Huang Jiu didn't even open his eyes when he smelled Zhang Ying's scent. He immediately flipped over and sat up. This time, Zhang Ying and Wang Yingying brought three other girls with them. When the five of them entered, they didn't even glance at me, heading straight for Huang Jiu, chatting and laughing loudly.
However, seeing that they didn't come empty-handed, I tolerated it. Huang Jiu lay on the coffee table in a sprawl, enjoying the attention of the five beautiful girls.
I felt a pang of jealousy. Here I was, a living person, but not even as lucky as this creature. It's often said that birds of a feather flock together, and people with similar interests gravitate toward one another. Zhang Ying and her friends were likely all rich girls, based on how they behaved.
Bored, I opened my spiritual eye to see which of these five girls might come from a wealthier family. Of course, whether they had money or not had nothing to do with me unless they got involved in something suspicious.
But when I looked, I was startled. Just as I had thought, all five of them had a trace of sinister energy swirling around their foreheads.
I suddenly felt alert. It was as if fate was helping me. I had been thinking that a TV set might not be in the cards, but now, here it was.
"Cough, cough!" I cleared my throat, interrupting their fun with Huang Jiu and said directly, "Ladies, have you recently visited any places with unclean energy?"
The moment they heard this, their hands froze on Huang Jiu. He, still enjoying himself, quickly adjusted his position and pushed his belly toward Zhang Ying's hand.
I cleared my throat again and said, "Old Huang, that's enough!"
Huang Jiu shook himself awake and immediately sat up, saying, "My big brother is right. As soon as you walked in, I sensed some resentment energy from you. You must have gotten some unclean stuff on you."
Huang Jiu's words worked a hundred times better than mine. The five girls' expressions immediately turned serious, and Zhang Ying said, "The day before yesterday, our Paranormal Investigation Club organized an event to explore a haunted house in the East City. But we burned a lot of paper money, so they shouldn't be bothering us."
Wang Yingying quickly grabbed Zhang Ying's sleeve, saying nervously, "Yingying, I'm afraid Huang Xian might be right. Ever since we returned from the haunted house, I've been feeling like there's a pair of eyes watching me in the dark."
Fear is contagious, and as Wang Yingying spoke, the other three girls nodded in agreement, expressing they felt the same way.
From there, they didn't need me to say anything. They scared themselves enough just talking about it.
Listening to them, I was speechless. As the old saying goes, ghosts fear the bold, and people fear those who don't care for their lives. With their level of courage, they should not be engaging in paranormal investigations; they were clearly inviting spirits.
After thoroughly scaring themselves, they finally realized they needed help, and gathered around Huang Jiu to ask what to do.
I tried to speak a few times but couldn't get a word in, my lips twitching. Fortunately, Huang Jiu wasn't distracted by their beauty and after some convincing, he managed to scare them even more. He then stood up, adjusting his flowered shorts, and said, "Don't worry, with me, Huang Jiu, no evil spirit can harm you. Xiao Li, go, take a few of my talismans out."
I frowned slightly, but Huang Jiu kept making gestures with his eyes, so I let it go. I went to the back room and grabbed five talismans given to me by my second uncle.
These talismans were much weaker than the ones I had taken, and I had no idea where my second uncle had gotten them from. They were only suitable for scaring people, not much else.
However, the resentment energy on Zhang Ying and her friends wasn't very strong, so these talismans would suffice.
Huang Jiu couldn't hold five talismans at once, so he stepped on them and said seriously, "In Taoism, we believe in fate and accumulating virtue. When you buy these talismans, you're doing good deeds."
The five girls, being rich, had no concept of money. They eagerly asked Huang Jiu how much they should pay.
I was worried that Huang Jiu would try to make a fortune by charging them a ridiculous amount, which could cause trouble later if their families found out. After all, they were rich, not fools.
Luckily, Huang Jiu knew better and didn't mention a specific amount. Instead, he said mysteriously, "You can pay whatever you want."
"Of course," he added, "the more you pay, the more powerful the talisman will be."
As soon as Huang Jiu said this, the five girls became hesitant and huddled together to discuss. I secretly listened in and overheard them agreeing to contribute the same amount.
I couldn't help but laugh at their unity. Truly, wealth creates solidarity — no one wanted to be left out.
After a few minutes, Zhang Ying, acting as the spokesperson, turned to Huang Jiu and held up one finger.
Huang Jiu thought it meant 1,000 yuan and excitedly wagged his tail.
But then Zhang Ying said, "Huang Xian, we'll each contribute 10,000 yuan for the talismans, but we need them to be more powerful."
Huang Jiu froze, his tail stopping mid-swing as his body shot up. He suddenly lost his balance, and his flowered shorts fell off, but he quickly snatched them up and, with a deep breath, steadied himself. "Powerful, absolutely! You're all great people, so not only will the talismans work, even the Bodhisattva will show mercy."
I was stunned. While they were discussing, I had assumed they would offer 1,000 yuan at most. Zhang Ying had mentioned that if she paid too much, she wouldn't be able to afford cosmetics for the month. It seemed I had underestimated the wealth of these girls.
Huang Jiu, tail still in the air, prepared to complete the transaction when all five girls took out their phones and said they would pay by bank transfer.
Both Huang Jiu and I were caught off guard.
But fortunately, they had bank cards and there was a nearby bank.
After a while, they returned with the cash. Huang Jiu handed them the talismans, and once the money was on the table, he lost all interest in the "massages" and quickly sent the girls on their way.
As soon as they left, Huang Jiu lay down like an emperor, using his foot to push the money toward him. "Xiao Li, go, get me a whole chicken."
I clenched my fists, but seeing the money on the table, I quickly forced a smile and embraced the cash. "Old Jiu, I'll bring you two hens later."
Huang Jiu flinched and quickly scrambled away, clearly misunderstanding me. But this time, I didn't plan to do anything to him, not with the money in hand.
Around 5 p.m., my second uncle hadn't arrived, so I used the store's landline to call the restaurant where Su Yimei had left a business card. I ordered two fried chickens, two burgers, fries, and some cola, making sure to specify that I wanted hens.
Half an hour later, the food arrived, and I eagerly devoured it with Huang Jiu.
Just as we were eating, a black sedan smoothly parked outside the store.
I thought a customer had arrived, but when the door opened, it was Chen Zihao, accompanied by an old man in his sixties wearing a long robe.
The two of them got out of the car and walked straight into the store.