The ultimate master in the city

Chapter 38, First Transaction

Zhou Fengchen rummaged through the trash can for a while before finally finding the memorial tablets that had been broken into three or four pieces. After checking them several times without finding a match, his anger flared up. He carried the tablets back to the front of the hall with both hands and coldly asked, "Why?"

The group of people in the hall arrived at the door. Old Chen and the others remained silent. Chen's mother stepped forward, pulled Zhou Fengchen aside, and whispered, "Azhi, your father..."

Zhou Fengchen gently pushed her away, glaring at Chen's father, "I'm asking you a question!"

"So what if I want to?" Chen's father also got angry, pointing at Zhou Fengchen's forehead, "You came home to acknowledge your family, so there's no need to bring this tattered memorial tablet. I'm your own father, and you're worshipping this old geezer, where am I supposed to put my face?"

Zhou Fengchen took a deep breath and said, "He's not an old man, he's my adoptive father, my master. He raised me for over ten years, taught me how to be a person, taught me skills, and provided for me. This kindness is greater than the sky, and I will not allow anyone to insult him!"

"Am I just anyone?" Chen's father retorted, "That old bastard kidnapped you, and I haven't even settled accounts with him yet, so what's with all this talk of loyalty!"

Chen Ma started crying again and yelled at him, "Can't you just shut up?"

"I can't!" Chen's father roared, "I'm his biological father! No matter how powerful he is, he's still my son. I don't believe he dares to hit me!"

Without saying a word, Zhou Fengchen suddenly knelt down and kowtowed three times, saying, "I'm going to live outside!"

Before the group could react, he flashed out of the courtyard in a few leaps.

"son!"

Chen's mother burst into tears, and even Chen's father, a grown man, had red eyes from feeling aggrieved.

"Never mind, never mind!"

Old Chen sighed and said, "Let him live outside if he wants to. He's never been home since he was little, and he's not close to us. Besides, he learned a lot of skills from that extraordinary person, so he's wild and can't be restrained by common sense or family affection. When he gets older and it's time for him to get married, he'll know to come back."

……

Zhou Fengchen left the courtyard, walking aimlessly in the light rain towards the rented room. His anger gradually subsided. He felt out of place in this house, and leaving was for the best; he was happy to be relaxed and at ease.

After walking for more than an hour, I happened to pass by the restaurant. The restaurant had already closed, but there was a person loitering around in front of it.

Zhou Fengchen looked closely and realized it was Yuan Zhi.

Yuanzhi saw him too, his eyes lit up and he ran over, "Hey! Brother, I just came back from outside and saw the note you left on the wall. I didn't know how to contact you. How's your house? Why are you out at this hour?"

"Don't even mention it!" Zhou Fengchen said dejectedly, "I don't belong in that house, I feel so uncomfortable, so I ran away!"

Yuanzhi, always eager for chaos, chuckled and said, "That's great! What's the point of a family? It's just a burden! From now on, we brothers will live together and be carefree!"

"Damn it! Do you even know how to comfort someone?"

Zhou Fengchen spat and looked him up and down, saying, "You didn't come all this way to the restaurant just to find me, did you?"

Yuanzhi said, "I was trying to see if I had the boss's wife's phone number so I could try to contact you!"

Zhou Fengchen asked in confusion, "What happened?"

"We'll talk about it when we get back!"

……

The two returned to the rented room, where Zhou Fengchen tied up his father's memorial tablet, laid it flat, and respectfully kowtowed several times.

Yuan Zhi solemnly kowtowed several times, then stood up and magically produced a cloth bag from his pocket, slamming it on the table. He said he had gone out to prepare for the next two days, and had also gotten two sets of clothes and taken on a job. Finally, he mysteriously asked, "Tonight, shall we do it?"

Zhou Fengchen didn't understand, blinked and asked, "What kind of work? I won't do adultery, I still have ten thousand yuan on me."

Yuan Zhi chuckled, "What kind of person are you stealing? Someone asked me to catch a ghost. Want to do it? We'll split the profits 50/50."

Zhou Fengchen looked at him questioningly, "Why don't you just go by yourself?"

"Well, um..." Yuan Zhi said awkwardly, "I was pretty scared by that woman a while ago, so I'm a bit nervous being alone!"

Zhou Fengchen thought about it and found it quite fun; this was the life he wanted. He said, "Let's do it!"

Yuanzhi pulled two sets of clothes out of his bag, saying they were cheap items he bought online and would make do with as they came.

After getting dressed, the two exchanged a glance and couldn't help but chuckle strangely before heading out to hail a taxi straight to their destination.

Halfway there, Zhou Fengchen remembered to ask about the details of this "deal".

Yuan Zhi was taken aback, then chuckled and said, "I didn't understand either. With you here, what kind of monster can't you control?"

"Damn! You think way too highly of me?"

Zhou Fengchen felt a toothache and said, "Boss, to tell you the truth, ghosts are very strange and the situation is special. No one dares to make a guarantee."

The taxi driver broke out in a cold sweat, turned around and said dryly, "Gentlemen, I'm easily frightened. I drive at night all day. Don't scare me."

Zhou Fengchen and Yuan Zhi exchanged a glance and had no choice but to remain silent.

They arrived at their destination shortly after. The two got out of the car. It was a residential area, and the buildings looked quite old. Yuan Zhi looked around for the house numbers and, after confirming them, whispered to Zhou Fengchen, "We picked up a substandard product. This family is obviously poor. If they're really up to something, we'll play it by ear. If they're just imagining things, we'll just put on a show and that'll be enough. Just follow my lead."

Zhou Fengchen nodded. "Okay! I'll do as you say."

Yuan Zhi knocked on the door lock, and five people quickly ran out: an elderly couple, a middle-aged couple, and a girl who looked about eighteen or nineteen years old.

"Amitabha! This humble monk is Yuanzhi!" Yuanzhi chanted a Buddhist prayer in a pretentious manner, and then secretly kicked Zhou Fengchen.

Zhou Fengchen found it amusing and flicked his whisk, saying, "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable! This humble Daoist... uh! Yuan Cong!"

Yuanzhi turned to look at him, grimacing and struggling to hold it in.

Zhou Fengchen simply lowered his head and chuckled softly.

Under the cover of night, the family of five inside didn't notice the two's subtle movements, their voices filled with excitement, "Oh my! The master has arrived!"

He opened the door and respectfully stepped aside.

"Amitabha!" Yuan Zhi led Zhou Fengchen inside, saying, "This humble monk has heard that something evil is causing trouble in your home. Today, I have brought the Maoshan Taoist priest Yuan Cong with me to help this wicked creature!"

"Ahem, that's right!" Zhou Fengchen straightened his back and put on airs.

"Please come in, gentlemen!" The old man, wearing glasses, appeared very polite.

A group of people entered the house and sat down. The girl poured tea, and Yuanzhi, squinting, said, "Tell us the whole story!"

The old man sighed and began to speak.

This family's surname is Li. The old man has a son and a daughter. His son is the middle-aged man next to him. His daughter is more than ten years younger than her brother. Five years ago, she married a businessman. At first, they lived a good life, but three years ago, the businessman went bankrupt. He drank heavily and beat his wife every day. The old man's daughter couldn't think straight and took medicine.

The old man's family had been heartbroken for a long time. They had finally calmed down in the past two years, but just a few days ago, their daughter appeared in the old woman's dream, with tears in her eyes and no words in sight, and no one knew what she wanted to do.

After the old lady woke up, she told her family about it. Her family thought she was confused because she missed her daughter so much. But the next night, the whole family had the same dream.

During the day, the family sat together and discussed the matter. They decided that they could only believe it was true, not that it wasn't. They decided to burn some paper money. However, before they could burn the paper money, something happened in the family. Every time they ate, all the chopsticks in the house stood up on their own and couldn't be pried off.