Settle the Score

I helped Zhao Qian out of the room. Zhao Xi and his wife had already lined up behind the coffin. Since Zhao Yi's offense had not been serious enough for him to be taken to the police station for investigation like his father, he was carrying the portrait of Old Man Zhao on behalf of his eldest son, Zhao He.

At the entrance, Uncle Hai and Lin Feiyu were both standing outside watching. I told them everything I had learned from Han Shanshan about Wu Zhenghua. They were surprised, yet wore expressions of So that's how it was.

After all, if I did not explain that Wu Zhenghua had taken the Star-Fixing Compass and the Compass Manual, the two old men might underestimate him if they encountered him again.

I had never imagined that a treasure could be so powerful in another person's hands. With the Star-Fixing Compass, Wu Zhenghua had used yin-yang positioning to locate our trail with astonishing ease.

Uncle Hai immediately called several friends of his in the county town and told them about the matter. His friends all said that if Wu Zhenghua came again, they would join forces to deal with him. Thus, Uncle Hai told me not to worry about Wu Zhenghua for the time being.

When the time came, the guide set off firecrackers, hoisted two baskets onto his shoulder pole, and headed out of the village.

Lei Qing and more than a dozen brothers led the way, each carrying a funeral wreath. The people carrying the coffin were from the Zhao Family. The procession was considered exceptionally grand even in the county town.

The Zhao Family's relatives were all sobbing nonstop. Even I, walking behind them while supporting Zhao Qian, felt somewhat sorrowful. I knew, however, that Old Man Zhao's soul was not in the coffin, so whether he was guided along or not no longer mattered.

Han Shanshan was a police officer and had stayed away to avoid suspicion. I was the only one supporting Zhao Qian. She had studied away from home and did not have many female friends to begin with. At present, everyone was working elsewhere, and aside from Han Shanshan, she had basically no female friends in the county. Most of those who came were male friends who had rushed over on their own.

Zhao Qian had no desire to deal with them now. Even when they came over to greet her, she would respond weakly before barely paying them any attention.

When those rich young masters saw me supporting the goddess in their hearts, even if only now and then, jealousy and hatred welled up inside them. They cursed Zhao Qian for entrusting herself to the wrong man.

The journey was indeed short. I quickly reached the prepared burial site with Zhao Qian. Finding the dragon and locating the acupoint was the Zhao Family's specialty. They had chosen a place nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with a mountain behind it and a river in front. The grave lay halfway up the mountain.

Great mountains rose all around, majestic and imposing. Looking toward the summit, I saw clouds and mist rolling over one another—a scene of exquisite beauty.

I did not know whether my life was simply too wretched or what, but I had expected something to happen during this funeral procession and had actually calculated wrong. By the time we carried Old Man Zhao's coffin there, the Zhao Family had already dug the grave. Everything was ready for the burial.

The ritual master began ostentatiously scattering spirit money. After instructing everyone that people of certain times and ages could not watch the coffin being lowered, he had the coffin placed into the grave.

A string of firecrackers was tossed into the grave, and a great deal of spirit money was scattered. Supporting Zhao Qian, I watched as Old Man Zhao's coffin was laid to rest.

Then the Zhang Family helped shovel soil over it. At last, they built the burial mound and placed the paper house that had covered the coffin on top. Led by Lei Qing, they filled the area with funeral wreaths.

There were no surprises throughout the entire process.

The dead were to be treated with the utmost respect. I lit three incense sticks and planted them before the grave.

Both Zhao Qian and I knew a little about incense rituals, so we waited nearby for the incense to burn down.

"May the deceased be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss and surely bless your family with peace and safety. The two of you lit incense and worshiped so earnestly—getting rich will be difficult to avoid. And, hmm, as for romance, it will definitely go smoothly too." As we waited, a somewhat plump man squeezed over. Seeing us burning incense, he babbled courteously at us without end.

Zhao Qian and I were both focused on the incense and had not noticed the fat man. Still, I thought someone who could offer words of comfort at a time like this was a decent person. More importantly, his voice sounded familiar, so I turned my head to thank him.

The moment I turned, I froze. The plump man beside me paid no attention to my stare. He even nodded and smiled at me. He had a face dotted with acne, looked about twenty-three or twenty-four, wore his hair short, and was extremely portly.

Zhao Qian was still watching the trail of the burning incense and had not noticed my gaze.

Zhang Xiaofei!

I cursed inwardly. Something was wrong. After robbing the tomb, this fellow had not suffered so much as a scratch and had even come to help the Zhao Family dig the grave.

"Brother Tian! Look, the incense you and I lit is exactly the same. From left to right, it forms a staircase shape. It's Bliss Incense! The Incense Manual says: 'Those who cultivate immortality shall form a Golden Core; common people shall eventually attain joyous celebrations.' Grandpa must be blessing us." Zhao Qian had already grieved enough earlier. Now that something good had happened, she excitedly told me about it.

"Those who cultivate immortality shall form a Golden Core; common people shall eventually attain joyous celebrations. Hmm, that really is pretty good, isn't it? Right, Brother Tian?" Zhang Xiaofei's sneer looked hideous. Anyone who saw it would have thought the corner of his mouth was twitching.

I did not dare pick up the conversation. The fat on his face trembled as he stared at me, poised to erupt at any moment.

"Brother Tian?" Zhao Qian turned to look at me, only to discover Zhang Xiaofei beside us. Her little mouth immediately covered itself. That night, she had foolishly called me "Brother Tian," and now he had tracked us down by that form of address and her voice.

I pretended not to know him and asked, "And you are?"

"Brother Tian, after Mount Liancheng that night, how have you been?" Zhang Xiaofei revealed a meaningful smile and traced a triangular handkerchief shape over his own mouth with one hand.

"Hehe, you're Zhang Xiaofei, right? Listen, there was a bit of a misunderstanding that night. How about Zhao Qian and I treat you to dinner tonight, and we discuss it in detail?" I smiled awkwardly. At this moment, the Zhang Family was a crucial link. If I angered him into leaving, things would be disastrous. If he got angry, he might even dig up Old Man Zhao's coffin on the spot.

"Oh, you're inviting me to dinner? That sounds wonderful. Zhao Qian seems to live in a villa at Dragon Abyss Residential Compound, right? I'll bring my big brother over for a visit tonight. What do you think?" Although Zhang Xiaofei's expression was unpleasant, his smile remained perfectly in place.

I glanced at Zhao Qian. Her face had gone pale with fright. The Zhang Family robbed tombs. If they found out that the two of us had set them up at Mount Liancheng, she could naturally imagine the consequences.

Bliss Incense, Bliss Incense—this really had turned bliss into grief.

That dinner was, in reality, a challenge to battle.

And by revealing that Zhao Qian lived at Dragon Abyss Residential Compound, Zhang Xiaofei was saying that even if the monk escaped, the temple would not. We had best obediently accept the challenge.

"Of course. We'll await your arrival," I said, forcing myself to remain calm.

A smile lifted the corners of Zhang Xiaofei's mouth. He turned and waved. Several members of the Zhang Family were baffled by how suddenly his expression had become so solemn. But those who knew him understood that Zhang Xiaofei rarely lost his temper. With that expression, he was a ball of rage being squeezed tight. If they did not follow him, he might explode, so they obediently left with him.

Zhao Xi and his wife came over to ask why the Zhang Family had suddenly left without even taking their tools with them, such as hoes and shovels.

Zhao Qian did not dare speak. She stared at me nervously, consumed by guilt. If she had not suddenly called out to me at the crucial moment, how could this have happened?

Seeing that he could not get anything out of us, Zhao Xi left.

Once her father was gone, Zhao Qian said regretfully, "It's over, it's over. Brother Tian, how could I have forgotten about the Zhang Family?"

"Qian, it's fine. The Zhang Family would have discovered this sooner or later. I just don't know how badly they suffered that night. Zhang Xiaofei left pretty decisively, so at most, we'll probably only have to compensate them two or three thousand yuan." I pinched the bridge of my nose. Why did even drinking cold water make me choke? Something had happened every single day lately!

The sky was clear and crisp, the autumn air fresh, and the wind gentle and the sun bright. So how had I still failed to escape this?

"Compensate them a little money? Two or three thousand?" Zhao Qian asked strangely.

"Qian, are you out of money too? You don't even have two or three thousand? If you really don't, then we can just give them two or three hundred to send them on their way. What I'm afraid of is that they'll break their own hands and feet, then come demand an exorbitant ransom from us." I truly did not have much money on me. If Zhao Qian did not intend to support me, I would probably have to wash dishes at a restaurant. If the owner did not plan to advance me some wages, I would die of hunger on the street. Could it be that Zhao Qian looked wealthy on the surface but had become just as penniless as I was in private after buying talisman paper and ritual implements?

"No, that's not it. If it's only compensation, I still have several hundred thousand yuan sitting idle. If that isn't enough, I can use property and cars as collateral. But would two or three thousand be a little too little?" Zhao Qian looked at me cautiously.

Several hundred thousand? And it was just sitting idle! Feng Shui masters really did make good money. Sigh, ever since inheriting this ghost-raising path, I felt I had made a miserable living!

"It's fine. We'll be courteous before resorting to force. Let's see how much the Zhang Family wants first..."

"Oh. Then this time, Qian will definitely listen to Brother Tian! I won't say anything recklessly again." Zhao Qian spoke to me timidly. The lesson had been profound. Fortunately, her parents and relatives knew nothing about it. Otherwise, she would have been scolded senseless.

Her elder brother had offended the Wang Family, and she had offended the Zhang Family. Together, the two siblings had offended most of the other three great Arcane Sects besides their own family. They were truly a pair of troublemaking siblings at the absolute pinnacle of the art.

"Your grandfather has already been laid to rest. Now we only need to wait for Uncle Hai to dispel his resentment and have a ghost messenger take him into the six paths of reincarnation. So don't think too much about it. Focus on what's in front of us. Besides, none of this really counts as a problem. As long as I'm here, I'll help you to the end." I comforted Zhao Qian, afraid she would overthink things at a time like this.

"Mm. With Brother Tian here, Qian believes we'll definitely turn misfortune into fortune." Zhao Qian looked at me with flushed cheeks.

I liked the way she looked at me then, with such innocence and purity.

We followed the Zhao Family's relatives on foot all the way back to the Zhao Family village. Although the Zhao Family had only just weathered the storm brought by Wu Zhenghua, I could tell that they would surely be unable to escape the eye of the storm in the future.

After all, the county town's Arcane Sect affairs ran deep as well.

After bidding farewell to Uncle Hai, Lin Feiyu, and the Zhao Family members, I drove Zhao Qian and Han Shanshan back to Dragon Abyss Residential Compound.

We passed a supermarket along the way. I bought the White Rabbit milk candies Yu Xiaoxue had requested, along with plenty of lettuce and other fruits and vegetables. Zhang Xiaofei had said he would bring his big brother to negotiate with us that evening, so since we had decided to be courteous before resorting to force, we could not afford to be too stingy.

Perhaps things could still be negotiated over a little wine. For example, maybe three thousand could be reduced to one thousand. After all, wasn't the Zhang Family always focused on money?