Rong Yinghui's movements froze, he turned his head.
Less than a meter behind him, a tall billboard made of steel rebar had fallen from a nearby high-rise, shattering upon impact.
It had smashed right where he had been standing.
The force of the impact even knocked down the adjacent bus stop sign.
He unconsciously swallowed.
"Young man?! Oh dear, are you alright? It didn't hit you, did it?"
"How could something so deadly suddenly fall? That's too dangerous, isn't it?"
The noise was so loud that the nearby shopkeepers ran out, and upon seeing Rong Yinghui less than a meter from the billboard, they all gasped.
Rong Yinghui, somewhat dazed from the scare, was welcomed by the enthusiastic vendors into a nearby shop, where after drinking some hot water they offered him, he slowly came to his senses.
He realized he was covered in cold sweat.
He remembered what Tang Jin had said to him in the hospital.
If he hadn't taken the main road, hadn't gone to help someone, the tempered glass wouldn't have broken, and he wouldn't have thought about applying a new screen protector, but instead would have stood there, getting squarely hit by the sign.
Where did that child say she lived again?
"What happened?"
The man in a black suit outside sounded slightly panicked, obviously having seen the billboard outside and heard the discussions of the nearby vendors.
He also saw Rong Yinghui shrinking inside someone else's fast-food restaurant, holding a disposable paper cup in one hand and clutching his phone tightly in the other—a young man in his early twenties, who had just returned from studying abroad and, despite usually acting composed, was now in a panic.
Hearing the voice, Rong Yinghui looked up, his heart thumping wildly, his curls seemingly drooping with his owner's misfortune, his puppy-dog eyes looking pitifully around, like a big boy waiting for his parents to come and pick him up.
The chauffeur quickly went over.
"Young master, the gentleman has come to pick you up."
Not far from where the billboard fell, a black luxury car was parked.
-
The chauffeur took care of the aftermath.
The billboard wasn't securely fastened and had nearly hit the Rong Family's young master for no reason. Someone had to be held accountable for this.
Rong Yinghui, still visibly shaken, got into the car and hung his head, tentatively calling out to someone.
"Uncle."
In the backseat next to the window.
A small table folded down from the chair in front, holding a computer with various complex graphs and data.
"Were you scared?"
The voice that followed would have drawn curious looks from others.
It was calm yet unusually youthful.
Upon closer inspection, the person seated was beautiful with delicate features, long eyelashes, dressed in a simple black Tang suit, slender with a pale, sickly face, and deep brown Buddha beads wrapped around his wrist, making his skin look even whiter.
The one this twenty-something-year-old young man respectfully called 'Uncle' was merely an eight or nine-year-old boy with rosy lips and pearly teeth.
The big man in his twenties truly regarded him as an elder, speaking with a tone of dependence, and eventually even his voice choked up.
Having just returned home from university a month ago, the succession of unfortunate events truly put him at his wits' end, and as he spoke, he felt genuinely wronged, suspecting that he might have offended the spirits of Shendu.
He also mentioned the little girl he met at the hospital, and though he was all over the place because he was scared, Rong Qing still extracted the key information from his ramblings.
"You mean to say, if it weren't for that little girl, you might have been crushed under that billboard?"
Rong Yinghui nodded frantically.
Rong Qing tilted his head, puzzled, as he, unlike others, was aware of the Feng Shui Metaphysics circle in Shendu; yet, he had never heard of such a young Feng Shui Metaphysics Master.
But Rong Yinghui recounting his unlucky experiences, with calamities befalling him repeatedly over a month, was certainly not normal.
"Uncle, can you get us into Canglang Ancient Courtyard Community? Please take me there, I'm begging you QAQ"
Let's seek out that adorably cheeky, mystical little treasure to save this jinxed kid.
***
The adorable little baby with a face that's so pinchable is currently "Passing the Tribulation."
Tang Chuang was about to inform his family that he couldn't return home these two days when he learned from Zhang Yi that the whole Tang Family had rushed to the hospital.
At this moment, the tall man is dangerously squinting his eyes, pinching the baby's cheek with one hand, shaping it into a little goldfish.
"Running out the door on your own late at night?"
Tang Jin blinked his large cat-like eyes, his milky voice somewhat unclear because his cheeks were being pinched.
"Daddy, I'm very reliable, no need to worry!"
The patriarch hadn't finished his check-up yet, and Tang Micheng was shrinking in a corner, trying hard to disguise himself as a mushroom. Hearing this, he wanted to express his agreement.
Indeed very reliable, super brave.
"Little kids should go to bed on time..."
Tang Chuang said in a harsh voice, intending to instill a sense of danger.
This little thing could sneak out of the house at night, even with the most careful guardian, there can always be oversights. In such oversights, should anything happen, no one in the Tang Family could bear the consequences.
Before he had finished speaking, the soft and cute little one had already wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled up to him.
"Daddy."
Sometimes super brave when causing trouble, at times like this a delicate bundle.
Who could remain angry after she called out like that?
-
When the patriarch arrived, he saw his chubby grandson curled up in a corner of the sofa, sitting unusually straight and well-behaved.
In the hospital bed, Tang Chuang was holding his little girl. The man still had the cold, awe-inspiring look of a marshal, but his gaze was extremely tender. Little Milk Jin had already been coaxed to sleep by him, her little face pink and chubby, delicate lips opening and closing adorably.
The patriarch picked up Tang Chuang's medical report and scrutinized it closely, also feeling a bit frightened afterward.
"Dad, regarding Jinjin, and why I suddenly came for a check-up, I need to talk to you about these things."
***
In another corner of the city.
A teenager about sixteen or seventeen was on the phone, his face twisted.
"I gave you a flat fee of one million seven hundred thousand, but what happened? Rong Yinghui came back safe and sound, not a hair harmed. You kept telling me to wait, wait, wait, and it's been a month! Taking the money without doing the work, your title as the number one Feng Shui Master might need a question mark."
"Patron, don't be anxious."
A hoarse voice came through the phone.
"I have already calculated it. Today he was lucky to escape trouble because he encountered a benefactor on the road. Count it as his good fortune. You should know, those who like to do good deeds often have unpredictable life patterns. It needs to be done step by step. Once his good karma is exhausted, then even the heavens won't be able to save him, and it will also bring trouble to the benefactor who helped him."
The Feng Shui Master had no idea just how formidable Little Milk Jin was, still making assurances on his end.
Only after receiving the guarantee did the teenager hang up the phone contentedly.
The night was dark, the surroundings quiet, shadows of trees and vines swaying. Despite the sultry summer heat, the darkness somehow sent chills down one's spine.
Having just dealt with such eerie matters, and harboring malice as well as fear in his heart, he was naturally apprehensive about such things.
He deleted the call log and briskly walked away.
But he failed to notice, in the shadows, a deeper shadow was gradually solidifying.
It had been hiding in the dark —— silently watching him.
***
In the summer morning, dawn breaks early.
Rong Qing was unlike ordinary children from a young age — composed and wise, his daily routine was extremely disciplined.
After washing up, he planned to do a simple morning exercise before waking his older nephew.
But just as he opened the door, Rong Yinghui, who for some unknown reason had been squatting at the door, suddenly looked up with his puppy-dog eyes, looking utterly pitiful.
"Uncle, shall we set off now?"
Desperate to survive.