Nearly a month had passed since Qu Nanzhu handed over the rough jadeite, and the payment for the bracelets finally came through.
Thirty-six million in total.
Qu Nanzhu stared at the balance, stunned.
About a minute later, he took a screenshot and sent it to Huo Sili.
Huo Sili replied with a question mark, then sent another message.
Huo: [Where have you been making your fortune lately, Master?]
Qu's Bamboo: [Trade secret. Ask again and I'll beat you to death.]
Huo: [Master, you're so fierce.]
Huo: [Aren't you going to treat me, Master?]
Qu's Bamboo: [Transfer: 100 yuan]
Qu's Bamboo: [Spend it however you like.]
Huo Sili chuckled and accepted the enormous transfer, then the two agreed to go out for lunch together.
Chen Xun had already grown used to his boss's new habit. The man who once never set foot outside the company unless necessary now went out to restaurants for lunch every few days.
With Qu Nanzhu, of course.
Occasionally, when Huo Sili wasn't busy, the two would also go to a movie or do some fishing together.
But Master Qu had been in the spotlight lately. Once, someone recognized them while they were out, causing quite a stir.
After that, Qu Nanzhu always put on a talisman that blurred his features before going out, and had Little Eighteen stay with Huo Sili to make sure Huo Sili could recognize him.
Around noon, Qu Nanzhu took a taxi to the Huo building himself.
The women at reception all knew who had been coming to see their boss lately, but because his features were blurred, they couldn't recognize him when he arrived. They suspected everyone who came in equally, and only when Chen Xun came down to pick him up did they realize, oh, so he was the master.
Today, they went to a Japanese barbecue restaurant. Qu Nanzhu took the inner seat without prompting and waited for Huo Sili to bring over the dipping sauces and juice.
After a sip, Qu Nanzhu smacked his lips. "Let's not get this next time."
Huo Sili set down the dipping sauces and looked over in confusion. "What's wrong?"
Qu Nanzhu said nothing, merely pushing the apple juice toward him.
Huo Sili poured a little into his own glass and took a sip.
How to describe it? It was like drinking alcohol, but with a hint of apple.
The two silently pushed the bottle of juice into a corner.
Huo Sili said, "I hope their barbecue won't disappoint me."
Qu Nanzhu nodded. "Me too."
In the end, the meal wasn't particularly enjoyable. Feeling thoroughly deceived by the ratings, Qu Nanzhu paid the bill with a rather sour expression.
In the car, Huo Sili draped his suit jacket over his legs. He could now walk without outside assistance, though he still couldn't stand for long.
The two returned to their earlier conversation about buying a house. Huo Sili wanted to take full responsibility for the matter, but Qu Nanzhu had his own ideas. Given Huo Sili's enthusiasm, he said Chen Xun could accompany him so he wouldn't get ripped off.
They chatted the whole way. Qu Nanzhu said he wanted to visit the Huo family villa to see Xiao Zhu, and since Huo Sili happened to have little to do that afternoon, they went back together.
Since Qu Nanzhu's eight paper figures had to stand guard by Spirit Lake, Huo Sili had commissioned eight little shrine-like houses beside it. The eight little paper figures usually stayed inside them.
Sensing their master's presence, the eight paper figures immediately burst through the little doors and flew over, clinging affectionately to Qu Nanzhu.
Huo Sili was already used to scenes like this and watched quietly from the side.
Qu Nanzhu infused each of the eight paper figures with merit in turn, then went to the lakeside to check on Xiao Zhu's condition.
Spirit Lake really was different. Xiao Zhu's soul body had now essentially recovered and was slowly merging with the jade.
Huo Sili stepped forward and gazed at the calm lake. Unable to see anything, he could only ask Qu Nanzhu, "How is it going?"
Qu Nanzhu was in a very good mood, his smile infectious. "He's recovering much faster than I expected."
Xiao Zhu would probably finish merging with the jade around the end of the year. With a human soul, a jade body, and the nourishment of dragon qi, he would then have a constitution impervious to all ghosts.
After checking on Xiao Zhu, he watched a movie with Huo Sili in the screening room for a while. By the time he returned to his rented place, it was past six in the evening. Once he had eaten and tidied up, it was time to stream.
Qu Nanzhu's livestream audience now held steady at around a million, dropping to three or four hundred thousand after he finished the three readings.
Tonight, Qu Nanzhu started his stream as usual. Only after greeting everyone did he notice that the bullet comments kept repeating the same thing.
[Master, Master, are you going on that paranormal livestream show?]
[Go, go! We want to see more of you, aaaah!]
[Baby, will you? Will you? Please, please!]
Qu Nanzhu blinked, his eyes full of confusion. "What are you talking about? What variety show?"
[It's a livestream paranormal variety show themed around metaphysics, planned by director Li Yonghui! I heard they've invited several big names, including an orthodox celestial master.]
[If you ask me, you fans are way too naive. This Master Qu-I'll call you Master Qu for now-being an influencer and doing livestreams is enough. If you actually face a genuine celestial master, aren't you afraid of embarrassing yourself with your inferior skills?]
[Where did this hater above come from? How are there still people doubting God Qu's abilities?]
[The people who believe him are the ones with something wrong with their brains. A fraud who got famous purely through marketing can have this many brain-dead fans? Looks like our country's education system still has a long road ahead.]
[Who exactly has something wrong with their brain? God Qu has worked with the authorities to solve at least a dozen cases, if not dozens. What influencer works with the police every few days?]
[His fans are always bragging about this Qu guy working with the authorities, so why can't I find an official statement thanking him anywhere? Stop puffing yourselves up, okay?]
[Are you nuts? Don't you know how strictly this stuff is regulated? If our God Qu didn't have real skills, you still wouldn't be able to find his stream in searches.]
[Heh, I've remembered the brain-dead fans above. When you're old, I'll sell you health supplements.]
[All I can say is, God Qu, you've really made it. You even have haters now.]
Ever since the Investigation Bureau lifted the restrictions on Qu Nanzhu's exposure, his livestream had gained plenty of haters like these, and he had already grown used to them. Huo Sili occasionally found them an eyesore and used his privileges to block a few of the most aggressive ones.
Automatically ignoring the haters' remarks, Qu Nanzhu followed his viewers' pointers and searched for information about the show.
Good grief, it turned out they had already posted seven or eight videos inviting him to participate. Everyone knew Qu Nanzhu didn't read private messages, so the production team had hoped to spread the word this way and eventually have his viewers pass the message along.
It had to be said that they had indeed succeeded. The Candlelight fans were particularly eager for Qu Nanzhu to join the show.
After all, appearing on a proper show would earn Qu Nanzhu's abilities more official recognition, not to mention that there was reportedly a genuine celestial master involved.
Qu Nanzhu quickly browsed the comments. Almost all of them hoped he would participate, and many viewers in the bullet comments were also expressing a strong desire for him to join.
Qu Nanzhu, who had been preparing to retire all along, fell into thought.
The bond between him and his viewers seemed to have grown a little too deep now. It wasn't impossible to forcibly sever it, but... Qu Nanzhu asked himself, and he didn't want to.
His gaze returned to the camera. Little Eighteen dragged away the phone he had set down and began operating it, while he said to the camera, "Then I'll go. Only a bastard turns down money!"
[Yay!!]
[Woohoo, we're taking off!!!!!]
[Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay!! Baby, we love you!]
Qu Nanzhu smiled faintly at the camera. He was quite fond of these viewers too.
By the time Qu Nanzhu finished today's three readings, the news that he would be joining "Master, I Want to Improve So Badly" had already shot to number one on the trending searches.
The production team made an even bigger fanfare, posting three videos in a row to welcome him.
[Wait, who is this? Why do I feel like he's trending every day?]
[A fortune-telling influencer who's really good at scripting things. I heard he even got the police to act along with him.]
[Would you take a look at what you're saying? Did you not even finish compulsory education? The police acting along with him, seriously?]
[Can't be helped. Our great god really is famous now. There are haters everywhere.]
[Are we haters, or are you fans just overhyping him? You'd be better off believing I'm Qin Shi Huang than believing a fortune-teller.]
[Could everyone in the comments stop attacking him without learning about him first? There are plenty of things in this world that don't cease to exist just because you haven't seen them.]
[You're still thinking too kindly of people. In fact, even if they saw it, they'd only think it was fake. It's beyond the scope of their understanding, after all.]
[All right, all right, stop arguing, everyone. Let's look forward to seeing God Qu on the show's livestream next week!!]
[Exactly. There's no need to explain to people who don't believe. Even if you explain, they won't believe you. Once he gets official recognition, there'll be nothing they can do, no matter how stubbornly they deny it.]
[Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter. Official recognition? More like officially exposed as a fraud.]
[Enough said. Looking forward to God Qu's performance on the variety show's livestream.]