Business came knocking

Bai Yunxi's phone rang. "Hello? What is it?"

"President Bai, a gentleman named Zhang Wentao is here to see Young Master Ye," came the receptionist's voice.

"Got it. Let him up," Bai Yunxi said.

The two receptionists watched Zhang Wentao enter the elevator.

"Who's that guy? He's wearing a Daoist robe. Is he an actor?"

"Not necessarily. I heard President Bai isn't in very good health, and Elder Bai has brought in all sorts of people to examine him, including quite a few Daoist priests."

"We've really had all kinds of people coming to our company lately."

"Tell me about it! That Young Master Ye seems so strange and mystical, nothing like a normal person. President Bai treats him really well, though. He even let him move a recliner into his office."

"Did you know Young Master Bai has been scolding people a lot less since Young Master Ye arrived?" the customer service receptionist said, her eyes sparkling.

Zhang Wentao entered the conference room and saw Ye Fan lounging lazily in his recliner.

Bai Yunxi's office was decorated in black and white, giving it a cold, austere air. Ye Fan's golden recliner, however, completely ruined that atmosphere. Zhang Wentao guessed it had only been added after Ye Fan arrived.

"Celestial Master Zhang, you came to see me?" Ye Fan asked.

Zhang Wentao nodded. "Yes. I heard you'd come to Capital City. Yang Fei told me that if I wanted to find you, I only needed to find Young Master Bai."

Zhang Wentao looked at Ye Fan, then at Bai Yunxi, and thought, These two seem to be moving pretty fast! Ye Fan has already made himself right at home.

"That's true enough," Ye Fan said.

Zhang Wentao: "..."

"Young Master Ye, are you still selling talismans?" Zhang Wentao asked.

Ye Fan shook his head. "No. There's too little profit in talismans, so I've stopped doing that."

Zhang Wentao had taken Ye Fan's talismans back to Dragon Tiger Mountain and shown them to several elders of the sect, who had all praised them lavishly. He had been hoping to pick up a few bargains from Ye Fan, only to find that the fellow had stopped selling talismans altogether.

"I've found a new line of business lately. The money comes in incredibly fast," Ye Fan said, practically glowing with excitement.

"What kind of business?" Zhang Wentao asked curiously.

Ye Fan gave a mysterious smile. "Milking the rich!"

Zhang Wentao: "..."

"I've discovered there are plenty of rich fools in this world with more money than sense, stupid enough to fall for other people's schemes. If I save a few more of them, I'll be rich in no time," Ye Fan said.

Zhang Wentao: "..."

"Young Master Ye, I actually came to ask for your help with something," Zhang Wentao said.

Ye Fan looked at Zhang Wentao. "Really? What is it?"

"After you left last time, we took a few more people into the Ancient Tomb. But there was far more to that tomb than we could handle, and even my martial uncles didn't dare venture too deep," Zhang Wentao said.

Ye Fan nodded. "That princess is tough to deal with, and has eighteen subordinates as well. Definitely not easy."

"Yes! Fortunately, we didn't go too deep, so there weren't many casualties. But everyone who came out of the Ancient Tomb has fallen into a deep coma. If this continues, I'm afraid they'll become brain-dead," Zhang Wentao said.

Bai Yunxi looked at Ye Fan. "Ye Fan, what do you think the problem is?"

"They probably inhaled too much corpse qi. Those people before got sick from breathing in just a little of it. You can imagine what would happen to ordinary people who went down into the tomb," Ye Fan said.

"Can they still be saved?" Bai Yunxi asked.

"Sure! Just draw the corpse qi out." Ye Fan looked at Zhang Wentao. "You spirit-dancing charlatans at Dragon Tiger Mountain should have ways to do that too, right?"

Zhang Wentao: "..." We at Dragon Tiger Mountain are not spirit-dancing charlatans! Ye Fan made it sound as though their entire sect was a gang of con artists.

"We do have ways, but there are too many patients and not enough people to treat them," Zhang Wentao said.

"You want me to help?" Ye Fan asked.

Zhang Wentao nodded. "Yes."

Ye Fan looked at Zhang Wentao. "How much are you planning to pay me? You know, my rates are different now. Someone paid this much to hire me before." Ye Fan held up five fingers.

"Fifty bucks?" Zhang Wentao asked, half joking.

Ye Fan rolled his eyes. "Fifty million!"

"All right!" Dragon Tiger Mountain had substantial wealth and resources. Many wealthy businessmen and prominent figures hired its members to assess feng shui or slay demons and monsters, and would invariably pay them handsomely afterward.

"Fifty million each? How many people are in comas? This is big business!" Ye Fan asked, his eyes widening.

Zhang Wentao: "..."

Bai Yunxi took a deep breath and thought, Ye Fan certainly has a huge appetite! Is he trying to empty Dragon Tiger Mountain's coffers? Isn't he afraid they'll beat him up?

"Celestial Master Zhang, he's joking," Bai Yunxi said.

Ye Fan looked at Bai Yunxi. "Joking? I'm not!"

Bai Yunxi gave Ye Fan an icy look. "Shut up. Fifty million per person? Aren't you afraid you'll choke on all that?"

Ye Fan couldn't help giving Bai Yunxi an aggrieved look.

Bai Yunxi smiled at Zhang Wentao. "Master Zhang, don't listen to his nonsense. You know he never says anything sensible."

Zhang Wentao smiled. "Yes, yes, I know."

"I heard Dragon Tiger Mountain has a base in Capital City that specializes in collecting all sorts of unusual materials. Really, talking about money only hurts our friendship. Master Zhang, why not just take Ye Fan there and let him pick out a few materials?" Bai Yunxi said.

Zhang Wentao: "..."

It's over, it's over. The Bai Family's Third Young Master has been led astray by that idiot Ye Fan. To some of Dragon Tiger Mountain's elders, money was secondary. Rare materials were the truly priceless treasures. Still, Ye Fan was no ordinary man. Offering him a few materials to build a good relationship before he became truly famous was a good thing too.

Ye Fan turned to look at Zhang Wentao. "Yunxi's right. If you don't have the money, materials will do too. But don't try to fob me off with rubbish! Otherwise, I'll draw a Bad Luck Talisman and slap it on your forehead."

Zhang Wentao: "..."

Bai Yunxi glared fiercely at Ye Fan, who gave him an innocent smile.

"What kind of talisman is a Bad Luck Talisman? What does it do? Is it life-threatening?" Zhang Wentao asked curiously.

Bai Yunxi: "..."

"A Bad Luck Talisman won't endanger your life. You'll just step in dog poop when you go out, find cockroaches in your food, lose every time you gamble..."

Zhang Wentao clicked his tongue in wonder as he listened. "That talisman sounds pretty good!"

Bai Yunxi: "..."