Next to her, Sun Keke was a bit bewildered. She tugged at Chen Nuo's sleeve and whispered, "Chen Nuo, what's going on?"
"I'll tell you in a bit," Chen Nuo patted the girl, then shielded his girlfriend and the young girl behind him, looking down from his height at the fake monk on the ground. "What kind of scheme are you running? Are there any accomplices? Where are they?"
The fake monk gasped for air on the ground, then lifted his head. "Brother, you've really wronged me!...I understand now, I must've guessed everything correctly just now, right?"
"Yeah, you guessed it right," Chen Nuo scoffed. "Isn't that obvious! It was all your doing, wasn't it? First, you set someone up, then you show up pretending to be a sage?"
"Not at all!"
The fake monk shook his head.
"No?"
"Really no!"
Suddenly the fake monk shouted, "I have evidence, evidence!"
As he spoke, he fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "Brother, I understand your suspicions...but I'm really wronged! The young lady's misfortune must have started several days ago, right?
But I just arrived in Jinling this afternoon! Don't believe me? Look, this is my train ticket from today!"
Chen Nuo took it with a frown.
It indeed was a train ticket, freshly issued for a trip from neighboring Hui Province to Jinling City in Su Province that afternoon.
The ticket didn't look fake.
Chen Nuo, being very detail-oriented, thought for a moment and, regardless of the fake monk's struggling, reached out and felt the man's clothing.
He felt several pockets and the fabric but found no secret pockets.
The only thing on him was this single train ticket, no others.
A street swindler doing this kind of scam would have a few extra fake tickets if they were fake.
"I'm really not a swindler. You're truly mistaken, young brother," the fake monk sighed.
Chen Nuo pulled him up from the ground but still frowned.
If he's not a swindler... then his reading was too accurate.
Sun Keke really had been plagued with bad luck these past few days.
Could it be just a coincidence that he guessed it right?
"Then tell me what you intend to do," Chen Nuo said, eyeing the man.
The fake monk's gaze drifted for a moment, and he chuckled. "I really am a practitioner of this craft. I happened upon you on the road, and when I saw this female patron..."
"Enough, cut the patron talk."
"Okay okay okay, this young lady," the fake monk quickly corrected. "I saw she was indeed troubled. Since it's my area of study and I've encountered you, that's fate. We could form a good connection..."
"Stop going in circles, just say it," Chen Nuo cut him off.
"Okay okay okay," the fake monk hurried. "I have an Amulet! I can give it to you, take it for the young lady, it'll ward off calamities."
"..." Chen Nuo narrowed his eyes at the man.
The man forced a smile. "That's really all there is to it... I'm not lying, I'm not a swindler laying traps to con people's money! I truly only arrived in Jinling at noon."
"Hmm, the Amulet certainly isn't given for free, is it?"
"Uh, that..."
"Speak, how much?"
"...Eight... six... five... five hundred!"
He wanted to start at eight hundred, but seeing the young man's sharp gaze, the fake monk quickly dropped to five, at which point Chen Nuo's gaze softened slightly.
"Five hundred! Just five hundred! This Amulet of mine, I made it myself, and it's been blessed in front of the Bodhisattva and the Three Pure Ones! Five hundred's a deal, you won't be at a loss!"
"Your Bodhisattva and the Three Pure Ones cooperate to bless things?" Chen Nuo frowned at the man.
"Uh..." The man simply shut his mouth.
The whole situation was riddled with strangeness and oddity.
On one hand, the man did not appear to be part of any scheme... But if he were a street swindler who just happened to guess right, hitting the nail on the head with Sun Keke's recent troubles, that was indeed bizarre.
After a brief consideration, Chen Nuo took out five hundred yuan from his wallet and handed it to the fake monk.
"Ah, Chen Nuo!" Sun Keke was startled from behind. "What are you doing? That's five hundred yuan!"
Chen Nuo shook his head and looked back at Sun Keke. "I just feel something's been off with you lately. Consider it buying peace of mind," he said, still handing over the money.
The fake monk, trembling, took the money, counted it once himself, then fumbled in his sleeve and pulled out a small object.
Chen Nuo took it and laughed.
It was just a small Pixiu carved from stone.
The stone was ordinary.
The craftsmanship was quite crude.
Such an item, if sold at the Confucius Temple market, could fetch you two dozen with change to spare for five hundred yuan.
"Is this it?"
"That's it," said the fake monk with a sorrowful look. "I really made it with my own hands."
As he said this, he stretched out his left hand, showing a band-aid on his thumb. "I even cut my finger while carving it."
Upon close examination, Chen Nuo noted that the man's fingers were indeed thick at the joints, and there were several obvious old scars from cuts, indicating he was an experienced carver.
"How many years have you been carving?"
"Three to five years."
"After three to five years, your carvings are still this ugly."
"..."
Damn it! If you're going to buy it, just buy it. You don't have to be so insulting!
The fake monk swallowed nervously and dared not say anything.
Chen Nuo examined the small Pixiu, weighing it in his hand. "Alright, I'll take it."
With that, he lightly patted the man's shoulder.
With this pat, a faint Telekinetic force silently entered the man's body.
Though it wasn't as advanced as Lu Xixi's ability that could work like a navigation map.
After absorbing the power from the Wizard's Rune, Chen Nuo's control over Telekinesis had improved significantly.
As long as the man didn't leave Jinling City, Chen Nuo, if he searched carefully, could find him using his Telekinesis.
Having received the money, the fake monk didn't dare linger and took off as fast as he could.
Chen Nuo toyed with the stone-carved Pixiu in his hand and then put it into Sun Keke's hand. "Keep it safe, it cost five hundred yuan."
Sun Keke's face showed a touch of heartache. "Chen Nuo, that's 500 yuan! You don't make much in a month, how can you spend money like that?"
Chen Nuo knew Sun Keke was not stingy by nature, and what she said was purely out of concern for him.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Nuo took Sun Keke's hand and said softly, "It's for peace of mind. You've indeed been pretty unlucky lately, even though the incidents haven't been serious... but it's for some peace of mind.
500 yuan isn't expensive! I'd feel heartache even if you lost a single strand of your hair."
Sun Keke still felt heartache, but after hearing his words, she couldn't help but soften inside and found it hard to say anything more.
She meticulously placed the item into her pocket—even though Sun Keke wasn't particularly impressed by it, in her heart, she thought that after all, it was something her boyfriend had spent nearly a month's salary on, so she carefully kept it away.
The young girl might not be very old, but she was sensible.
She knew it was a foolish thing to do, yet it was her boyfriend showing his concern for her.
Otherwise, who would spend 500 yuan on a worthless stone? If it weren't for her, with Chen Nuo's nature of not wanting to be taken advantage of, how could he have done it!
The three of them walked back from the street and, after some time, arrived at the hotel where Old Jiang was holding the banquet.
At the entrance of the hall, they happened to run into Brother Haonan who had just been parking his bicycle at the roadside.
Zhang Linsheng saw Chen Nuo and Sun Keke from a distance and greeted them, then walked over after locking his bike.
Chen Nuo sized up Zhang Linsheng and smiled. "I haven't seen you at martial arts training these last few days, and I haven't come across you at school either. Where have you gone off to?"
What was just a casual remark, unexpectedly made Zhang Linsheng blush and he stammered a few times, "I, I didn't go anywhere, just, just stayed at home."
Chen Nuo squinted at his nominal senior brother, intending to ask a few more questions, but due to Sun Keke's presence, it wasn't convenient to probe further…
Well, if Zhang Linsheng wasn't good with his words and accidentally blurted out something about a 'wife,' who would be blamed if things went south?
Holding back his curiosity... Actually, Chen Nuo was just eager to gossip a little about how student Lin Sheng's romantic troubles were going.
The other day, after Brother Lei had taken Zhang Linsheng out for drinks, Brother Lei later called and briefed Chen Nuo about the situation.
Chen Nuo figured this guy must have found his answer.
But as for how things developed afterward, Chen Nuo was somewhat interested in hearing the gossip.
Zhang Linsheng took a fruit basket out from his bike's basket and from a single-shoulder bag he was carrying, wrapped in newspaper, two packs of Jinling Cigarettes.
Carrying them, he followed Chen Nuo and the others into the hotel and upstairs.
Back in the private room, the adults had finished playing cards and were sitting there, chatting over tea.
Auntie Song had taken her medicine today and was in good spirits, occasionally cracking a witty remark when she was in a happy mood, contributing to the joyful atmosphere in the room.
The arrival of Zhang Linsheng lifted Old Jiang's spirits even further, but the fact that Lin Sheng brought a fruit basket and cigarettes made Old Jiang somewhat emotional; with so many people around, he didn't want to reject the kind gesture from his disciple.
But he was determined that after dinner, when they were going home, he would make the kid take the cigarettes back, no matter what.
Speaking of his two disciples, judging individually, Zhang Linsheng held a much higher place in Old Jiang's heart compared to Chen Nuo.
That little rascal, with his sporadic commitment and his constant cheeky demeanor.
Every time he saw this guy, he just couldn't help but get annoyed.
Previously, under the pretext of make-up classes, he came to my house and turned the little tutoring class I ran into a place for his romantic pursuits.
Okay, actually, none of that is the most important thing.
The most important thing is...
I don't know why, or for what reason.
Every time Old Jiang saw Chen Nuo, an inexplicable discomfort stirred deep in his heart.
I just feel that whenever this young man smiles at me, it makes my scalp tingle.
I always have this feeling that this kid is up to no good, that he'll try to trick me.
Well, it must be just my imagination.
Everyone had arrived, and it was about time, so they called the waiter to start serving the dishes.
A stream of eight cold and eight hot dishes swiftly graced the table, and Chen Nuo took the initiative to open a bottle of Moutai he'd brought with him, filling the glasses of Old Jiang, Old Sun, and the math teacher one by one. Then, grinning, he poured a glass for himself and Zhang Linsheng as well.
Old Sun and Old Jiang exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Chen Nuo then picked up a bottle of fruit juice from the table and poured a glass for Song Qiaoyun, Yang Xiaoyi, and Sun Keke, while only filling half a glass for his sister, Chen Xiaoye.
Old Jiang looked around at everyone, sighed, and stood up with a raised glass.
"I didn't really want to make a fuss, but at fifty… the age where one should know his heaven-ordained fate, I figured I should still celebrate a little. At my age, it seems I'm not far from the final stop of my life.
"I came to Jinling and found nothing else; Old Sun, Teacher He (the math teacher), in all these years at the school, I haven't made any other friends. Over the years, thanks to your care, I have an ailing wife at home. Many things at school would have been too much for me to handle without your help… These years, it has been tough; I'm indebted to you!"
With that, Old Jiang became somewhat emotional and took a deep breath. "I'll drink to that!"
He tilted his head back and downed the glass.
Old Sun and Teacher He (the math teacher) exchanged smiles and drank theirs as well.
Chen Nuo and Zhang Linsheng clinked their glasses and swiftly swallowed their drinks.
Brother Haonan was initially a bit embarrassed, but seeing Chen Nuo drink, he quickly downed his glass too.
Chen Nuo proactively picked up the bottle again and refilled everyone's glass.
"This second glass," Old Jiang raised his glass once more...
This time, before Old Jiang could finish speaking, suddenly the door to the private room was pushed open.
As soon as the door opened, a person walked in.
"Master! I've arrived!! I'm here to celebrate your birthday!"
Dressed in a sharp suit—though it looked slightly too big and not quite fitting.
He was clean and neat, with his shoes polished to a shine.
His face was also clean, but the originally honest and good-natured features were betrayed by a black mole at the end of his left eyebrow, from which a tuft of hairs sprouted, lending him a somewhat sly appearance.
As soon as this person entered and spoke, his eyes scanned the room and paused upon seeing Chen Nuo, stupefied.
Chen Nuo was also taken aback for a moment, his smile peculiar. "Yo?"
Old Jiang was startled as well, a look of unexpected joy on his face. "Wu Dao! How did you get here?"
After a pause, Old Jiang introduced him to the others, "Uh, everyone, this is a student of mine from back in my hometown in Anhui Province."
"A student?" Chen Nuo laughed. "Your student?"
Old Jiang hesitated briefly, sighed, and said, "Chen Nuo, Lin Sheng… you guys, should call him 'Eldest Senior Brother.'"
Eldest Senior Brother?
Chen Nuo's smile grew wider.
As for the Eldest Senior Brother at the doorway, he turned pale.
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