"What? He's a Feng Shui Master? For real? Isn't he a little too young? Old Cheng, are you sure you weren't scammed?" Wang Qing looked skeptical.
Even though the tea room was well soundproofed, Cheng Yunlong was still startled. He quickly made a hushing gesture.
"Old Wang, watch your mouth! I saw Master Zhao's abilities with my own two eyes! You know He Chengwei, right? A while back, he came down with that strange illness, didn't he? A bunch of doctors tried to help, but they were all helpless. But guess what? Master Zhao went over, said the problem was with his family's feng shui, and right then and there, he flourished his brush and drew a Talisman!"
"The moment he finished the Talisman, a fierce wind appeared out of nowhere. It was incredible. To be honest, I know a lot of Monk Daoists and Feng Shui Masters, but not a single one of them can cause such a phenomenon when Drawing a Talisman. It was just like the legends say, 'to startle Ghost Gods with a stroke of the brush.' Afterward, he used that Talisman to wrap a Five Elements Coin, making an Exorcism Talisman, and buried it in the wall of the He Family's house. A clap of thunder immediately rang out inside the room, the chilling Qi vanished in an instant, and just like that, He Chengwei's strange illness was cured without any other treatment!"
Wang Qing's jaw dropped. "For real? Is it really as mystical as you say?" he asked in disbelief.
Being doubted repeatedly annoyed Cheng Yunlong. He huffed, "Why would I lie to you? If we weren't such good friends, I wouldn't even be telling you about this. I saw it and experienced it myself! Anyway," he added, "that's enough talk. You just sit here for a bit. I have to go receive Master Zhao."
"Wait, I want to meet Master Zhao, too. Can you introduce me?" Wang Qing said, standing up.
In his experience, Cheng Yunlong wasn't one to boast, and he had indeed heard that the strange illness of Jing City's famous doctor, He Chengwei, was related to feng shui.
This news had come from the friends and relatives who had visited He Chengwei after he recovered, who heard it from the man himself.
Wang Qing had always thought it was just a rumor, but he never expected it to be true. And to think that the master who had identified the feng shui problem and turned the situation around was so young!
Shocked, Wang Qing found himself developing a keen interest in Zhao Yuan and the Exorcism Talismans he created.
"What, you want to ask Master Zhao to make an Exorcism Talisman for you, too? Don't say I didn't warn you, these Talismans aren't cheap, and Master Zhao doesn't just make them for anyone." Cheng Yunlong saw Wang Qing's intentions at a glance.
Wang Qing sighed and said, "I won't hide it from you. Some strange things have been happening at my house lately. If Master Zhao's Exorcism Talismans are as miraculous as you say, then no matter the cost, I have to get one to take back with me!"
"Strange things at your house? How come I've never heard you mention this before? What kind of strange things?" Cheng Yunlong's interest was suddenly piqued, and he asked curiously.
"How can I go around broadcasting this kind of thing?"
Wang Qing gave a bitter smile and explained what had been happening.
"The weirdness started about a week ago. First, the gas stove in the kitchen inexplicably burst into flames in the middle of the night, almost starting a fire! Then, not two days later, all the water pipes failed at once, completely flooding the house. It even damaged the downstairs neighbor's place, and I had to pay them a lot of money. As soon as I got the pipes replaced and repaired, the walls and ceiling started shedding dust, making the place as filthy as a construction site... Now my family doesn't dare go back. We've been living in a hotel."
Cheng Yunlong was dumbfounded. "No wonder you've been so down in the dumps today. I thought you were having business problems. I never expected it was something like this... Hey, you're always in contact with those Scholars. You think you might have picked up something... unclean from them?"
The so-called Scholars are, in fact, tomb robbers. In the antique trade, some treasures are passed down through generations, but a certain portion are dug up from graves by tomb robbers. As a middleman, Wang Qing frequently dealt with them.
Wang Qing threw up his hands, his face a mask of misery. "How should I know? Isn't that why I want to get an Exorcism Talisman from Master Zhao, to take it back and suppress whatever it is? Of course, if he were willing to come and solve the problem at my house personally, that would be even better!"
Cheng Yunlong nodded. "Alright. Come with me. I'll introduce you and put in a good word. But I can't guarantee Master Zhao will agree to help."
"Thank you, I'm truly grateful." Wang Qing thanked him profusely and followed Cheng Yunlong out of the tea room.
Seeing Cheng Yunlong, Zhao Yuan asked, "Boss Cheng, are the Jade Rings ready?"
"They're all ready. I'll have someone bring them to you right away," Cheng Yunlong replied quickly.
"No need." Zhao Yuan waved his hand. "You have a workshop for making Gold, Silver, and Jade Artifacts here, right? Let me borrow it. Send all the Jade Rings there, and also get me a few gold bars. They need to be Pure Gold."
As he spoke, he tossed his travel bag to Cheng Yunlong.
"Hold on to the money in this bag for now."
Cheng Yunlong caught the bag and subconsciously opened it for a look. Seeing it was stuffed full of hundred-yuan bills bundled together—at least one or two million—he quickly said, "Master Zhao, it's just a few gold bars. It won't cost this much."
Zhao Yuan said, "Just keep the extra here for now. I'll inevitably be buying more things from you in the future."
The money in the travel bag was from a 'dog-eat-dog' situation. He couldn't exactly deposit it in a bank, so he might as well leave it with Cheng Yunlong. In any case, he was sure to obtain more methods for creating Talismans and Magical Artifacts in the future, which would require purchasing a lot of materials. He could just think of it as a down payment.
'The man runs such a large business, would he really covet my one or two million? What a joke!'
Cheng Yunlong was deeply moved by Zhao Yuan's trust. In his eyes, it was a tremendous honor!
After putting the money away, Cheng Yunlong instructed an employee to take the Jade Rings and gold bars to the workshop, then personally led Zhao Yuan over.
Along the way, he introduced Wang Qing and recounted the strange events happening at his house to Zhao Yuan. He finished with a plea: "Master Zhao, Old Wang is a friend of mine for many years. Do you think you could help him out just this once? I'm sure the compensation won't disappoint you. Besides, Old Wang is famous in our line of work for his wide network. If you ever need any strange or unusual items in the future, he's the man who can help."
Zhao Yuan had already become interested upon hearing about the various strange incidents at Wang Qing's house, not to mention he might truly have a use for Wang Qing's network in the future. So, after a moment of consideration, he nodded and agreed, "I can go take a look, but I can't make any promises about whether I can help."
"Whether you can help or not, I'm grateful to you for your righteous assistance, Master Zhao!" Wang Qing was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
Cheng Yunlong flattered him, "If even you can't help, Master Zhao, then no one can solve the strange problem at Wang Qing's house."
"Stop flattering me. When it comes to feng shui, I'm just a beginner," Zhao Yuan said with a wry, shaking smile.
However, Cheng Yunlong didn't believe that for a second. In his view, Master Zhao was just being humble.
He muttered to himself, 'A beginner? I don't buy it! What kind of beginner can casually draw a Talisman and have it produce such immediate, tangible results?'