chapter 17

I woke up the next morning.

My complexion was even worse than yesterday, and my spirits were growing more and more depleted.

Meng Yifan was startled when he saw me.

“Damn, didn’t you sleep pretty well last night?”

“How did you end up looking like this after sleeping?”

I was stunned in Li, my mind stuck for a long time, still thinking about the dream I had last night.

The person plastering the wall was the one who killed Li Xiumei, but why did that person have my dad’s face?

Could my dad actually be Lv Zhengxian?

Impossible!

That’s way too far-fetched!

After all, it was just a dream. How could I take it seriously?

Maybe it was because my dad was summoned by the police, and I was worried, so I had that dream.

Dreams are inherently illogical. I once had an even more absurd dream, where my dad killed a bunch of people, and the reason for killing was to extend my life.

So dreams can’t be taken seriously.

“It’s nothing, maybe I just had a nightmare last night.”

I didn’t tell Meng Yifan the content of the dream-I didn’t think it was necessary.

After we changed clothes, we left the bathhouse, grabbed some breakfast outside, and prepared to go find Seventh Master Zhao.

The place where Seventh Master Zhao was located was quite particular-it was in Huangshikou.

I’d heard about this place for a long time. Around here, it’s jokingly called Superstition Street.

Why is it called Superstition Street?

Because there are only two kinds of businesses here: antiques and metaphysics.

Metaphysics refers to feng shui, fortune-telling, physiognomy, divination, exorcism…

Those who don’t believe in metaphysics naturally call it superstition.

Of course, there are plenty of believers, and they come in a steady stream.

That place is truly magical. I’d been there once before, and it was packed with people. I never expected that, in this day and age, there would still be so many who believe in superstition.

Back then, I was ignorant and shortsighted.

Now, after experiencing things myself, I believe it. That place isn’t Superstition Street-it’s a gathering place for masters.

Meng Yifan and I drove over and arrived quickly.

But Huangshikou is basically an old street, and places with such a lively atmosphere are always crowded-it’s almost impossible to find a parking spot.

We finally managed to find one, and after I parked and got out, I saw Meng Yifan actually arguing with an Old Man.

The Old Man looked about fifty, his hair was gray, but his face was rather youthful.

But his physique was truly robust-even taller than Meng Yifan, who’s already six feet tall.

“Old Man, do you understand first come, first served? I saw this parking spot first!”

“Young man, do you understand respecting the elderly and caring for the young? What’s the use of seeing it first? I drove my car over first.”

Meng Yifan was already in a bad mood and immediately got fired up.

“Look at your physique-aren’t you ashamed? Don’t act all high and mighty with me. Move your car now, I’ve got important business to take care of!”

“Heh, what if I don’t? What do you want to do?”

The Old Man looked amused, leaning against his Mercedes, not taking Meng Yifan seriously at all.

I know Meng Yifan’s temper-if he gets mad, he really might hit this Old Man.

I hurried over to persuade him: “Forget it, there are other spots. We’ve got important business to handle, it’s not worth it.”

Meng Yifan listened to me, glared at the Old Man, and went to find another parking spot.

After getting out of the car, he was still muttering angrily: “If it weren’t for important business, I’d beat that old bastard to death!”

I didn’t say anything.

These days, if you get physical, you end up in the police station. If he really did, he’d probably get himself into another lawsuit.
When we arrived at Huangshikou, it was crowded inside and out.

Actually, this place is made up of several streets.

The area isn’t large, but there are so many people that it’s hard not to marvel at it.

Maybe, just as Brother Liu said, anything that has been filtered through five thousand years of history and is still passed down today must have its own reason.

But Meng Yifan and I had serious business to attend to, so we didn’t have time to savor these things. We simply took the address Brother Liu gave us and asked around for Seventh Master Zhao.

I had thought that the person Brother Liu introduced would be an expert, so naturally, in a place where so many masters gather, he should have a place of his own.

Even if he didn’t have a shop famous throughout the city, at least he should have a small shop bustling with customers.

But to our surprise, Seventh Master Zhao wasn’t even within the bounds of Huangshikou.

Near Huangshikou, there’s a small park, and around that park are many self-built houses-small, flat buildings that are already part of a residential area.

Meng Yifan was curious: “This master doesn’t hang his sign on a busy street, but in a residential area? Doesn’t that affect his business?”

I smiled and said, “The truly great hide in the city. Maybe experts don’t care about such things.”

Finally, we found the residence of Seventh Master Zhao.

It was a three-story self-built house, with no sign at the door. If I hadn’t double-checked the address, I wouldn’t have believed that Seventh Master Zhao lived here.

What’s more, there was an Old Man washing vegetables in the yard outside the building.

As soon as I saw this Old Man, I immediately panicked a little.

Because we had just seen him earlier, and Meng Yifan had almost gotten into a fight with him.

At this moment, the Old Man also noticed us. He was stunned for a moment, then squinted his eyes and looked us up and down.

Meng Yifan was dumbfounded on the spot, and I mustered up the courage to step forward and politely asked, “Are you Seventh Master Zhao?”

He sneered, “What, you’ve chased me all the way to my house? Still want to beat me up?”

I groaned inwardly.

What kind of situation is this!

It’s not just a coincidence-it’s ridiculously coincidental!

“No, Seventh Master, my brother just had a misunderstanding with you earlier.”

I quickly humbled myself and apologized to him: “I’m really sorry, please don’t take it to heart. We’re here to ask for your help to save our lives.”

“Save your lives?” Seventh Master Zhao was still angry, his face full of mockery. “Go to hell, I’m not helping.”

I: “…”

Brother Liu was right.

This Old Man really does have a bad temper.

Meng Yifan’s face turned green with embarrassment. For him, apologizing was even harder than eating shit.

I have thick skin and couldn’t care less. I hurriedly pleaded, “Seventh Master, if you don’t help us, we really will die. We’ve gotten ourselves into something unclean. You’re an expert-please help us.”

Seventh Master Zhao glanced at me. “Am I your father? I’m neither your father nor a Living Bodhisattva. Whether you live or die, what does it have to do with me?”

I: “…”

Oh damn!

This Old Man is really something!

At this point, I knew he definitely wouldn’t help us, so I turned around and pulled Meng Yifan, ready to leave.

At worst, we’d just look for another expert. With so many masters in Huangshikou, surely someone could help us.

“Wait!”

Just as we turned to leave, Seventh Master Zhao suddenly called out to us.

We looked at him, and he looked at us, saying lightly, “Just kidding. Young people these days have no sense of humor. Come on in.”