Chapter 103
Chapter 103
“What a shameless old bastard.”
Shen Ze had barely finished cursing when his phone started ringing.
He pulled it out and saw, to his surprise, that it was Uncle Nine calling.
Shen Ze’s eyelid twitched, and his confidence instantly vanished. The swagger he’d had while badmouthing him behind his back disappeared on the spot. As soon as he answered, he asked ingratiatingly, “Uncle Nine, why are you calling me so late?”
Shen Yanchen didn’t notice anything strange in his tone and simply said, “Yudu Club. Come pick me up. I’ve been drinking tonight.”
Shen Yanchen had originally brought a driver with him for the evening’s social engagement, but the driver had to leave because of an emergency.
Shen Ze agreed at once. Standing beside him, Xia Sheng asked, “Was that Uncle Nine?”
Shen Ze nodded.
On the other end of the line, Shen Yanchen caught Xia Sheng’s voice and couldn’t help frowning. “Why is Sheng’er at your place this late?”
Hearing the chill in his uncle’s voice, Shen Ze hurriedly explained, “The Little Celestial Master came looking for you. When she saw you weren’t home, she came to ask me instead.”
Then, like he was trying to curry favor, he added, “The Little Celestial Master said she hadn’t seen you in days and missed you so much she wished she could fly right over to see you.”
Shen Yanchen said coolly, “I saw her yesterday.”
His flattery had landed squarely on the horse’s ass, and Shen Ze nearly bit his tongue.
Fortunately, Shen Yanchen didn’t hold it against him for long and only said, “Have her come with you to pick me up.”
Shen Ze agreed immediately, then hung up the phone as if he’d just been pardoned.
Xia Sheng watched from the side, then suddenly said, “Shen Ze, do you know what you looked like just now?”
Shen Ze asked, “What?”
“A turtle,” Xia Sheng said with perfect seriousness. “And the kind that pulls its head into its shell.”
Shen Ze: “…”
Even if he knew he was a little cowardly in front of Uncle Nine, the Little Celestial Master didn’t have to be that sharp-tongued about it, did she?
Feeling thoroughly aggrieved, Shen Ze went to bring the car around and had Xia Sheng get in with him.
Half an hour later, the two of them arrived at the entrance to Yudu Club.
Just as they were about to head inside, they saw a middle-aged man with an upright, imposing air and an elderly man in Daoist robes walking out.
The middle-aged man had a square face, sharp brows, bright eyes, and well-defined features.
Even without speaking, just standing there was enough to make people feel his authority and solemnity.
When they reached the entrance, the middle-aged man stopped and said to the white-bearded elder, “Daoist Quede, I’ll leave the matter at our hotel in your hands. Tomorrow evening, I’ll come pick you up again.”
Daoist Quede stroked his graying beard and said with a smile, “Easy enough, easy enough. I’ve already looked into the problem at your hotel beforehand. It’s not that difficult to solve. If I take action, I’ll definitely help you through this crisis.
“It’s just that our temple has been a little short on incense money this year…”
The middle-aged man said, “Don’t worry. As long as you can solve the problem at our hotel, I’ll donate half of the hotel’s income for the next full year to the temple, so it may continue to flourish forever.”
“Wonderful, wonderful,” Daoist Quede said, smiling until his eyes narrowed into slits, the corners wrinkling deeply. “Then let me thank you in advance, Mr. Song, for your support of our temple.”
Song Huaiming said, “It’s only right.”
When Shen Ze saw Xia Sheng suddenly stop and keep staring at the middle-aged man and the Old Daoist, he couldn’t help asking, “Little Celestial Master, what are you looking at? Is there something wrong with those two?”
Xia Sheng didn’t answer. Instead, she waited until Song Huaiming had seen the Old Daoist off into the car before walking over.
“Sir.”
Song Huaiming had just sent the Old Daoist away when he heard a cool female voice by his ear.
He turned around and saw a young girl with a clean, fresh look.
The young girl was fair and delicate, her eyes hazy like misty rain. She carried a cool, aloof air, along with a steadiness rarely seen in someone her age.
Song Huaiming asked, “Were you calling me?”
Xia Sheng nodded. “That unethical Daoist just now was only half-competent. His cultivation is shallow, and he doesn’t have much real skill. With only his own abilities, there’s no way he can solve your hotel’s problem.
“If you want to get rid of that Wraith, you’d better find someone truly powerful to handle it. Otherwise, if you provoke it, your hotel will only suffer an even worse backlash.”
After hearing Xia Sheng out, Song Huaiming frowned slightly, though he still maintained basic courtesy. “Young lady, Daoist Quede is a well-known feng shui master in our area. His skills at subduing demons and catching ghosts are first-rate too. How can you slander him like this?”
Xia Sheng knew that just saying this much wouldn’t convince Song Huaiming, and she had no intention of explaining further. She simply took a business card out of her bag and handed it to him.
“If that Old Daoist can’t solve your problem tomorrow night, you can call me.”
Song Huaiming glanced at the card Xia Sheng handed over, and his frown deepened.
He had just been wondering why this young girl had suddenly struck up a conversation with him. So she was in the same line of work, trying to steal business from Daoist Quede.
She was so young, yet instead of learning properly, she was already smearing her seniors just to drum up a little business.
Song Huaiming was displeased, but he didn’t say anything.
He had seen plenty of people like her.
If he questioned her now, she would definitely launch into some long-winded speech to persuade him. And if he said a few more words after that, she might even get embarrassed and angry and stir up more trouble.
He still had a guest to meet and didn’t have time to keep tangling with her, so he casually took the business card and slipped it into his pocket, planning to throw it away when he got back.
“I’ll take the card. Thank you for your concern.”
Song Huaiming said it perfunctorily and started to leave.
Before he could go, Xia Sheng handed him a single Talismans slip. “Your wife is a doctor, right? Your daughter is only half a year old now, but she cries often at night. It’s been affecting your wife’s sleep, and her mental state has been poor as well.
“If this keeps up, your wife will become so exhausted that she’ll make a mistake during surgery and cause a patient’s death.
“Take this Infant Pacifying Talisman home and place it in the cradle. It will stop the baby from crying.”
Song Huaiming’s family ran a hotel, so he was something of a public figure. Reporters often covered and interviewed his family, so Xia Sheng knowing he had a six-month-old daughter didn’t strike him as strange.
But the fact that this young girl seemed to be cursing his wife made him deeply unhappy.
With a cold expression, he casually accepted the Talismans slip, stuffed it into his pocket along with the business card, and left.
After Song Huaiming left, Shen Ze walked over to Xia Sheng and said, “Little Celestial Master, that guy obviously didn’t believe you. His attitude was awful, so why did you still help him?”
Xia Sheng said, “If I ignored everyone who didn’t believe me, then a few days after our first meeting, you probably would’ve gone to see the King of Hell already.
“That man just now has abundant Merit. He saved quite a few lives when he was a firefighter in his younger days.
“I can’t just stand by and watch a hero like that come to harm.”
At the mention of what happened when they first met, Shen Ze rubbed his nose awkwardly. “Wasn’t I just young and hot-headed back then? Who would’ve thought ghosts really existed in this world?”
Xia Sheng had no intention of discussing the matter further. “Which private room is Uncle Nine in? Let’s go pick him up first.”
Shen Ze nodded and led the way.