"You must take it! This is the fruit of your labor, and I must respect it," the old man said softly.
Seeing the old man's stubbornness, Zhao Yan couldn't refuse.
If she refused again, she feared she would offend him.
After the five thousand yuan was transferred, the old man chatted with Zhao Yan for a while longer. He was disappointed to confirm that Zhao Yan had no intention of becoming a guiding mentor at Xuanling Temple, and sighed helplessly.
He left her with a message that the doors of Xuanling Temple would always be open to her if she ever changed her mind.
As they walked a certain distance, Bai Guangnian curiously asked, "Master, I didn't expect you to think so highly of Miss Zhao."
The old man still held a talisman in his hand, one that was left over from dealing with the demon corpse.
Observing the patterns on the talisman, he sighed and said, "Miss Zhao's talent in drawing talismans is very strong, not even inferior to mine."
"Ah!" Bai Guangnian and Bai Guangyue exclaimed in surprise. They hadn't expected Zhao Yan to receive such high praise.
"If I had a disciple like Miss Zhao, I would truly have no regrets even in death," the old man sighed, hands behind his back.
He couldn't help but feel envious, wondering which fellow had such good fortune.
"Sister Zhao, I didn't expect that old man to look so fierce, but he spoke so gently," Wu Jiaxin said while wiping the table.
"He is a kind old man. Although his appearance is fierce, he has a lot of accumulated virtue, which usually comes from doing many good deeds," Zhao Yan said softly.
Thinking of this, Zhao Yan couldn't help but think of the scruffy old man.
Once she bought this shop and had a car, she would go see the scruffy old man and show him that even without marrying into a wealthy family, she could still make a name for herself.
As Zhao Yan was speaking, there was a knock on the door.
Hearing the sound, Zhao Yan glanced towards the door.
She saw an old woman, over sixty years old, standing outside.
Zhao Yan looked at the old woman and immediately saw that her complexion was sallow and dark due to yin energy entering her body.
"Xinxin, bring the stool from outside. We have a guest," Zhao Yan said softly.
She had just seen Bai Guangnian and the others off and was about to take a nap.
Since she was running a business, and a guest had arrived, there was no reason to turn them away.
"Okay," Wu Jiaxin replied, immediately bringing the stool from outside and placing it behind the old woman. "Auntie, please sit."
The old woman thanked Wu Jiaxin and then sat on the stool.
"I was introduced by Hu Guangtou. I bought rice from his house, and he heard about my situation and gave me this address," the old woman said.
"Hu Guangtou?" Zhao Yan paused, then immediately realized, and smiled, "You mean Uncle Hu, right?"
Although the location of this shop wasn't remote, few people encountered evil spirits. It relied on building a good reputation and word-of-mouth referrals.
Before the internet, word-of-mouth was how business was done. She owed her success in part to the benefits of the internet.
As the old woman spoke, her eyes scanned Zhao Yan. If Hu Guangtou hadn't spoken to her for so long, she wouldn't have believed that the young woman before her possessed such great abilities.
Zhao Yan had drawn talismans all night, and her eyes were dark with large circles, making her look rather haggard.
"That's him. He said you are very effective, and that your help was crucial for his son becoming the top scorer in the college entrance examination," the old woman said.
Zhao Yan chuckled and waved her hand, "Uncle Hu is just flattering me."
"By the way, Auntie, you came to me, what is it about? You can tell me."
The old woman nodded, took a photo from her pocket, and handed it to Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan took the photo and examined it carefully.
The photo showed a beautiful woman, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.
Then she took another photo.
The woman in the other photo looked over thirty, with a slightly dark complexion and some freckles on her face.
Comparing the two photos, the old woman asked, "Do these two photos look like the same person?"
Wu Jiaxin leaned in to look and immediately shook her head, "Auntie, this doesn't look like the same person at all."
The old woman sighed, "Although they don't look alike, they are indeed the same person, and she is my daughter."
"No way, the difference is too great!" Wu Jiaxin exclaimed, taking the photos and comparing them carefully in her palm, then shaking her head, "It can't be, Auntie."
"This doesn't look like the same person either. If it was plastic surgery, it would be too perfect. The nose and eyes look very natural."
Saying this, Wu Jiaxin handed the photos back to Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan took them and placed them in her palm, staring intently at the photos.
"When my daughter came home, I was also startled."
"At first, I thought she was impersonating my daughter. I asked her some questions about daily life, and she could answer them. She even knew things that only my daughter and I knew."
Wu Jiaxin said softly, "It's a good thing that your daughter has become more beautiful. Beauty can give people confidence."
The old woman sighed, "I'm not an old-fashioned person. I understand young people's desires. As long as it doesn't endanger her life, I support plastic surgery for beauty."
"My daughter used to be very unconfident and self-conscious due to her appearance anxiety."
"But this matter, it just gives me the creeps."
Zhao Yan placed the photos on the table, vaguely understanding the situation, and did not interrupt the old woman.
"A few days ago, I went to the bathroom and passed by my daughter's room. I heard her talking to someone, as if whispering secrets under the covers."
"But there were only the two of us mother and daughter at home."
"I thought she had brought her boyfriend home without telling me, so I quietly pushed the door and peeked through the crack."
"There was no one else in the room except her, and this had happened more than once or twice."
"Another time, when I went upstairs, I happened to see her walking downstairs. She was covering her face, hiding most of it, but a small part was exposed, and that exposed part was covered in maggots!"
"It scared me to death!"
As she spoke, the old woman's body trembled slightly.
Wu Jiaxin picked up a cup and poured a glass of water for the old woman.
"Her personality has also become worse and worse. She argues with me over trivial matters, which she never did before."
"I mentioned it to Hu Guangtou, and he suggested it might be a case of being possessed by an evil spirit and recommended you. I decided to come and see you when I had the chance."