Go all out

Chapter 24: The Fourth Person

Although I found Tian Zhan’s sudden behavior strange, I had no choice but to take the bus home alone. Once I arrived, I opened the shop and got back to business. Sitting alone in the shop, I kept replaying the events of the past few days in my mind. Ultimately, it all stemmed from Uncle Zhang going up the mountain and shooting my mom—that’s what triggered her revenge. Then, unable to stop herself, she went on to kill three more people. However, ever since I found that old photo at the village chief’s house, I’ve been feeling a bit puzzled. Could the three people in the photo—who are already dead—have any direct connection to Uncle Zhang, the first one to die? This puzzled me greatly. After all, one of the other people in the photo wasn’t Uncle Zhang, who had died first. Also, hadn’t Tian Zhan just received a message with information about the fourth person in the photo? Just as my mind was getting a bit confused, someone arrived at the door. To my surprise, it was Zhang Hao—the man who had read my fortune the first time. Accompanying him was another man, dressed simply and looking much like a retired elderly gentleman, yet with an air of nobility about him—clearly, he held a high status. As soon as Zhang Hao walked in, he said with a smile, “Master Li, sorry to bother you. I’ve made a special trip to bring an important guest to see you.” I glanced at Zhang Hao. His face was flushed—not from good health, but from having had too much to drink, which suggested he’d been celebrating something joyful over the past couple of days. Plus, his brows were relaxed, indicating that the murder case he’d been involved in last time had been resolved. However, dark energy had already begun to gather in his Life Palace—meaning his fatal crisis would strike within a month at most. I analyzed the situation silently without speaking up; after all, there was no need for me to state such things outright. Still, he must have thought that after safely weathering one crisis, everything would go smoothly from then on—but he surely never imagined he had only about a month left to live. Life can be quite helpless at times. I quickly gathered my thoughts and invited the two of them to sit down. Zhang Hao also introduced the elderly man he’d brought along, telling me I could simply call him “Old Master Tang.” Elder Tang gave me a casual glance. “Your master once did a reading for me—and it was spot on! I actually came here this time intending to see your master, but I heard he’s in the hospital. Well, there’s nothing I can do about that—I’ll just have to make do.” Hearing these somewhat provocative words, I remained unfazed, still wearing a smile. Old Master Tang furrowed his brow and continued, “I won’t beat around the bush. I’ve heard your fortune-telling skills are quite good. Can you figure out the purpose of my visit?” I have to admit, I really dislike that kind of tone, but I run a business—I can’t very well turn people away, can I? I could only study him carefully for a few moments before saying, “It’s quite simple. Although your face exudes nobility and clearly shows the features of a long life, there’s a dark hue in your eyes, your cheekbones are sunken, the corners of your lips are pale, and the ends of your eyebrows droop. It seems you haven’t been sleeping well lately, has it? Something has happened at home, and…” A flicker of emotion crossed Old Master Tang’s face—clearly, I’d hit the mark. He instinctively sat up straighter and leaned in, asking, “And what?” I smiled slightly, then fixed my gaze on a dark spot on his temple and said, “And your Migration Palace indicates that you’re about to move. The home you’re living in now has been taken over by intruders…” Old Master Tang took a deep breath before speaking slowly, “Your analysis is spot on. I’ve actually been thinking about moving lately because a lot of rats have suddenly appeared in my house—not just one or two, but hundreds of them. I can’t get rid of them no matter what I try… Do you have any suggestions?” “Rats?” I was taken aback and couldn’t help but think of that “Mountain God” rat spirit. I found it somewhat amusing—what a coincidence! I could only continue asking, “Everything happens for a reason. Rats wouldn’t just take over your home out of the blue. Think about it—have you done anything to offend the rats? Or perhaps killed one?” “Well…” Mr. Tang seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head. “No, nobody in my family ever kills living creatures.” “Really?” I studied his Life Palace. Although he had a dignified appearance, he wasn’t exactly the kind-eyed, benevolent type—in other words, he was cut from the same cloth as Zhang Hao. Still, he had no reason to lie about the rat situation. Could there be some other explanation? “It’s true,” Old Mr. Tang nodded firmly. I have to admit, if I hadn’t been focusing on his Life Palace, Old Mr. Tang’s lies would have been just as hard to distinguish from the truth as his honest words. Since he wasn’t going to say anything, I didn’t feel like asking either. All I could do was take a piece of yellow paper from inside the cabinet, write my name on it, then prick my finger and let a drop of blood fall onto it. This wasn’t some kind of talisman or anything—I don’t know how to draw them anyway—but I was just hoping that rat spirit would do me a favor. “Here’s what you do: take this yellow talisman home, stick it in your living room, and see how the mice in your house react. If they leave, the problem is solved. If they don’t, come back and I’ll see what I can do,” I said to Old Master Tang. After taking it, Old Tang gave me a slightly skeptical look, nodded helplessly, and casually pulled out a thousand yuan, placing it on the table. Zhang Hao exchanged a few polite words with me, and the two of them were about to leave when Tian Zhan returned. Tian Zhan glanced at the pair but fixed his gaze on Old Master Tang. Being stared at like that by a stranger, Old Master Tang naturally furrowed his brow and let out a slight, displeased snort before the two of them walked out. “Was that old man just now here to have his fortune told?” Tian Zhan poured himself a glass of water without waiting for a response. After taking a sip, he asked. “Yeah.” I nodded, finally relaxing just a little—a thousand yuan was a good start, after all. “That old man has a demonic aura about him,” Tian Zhan said. “Supernatural aura? Are you sure you didn’t misread that?” I was a bit taken aback. How could a person have a demonic aura? Could it be that the old man had come into contact with that rat spirit? “Of course I’m not mistaken. This old man has been in contact with a spirit creature for at least a few days, and… never mind, it’s none of my business anyway.” Tian Zhan stopped mid-sentence, shook his head, then pulled a photo from his pocket and placed it on the table. “Xiao Tian, take a look at this photo.” I glanced at it instinctively, then picked up the photo from the table with a look of astonishment and doubt. After examining it closely for a minute, I muttered to myself, “How could this be my master?” The photo was a restored black-and-white image—the very same old photograph from the village chief’s house. The fourth person, who had originally been blurry, had been digitally restored. I recognized his facial features at a glance—it was actually my master! What’s going on? How could the fourth person be my master? This was something I hadn’t anticipated at all. If the restoration of this photo had been a mistake, there was another detail I hadn’t considered before: my master happens to be exactly forty-seven years old this year. In other words, the four people in the photo—ages forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, and forty-seven—add up to exactly… Are these consecutive ages just simple numbers? Do they hold some special meaning? My mind went into a frenzy. If the fourth person was my master, did that mean my mom was going to kill him? “Xiaotian, what do you think?” Tian Zhan suddenly looked at me and asked. I remained silent, completely at a loss for words. My master’s sudden “appearance” had left me completely unable to think straight. “Tian Zhan, could my mom kill my master?” I asked anxiously. Tian Zhan gave me a deep look and shook his head. Instead of answering my question directly, he asked me, for some reason, “Do you remember that man in black I told you about yesterday?” “Of course I do.” I nodded. That man had nearly taken my life—how could I possibly forget? “I’ve been thinking about it all day. Given that man in black’s skills, if he wanted you dead, why didn’t he just pick any random spot to kill you? Instead, he chose to strike near your mom’s cave—right as you were rappelling down—just to make you fall to your death? That can’t be it. I think his sudden attack had a specific purpose! And that purpose depends on you to help him achieve it!” At this point, Tian Zhan’s tone took on a meaningful undertone. “What do you mean?” I was a bit confused. Tian Zhan’s expression shifted slightly. “What I mean is, he cut the rope not to kill you, but to force your mom to come out—and to send her a message at the same time: that he can take your life at any moment!” Hearing this, something vaguely clicked in my mind, and I felt an inexplicable surge of excitement. My voice trembled as I asked, “Then why did he tell my mom all this?” Tian Zhan snorted coldly, his tone icy. “It’s simple—to blackmail your mom, because she didn’t kill those four people in the village!” “What?” Hearing this, my breathing instantly became rapid. I stared intently at Tian Zhan, my voice trembling even more. “Tian Zhan, is that true? My mom didn’t kill anyone??”