310: Chapter 304: Want to Steal Business?
310: Chapter 304: Want to Steal Business?
When Taoist Wang heard Chen Hai’s words, he was slightly stunned.
This guy was once invited by Old Man Li and Aunt Liu to a siheyuan in Liuhua Alley.
When he arrived, he was brimming with confidence.
It seemed that in his eyes, all evil spirits were merely paper tigers that he could easily annihilate.
But after his deceit was exposed,
Taoist Wang left with his face swollen and his walk limping from the beating he received from those tenants.
Remembering the scene where he used ketchup as fake blood, Chen Hai couldn’t help but want to laugh out loud.
At the Black Stone Reservoir owned by Wei Zhidong, there were already more than one or two people who had died.
Even the experienced masters he had invited had ended up with one dead and one severely injured.
Taoist Wang only knew how to swindle and deceive, but he indeed had quite the nerve.
Perhaps, hearing that Wei Zhidong was hiring specialists for a high price to perform exorcisms and defeat demons, he volunteered and was the first to come knocking.
As for the reservoir, he was completely unaware of the mysterious entity that had caused several deaths.
Otherwise, with his little capability, he probably wouldn’t have had the guts to stand here so composedly.
“Do you know me, young friend?”
“For a while, I truly felt that I was only a step away from achieving Fasting.”
“Considering the earthly desires, tainted and filthy, which could contaminate my body with worldly matters, during that time, I survived on just ketchup.”
“However, later on, I realized, ‘Though liquor and meat pass through one’s intestines, the important thing is what the mind harbors.'”
“In Tao Cultivation, what matters is purifying the heart.
As long as the heart is clear, it doesn’t matter if the Physical Body has been through trials in the mortal world, even if it gets tainted by earthly desires.”
“A hundred years of hard cultivation is no match for a moment of sudden enlightenment.
My young friend, you seem entranced!”
It was unclear whether Taoist Wang had recognized Chen Hai or not.
He smiled faintly at Chen Hai and then slowly began to speak in a calm manner.
Usually, swindlers, once exposed, would be incredibly flustered and might even turn and run without a word.
Taoist Wang’s composure was indeed impressive.
After being teased by Chen Hai, he remained calm and even managed to utter seemingly profound justifications.
“Master Chen, do you know Taoist Wang?”
Hearing the exchange between Chen Hai and Taoist Wang, Wei Zhidong, looking puzzled, turned to Chen Hai and asked with a smile.
Chen Hai was truly skilled, so Wei Zhidong believed in him.
But Taoist Wang, who was just hired for eight hundred yuan and known to Chen Hai, could he also possess some real skills?
Wei Zhidong was genuinely puzzled and somewhat incredulous.
“Elder Wei, I had the fortune to meet Taoist Wang once before.”
“At that time, I had bought a house in Liuhua Alley, which was not quite clean.”
“A few tenants in the house had invited Taoist Wang over…”
Smiling and nodding, Chen Hai leaned into Wei Zhidong’s ear and whispered softly.
Don’t hit the face, don’t reveal secrets—the relationship between him and Taoist Wang was not really hostile,
since that guy had merely duped a few tenants who occupied his house.
Risking his life to take on such a job at Black Stone Reservoir was just a way to make a living.
After hesitating briefly, Chen Hai ultimately did not reveal to Wei Zhidong the embarrassing state Taoist Wang had been in.
“It’s good to know him, good to know!” Wei Zhidong laughed loudly.
His gaze wandered, leaving one to wonder what he was thinking and what he was planning.
“So this Taoist Friend Chen is also a practitioner!”
“What are your thoughts on the situation at Black Stone Reservoir?”
“If Taoist Friend wouldn’t mind, could we discuss this privately?”
Upon hearing Wei Zhidong call Chen Hai “Master Chen,” Taoist Wang appeared to fantasize something.
He smiled warmly at Chen Hai and nodded in greeting.
Even as he spoke, he took advantage of the others’ lack of attention to wink at Chen Hai and reveal a meaningful smile.
“Discuss privately?” Chen Hai was taken aback.
Then, regaining his composure, he nodded and agreed with a smile, “Of course, there’s no issue.
I also want to know what your views are on this reservoir!”
Since the two had reached a consensus, although Wei Zhidong still harbored doubts, he had no further objections.
After all, whether true or false, both were considered masters, which was undoubtedly a good thing.
They knew things ordinary people were unaware of and couldn’t understand.
Regarding the reservoir issue, it was only natural for these two masters to communicate and exchange ideas.
There was nothing inappropriate about it.
The three-story western-style building by the reservoir was indeed owned by Wei Zhidong.
Although the restaurants and small shops had closed, there was still plenty of empty space inside the western-style house.
A subordinate named Zhang led Chen Hai and Taoist Wang into a tea room inside the building, but Wei Zhidong and Wei Fang did not follow them in.
Their group remained on the vacant lot between the building and the reservoir, casually chatting, sporadically.
In the small tea room, it was just Chen Hai and Taoist Wang.
Once the door closed, the young man who had escorted them there quickly left.
“Little friend, have you ever heard the saying, ‘to obstruct someone’s livelihood is akin to killing their parents’?”
“This Wei, the owner of Black Stone Reservoir, is a rare fat sheep.
I can understand your desire to get a piece of the action by intervening.”
“However, there’s a sequence to everything, and after all, I took on this job first.”
“By exposing my weaknesses to steal business, don’t you think it’s taboo and somewhat despicable?”
With a somber expression, the Taoist Wang at this moment bore no resemblance to the serene, saint-like image he maintained outside, presenting a stark contrast instead.
Staring at Chen Hai, his words were filled with dissatisfaction towards him.
However, from what he said, it was clear he hadn’t recognized that Chen Hai in front of him was the same person who had caused him to get beaten up badly that day in Liuhua Alley.
Of course, it wasn’t strange for this to happen.
After all, even though it hadn’t been quite a year since that incident, it had almost reached that length of time.
So much time had passed, and on that day, Chen Hai showed his face only briefly before leaving.
In this nearly one-year period, Taoist Wang hadn’t seen Chen Hai again.
With his age, now having all white hair and beard, his memory naturally couldn’t compare to what it was in his youth.
Hinting with his eyes and requesting a private conversation, Taoist Wang’s words left Chen Hai dumbfounded, taking a long time to respond.
He hadn’t expected that in Taoist Wang’s eyes, he had become someone stealing business.
“If you don’t mind, little friend, we could actually collaborate.”
“By working together, we could really trick that Boss Wei, and naturally, no matter how much money we manage to swindle, I will certainly take the bigger share.”
“If you don’t think much of my abilities and prefer to act alone, that’s fine too.”
“You go your broad road, and I’ll walk my own log bridge.
How much money we can get from Boss Wei will depend on our respective skills!”
…
Chen Hai, stunned, didn’t have a chance to speak before Taoist Wang, continuously talking, again made suggestions to him.
As for how they would collaborate, he hadn’t touched on that yet!
After all, joining forces was just a unilateral wish on his part as Chen Hai hadn’t agreed to it.
Listening to Taoist Wang’s suggestions, Chen Hai’s expression became even more bizarre than before.
With a complex look and a meaningful gaze, he sized up Taoist Wang for a good while before finally speaking, “There’s an old saying, ‘walk by night, and you’re bound to encounter ghosts!'”
“Taoist Wang, aren’t you worried that in taking on these bizarre and supernatural jobs, you might encounter something genuine?”
“If you can’t handle such things, one misstep could easily cost you your life!”
Saying this, Chen Hai even sighed.
Regarding the Black Stone Reservoir issue, hearing Wei Zhidong mention how a master was deceived into jumping into the water and losing a leg during the day, even he felt apprehensive and dared not get involved lightly.
This Taoist Wang, lacking capabilities, had an incredibly bold courage!
Chen Hai didn’t know whether to scold him for his foolishness or to admire his bravery.
“They say peers are rivals.
If you want to steal my business, just say so!”
“Using this old trick to scare me, hoping I’ll withdraw?
Is there any point?”
“In my years of wandering from south to north, what haven’t I seen?”
“Those bizarre and supernatural entities usually just confuse people and don’t have real power.”
“Even if I really encounter something, there’s nothing to fear; at most, I’ll just play the victim and squeeze some more money out of the owner.”
“Wealth comes from taking risks, after all.
These days, how can you make a big fortune without taking some risks?”
…
Sometimes, it is the ignorant who truly can be fearless.
Chen Hai’s intention was to offer some consolation to Taoist Wang.
But who would have thought, he instead began to lecture Chen Hai.
“Alright, Taoist Wang, then let’s each mind our own business and not interfere with each other!”
As the saying goes, good words can’t persuade a destined ghost.
Unable to persuade the man in front of him, and being mistaken for trying to scare him off to steal his business, Chen Hai simply gave up on persuading further.
He left Taoist Wang with one last remark, turned around, opened the door, and walked out.