Peach Blossom

This morning, the sunlight outside the window was abundant.

I woke up and looked out the window. The quiet road was very clean, indicating excellent property management. Though, I figured I couldn't afford the management fees.

In the small garden, green leaves grew proudly on the twisted peach tree branches, refracting the sunlight.

"Wait, a peach tree?" I vaguely understood something but couldn't quite recall it, so I went to the bathroom to wash up.

In the hallway, I saw Yu Xiao Xue had already woken up. She was wearing a pink sheer lace outfit and heading towards the bathroom on the second-floor landing. Looking up from below, I nearly spurted blood from my nose.

This! This is practically cohabitation temptation.

"Righteousness endures, evil spirits cannot invade. Righteousness endures, evil spirits cannot invade." I suppressed the fire in my heart and dove into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.

After a while, I came out, no longer daring to look upstairs. From the staircase, I could see the two doors to their rooms. I wouldn't be surprised if Zhao Qian came out disheveled.

About ten minutes later, Yu Xiao Xue was dressed and came running down. "Tian Ge! You're awake too!"

"Mm, are you sleeping comfortably?" Seeing her bright and radiant appearance, I felt a bit happy. It seemed the disappearance and departure of family were two different things. She wouldn't truly believe Uncle Yu Gen was dead without finding a body.

"Tian Ge, Sister Zhao Qian's room is so luxurious! The bed is soft too, it just sinks when you lie down, no need for blankets. Oh, and..." Yu Xiao Xue chattered on, even mentioning wanting to join us to see the excitement.

I thought about it and nodded in agreement. It didn't feel right to leave her alone at home, and taking her out for some fresh air would be good. Anyway, there would be plenty of people at the spiritual combat consultation, so one more person like Yu Xiao Xue wouldn't make a difference.

"Go call Sister Zhao Qian down. What time is it already?" After waiting for a while and still not seeing Zhao Qian, I started to worry.

"Okay!" Yu Xiao Xue was about to go call Zhao Qian.

Just then, the doorbell rang. I wondered who it could be. I wasn't the homeowner, so I wasn't sure if I should open the door.

"Zhao Qian's back!"

Hearing that voice, I slapped my forehead. It was the policewoman from next door, Shan Shan.

"Open the door, Zhao Qian's outside," I said.

Yu Xiao Xue immediately bounced over to open the door. I couldn't remember if she was sixteen or seventeen, but Zhao Qian was probably in her twenties. That policewoman looked around twenty-one or twenty-two.

The policewoman was definitely an older sister type, not really my preference. Yu Xiao Xue had a wild imagination and was carefree, making it fun to be around her.

Zhao Qian was more normal, just a bit of a spoiled darling with a lovely voice that made it hard to refuse her.

Opening the door, the policewoman Shan Shan stood there in her uniform and cap, looking sharp and heroic, yet a bit alluring. There was a mole on her right cheek near her jawline, a "Peach Blossom Calamity." I felt I should keep my distance from her.

Zhao Qian was wearing a sky-blue dress and a sun hat, standing prettily by the door, looking like a woman who stepped out of a painting. She must have slept with Han Shanshan last night, so she trusted me completely, not worried about me stealing any of her family's valuables.

"I'm Han Shanshan. Thank you for saving me last night, Xia Yitian." Han Shanshan smiled sweetly, her eyes locking onto me as she extended her hand for a handshake.

I immediately took a step back. "No need for thanks, just give me a red envelope."

Han Shanshan froze, displeased. You don't consider me a friend, Han Shanshan? Asking for a red envelope first thing in the morning?

Her face immediately fell, and she pulled out her wallet. "How much?"

"As much as you can afford," I said boldly. I knew she had misunderstood; I was just asking for good luck, to resolve any karma. I didn't want any ties with her, especially since I was only acting on behalf of someone else, not wanting to revive her myself.

"Sister Shan Shan! You should just give it to him. It's for good luck," Zhao Qian quickly explained. She was also afraid of any karma between me and Han Shanshan. After all, I kept a little ghost, not a cat or dog. If karma arose, it might attract the little ghost, and she, Zhao Qian, knew all too well how terrifying a fierce ghost could be.

Han Shanshan pouted and huffily took out over a thousand yuan. "Here, it's all I have in my wallet. Is that enough? If not, I can go get more. My life is worth something, you know."

I chuckled inwardly. This girl was quite thick-skinned. "It's enough."

After receiving the money, I gave it to Yu Xiao Xue without even counting it. "Xue, go buy some candy."

Yu Xiao Xue never refused anything I gave her. When she was little, she'd often come with a runny nose begging me for candy. Now, the mention of candy made her instinctively reach out.

"Hey, I say you..." Han Shanshan was feeling wronged. Seeing that I seemed unimpressed by a thousand yuan, she immediately got angry. As a police officer, she dealt with criminals and had developed a bit of a temper.

However, Zhao Qian immediately stopped her, pulling her ear and whispering a few words.

"Oh! So that's how it is! I thought... Hahaha, misunderstanding, misunderstanding! This is only right." Han Shanshan's demeanor changed instantly. She grabbed my hand, holding it tightly with both hands, looking very touched. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

I didn't understand what was happening, but I felt a chilling wind behind me and immediately pulled my hand back. It seemed Zhao Qian couldn't stand it and decided to smooth things over for me. But this, in turn, ruined my karma. Sigh, women and their overflowing sympathy.

"It's about time, let's go," Zhao Qian said. But she seemed to have forgotten something and introduced Yu Xiao Xue to Han Shanshan. Han Shanshan, with her somewhat boisterous personality, immediately treated Yu Xiao Xue like a little sister upon seeing her, pulling her hand and talking non-stop.

Yu Xiao Xue, too, started chatting away indiscriminately, regardless of friend or foe. The two of them walked out the door, leaving me behind.

I sighed inwardly and looked at the peach tree in Han Shanshan's small garden opposite and the one at Zhao Qian's house. The feng shui arrangements for both of them were indeed done by the same person.

Peach wood could ward off evil and bring good luck, but it wasn't good for me; it could cause romantic luck! Sister Wife would surely kill me! What happened last night and today was a side effect of this feng shui arrangement.

No, I'll have to ask Zhao Qian later if she can cut down these two peach trees.

Han Shanshan drove herself to the police station, while the three of us drove to the Zhao family's ancestral home in the suburbs.

Along the way, Zhao Qian and Yu Xiao Xue became much more familiar with each other, chatting incessantly. I was driving and didn't pay much attention to their conversation.

Suddenly, a Range Rover sped out from behind and cut in front of me. My heart skipped a beat; I knew that Range Rover was looking for trouble. I placed my foot on the brake.

As expected, the Range Rover braked sharply right in front of us.

I frowned and slammed on the brakes. The two cars were less than seventy centimeters apart in the middle of the road. Fortunately, I was prepared. If Zhao Qian had been driving, she probably would have rear-ended it. Then Zhao Qian's Audi would have been entirely at fault, and dealing with the insurance claims would have been a nightmare.

"Haha, Sister Qian, why are you here too? Oh, changed drivers? You're quite quick." A young man in his twenties got out of the Range Rover. He was of medium build and looked quite refined, but considering what just happened, his personality was too malicious.

Zhao Qian, in the passenger seat, had already fastened her seatbelt. But the sudden braking didn't scare her into crying. Without getting out of the car, she angrily said, "Zhao Yi! What are you doing?!"

Seeing that the car window wasn't open, her voice sounded like a cat's meow from outside. I could only smile wryly and roll down the window. Zhao Qian noticed too and blushed slightly.

"Hey, Sister Qian, you're okay? If you're fine, we'll see each other at the manor," Zhao Yi sneered.

"You're so annoying!" Zhao Qian was furious, but she wasn't good at using coarse language.

"Yeah, I'm so annoying, hehe, haha...!" Zhao Yi mimicked Zhao Qian in a sarcastic tone, then turned back to his friends sticking their heads out of the car. "See? This is my cousin, Zhao Qian. She doesn't have much skill, but she's doing really well in the city. I don't know how she does it, maybe she relies on..."

The last sentence was spoken in a very low voice, but anyone could guess what he was saying. Zhao Qian was so disgusted that she cried, sitting in the car and wiping her tears.

Just then, another Mercedes drove up from behind and stopped beside our car. The driver's window rolled down, revealing a man in his forties or fifties. "Young Master Yi, what are you doing? Aren't we leaving yet?"

"Little Zhao, if there's nothing else, let's go. It's best to have less of this karma," an old man got out of the back seat of the Mercedes. He looked to be seventy or eighty, but he had a youthful appearance with white hair and a dignified demeanor. He was likely quite capable.

Zhao Yi was very polite to the old man. "Alright, Master. I understand. I'll leave first and see you at the manor later."

The old man nodded and got back into the car.

After the old man got in, a middle-aged man got out and walked over to Zhao Qian's driver's side window. "Qian, Ah Yi is young and ignorant. Uncle will teach him a good lesson when we get back. Don't take it to heart."

"Yes, Second Uncle," Zhao Qian could only nod.

I knew this middle-aged man was Zhao Zhou. After he finished speaking, he got back into the Mercedes and drove away in a hurry.

I couldn't get involved in their family affairs, so I handed Zhao Qian a tissue and got out of the car myself.

Without searching too carefully, I found a talisman paper under the wheel of Zhao Qian's car. I sneered and picked it up. This Zhao Zhou, even while talking, didn't forget to strike from the shadows. He's quite insidious.

"See if the paper figure stuck to the curse has your birth date written on it." I handed it to Zhao Qian.

Zhao Qian wiped her tears and looked at it carefully. Her expression confirmed that this was a malicious act.

"Hmph, they even wrote out a misfortune talisman. It seems this Master has some skill," I snorted coldly and started the car. That group ahead of us were no good.