Customers First, One Last Meeting

"You're the one behind her?" I asked coldly.

I had always felt that he was in league with the Onmyoji from the Island Nation.

As for his claim that he was an old acquaintance of Xie Xiaotang's, that was clearly just an excuse.

The fat man looked at me. "What do you mean, the one behind her?" But he reacted quickly and immediately added, "Oh, you mean the person controlling her soul?"

He shook his head. "Not me."

"Then do you know what exactly happened between her and us?"

The fat man shook his head again. "None of that matters. I'm not interested in what happened between you, nor do I want to know. As for where you came from, I've already guessed more or less. I told you, I'm an old acquaintance of hers. Her affairs are now my business."

This fat man did not seem particularly reasonable.

"Then do you know who the person controlling her soul is?" I asked, keeping my composure.

This fat man was probably no ordinary person. If he dared block our way, he had to have something to rely on.

Judging by Sister Hong and Duan Hongbin's reactions, he was likely very formidable. Even if Sister Hong and Duan Hongbin joined forces, they might not be able to defeat him. Otherwise, things would not have remained at such a stalemate.

Duan Hongbin spoke, though only I could hear him. "This one's a bit troublesome."

But the fat man said, "I know. Judging by the method, it should be the work of an Onmyoji from the Island Nation. This is the Abe Family's Soul Restraining Technique. Those Japanese are always like this, boasting about some petty trick as if it's incredible. In truth, it's nothing much."

He suddenly reached for Xie Xiaotang. One hand firmly pressed down on the crown of her head. Xie Xiaotang let out a miserable scream, and her face twisted in agony.

If Gu Song had been here, he would have gone after this bastard without hesitation.

Xu Qiuyan was shocked. "Let her go!" She tried to rush forward, but I grabbed her. I vaguely sensed that the fat man was performing some kind of technique. He was trying to break the Abe Family's so-called Soul Restraining Technique.

Sure enough, he soon withdrew his hand, and Xie Xiaotang looked as though she had just awakened from a dream.

She looked around at the scene before her in confusion. At last, she saw the fat man. "You're Baozhengfo? Buddha Lord?"

The fat man smiled faintly at her.

Xie Xiaotang asked in confusion, "Why am I here?"

The fat man's smile faded, and his expression grew somewhat heavy. He looked at me.

I suddenly realized something. With the fat man's help, Xie Xiaotang had broken free of the Onmyoji's control, but she seemed not to know that she was already dead. At this moment, she was merely an incorporeal form condensed from her soul—the kind of thing we commonly called a ghost.

Xie Xiaotang seemed to be thinking about something. Then her emotions suddenly became agitated. "I... am I already dead?"

I said softly, "You remembered?"

She pursed her lips. "Yes. I was driving when someone suddenly grabbed my head from behind and smashed it hard against the steering wheel, against the window... It hurt so much. The car crashed into the roadside..." As she recalled this, she immediately wilted. "So I'm already dead, right?" She was asking the fat man.

Sister Hong and Duan Hongbin both retreated.

Their original target had been the Onmyoji behind Xie Xiaotang. Yet when they came here, the Onmyoji had not appeared, while this fat man had suddenly shown up and broken the Onmyoji's Soul Restraining Technique. What were they supposed to do next? Duan Hongbin looked at me.

I, meanwhile, was watching the fat man.

The fat man smiled at Xie Xiaotang. "That's right, you're already dead. Not only are you dead, but the people who killed you also controlled your soul and made you work for them."

"I'm dead... I'm dead!" Xie Xiaotang could not accept this reality.

"Where's Gu Song? Is he all right?"

"He's fine," I answered.

Only then did Xie Xiaotang look at me. "And who are you?"

The fat man also looked at me. He was waiting for my answer as well.

"My name is Jiang Xiaobai. I'm with Bureau Five, Section Nine, and I'm responsible for investigating your case. Also, Gu Song's safety is temporarily under my protection."

"From Unit Nine? A rookie?" The fat man narrowed his eyes. I nodded. Xu Qiuyan and I really were newcomers.

I asked him, "You know Unit Nine?"

"We've dealt with each other before."

He did not elaborate, but I could not help becoming wary. What did he mean by "dealt with each other before"? It depended on how one interpreted it. For all I knew, we could have been on opposing sides.

He seemed to guess what I was thinking. "It's probably not what you think. I assisted them on several cases before. I'm a friend, not an enemy."

Even so, I did not dare believe him lightly.

I had always been a cautious and careful person. That had a lot to do with my experiences.

"Do you know Zhen Nanfang?" he asked me.

I shook my head. I really did not know him.

"Then have you heard of Little Monk?"

I shook my head again.

The fat man muttered, "Really a rookie."

"Then do you know Xie Yi?" I asked in return.

The fat man smiled. "Of course I do."

"Your name is Baozhengfo?" I asked curiously. I had heard Xie Xiaotang call him that earlier.

"That's right. It's my real name."

I laughed inwardly. Someone actually had a name like that.

"Don't laugh. My parents gave me that name, so there was nothing I could do about it. Do you know my father's name?"

How could I possibly know? I could only shake my head.

"His name is Bao Ping'an."

Xu Qiuyan could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing.

"I want to see Gu Song."

Xie Xiaotang came before me.

After thinking for a moment, I said, "Do you really want to see him?"

Xie Xiaotang nodded. "Yes. There are some things I want to tell him."

"Do you only want to see him? Don't you want to see your child too?"

Her body trembled slightly. "You... you know about the child?"

I sighed. "I do. I also know that he nearly had his soul scattered while trying to save Gu Song."

The fat man said to Xie Xiaotang, "I opposed you raising that little ghost from the start. The reason you two ended up like this was because it ruined your fortune. But now it seems that even without that little ghost, you still couldn't have escaped this calamity. That's fate."

"Fat man, what exactly do you do?"

The fat man looked at me. "I'm just a charlatan. I make a living bluffing and conning people."

A charlatan?

"Put simply, I'm a wandering practitioner. I tell fortunes, read feng shui, that sort of thing."

"You study the Dao?"

"I know a little of the basics."

"But she called you Buddha Lord," Xu Qiuyan said.

The fat man rolled his eyes. "I know a little about Buddhist stuff too. It depends on the customer's needs. If the customer believes in Buddhism, then I chant Amitabha. If the customer believes in Daoism, then I chant Infinite Life Buddha. That's why I have two sets of outfits ready—both a cassock and a Daoist robe."

Xu Qiuyan's eyes widened. She had truly never seen anyone like him before.

"You don't understand. That's called professionalism, got it? Professionalism. Buddhism or Daoism, as long as you have real skills and can get things done for the customer, you can make money."

I wanted to laugh, but I did not. Though he described himself that way, I knew full well that this guy had genuine ability. Just the way he had broken the Onmyoji's control over Xie Xiaotang earlier had been exceptionally skillful.

Sister Hong had said that completely removing the Onmyoji's control over Xie Xiaotang would not be easy. Even she could not do it, and neither could Duan Hongbin.

Especially when the two sides had been at each other's throats earlier, it had been obvious that both Duan Hongbin and Sister Hong feared this guy greatly.

Sister Hong was cold and aloof, proud to the point of looking down on everyone, yet she was afraid of the fat man.

Duan Hongbin was also arrogant and supremely confident.

Yet earlier, he had told me that the other side was troublesome. What he meant was that if a conflict truly broke out, I should find my own way to escape. He had no confidence in taking the other man down. Or perhaps he was even afraid that the other man might destroy him.

"Is Xiao Tian all right?"

Just as my thoughts were running wild, Xie Xiaotang asked again.

"He's fine. He just needs time to recover."

"That's good."

I asked her, "Have you not thought about yourself at all?"

She turned to the fat man. "Can... can I stay?"

The fat man shook his head. "No, not if you don't want Gu Song to die."

Sadness appeared on her face. "But I can't let them go."

The fat man sighed. "The living and the dead walk different paths. You already made one mistake. Do you want to make a second?"

Xie Xiaotang cried. She cried bitterly, and her sobs were somewhat chilling.

The fat man comforted her. "Sister Xie, I know you can't bear to leave them, but things have come to this. You need to learn to let go."

"But why can she remain in this world?" Xie Xiaotang pointed at Sister Hong.

Sister Hong's expression shifted slightly. The fat man glanced at her, then looked at Xu Qiuyan. "That is her fate. Just as your son can remain in this world because it is his fate. But every action has its Karma."

Xie Xiaotang was completely devastated. She knew the fat man would not allow her to stay.

The fat man coughed lightly. "Brother, let the couple see each other one last time, then I'll send her on her way." I knew what he meant by sending her away. He was going to send Xie Xiaotang where she belonged. I had not expected him to truly possess such an ability.

I nodded. "All right, I promise you."

But I did not leave immediately. Instead, I said to the fat man, "We originally wanted to use her to find that Onmyoji. With what you did, that lead is gone."

"As long as that thing is still on you, the lead won't be gone." He smiled.

I was startled. How did he know?

"Don't look at me like that. The box in her hand should have been given to her by you, right? That box was empty, so the thing that had been inside must still be on you. They controlled her because they wanted to obtain what you had. Think about it—if they haven't achieved their goal, how could they possibly give up so easily?"