Peach Blossoms

The sunlight outside the window was plentiful when I got up in the morning.

I woke up and looked out the window. The quiet road was spotlessly clean, so the property management seemed excellent—but just thinking about the fees, I figured I probably couldn't afford them.

In the small garden, green leaves sprouted proudly from the twisted peach tree trunk beneath the refracted sunlight.

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

In the hallway, I saw that Yu Xiaoxue was already awake. Wearing pink, sheer lace, she was also heading to the bathroom along the upstairs corridor. Looking up at her from below, I almost had a nosebleed fountain.

This! This was the temptation of cohabitation!

"Righteous energy never dies; evil ghosts never invade. Righteous energy never dies; evil ghosts never invade." I suppressed the flames of lust in my heart and slipped into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.

After quite a while, I came out, but I no longer dared glance toward the second floor. From the stairway, I could see the two doors to their rooms. If Zhao Qian came out in disheveled clothes, I probably wouldn't have found it strange.

About ten minutes later, Yu Xiaoxue had finished dressing and hurried downstairs. "Brother Tian! You're awake too!"

"Mm. Did you sleep well?" Looking at her radiant beauty, I felt rather happy. It seemed that a family member's disappearance and death were two different things. Without finding a corpse, she wouldn't willingly believe that Uncle Yu Gen had died.

"Brother Tian, Sister Zhao Qian's room is so luxurious. The bed is so soft—when you lie down, you just sink right into it. You don't even need to cover yourself with a blanket. Oh, right..." Yu Xiaoxue went on and on, even mentioning that she wanted to join us in going out to watch the excitement.

I thought about it, then nodded in agreement. Leaving her alone at home didn't seem right, and taking her out to clear her mind would be good. Besides, there would be plenty of people at this battle of spells. There was no shortage of spectators, and one more Yu Xiaoxue wouldn't matter.

"Go call your Sister Zhao Qian downstairs. What time do you think it is?" After waiting quite a while without seeing Zhao Qian come down, I started to worry.

"Oh!" Yu Xiaoxue was about to go call Zhao Qian.

Just then, the front door outside rang. I wondered who could be visiting. I wasn't the owner of the house, so I really didn't know whether I should open the door.

"Zhao Qian's back!"

When I heard that voice, I slapped my forehead. So it was the policewoman named Shanshan from across the street.

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

Yu Xiaoxue immediately bounced over to open the door. I honestly couldn't remember whether she was sixteen or seventeen this year. Zhao Qian should be around twenty, while that policewoman was probably about twenty-one or twenty-two.

The policewoman was definitely the mature, older-sister type—not my preferred type. Yu Xiaoxue's imagination ran a little wild, and she was carefree and guileless. Spending time with her was very enjoyable.

Zhao Qian was more normal, though she loved acting spoiled. Her voice was very pleasant, soft and clingy enough to make it hard to refuse her.

When the door opened, the policewoman Han Shanshan stood at the entrance in her uniform and cap, looking spirited and heroic. There was also a hint of coquettishness to her, though, because she had a mole low on her right cheek near her jaw. That was a "peach-blossom calamity," and I felt I should stay far away from her.

Zhao Qian stood prettily at the door in a sky-blue dress and sun hat, looking exactly like a woman who had stepped out of a Western painting. She had probably slept with Han Shanshan last night, which showed how much she trusted me—she wasn't even afraid I might carry off the valuables in her home.

"I'm Han Shanshan. Thank you for saving me last night, Xia Yitian." Han Shanshan smiled sweetly, fixed her eyes on me, and reached out to shake my hand.

I immediately took a step back. "No need to thank me. Just give me a red envelope."

Han Shanshan froze, then grew unhappy. You don't regard me, Han Shanshan, as a friend? You're asking me for a red envelope first thing in the morning?

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

"Give whatever you can afford," I said grandly. I knew she had misunderstood. This was just a way to seek good fortune and dispel karmic ties. I didn't want to become entangled with her in any way. After all, I had been forced to go out and perform the ritual; it wasn't as if I had wanted to resurrect her on the spot.

"Sister Shanshan! Just give it to him. It's to seek good fortune," Zhao Qian hurriedly explained. She was also afraid that Han Shanshan and I might form some karmic connection. After all, I raised little ghosts, not cats or dogs. If karma was involved, it might attract a little ghost—and Zhao Qian had personally experienced how terrifying a vengeful ghost could be.

Han Shanshan pouted and angrily pulled out more than a thousand yuan. "Here. That's all I have in my wallet. Is it enough? If not, I'll withdraw more. My life is worth a little money, at least."

I laughed inwardly. This girl was quite absent-minded. "That's about enough."

Once I got the money, I didn't even count it before handing it to Yu Xiaoxue. "Xue, take it and buy yourself some candy."

Yu Xiaoxue never held back when it came to things I gave her. When she was little, she often came asking me for candy with mucus under her nose. Now, the moment candy was mentioned, she would instinctively reach out her hand.

"Hey, I say, you..." Han Shanshan was already feeling aggrieved. Seeing that I seemed not to think much of even a thousand yuan, she immediately flared up. As a police officer, she dealt with criminal offenders every day, and had developed quite a temper.

But Zhao Qian immediately stopped her, tugged her ear over, and whispered a few words to her.

"Oh! So that's how it is. I thought... Hahaha, it was a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Of course I should!" Han Shanshan's attitude changed completely. She seized my hand with both of hers and clasped it tightly, looking extremely moved. "Thank you! Thank you!"

I had no idea what was going on, but I suddenly felt a sinister wind howling behind me. I immediately yanked my claw back. It seemed Zhao Qian couldn't stand watching anymore and had taken the initiative to smooth things over for me. In the end, though, she had ruined my karma instead. Ah, women— overflowing with sympathy.

"It's about time. Let's go," Zhao Qian said. But she seemed to remember that she had forgotten something, so she introduced Yu Xiaoxue to Han Shanshan. Han Shanshan had a rather dinosaur-like personality, and the moment she saw Yu Xiaoxue, she treated her like a little sister, taking her hand and chattering endlessly.

Yu Xiaoxue was the same. Without distinguishing friend from foe, she began rambling wildly about everything under the sun. By the time the three of them stepped out the door, they had left me behind.

I sighed inwardly and looked at the peach tree in Han Shanshan's small garden across the street, then at the one in Zhao Qian's yard. Sure enough, the feng shui formations for both of them had been arranged by the same person.

Peach wood could ward off evil and bring good luck, but it wasn't a good thing for me. It would generate peach-blossom luck! Wouldn't Sister-in-law kill me for that? Everything that had happened from last night until today was a side effect brought about by this feng shui formation.

No, I had to ask Zhao Qian later whether these two peach trees could be chopped down.

Han Shanshan drove to the police station herself, while the three of us drove to the Zhao Family's ancestral residence in the outskirts of the city.

Along the way, Zhao Qian and Yu Xiaoxue became much more familiar with each other and chatted nonstop. I was driving, so I didn't pay much attention to what they were saying.

Suddenly, a Land Rover shot out from behind, then pulled in front of me. My heart jolted, and I knew the Land Rover had come looking for trouble. My foot went straight to the brake.

Sure enough, the Land Rover stopped right in front of us with a sudden brake.

I frowned and slammed on the brakes too. The two cars stopped less than seventy centimeters apart in the middle of the road. Fortunately, I had been prepared. If Zhao Qian had been driving, she probably would have rear-ended it. Then Zhao Qian's Audi would have borne full responsibility, and she would have been overwhelmed dealing with the traffic police and insurance claims.

"Haha, Sister Qian, you came too? Oh, you changed drivers! Pretty nimble, aren't you?" The person who got out was a young man in his twenties with an average build. He looked rather refined, but judging from what he had just done, his character was vicious and underhanded.

Zhao Qian was in the passenger seat. She had fastened her seat belt early, and although the sudden braking hadn't scared her to tears, she didn't get out of the car. Instead, she angrily shouted, "Zhao Yi! What are you doing?"

The window wasn't open yet, so her voice sounded like a cat's meow from outside. I could only smile wryly and tap the window. Zhao Qian noticed too, and her face reddened slightly.

"Hey, Sister Qian, you're fine? If you're fine, we'll just meet at the manor." Zhao Yi sneered.

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

"That's right, I'm so annoying. Heh heh, haha..." Zhao Yi mocked her in an exaggerated imitation, then turned around and said to several friends sticking their heads out of the car, "See that? This is my cousin Zhao Qian. She doesn't have much ability, yet she's thriving in the city. Who knows what she relies on—maybe she relies on..."

He lowered his voice for the rest, but anyone could guess what he was implying. Zhao Qian was disgusted to the point of crying, sitting in the car and wiping away her tears.

At that moment, another Mercedes drove up from behind and stopped beside our car. The driver's window opened, revealing a man in his forties or fifties. "Young Master Yi, what are you doing? How long are you going to keep this up before leaving?"

An old man also got out of the back seat of the Mercedes. "Little Zhao, if there's nothing going on, let's go. The less karma we incur, the better." The man looked to be around seventy or eighty, yet he had white hair and a youthful complexion. His eyes were imposing even without anger, so he clearly possessed some ability.

Zhao Yi was quite respectful toward the old man. "All right, Master. I understand. I'll go first. See you at the manor later."

The old man nodded and returned to the car.

Once the old man got in, a middle-aged man got out. He walked over, leaned beside Zhao Qian's driver-side window, and said, "Qian, Yi's still young and doesn't know better. I'll teach him a proper 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 speaking, he returned to the Mercedes, which sped away.

I had no place to interfere in someone else's family affairs, so I handed Zhao Qian a tissue and got out of the car myself.

Without searching very carefully, I found a talisman beneath the wheel on Zhao Qian's side. I gave a cold laugh and picked it up. That Zhao Zhou hadn't even forgotten to strike from the shadows while coming over to speak. He was vicious indeed.

"Look and see whether the paper figure stabbed onto the talisman has your birth date and Eight Characters written on it." I handed it to Zhao Qian.

Zhao Qian wiped away her tears and examined it carefully. Her expression already proved that this had been done with malicious intent.

"Hmph. He even prepared an Evil Deeds Talisman. Looks like this master has some ability after all." I snorted and started the car. The group ahead clearly wasn't made up of kindhearted people.