Chapter 264: Chapter 264 This Time I’m Charging One Hundred Thousand_1
"Boss, this master you’re looking for has quite the temper, huh?" Zhao Yuansi couldn’t help but say after seeing the other party hang up on Su Xuan.
"He does have a bit of a master’s temperament." Su Xuan didn’t know why the old man had hung up on him, so he immediately dialed again.
But this time, the old man simply didn’t answer.
"We’ll have to go to his house to find him." Su Xuan checked the business card. It had not only the old man’s name but also his address. He opened his navigation app and headed straight there.
Zhao Yuansi showed remarkable patience. The colder the old man treated Su Xuan, the more patient Zhao Yuansi became.
After all, how could a true master be so easily met? He was even worried that the money he had brought wasn’t enough.
More than forty minutes later, Su Xuan drove into a run-down urban village. This village was far from the city center, and many houses had the word "Demolish" painted on them, signaling that a new wave of nouveau riche would soon emerge from this area.
"Is Master Zhou Xingxue at home?" Su Xuan shouted toward the gate of a courtyard. The name on the business card was indeed Zhou Xingxue.
But after a long wait, there was no response.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
Su Xuan had no choice but to raise his hand and knock continuously.
CREAK!
A moment later, the door cracked open. A head wrapped in white bandages poked through the gap. "Stop bothering me. I’m not available to see you right now."
"Master Zhou, didn’t you say to look for you if I needed help?" Su Xuan said, using his hand to keep the door from closing.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder why old Zhou’s head was bandaged. Could he have been beaten up? Or did Master Zhou really transfer my bad luck onto himself and have an accident? If it was the latter, then there was quite a story here!
"Come back in a few days!" Zhou Xingxue said with a cold expression.
He was too embarrassed to admit the real reason he didn’t want to see Su Xuan. He thought he had absorbed some kind of romantic luck from Su Xuan, but it turned out to be misfortune. He’d been horribly smacked in the head by an advertising sign! After waking up in the hospital, he had silently vowed never to see Su Xuan again—it was just too embarrassing!
"Master, please lend us your help!" Zhao Yuansi, ever savvy, opened his briefcase to reveal the stacks of cash inside.
Zhou Xingxue’s eyes lit up at the sight, and a warm smile instantly blossomed on his face.
"Please, come in!" Zhou Xingxue threw the door wide open and gestured them inside, making Su Xuan’s jaw drop. He and Zhao Yuansi then walked into Zhou Xingxue’s courtyard together.
WOOF~
In the courtyard, a dirty corgi barked perfunctorily at their arrival before ignoring them completely. Besides the dog, there were also several listless geese.
Zhou Xingxue’s dwelling was shabby, consisting of a few single-story houses.
"Please, come inside and have a seat!" Zhou Xingxue invited Su Xuan and Zhao Yuansi into the house.
The room reeked of must, and crumpled balls of paper were scattered across the floor.
"No need," Su Xuan said, getting straight to the point as Zhou Xingxue moved to pour them some water. "Master Zhou, my friend here also seems to be plagued by bad luck. Would you mind taking a look at him?"
"I’ll have to trouble you, Master," Zhao Yuansi said, quickly stepping forward to stand before Zhou Xingxue.
"Hold on a moment." Zhou Xingxue first glanced at Zhao Yuansi’s face, then shot Su Xuan a look. "I’d like to have a word with you alone."
"Alright!" Su Xuan followed Zhou Xingxue into the back room.
"Young man, may I have your name?" Zhou Xingxue asked.
"My surname is Su, given name Xuan," Su Xuan replied.
"Ah, a great name!" Zhou Xingxue said. "Brother Su, there’s something I need to tell you."
"Go ahead," Su Xuan said.
"Your friend’s bag has a hundred thousand yuan in it, right?" Zhou Xingxue whispered.
"About that," Su Xuan nodded.
"This time, the fee is one hundred thousand!" Zhou Xingxue declared.
"Brother Zhou, you can’t just jack up the price on the spot!" Su Xuan protested. "You only charged me one hundred yuan last time!"
"Ahem..." Zhou Xingxue’s mouth twitched. Damn it, do you have any idea what a huge loss I took charging you a hundred yuan? He then adopted a serious expression. "Times have changed. I’ve found that his misfortune is even more severe than yours—the kind that can be fatal. Naturally, the fee is higher. We’re talking about a human life, after all!"
"Is it really that serious?"
"Extremely serious!"
"Then what happened to your head?" Su Xuan finally asked the question that had been bugging him. "Was it from transferring my misfortune?"
"That’s none of your concern," Zhou Xingxue said. "In any case, the price is one hundred thousand yuan!"
"Then it’s up to your skills," Su Xuan shrugged. "It’s not my money, anyway."
"Good!"
Zhou Xingxue walked out of the back room and stood before Zhao Yuansi. He stroked the white beard on his chin and said with a profound, mysterious air, "You’re lucky you met me. Otherwise, you definitely wouldn’t survive the night!"
A shiver went down Zhao Yuansi’s spine. He said hastily, "Please, Master, help me avert this disaster immediately!"
Watching from the side, Su Xuan wanted to laugh. It was the same old routine from that afternoon! He didn’t say anything. As long as Zhou Xingxue could bluff Zhao Yuansi into dropping any thoughts of resigning, Su Xuan was willing to pay the hundred thousand yuan himself. A hundred thousand to keep an experienced, savvy company executive was worth it!
"Let me be clear, my fee is quite high!" Zhou Xingxue stated.
"As long as I can be safe, money is no object," Zhao Yuansi replied readily.
"Very good!" Zhou Xingxue nodded in satisfaction. "Then let us begin!"
With that, Zhou Xingxue inexplicably left the room. When he returned, he was holding a large goose. He tossed the goose down in front of Zhao Yuansi and announced, "I will transfer your misfortune onto this goose. This will ensure your safety!"
"Yes, yes!" Zhao Yuansi nodded frantically.
Su Xuan, however, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
When he had been in the back room earlier, he had seen another goose in the corner—a dead one! Could it be that Zhou Xingxue had transferred the misfortune he took from me onto that goose, and it died as a result?
Next, Zhou Xingxue took a piece of chalk and drew a circle around Zhao Yuansi, adorning its edge with many incomprehensible patterns.
THUMP!
Zhou Xingxue suddenly dropped to his knees. He grabbed Zhao Yuansi’s hand with one of his own and the goose’s neck with the other, then began to chant. If this was a ritual, it was far more formal than the one Su Xuan had received.
"This time, I am not transferring the misfortune directly to myself, but to this goose," Zhou Xingxue explained hurriedly, as if afraid Su Xuan might interrupt. "This kind of secondary calamity transfer is much harder to perform!"
Time ticked by. Five or six minutes later, Zhou Xingxue released Zhao Yuansi’s hand.
"Is it done, Master?" Zhao Yuansi asked as he helped Zhou Xingxue to his feet.
"Shouldn’t you be able to feel for yourself whether it is or not?" Zhou Xingxue countered.
"I..." Zhao Yuansi shook his body. "I feel... lighter, somehow. It’s as if I was wearing a heavy cotton coat before, and now that coat is gone."
Just as he said this, the unexpected happened...