Chapter 23: Internal Strife

“What was that!?”

Shui Miao’s heart jolted. But in the next moment, he instinctively rushed forward, grabbed Sun Jihong’s hand, and yanked him up, pulling him behind his back. Looking back at the pool, he saw the black mist receding and slowly vanishing into thin air.

Could it really be a ghost?

Shui Miao was shocked. The moment Sun Jihong collapsed, the black mist appeared. If it truly was a ghost, then it had targeted Sun Jihong specifically.

It was even possible that Sun Jijun’s injured leg had something to do with this spirit.

Sun Jihong turned his head to look at Shui Miao, then back at the pool. Suddenly, he recalled how Shen Li’e had fallen from upstairs and landed on the sharp edge of the pool, killing her instantly. Fear gripped him. “Brother Shui, did you… see something?”

His voice trembled slightly, and his eyes looked dazed.

“Nothing much. Let’s just leave here first,” Shui Miao glanced at Sun Jihong and pulled his arm, leading him out of the courtyard and toward the main road.

Sun Jihong obediently followed behind, unusually quiet this time.

Wang Yong rubbed his chin thoughtfully and followed behind Shui Miao.

As he walked, he pondered: Old Xiong Ying had never taken a disciple his entire life, only accepting one in his old age. That meant Shui Miao must have inherited his true skills. Perhaps he could see things ordinary people couldn’t. Judging from Shui Miao’s reaction, he might have seen something. In theory, spirits needed to attach themselves to a deceased person’s belongings to remain in existence, meaning there must be something particularly significant buried beneath the pool.

Wang Yong had once been a grave robber, an expert in the dead and their tombs, and naturally had his own methods for dealing with supernatural entities. But he had no intention of taking action himself. Old Xiong had taken all the money—so naturally, it should be his responsibility to handle this mess. Wang Yong intended to simply stand aside and enjoy the show.

As he walked, Wang Yong suddenly grinned smugly. Today promised to be quite entertaining.

※※※

Shui Miao used the same trick again, leading Sun Jihong a hundred meters away before finally revealing what he had seen.

After hearing the explanation, Sun Jihong stood there, stunned.

Wang Yong, watching from the side, rubbed his chin and quietly calculated. Just as he had suspected, Shui Miao could see the same things Old Xiong could. That meant for future matters, he could approach Shui directly instead of dealing with that cursed Old Xiong anymore.

“So, what should I do now!?”

Sun Jihong panicked. “Brother Shui, Uncle Wang, you’ve got to save me!”

Hearing Sun Jihong beg for help, Shui Miao scratched his head in frustration. He could only see the black mist—he didn’t know any Taoist techniques. He wanted to help, but had no idea where to start.

Seeing Shui Miao helpless, Sun Jihong looked even more pitiful. Wang Yong felt sympathy welling up and, with a heavy sigh, patted Sun Jihong’s arm. “Don’t panic. We’re here to help you. Your elder brother already told us about Shen Li’e. Whether you lied to him or not, I don’t know. But right now, the priority is to act while the yang energy is strong. Call a bulldozer here quickly, dig up that pool, and hire a bunch of workers to gather all of Shen Li’e’s belongings and burn them all together. That’s exactly why I urged you to call people earlier.”

Experience showed its value—Wang Yong spoke with the authority of a seasoned expert.

Understanding the situation clearly, Sun Jihong wasted no time, immediately calling around to arrange help.

Earlier, when Sun Jijun had called him, he had stubbornly refused to call anyone out of resentment over being beaten.

Now aware of the seriousness of the situation, he no longer dared to act recklessly.

Even the matter of the drugs hidden in the clothes no longer seemed important.

Sun Jihong had one fatal flaw—he was terrified of ghosts.

Twenty minutes later, Xiong Ying arrived at the gate on a tricycle. Seeing everyone waiting outside instead of going to the villa, he was puzzled.

When he saw his grandfather, Shui Miao quickly recounted what he had seen—the black mist. He had expected his grandfather to take it seriously, but instead, Xiong Ying not only dismissed him, but impatiently scolded, “You kid, learning a bit of superficial knowledge and then running around chattering. You claim to see black mist? I think you’re seeing things. I’ve spent my entire life cultivating my abilities, and you’ve only been with me a few days and already think you’re some expert?”

“…”

Shui Miao was speechless. His grandfather clearly didn’t believe him.

“Master…”

Sun Jihong didn’t know what to say. He found Wang Yong’s explanation convincing, but after all, Xiong Ying was the master.

“Don’t worry, I’ll fix this for you right away,” Xiong Ying raised his hand, interrupting Sun Jihong, and solemnly told him, “Listen to me—call more people quickly. Better yet, get a bulldozer to dig up the pool and the surrounding soil, then gather all of Shen Li’e’s belongings and burn them all together.”

Xiong Ying’s words were almost identical to Wang Yong’s.

Sun Jihong listened in stunned silence. Only after Xiong Ying finished did he reply, “Master, I’ve already made the calls. What you’re saying, Uncle Wang just said earlier.”

“Uh…”

Xiong Ying was momentarily taken aback and looked at Wang Yong in disbelief.

Wang Yong grinned faintly, slung an arm over Shui Miao’s shoulder, and said mockingly, “I was just talking nonsense. I don’t know anything about feng shui. Don’t listen to me, Jihong. Just follow Master Xiong’s instructions.”

When their words were identical, Wang Yong still said that—clearly mocking Xiong Ying’s lack of real ability.

“Right, feng shui isn’t something just anyone can learn. Occasionally guessing a few superficial details doesn’t count for much,” Xiong Ying paused, then replied in a sarcastic tone.

“Haha!” Wang Yong laughed out loud. “Master, your skills are impressive, your magical powers boundless. How long do you plan to take to resolve the matter at the Sun family villa? Surely you don’t intend to just clean things up and dig up a pool and call it done? If that’s the case, twenty thousand yuan seems far too easy to earn. I’m friends with Mr. Sun—unless you handle this matter thoroughly, I won’t be able to explain it to him.”

Wang Yong wasn’t exactly a noble character either—he simply couldn’t get over the money issue.

Hearing this, Xiong Ying finally understood. Wang Yong was upset about the money. Judging from his attitude, he had no intention of acknowledging their godfather-godson relationship and even seemed intent on sabotaging the Sun family’s case. In fact, Xiong Ying had already divided the twenty thousand into three parts, planning to give each person a share. But their ideas of how to divide it differed sharply—Wang Yong wanted to split it evenly into thirds, while Xiong Ying planned to give ten thousand to one person and five thousand each to the other two. At the time, Xiong Ying had put on that cold, heartless act because he had been annoyed watching Wang Yong monopolize the money box. He had deliberately acted that way to teach Wang Yong a lesson about respecting his godfather.

But Xiong Ying hadn’t expected Wang Yong to rebel against him over such a trivial matter!

This infuriated him. Who would dare adopt such an ungrateful godson?

Licking his lips, Xiong Ying suddenly chuckled coldly and calmly said to Wang Yong, “The yin spirit in the villa is extremely powerful. Brother Wang, you’ve spent half your life dealing with the dead. Why don’t you come up with a solution to completely resolve the Sun family’s problem? If you do, I’ll give you the twenty thousand yuan. How does that sound?”

Xiong Ying, cunning and calculating, chose not to argue over the moment but instead turned the tables, challenging Wang Yong to solve the problem.

In reality, Xiong Ying knew full well that Wang Yong couldn’t solve it.

He was simply trying to embarrass Wang Yong and teach him a lesson to behave better in the future.

But Wang Yong couldn’t resist the challenge and swallowed the bait. He immediately responded, “Fine! That was your own suggestion, Master. If I don’t resolve today’s matter, I won’t be able to keep my reputation. But I have one condition—I need an assistant. Your young apprentice, my godson, should help me carry things and assist me.”

Wang Yong had his reasons—Shui Miao’s ability to see the black mist could be of great help.

But in Xiong Ying’s eyes, Shui Miao was just a child with no real usefulness.

“That’s no problem. Let him help you all you want,” Xiong Ying confidently stroked his beard. “But I must warn you—Shui Miao hasn’t had much exposure to this kind of thing. Don’t make him your front-line assistant.”

“Haha, I’m his godfather. Would I really risk him?” Wang Yong smiled, then turned to wave at Shui Miao and Sun Jihong. “Come on, follow me to my place to get the equipment. I guarantee I’ll resolve this within three hours.”

“Master, I…”

Sun Jihong felt uneasy. In his mind, Wang Yong was just an ordinary person.

Xiong Ying smiled faintly and gently waved his hand. “Go ahead. He was quite capable in his youth. As for whether he’s still capable now—I can’t say.”

“What are we waiting for? Hurry up!” Wang Yong grabbed Sun Jihong’s arm and pulled him away.