Once He Xiaoyun left, Huang Jiu scurried into the room.
I noticed my uncle seemed deep in thought and didn't speak, so I hurried to clean up the broken teacup shards on the floor. Afterward, I nervously told him about Huang Jiu selling talismans to Zhang Ying and the others, asking if Longhu Mountain really would interfere.
My uncle replied, "Every country has its own laws, every profession has its own rules. But today, this situation is a case of one willing to fight, the other willing to suffer. You're not to blame. As for Longhu Mountain, you're still too far from dealing with them. They're just a big power who thinks their words should be taken as law."
I asked again, "But He Xiaoyun really doesn't have any connections with Longhu Mountain, right?"
"He has no real connection with Longhu Mountain. His nephew was just taken in by them a few years ago. Don't overthink it. If he dares come again, don't worry—just beat him senseless!"
After hearing that, I relaxed.
Other people might have impressive nephews, but mine is no slouch—he can beat up his own uncle.
Plus, the bride's coffin has already arrived, so Zhang Ying and the others should be coming soon. We'll see which one of them, Longhu Mountain or the Ten Thousand Mountain, is stronger.
Of course, I only thought this in my mind.
Since my uncle had time, he went out to find someone to fix the glass. Meanwhile, I noticed Huang Jiu hadn't come out of the back room for a while, so when my uncle left, I went to check on it.
When I walked in, I was startled. Huang Jiu was crouching outside a drawn circle on the floor, muttering nasty curses.
If someone else had drawn a circle, I'd think they were just bored. But Huang Jiu's circle contained seven paper-cut figures, each with a red dot in the middle of their foreheads.
I didn't need to ask—I knew that red dot was from the blood He Xiaoyun had spat on it.
"Whoa, you don't need to be so ruthless, do you?" I asked, feeling a chill down my spine.
Huang Jiu looked over with a sly grin and said, "He dared to spit blood on my face, so I'll curse him to have his period every month!"
I felt a wave of disgust.
He Xiaoyun is a man—whether he'll actually have his period, I don't know. But Huang Jiu's curse technique is the real deal—small paper figures used for a curse.
Being cursed for ten or fifteen days would leave He Xiaoyun in a bad state—his spirit would be unstable, his soul scattered.
I know another similar technique, called the "soul offering," which also uses the enemy's blood to create a connection with their soul. It involves offering incense three times a day for ten to fifteen days, and even if the person doesn't die, they'd be severely weakened.
If someone is more ruthless, kneeling and offering three bows a day, the target will die within half a month.
But I think, even if you killed someone with the soul offering, it wouldn't be as nasty as Huang Jiu cursing an old man to have his period.
Huang Jiu continued to squat outside the circle, repeating the curse.
I wasn't sure what to say, so I just reminded it to know when to stop. After all, He Xiaoyun's nephew is a real disciple of Longhu Mountain.
Huang Jiu didn't care and kept doing its thing.
By this time, my uncle had returned with the glass repairmen. I didn't bother with Huang Jiu's prank anymore.
When I came out, the two glassmen had already measured the size and were scoring the glass.
My uncle was on the phone outside, and I crouched down to watch them use the glass cutter.
Replacing the glass only took about ten minutes. My uncle's phone call lasted just that long. When he returned, he paid the workers, sent them off, and then said, "Chen Kai really did find a stone coffin in the foundation pit, and the museum people have taken it away. But the truck carrying the coffin broke down near an old building in the east of the city, and the coffin started leaking red liquid."
Hearing that it was Chen Kai, I couldn't help but rub my hands together like a fly's legs. "We need to take advantage of this and charge him more!"
My uncle replied, "This time, the museum hired us, so it has nothing to do with Chen Kai. He's just the one who introduced us. Call Huang Jiu and let's go check it out. As for the money, I'll handle that later."
When I heard that Chen Kai had introduced the job, I suddenly felt that charging him 100,000 for an ordinary talisman might have been a bit excessive.
It wasn't that I had a sudden change of heart. I just thought his round face wasn't so bad after all.
Of course, the business we have now is mainly due to my uncle's strategy.
As the circle grows, there will always be some families arguing and others making noise.
I went inside and grabbed Huang Jiu, who was still muttering "Every month, every month, fifteen days of menstruation, blood as red as water..." I said, "We have work to do."
Huang Jiu quickly drew a few more circles around the paper figures and, like coaxing a child, said to them, "You guys stay home and wait. Let me get a couple of big roosters first..."
I couldn't wait for its rambling, so I grabbed it and stuffed it into the cat bag before heading out.
When we got outside the shop, my uncle drove up in Aunt Su Yimei's SUV. The car was tall, powerful, and impressive.
It seemed my uncle had given up on struggling and was no longer worried.
Of course, that's just a joke.
Now my uncle is at peace with himself. Even though his pockets are empty, he knows how to make money, and that's what matters.
It's like being able to "afford it"—if someone mocks you for not being able to afford it, their mockery becomes meaningless.
But if the situation were reversed, you'd still feel bad even if you didn't get into a fight.
In short, my uncle is in a good state right now.
As for me, no matter how hard I work, I don't mind—after all, I can never be as capable as my uncle. Even if I could, I wouldn't do it as well as he does.
I let Huang Jiu out of the cat bag in the spacious SUV so it could experience the allure of money.
Speaking of the coffin causing trouble in the east of the city, Huang Jiu casually said, "That old building, could it be the haunted building the Spirit-seeking Society of Zhang Ying's group goes to?"
I froze for a second, but quickly dismissed the thought. It couldn't be that coincidental.
Besides, Zhang Ying, Wang Yingying, and the others have very weak yin energy. Even if they didn't have talismans, a few days of sunshine would fix them up.
There shouldn't be any connection between the two things.
My uncle asked about the situation, and Huang Jiu exaggerated the story, talking about how it deceived people, though the main point was to imply that it made 50,000 yuan and should have chicken every day.
My uncle pretended not to notice and changed the subject, saying, "The museum people said that a woman jumped off that old building a few days ago. It's famous for being an ominous building."
I said, "Zhang Ying only mentioned it briefly, saying it was in the east of the city."
Huang Jiu, seeing my uncle and I talking about the place, jumped into the front passenger seat and said, "Boys, stop guessing. Just take the money and do the work."
I knocked on Huang Jiu's head and reminded it to mind its manners. I was also glad it wasn't sitting on my head acting like a god—if it spoke to me like that every day, I'd feel uncomfortable just thinking about it.
The car took about an hour to drive from the city center to the east. After turning through several narrow roads, we saw flashing warning lights ahead. A small truck had broken down on the road.
Beside it was an old building, hidden in the middle of the bustling area.