end, leave no room for other choices.
Shen Weiguo hesitated for a long time and then said, "I want to meet the Mr. Jiang you mentioned."
I exchanged a glance with Zhan Ling. She took out her phone and stepped outside to call Mr. Jiang.
A few minutes later, she returned and said, "Mr. Jiang will be here in about an hour."
Hearing this, I glanced at the time, and my stomach growled loudly. I turned to Shen Weiguo and said, "I'll grab something to eat first. My Taoist energy can suppress the yin energy for about an hour, so use this time to think carefully. You're a learned man, so I'm too embarrassed to lecture you."
Shen Weiguo's eyes were vacant, his mind clearly in turmoil.
Seeing this, I took Huang Jiu and Zhan Ling out to grab a meal.
Qian Guanzhang stayed behind to continue trying to counsel Shen Weiguo.
At a small restaurant outside, after hearing the whole story, Zhan Ling said enviously, "This Shen Weiguo is really a man who's deeply in love, too bad he picked the wrong person."
She looked at me as though wishing she were the one.
I was speechless.
Could it be that women with big chests and shallow minds are easily swayed by impulsive men?
Huang Jiu, with a greasy chicken leg in hand, mumbled through a mouthful, "You'd better be careful, don't pick the wrong person too. Shen Weiguo's been contaminated by yin energy; he might end up becoming a delicate, effeminate man. No use at all."
Hearing Huang Jiu's joke, I felt my face turn red, so I decided to bury my head in my meal.
Zhan Ling shot Huang Jiu a glare that clearly said, "Don't argue with a beast."
Luckily, Huang Jiu didn't see it, or his fragile heart might've been hurt.
Zhan Ling didn't eat much and instead asked me, "Is there really no other way?"
"You saw the situation. Even if my wife comes, the best we can do is save one million, but the qipao ghost and the Zhao brothers will still disappear together."
The best possible outcome, the one I described to Shen Weiguo, was a very slim chance.
There must be people in the mystical world who can preserve the qipao woman's soul and remove the Zhao brothers, but they're not the kind of people who can be hired with money.
Even Mr. Jiang, he only agreed because of Zhan Ling's connections. Otherwise, people on the Demon Hunter list can't be moved by money.
I didn't want to talk more about Shen Weiguo and instead asked Zhan Ling, "Does the Demon Hunter network have a particularly powerful information system?"
Zhan Ling rolled her eyes. "Didn't you say our information network was all waterlogged?"
"I never said that," I denied vigorously.
I couldn't gather information from the mystical world, but I could try to learn through Zhan Ling's channels.
It wouldn't hurt to listen, and at least I'd be prepared.
Zhan Ling said, "Go ahead, ask what you need."
I said, "I heard rumors that the people from the mystical world are planning to deal with my wife. I also heard that there's been an internal conflict in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and my wife was squeezed out. Is that true?"
Zhan Ling paused while sipping her soup and stopped.