I could sense the mockery in the words of these two, but I had no desire to acknowledge it.
Arguing with idiots only made me one.
If a dog eats shit, would you fight it for it?
Besides, today was Zhang Chuyue's birthday.
I couldn't be bothered to respond and simply ignored them.
However, most people did respect my profession.
Zhang Chuyue shot a glare at the two men.
Only then did they tone down their behavior.
Chuyue then turned back to me and said,
"I'm sorry, Qin Ze, they don't know your abilities and were just joking around."
I waved my hand:
"It's fine!
Since it's your birthday, I don't have much to give you.
This is a peach wood hairpin I made.
Happy birthday."
As I spoke, I presented the gift I had made over the past two days.
It was a very ordinary wooden hairpin, with a red string tied to the end.
After all, for someone like Chuyue, who came from a wealthy family, what jewelry or jade hadn't she seen?
Besides, I couldn't afford to buy anything.
Making a peach wood hairpin myself could also ward off evil spirits.
Chuyue smiled happily,
"The gift is very unique, thank you."
Saying this, she took it and played with it for a moment.
Li Shiyao, sitting nearby, also looked on with wide eyes.
Only the two men sitting on the other side glared at me unhappily.
As my cultivation had improved, my hearing was also more acute than ordinary people.
At this moment, I could still faintly hear them talking.
"It's just a broken piece of wood, why is Chuyue so happy? Can it compare to my diamond necklace?"
"Hmph! Exactly, isn't my imperial green jade bracelet beautiful?"
"..."
Hearing these conversations, I was quite surprised.
I hadn't expected those two young men to give such expensive gifts.
Looking at the peach wood hairpin I gave, it indeed seemed rather shabby now.
But with my limited abilities, there was nothing I could do...
Yet Chuyue seemed to really like it, holding it with great affection.
After looking at it for a while, she carefully put it away and placed it to the side.
Afterward, everyone took their seats and chatted for a while.
But I realized I couldn't contribute to many of the topics they discussed.
Business! Studies, and so on.
Then, three more people arrived successively.
At this point, everyone was present.
Chuyue then asked the waiter to serve the dishes and opened several bottles of high-end red wine.
The dishes were also high-end cuisine.
Abalone, sea cucumber, Buddha jumps over the wall, deep-sea fish, and so on.
The dishes were good, but the portions were rather small.
With so many people, and everyone else being strangers to me except Chuyue, I felt a bit awkward eating.
During the meal, Chuyue was very enthusiastic, introducing everyone present one by one.
Since most of them were Chuyue's friends from her circle, many knew each other.
I was the most unfamiliar face among them.
Perhaps because of this, Chuyue paid me extra attention during this time.
She even served me food.
She said it was to thank me for saving her last time, and for the matter with Steward Li.
Originally, it was nothing special.
Just ordinary catching up and expressing gratitude.
However, such actions were particularly jarring in the eyes of Chuyue's two suitors.
The more they looked, the angrier they became, as if they wanted to devour me alive.
They could only clink glasses and drink their frustrations away.
By this time, everyone had eaten quite a bit, and the group prepared to go upstairs for karaoke.
Chuyue, meanwhile, went outside to take a phone call.
And the man who had mocked me earlier, "Xia Ba."
At this moment, he suddenly walked over with a glass of wine.
He said to me,
"Brother Qin Ze, Chuyue said you're a Taoist priest.
How about you cast a fortune for your brother?"
As soon as he finished speaking, another man named "Gou Jie" also approached with a glass of wine:
"Xia Ba, do you think fortune-telling is free?
Even street vendors charge twenty yuan for a reading!"
His tone carried a sense of disdain and mockery towards me, very unfriendly.
The people around them started laughing heartily.
Xia Ba, upon hearing this, slapped his forehead:
"Right, right, my apologies, Brother Qin.
How about this, you cast my fortune and I'll give you a hundred.
No, how about ten thousand?
Is that price acceptable?"
Looking at the contempt in his eyes, I felt quite displeased.
But in this setting, I suppressed my temper.
With a cold smile, I said,
"Sorry, I only catch ghosts, I don't tell fortunes."
Upon hearing the word "ghosts," the other fellow became even more interested.
"Alright! Catching ghosts is fine too!
If you can catch a ghost to show us, I'll give you ten thousand in reward."
"Right, right, Brother Qin is a Taoist priest, give us a performance?"
Gou Jie chimed in as well.
Looking at these two fools, I replied with a forced smile,
"I'm afraid you'll be too scared if you see it."
"Scared to death?
I, Xia Ba, am known for my courage.
I don't even bat an eye when playing the most terrifying escape rooms.
Let alone ghosts not existing in this world.
Even if they do, they'll have to make way for me.
After all, money makes ghosts work!"
Xia Ba spoke with great confidence and arrogance.
Earlier, when Chuyue introduced him, she mentioned he was the son of a mining magnate, and his family was extremely wealthy.
The other man, Gou Jie, was also a second-generation rich kid.
Now they wanted to see me in an embarrassing situation.
He followed up by saying,
"Qin Ze, if you have the ability, show it. If not, don't pretend.
Being poor isn't scary, what's scary is talking nonsense and still pretending.
What era is this? Ghosts?
If you can really conjure a ghost, I'll give you ten thousand.
But in my opinion,
You're just like those street hawkers.
A charlatan who talks nonsense, pretends, and mooches off people."
The others, seeing this, wore expressions of schadenfreude, eager to watch the drama unfold.
Several of them chuckled mockingly, waiting to see me make a fool of myself.
After all, in the eyes of many, I was just a fraudulent Taoist priest.
While Xia Ba and Gou Jie were genuine rich heirs.
Only Li Shiyao, sitting on the other side.
She frowned slightly, showing a flicker of concern for me.
She even said that it was a good day and everyone should clink glasses.
But no one paid her any attention, leaving her rather awkward.
I gave Li Shiyao a gentle smile, showing my gratitude.
But these two fools wouldn't learn until they saw the coffin.
They even bet me ten thousand yuan each.
Truly, they had too much money and nowhere to spend it.
If I didn't show them something today, they'd truly think my identity as a Taoist priest was made of paper.
"Alright!
Since you're not afraid of ghosts.
You two pull out a strand of hair for me.
Later, I'll give you both a glimpse."
I said this nonchalantly, coincidentally planning to use them to test the ghost-summoning technique I had recently learned.
Xia Ba and Gou Jie had drunk quite a bit, and now seeing that I dared to say it,
They were even more unyielding:
"Heh heh! So you're really going through with it, fine!
Today, I really want to see what tricks you can pull..."