Ye Huohuo sat in Li Mohan's private car, looking back at the shopping mall building that was growing farther away.
She bit the tip of her right middle finger and closed her eyes, lightly drawing across her eyelids. As a flash of red light streaked across, a thin bloodstain appeared on both her eyelids.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw the sky above the mall shrouded in a faint red mist.
Just as she suspected! Someone was using feng shui techniques to target the Li family, but she didn't have enough time to determine the exact術法 (shùfǎ - magical arts) being used.
She pulled out a tissue, wiped away the bloodstains on her eyes, and sighed softly. She took out her phone and made a call.
"Ye Huohuo, you heartless wretch, you've finally deigned to call me? You hung up on me last time mid-sentence, you..."
"Second Senior Brother, are you still in Longcheng?" Ye Huohuo interrupted his incessant chatter.
The person on the other end was Ye Huohuo's Second Senior Brother – Qin Chu.
Qin Chu paused. "Something wrong?" He sensitively detected the change in her tone.
"I need to ask you for a favor! If I don't call you before tomorrow morning, you... could you please come to Haicheng and help me resolve the Li family's issue."
There was silence from Qin Chu's end for a moment before he spoke, "What exactly is going on with you?" The nervousness in his voice was palpable.
"It's nothing, it's still under my control. I'm just... in case." Ye Huohuo said, trying to sound casual.
"Don't lie to me. You wouldn't call me if you weren't unsure. Didn't you marry into the Li family? How come it didn't work out?"
"It worked out, but the Li family is facing some trouble, and I'm handling it. I told you just in case. Why are you so nervous? Just tell me if you'll help me or not, you're so indecisive!" Ye Huohuo feigned impatience.
She disliked asking for favors the most, and she was particularly bad at asking this Second Senior Brother, who always pestered her with endless questions.
"Alright, I promise. But Ye Huohuo, you listen to me carefully. I don't know any Li family. I'm doing this for you. If anything happens to you, I..."
"You promised, a promise is a promise! I have to go, bye!" Ye Huohuo quickly hung up the phone, or he would have continued scolding her until nightfall.
She let out a long breath. Now she could go all out. What kind of thing dared to harm people in broad daylight!
She transferred her talismans and all her tools from her old tattered bag to a new backpack.
It was a backpack that Li Mohan had prepared for her, sturdy and convenient, good for anything.
Looking at these items, her heart felt enveloped by a warm current, not strong, but incredibly comforting.
"Miss Ye, will there be danger shortly?"
Ah Cheng, who had been driving silently, spoke after she finished her call. He wasn't foolish; on the contrary, he was more alert than most. From Ye Huohuo's conversation with the person on the phone, he could tell she wasn't confident about what she was about to do.
It even felt like she was making final arrangements.
Ye Huohuo, sitting in the back seat, carefully examined Ah Cheng in the rearview mirror.
A gasp escaped her lips at what she saw.
This man wasn't just not unattractive, he was quite handsome. Especially his hawk-like eyes, always carrying vigilance and a strong killing intent.
Perhaps he was aware of this himself, so he usually kept his head down, preventing people from seeing his gaze.
There was a scar on his right eyebrow, about two centimeters long and half a finger wide, which precisely bisected the edge of his brow.
It was evident the situation had been dangerous; that blow, had it been even slightly lower, could have blinded his right eye.
But it was precisely because of this scar that his original countenance had changed.
His original physiognomy suggested he would have been a scholar or a businessman, but now this scar added killing intent, which could be called another form of malevolent aura, to his fate.
Thus, he had transformed from a civil official into a military general.
Even in his current capacity as a bodyguard, he was a top-tier one, and it was clear that Li Mohan valued him greatly.
"Were you in the military?"
"You can tell?" Ah Cheng's response was concise.
"I can tell from your physiognomy. You were a special forces soldier, participated in combat, and killed people!" Ye Huohuo stated smoothly.
"Although your killing intent is strong, your righteousness is even stronger. Therefore, even if you've killed, it was likely those who were extremely evil. Li Mohan is well protected by you!"
Ah Cheng glanced at Ye Huohuo in the rearview mirror, a hint of surprise in his eyes, but more so, a touch of gratitude.
No one had ever spoken to him like this, not even Li Mohan. Their relationship was one of unspoken masculine camaraderie.
He hadn't expected to hear such an assessment from a girl who looked like a student.
Many people who had interacted with him feared him to some extent, afraid of the killing aura he exuded. He, in turn, never bothered to initiate conversations with them. Over time, apart from following Li Mohan's orders, he didn't even know how to interact with others.
"Mr. Li instructed me to protect you. Stay close to me, and I can ensure your safety!" If his prior protection of Ye Huohuo was to fulfill Li Mohan's command, now it was because he genuinely wished to protect this girl.
Ye Huohuo shook her head. "I'll handle it myself later. Your martial arts skills are good, but you can't see or touch those things. Your skills will be useless. Just take me there."
"No, I must complete what Mr. Li instructed. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to answer to Mr. Li." Ah Cheng was a stubborn person.
Ye Huohuo opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she held back. She thought that reasoning with this type of person was futile. Once they arrived, she would go in first and seal the entrance to prevent him from following.
She had calculated that the entity she was facing was not simple. The fact that it dared to harm people in broad daylight meant it was far more ferocious than the vengeful ghost in the painting.
Even dealing with such a fierce ghost on her own was uncertain, and the more people who entered, the greater the danger. Saving Li Moyan had already been difficult; with one more person, she feared she wouldn't be able to manage.
Soon, the car arrived at a film studio, a place that provided scenes for filming television dramas or movies.
The studio was vast. Ah Cheng drove for nearly half an hour before finding Li Moyan's filming location.
Before Ye Huohuo could even get out of the car, she saw that the people on set were in chaos, all gathered in front of a room. Some were crying, others were pacing anxiously, some wanted to go in, while others were holding them back.
It was more dramatic than any staged play.
Ye Huohuo got out of the car, with Ah Cheng clearing the way. They finally managed to push through to the crowd in front of the room.
"My name is Ye Huohuo. Li Moyan asked me to come. What happened here?"
A somewhat balding middle-aged man's eyes lit up when Ye Huohuo introduced herself. However, upon seeing Ye Huohuo, he hesitated. "You... you are Master Ye?"
Ye Huohuo knew immediately that he hadn't expected the master Li Moyan mentioned to be her. He was surprised.
"I am the Master Ye that Li Moyan spoke of, the genuine article!"
"Ah, it's good that you're here. I'm the director. Master Ye, please quickly save our actors!"
"Actors?" Ye Huohuo's scalp tingled upon hearing this. "You mean it wasn't just Li Moyan inside? But several people?"
"Yes, including President Yan, there are three people!"
Ye Huohuo narrowed her eyes and looked at the roof. A mass of black energy was condensing there, almost forming a dark cloud. She took out three copper coins from her pocket and casually tossed them, letting them fall freely.
Looking at the coins on the ground, her expression grew even more somber.
Extremely inauspicious!
However...