Chapter 210: Lost in Thought

“Why can’t I leave?” Shui Miao retorted.

“What’s going on?” Dai Rong was startled and quickly looked behind the car, but there was no one in the back seat. “Who are you talking to?”

“Just focus on driving. This doesn’t concern you,” Shui Miao replied without turning his head, then turned his attention to Bai Feng, the female ghost. “Have you been secretly following me all along?”

“That’s not important. What matters is you can’t leave this town,” Bai Feng coldly replied.

Black Snake Demon, however, gazed cheerfully out the car window.

“Tell me why, or please step aside. I don’t need your protection,” Shui Miao was clearly annoyed, thinking to himself when had he become a prisoner under house arrest?

“If you leave, many people will die, including your loved ones!” Bai Feng’s tone was maddeningly indifferent.

Anger flared in Shui Miao. “Are you saying you’ll kill many people because I leave?”

“It’s not me who will kill them. This is what my master said. Of course, don’t blame me for this. I’ve said what I needed to say. If you still insist on leaving, be prepared to face the consequences.” After saying this, Bai Feng suddenly vanished. When Shui Miao turned his head, he saw she had already exited the car and was standing by the roadside.

“Brother, I’ll leave for now, but I’d like to advise you one thing: fate plays tricks on people. In this world, don’t think you can always do whatever you want,” Black Snake Demon cheerfully said, then joined her by the roadside.

Shui Miao turned his head back, a vague sense of unease rising in his heart. Their words seemed ordinary, yet somehow extremely unusual.

“Crazy people! Thinking you can fool me? No way!”

Shui Miao muttered to himself with a cold expression.

Dai Rong looked at Shui Miao and suddenly noticed that Shui Miao’s appearance had changed, transformed into someone he didn’t recognize.

“Why did your appearance change?”

Dai Rong slammed on the brakes, thinking, “What the hell is this? This isn’t a human, right? How can his appearance change like that? This must be some kind of evil person!”

Shui Miao instinctively looked in the mirror and realized that he had indeed changed. He was no longer Zhang Ling, but had returned to his original appearance.

“…”

But Shui Miao didn’t feel excited; instead, he felt a sense of loss, as if he had done something wrong.

“Strange, haven’t I always wanted to break free from constraints and be my free self? Why do I feel so unhappy after returning to my original appearance?” Shui Miao looked at his hands and muttered to himself, “It must be Bai Feng’s words misleading me. I won’t let her influence me. I must be myself again!”

“Drive. I want to go back to Zhonghai City.”

After thinking for a moment, Shui Miao dispelled his doubts, made up his mind, and decided to go to the county bank to get his money first, then come back once more before returning to Zhonghai City to be himself again. Even if it meant death, he refused to live a hidden life here any longer.

Afraid of the supernatural, Dai Rong dared not act rashly and quickly started driving.

However, the car suddenly stalled before it had gone far.

“I’ll get out to check…”

After several failed attempts to restart the car, Dai Rong informed Shui Miao and hurriedly got out to inspect the vehicle.

Shui Miao suspected something was wrong, could it be Bai Feng’s doing?

So, Shui Miao also got out to check.

However, as soon as Shui Miao got out and walked to the back, he heard the sound of the car starting. It turned out there was a modified kill switch on Dai Rong’s car. Fearing Shui Miao was a supernatural being, Dai Rong secretly pressed the button. Once Shui Miao got out, he quickly got back in, locked the doors, and drove away.

Shui Miao stood on the road, stunned as the car disappeared from sight, never expecting that someone he trusted would pull such a trick.

With no choice, Shui Miao turned back.

Not far down the road, Shui Miao saw a little black boy standing by the roadside. He wasn’t human; he had snake-like eyes and a forked tongue protruding from his mouth. It was a creature created by the Black Snake Demon, whose magical power was limited, capable of producing only such a half-human, half-snake monster.

Seeing Shui Miao return, the Black Snake Demon cheerfully approached: “Senior Daoist, you’ve finally come to your senses and are willing to stay?”

“…”

Shui Miao looked at the Black Snake Demon, unsure how to respond, and sullenly walked back.

“Senior Daoist, actually Bai Feng isn’t that bad. She genuinely wants to help you. If you must blame someone, blame her master. Unfortunately, you’ve already upset her, and she won’t come to help you regain your previous form anymore.” The Black Snake Demon didn’t mind Shui Miao’s silence, instead following beside him like a dog wagging its tail.

“Why are you still following me? Do you want something from me?” Shui Miao frowned.

The Black Snake Demon chuckled, “I knew you’d ask that. My intention is simple—I just want to be friends with you.”

“Friends?”

Shui Miao stopped walking. “Then tell me, do you know about the water ghost in the river before? As a friend, why didn’t you help me then?”

“Uh… Well…”

The Black Snake Demon hesitated. “I can’t say that. I’m just a minor demon. Please don’t ask me such a big question.”

“Is that such a big question?”

Shui Miao snorted. “Since you won’t tell me, I can guess. That water ghost was sent by the local yin god, right?”

“Uh… Hehe…”

The Black Snake Demon awkwardly smiled.

Not denying meant admitting it. Shui Miao concluded that the water ghost was indeed sent by the yin god, and its purpose was likely to test his compassion and willingness to save others.

As for the Black Snake Demon, whether friend or foe, Shui Miao couldn’t quite tell.

Shui Miao took a deep breath and said nothing more.

Shui Miao arrived at the town and looked back, noticing the Black Snake Demon had already disappeared. So he went to Huo Yuanliang’s clothing store. His wife was cooking, and Huo Yuanliang came to greet him. When he saw Shui Miao’s clothes, he was somewhat surprised. Seeing his own reflection in a nearby mirror, Shui Miao hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back.

“You… do you need something?” Huo Yuanliang asked suspiciously.

Shui Miao frowned and asked Huo Yuanliang, “My appearance has changed. Do you still recognize me? Earlier, I took you gambling, and I only brought thirty coins…”

Although his appearance had changed, Shui Miao’s voice remained the same.

This person was indeed the one from earlier, Huo Yuanliang recognized Shui Miao’s eyes. He looked at him in astonishment and said, “What on earth is going on here?”

“It’s hard to explain. You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.” Shui Miao sighed deeply and gave Huo Yuanliang a helpless smile. “Forget about that. Just treat me as a stranger. Earlier, when I came with Mr. Dai to buy clothes, I noticed that the feng shui of your storefront was problematic, so I came to inform you.”

“Your appearance…” Huo Yuanliang stared at Shui Miao, increasingly convinced that this person was indeed the young man who had given him money. However, he couldn’t understand how this young man could completely change his appearance in the blink of an eye.

“Let’s not talk about that. Consider it my bad luck.” Shui Miao waved his hand dismissively, pulled Huo Yuanliang outside, and pointed to the back of the house. “The back of your store faces a river, and there’s a river beneath it as well. Most of the house is built over water, supported only by wooden pillars. This layout is not good, especially since the storefront is already quite old. You’ve been fond of gambling in recent years and often lose, which is directly related to your family’s bathroom directly connecting to this river. Inappropriately put, this store is built on a toilet, which is very inauspicious. I won’t go into many details, but in summary, I think the feng shui here is terrible. You should move with your family to a rented house near your daughter’s school and find a job to settle down properly. The 50,000 yuan I deposited with you earlier can be considered a gift for your daughter’s tuition.”

Shui Miao also told Huo Yuanliang not to gamble anymore before turning to leave.

In reality, Shui Miao came not only to warn Huo Yuanliang about the poor feng shui of his store but also to retrieve the 50,000 yuan. However, knowing his appearance had changed and it would be difficult to reclaim the money, he intentionally mentioned the 50,000 yuan, hoping Huo Yuanliang would chase after him to clarify the matter and then hand over the money.

However, the female ghost Bai Feng appeared and blocked Huo Yuanliang’s view.

Thus, in Huo Yuanliang’s eyes, Shui Miao suddenly vanished!

※※※

“You’re really despicable, doing something like this,” the Black Snake Demon appeared beside Bai Feng.

Bai Feng disdainfully replied, “What do you know? He’s young and impulsive, acting recklessly. He won’t realize his own faults unless he suffers some hardships.”

“Cut it out! Do you even know yourself?” the Black Snake Demon coldly retorted. “All I’ve seen you do is pretend to be a great immortal and try to torment people. I haven’t seen you do anything truly noble. He’s young, capable, cheerful, and responsible. I think he’s at least a hundred times better than you.”

The Black Snake Demon had always looked down on Bai Feng, and verbal sparring between them was common.

Hearing these words, Bai Feng somewhat rudely shouted, “Don’t mess with me on this matter. If my master finds out, she’ll definitely destroy you. It’s fine for you to argue with me, but if you dare to do anything outrageous, I’ll definitely not spare you.”

“Pfft! Again using your master to scare me. Other than this skill, can’t you develop any other abilities?” the Black Snake Demon looked at Bai Feng with disdain, paused, then added, “I’ll tell you this, I’m not done with you on this matter. You caused the death of my representative, Long Wu, and I won’t let you off easily either. Now I’m going to join the yin god. Let’s see what your master can do to me.”

After angrily saying this, the Black Snake Demon suddenly touched Bai Feng’s bottom and quickly ran away.

“Stinky eel! Black eel! One day I’ll skin you alive!”

Bai Feng was born into a noble family and remained alone as a ghost after death, never having been touched by a man. Today, she was molested by the Black Snake Demon, which made her gnash her teeth in anger. Unable to contain her rage, she abandoned Shui Miao and chased after the Black Snake Demon for revenge.

Shui Miao left the town and aimlessly walked along a mountain path, his stomach growling with hunger. As he was thinking about where to find something to eat, he saw a girl of about eighteen or nineteen carrying a bamboo basket of sweet potatoes pass by. Coincidentally, a small sweet potato fell to the ground, and Shui Miao quickly picked it up. However, the girl stopped walking, turned her head, and looked at Shui Miao holding the sweet potato. He blinked and handed it to her.

The girl looked at Shui Miao, didn’t take the sweet potato, but smiled slightly and said, “No need. You can keep it since you found it. It proves that it has a connection with you, hehe… Looking at your appearance, you seem hungry. I’ll give you a couple more.”

The girl took two more sweet potatoes and handed them to Shui Miao.

Never expecting that he had just been a wealthy man with over 3 million yuan, only to become a beggar picking sweet potatoes the next moment, Shui Miao was deeply moved. He didn’t take the sweet potatoes but looked up at the sky, sighing heavily. Instead of taking the girl’s sweet potatoes, he returned the small one he had just picked up to her.

Then, Shui Miao turned around and walked away thoughtfully.

“What a strange person!”

The girl muttered to herself. Seeing that Shui Miao was wearing new clothes, she assumed he wasn’t a beggar and went back home.

Shui Miao didn’t follow the mountain path he had come from but instead took a small trail up the mountain, aimlessly climbing…

Meanwhile, the girl returned home carrying the bamboo basket. Smelling the delicious aroma, she hurriedly put down the basket and ran into the kitchen. Seeing many sumptuous dishes inside and her mother’s cheerful expression, she eagerly grabbed her mother’s hand and asked, “Mom, did Dad win some money? Tell me quickly, tell me!”

This girl was none other than Huo Xiang, Huo Yuanliang’s daughter.