TL: Hua

Chapter 16: Golden Toad

Wu Xingfang’s shopping mall was in a prime location, right next to Yingjiang University. Construction of the mall had long been completed, leaving only a few holes for planting trees in the plaza by the main entrance.

At seven in the morning, the day was already bright. The construction crew was waiting by the plaza early, whispering among themselves in confusion.

“Why the sudden halt in work?”

“It’s not a halt. It seems like they want to dig back up the landscape lake that was filled in.”

“Rich people must have too much time on their hands, right? It was so hard to fill it in, why dig it back up?”

“Why care so much? As long as we get paid as usual, it’s fine.”

……

Wu Xingfang was drenched in sweat, constantly wiping his face with a handkerchief. He hadn’t slept all night, and the circles around his eyes were dark blue: “Master, Taoist Xu is still a quarter of an hour away. How about we start work first?”

You Xingyue shook his head, the chain hanging from his glasses making a faint, crisp clinking sound: “No rush. Is Taoist Xu the building’s feng shui master?”

Today, You Xingyue was wearing a pair of chain-link glasses with gold frames and small sapphires embedded on both sides of the delicate gold chain.

These non-prescription chain-link glasses were an old item You Xingyue had dug out from the storeroom last night.

The non-prescription lenses did nothing to help You Xingyue’s 300-degree myopia, but they had the effect of opening the Yinyang eyes¹Yin Yang Eyes (阴阳眼, Yīnyáng Yǎn) refers to a supernatural vision that allows a person to see beyond the mortal realm..

Gu Min was born with Yinyang eyes, whereas most Taoist cultivators relied on their cultivation base to open the heavenly eye. Both could see demons and ghosts invisible to ordinary people, and if a cultivator’s realm was deep enough, they could even use the heavenly eye to see through a demon’s true form.

You Xingyue didn’t have time to learn how to open the heavenly eye, nor would he be proficient even if he tried. If his online talent was breathtaking, then his talent in spiritual energy was equally “breathtaking”—terrible beyond belief.

Shi Wuyan stood right behind You Xingyue, dressed almost identically to him. A closer look revealed that only the color was different, while the style was completely identical.

Wangfu had not walked the mortal world for centuries, so he had conjured an outfit modeled after You Xingyue’s appearance.

Wu Xingfang shook his head repeatedly: “He’s a fellow disciple of that master. That master went away on business a few days ago.”

You Xingyue looked around, his gaze falling upon the hole in the plaza: “Is this the original site of the lake?”

Through the lenses, You Xingyue saw strands of black energy wafting out of the hole from time to time, only to be baked into nothingness by the sun. You Xingyue frowned slightly. It was broad daylight, and after airing out in the open for several days, the yin energy had still not been entirely sunned away.

After the three of them waited for a few minutes, a taxi stopped beside the construction site. A man got out, paid the fare, and, carrying a massive bag on his back, stepped forward toward the construction site.

The man appeared to be in his thirties with handsome, sharp facial features and eyes as bright as cold stars. His stride was swift and steady, reaching them in just a few steps.

Seeing the man stop in front of him, Wu Xingfang said in surprise: “Taoist Xu Cong?!”

Taoist Xu nodded slightly: “Yes. My junior brother has already informed me of the situation. A fierce ghost emerging is a matter of great importance. I must inspect it personally to be at ease.”

Wu Xingfang never expected that Taoist Xu Cong himself would come in person. Wu Xingfang hurriedly introduced him to You Xingyue: “Master You, this is Taoist Xu, the Director of Boyun Temple.”

Boyun Temple was the most famous Taoist temple in Yingjiang City, as well as a well-known local tourist spot. You Xingyue used to hear small demons mention Boyun Temple often. Demons with good conduct would even sneak outside the temple to listen to scriptures being recited.

Xu Cong spotted You Xingyue and Shi Wuyan at a single glance. There was no helping it. These two were simply too striking. Moreover, this young man named You was also a fellow practitioner, though unfortunately, the spiritual light around him was faint. He clearly wasn’t someone with deep cultivation.

You Xingyue said: “Good morning, Taoist Xu.”

Xu Cong returned the greeting formally: “Good morning, fellow Taoist.”

You Xingyue: ……So formal, a bit hard to get used to.

Xu Cong assumed a serious expression and asked: “President Wu, where is the fierce ghost? It is broad daylight right now, and I fear the fierce ghost will not reveal itself. Would it not be better to wait until nightfall?”

“Uh……” Wu Xingfang hesitated for a moment. “The fierce ghost has already been subdued by Master You.”

Xu Cong: ?

Xu Cong’s movement to grab his bag froze. He asked in disbelief, “Already… subdued?”

That was a fierce ghost!

Xu Cong couldn’t believe it: “It’s actually already been subdued?!”

Astonished, Xu Cong sized You Xingyue up in confusion.

The young man was refined and composed. It would seem completely reasonable to claim he was a literature professor from some university. To think he could actually subdue a fierce ghost. Could his junior brother have misunderstood President Wu’s meaning, and whatever was pestering President Wu wasn’t actually a fierce ghost?

You Xingyue briefly explained what had transpired yesterday, finishing with: “The water ghost still holds lingering attachments to the mortal realm. It hopes its remains can be properly buried.”

Wu Xingfang quickly followed up with an explanation: “I was hoping to request an antique from Master You that could suppress the yin energy, but Master You said that since I had previously asked a master to review the feng shui, he needed to see if the antique would suit the mall’s feng shui.”

In other words, Wu Xingfang wasn’t looking for someone to catch a ghost but to examine the feng shui. However, when Xu Cong heard the words “fierce ghost”…

A hundred thoughts raced through Xu Cong’s mind: lingering in the mortal realm for over forty years, attempting multiple times to harm living people to find a substitute, though failing each time. That water ghost is undoubtedly a fierce ghost.

Xu Cong looked at You Xingyue searchingly. With his eyesight, he truly couldn’t tell whether extraordinary cultivation was concealed beneath You Xingyue’s weak spiritual energy.

As he was observing, Xu Cong’s eyes suddenly met a pair of pitch-black eyes.

That person stood behind the young man named You, possessing deep, dark eyes. With just a single glance into them, cold sweat broke out all over Xu Cong’s back.

In that person’s eyes, there seemed to be an indescribable, endless mystery. Xu Cong was unable to comprehend it at a single glance, standing rooted to the spot in a daze.

Fortunately, that person merely cast a glance at him before taking the initiative to lower his eyelashes.

Drenched in cold sweat, Xu Cong finally snapped out of it from that gaze.

You Xingyue found it a bit puzzling, but since Xu Cong had arrived, he gestured to Wu Xingfang that they could begin: “Uncle Wu, let’s dig up the remains as early as possible.”

Wu Xingfang stepped forward to communicate with the construction crew.

The boss of the construction team scratched his head, looking conflicted: “Dig it all up? President Wu, digging it all up will raise costs significantly, and it’ll delay work by a whole day.”

Wu Xingfang, overflowing with wealth, waved off his concern: “It’s fine, just dig!”

Xu Cong snapped back to his senses and pondered, “Let me calculate.”

The construction boss wore a face that practically screamed, What a scam artist.

Xu Cong carefully scrutinized Wu Xingfang, took hold of his wrist, and meticulously calculated with his other hand before giving the coordinates: “In the southwest direction beneath President Wu’s feet… I can’t pinpoint the exact spot, though if a ferocious ghost were here, I could calculate it clearly.”

Half-believing, half-doubting, the construction boss signaled the crew to dig toward the southwest.

You Xingyue and his companions walked over.

The crew pried up the previously laid floor tiles and began digging downward. A moment later, a worker yelled out in terror, “There… there are bones! They look like human bones!”

With an expression like he’d seen a ghost, the boss asked, “President Wu, do we keep digging?”

You Xingyue leaned half his body forward, lightly squinting his eyes as he tried to bring his 300-degree myopia into focus: “It looks like two leg bones. Keep digging.”

The workers underneath continued to dig cautiously, and soon, more than a dozen human bones were found one after another, though they couldn’t be pieced together into a complete human frame.

These bones were still entwined with traces of yin energy.

By the time they gathered all the remains, it was already past ten o’clock. Wu Xingfang first called the police and then contacted the funeral home. After a hectic morning, they finally sent off the water ghost’s coffin.

Wiping away his sweat, Wu Xingfang invited the three of them into the shopping mall: “It’s all settled. Taoist Xu, Master You, what kind of antique do you think is suitable for my place?”

The mall had six floors in total, divided into two sections, A and B. The roof didn’t let in sunlight, but the ubiquitous lights illuminated the enclosed interior like the outdoors, making night as bright as day.

A considerable number of shopkeepers had already begun renovations. It looked like opening day was just around the corner.

At a glance, Xu Cong spotted the fountain in the center of the mall. Feeling a bit helpless, he said, “President Wu, the original site of the mall was a landscape lake with extremely heavy yin energy. How could you build another pool inside?”

It was normal for large shopping complexes to feature water installations, but since the underground site was originally a landscape lake where many had drowned, building a fountain here was unsuitable.

Water had just been let into the pool today, reaching about a foot deep.

Wu Xingfang felt a bit guilty: “W-Wasn’t water supposed to bring wealth?”

Hearing this, Xu Cong immediately knew that building the pool was Wu Xingfang’s own idea.

He felt helpless. Believers who only half-understood things yet insisted on having their own way were always the hardest to deal with.

Xu Cong said, “President Wu, it’s better to tear this pool down.”

Wu Xingfang persisted, “No way, I’m planning to keep a few koi fish in there. The fish are already ordered! Plus, I intend to open next month.”

Besides, he had already spent quite a lot of money filling the original body of water!

Xu Cong was deeply frustrated, trying patiently to persuade him: “President Wu, in the realm of feng shui, although water can generate wealth, it depends on the specific situation. Water belongs to yin, and this place is already…”

Wu Xingfang: “But another master said building a pool helps gather wealth!”

You Xingyue thought: Good heaven, he actually hired two feng shui masters at the same time.

He finally understood why Gu Min had specifically warned him about Wu Xingfang’s “shrewdness.” It was actually just stinginess and a love for money.

In Xu Cong’s eyes, Wu Xingfang was truly an unreasonable client.

Seeing Wu Xingfang and Xu Cong locked in a deadlocked argument, You Xingyue cleared his throat: “Taoist Xu, actually, I think we can keep the pool.”

Xu Cong immediately countered: “No! The building doesn’t let in sunlight. If we keep the pool, it will absorb and gather the yin energy from below, inevitably giving rise to unclean ghosts!”

You Xingyue offered a gentle smile and explained, “I have a golden toad that is full of spiritual energy. It can suppress it.”

Xu Cong looked doubtful: “Fellow Taoist, since you could subdue a fierce ghost, you should see that the yin energy here is exceedingly strong. I fear only a divine statue could keep it down.”

You Xingyue: “Um… it’s sort of half a deity.”

He unzipped his bag and pulled out the golden toad by hand.

It was an evil deity golden toad. One that had received incense from mortals, cultivated spiritual wisdom, and even dared to bully a Pixiu.

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  Yin Yang Eyes (阴阳眼, Yīnyáng Yǎn) refers to a supernatural vision that allows a person to see beyond the mortal realm.