You and I Were Never Meant to Be; It All Depends on Me Paying More

Uncle Nine and the others had barely recovered when they rushed into the house to find Master Ren and his daughter. They happened to run into the zombie tangled in the Ink-Black Net. The zombie paid no attention to the three of them, hopping wildly as if its backside were on fire. Uncle Nine could tell it was afraid, as though something terrifying awaited inside. Before long, it vanished from their sight.

Qing Mo came out with Master Ren and his daughter and happened to meet Uncle Nine and the others.

"Master Ren, are you all right?"

"We're fine, we're fine. Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Nine!"

"Sigh... I was too unskilled to stop it and nearly got you killed. By the way, who is this beside you?"

"Greetings, Uncle Nine!"

Qing Mo clasped his hands in greeting, and Uncle Nine hurriedly returned the salute. Seeing the confusion on Uncle Nine's face, Qing Mo explained what had happened.

"So that's how it is! Though it has been driven away, it remains a menace! If we do not eliminate it soon, it will surely endanger the people."

"Rest assured, Uncle Nine. Its two blood relatives are still here, so it will return. Once we have everything prepared, we will definitely be able to destroy it."

"That is the only way."

Qing Mo then said he wanted to study feng shui under Uncle Nine and was willing to pay tuition. Uncle Nine had initially intended to refuse. Qing Mo had driven the zombie away without effort, while he had fought for half the day and still ended up injured.

"Oh, Uncle Nine, how could a Daoist master like you refuse such a small request from a junior like me? Besides, I am also interested in feng shui. You would not refuse, would you?"

As he spoke, he pulled out two egg-sized pieces of gold from his robes and stuffed them into Uncle Nine's hand.

"Ahem! Since young people these days enjoy learning feng shui, then as a senior, I naturally ought to teach them!"

Uncle Nine declared righteously that as long as Qing Mo was willing to learn, he would teach him everything he knew. He then took his disciples back to treat their injuries, telling Qing Mo to come to the Public Mortuary tomorrow. Qing Mo glanced at Qiusheng, his eyes drifting toward the man's kidneys.

Qiusheng was going to have a busy night!

After Uncle Nine left, Master Ren impatiently questioned Qing Mo.

"Immortal, didn't you say Uncle Nine could help me survive this calamity? How did the zombie still nearly kill both of us?"

Qing Mo glanced at Ren Tingting. Master Ren immediately understood and told her to return to her room to rest.

"Some changes occurred. You were originally supposed to be killed by your father last night. I intervened and saved you, changing certain things and indirectly affecting the future."

"Huh? Then what do we do? Will I still end up being killed by my father in the end?"

"Don't worry about that. Do you have any jade in your home? I'll carve you a Jade Pendant. Keep it on you at all times. Uncle Nine will still need to deal with the zombie. And stop calling me Immortal! My name is Qing Mo. Just call me by my name."

"Th-that would be disrespectful, wouldn't it? How could I directly address you by name?"

Qing Mo rolled his eyes at Master Ren.

"Do you want to live? If you do, listen to me!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Master Ren hurriedly replied, then brought out some jade he had treasured and gave it to Qing Mo. Qing Mo took it, gently squeezed it in his hand, then tossed it back to Master Ren. Master Ren looked at the Jade Pendant carved with the Ren Character in his hand, then looked at Qing Mo.

"It can correct the changes caused by my intervention. Remember to keep it on you. From now on, do more good deeds and build up your blessings. If there is anything you cannot resolve, ask Uncle Nine. He is a true Daoist master."

"For the time being, I'll be staying here. During the day, I'll go to the Public Mortuary to study feng shui, then return here at night."

"If the zombie comes again and we do not arrive in time, take out the Jade Pendant. It can save your life at a critical moment."

"All right, all right, all right."

Although Qing Mo could eliminate the zombie with a single thought, its karmic blessings were connected to Uncle Nine. In this End of Dharma Era, it was Uncle Nine's Experience Baby!

Over the following days, Qing Mo went to the Public Mortuary during the day to study and returned to the Ren residence at night to rest. In only a few days, Qing Mo had learned all of Uncle Nine's knowledge. Of course, it only took a few extra pieces of gold.

Uncle Nine noticed something unusual about Qiusheng. That night, he deliberately followed Qiusheng to an abandoned house. In the process of catching the ghost and waking Qiusheng up, they even put on a touching father-and-son scene. (Master and disciple took turns flicking each other on the forehead.)

At dusk, Qing Mo noticed a major fluctuation in Uncle Nine's karmic thread and knew the Experience Baby was coming. He had someone notify Master Ren and Ren Tingting in advance to come to the Public Mortuary.

Qing Mo found an excuse to leave early. This time, Uncle Nine and his disciples had to face it alone. The Jade Pendant Qing Mo had given Master Ren could remove half the zombie's corpse qi at a critical moment, ensuring Uncle Nine could destroy it smoothly.

"System, how much origin have you absorbed? Can you straighten out the distorted plot again?"

"No problem, Host. I have already absorbed half of its origin. It can no longer subconsciously alter anything. All distortions have ceased to exist."

"Good. That's all that matters!"

The zombie did indeed come. Because of Qing Mo's advance warning, Uncle Nine was well prepared this time. Although the Public Mortuary was nearly torn apart, and Wencai was scratched by the zombie while protecting Ren Tingting, Taoist Priest Simu happened to arrive in the end. Everyone joined forces and destroyed the zombie. Afterward, Master Ren provided money and labor to help Uncle Nine repair the Public Mortuary, and even gave Uncle Nine a large red envelope.

Qing Mo intended to move into the Public Mortuary. Uncle Nine had just opened his mouth when Qing Mo said he would pay rent, and Uncle Nine warmly welcomed him! Qing Mo also gave Master Ren some business advice, waiting for the vampire plot to begin.

Several months later, a Sky Dog Eats Moon, an event seen only once in a century, occurred at night. The Little Zombie in Uncle Nine's Public Mortuary was unfortunately exposed to moonlight and gave Qiusheng and Wencai a thorough runaround. Only when Uncle Nine returned and noticed something was wrong with the Little Zombie did he hurriedly cast a spell to restore it.

Suddenly, someone rushed into the Public Mortuary in a panic, asking Uncle Nine to save his younger brother. Qing Mo knew that Eastern Daoism was about to clash with Western Vampires.

Upon arriving at the neighboring village, Uncle Nine discovered that a tree in the Banana Grove had become a spirit. In the end, Qiusheng used his good looks to lure out the Banana Tree Female Ghost before they were able to eliminate it.

The neighboring village chief invited Uncle Nine to inspect the feng shui, and Qing Mo went along as well. After failing to win Ren Tingting's affections, Captain A-Wei turned his attention to his own cousin.

"Village Chief, on the left of this village lies Golden Plate Auspicious, on the right Water Drains Central Hall, ahead spreads Magnificent Courtyard Crane Palace, and behind rests Golden Mountain Jade..."

Standing behind Uncle Nine, Qing Mo listened to his words and thought, Look at Uncle Nine, speaking in polished phrases and never running out of good words. Then look at A-Wei—asking one moment whether his cousin is thirsty, the next whether she is hungry. Heh! What a perfect bootlicker.

After Uncle Nine examined the place, he discovered there was a problem with the water source. While Captain A-Wei was by the river helping his cousin fetch water to wash her feet, he accidentally fell into the water. When he crawled ashore, he found his foot tangled in branches. With a hard pull, he unexpectedly uncovered countless dead bats hanging from the tree.

After Uncle Nine learned of this, he immediately sent people to find the bats' nest. Qing Mo knew what was coming next and could not be bothered to linger in the village with them. Once Uncle Nine was locked in a dark cell, he could go steal the Little Zombie's spotlight.