Chapter 273

Chapter 273

◎The Pauper's Curse◎

The two Taoists' analysis left pauper Ma Zhao stunned: "What do you mean I wasn't born with a poor fate? Is there something wrong with my destiny? Was it changed or something?"

He couldn't imagine such a thing. His family was as ordinary as could be, with no notable figures even three generations back. His mother had died from overwork and lack of medical treatment, while his father had been jailed after causing an accident and later died unexpectedly.

As for him, he had lived a life of poverty, like bad luck incarnate, bringing misfortune wherever he went. Those who interacted with him often suffered—losing money at best, and possibly even their lives at worst. Aside from his parents, he had never dared to get too close to anyone. After all, even his parents had been 'cursed' to death because of him.

Ma Zhao had spent his entire life blaming his ill-fated, misfortune-bringing destiny. But now, he was being told that he might not have been born with a poor fate at all.

Ji Nanxing said, "Your case is unusual. We'll definitely help you get to the bottom of it. For now, stay with me. The fugitive Yang Yuxin might be a key lead—we'll know more when we find her."

Ma Zhao nodded in a daze but still instinctively asked, "Won't I affect you if I stay here?"

Even after being sealed into a wooden tablet by Taoist Wu, he had still caused him to crash his car and pay compensation today.

Ji Nanxing replied, "If you stay inside my artifact, all your energy will be contained. You won’t affect me."

Hearing this, Ma Zhao felt somewhat relieved. These two Taoists were helping him, and he didn’t want to bring misfortune to those who treated him kindly.

After sealing Ma Zhao into the golden bell, Ji Nanxing removed the talismans posted around the room and casually burned them. The talismans' energy dispersed the lingering traces of Ma Zhao’s presence in the room. Only then did he turn to Wu Yang: "Push the Management Bureau to expedite Yang Yuxin’s case—find her as soon as possible. As for Ma Zhao’s situation, I’ll ask my master about it later."

Wu Yang nodded. "Keep me updated if anything comes up. If Yang Yuxin is caught, I’ll notify you immediately."

Wu Yang didn’t stay at Ji Nanxing’s place. With Ma Zhao now under Ji Nanxing’s care, he had some free time and could take on new cases. To avoid being affected by Ma Zhao’s curse, he had deposited all his money into the hospital. Now he needed to take cases to make ends meet.

Though the reward from the Qi family had been substantial, he was poorer now than before taking their case. At least, his master’s medical expenses for the next six months were covered.

After Wu Yang left, Ji Nanxing went to the kitchen to wash his hands and checked the pot Xiao Ye was watching. "You’ve been stewing this all morning. Won’t the meat get tougher the longer it cooks?"

Xiao Ye replied, "Of course not. It’ll only become more tender and flavorful, falling-off-the-bone tender. So, you’ve taken over Ma Zhao’s case?"

Ji Nanxing hummed in agreement. "The Qi family’s case was originally mine to handle. This is just mopping up. If Wu Yang continued dealing with it, it would be worse than just a car accident."

Xiao Ye turned down the heat and turned to Ji Nanxing. "So, besides Yin energy and evil energy, lingering ghosts can also affect people with their 'pauper's curse'? Even Taoists aren’t immune?"

Ji Nanxing chuckled. "Taoists are still human. We’re affected by all kinds of environmental factors. It’s just that such energies have a lesser impact on us. Look at Wu Yang—he crashed his car, but he didn't end up out of pocket. If it were someone else, the outcome might’ve been different."

Xiao Ye said, "That’s only because my connections made the other party let it go."

Ji Nanxing countered, "How do you know that wasn't fate at work?"

Xiao Ye thought about it and conceded with an "Oh." Then he asked, "Now that you’ve sealed Ma Zhao, will he affect you?"

Ji Nanxing shook his head. "No. Even if he did, it wouldn’t be by much."

His lack was in lifespan, not money. Even if Ma Zhao were a genuine pauper spirit, let alone one with an altered fate, it wouldn’t affect him much.

Xiao Ye nodded. "That’s good. Naonao, if a poor fate can influence people so much, does someone born lucky with money make people rich wherever they go?"

Ji Nanxing replied, "Of course. But you can’t just look at the immediate effects. The Qi family lost a lot of money due to Ma Zhao’s influence, but their inherent wealth remains. They’ll recoup it eventually. If you rely on someone else’s wealth to prosper but lack the fortune in your own fate, once that borrowed luck fades, you'll lose it all plus more."

Xiao Ye mused, "There must be ways to hold onto that unexpected wealth, right? Otherwise, wealthy people wouldn’t bother praying to the God of Wealth. If their fate dictates they can only earn so much, praying wouldn’t help."

Ji Nanxing said, "There are ways. Different people with different destinies have unique methods to retain wealth. As long as it’s not through crooked means, it's about balancing inflow and outflow."

But if one resorts to underhanded methods, retribution will come sooner or later.

Xiao Ye instinctively assured, "Don't worry, even if I start a company or go into business in the future, I definitely won’t resort to shady dealings."

Whether it was shady means for wealth or love, Xiao Ye stole a glance at Ji Nanxing and reaffirmed his resolve—no matter how badly he wanted it, he wouldn’t take even half a step down the wrong path.

Somehow, the topic circled back to him, but Ji Nanxing still responded, "Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t. I’ll be keeping an eye on you."

Xiao Ye immediately grinned, as if finding the statement insufficient, and added, "You said it yourself, so you better watch me closely."

The implication wasn’t lost on Ji Nanxing. Seeing Xiao Ye jump at every chance to sneakily get his way, he pretended not to understand and glanced at the pot. "It’s about to burn dry."

Xiao Ye quickly turned his attention back to the stove, poking the meat with chopsticks. It was so tender it fell apart at the touch, so he scooped it all out, switched pots, and got started on braising the Dongpo pork.

Beside it were cleaned shrimp with their veins removed. He planned to make Dongpo pork for Ji Naonao today, along with salt-and-pepper shrimp and two plates of stir-fried seasonal vegetables—a well-rounded meal with meat and veggies.

Even Ma Zhao received a hand-rolled incense stick from Ji Nanxing. Sharing wealth energy with him was a no-go, but incense and candles were provided in abundance.

As the two humans and one ghost enjoyed their meal, someone else was in hiding.

Yang Yuxin never imagined Xiang Guangming’s scheme would be exposed. In her mind, supernatural stuff was beyond the reach of the police. The worst she had anticipated was the Qi family discovering the hidden talismans in their home, tracing them back to Xiang Guangming, and at most, bringing in a master to undo the hex before parting ways.

All the consequences would fall on Xiang Guangming—none of it was her problem. The best outcome would have been the Qi family going completely bankrupt, Xiang Guangming divorcing Qi Ruian once he deemed the family useless, and the Qi family having to sell their house.

But given the location and size of the property, only someone loaded could swing it. If the buyer was wealthy and failed to notice the talismans beneath the floorboards, perhaps they could continue draining their wealth.

Yang Yuxin had considered countless scenarios, good and bad, but the one thing she never expected was Xiang Guangming being arrested—and even sentenced. This blew her mind. Since when did supernatural methods become subject to legal judgment? And even if they were, shouldn’t it just be a slap on the wrist for superstition?

Caught off guard by Xiang Guangming’s arrest, Yang Yuxin initially held out hope. But when she saw the charges—stealing wealth and conspiring to seize another’s property—she knew she was screwed and bolted before anyone could track her down.

As for her child with Xiang Guangming, Yang Yuxin didn’t bother. She left a key at the door and abandoned the child inside. After all, with Xiang Guangming in such trouble, his parents from his hometown would surely come. It was the Xiang family’s grandson—she wasn’t about to lug around dead weight and ruin her own chances.

After days skulking around like a rat, Yang Yuxin still couldn’t grasp why Xiang Guangming had been arrested or what evidence the police had. Could a few hidden talismans at home really count as proof?

It made no sense. Not long ago, she had been a carefree wealthy wife, designer bags worth a fortune and jewelry worth over a hundred thousand indulging her whims. She had chosen him precisely because he was easy to control. If she had aimed for a real big shot, she’d have been dead meat—a lesson she learned early from her aunt’s experiences. She knew she couldn’t outmaneuver the rich, but she could create a wealthy man she could manipulate.

Yet, in such a short time, everything had fallen apart.

Nearly a week had passed since her last cash withdrawal. She hadn’t dared use her phone, relying solely on cash to avoid detection. After withdrawing money last time, she immediately fled to another city, but the money wouldn’t last forever.

Just as she planned to withdraw cash again and flee to another city, someone came out of the blue. Before she could react, they pinned her down and cuffed her hands.

Dragged into a car, Yang Yuxin stared at the plainclothes officers and asked her first question: "How did you find me?"

She hadn’t used any electronic devices, ventured out only at night, avoided busy areas to evade cameras, and hadn’t stayed in hotels—instead sleeping on rooftops or stairwells, changing locations daily. She wanted to know how they had tracked her.

The officer cuffing her replied, "If you dabble in the supernatural, you should know there are plenty of experts in this world. Finding a person is easier than catching a ghost."

Yang Yuxin frowned. "You’re not police?" Since when did police speak so casually about such things?

The man chuckled. "We’re from the Paranormal Task Force. We have the same authority. You incited Xiang Guangming to seize the Qi family’s assets. He’s already been punished—did you really think you could escape?"

"Paranormal Task Force..." Yang Yuxin repeated in disbelief. Since when did their country have such a department? No wonder Xiang Guangming had been sentenced. To ordinary people, talismans were just superstition, but to those who understood, they were hard evidence.

At the same time, Ji Nanxing contacted his master about Ma Zhao’s issue. Without even meeting Ma Zhao, Master Yan pinpointed the problem: "That must be the Poverty Summoning technique."

Ji Nanxing, well-read as he was, had never heard of it. "The Poverty Summoning technique can hide someone’s destiny?"

Master Yan: "This is a type of dark sorcery that existed in Taiwan many years ago—summoning poverty into oneself to ward off calamities. The technique is vicious, but countering it is straightforward. Find a thousand-year-old willow wood and strike the spirit three times to drive away the poverty's concealment and restore the original state. However, the ghost you've taken in has a hidden fate even you can't discern, which means there are other dark sorceries at work besides the Summoning Poverty Technique. But no matter, just find some willow wood and give him a beating. Right after the beating, your spiritual sight will clear up briefly, giving you a few minutes of clarity."

As long as his disciple could glimpse the pauper's true appearance, investigating the case would become much easier with a lead.

Ji Nanxing thanked his master. Nearby, Xiao Ye, who had overheard the call, pushed his laptop toward him: "I used your account to access the internal database and looked up the Summoning Poverty Technique. It's not about summoning poverty into oneself, but rather using dark sorcery to make one person bear all the misfortunes of a household, ensuring the rest prosper and thrive."

In ancient times, wealthy families often had many children—legitimate heirs to carry on the lineage, while illegitimate children served as assistants. Legitimate sons were revered, while illegitimate offspring were barely above servants in status, making them expendable.

Ancient rituals were common, ranging from small-scale offerings for opening shops to grand sacrifices for building bridges or roads—from animal to human sacrifices, all were unremarkable in those days. So some sorcerers devised this twisted ritual.

By exploiting blood ties, they could designate one person to shoulder all the household's misfortunes. Once they endured the suffering, it was as if they'd taken on the family’s destined misfortunes, ensuring prosperity for the rest. Over time, this evolved into the cruel Summoning Poverty Technique.

Few sorcerers knew this dark sorcery, and even fewer were ruthless enough to sacrifice their own kin. Later, wars dwindled populations, and monogamy became the norm. Distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate children faded—every child became precious. Thus, the technique faded into obscurity.

After reading the material, Ji Nanxing said, "So Ma Zhao's fate wasn't originally impoverished, but his existence was to bear others' misfortunes. Yet, the Summoning Poverty Technique hinges on blood relations."

Xiao Ye and Ji Nanxing exchanged a glance. The unspoken implication was clear—even to Ma Zhao inside the golden spirit bell, which trembled with his agitation.

Ji Nanxing steadied the bell. "Calm down first. We'll help you uncover the truth. Right now, I need to find some thousand-year-old willow wood to see what your true fate actually is."

Unfortunately, Ma Zhao and his parents were already dead, making it hard to verify their blood ties. But with his spirit still here, the truth *will* be uncovered.