After Qin Gang was frightened away, he immediately packed his things, closed the door, and left, never daring to provoke Shui Miao again.
Wang Quezi and Zhang Xiazi failed to obtain any important information from Sun Xianggu, but they saw the answer on Sun Xianggu’s face. When they returned and saw that Qin Gang had fled, both grew anxious and hid inside their shops, afraid to show their faces outside.
In this round of confrontation, Shui Miao had emerged completely victorious.
But the story was far from over—it had only just begun.
Many fortune-tellers and charlatans who ran shops nearby sensed something unusual and wisely kept their mouths shut, afraid to gossip carelessly.
Three or four hours passed, and Shui Miao lay motionless on his reclining chair, like a stone statue or a mannequin.
Around four or five o’clock in the afternoon, fortune tellers and clients gradually began to appear on Ghost Street.
Normally, Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi’s shops were bustling with business, but today, they had no customers at all.
In contrast, Sun Xianggu’s place was flooded with clients, keeping her extremely busy.
As for Shui Miao’s booth, naturally, no one came.
Most people who saw Shui Miao’s sign thought it was just a joke. Those who showed a little interest approached, but upon seeing the dirty, old reclining chair beneath him and the mess inside the shop, they quickly realized this was just a prank.
So, no one sought out Shui Miao for a fortune reading.
It wasn’t until seven o’clock in the evening that Sun Xianggu finally saw off her last customer.
Today had been exhausting for Sun Xianggu and the little fox spirit attached to her. To avoid provoking Shui Miao, Sun Xianggu had not only served each customer wholeheartedly but also charged less money than usual. Her attached fox spirit had been running back and forth, equally exhausted.
Just as Sun Xianggu started cooking dinner, Wang Quezi and Zhang Xiazi quietly showed up.
Zhang Xiazi was blind in one eye but still had sight in the other.
Zhang Xiazi said his other eye hurt, and Wang Quezi said his other leg ached, and they wanted Sun Xianggu to help examine them.
Sun Xianggu, who had a fox spirit attached to her, understood in her heart that this was related to Shui Miao.
So Sun Xianggu thought to herself: this couldn’t go on like this. She should take Wang Quezi and Zhang Xiazi to visit Shui Miao and try to resolve the issue peacefully. But the moment this thought crossed her mind, she heard Shui Miao’s voice echoing in her heart, warning her not to meddle—scaring her so much that she immediately pushed Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi out the door.
Confused and muttering to themselves, Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi thought of Shui Miao again.
Their pain was unbearable, so the two decided to visit Shui Miao again. But just as they approached him, they suddenly saw Shui Miao vanish into thin air. Wang Quezi was startled, looking around frantically but seeing no one.
Yet when they returned to their shop, Wang Quezi glanced back and saw Shui Miao sitting again on the reclining chair as if he had never left.
Wang Quezi froze—he finally realized Shui Miao was a true master!
Zhang Xiazi was equally terrified. The two hurried back, prepared gifts, and carried them in large and small packages, wearing forced smiles as they approached Shui Miao. This time, Shui Miao did not disappear, but neither did he move—he remained lying still, looking more like a statue than a living person.
Before the two old men could even open their mouths, Shui Miao spoke coolly, “Have you done too much evil and finally received your karmic retribution, causing your whole body to ache and keeping you from sleeping?”
“Uh…”
Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi exchanged glances. Despite their age, they had never felt so humiliated before.
“Oh, still not convinced?”
Shui Miao repeated his trick, lifting the leaf covering his face to reveal a pair of bloodshot eyes, making Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi leap backward in fear, trembling uncontrollably.
“Master… Master, have mercy! We were wrong, we know we were wrong!”
“Great Immortal, we’re sorry! We’ll never dare again, never again…”
Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi hurriedly apologized, nearly dropping to their knees.
“Hmph!” Shui Miao glared coldly at the two old men, who stood like students being scolded by a teacher, too afraid to lift their heads. “You two old fools have truly wasted your years of life. Relying only on superficial mystical techniques learned from books, you’ve been deceiving people’s money and committing heinous deeds. You’ve suffered heavenly punishment—one became blind, the other crippled. Logically, you should have reflected on your actions after receiving such karma, but you still haven’t changed your ways…”
“I was wrong! I’ll definitely change, definitely!”
“I’ll change too…”
Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi couldn’t figure out Shui Miao’s true abilities. The more they thought, the more frightened they became, trembling more violently.
“Enough. No more words. Since you two can’t sleep anyway, go clean my shop thoroughly. Stretch your necks, exercise a bit, and I guarantee your pain will disappear.”
Shui Miao placed the leaf back over his face.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi felt immediate relief. They rushed back to grab cleaning tools, not waiting for help, and began cleaning with utmost seriousness and diligence.
Shui Miao’s shop was dirty but nearly empty.
One blind man and one lame man worked until midnight, finally leaving the shop spotless.
Suddenly, they realized their eyes and legs no longer hurt!
After emptying the trash and washing their hands, they returned together, intending to greet Shui Miao, only to find that Shui Miao had already left his reclining chair. Before him stood a mother and daughter.
It was the middle of the night—could they be Shui Miao’s relatives?
Filled with curiosity, Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi slowly approached.
Coming closer, they recognized the pair: a homeless mother and daughter who lived under a nearby bridge. The mother had some mental issues, and the daughter suffered from severe anemia. They were often seen begging around the shops, so everyone knew them—especially the little girl, only six or seven years old, thin and frail, pitiful to behold.
“These food items were gifts from the two old gentlemen behind me. I don’t need them, so I’ll give them to you. Please don’t be shy—go ahead and eat.”
Shui Miao opened the gift packages brought by Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi, letting the girl and her mother eat.
“That’s strange,” Wang Quezi whispered in confusion. “That crazy woman usually only asks for money and never eats anything given by others—she fears poison might harm her daughter. Why is she acting so differently today?” Indeed, the two were clearly starving, devouring an entire bag of cakes within moments.
Zhang Xiazi, squinting vaguely at the pair, sighed, “Haven’t you seen how hungry they are? I’ll go get some water…”
Hearing this, Wang Quezi immediately decided to go fetch water too.
“Wait…”
Shui Miao suddenly called out to them: “Zhang Xiazi, have your granddaughter take them to your shop to bathe, and serve them well. Then you and Wang Quezi move a bed into my shop so they can stay here. I’ll go get them some clothes now. Soon, their family will be reunited.”
“Reunited? What do you mean?”
Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi were instantly stunned, completely confused by Shui Miao’s words.
Shui Miao’s eyes had already returned to their usual clarity. He stood up and stretched deeply, saying, “Do you really think I’ve just been sleeping since noon? I won’t hide anything from you—I’ve been silently observing everything around me. When I learned of their plight, I decided to help them, cure the mother’s mental illness, and give them a better life. As the saying goes, ‘the cure for a troubled heart must come from the heart.’ Coincidentally, I also know that the girl’s father will soon come here with a knife to attack me.”
“Eh…”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi were even more stunned and confused.
“Alright, alright, it’s pointless explaining it to you now,” Shui Miao said with a slight nod. “You’ll understand later. Now, follow my instructions immediately…”
“Yes, yes!”
Zhang Xiazi and Wang Quezi hurried off to carry out the tasks.
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