Are You Following Me?

On the afternoon of the 28th, after visiting "Master Niu" with the wood carving and taking it to the consulting company in Prosperity Building for a "ritual" under the guidance of driver Old Wang, Feng Xiuye went to the First Municipal Hospital by himself early the next morning for a full-body check-up, including a blood test at the dermatology department.

Although some results wouldn't be available for a few more days, the overall situation was fine, which gave him a temporary sense of relief and made him feel much more relaxed.

To his surprise, after his physical examination, he went to his father's house and learned from the housekeeper that his father had also gone to the hospital for a check-up.

Feng Xiuye naturally had a question: Could it be that his father also went for a checkup because of a dream? And what kind of dream did he have?

Regardless, after the examination, Feng Xiuye felt much better. In addition, he had severed ties with several lovers, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Back home, surrounded by his wife and children, Feng Xiuye became more talkative, unusually chatting with his wife about work and their upcoming travel plans. His youngest son, who usually didn't pay much attention to him, suddenly became much more affectionate, though it turned out he just wanted a new toy...

On the 31st, Feng Xiuye went to the company early in the morning. As he was reviewing the prepared materials for the meeting, his secretary came over and said that there was a strangely dressed man outside who claimed to be from a consulting firm and was carrying a box who wanted to see him.

Upon hearing the consulting firm's name, Feng Xiuye knew it belonged to the old gentleman in Prosperity Building. However, logically, their rituals shouldn't have even started yet; the videos hadn't been sent. And once it was done, according to the agreement, he should have gone to their office in Prosperity Building himself for "inspection." Why were they suddenly showing up at his door? Were they trying to sell him some kind of package deal and demand more money?

Although Feng Xiuye was puzzled, he still asked the receptionist to let the person in.

To his surprise, Tang Baona followed the handsome young man he had met at the consulting firm into the room carrying the box.

Feng Xiuye was taken aback. "Nana, what's wrong with you...?"

Then he saw that the box the young man was carrying was uncovered, and he could see directly the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving lying inside. He understood what was going on; Tang Baona must have happened to see the carving outside and followed him in.

Sure enough, Tang Baona frowned as she looked at the young man and asked her boss, who was also her second uncle, "This wood carving... it wouldn't be Grandpa's, would it? How did it end up in his hands?"

The young man ignored what they were saying, placed the box on the table, and said to Feng Xiuye, "Boss Feng, this thing of yours... has too much of a 'problem,' our 'master' can't handle it. We will refund your money to the account you used to pay."

Seeing the young man put down the box and was about to leave, Tang Baona and Feng Xiuye stopped him at the same time.

"What did you mean just now? Is there something wrong with this wood carving?" Tang Baona asked.

"What do you mean your 'husband' can't handle it?" Feng Xiuye asked.

"I don't know either. My husband instructed me to deliver it. This morning, as soon as he woke up, he said there was a big problem with the wood carving and he couldn't handle it... Anyway, he meant he wouldn't charge you and would return the wood carving to you. You can find someone else to deal with it..." After saying this, the young man left without waiting for the two people's reactions.

Actually, he didn't quite understand. His "boss" was always greedy, and the money that was already in his pocket and the ritual had been completed was now being given back voluntarily. It was really abnormal.

However, recalling the "boss's" haggard appearance this morning—bloodshot eyes, pale face, and constant muttering of "He's come to see me"—he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

Has the "boss" gone mad?

After the young man left, Tang Baona naturally continued to press her second uncle about the wooden carving. Feng Xiuye did not hide anything and told his niece about how he had fallen asleep in his father's living room on the 28th and had a nightmare about seeing the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster.

Then he explained the background of the young man, saying he was from a consulting firm in Prosperity Building, and that they were people who specialized in handling these "special problems".

Finally, Feng Xiuye said very seriously, "Nana, this wood carving does seem to have some problems. Your grandfather probably had a similar dream, and now even that 'sir' can't handle it. Should we return the wood carving, or just deal with it? By the way, what's the background of your friend? Could it be that he didn't actually carve it himself, but got it from someone else, and it's not entirely clean?"

Tang Baona was furious at her uncle's words. She grabbed the wood carving and left, clearly very angry.

She then realized that her uncle had called on the afternoon of the 28th to ask about the wood carving.

What could be so eerie about the wooden carving Xiang Kun made? And why would she have nightmares about it? That Saber wooden carving has always been in her bedroom, so why hasn't she had any nightmares? She actually suspects her friend's wooden carving is "unclean"?

Tang Baona even added her grandfather to her list of people she was angry about. If there was anything wrong with the wood carving, she could have contacted her first! Why did she have her uncle take it to some "consulting company"? Those people sound like scammers from their descriptions! It's one thing for her uncle to be superstitious, but why did her grandfather get so confused too?

Back in her seat, Tang Baona took photos of the wood carving and sent them to Xiang Kun, angrily telling him about her discovery.

Tang Baona: "Although my second uncle sometimes likes to dabble in 'feng shui' and such, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would be so ignorant and superstitious! And my maternal grandfather, who is clearly an old intellectual who doesn't believe in ghosts and gods, actually agreed with my second uncle's approach. I really can't understand it!"

Tang Baona: "A wooden carving can give you nightmares?? Blaming the nightmares on the wooden carving?? I really don't understand what they're thinking!!"

Tang Baona: "Even though your wooden sculpture has eight arms and eight eyes, it's still kind of cute! Why are those two grown men having nightmares? If we're talking about contact, I was the first one to come into contact with it! Why didn't I have any nightmares?"

Tang Baona: "And that 'Mr.' actually sent someone over early this morning with the wood carving, saying 'the problem is too big for him to handle and he wants a refund'? Isn't this obviously a long-term scheme to catch a big fish? Are you waiting for my second uncle to come running over with the wood carving, begging him to continue 'solving the problem' with sweet words and more money?"

Tang Baona: "Anyway, I'm not giving this wood carving to them. I liked it myself, and if my grandfather hadn't seen the Saber you gave me and said he wanted a wood carving you made, I would have kept it for myself!"

Tang Baona: "I'm so sorry, sending so many messages all of a sudden... Two of my closest relatives doing such superstitious things, I have nowhere to vent, I just couldn't hold it in anymore!"

Tang Baona: "Ugh... I'm so angry!"

Xiang Kun stared blankly as messages kept popping up one after another. Even through the phone screen and the internet, he could almost see Tang Baona's furious expression.

Moreover, when he sensed the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving, he actually vaguely perceived a hint of anger.

However, in his heart, he couldn't help but defend Tang Baona's second uncle and maternal grandfather: It's no wonder they misunderstood...

If it were Xiang Kun in this situation, without any prior information, he would honestly also be tempted to think all sorts of crazy things. Anyway, the wood carving definitely needs to be dealt with first.

"Nana, actually, there's a problem with my wood carving. I didn't perfect many details before, and I suddenly had an idea for this part. I was just thinking about how to ask you to help me get it back so I can fix it up. I have another wood carving here. You can take this one to your grandfather, and then give me the eight-armed wood carving." Xiang Kun didn't mention the refund because he knew that if he did, he wouldn't get his Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving back. Tang Baona would definitely not let him get his money back no matter what.

"No way! I want this too!" Tang Baona sent a serious emoji.

"Then I'll send it to you after I finish repairing it," Xiang Kun texted. At worst, he could just make a new Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving.

She and Yang Zhen'er had agreed to have dinner at Xiang Kun's house that evening, and that she would bring the wood carving with her. Xiang Kun then ended their conversation and began searching online for the consulting company that Tang Baona had mentioned earlier.

From his conversation with Tang Baona, Xiang Kun was fairly certain that the dream he saw through the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving involved two figures. The first, a man in a hospital room, belonged to Tang Baona's maternal grandfather, whose fear stemmed from his physical ailments. The second, a man in a hotel, belonged to Tang Baona's second uncle, whose fear likely stemmed from the prospect of being ostracized by his family for infidelity and the resulting illnesses. As for the third figure, it was highly probable that he was one of the people from the consulting firm.

But why would someone at that consulting firm have such a bizarre dream? What is their fear?

Xiang Kun had some guesses, but he wasn't sure yet, so he used "Prosperity Building" and the consulting firm's keywords to find the company's full name.

Then, I found the company's legal representative and shareholder investment information in the enterprise credit information system, checked their relevant administrative penalty information, checked the information of the person subject to enforcement, and checked the lawsuits they were involved in.

I then searched for information about them on various platforms. I found some questions on search engines that seemed to be about the background of that consulting firm, but the links were broken. Judging from the webpage snapshots on the search engines, the person asking the question seemed to have consulted them before and felt that the money was not worth it, as if they had been scammed. Judging from the results, this post has obviously been "manipulated" and taken down.

Xiang Kun roughly understood the nature of this "consulting company"—basically, it was a scam to rip people off and collect "intelligence tax." The person in charge, before starting this company, had likely done even more outrageous and heinous things under the guise of "supernatural powers and mystical practices." That's why the dream he had after being triggered by the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving was so terrifying—having deceived people so many times under that guise, even if he knew it wasn't true, it was easy to plant certain seeds in his subconscious.

Xiang Kun considered for a moment, picked up his phone, found the profile picture of Officer Chen he hadn't contacted in a long time, and sent him a message:

"Is Brother Chen there? I have something I'd like to ask. A friend's elder had a nightmare and went to a consulting firm in Prosperity Building, ** District, for a consultation. They paid over 6,000 yuan. Although the company later refunded the money for some reason, I still feel something's off. Is that company's business legitimate? Could they be a scam?"

His thinking was that he should just point this out to Officer Chen so that the authorities would take notice. If the people behind it really had problems and weren't clean, they would definitely be found out.

If not, then an innocent person wouldn't be wrongly accused.

As for himself, he was simply fulfilling the duties of a law-abiding citizen.

To his surprise, four or five minutes later, Officer Chen replied with a shocked emoji, followed by a message: "You weren't following me, were you?"

Thanks to readers A Hua, Qidian Zhanshen, Dao Wuming, Zhanzhe SiNBB, Moxiang Qiaozhicui, Kua Ba Xiuxiu Shouleba, Gege Haoku, and Yuyi007 Qidian their donations.