Dong Liang felt a surge of nervousness. He reached under the table and picked up the iron hammer leaning against its side.
His heart pounded rapidly as he stealthily positioned the hammer behind the woman's head.
Seeing that Qian Ling had merely turned over and was not awake, he quickly put the hammer away, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Since you are so diligent in your work, I shall bestow this upon you," the woman said, raising her hand.
Dong Liang's face lit up, and he quickly extended his hand.
As the woman opened her palm, a golden necklace fell into Dong Liang's hand.
"Thank you, Ling Ji Niang Niang, for your bestowal."
Looking at the golden necklace, Dong Liang felt a pang of disappointment.
The necklace looked like it was worth at most tens of thousands of yuan.
"Where did you pawn the items before?"
Dong Liang replied, "At a place called Tian Li Dao Guan. Although their business is rather chaotic, they offer fair prices."
"I pawned all the items there."
"When you went, did you encounter anyone strange?"
Dong Liang thought carefully and said, "There was a woman. When she saw me, she immediately noticed the Yin energy on my forehead."
"She even tried to sell me a talisman. She mistakenly believed that the person beside me was an evil spirit in disguise, and told me to wear the talisman, which would immediately reveal the true form of the person beside me."
"Thinking about it, that woman's demeanor was not ordinary. The abbot of that Daoist temple even called her 'Master'."
Having said this, Dong Liang, afraid of being misunderstood, quickly added, "Ling Ji Niang Niang, I didn't buy it. After I refused, I quickly left the Daoist temple."
The woman meticulously examined herself in the mirror, admiring her reflection.
Seeing that she remained silent, Dong Liang stood obediently behind her.
"If you encounter her again, just stay away."
"If you cannot, I will give you another treasure."
The woman took out a jade pendant.
Dong Liang's eyes widened with joy at the excellent luster of the jade pendant, and he immediately accepted it.
"Thank you, Ling Ji Niang Niang! Thank you, Ling Ji Niang Niang!"
"This treasure is not for you to sell for money, but to keep on your person. As long as you wear it, if you encounter that woman again, she will not be able to detect the Yin energy on you."
"This treasure not only has this effect, but if you encounter danger, bite your finger, drip your blood into it, and it can save your life."
Dong Liang knelt down with a thud and kowtowed, "Thank you, Ling Ji Niang Niang."
He kowtowed three times. By the time he looked up, the woman on the computer chair had vanished.
Without first examining the treasure in his hand, he quickly opened the basement door and descended into it.
Seeing that the six eyes of the eerie stone statue were closed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and crawled out of the basement.
He sat on the bed and then carefully examined the jade pendant in his hand.
The jade pendant felt cool in his hand, as if he were holding a piece of ice.
Most importantly, judging by its luster alone, it was the most valuable item he had acquired in days.
If he were to sell it, it would fetch at least a few million.
According to Ling Ji Niang Niang's words, this jade pendant clearly had several other functions.
It would indeed be a pity to sell such a treasure.
The thought that as long as he served Ling Ji Niang Niang well, he would have endless wealth and prosperity in the future.
As he thought about it, Dong Liang's initial chuckle gradually grew louder, becoming somewhat uncontrollable, and he buried his head in the quilt.
"Dong... ge."
"What are you doing?"
Qian Ling was awakened by Dong Liang's actions. She rubbed her eyes, her voice soft as she spoke.
"Ling Ling, we've struck it rich, incredibly rich!"
"When you graduate, I'll marry you!"
"You wanted to buy a house in Jing Shi, right? We'll buy two then, one for your parents and one for us."
"You like photography, so you do it. Money is not important, as long as you like it."
"Haha, we've struck it rich, Ling Ling!"
Dong Liang's shoulders shook with laughter as he stood up and hugged Qian Ling tightly.
He lifted Qian Ling and spun her around in the air.
"Pfft! Dong ge, your promises are so grand. Did you win the lottery again?" Qian Ling patted Dong Liang's back, finding his excitement both amusing and exasperating.
"Not yet, but soon."
Qian Ling smiled and then, seeing the necklace on the table, said with a hint of surprise, "Dong ge, did you buy this for me?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand, about to reach for the necklace.
Before she could touch it, Dong Liang quickly snatched the necklace into his hand.
"This necklace is worth less than two hundred yuan. I bought it for my grandmother. When I have more money, I'll buy you a better one," Dong Liang said.
"Give this to me, and I'll pay for a good one for Grandma myself. I haven't bought Grandma a gift yet."
"Next time," Dong Liang chuckled.
He quickly put the necklace away, as the Yin energy within it was something Qian Ling could not withstand.
If the Yin energy in the necklace were not cleared, Qian Ling's body would be overwhelmed by it.
After putting it away, Dong Liang sat beside Qian Ling and said, "Ling Ling, does your school have anything like a 'campus belle' selection, like other schools?"
"Yes, our campus belles are of high quality. Several of them are stunningly beautiful."
"I don't believe it, unless you show me. Let me see if they're as beautiful as the campus belles from other schools."
"Why don't you believe me? Would I lie to you?" Qian Ling replied.
She took out her phone, operated it for a moment, and then handed it to Dong Liang.
Dong Liang took the phone and looked at the school website.
There were many photos, with vote counts below them.
"Beautiful, aren't they!" Qian Ling said.
Seeing Dong Liang staring intently, she said with a hint of jealousy, "You're staring so hard, you'll go cross-eyed."
Dong Liang chuckled, "Not as beautiful as you."
Saying this, he handed the phone back to Qian Ling.
He stood up, walked to the table, picked up some fruit, his face darkening, and said softly,
"Li Feiyu, Arts Department, 168 cm tall, twenty-three years old."
...
He had expected to arrive at nine o'clock in the evening, but to Zhao Yan's exasperation, they didn't arrive until ten-thirty.
To leave a good impression on the old man, Wang Xianzhi closed his business for the day.
He summoned all his disciples and employees, over forty people in total.
More than forty people stood in two rows, each holding a bouquet of flowers.
Even General Hei Hu had a large red flower pinned to his chest.
Wang Xianzhi had spent a considerable amount of money on a flashy hairstyle.
"How is it?"
Wang Xianzhi turned to his staff and asked.
Upon hearing his question, the staff members gave him a thumbs-up, "Very handsome."
"Hoo!" Wang Xianzhi turned around, looked at his polished leather shoes, and breathed a puff of air onto them with a piece of paper, meticulously wiping them again.
Watching Wang Xianzhi in this state, Zhao Yan felt a bit speechless.
"They're here, they're here!"
Lan Jing hurried over from the entrance and shouted to Zhao Yan.
Wang Xianzhi raised his hand and said, "Ready! Begin!"
"Clang clang clang!"
"Dong dong dong!"
The sounds erupted, with gongs and drums creating a lively atmosphere.