The old lady's words were sharp, and after she finished speaking, the fat man was so angry that a fire shot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He couldn't imagine an old lady having such a forceful way of speaking, making him so angry that he almost had a myocardial infarction.
Before this, the fat man had always had a good impression of the elderly because his grandparents had raised him since he was young. In his heart, he held a certain respect for the elderly. However, he never expected that the elderly could also be so difficult to deal with.
It seemed she wasn't easy to deal with even in her youth, and many elderly people were indeed formidable. They were the first to rush when collecting goods at the market and the first to board the bus at the bus stop. The fat man was truly shocked, realizing he had underestimated this old lady.
"I say, Auntie, don't be disrespectful just because you're old. Clearly, you're in the wrong here. You run a business, and no matter how old you are, I found something in your food. You need to provide a solution, at the very least, an apology. Instead of apologizing, you're trying to insult my character and make us angrier. It's dishonest to run a business like this. An owner like you is destined not to make money because you're too unethical!"
The fat man was truly angered, and his words gradually became unpleasant. The old lady's gaze grew sharper.
"Alright, I apologize. I'm sorry, my old eyes are blurry. But there are so many flies in this room; sometimes, it's not something I can control. You should be more understanding."
The old lady's sudden change in attitude surprised the fat man. Given her previous domineering demeanor, he had expected her to curse him out. But she didn't.
"I accept your apology, though I don't know how sincere it is. I hope you'll be a little more careful when cooking in the future. Finding a fly in one's food really ruins the mood. I might not want to eat for the next few days."
The old lady suddenly smiled mysteriously. Several people present felt their hair stand on end, experiencing an unsettling chill down their spines.
"The reason I'm choosing not to argue with you, fatso, is that I know you're all afflicted by evil spirits. Eat quickly and leave. I don't want your money. Just don't stay here any longer. I wouldn't risk my own life for a little bit of money."
The old lady's demeanor, like that of a master, truly shocked Ye Tiancheng. Although her words sounded outlandish and superstitious, Ye Tiancheng knew she possessed some ability. After all, she had detected that they had recently encountered misfortune, which indicated some genuine skill, far better than some charlatans.
Despite the old lady's strange behavior and arrogant attitude, Ye Tiancheng was not angry. Instead, he smiled respectfully and asked how she knew and if there were any solutions. The old lady smiled without answering, merely waving her hand as if unwilling to address Ye Tiancheng's questions. This greatly annoyed the fat man. He had been observing Ye Tiancheng's interaction with the old lady and was now frustrated by her refusal to answer. His blunt nature couldn't stand it.
"How interesting. You really think you're a fortune teller. I bet you tell everyone they're afflicted by evil spirits. I think it's more likely you're the ghost, with a guilty conscience."
Ye Tiancheng gave the fat man a look, signaling him to stop talking. This old lady seemed to have some supernatural abilities.
"Auntie, I know that true masters often appear in the marketplace. My friend here is a bit blunt, but he's not a bad person. I hope you don't mind. I really want to know about our current situation and if there are any good solutions. I hope you can guide us."
The fat man really wanted to scold the old lady, but seeing Ye Tiancheng's respect for her, he assumed Ye Tiancheng wanted to find something out from her. Thus, the fat man refrained from speaking further, as he had to show some courtesy, and that courtesy was entirely due to Ye Tiancheng.
"Alright, I see you, young man, are polite and have a decent appearance, not like a bad person. I'll tell you. More than ten years ago, I used to tell fortunes for people, but something went wrong, and I haven't recovered since. So, I'm just scraping by in this little rundown place, running a restaurant. You have indeed attracted unclean things, especially this young lady. Don't let her beauty fool you; her body is already quite depleted. She's about to face great misfortune, possibly a bloody disaster."
When the old lady pointed her finger at Su Muxian, Su Muxian looked up at the old lady with a shocked expression. The others also looked stunned. After all, Su Muxian hadn't been doing well lately. During their conversations, Ye Tiancheng had heard Su Muxian mention that she had dabbled in stocks. While she hadn't made much money, she hadn't lost any either. Recently, however, she had lost quite a bit and had been keeping it from her family. If her family found out, Su Muxian's reputation would plummet, which was the reason for her recent distress.
"Auntie, do you have any way to help her?"
"The underworld is unclean, too restless. That demon who has always been thinking of her, even in the underworld, is still thinking of her. It's likely they'll use paper effigies for a ghost marriage."
If anyone liked Su Muxian the most, Ye Tiancheng felt he couldn't compare to Ouyang Xunuo. So, when he mentioned this underworld figure, Ye Tiancheng naturally thought of Ouyang Xunuo. After all, he had been killed by him and was now considered an underworld figure.
"Then I know who it is. Ghost marriage, I'm not familiar with that. Auntie, can you help? As for the reward, you can name your price. That's negotiable."
Ye Tiancheng believed this auntie was a master from the folk tradition. Perhaps something had happened in the past that buried this talented person. After all, Ye Tiancheng hadn't noticed any clues. It seemed this auntie was a professional. In this situation, he had no choice but to submit.
"I know you are all wealthy people; I can tell from your clothes and appearance, especially this young lady. Everything she wears is high-end. Although I, an old woman, don't know the brands, I can tell the quality is different. I know you can afford it, which is why I'm willing to talk to you. After all, my time is valuable. Ten thousand yuan to solve the problem, with after-sales service."
The old lady's confident demeanor suggested she had some real skill. Ye Tiancheng was somewhat convinced, but the fat man was skeptical. The fat man detested such pretentious behavior, feeling they were all out to scam people, using the guise of helping to solve problems to make more money.
"Did I hear you right? You old woman, you're really asking for the moon. Even if someone solves a problem, it's at most tens of thousands. You're directly asking for a hundred thousand. No matter how much money we have, you can't be this greedy. It's truly excessive."
The fat man had only spoken casually, but the old lady suddenly became agitated, as if a sensitive point had been touched. She felt offended, as if she had suffered a great loss and didn't want others to disrespect her, even slightly.
"Really, considering it a blessing from your ancestors that I'm willing to help, and you're still haggling? What are you thinking? If you don't believe me, you can just face your own misfortune. Don't second-guess my intentions. I'm not someone who can be influenced by public opinion or suffer in silence."
Seeing the anger between the fat man and the old lady, it only took a spark to ignite. This was truly terrifying. Ye Tiancheng was too tired to listen to their bickering. Who was right or wrong didn't matter; what mattered was that Ye Tiancheng's head was really hurting.
"Alright, ten thousand it is. You have to come with us anyway, and it won't be easy. You can take this money with a clear conscience. Don't think too much about it. Just solve the problem. Forget ten thousand, I can give you more."
Su Muxian, standing nearby, was deeply moved by Ye Tiancheng's willingness to handle her problem. It wasn't just Ye Tiancheng's generosity, but his genuine consideration for her, always putting her first. No woman could resist such an emotional appeal.
"Yes, money is not a problem. As long as my problem is solved, I'll give you another hundred thousand. The priority now is to solve the problem, and that's the most crucial thing. Don't worry about the money; that can be easily resolved."
Although Su Muxian hadn't been doing well recently and had lost a lot of money in stocks, no matter what, she wouldn't be stingy with this small amount of money. Ten thousand or twenty thousand yuan was nothing to her. Moreover, Su Muxian believed that once her bad luck reversed, money would quickly return to her pockets.
"You said it yourself. After the job is done, I'll get two hundred thousand yuan. Then I won't have to run this half-dead little shop anymore."
The old lady was quite confident, but seeing her arrogant demeanor, Ye Tiancheng suddenly felt a bit apprehensive. He felt that things might not be that simple, and this old lady might not be as capable as she appeared, potentially facing a setback. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng adopted a wait-and-see attitude, not daring to be too definitive, fearing he might be overly confident.
However, at this point, he could only try his best. It wasn't the time to overthink. The main thing was that having hope was better than having no hope. So, Ye Tiancheng decided to go with this plan for now.
"Then pack up simply and come with us. We don't have much time to waste. You can rest assured, as long as the matter is resolved, you'll get your two hundred thousand yuan without fail."
Ye Tiancheng's promise made the wrinkles on the old lady's face seem to smooth out. She became visibly cheerful.
"You have the demeanor of a big boss. I'll believe whatever you say. I'll perform well under your leadership, and I believe the boss will definitely not treat me unfairly."
Seeing the old lady's fawning expression, Ye Tiancheng was momentarily speechless. He felt something was amiss, and the words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat. In the end, he just nodded.
"Alright, then let's have a pleasant cooperation."
After this matter was settled, the old lady, in just a few minutes, announced that she was ready to go. Then, along the way, a fortune teller suddenly joined them, and they all headed towards their destination. It seemed like a series of coincidences. None of them said much, but they moved forward with the hope of resolving the problem.