"There's a monster! A monster!"
The yellow earth dog kept barking relentlessly, and from Zhang Xiaoman's perspective, he could see it urinating on the Bentley mid-bark.
Zhang Xiaoman twisted his mouth, shifting his gaze back to the man in the black suit in front of him. By now, he had more or less figured out what was happening— the man had mistaken him for Pei Laoliu.
"Listen, brother, I think you may have the wrong idea..."
Zhang Xiaoman opened his mouth to explain but was abruptly interrupted by the anxious man in the black suit before he could finish.
"Master! This is an emergency, let's talk in the car!"
"No, you see! Actually, I..."
"Master!! Stop dawdling! The young master is possessed, his life is in danger! The boss is nearly out of his wits! You are the famed Master in Qionghua City, the boss insisted on inviting you back, just take a look! If you can save the young master, you will definitely be rewarded handsomely!"
The man in the black suit looked urgent, his hand reaching out to pull Zhang Xiaoman into the car.
Zhang Xiaoman initially resisted going with all his might, but when he heard the words "ghosts" and "reward," he unconsciously followed into the car.
After the events of the last two days, he had become quite sensitive to words like monsters, not to mention the promise of a reward.
"Hmm, maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a look, no loss there, and if it's true, I could maybe earn some points..."
Under the man in the black suit's urging, Zhang Xiaoman made up his mind as well.
"Ah! Right, my trike..."
He suddenly remembered his vehicle was still there.
The man in the black suit gestured to a companion who stayed behind, standing next to Zhang Xiaoman's tricycle.
"I've asked him to stay and watch it for you, so don't worry, Master, let's hurry!"
The man in the black suit said.
In the car.
Zhang Xiaoman was sitting somewhat awkwardly in the back seat, accompanied by the suit-wearing man who led the way earlier.
It was his first time riding in a car of this caliber, and he felt a little uncomfortable all over, even though he knew he could very well pretend to be an aloof, nonchalant sage.
But he thought doing so would seem childish and that probably only he himself would fail to see it.
After all, it was the pot of poverty speaking.
"By the way, Master, you kept saying you weren't something?" the man in the black suit suddenly asked out of curiosity.
Zhang Xiaoman broke out in a sweat from the back of his head and stiffly turned to glance at him, then chuckled:
"What I mean is, I am not the kind of person who casually goes about performing exorcisms for people, money doesn't matter, I only help those who truly need it! Since your young master is in a life-threatening situation, I can't shirk my responsibility."
The man in the black suit looked impressed and said, "Master, you truly are a Master! Your realm is really different from ours!"
"Hahaha, too kind, too kind..."
Zhang Xiaoman thickened his skin and laughed, then added:
"By the way, who exactly is your boss? And where are we going? Tell me all about the situation."
He was actually a bit nervous when he asked this, his hand remaining on the hearthstone in his pocket.
On one hand, he worried these guys might be bad news, like human traffickers or something.
Although this was unlikely—after all, criminals wouldn't go to the trouble of using a Bentley to pick up a poor kid like himself.
On the other hand, he knew he wasn't Master Pei at all. If the family truly encountered some kind of monster, that'd be something else.
But if it was just a mundane visit to check on feng shui or fortune-telling, he wouldn't be able to squeeze out even a single fart.
With this thought, Zhang Xiaoman couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
Although the person they're really looking for is Master Liu, by all accounts, shouldn't my abilities be considered genuine?
But why do I end up feeling like I'm the swindler?
Okay, maybe I did deceive them, since I am not Master Liu after all.
But what does it matter? Master Liu is just an old charlatan anyway. They'd be swindled no matter who they sought. If I went, maybe I could actually help them.
"Master, have you ever heard of Su Zhuang?"
The man in the black suit suddenly revealed a mysterious smile.
"Su Zhuang?"
"Yes! Su Zhuang in the Fat Lake Scenic Area belongs to our boss, and our boss is Su Fu!" the man in the black suit proudly stated.
"Su Fu? Is that the... what's that Su Fu!?"
Zhang Xiaoman feigned surprise.
"Yes, that's the Su Fu!"
The man in the black suit beamed with pride.
Zhang Xiaoman felt that if the two of them could strike a "hands forming the number eight" pose right now, the atmosphere would be even more perfect.
"It's an honor to meet the great steward of the Su Mansion in person," said Zhang Xiaoman politely.
The man in the black suit blushed, "What steward? I'm just a bodyguard. You flatter me, Master."
Okay, Zhang Xiaoman had to admit, he had never heard of this Su Zhuang or Su Fu.
"Brother Hei, what exactly is going on with the Su family? Have they encountered some strange incident recently?"
Unexpectedly, the man in the black suit's eyes widened in surprise as he said, "How did the Master know my name is Xiao Hei!"
After saying that, he mumbled to himself, "Well, of course, you're a renowned Master, truly not unworthy of your reputation!"
Zhang Xiaoman: "..."
Who knew your name really was Xiao Hei!
The young man in the black suit continued, "You wouldn't know, Master, but a few days ago, the young master of our boss's family lost a bet outside, where the loser had to take a photo with a wild tomb in the old locust forest in the Northern Suburb. After the young master lost, he kept his word, but ever since he went, he never came back."
"Eventually, his friends realized something was wrong and called the police. The police found him in the old locust forest and brought him back, but he's been in a coma ever since. The hospital can't find any problem, but he just can't wake up..."
As he reached this point, he glanced at Zhang Xiaoman and said uneasily,
"I never believed in any stories about ghosts and gods, but the things that have happened to the young master these last few days really give even a blunt man like me the chills."
"Oh? Besides the coma, are there any other conditions?" Zhang Xiaoman asked curiously.
Xiao Hei struck a pose of wringing his hands and sighed, saying,
"Of course there are! If it was just a simple coma, the boss would have definitely sent him to the hospital for observation. If not in Qionghua City, then in Bai Yulan City, or he would have sought an international team of experts for treatment. He would not have so easily related it to legends of ghosts and gods!"
"Even, our boss has sought the help of many well-known Masters from around the area to perform exorcisms; something that would be nearly impossible under normal circumstances!"
At this point, he suddenly stopped and involuntarily swallowed hard:
"I saw it, the young master has a human face growing on his stomach!"