Su Dazhuang stayed in the shop for more than twenty minutes before getting up silently and leaving.
I walked him to the door, then let out a long sigh.
For the sake of my uncle's lifelong happiness, I endured it. If it were anyone else acting all high and mighty, taking things for free, I would've had Huang Jiu throw them out by now.
Back inside the shop, Huang Jiu wiped his forehead and said, "This feels like we're meeting the father-in-law for the first time."
I nodded in agreement.
Moreover, it seemed like my uncle had some kind of clairvoyant ability—today, for the first time ever, he didn't bring me lunch.
After seeing off Su Dazhuang, I felt much lighter for the rest of the day.
My uncle has over twenty million in his account, and with President Zhang still collaborating with us, whether the shop makes money or not doesn't matter.
The key point is that my uncle has managed to win over Su Yimei's aunt, so we won't have to pay rent anymore.
The entire afternoon, I spent practicing the Nine Words Mantra.
As the name suggests, the Nine Words Mantra consists of nine words: Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing.
This mantra, known as the Six Jia Secret Blessing in Taoism, comes from Bao Pu Zi and was later improved by Master Padmasambhava in the Tibetan Vajrayana, where it became widely practiced.
Vajrayana believes the left hand represents stillness, known as the hand of compassion, used to guide ignorant beings, while the right hand is active, symbolizing the hand of wisdom, used to guide the sharp-minded. Together, they are called "Compassion and Wisdom in Union," to save all beings without exception.
Additionally, Vajrayana believes each finger has a different meaning.
The ten fingers are linked to ten levels, also called ten wheels and ten peaks.
Starting from the left pinky, the sequence is: Dāna, Śīla, Kṣānti, Vīrya, Dhyāna; and from the right pinky: Prajñā, Samādhi, Vīra, Śakti, Bodhi.
These ten fingers are linked to the five elements of the universe: earth, water, fire, wind, and space.
When performing the Nine Words Mantra, each finger must form the corresponding mudra.
For example, the "Lin" mantra requires the index fingers of both hands to stand up while the other fingers curl into specific combinations.
Once the mudra is formed, the power of the mantra can be invoked.
I won't go into more detail, as if I continue, you might end up practicing it yourself.
In summary, once you understand the meaning, it's not difficult to learn.
Of course, this is easy for humans.
For Huang Jiu, however, it's a bit challenging.
But it has its own way of dealing with it. It used its demonic energy to transform into a pair of little chubby hands of a three-year-old child and practiced merrily.
In the afternoon, Zhang Ying called to tell me that she had arranged to meet with Chen Zihao and gave me the address.
I could hear the disgust in her voice over the phone as she urged me to hurry, as she didn't want to face Chen Zihao alone.
I'm not interested in the long-winded affairs of the children of the wealthy.
I packed up, carried Huang Jiu on my back, and took a taxi to the address.
When I got out, the fare was over sixty yuan.
Huang Jiu was about to charm the driver, but I stopped it.
Last time, the driver had messed with me first, and this time, Zhang Ying's meeting place was near her home, so it was a relatively long distance.
I paid and got out of the car. The surrounding shops looked high-end, and the food and drink probably weren't cheap.
I'm used to being frugal and didn't want to waste.
But for the sake of figuring out what He Xiaolong meant, I gritted my teeth and entered the restaurant.
I was wearing clothes my uncle had bought for me, so I didn't look out of place in this upscale place.
However, the waiter told me that pets weren't allowed inside and insisted that I leave Huang Jiu at the front desk.
Huang Jiu, who was only thinking about eating a good meal, immediately wanted to use its demonic powers.
To get it inside, I didn't stop it.
After all, it was just a small illusion technique that wouldn't harm anyone.
Just then, I heard a familiar voice from behind, saying, "Let them in!"
The waiter, hearing the voice, immediately changed his attitude 180 degrees.
I turned around and saw Su Dazhuang's back. I didn't even have the chance to say thank you.
I arrived early, but Chen Zihao was earlier, as he was obviously excited about meeting the woman of his dreams.
Not only did he arrive early, but he had also dressed up specially and had a big bouquet of roses on the table.
However, when he saw me, he froze like a scared rabbit and stood up to run.
I quickly rushed over and put my arm around his neck like an old friend, whispering, "If you don't want to embarrass yourself, behave."
Once I stabilized Chen Zihao, I turned to Zhang Ying and said, "Can we get a private room?"
Zhang Ying sounded a little weird as she replied, "The private rooms here are very expensive."
It was inconvenient to speak in public.
I didn't care much, since it was just one private room, and even if it was expensive, how bad could it be?
I signaled her to call the waiter and change the table.
The waiter who had previously stopped me immediately went to assist.
When we entered the room, I thought that Su Dazhuang, like me, was just another customer at the restaurant. But the waiter's reaction made me suspicious.
I asked Zhang Ying in the meantime, "I just saw Su Dazhuang, and the waiters seem really afraid of him. Do you know why?"
Zhang Ying seemed surprised, "This is a western restaurant under the Su family. Didn't you know? Your aunt's family is a well-known restaurant mogul in the provincial capital, they're incredibly rich."
I was taken aback. When I read Su Yimei's face, I had only seen that she came from a wealthy family and was an only child, but I didn't realize how wealthy they really were.
Thinking about it now, I couldn't blame myself for not realizing.
Su Yimei's face only showed her own wealth, and Su Dazhuang wasn't dead yet.
The private room was soon arranged, and I led Chen Zihao inside.
Zhang Ying didn't leave and followed curiously.
Just as I was about to ask Chen Zihao something, the waiter came in to take our order.
I had no choice but to put off my question.
When I opened the menu, my face immediately darkened.
The prices were absurdly high. I wanted to ask the waiter if their steak was gold-plated, as the menu had letters and numbers in front of each item with sky-high prices.
But since I was already here, I decided to just go with it, gritting my teeth and ordering the cheapest dish. I also ordered a children's meal for Huang Jiu.
After Zhang Ying ordered her meal, she handed the menu to Chen Zihao, but I snatched it from her and handed it to the waiter, saying, "He's not hungry."
The waiter didn't ask further and politely closed the door.
Once we were alone, I released my grip on Chen Zihao. Before I could ask anything, he quickly said, "Li Yang, no, Master Li, I'm just an ordinary person. I've realized that I won't get involved with your matters anymore!"
Huang Jiu jumped onto his shoulder and patted his head with its paw, "It's good that you've come to this realization."
Chen Zihao stiffened and nodded.
I said, "I want to know what He Xiaolong means. You've been hanging around with them, so you must have heard something."
Chen Zihao immediately panicked, quickly shaking his head, "I really don't know."
I frowned. I knew that if he were to say something while sober, with his cowardly nature, he'd expose himself the moment he met He Xiaolong. So, I gave Huang Jiu a look.
Huang Jiu's eyes turned green, and Chen Zihao's gaze became vacant as he muttered to himself, "Two days ago, a man named Sun Chao found He Xiaolong to discuss how to deal with you. Sun Chao said they were going to use methods from within the industry to deal with you!"
Sun Chao, Chao'er...
Liu Changxuan's disciple?