Chapter 63: Mu Qing

  At night, the old man of the Cao Shan sect, Li Qian Shan, was calling everyone to gather together. I felt a bit worried at that time. It wasn't them who paid the bill, they always chose good food and drinks, and many of them were good drinkers. I looked at the little over 1,000 yuan left in my pocket and had an urge to cry. A fortune wouldn't be enough for such extravagance. Unfortunately, no one noticed my difficulty, even my master was waving his hand: "Tonight, let's have a good time, we won't leave until we're drunk, otherwise, when facing the three corpses carrying coffins in two days, we'll die and there will be no more drinking."

  This isn't just following the crowd, why should I be the one to pay the bill? But with so many seniors from various sects here, it's not possible to lose face in front of Master. All I could do was smile wryly and follow everyone as Master led them to the hotel. I then excused myself to Master: "Master, I have a bit of a headache today, so I won't go. It doesn't matter if I'm not there to pour wine anyway. I'll just rest at the inn. Don't glare at me, I'll go pay the bill later."

  The master finally left with a satisfied look, but I really had a headache. What they ate was all money, and I couldn't ask my father for money after all. It wasn't a small amount, and now that we've eaten our fill, it's me who has to foot the bill. Is there anyone asking if I still have any money? In the past, I begged the master to save my life, but now I'm starting to pay off debts. Alas...

  After the master left for a while, Zhang Jianchen called to say he had arrived, and I also rushed over with Huang Kai. When we got there, Zhang Jianhua and Sun Chuanming had also arrived, and surprisingly, Mu Qing was there too, which made me frown involuntarily. Every time I see her, I think of the master's words, whether true or not, I don't want to take this risk. However, since we're already here, let's just deal with it for now, and I'll mention it to Zhang Jianchen later, absolutely cannot bring her here again.

  When he saw me, Sun Chuanming was very happy: "Master, how did you think of calling us over for a drink today?"

  I plopped down, my face a picture of misery. I looked around at the people present and didn't want to hide anything: "Everyone, this time I'm really in trouble. You all know that this time, in order to deal with the three corpses carrying coffins, our Quanzhen Sect invited many high-ranking members from various sects to come and assist us. Everyone gave us a lot of face, and as soon as they arrived, there were dozens of people..."

  "Isn't this great, Master? Can you also introduce us to each other?" Sun Chuanming still had a smile on his face, almost making me angry at that moment.

  I glared at Sun Chuanling, very dissatisfied, and hummed: "Aren't you the one who opened a restaurant? If you're willing to get to know everyone, I'll take them all there and introduce them to you one by one."

  Sun Chuanming wasn't stupid, he could tell I was just making conversation, but he just smiled awkwardly a few times and turned around to order more wine and dishes, changing the subject. Thinking about it, it made sense - with dozens of people staying for several days, they would have bankrupted Sun Chuanming if they had continued like that. In fact, everyone was smart and understood my intention. Zhang Jianchen hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and said: "I still have some money left, why don't I lend it to you first..."

  "No need, I didn't come to borrow money. What I was thinking is that I want to earn it -" He waved his hand and I hastily stopped Zhang Jianchen from continuing, but in my heart, I was still very grateful. I knew his family wasn't wealthy, so for him to say this meant he truly considered me a friend.

  However, as soon as they started talking about making money, everyone's face turned strange. Sun Chuanming and Zhang Jianhua exchanged a glance, and Zhang Jianhua let out a bitter laugh: "Why don't we all just chip in instead? In these few days, we need to make tens of thousands of yuan, unless we rob a bank, it's not easy to make that kind of money. I've been doing this for so many years, but I've only managed to save that little bit."

  This remark resonated with Sun Chuanming and Zhang Jianchen, who both nodded in agreement. Huang Kai, who was standing aside, couldn't help but interject, "You guys are so stupid! Don't you ever think about what kind of person my little master is? He's not someone who can be compared to you guys. As long as we find a place with a ghost, the money will come pouring in. Think about it, who knows where there are ghosts?"

  As soon as the words came out, everyone suddenly realized, but then they all fell into deep thought, thinking and thinking, still can't think of it. It was Mu Qing, who had been silent all along, who said faintly: "I do know one family, but they are not rich, at most it's just a decent 350,000."

  "Thirty-five thousand is fine too. If not, take me to see it tomorrow." My eyes lit up and I couldn't help but get excited. It's like this, making money is actually quite simple.

  Mu Qing didn't say a word, she just nodded. Zhang Jianchen looked at her and seemed to remember something, hesitated for a moment and frowned: "You're talking about Guan He's family?"

  Mu Qing remained silent, but it was clear that Zhang Jianchen had guessed correctly. It seemed that Zhang Jianchen also knew him, and I suspected that this might be someone from the Public Security Bureau. Just as I was thinking about this, Zhang Jianchen let out a sigh and hesitated several times before speaking up: "Brother, listen to me, don't take offense, if you can help, please do. Their family might not even be able to scrape together 30,000 or 50,000 yuan. If that's the case, I'll just pay it myself."

  As I looked at Zhang Jianchen, I realized what was going on. Just looking at him, Zhang Jianchen shook his head with a bitter smile: "Guan He and I were originally both from the criminal police team. His family background was ordinary, his wife's health was poor, and his parents were old. However, good people often don't have good fortune. When his son was seven years old, he suddenly developed a mental illness for some reason. He would be dazed all day, and when he had an episode, he would even hit people. They spent all their money on medical treatment, going to Beijing and Shanghai, but there was no cure for the child's illness. Later, someone said that his son was possessed by evil spirits. Over the years, their family... Ah..."

  I was stunned, it's clear that Guan He's family didn't have any money, and this has been going on for several years now. If they had some money, it would have been spent long ago, otherwise Zhang Jianchen wouldn't be speaking up for him. Moreover, it seems like Guan He and Zhang Jianchen are quite close. Just as I was thinking about this, Mu Qing said in a low tone: "Captain Zhang even lent Guan He 200,000 yuan, which still hasn't been repaid to this day. When I mentioned 350,000, that was after he recovered from his illness, and it could be considered as borrowed money for medical treatment. Guan He is also willing to take out the money."

  She glared at Mu Qing, took a deep breath, and nodded to Zhang Jianchen: "Zhang, don't say anything else. I'm not greedy either. Let's just consider it helping you out. Tomorrow, go take a look. If it works out, have Guan He invite me for a meal then. If not, find my masters; there are plenty of them around now, and they probably won't even want money."

  Zhang Jianchen was stunned, just about to speak, but unfortunately I didn't give him a chance to speak. As soon as the words fell, he looked at Sun Chuanming and Zhang Jianhua: "Brother Sun, Brother Zhang, the money is still to be found. How about this? You two are familiar with the situation and have good connections, so please help me contact them and see whose family is haunted."

  "Alright, we'll take responsibility for it. Tomorrow will definitely be fine, unless there's no ghost in Jiang City." Sun Chuanming and Zhang Jianhua patted their chests to guarantee it.

  "It's not a ghost, heh heh - Little Master, we won't look at who has money and catch a ghost to put in their house -" Huang Kai was even more sinister, thinking of such an idea, but if they really couldn't get money, maybe this is also a way, just rob the rich and help the poor.

  That night, Zhang Jianchen drank a lot, which was for Guan He. In the end, Zhang Jianchen still wanted him to pay the bill. Unable to outdo him, it was he who paid in the end. On the spot, he called Guan He, who excitedly burst into tears on the phone. Zhang Jianchen handled things with ease and arranged to meet again early tomorrow morning. Zhang Cai sent Zhang Jianhua and Sun Chuanming to send Zhang Jianchen back home.

  It wasn't easy to see off Zhang Jianchen and the others, but unexpectedly Mu Qing didn't seem to have any intention of leaving. Huang Kai was still trying to get along with her, but I took advantage of my slight intoxication to say calmly: "Miss Mu, it's getting late, we'll head back and rest first. It's not convenient for you, a young lady, to be with us, so we won't see you off."

  I'm very cold, even Huang Kai can feel it, let alone Mu Qing. But as soon as I think of Master's words, if I were to come into contact with this woman, it would drag Master down to his death. Just for that reason, I'd rather die than have anything more to do with her, even if it makes people think I'm inhumane. Sure enough, Mu Qing sensed it and her expression changed at once. However, she forced herself to suppress her anger and suddenly stood up, staring at me: "You dislike me because I interrogated you at the bureau?"

  "No, I'm not so petty-minded. What's past is past. I just don't want to talk to you anymore, and I don't even want to see you. Isn't that enough? Since I've made up my mind, I'm not afraid of provoking Mu Qing either."

  Mu Qing's face changed drastically, her eyes glaring at me with anger, her chest heaving up and down, clearly already very furious. I was worried that Mu Qing would slap me and leave, but unexpectedly, after a long while, Mu Qing suppressed her temper and took a deep breath before growling at me: "Can I have a word with you alone?"

  "I'm really tired, I should go back to sleep." I was talking nonsense with my eyes wide open, but I couldn't show any sign of being sleepy. As a person, you would have some shame, right? I waved at Huang Kai and walked out the door with a swagger. Master's words kept echoing in my mind, no matter what, I couldn't let go. Although it was only for a few days, I already felt a sense of kinship with Master. I believed that if it were Master, he would even risk his life to protect me. Since that's the case, being a bad person is also something I have no choice but to do. Besides, I didn't have any good feelings towards Mu Qing anyway.

  As I walked out the door, Huang Kai spoke in a strange tone: "Little Master, you're too cold-blooded, aren't you? Mu'erge..."

  "Shut up, Huang Kai. If I see you hanging out with Mu Qing again, you'll be in big trouble." My voice was heavy and my heart was annoyed. Mu Qing was someone I didn't dare to get close to, something that must be avoided, but things weren't that simple. Mu Qing seemed to have something to look for me, and she had a persistent look on her face.

  As soon as this thought fell, I suddenly heard Mu Qing's angry shout behind me: "Liu Hai, if you don't care about me, I'll die!"