Gu Jun instinctively reached for a cigarette, then forcibly suppressed the urge.
He looked at Su Qingqing and said slowly, “Money isn’t the issue. The thing I lack least is money. To me, money is just a number.
From what you just said, my bad luck isn’t something destined by fate—it’s because someone has been harming me.
Does that mean someone has been targeting me since I was a child?”
Su Qingqing nodded. “That should be the case.”
“Can you find out who it is?” Gu Jun asked again.
Su Qingqing replied, “That’s a separate fee.”
Gu Jun reiterated, “I told you, the price is negotiable, as long as you can help me resolve this.”
He paused, then asked, “Are you really that short on money?”
Su Qingqing spread her hands. “As you can see, I was cast out of the Su family with nothing. I’m also facing a huge penalty for breach of contract, so yes, I’m desperately short on money.”
She concluded, “I’ll take your case, but we can’t investigate today. The baleful aura on you has already dissipated, and the person behind this must be quite cunning.
Without the baleful aura, without the equipment to set up an altar for a ritual, and with my power just spent pushing that car away, I’ve got nothing to work with.
So we can’t investigate today. Next time they make a move on you and the baleful aura returns, we’ll look into it then.”
“Alright.” Gu Jun nodded.
Even though she was just a young woman in her early twenties, somehow, her words carried a conviction that made people trust her, that made her seem dependable.
“Where do you live? I’ll drive you back today,” Gu Jun said.
Su Qingqing gave him the address of the apartment she was renting.
As the two were about to get into the car, a yellow talisman drifted out from under the vehicle.
The cinnabar on the yellow talisman had already faded, its once vibrant red now a deep, dark crimson.
The moment Su Qingqing’s gaze landed on the pattern on the talisman, her eyes locked onto it.
She picked up the yellow talisman from the ground a step ahead of Gu Jun and asked, “This evil-warding talisman—where did you get it?”
The exorcism talisman in this world was actually the same as the one in her world, just a simplified version with weaker effects. That was too strange. Could there really be such a coincidence in the world?
Gu Jun looked at the completely faded talisman paper, his expression growing even more somber. “This is a talisman paper I obtained from the head of Xuanqing Temple in the capital.
But the head of Xuanqing Temple passed away two years ago. This was the last talisman paper he left me for protection.
Over the years, the reason I’ve been able to stay safe and turn danger into fortune time and again is all thanks to the head of Xuanqing Temple…”
It seemed that the reason he’d encountered evil this time and nearly gotten into trouble was mainly because this talisman paper had lost its power.
There were many temples and Taoist priests across the country, but finding another with the same genuine skill, profound cultivation, and real ability as the head of Xuanqing Temple—there were few indeed.
At least, the Gu family had been searching since the head of Xuanqing Temple passed away, and after two years, they still hadn’t found anyone.
When Su Qingqing heard that the person who drew the talisman had already passed away, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. Otherwise, she might have been able to extract more useful information!
She comforted Gu Jun, saying, “Don’t worry. As long as you pay well, my talismans can keep you safe too.”
Gu Jun couldn’t help but laugh. This Miss Su was quite amusing—she couldn’t go three sentences without mentioning money.
Her desire for money was so blatantly written on her face, yet it wasn’t off-putting.
In the end, Gu Jun didn’t personally drive Su Qingqing back, because he had called the police and needed to stay behind to investigate who was behind the large truck that had suddenly veered toward them, and to find out who the mastermind was.
Su Qingqing, with the twenty million yuan that had landed in her account, was in a good mood.
She took the money and headed to S City’s famous antique street.
S City’s antique street was the one with the most extensive and complete selection of goods among the surrounding cities.
Places associated with antiques tended to have heavier yin energy and more supernatural occurrences.
The people there usually knew more about such matters than the average person, were more particular about these things, and sold authentic cinnabar and yellow paper.
Upon arriving at the antique street, Su Qingqing opened a review app and searched for “which shop on antique street sells the most authentic cinnabar and yellow paper.”
Soon, several recommended shops popped up, along with buyer reviews and photos.
In the end, a particular review caught Su Qingqing’s attention.
“I’ve ordered online many times and been scammed every time—either low-quality or fake goods. I got scolded by my master for being greedy for bargains. A friend recommended this place, and it’s really authentic. The price is a bit higher, but folks, trust me, it’s worth it!”
Following the address in the review, she went to the end of the alley on antique street before finding the shop.
Unlike other antique stores that deliberately dimmed their lighting to create a vintage atmosphere, this shop was small but spacious and bright. Each item—different grades of cinnabar and yellow paper—was neatly displayed in glass display cases with clear price tags, looking very professional at first glance.
But what attracted Su Qingqing’s attention most wasn’t any of that. It was that the moment she walked in, she saw the statue of the founding master enshrined in the due south of the shop.
Most importantly, the ancestor they enshrined here was actually the same one from her world.
When Su Qingqing was drawn to the statue of this ancestor and looked at it, the statue actually blinked at her rapidly.
Su Qingqing pressed her forehead. It seemed that no matter which world this ancestor was in, he was still this mischievous.
The shop assistant finished cleaning the table, stood up, and noticed Su Qingqing. He greeted her warmly: “Ma’am, what do you need? Is there anything I can introduce to you?”
Su Qingqing pointed at the statue of the ancestor and asked: “Why do you enshrine this Heavenly Pure Master in your shop?”
The assistant was taken aback by the question and asked in confusion: “All the Taoist temples around here enshrine the Heavenly Pure Master. He’s the founding ancestor of all Xuanmen practitioners…”
Wasn’t this common knowledge? It was the first time he’d heard someone ask such a question.
Su Qingqing: “…”
It was the original owner’s fault for knowing too little about this subject, leaving her with no knowledge reserves on it.
So, indeed, her arrival in this world was no coincidence.
The talisman papers in both worlds were similar, and the enshrined ancestor was the same too. There had to be some connection between them.
Su Qingqing had originally only wanted to buy cinnabar and talisman paper, but now she changed her mind.
“Nothing much, I just wanted to ask—besides cinnabar and talisman paper, do you have statues of the ancestor here? I’m planning to invite one home.”
“Yes, we do, we do,” the assistant said enthusiastically. “We have statues of the ancestor in plastic, wood, stone, and jade, each at different price points. They’re all over here—take a look and see which one you’d like to invite.”
Su Qingqing glanced at the string of zeros behind the jade statue and immediately decided: “The plastic one, the cheapest, thank you.”
A mountain need not be tall; it’s blessed if immortals dwell there.
The same logic applied to statues, right? Why waste that money?
The moment she finished speaking, the statue of the ancestor enshrined in the shop toppled over with a “thud.”
It was as if the ancestor was silently protesting her neglect of him in order to save money.
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