“How could he have such bad luck to win any money!” Xiang Huo’s mother shook her head and smiled. “But he met a benefactor today. A young man gave him twenty thousand after winning money, and before leaving, he even deposited fifty thousand at our home. That young man specially asked your dad to buy two pheasants to stew, saying he’d come over for dinner. We should really thank him later. Daughter, who do you think that young man might be? Why is he so kind to your dad but not to others? Could he be one of your classmates?”
Xiang Huo’s mother naturally thought of her daughter’s classmates. She couldn’t imagine anyone else in their family knowing such a young man.
“I don’t have such a generous classmate! Mom, stop imagining things,” Xiang Huo replied, then murmured thoughtfully, “This feels so suspicious. There’s no such thing as a free lunch from the sky!”
Just as she was speaking, Huo Yuanliang returned home.
Xiang Huo hurriedly went out to meet him. “Dad, what’s going on? Mom said you met a benefactor?”
“Ah!”
Huo Yuanliang sighed. “Don’t even ask, I’m confused myself.”
“What happened, Dad? Tell me, we can’t just accept someone else’s kindness without knowing the reason,” Xiang Huo insisted, being a kind-hearted person who would never accept money without understanding its source.
Huo Yuanliang lit a cigarette, took a couple of puffs, and then recounted his encounter with Shui Miao.
After hearing her father’s story, Xiang Huo felt astonished. She also thought of the young man she had met on the road and quickly said, “Dad, it’s strange—I met a young man on the road, and he was wearing clothes from our shop. His appearance was somewhat similar to your description. He really does seem like a strange person.”
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuanliang immediately stubbed out his cigarette and urged Xiang Huo to go with him to find Shui Miao.
※※※
The sun hung high in the sky as Shui Miao reached the mountains. He noticed a particularly lush pine tree growing on a cliffside. Looking at it from the side, he spotted a small recess near its roots. Curious and without overthinking, he carefully climbed over and discovered a small cave inside, though the stones were scattered in disarray.
It was very quiet here, indeed a good place to hide.
For some inexplicable reason, Shui Miao felt this place suited him perfectly.
“I’ll just sit here and think about life for a while!” Shui Miao sighed and sat down on the roots of the pine tree, lost in deep contemplation. Which path should he take next? Spiritual generals, thousand-year-old female ghosts, celestial pursuit, jade pendants, seals, bad luck, purple fortune, good and evil—so many things mixed together, causing him great pain.
At twenty years old, having experienced so much, it was normal for him to feel restless and uncertain about his future.
Since cultivating his celestial powers, Shui Miao’s intelligence and mental resilience had surpassed that of ordinary people, yet he still couldn’t find his direction.
He needed to calm down and think deeply about life.
However, his stomach growled loudly from hunger, making it impossible to concentrate.
Feeling frustrated, Shui Miao couldn’t help but miss the days when he possessed celestial powers—no need to eat, always full of energy.
“I won’t eat! Absolutely not!”
Shui Miao gritted his teeth and decided to starve for a few days. When he was nearly dying of hunger, the jade pendant would definitely save him, and perhaps even dispel the seal.
After sitting in the cave for a while, Shui Miao suddenly heard someone calling him from outside.
It was Huo Yuanliang’s voice.
“This guy is really sincere—he actually found me here…” Shui Miao disliked making sincere people wait, so he climbed up and saw Huo Yuanliang and his daughter, Xiang Huo: “You’re not looking for me, are you?”
“Oh my! Young man, how did you get here?”
Huo Yuanliang hurriedly approached.
“You?” Xiang Huo was somewhat surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t speak to our benefactor like that,” Huo Yuanliang scolded his daughter with a glare and turned back with an apologetic smile. “Young man, your legs are really fast. Just a moment ago I lost sight of you. I didn’t expect you’d be encountered by my daughter. Come on, let’s go home and have a meal.”
“Wait…”
Shui Miao sensed something wrong and quickly asked, “You mean when I left your house, you immediately lost sight of me?”
“Yes! Just like that!” Huo Yuanliang naturally wouldn’t lie.
Shui Miao’s eyes flickered, and he frowned. “It must be that damned Bai Feng. What does she want this time?”
Huo Yuanliang and his daughter exchanged glances. Xiang Huo directly asked, “Can you tell me why you helped my dad? Why did you give us money?”
“You don’t understand the situation, so don’t speak recklessly. You’re being disrespectful,” Huo Yuanliang disliked his daughter’s tone toward their benefactor.
Shui Miao looked at Xiang Huo, then at Huo Yuanliang, and smiled faintly at Xiang Huo. “You must think I’m a bad person, right? Actually, it’s quite normal. If I were you, I would also be suspicious. But I don’t want to explain too much, nor do I want to get too involved with your family, because knowing too much might endanger you. Also, Uncle Huo, I suggest you reconsider what I told you earlier. That shop really has terrible feng shui. I don’t expect anything from you, but if you feel guilty, just give me back ten thousand of the fifty thousand yuan. I need it to return to Hai City.”
“Well… that’s actually not a problem, but since your appearance has changed, I’m a bit uneasy. I have three questions for you. If you answer them all correctly, I’ll give you all fifty thousand yuan, okay?” Huo Yuanliang had never considered keeping the fifty thousand yuan for himself; he only wanted to confirm Shui Miao’s identity.
“Okay, go ahead. But I only need ten thousand. The rest can be for your daughter’s education,” Shui Miao agreed with a nod.
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuanliang felt somewhat embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head and awkwardly raised three fingers. “First, how many times did you play the gambling machine, and on which attempt did you win? Also, how many years ago did I start liking gambling?”
“I played three times and won on the third. You started gambling three years ago. Because you lost money, you originally wanted to commit suicide by jumping into the river, but I stopped you. The reason I gave you money is because I felt capable of helping, so why not? And the reason I changed my appearance is because this is actually what I originally looked like. The previous me was actually the appearance of Zhang Ling from the Shuilong Ridge Village.” Shui Miao not only answered the three questions but also resolved Xiang Huo’s doubts.
Hearing that her father had once considered suicide for her sake, Xiang Huo was deeply moved, but she quickly asked her final question. “Then why can you change into his appearance? Don’t tell me it’s just makeup.”
“Do you really want to know?”
Shui Miao fixed his gaze on Xiang Huo and noticed something special about her appearance—her eyes seemed to have a slight spiritual aura.
Xiang Huo nodded. “If what you’re saying is true, then I want to know.”
“Don’t ask anymore, just leave!”
A sudden cold female voice rang out.
Bai Feng, the ghost, suddenly appeared beside Shui Miao. She floated mid-air, dressed entirely in white, with disheveled hair. Her pitch-black eyes, devoid of pupils, were horrifying, and her hands were nothing but white bones…
In broad daylight, a ghost had appeared out of nowhere!
Even Shui Miao, who considered himself brave, was startled by Bai Feng.
Surprisingly, Xiang Huo wasn’t scared at all. Instead, she stepped forward and questioned Bai Feng. “Who are you?”
“What the heck!”
Shui Miao was momentarily stunned. What was going on with this girl? Why wasn’t she afraid of ghosts? Could she possibly be missing a few brain cells?
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