Chapter 34

The argument between the two entrepreneurs outside quickly attracted the attention of those inside the house.

Several people hurried out to check the situation. After some explanation and confirmation from Xie An and Ke Xingzhou himself, Mr. Xie finally believed that Ke Zhengye really had a son who was a master of metaphysics.

Although, he wasn’t his biological son.

When Xie Zhiwen found out about the "fake" young master, he looked at Ke Zhengye’s bald head that needed hair from the sides to cover it and his square face, then looked at Ke Xingzhou’s obviously thick and normal hair and his stunningly handsome face. For some reason, it seemed very reasonable to him—

Bad bamboo shoots grow good bamboo shoots. How could such a low-probability event always happen to Ke Zhengye?

But, as an old fox who had been in the business world for many years, he was clever enough not to show his thoughts on the surface.

Realizing that he had misunderstood, Xie Zhiwen knew how to save face. He patted Ke Zhengye and said, “I didn’t expect Master Ke to be your family! That makes sense now. No wonder you rose so quickly and entered the aristocratic circle more than a decade ago. It turns out there was a master guiding you. But you’re too inconsiderate. With such a great master, why didn’t you introduce him to me earlier?”

The Xie family was known for seeking fortune tellers, and everyone in the circle knew this. Ke Zhengye had heard of it.

But at this moment, all he wanted was silence.

His blank stare swept across Ke Xingzhou, then fell on Xie Zhiwen’s face. After a long time, he weakly asked, “What did you come to see this... Ke Xingzhou for?”

“To thank him!” Xie Zhiwen replied eagerly. “Do you remember the bidding we participated in last weekend? I had that car accident on the way, so I only arrived at the last minute. Luckily, I met someone from the organizers who handed in the bid for us, and we won the contract. That was all thanks to Master Ke saving us!”

Ke Zhengye: “…………”

He didn’t want to lose his temper in front of a competitor he had known since childhood, as it would make him seem immature. So, he took a few deep breaths and shot a furious glare at Ke Xingzhou.

This was a project he had finally managed to get into! He had been very confident of winning the bid!

Ke Zhengye said nothing, but his expression suggested a scathing remark. Even someone as dull as Ke Xingzhou noticed something was off.

“Your company’s qualifications are already a bit worse than the Xie family’s, even if you won the bid, something would still go wrong.” He paused, then tried to comfort, “As long as you accumulate good deeds, your ancestors’ blessings will still protect your business. Maybe in a few days, a big deal will come to you.”

Although he was saying good things, for some reason, Ke Zhengye’s face grew darker and darker, eventually turning livid.

Xie Zhiwen was quite pleased, as Master Ke had praised their company!

Out of modesty, he smiled for a while before waving his hand, “Oh no, actually, our company just updated its qualifications last year, and we were lucky to win the bid. This is all thanks to my daughter’s sharp vision, she had the foresight, it had nothing to do with me.”

After a pause, he glanced at Ke Zhengye and added in a loud voice, “If I really played any part in this, it was simply by fully handing over the authority to my daughter early on, and then just fulfilling my duty by delivering the bid document on time.”

Ke Zhengye, who refused to give power to his eldest son and personally delivered the bid documents without winning: “…………”Aside from Ke Zhengye, who was nearly furious to the point of fainting, the meeting could barely be called a pleasant one for both sides.

Xie Zhiwen, with his wife and children, expressed their heartfelt thanks to Ke Xingzhou for saving their lives, and they eagerly tried to offer him money.

When the thin red envelope was presented, Ke Xingzhou immediately felt an alarm go off in his mind, sensing that the light of merit might be leaving his body, and quickly raised his hand to refuse: "No need. You’ve already paid for your divination earlier."

Although Ke Zhengye had long been neglecting the matters concerning these children at home, he still knew his rebellious son, Ke Xingzhou, well enough. He was furious but stayed nearby to keep an eye on him, not wanting him to embarrass himself in front of an old business rival.

At this moment, when Ke Xingzhou unhesitatingly refused Xie Zhiwen's red envelope, Ke Zhengye was momentarily in disbelief.

Was this really his son, who couldn’t walk by a bit of money and was especially fond of small gains? The same son who had once deceived a child over five yuan back at the old house?

But who knew that the next second, Ke Xingzhou would continue, "Maybe next time, if there's an opportunity."

Ke Zhengye: "……"

What opportunity?! Are you cursing them?!

His hope, which had just risen, died immediately. He stared at Ke Xingzhou with a dark face and then awkwardly explained to Xie Zhiwen: "Don’t mind him, he likes to talk nonsense. Just take the money. He just happened to say some lucky words and got the matter with your family right. He’s not worthy of such a big gift from you."

In Ke Zhengye’s mind, Ke Xingzhou was just a brat who could say a few auspicious words.

Although every time he "cursed" someone, it seemed to be incredibly effective, admitting that this son, whom he had always looked down upon, had any real ability was impossible.

After being so provoked, Ke Zhengye wanted to show his authority as the head of the family in front of Xie Zhiwen, trying to display his control over his children’s every word. When he said this, his tone was especially firm and his voice particularly loud.

However, no one paid attention to him.

Xie Zhiwen, who had been college roommates with Ke Zhengye, knew very well about his petty habits, and hearing this, he couldn’t be bothered to maintain basic social decorum, rolling his eyes at him.

"Old Ke, doesn’t your company have a bunch of things to take care of? Hurry up and leave. We’re not here to find you, and having you around makes it really inconvenient for us to talk!"

Ke Zhengye: "……"

No one was paying attention to him, and now, in his own home, he was being chased out. Ke Zhengye’s anger peaked, and he stormed off.

Before leaving, he grabbed his quiet elder son and loudly conspired with Mrs. Ke, forbidding her from offering any of his precious tea to this annoying old rival.

"Give them soda! Don’t let them ruin their teeth!"

Everyone: "……"

What a childish way to get back at someone!

Once Ke Zhengye left, the air in the room felt much fresher. Xie Zhiwen, no longer as confident as when he had pushed Ke Zhengye, carefully observed Ke Xingzhou's expression while still holding the red envelope with the bank card.

Ke Xingzhou refused his red envelope, and he didn’t dare force it, but he couldn’t help but feel that Ke Xingzhou was noble and otherworldly, while his own act of offering money felt so mundane in comparison.

Only Ke Xingzhou knew that he truly didn’t want it.

Although he had temporarily stored the money sent by Assistant Ji Yi earlier using Xie Xiao'an’s card, the bugs in the system were not so easily bypassed.

When Lu Li had sent him the "Merit Calculator" last time, he had reminded him that his actual merit was slightly less than what the app calculated and that it was gradually decreasing with each passing moment.

Knowing that he had accepted a large sum of money from a top-tier heir but had only stored it with Xie Xiao'an, Lu Li had been silent for a long time."The way of heaven doesn't speak, do you really think it's a fool?" Lu Li shook his head. "Even if your five elements lack money, you can't fill it this way! Clearly, you deliberately exploited a bug and the way of heaven caught it, using this method to collect interest from you."

Simply put, this money never passed through Ke Xingzhou's hands, so the way of heaven couldn’t directly take his merit light away. But since the money was with Xie An, Xie An would invest it in Ke Xingzhou's name. If the amount exceeded Ke Xingzhou's merit limit, his merit would be deducted.

How much money Ji Yi had given, Ke Xingzhou still didn’t have any idea, only knowing it was certainly much more than the 1.88 million from Xie An.

Otherwise, when he reached out to take it, he wouldn’t have such a terrifying sense of impending doom.

Lu Li had said that this time was likely just a warning from the way of heaven. If Ke Xingzhou continued using this bug to store money, next time, the method wouldn’t be so gentle.

But this money certainly couldn’t be returned.

Ke Xingzhou hadn’t kept Ji Yi’s contact information and didn’t want to主动找聂辰. Most importantly, he himself couldn’t bear to see so much money slip away.

So, the urgent thing was to accumulate more merit before these funds, with their compound interest, consumed him. He had to find a way to make sure his own merit could handle the interest gains.

With this in mind, Ke Xingzhou looked at the Xie family members, still covered with a layer of clouds on their faces, and unexpectedly took the initiative to ask, “Did you bring a friend with you?”

Even though he had already heard countless times about Ke Xingzhou’s miracles from his son, the other party was still a young man, about the same age as his son. When he heard Ke Xingzhou notice his unspoken intention, Xie Zhiwen was still a little surprised.

He nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes. He’s outside right now. Should I call him in?”

Those who dabble in metaphysics often have various taboos. He had been worried that Ke Xingzhou wouldn’t want to meet others, so he had his friend wait outside. Now that Ke Xingzhou brought it up, it saved him the trouble of finding a topic.

With Ke Xingzhou’s approval, Xie Zhiwen quickly brought the person in.

“Master Ke, this is my friend, Pu Li.”

Unexpectedly, the friend that Xie Zhiwen brought wasn’t his contemporary. In fact, he looked more like Xie Baiqiu’s age, a very young man.

Pu Li politely greeted Ke Xingzhou, but there was a trace of doubt in his eyes. While Ke Yuanbai was taking them to the meeting room, he pulled Xie Zhiwen aside.

“Mr. Xie, did you make a mistake? Is this the master you said saved your whole family?” He couldn’t help but take a few more glances at Ke Xingzhou. “He looks younger than me!”

Xie Zhiwen disapproved and looked at him. “What are you saying? Master Ke is much younger than you. He just graduated from university!”

The implied meaning was that Xie Zhiwen thought Pu Li had overstated Ke Xingzhou’s age.

Pu Li: “...”

He already wanted to leave.

When he had been waiting at the door earlier, Pu Li had felt something was off about the place Xie Zhiwen brought him to—not in the core area, but there were even geese and ducks being raised. He had almost been pecked by a goose flying out of its enclosure on his way here.

Not to mention, before entering, he had seen a middle-aged man with a big bump on his balding head dragging another man away, cursing loudly. The things he was shouting were worse than a street fight.

Once inside, he saw the overly luxurious decor. Even if he tried to fool himself with the "great hermit hides in the city" theory, he couldn’t do it.

What kind of master would live in such a place?

Xie Zhiwen followed his gaze and glanced at the glaringly nouveau riche European-style, golden decor, feeling a bit guilty for the first time.

The Ke family was a newer family. A few years ago, they struck it lucky and received help from a noble to join the ranks of influential families. But their name was just for show. The real powerful families could afford villas in top neighborhoods, but the Ke family didn’t even have the ticket to enter. So, they only bought a villa in a regular residential area.Ke Zhengye's taste had not changed in all these years. He had turned a perfectly good villa into this way, no wonder people wouldn't believe it.

He cleared his throat, not wanting his benefactor to be misunderstood, so he pretended to be angry: "Don't talk nonsense! If you don't believe it, you can go back right now!"

Pu Li stopped speaking.

Lately, there had been so many strange things around him, and several incidents had even resulted in casualties. Otherwise, he wouldn't have desperately turned to seek help from the metaphysical expert after seeing Xie Zhiwen's post on social media.

He gritted his teeth and decided to give it a try. At worst, it would just cost a little money.

So, after entering the reception room, Pu Li still shared with Ke Xingzhou the events that had happened to him recently: "It’s like this…"

To make a long story short, Pu Li's company was involved in real estate development. A few years ago, they acquired a piece of land and had been negotiating with the original residents there for the demolition and relocation.

Everything was fine at first. The real estate market had been stable in recent years, and the compensation for relocation had been within a fixed range. Pu Li had been fair and had earned the respect of most of the residents, who had accepted the compensation happily.

But in the past few days, strange things had happened, to the point that even he felt uneasy.

When he sought out Xie Zhiwen, he only mentioned that he had an urgent matter and needed the help of the master who had helped their family. He didn’t mention the details. Now, as Xie Zhiwen listened to the specifics, he couldn’t help but ask, "Did something happen to you, your company, or the project?"

"..." Pu Li gave him a helpless glance and shook his head. "None of those. It’s a problem with one of the demolition households in my project."

Real estate developers often encounter difficult residents, some unhappy with the compensation, others reluctant to leave their homeland. But no matter what, there are ways to mediate.

This project had been progressing smoothly, with only one household causing some trouble, which had taken up a lot of his time.

"This family is very stubborn. No matter how high we offered, they refused to move," Pu Li wiped his face. "I’ve been trying to persuade them for years, but nothing worked. I was about to give up, but in the end, it was Mr. Xie who helped me settle the matter with this family."

"I?" Xie Zhiwen was stunned. He didn’t remember ever helping Pu Li.

When this was brought up, Pu Li became a bit embarrassed. "Mr. Xie, you were busy and might have forgotten. When I visited your house earlier, I saw a sandalwood bracelet on your table. I was going to make an offer to buy it, but you said it wasn't something valuable, so you gave it to me."

Xie Zhiwen was puzzled. "So, what does that have to do with what you’re saying?"

Pu Li became even more embarrassed. "To be honest, I didn’t ask you for the bracelet for no reason. The head of the family I was negotiating with really likes collecting bracelets. When I showed him your bracelet, he loved it so much that he agreed to the relocation."

Xie Zhiwen paused for a moment, understanding it now.

After all, if he himself had encountered such a thing, he would also swallow his pride and ask someone for a gift to give to an important client in order to achieve his goal.

However, putting this matter out in the open was a bit awkward, and both Pu Li and he felt embarrassed.

After a pause, Xie Zhiwen asked again, "But hasn’t the issue been resolved?"

The head of the family got the bracelet he liked, the family agreed to move, and Pu Li could proceed with the project. It seemed like a happy ending. What was strange about it?

Pu Li sighed. "It was fine. But after I left their house, something happened— the head of the household suddenly fell down the stairs. The spot where it happened was a blind spot for the surveillance cameras, and I happened to be around that area at the time…"

"So, they think you did it?" Xie Zhiwen asked.

Pu Li nodded, feeling even more helpless. "If it was just that, I could accept it. The surveillance cameras in the head of the household's study proved that I had already left before that happened. But after that, strange things kept happening to this family. The wife, who was pregnant, had a miscarriage. One of them was in a car accident and broke his leg. Another time, one of them was walking outside, and suddenly a bird fell from the sky and hit him, causing a mild concussion."

It was absurd beyond belief.

Now, even Xie Zhiwen couldn’t help but ask: "Are you sure they’re not just trying to make excuses?"He had been mixing with all kinds of people in the city for years. There were many who took gifts, signed contracts, and then started throwing tantrums, usually to get more money or other benefits.

"I thought the same at first, but that's really not the case." Pu Li shook his head. "This family is rich and has a lot of free time. Their family life is still pretty good, and they just wanted to keep the old house there as a memory, returning every year for a reunion. That's why they kept rejecting our relocation plan. When I visited, I could tell this family was decent, and they wouldn't do something so self-destructive like that."

Pu Li had been in this line of work for many years and trusted his intuition about people.

"That's secondary. This family is quite reasonable. Aside from the incident with their head of the household, the subsequent events were all just pure accidents. They didn’t try to pin anything on me."

But the problem was that the family never spoke up, and other people in the same relocation area saw the number of injuries in their household increasing and began to panic.

Some even said it was all part of Pu Li’s company’s scheme.

Which real estate company would be so patient, negotiating with a stubborn household for so many years without exploding, and still visiting them with gifts every day? It was obviously just a ploy to gather information about their family situation and then strike a fatal blow!

The rumors grew wilder, and by the time the news reached Pu Li, several households had backed out, unwilling to sell their land to his company anymore.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside, and everyone instinctively looked out the window, spotting a sneaky figure flash by.

The housekeeper, holding a broom, chased after him energetically: "Who are you? What are you doing? Sneaking into our house, what’s your business? Stop right there!"

Everyone: "…"

Pu Li rubbed his forehead. "It’s probably a reporter who followed me here. It’s those residents who broke the contract. They’ve been following me around every day, making it impossible for me to live normally."

He really did seem rather pitiful. Xie An blinked his clear, naïve eyes. "Didn’t you think of asking that family to help clear your name?"

Pu Li nodded, then shook his head. "I tried, but it didn’t help."

To clear his name, he even took the initiative to cover the family’s medical expenses and personally took care of them for a few days.

But instead of easing the public’s suspicion, it made the family doubt him even more.

The reason was simple—during the few days he took care of them, the family’s bad luck seemed to escalate—

The caretaker he arranged for the head of the household turned out to be a murderer, and when the police chased him to the hospital, the caretaker took the head of the household hostage, almost killing him.

The daughter-in-law of the head of the household, after a miscarriage, kept dreaming of the lost child and said the child wanted to be reborn into their family, even dragging her husband into it every day.

Meanwhile, the head of the household's son, who had broken his leg in an accident and was in recovery, almost had his leg broken again in a sudden outburst of excitement between the two.

Even without breaking the leg, the son’s condition was not good, and the hospital told him to abstain for a while, or he might end up being like a brother to his wife.

… In short, the series of events was endless. While the possibility of human interference was very small, the sheer number of incidents made the family start recalling the rumors circulating in the neighborhood. Their attitude towards Pu Li grew more wary.

Pu Li sighed deeply at this point.

If the situation hadn’t escalated so much, and he couldn’t find a way to resolve it, he wouldn’t have been desperate enough to seek help from metaphysics.

After finishing, Pu Li noticed that Ke Xingzhou still hadn’t said a word, realizing that this matter probably wouldn’t be resolved today.

He had come to terms with it. No matter whether this so-called master Xie An found for him would be useful or not, at least after saying all this, his psychological pressure had eased a lot.

He took a deep breath, prepared to get up and leave. "Maybe I’ve just been too unlucky recently. When I first got the land, property prices were soaring, but now there’s not much profit left. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll just give up."Who would have known that at this moment, Ke Xingzhou spoke up: “Apart from this bracelet, have you received any other gifts from others recently?”

The topic shifted so quickly that everyone nearly failed to react in time.

It was Xie Baiqiu who understood his meaning first: “Do you mean that the things happening to him might be related to some gifts given by others?”

Once this was said, everyone furrowed their brows.

Xie Zhiwen and his wife exchanged a glance, both recalling the filthy business competition they had once experienced.

If it was done by a competitor, it would not be difficult to understand why all these things happened to the same family, and so coincidentally, after Pu Li had interacted with this family.

But the methods were a bit too brutal.

Pu Li clearly thought of this, and his face froze with coldness.

However, he quickly thought about the people who had given him gifts before the incident and his expression became troubled.

After all, being in business, there were many gifts sent to the company, and even more sent to his home. He couldn’t immediately recall anyone whose gift might have had such a terrifying effect.

Pu Li shook his head dejectedly: “I can’t remember. There have been dozens of suppliers sending gifts to my house over the years, not to mention relatives and friends. Several companies started sending New Year gifts before the lunar new year, and the items are still piled up in the warehouse at home, not yet unpacked.”

Ke Xingzhou asked again: “Did anyone send you personal accessories? Or special items like wall hangings or decorations for the house?”

Pu Li shook his head: “No.”

Someone from his father’s side had sent some, but the younger generation no longer gave such things, as they took up space and were difficult to clean.

Thinking that Ke Xingzhou would ask him a few more questions, no one expected that after getting the answer, Ke Xingzhou turned to the Xie family: “Do you have any?”

Mrs. Xie, who was well-versed in the household decorations, thought for a moment and decisively shook her head: “We don’t have anything like that. All the things in our house were arranged by several masters according to Feng Shui, and every year, adjustments are made according to the fortune of the year. Our friends who are familiar with us know our habits and would never give us such things.”

After a pause, she added: “But personal accessories do exist. Old Xie’s mother went to worship gods and said she got a few very effective bracelets, blessed to protect peace. She insisted that we all wear one.”

Xie Zhiwen quickly added: “It’s the same kind of bracelet that he took. What Pu Li took was the one my wife had taken off, she doesn’t like it and prefers jade. The master also said jade is better for her.”

Mrs. Xie blushed: “Why are you bringing this up? Talking too much.”

The Xie family’s superstition could be said to be passed down through generations, as Mrs. Xie’s mother-in-law had the habit of worshipping gods.

However, Mrs. Xie’s mother-in-law would visit whichever mountain peak was said to be effective, and once she finished praying, she’d forget about it. She never went back to fulfill any promises, and the masters Xie Zhiwen later hired said this could easily result in divine reproach. So, Xie Zhiwen eventually stopped her from going to random places.

This time, he didn’t know who told her, but she went without mentioning it to them. Afterward, she came back insisting it would definitely work and made them all wear one.

As his words fell, Ke Xingzhou’s expression became subtle. Xie Zhiwen’s heart skipped a beat: “W-what happened? Is there something wrong with the bracelet?”

Pu Li was also startled and quickly looked toward Ke Xingzhou.

Ke Xingzhou didn’t answer but asked back: “Do you still have the bracelet?”

“Yes, yes.” Xie Zhiwen realized something and hurriedly took the item out.

It was a wooden bracelet wrapped in a sealed bag, shiny and well-polished, giving off a jade-like luster.

Cold sweat broke out on Xie Zhiwen’s forehead, and he wondered if it was his imagination, but since Ke Xingzhou mentioned that this item might be problematic, just holding it made his fingers feel cold."It's almost New Year, isn't it? We were planning to go to the countryside today and pick up my mom to celebrate the New Year together, but the old lady is a bit sensitive, afraid that she might think we're brushing her off. So, I brought this bracelet with me, planning to use it to pacify her, so she wouldn't feel bad." He explained quickly, nervously handing over the item. "Master, is there really something wrong with this bracelet?"

Worried that the item might really be that sinister, he didn't dare to hand the bracelet directly to Ke Xingzhou, instead leaving it on the table.

This action made Ke Xingzhou glance at him with a slight, almost sentimental, look at Xie An.

Xie An: "??"

What is he looking at me for?

He froze for a moment, then suddenly reacted: "Ah! Does this mean the stage accident I had before and my parents' car accident were both because of this bracelet?"

Everyone: "..."

You just figured it out now!

Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Ke Xingzhou couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head. "Your parents' car accident was because of that, but your stage accident wasn’t entirely because of it."

A person's luck is complex and affected by many factors. Sometimes people say that if you’re around unlucky people, you’ll get unlucky too, and if you're around lucky people, you’ll share in their luck. This is because the latter's aura is stronger and can overshadow the former's, changing the course of fortune.

Zhu Chu, who once had the ability to see people's fortunes but with low accuracy, couldn't even become a "half-sage" and ended up doing ordinary work.

At that time, Xie An was indeed affected by the bracelet, and his luck had turned bad, but the stage accident was more due to the karma they had with certain people, not the bracelet.

"The people at the filming base were mixed, and the factors influencing luck were many. The bracelet's short-term effect would be diluted. In other words, if you hadn't crossed paths with that person earlier, this wouldn't have happened. You would have just been more prone to accidents and minor injuries."

After Ke Xingzhou's explanation, Xie An finally relaxed, his expression calming.

Beside them, Pu Li was in shock.

Ke Xingzhou's explanation seemed rational, even somewhat scientific, to the point where even a not-so-convinced materialist like him couldn't help but believe it.

But could that bracelet really have a problem?!

Ke Xingzhou then turned to Xie Zhiwen: "Call your mother and ask her where she bought this bracelet."

Xie Zhiwen, still confused, followed the instruction despite not fully understanding.

When the phone was answered, a noisy sound came from the other side. First, a sharp, sarcastic voice spoke: "Are you offering incense or not? If you're not, let me go first! The lucky time is being wasted because of you!"

Then, a louder, kinder voice followed: "Ah, my son’s calling! I’ll be right there!"

There was more rustling sounds, likely the old lady putting the phone aside to offer incense, mumbling for a while before finally picking it up: "Hello, son. I'm offering incense with Aunt Zhao. Didn't you say you'd arrive tonight? Why are you coming to pick me up so soon for the New Year?"

Her tone was full of pride, clearly speaking to others.

Xie Zhiwen had put the phone on speaker, feeling a bit awkward, clearing his throat and quickly explaining that they hadn't left yet. He then went straight to the point: "Mom, where did you buy that bracelet last time? My friend also wants one, the one we discussed business with, Pu Li. He asked me to check with you how much it costs."

Pu Li: "..."

"I told you that bracelet works!" The old lady became even prouder, "It’s not particularly expensive. Don’t worry about the price! Just tell Xiao Pu his birth date, and I’ll get him one!"

She was quite generous, but when Xie Zhiwen heard this, he fell silent, his face changing subtly.He shirked, saying he would ask around first, and after a brief conversation, calmly hung up the phone.

His face immediately changed: "This thing was definitely given to her for free by someone! I can see through it at a glance!"

Everyone: "......"

Feeling the attention focused on him, Xie Zhiwen wiped his face and explained with sorrow: "She's the kind of person who even weighs a single scallion with her own kitchen scale, and when I'm sick, she only gives me expired medicine, afraid of spending even a penny extra. How could she just spend money on others for no reason? She must have been scammed again!!"

His final exclamation was deafening, filled with childhood and middle-aged trauma, leaving everyone in stunned silence.

Xie An had only known that his parents had a distant relationship with his grandmother, but Xie Zhiwen didn't like reminiscing about the past. Since he was born later, he had no idea his father had grown up this way.

No wonder he had a poor relationship with his grandmother.

On this tough road of growth, if you were even a bit physically weak, you'd never reach adulthood!

For some reason, Xie An’s gaze towards his father changed. His once tall and strong father now seemed like a pitiful child who had been taken advantage of by his unreliable mother.

Perhaps after being tricked so many times, and now tricked again by his mother, Xie Zhiwen didn’t have much surprise. After venting his anger for a while, he quickly regained his composure.

He wiped his face, feeling helpless, and finally understood Pu Li’s sense of powerlessness.

But since the issue started at his own house, he still resolutely turned to Ke Xingzhou: "Master, what should we do now? Is it fine to just throw away the bracelet?"

He had dealt with many masters and knew that "inviting the deity is easy, but sending them away is difficult."

Now that it was clear the problem came from the bracelet his mother had brought back, but his mother was unreliable, and he couldn’t expect her to suddenly change her superstitions and habit of being cheap. He could only deal with the immediate issue.

Just as he thought that, he grabbed Pu Li’s hand: "Mr. Pu, it seems like you’re also dragged into this by our family. I’m really sorry, I don’t have any gifts to offer you for compensation, but how about I treat you to today’s session with the master?"

Pu Li: "......"

He also felt confused, but since the bracelet was something he asked for, he couldn’t blame the Xie family, so he repeatedly declined.

As they struggled to come to a conclusion, suddenly, a hand stretched out in front of them and took the bracelet from the sealed bag.

Although Ke Xingzhou grew up in the countryside, he had never done heavy labor. He usually relied on his fortune-telling skills to get free meals from local families, so his hands were delicate and slender. At first glance, they looked even more graceful than the bracelet, which had already been worn smooth and shiny by others.

Pu Li was momentarily dazzled, and as he came back to his senses, he was about to warn Ke Xingzhou to be careful, but he saw a flash of golden light in the young man’s eyes. He didn’t even see how Ke Xingzhou did it, but a yellow talisman had been stuck onto his wrist.

This talisman was quite magical. Even though it didn’t feel like it had been applied, it stayed attached to his hand and wouldn’t come off.

Instinctively, he shook his hand. When he looked up, his forehead was suddenly touched.

Ke Xingzhou’s fingers brushed across his and the others' foreheads, leaving a slightly cool sensation. Soon after, everyone’s ears rang with the young man’s clear voice: "Lingbao Tiantzu, calm the body. Disciples’ soul and five organs, mysterious and dark. Azure Dragon, White Tiger, facing each other. Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, guard the body—hurry as the law commands!"

When he spoke, everyone felt a strange warmth surging from the depths of their bodies, dispelling the coldness they hadn’t even noticed in their bones and blood.

For a moment, everyone felt warm, as if soaking in a hot spring.

As Ke Xingzhou’s final chant faded, this sensation intensified a hundredfold.

Everyone suddenly felt a clarity in their senses, as though their perceptions had become much sharper.

Xie Zhiwen felt rejuvenated, as if he had become ten years younger. He had an impulsive desire to run a few laps. Mrs. Xie also felt her usually cold hands and feet warm up, and the pale tips of her fingers began to flush with warmth.Xie An and Xie Baiqiu didn’t handle the bracelet for long, so they didn’t feel as obvious an effect as the others, but they both felt lighter, and the fatigue from the past few days faded considerably.

As for Pu Li, the bracelet just passed through his hands briefly, so he didn’t feel much improvement. However, the experience just now was enough to leave him dumbfounded.

The group exchanged glances, and in each other’s eyes, they saw astonishment.

"Master Ke, is, is this really solved?"

"Yes, it’s solved."

Pu Li, hearing Ke Xingzhou’s confirmation, was even more incredulous: "Then… how should we deal with this thing?"

He looked at the bracelet in Ke Xingzhou’s hand.

Perhaps because it had caused him harm before, just looking at the plain wooden beads of the bracelet made Pu Li feel a chill down his spine, and he couldn’t help but quickly avert his gaze.

Xie Zhiwen recalled his past experiences with hiring masters to exorcise evil: "Bathing and fasting for seven days, performing rituals for forty-nine days, and carefully selecting the materials used, it would probably take three to five days just to purchase them... It would take at least two months!"

Pu Li’s excitement from surviving the ordeal immediately faded, and he couldn’t help but sigh in his heart, thinking that this year might not be a good one after all.

But then he saw Ke Xingzhou swing the bracelet in front of him, and the golden light flashed in his eyes again. With just a gentle rub, the bracelet, which had a rather hard texture and had even caused his wife’s hand to bruise, was reduced to powder.

Everyone: "......"

Pu Li silently looked at Xie Zhiwen.

Xie Zhiwen: "......"