Fang Huixin laughed wildly, her voice booming, as if she hadn't been this happy in her entire life. She only stopped when tears streamed down her face.
The three of us men exchanged bewildered glances, looking at each other, unsure of what she was up to.
"What are you laughing at? What's so funny?" I couldn't help but ask, annoyed.
"I'm laughing at you."
"At me?"
I looked myself up and down, perplexed, finding nothing amiss. I then slowly said, "What's so funny about me? Did what I just said hit the mark?"
Fang Huixin sighed first, then shook her head and replied, "I just feel sorry for you. You shouldn't have entered the feng shui profession by learning Yin Gua. You should have been a TV drama screenwriter; that way, your talent wouldn't be wasted."
Hearing this, my expression darkened. If I couldn't tell she was mocking me at this point, then I would have wasted my eighteen years.
"Hmph!"
"Boss Fang, I was merely retaliating in kind. If you're truly not afraid of losing face, then let's discuss the entire matter from beginning to end, and let this paper effigy maker judge us. Let's see who was the one doing the wicked deed."
My words were a bit harsh. It was true that Fang Huixin's daughter had issues with her fate, but the real reason was Sui Wan'er's possession of a borrowed corpse. It had little to do with her daughter herself, or at most, very little.
But now she insisted that I had deliberately lured evil spirits to inhabit her daughter's body. I couldn't possibly take this enormous burden. If I did, I would become a pariah, with no place left for me in the feng shui world.
I wouldn't do such a losing business. Besides, I had only just begun to taste the benefits of being a Yin Gua Master, earning millions in less than half a month. Although I almost lost my life, as the saying goes, risk and reward are proportional. Without high risk, there's no high reward!
Zhang Dabiao chuckled and said, "I think that's a good idea. Since it's a long night with nothing to do, why don't we discuss this properly? That way, we won't have any lingering doubts on the road ahead, making cooperation difficult!"
My and Zhang Dabiao's synchronized words left Fang Huixin somewhat flustered. She glanced at me, then at Zhang Dabiao, and finally fixed her gaze on the paper effigy maker. Seeing his lack of reaction, her eyes reddened, and she was about to cry.
Just then, the paper effigy maker, who had been silent, spoke again, "Regarding the incident of Boss Fang's daughter rising from the grave, I understand. It's not Mr. Song's fault, nor is it Boss Fang's. Although I don't understand much about fate, I know that a corpse rising is not something that forms in a moment. All of this is related to that ancient corpse, Sui Wan'er."
With that, the paper effigy maker shifted his gaze from Fang Huixin to me and said sternly, "I know both of you are highly skilled individuals, not the petty, self-serving types you find elsewhere. Therefore, I implore you both not to mind what Boss Fang said. I apologize to you both on behalf of Boss Fang."
As soon as he finished speaking, the paper effigy maker clasped his hands, bending his middle and ring fingers inward, preparing to bow in apology. Zhang Dabiao reacted faster than I did. Before I could even say "no need," he had already taken a few steps forward and clasped the paper effigy maker's hands.
"There's no need for apologies. What we said earlier was a bit harsh, and we can't entirely blame Boss Fang. We also made mistakes."
As a seasoned veteran of the business world, Fang Huixin was not foolish. Seeing that the situation had been smoothed over by the paper effigy maker, she regained her composure as a female boss and apologized to me, saying that as a woman, her knowledge was limited, and she hoped I wouldn't hold it against her.
I was taken aback. Since she had started apologizing, if I didn't accept, I would seem too petty. I cursed inwardly at how cunning this woman was.
I had no choice but to quickly say that I also had my shortcomings and that I had spoken too harshly, hoping she wouldn't mind.
After the atmosphere had eased, the paper effigy maker spoke again, "Mr. Song, I heard you are a Yin Gua Master?"
I nodded and replied humbly, "Indeed. I have just left the mountain gate and my skills are not yet refined. You've seen my shortcomings." Although I said this, a big question mark arose in my mind. It wasn't surprising that he knew I was a Yin Gua Master, as the second divination in Molu Village was to arrange a Yin marriage for Fang Huixin's daughter. But what did he mean by bringing it up now?
Did he want me to perform a divination here?
Seeing my furrowed brow, the paper effigy maker smiled and said softly, "Mr. Song, don't be nervous. The Yin Gua lineage has not appeared in the feng shui world for nearly ten years. Many people claim to be from the Yin Gua lineage, but nine out of ten are frauds. As for the true Yin Gua lineage, I have only heard of it and never seen it, hence my question."
"You mean..."
The paper effigy maker coughed, his expression somewhat awkward. "Since Li Zuoquan is dead, could Brother Song use the Yin Gua method to find him?"
I frowned, not immediately agreeing. When Li Zuoquan was alive, he had asked me to use the Yin Gua method to search for Hei Zi's soul. However, what I found was not Hei Zi's soul but a mountain god who had escaped from the underworld. If it weren't for Li Zuoquan's considerable strength, he would have already become the mountain god's meal.
Now, they wanted to find Li Zuoquan's soul. To be honest, I was somewhat reluctant. I had witnessed Li Zuoquan's strength firsthand; he was powerful enough to spar with the Fifth Prince, yet he couldn't withstand the mountain god for more than a few moves.
If I were to provoke it again by performing a divination, my life would be forfeit here.
Seeing my troubled expression, the paper effigy maker asked softly, "Are there difficulties?"
I nodded slightly, exchanged a glance with Zhang Dabiao, and then recounted the entire story of summoning Hei Zi's soul. Zhang Dabiao chimed in with supplementary details where I left off, but I concealed the information about the Heavenly Retreat Seal.
After listening, the paper effigy maker fell silent. Fang Huixin's mouth hung open in surprise, her eyes darting around fearfully, as if the mountain god could jump out at any moment.
In my opinion, as long as I revealed the matter of the mountain god, the paper effigy maker would no longer think of asking me to summon souls or perform Yin Gua. After all, his enemy, Li Zuoquan, was dead. Even if there was a great enmity, it should have been settled.
However, to my utter surprise, after a moment of silence, the paper effigy maker looked up with a resolute gaze and said, "If, and I mean if, I have a way to deal with the mountain god, can you help me find Li Zuoquan's soul?"
"It's possible, but are you sure you can handle the mountain god? Although the mountain god was severely injured by Li Zuoquan, it's still not something the few of us can handle. If we provoke it again, all of us will be finished."