Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Hearing about keeping a ghost, everyone's faces turned pale: "Master, didn’t you say that yin energy affects the health of the living? How could you bear to see us affected?!"

"That's true," Shen Wang pondered, "I can make some protective talismans for you, to calm your mind, protect your body, warding off all evils."

"I'm different..." Halfway through the sentence, the boy's voice stopped abruptly as if his mouth had been clamped shut, "Are these talismans really that powerful?"

"Shen's products, quality assured," Shen Wang smiled slightly, expertly extending his right hand, thumb and forefinger twirling, "Not 998, just 288. Master-drawn possession talismans, take them home!"

288! The boy immediately made a transfer: "Master, I’ll take three!"

Wang Kai and others also expressed their eagerness: "Brother Shen, since the ghost... I mean, Senior Zhou is staying with us, do we get talismans too? Then let him stay in our dorm. We are warm and welcoming, we'll make Senior Zhou feel right at home!"

"I wouldn't leave you guys out of the good stuff," Shen Wang grandly declared, "Wait till I buy some yellow paper and cinnabar, and I'll make them for you!"

Absolutely fresh, genuine Shen-brand products!

In the world of cultivation, Shen Wang, due to his poor spiritual roots and low talent, had learned a bit of everything to make up for his shortcomings. At his lowest, he even wandered into mortal cities as an itinerant Daoist priest, making a living by fortune-telling and feng shui consultations.

Whether it was alchemy, artifact crafting, formations, or talismans, he knew a bit of each. Now, although the spiritual energy was weak, it was enough to deal with a few modern society folks who hadn’t seen much of the world.

Seeing the increased balance in his phone and his eagerly waiting followers, Shen Wang was ready to act. After confining Zhou Xiangbei to the neighboring dormitory, he headed straight to the C City antique market.

Every city has an antique market, a chaotic mix where you can find all sorts of odd items. It's up to the buyer's discernment to tell real from fake.

The cinnabar and yellow paper Shen Wang needed could be found in the antique market.

As soon as Shen Wang entered the market, he was drawn to the various small goods spread on the ground.

The stall owners, seeing Shen Wang's fair and youthful appearance and his inexperienced demeanor, exchanged knowing glances, silently competing with each other.

'See that easy mark? He’s mine.'

Oblivious to being seen as prey, Shen Wang walked excitedly to a stall and squatted down, picking up an item: "Boss, how much for this?"

The stall owner, smugly glancing at his covertly competitive peers, said seriously, "This is a treasure passed down from my ancestors. If you really want it, I’ll give you a good deal."

Seeing the number gestured by the stall owner, Shen Wang was speechless for a long time.

He always thought himself quite the shrewd businessman, but upon encountering a real hustler, he realized there’s always someone better: "This Doraemon... handed down from your ancestors? And you want a five-figure sum?"

The stall owner was taken aback, then realized that Shen Wang was holding a brass Doraemon figurine, artificially aged, with Doraemon's round hand holding a machine gun and wearing a cowboy hat, looking quite badass.

Stall owner: A bit hasty there.

As a seasoned businessman, the stall owner didn’t lose his composure and quickly said: "This is an old item from my mother, carrying my childhood memories. Since you like it, I’ll give you a discount. Two thousand for you."

Having said that, the stall owner mentally congratulated himself; two thousand would be a huge profit if this naive customer bid even two hundred, and he'd still make a tidy sum even with twenty.

"...Two yuan. If you're selling, I'll buy it. If not, forget it," Shen Wang stated bluntly.

Stall owner: "..."

This person looked so easy to deceive, but why did he suddenly sound so worldly-wise?

Seeing Shen Wang about to leave, the stall owner quickly tried to retain him: "Two yuan it is, I see a connection with you, young friend. Consider this a start to our friendship!"

Having spent only two yuan on a small trinket and even getting it nicely boxed, Shen Wang was quite pleased.

Tucking the item into his pocket, he planned to give it to Li Pingping as a gift: This kind of trinket, too childish for primary schoolers, was just right for college students.

After briefly scanning the market and understanding its layout, Shen Wang found the shop he was looking for – an establishment with a quaint appearance and a subtle aura of spiritual energy.

Just as he was about to enter, Shen Wang saw a familiar figure inside. His smile paused, and he clicked his tongue: "Bad luck."

The other person seemed to sense something and turned to see Shen Wang, his eyes subtly changing.

"Tang Jiu, what’s wrong?" The person following Tang Jiu looked in the same direction, frowning, "Why is he here?"

Tang Jiu didn't know either. He moved quickly towards Shen Wang just as he was about to turn away: "Long time no see, Shen Wang. How have you been since you left the Tang family?"

To the uninformed, Tang Jiu's tone might suggest a close relationship between the two.

Shen Wang rolled his eyes dramatically: "Thanks to you, I haven’t died yet. I'm alive and kicking. Disappointed, aren’t you?"

"Of course not." Tang Jiu smiled, not taking Shen Wang's words to heart, "Although you didn’t stay with the Tang family for long, my parents still consider you an important family member. You should visit them more often."

The person with Tang Jiu glared at Shen Wang: "After he left like that, you still want him back? Do you want to upset your parents again? Tang Jiu, you're too kind-hearted."

Everyone in C City knew the Tang family had kindly adopted an orphan, only to end up with a greedy and selfish troublemaker, eventually having to pay fifteen million to get rid of him.

Anyone who heard the story would sincerely lament: It’s like the Farmer and the Snake, Dong Guo and the Wolf, the Tang couple and Shen Wang.

"Sure." Shen Wang nodded nonchalantly, "I just bought a great thing to give them. It’s a treasure passed down in the seller’s family. He wouldn’t have sold it if he didn’t find me exceptionally handsome."

"I spent all my savings buying this stuff, it's all for your parents anyway. Young Master Tang, could you support me a bit?"

Since Tang Jiu was here, pretending and being obnoxious, Shen Wang decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. He never missed an opportunity to take advantage of his foe, especially when it was handed to him on a silver platter.

Tang Jiu's face darkened slightly, but with fellow practitioners from C City's metaphysical community standing beside him and under the watchful eyes of many, he looked deeply at Shen Wang and asked, "How much support do you need?"

"It's not expensive," Shen Wang replied, smiling, and relayed the price the vendor had quoted to him, gesturing the same amount to Tang Jiu.

Without a word, Tang Jiu took out his phone and made the transfer.

"Just a sentence, and the prestigious Tang family's young master transfers me 50,000." Shen Wang grinned broadly, handing over the crudely wrapped toy gun resembling Doraemon to Tang Jiu: "Generous Young Master Tang, feel free to find me again when you have too much money to spend."

Tang Jiu held the gift box, squashing it out of shape.

Noticing this, Shen Wang kindly reminded, "Young Master Tang, this is a token of my regard for your parents. You mustn't damage it and remember to personally deliver it to them."

Tang Jiu's expression shifted under the gaze of the crowd. He gave Shen Wang a cold look and left.

Shen Wang remained, laughing so hard his eyes were barely visible.

"If Tang Jiu keeps bringing money like this, I wouldn't mind seeing him two or three times a day."

In the distance, the vendor who had just transacted with Shen Wang witnessed the entire process of a two-dollar trinket being sold for a whopping fifty thousand, and in awe, he approached, "Young man, teach me, how can I sell modern crafts at the price of antiques?"

"It's simple," Shen Wang said with a meaningful smile, "Just sell fakes to an arrogant enemy who's too proud to admit their mistake."

Although the person had walked far away, the practitioner's keen senses allowed Tang Jiu to hear the words clearly. With a forceful squeeze of his hand, there was a crackling sound, and the object shattered into pieces.

The person beside him curiously asked, "How did Shen Wang manage to find this place? Was he following you?"

Tang Jiu's eyes suddenly turned cold, as he too recalled the earlier unease.

The shop Tang Jiu had left, ostensibly an antique store, was actually a place dealing in metaphysical items. Why would Shen Wang want to enter such a shop?

Regardless, Tang Jiu didn't believe it was a coincidence.

He had planned to wait until Shen Wang's affairs in City C were settled before finding an opportunity to make him 'disappear without a trace', but now, Tang Jiu realized he had underestimated Shen Wang.

Unbeknownst to him, the true young master who tried to blend into the Tang family seemed like a completely different person now.

"The Tang family is a mystical clan with esoteric teachings not passed to outsiders. He shouldn't know about these things…" Tang Jiu glanced at the person beside him and slowly said, "After perceiving the metaphysical aspects within the Tang family and leaving, it’s not impossible that he strayed onto the wrong path."

The other person became indignantly righteous: "Given his character, it’s not surprising he’d dabble in unorthodox practices. Our righteous mystical sect has always had the duty of exorcising demons and protecting the way. Jiu, don’t worry. If he really practices evil methods, I’ll definitely help you exorcise them!"

Satisfied, Tang Jiu put aside his frustration about being swindled out of fifty thousand just moments ago.

He had been pondering how to make Shen Wang disappear naturally, and now he’d spent fifty thousand for a ready-made reason.

Little did Shen Wang know that his life was valued at only fifty thousand.

"Boss, this is daylight robbery! Fifty thousand for a bit of cinnabar and some yellow paper!" Shen Wang slammed his hand on the table, agitated, "Are you trying to scam me because I’m a novice?"

Dressed in a Republic-era long robe and wearing retro round glasses, the thin shopkeeper adjusted his glasses, a flash of light reflecting off them: "Young man, my shop is honest and fair, offering good value for money. Why would I deceive anyone?"

Shen Wang: "......"

This line sounds so familiar... and why does it seem so unbelievable?