Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Wei Chengshu helplessly watched his dog, Mike, follow Wei Xi out the door with excitement.

In no time, clanking sounds echoed from outside the courtyard.

Manager Zhou had already been distraught when he heard Wei Xi mention hanging a sign at the entrance and began preparing tools. Now, seeing that Second Young Master couldn't stop First Young Master, he stomped his feet in anxiety, "What do we do? If Master sees the house in this state, he'll surely be furious!"

Hearing this, Wei Chengshu hesitated for a moment but still followed outside. Immediately, he saw the two busy figures at the entrance. Wei Xi was holding a menacing iron hammer, attentively examining the position. Occasionally, he struck the chosen spots with a few swings. After much deliberation, he finally found the perfect spot and instructed the fit, fair-faced disciple behind him without turning back, "Disciple, fetch the sign I wrote."

However, there was no need for the man to move as Mike, who had been intently watching, leaped into action.

With incredible precision, Mike located the sign Wei Xi needed - a wooden plank with the three bold characters "Tai Cang Sect" written in flamboyant ink. Wei Chengshu instinctively appraised it and thought the calligraphy was rather appealing, but why did this wooden plank seem so familiar?

Manager Zhou rushed out of the house, on the verge of tears, muttering, "Why did you dismantle the door panel?!"

Wei Chengshu: "…."

The size and weight of the door panel made it extremely difficult for Mike to carry, so he could only bite onto the corner and drag it across the ground with great effort. Nonetheless, Mike refused to give up, as if the task was some irresistible treat. He fiercely bared his teeth and glared at Manager Zhou, who tried to intervene, with wide, blue eyes filled with an air of foolishness.

Housekeeper Zhou dared not provoke this tyrant and could only take the long way around to persuade Wei Xi, tugging at his arm with such distress that he almost knelt down. "Young Master, Young Master, you can't do this! You can tear down the door if you must, but hanging it outside is simply unacceptable! Sir will definitely be furious when he sees this!"

Wei Xi ignored him. "You came just in time. The gate is swaying too much. Hold it steady here."

Housekeeper Zhou rushed back to beg Wei Chengshu. "Second Young Master, please think of something. Don't you remember how angry Sir got when Madam had the living room sofa replaced last time?"

Wei Chengshu certainly did, and the headache was now worse than when he had woken up from a hangover. He stared ahead expressionlessly, feeling as if he had never experienced such an absurd moment in his life. "What can I do?"

Housekeeper Zhou was on the verge of tears. Seeing Wei Xi already instructing Tuan Jieyi to twist wires onto the courtyard gate, he helplessly pulled out his phone and dialed Wei Tianyi's number.

Wei Tianyi was attending an exhibition, and it was right during a meeting. Still fuming from his eldest son's disobedience earlier that morning, he was displeased by the housekeeper's untimely call. "What could be so important that you have to call me now?!"

Apologies forgotten, Housekeeper Zhou described the chaos at home, and Wei Tianyi sounded as if he was about to collapse. "What?! Tell that little brat to stop immediately!"

Housekeeper Zhou held the phone toward his Second Young Master. After a moment of silence, Wei Chengshu took the phone and walked toward Wei Xi, saying in a grim tone, "Dad has something to tell you."

Wei Xi looked at him and accepted the phone offered. It felt different from Tuan Jieyi's, seemingly more refined.

He asked Wei Chengshu, "What does he want to tell me?"

Upon hearing his voice, Wei's father immediately blew up, and soon, Wei Xi heard a familiar, angry shout come from the phone: "Wei Xi!"

Instantly understanding the situation, Wei Xi followed what he had seen others do on the road and held the device to his ear. Recognizing the voice, he was slightly displeased with the person who had just cursed at him for no reason not long ago: "Why are you everywhere?"

Wei's father was so angered that he nearly fell over: "You! You! Are you trying to drive me to my grave?! Is what Little Zhou said true?! What were you planning to nail to my gate?!"

Wei Xi thought to himself, How can this be your gate? It's mine! "Of course, it's the plaque of my Taicang Sect."

Fuming with rage, Wei's father exclaimed, "Take down that damn board right now! Did you hear me?! Nailing something like that to a nice gate is ridiculous!"

Wei Xi agreed with him. The wooden sign indeed lacked any sense of grandeur. Which proper sect didn't have a huge stone tablet at their entrance? Some even had their rules engraved on an entire mountain wall. Unfortunately, he didn't have any of those. Unity Yi was right; it was tough without money.

Unusually, he praised the other party, "You're right. But don't worry. Using this wooden plaque is just a temporary solution. When I get the chance in the future, I'll replace it with a stone tablet."

Wei's father screamed, nearly choking, "Who asked you about that?!?!?!"

His hoarse voice could be felt by Wei Chengshu, who stood by his side.

Wei Chengshu also felt suffocated.

He then heard another string of his father's confused scolding, his words jumbled as if he had been angered beyond reason by Wei Xi. Wei Xi found the increasingly shrill voice piercing to his ears, so he moved away from the object and mimicked the actions he had seen, poking at the screen. Upon touching a red dot, the screaming indeed ceased.

The sound disappeared, but the device remained unharmed, its screen still emitting a hazy glow.

Realizing he had touched upon the method to control it, Wei Xi narrowed his eyes, his interest piqued.

Thus, he naturally slipped the phone into his pocket.

Wei Chengshu was still immersed in the incomprehensible conversation between his elder brother and their father. Seeing his action, confusion flickered in his dark gaze. "…What are you doing?"

Wei Dedao said they couldn't plunder the wealth of mortals, but the Wei family wasn't ordinary mortals; they were his newly acquired minions. To a mountain lord, his minions' treasures were naturally his own. Wei Xi felt his logic was impeccable. "This is mine now."

"…" Staring at his brother who had taken the butler's phone, Wei Chengshu found the situation inconceivable. "Where's your own phone?"

Wei Xi still remembered his conversation with Lu Wenqing. "I lost it."

Wei Chengshu: "…………"

Seeing him staring wide-eyed, Wei Xi thought he was dissatisfied and immediately frowned. Although Wei Dedao had strictly forbidden eating humans, punishing disobedient minions with a beating was still acceptable.

However, the man didn't pounce on him as he had anticipated. Instead, after gazing at him for a while, he turned around silently and walked away. It might have been an illusion, but Wei Xi sensed an indescribable desolation in the man's departing figure.

Lost in thought, Wei Chengshu stumbled to the entrance, where he was intercepted by the anxious Butler Zhou. "Young Master Two, why is Young Master One still working? Didn't Mr. Wei persuade him?"

Wei Chengshu imagined that Mr. Wei was likely already fuming with anger.

Butler Zhou, understanding the look in his eyes, released his grip in disbelief. Then, just as the second young master was about to leave, something dawned on him. "Ah, Young Master Two, what about my phone?"

Wei Chengshu replied, "Go ask him for it yourself."

"But...?"

Wei Chengshu, drained, freed himself from the butler's grasp. "Don't ask me anything. Don't ask me anything."

He himself needed some peace and quiet.

The younger brothers inside the house finally ceased their mischief, allowing Wei Xi to resume directing Unity Yi and Mike to hang the sign. Amidst the fervent construction, a voice called out his name from behind. "Wei Xi?"

Wei Xi turned to see a refined middle-aged man standing behind him. The man wore casual attire, with rimless glasses perched on his nose. Though wrinkles adorned the corners of his eyes, he exuded an energetic vibe.

The person was pleasantly surprised upon seeing Wei Xi's face and exclaimed, "It really is you! I thought I was mistaken. What child are you, running off without a word? Uncle Zhao couldn't get through to your phone, and your family must have been so worried. You're so irresponsible."

Wei Xi immediately realized that this person knew the unlucky little guy and vaguely acknowledged their words.

Uncle Zhao didn't press further, merely muttering about it being good that he returned. His gaze swept over the mess in the Wei family's yard, and he was taken aback by the eye-catching signboard hanging on the gate: "What are you doing?"

Wei Xi replied, "Nailing up a signboard."

Uncle Zhao was confused and slowly read out the words on the board: "Tai Cang Sect? You did this?"

Wei Xi nodded.

Uncle Zhao laughed heartily. "You child, you were fussing about acting before, and now suddenly, you've started a company? What kind of business is it?"

Wei Xi didn't understand at first, but Jie Yiyi had already stepped forward. "Exorcising ghosts, warding off evil spirits, feng shui, fortune-telling – we do it all."

After Jie Yiyi finished speaking, he noticed Wei Xi looking at him and whispered an explanation into his ear, "Master, don't underestimate our neighbors. Proper promotion and advertising are necessary during the early stages of starting a business. Besides, these could be potential clients, and who knows, we might even make some money."

Upon hearing this, Wei Xi seemed lost in thought. However, Uncle Zhao was utterly baffled by Jie Yiyi's answer. He looked at Wei Xi, who surprisingly nodded in agreement, leaving him speechless for a moment before finally recovering.

"Ahh..." He didn't know what to say. Didn't the Wei family deal with electronic components? How did their eldest son become a fortune teller? He chuckled awkwardly and joked, "Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect you to learn how to divine. Why don't you give me a reading first?"

Unity Yizhao whispered to Wei Xi, "See, I told you so. The customer has arrived."

Wei Xi had no interest in giving people fortune readings, but that was fine. He was currently extremely interested in money.

So when he heard Uncle Zhao's joke, he immediately held out his hand. "Fees for the divination."

Uncle Zhao wasn't actually as interested as he appeared. On the contrary, he was quite displeased that a fine young man would engage in fraud instead of working. He had asked this question to embarrass Wei Xi on the spot, hoping to prevent the child from straying down the wrong path. Therefore, when he saw that Wei Xi dared to agree, he immediately asked, "How much?"

Wei Xi glanced at Unity Yizhao. Unity Yizhao, inexperienced, smiled and said, "Whatever you think is appropriate."

Uncle Zhao took out five hundred yuan from his wallet and handed it to Wei Xi. As he did, he was already planning in his mind how he would scold the boy later.

But to his surprise, after taking the money, the first thing Wei Xi said startled him greatly. "You've recently had a sudden illness?"

Uncle Zhao abruptly lifted his head. Behind his glasses, his gaze, which had been refined and polite, turned sharp.

He had indeed suffered a severe illness last month, one that had come on suddenly and fiercely. On the day it struck, he had been rushed to the ICU. But to prevent unrest within the company, news of his illness had been tightly sealed. Apart from his confidants, not even his two sons overseas—who were his biological children—had been informed. They were still kept in the dark even after he was discharged from the hospital.

How on earth did Wei Xi know such intimate details? Could it be that the Wei family had spies within their company?

Wei Xi continued, "A few months ago, was there an elderly relative who passed away?"

Uncle Zhao was taken aback again. His father had indeed passed away in June. The elder had moved to Toronto long ago, leaving behind no close relatives or friends in the country. Even if there were any, they were far away in their hometown. The funeral took place abroad, and the company didn't release any official statements. Logically, this information shouldn't have reached Wei Xi.

Could it be that his father had told him? Were the Wei family's informants really that powerful?

For a moment, Uncle Zhao couldn't help but entertain wild speculations. However, compared to mystical fortune-telling, he preferred to believe that these revelations were the result of human effort. Yet, Wei Xi didn't give him time to digest the information, forging ahead with more details, "You were born via a difficult delivery, faced a life-threatening incident at five, suffered academic setbacks at sixteen, and encountered problems in your career at twenty-eight. You then went south to do business, but it wasn't smooth sailing until you achieved success at thirty-five. Unfortunately, your family relationships are average, and your descendants are ambitious but lack ability."

Uncle Zhao was now utterly bewildered. He remembered his mother mentioning his difficult birth, and he indeed fell off a field bank and lost a tooth at five. Due to poor grades and financial struggles, he started working at sixteen. When he was twenty-eight, the state-owned enterprise he worked for underwent restructuring, forcing him into entrepreneurship. Doing business was challenging, and being naive, he was often deceived. It wasn't until he was thirty-five that his company finally secured funding, propelling it to new heights and bringing him to where he was today.

The bitterness of his past still lingered vividly in his mind. He could still recall breaking down in tears after signing the funding contract, holding his wife tightly. But how could all these intimate details be known by someone outside his inner circle?

While his journey to success could be attributed to public interviews he had given, how did Wei Xi know about his difficult birth and the adversity he faced at five?! Not to mention his academic setbacks; he had always been haunted by not pursuing higher education and had cultivated an image of a refined, scholarly businessman after entering the corporate world. Even his wife had never doubted that her husband was a university graduate!

He looked up, meeting Wei Xi's calm gaze, feeling a chill run down his spine, freezing his backbone.

Swallowing hard, his first action upon regaining composure was to pull out his wallet, emptying all the cash into Wei Xi's hands. "I'm sorry, I seem to have shortchanged you earlier."

This stack of bills contained at least twenty notes, the largest sum Wei Xi had ever seen in cash. He had initially just wanted to remind the man to be cautious, but upon seeing such generosity, he hesitated and then said, "Wait a moment," before going back into the house to retrieve an item.

He handed the item to Uncle Zhao and said, "Your destiny is too light, indicating that you're destined for late success. That's why you've experienced so many hardships in your youth. Even though you're now wealthy, your destiny is still not strong enough. After the loss of close relatives and recent recovery from a major illness, your energy has become thin. Carry this with you lately to avoid some troubles."

Uncle Zhao, almost half mentally impaired, accepted it with repeated nods, only to realize that what Wei Xi had given him was a book. Looking down, he saw...

"Introduction to the Basic Principles of Marxism?"

And it was even a university textbook edition.

Uncle Zhao opened the cover, and on the inside flap, there were Wei Xi's name and seemingly doodles made when he was bored: "????"

Tuan Jieyi whispered, "Master, why are you giving him a book?"

Wei Xi replied, "Didn't you say we should offer discounts to big clients sometimes? He paid quite generously." The little unlucky guy only had this one unique book in his house, emitting a faint aura of faith. However, for some reason, it had been carelessly stuffed in a corner of the bookshelf, clearly disliked.

Tuan Jieyi thought to himself that this promotional gift was indeed unconventional.

On their way back, Uncle Zhao was filled with emotions and couldn't resist taking a photo of Wei's family gate to share on social media, celebrating the opening of Wei Xi's sect.

Away at an exhibition in a distant city, Wei Tianyi was infuriated by his eldest son to the point of near-collapse. It wasn't until he took a pile of medicine, coaxed down by his assistant, that his mind started to clear. Reflecting on the continuous disobedience he had encountered that day, he decided he could no longer delay; he needed to return to the capital as soon as possible to stop his eldest son from causing any more trouble, and avoid disgrace among their neighbors.

Lying in bed to rest, he instructed his assistant to purchase plane tickets. As he did so, he casually scrolled through his WeChat Moments.

Three seconds later, there was a loud thud as his phone crashed onto his nose.

The assistant looked up, alarmed. "Mr. Wei?! Are you alright? Why is your nose suddenly bleeding so much?!"

Wei Tianyi: "..."