I was helping Xu Dafang solely because of Old Man Song, and furthermore, his older brother might be in Blood Needle. From any perspective, I shouldn't accept money for this. I desire wealth, but I am not a miser. I know when to reach out and when to refuse.
When I saw the village head take out the red cloth bundle, I didn't even look at it before pushing it back, saying, "Village head, this is not necessary."
The village head hurriedly replied, "Master Li, don't misunderstand. This is something we found from the beams of the old house when we cleared out the big team's old house years ago. Xu said it might be a Daoist artifact, so I thought I'd bring it to you."
Xu Dafang knows a bit about antiques, so when he heard it might be Daoist, I became curious and took the bundle from the village head. It felt heavy.
I opened the red cloth to reveal four brass statues, each about the size of a palm. As I set them upright, I immediately recognized them as the four sacred beasts: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.
I sucked in a cold breath. It wasn't that these objects were particularly valuable, but I had just set up a Four Symbols Confining Heaven formation yesterday, and had been planning to go to the antique market. Now, someone was delivering the very items I needed. Such a coincidence made me uneasy.
I examined the statues closely. Based on their material and color, they seemed to be from the Republic of China era. The Daoist patterns on the bases were clear. During that time, Daoism flourished, and objects from that period carried a certain weight.
With these four statues, the Four Symbols Confining Heaven formation would be complete. At that point, not only would evil spirits and puppets be unable to enter, but even people would be delayed for a time.
I covered them back with the red cloth and said, "I'll buy these."
The village head immediately waved his hands, saying, "No need, Master Li, if you can use them, just take them."
I insisted on paying for them, both because the village head and his people had made a trip, and because I wanted peace of mind. I don't take things for free—there's always a cause and effect.
Just like with Shen Weiguo's case, I painfully paid a million to sever the cause and effect.
As for these statues, I helped Xu Dafang, so it was no surprise that I came into contact with them. By buying them, I was simply resolving the cause and effect.
Of course, this was just my personal thinking. The concepts of karma and destiny are intangible and invisible. Perhaps it was just a mental comfort.
Afterward, Xiao Cui and I went to the bank to withdraw twenty thousand, which I gave to the village head. Then, I asked about the old house from the team. I wanted to see if I could find any information about the Little Foot Girl.
The village head said, "The old folks often mentioned a family named Xu. The entire family was locked in a cattle shed and didn't survive."
I said, "Normally, if they were just rich landowners, they wouldn't have been locked in the cattle shed."
Xu Dafang added, "I heard from my elders that the Xu family was involved with some evil cults!"
That made sense. In the past, even a clay statue wouldn't have escaped being destroyed if it was associated with such things.
If the Little Foot Girl really came from the Xu family, then the abnormalities around her might be related to this.
They were about to leave, so I didn't press further.
I believed that the truth behind the Little Foot Girl and Hu Wenhui would eventually come to light with time.
After settling the bill, I saw them off and then headed back to the store with Xiao Cui.
The door was open.
When I entered, I saw Hu Wenhui and the effeminate man.
When the effeminate man saw me, his eyes narrowed and he started laughing with a "giggle" sound that made my spine tingle. It was broad daylight, but his laughter sent a chill down my back.
His condition was even worse than before, and the aura around him had become more intense.
I nodded but ignored him.
Hu Wenhui stood up when he saw Xiao Cui for the first time and looked her over for a while before cupping his hands and bowing. "Greetings, Mountain Master."
Xiao Cui had never seen such formal behavior and ran behind me in fear, which embarrassed Hu Wenhui.
At that moment, the fish tank in the store suddenly exploded, and water began pouring out.
Both Hu Wenhui and I didn't rush to deal with it. Instead, we simultaneously turned to look at the effeminate man.
At that moment, his appearance had completely changed. His face became ferocious, his skin reddened, and his pores expanded at a visible rate. Then, needles of red hair, like steel needles, started growing from his body.
I was stunned for a second and immediately grabbed Xiao Cui. "Wife, quickly hide your aura; he doesn't need your purification."
Xiao Cui panicked but quickly suppressed her aura, and the two forces collided and then stopped.
The red hair on the effeminate man's face retracted, and his skin returned to its pale color. He began panting heavily, looking very weak.
But it seemed he had no memory of what had just happened.
Hu Wenhui walked over and checked his eyes. "Thankfully, nothing serious."
It wasn't that nothing serious had happened; if it hadn't been handled quickly, the man would have died. No wonder he was trying to win people over with money. For a person who was about to die, money no longer held any value.
However, the effeminate man's condition seemed strange. It was as though his body had been completely possessed. Very odd.
The effeminate man leaned back in a chair, resting. I asked Hu Wenhui, "Have you heard of werewolves from the West?"
I shook my head.
Hu Wenhui explained, and after hearing it, I was in disbelief. I never expected such creatures existed in the world. But the effeminate man's condition was different from a werewolf. A werewolf is based on bloodline, while the effeminate man had a demon sealed inside him.
Though the situation seemed similar, it was different.
After the effeminate man recovered a little, Hu Wenhui signaled me to go to the VIP room. I knew he wanted to see the Little Foot Girl and left Xiao Cui outside to avoid her purification of the Little Foot Girl's aura.
In the VIP room, I released the Little Foot Girl.
Hu Wenhui glanced at me, and I quietly stepped out.
Inside the store, Xiao Cui sat in my usual tea-drinking spot, looking curiously at the effeminate man. When she saw me come out, she shifted her gaze back.
Half an hour later, Hu Wenhui called me back in.
I made sure the Little Foot Girl stayed attached to the Blood Needle to mask her aura.
Hu Wenhui handed me a jade token. "The Tianbao Pavilion on Bai Shi Street in the southern part of the city, the owner is my friend. After your second uncle and I leave, if you encounter any problems you can't solve, take this jade token to him. He'll help you."
I didn't refuse and took it. After all, once my second uncle left, I would be alone with Huang Jiu. Having someone I could turn to in case of trouble was useful.
As we walked past the warehouse on our way out, Hu Wenhui suddenly stopped, looked at the Blood Needle, and said, "Old Man Song is fine, but his intentions aren't pure. Don't get too close to him; it might bring trouble later."
I scratched my head, not particularly concerned. After all, for me, there's no such thing as good or evil in techniques. It's all about who uses them and for what purpose.
Since Hu Wenhui brought up Old Man Song, I casually asked, "A few days ago, someone came and took the old man away, and he still hasn't come back. I wonder if anything's happened to him?"
Hu Wenhui asked, "Was the person wearing a sackcloth robe?"
I nodded.
Hu Wenhui replied, "He'll be fine. You can help him watch the store, but don't get involved in his matters."
I laughed, "I have my own problems. Who has time to get involved in his? As long as he's fine, that's all that matters."
After they left, Hu Wenhui and the effeminate man headed out. Before leaving, he said they'd be heading to Shennongjia the next day.
Watching them leave, I sighed.
Now, I was the only one left.