After blocking Li Mao's number and WeChat, Qu Nanzhu checked out of the room and took a taxi back to Xiao Zhu's rented place.
Inside, he gently laid the branch on the bed, then found a clean change of clothes and went into the bathroom.
When he emerged, he was a handsome, confident young man with gauze wrapped around his head, wearing a white-to-blue gradient shirt and an ordinary pair of jeans.
With a different soul inside, his bearing was different too. Xiao Zhu had always been insecure and timid, instinctively lowering his head whenever he saw anyone. He had hardly had any presence to speak of.
Now someone else had taken his place. Although both had been orphans in early childhood, Qu Nanzhu had been sold into slavery by his parents at six. Surrounded by sinister, deceitful people, he would never have survived long enough to meet his master if he had been timid.
Only after he began cultivating under his master at eight had that air of gloom slowly faded from him.
Under the influence of his master and the elders, he had indeed learned quite a few lessons about dealing with people.
But later, as his standing rose, the others in his sect had begun watching his expression before acting, always behaving deferentially and not daring to approach him.
He had no desire to take the initiative to please anyone either, and a measure of arrogance had rubbed off on him despite himself.
Now he made a simple casual outfit look like something on a male model. Combined with the conspicuous white dressing on his forehead, it ensured that everyone turned to look when Qu Nanzhu stepped onto the street.
He had gone out this time to sever the karma between Xiao Zhu and the company-
Commonly known as terminating his contract.
He had left Xiao Zhu in the little rented room. He could hardly do something as undignified as carrying a tree branch into the company to terminate a contract.
Without him there to protect Xiao Zhu, he could only set up a few evil-repelling formations around him.
To ensure they worked, Qu Nanzhu had drawn them using his blood as a medium.
If lesser ghosts approached, they would end up dead or injured. Even a thousand-year-old evil ghost... would have to leave a layer of skin behind.
Yinxie was the entertainment company Xiao Zhu had signed with.
Li Mao was currently swearing his head off in the office area.
The company was neither especially large nor especially small. Several agents shared an office area and usually worked together there.
Right beside the office area were the streamers' dressing rooms and livestreaming rooms. At this hour, streamers had already begun arriving to get their makeup done, and naturally, they heard Li Mao's curses too.
Someone coming out to collect a delivery happened to see Qu Nanzhu entering the main entrance. They froze, then cast a strange look back inside.
Qu Nanzhu noticed but merely blinked, not particularly concerned.
He pushed the door open and went in. Li Mao was still bitterly recounting his offenses to the other agents. One person noticed him first, then several others looked over too.
Li Mao naturally saw him as well. First, he gave two cold chuckles, then continued dealing with the things in his hands as though he had not seen him.
Since he was pretending nothing had happened, Qu Nanzhu cared even less. His gaze swept casually across Li Mao's face before he headed straight for the manager's office at the very back.
Yet once Qu Nanzhu ignored him too, Li Mao was the one who felt uncomfortable.
Seeing Qu Nanzhu act as though he had not noticed him, Li Mao blocked his way with a dark expression.
"So now that you've found yourself a backer, you look down on your agent? I say a few words to you, and you're going to tattle to the manager?"
His manner was mocking and provocative.
Of course, tattling was out of the question. After all, with only a door between them, could the person inside really not know what Li Mao was doing?
Of course he knew. He simply could not be bothered to intervene and did not want to.
Li Mao managed over a dozen streamers, including all four of the top earners.
Under his manipulative brainwashing, these streamers genuinely admired him and had no complaints about many of the company's arrangements.
Xiao Zhu simply had not dared to protest.
As for the backer Li Mao had just mentioned?
Heh, that was naturally a jab at Qu Nanzhu.
Just because Li Mao could not find something out did not mean others could not. He had heard that Manager Zhong's expression had changed the moment he heard Qu Nanzhu's name.
Anyone smart knew this meant Qu Nanzhu had offended Manager Zhong. The fact that Manager Zhong had not yet made a move to teach him a lesson was already exceptionally generous.
So the manager turned a blind eye to what Li Mao was doing now.
Qu Nanzhu actually wanted to tell him that a good dog did not block the way, but he was afraid the dog might turn desperate and delay what he had to do next.
So he held up three fingers and said, "There are three."
Baffled by this non sequitur, Li Mao frowned. "Three what? What the hell are you-"
Before he could finish, Qu Nanzhu began folding down his fingers, cutting off his foul language. "One is thirty-three, one is in the prime of life, and one means at least three years in prison."
Actually, Li Mao could still keep up an act when Qu Nanzhu mentioned the second one. But at "at least three years," he instantly lost his composure. All the others saw was him suddenly shouting, "Shut up!!!"
Qu Nanzhu obediently shut his mouth, though his expression was utterly speechless.
Unable to spare a thought for the startled looks around him, Li Mao was already breaking out in a cold sweat down his back.
He never considered any other possibility, instinctively assuming Qu Nanzhu had secretly followed and investigated him.
Li Mao sank into speculation, not daring to imagine how much evidence Qu Nanzhu now held.
In fact, Qu Nanzhu had no evidence whatsoever.
He had merely drawn a few conclusions from reading his face.
Married, but involved in three illicit relationships outside his marriage.
The first was a married woman.
The second was a man.
The third was underage...
Well, it seemed he would have to be a good citizen and call the police later too.
Under the probing looks of several colleagues around him, Li Mao lowered his voice and asked through gritted teeth, "What do you want?"
Qu Nanzhu: "..." He really had no words.
He felt as though even the light was about to leave his eyes. "Would you please move aside?"
Before Li Mao's brain could process those words, his body had already moved out of the way.
Qu Nanzhu even smiled and thanked him as he passed.
Then he knocked, opened the door, went in, and closed it.
Only after Qu Nanzhu had disappeared inside did Li Mao recover from his terror.
He kept sweating buckets.
Just how much did that brat Qu Nanzhu know!?
He had even given the age just now...
Li Mao hardly dared to think further.
At that moment, a chill rose in his heart.
Unfortunately, before he could put his plan into action, the police took him away that very evening.
Back in the present, inside the manager's office.
The instant Qu Nanzhu entered and saw Du Congcai, his expression noticeably paused, surprise flashing through his eyes.
Du Congcai had heard Li Mao's out-of-control shout and guessed it had something to do with Qu Nanzhu. He asked with feigned concern, "Did something happen? I thought I heard an argument just now."
Qu Nanzhu pretended not to see the female ghost following behind the man. Rather than answer his question, he stated his purpose directly. "Manager Du, I want to terminate my contract."
"Ah?" Du Congcai was genuinely somewhat surprised. He really had not expected those words to come from Qu Nanzhu.
He put on a troubled expression, his tone carrying a measure of disappointment in Qu Nanzhu. "Xiao Qu, it's not as though I don't know your circumstances. I can see that your time at the company may not have been particularly happy..."
"But the company has its rules and difficulties, and your performance really has never met the targets. We can't give you a high salary. Otherwise, how could we justify it to the other streamers who work harder than you?
"You have to understand, in a company this size, I don't have the sole say, and everything doesn't revolve around you."
"You only have yourself to feed, with no family to worry about. You have it easy. But there are so many mouths waiting to be fed here! Operations, planning, the other streamers... everyone depends on the company for a living. If I casually broke the rules just for you, how would I manage things afterward? What would everyone else think?"
He spread his hands, his tone growing ever more earnest. "You have to spare a thought for my difficulties too, don't you? You can't just think about doing whatever makes you happy and put your uncle here in a difficult position."
Having self-importantly delivered a string of lectures, he leaned back slightly, his gaze settling on Qu Nanzhu's face, a confident smile curling his lips.
Out of habit, he waited for the young man before him to look uneasy and anxious.
Ideally, he would immediately lower his head, stammer an apology, and repeatedly say that he understood the company's difficulties and had been thoughtless...
He had even prepared the magnanimous words he would say next.
However, Qu Nanzhu merely stood there quietly, his expression undisturbed, his gaze drifting lightly to Du Congcai's left hand.
"That watch wasn't cheap, was it, Manager Du?"
None of the expected reactions materialized. The muscles in Manager Du's face stiffened almost imperceptibly for an instant, and cracks appeared in his carefully constructed look of disappointment and difficulty.
The air in the office inexplicably grew a little heavier.
Du Congcai's eyes shifted away, and he instinctively drew back his left hand.
"Well..."
"I saw your new car outside just now too, Manager Du."
The smile faded from Du Congcai's face. "Qu Nanzhu."
He continued adopting that instructive attitude. "That's rather hurtful of you. I didn't get where I am today through luck, but through real dedication and effort, built up little by little."
"Now, if you'd focused more on learning back then, like I did, read more books and learned more skills, you wouldn't have ended up like this, would you?"
"Think about it. When I was staying up late in the office reading reports and expanding the business, what were you doing? The path a person chooses comes with consequences they have to bear. You reap what you sow. Our ancestors' words always have some truth to them. Don't you agree?"
Qu Nanzhu listened to his entire life lesson without expression and could not be bothered to comment.
He raised his eyes and studied that smug, hypocritical face. Why is everything I've seen today so filthy?
"Du Congcai, male, thirty-eight. A low, slightly crooked nose root-not suited to academic study. A restless glimmer between the brows and eyes indicates a nimble mind, but one not used for honest purposes, preferring to profit at others' expense."
His gaze settled on the sides of Du Congcai's nose and around his lips.
"A full nose tip but exposed nostrils, with weak nasal wings. This indicates wealth coming and going, difficult to retain. It also signifies exaggerated speech and habitual boasting. As for this ability you speak of..."
Qu Nanzhu inexplicably found it funny, and he did indeed laugh.
"A darkened mentolabial groove and a thin, pointed chin. You've certainly honed your talent for honeyed words and ingratiating looks."
No wonder he could run his mouth so well. For every ten words Qu Nanzhu said, he could reply with three hundred.
That must have been where his talent and effort lay.
At school, he had been nothing but a delinquent who skipped classes and climbed over walls.
He had obtained his current job through connections. His usual work consisted of eating and drinking with his superiors, then flattering them with every sort of sweet talk.
If someone actually handed him a proposal, he could point at the technical terminology and berate its writer for making no sense.
Though the corners of Du Congcai's mouth were twitching after hearing all this, he still pretended to be magnanimous. "Nanzhu, don't blame your uncle for speaking harshly, but instead of spouting nonsense here, why don't you think about whether you can afford the penalty for terminating your contract? Not to mention you've offended Manager Zhong. Will he let you off?"
At that, Qu Nanzhu tilted his head and thought seriously for a moment. Looking behind Du Congcai, he said, "Perhaps you should worry more about yourself, Manager Du. After working so 'hard' to earn your money, will you live long enough to spend it?"
He deliberately stressed the word "hard."
Perhaps Qu Nanzhu's mystical-sounding remarks had rattled Du Congcai a little. Hearing this now, coupled with his own guilty conscience, Du Congcai abruptly looked behind him.
The clean, tidy mahogany bookshelves held assorted business books and documents, neatly sorted into categories.
The most conspicuous shelf was devoted to the various trophies and certificates of honor he had received over the years, polished until they gleamed, reflecting the glow of success beneath the lights.
Another section beside it held the assorted motivational books on success he had carefully selected and arranged. Their spines were pristine; one look was enough to tell they had never actually been opened.
There was nothing there, nothing unusual.
Du Congcai had just relaxed a little when Qu Nanzhu's calm, pleasant voice came again. "You haven't been sleeping well lately, have you, Manager Du?"
Du Congcai's heart rose into his throat again as Qu Nanzhu continued, "Do you often feel a chill at the back of your neck, followed by trouble breathing, as though someone were choking you?"