A Storm is Brewing

  Liu Zhi didn't think much of it and continued chatting with Old Sun and others.

  "Old Sun!" a voice rang out.

  "Old Tang, come sit here!" Sun Lao stood up and greeted an old man wearing a silk Tang suit, who was slightly plump but in good spirits, accompanied by a young man in his twenties with a handsome appearance.

  Everyone stood up and gave their seats, Old Sun introduced to everyone, Liu Zhi knew that the newcomer was the master of the Tang family's industry. Old Sun turned his gaze to the young man: "Old Tang, is this your nephew? A talented young man, I haven't seen him before, introduce him!"

  "Old Sun, you've made a mistake this time. I'd rather hope he's a son or nephew of my Tang family. He's indeed a great master, the heir of the Lai family, named Lai Jixue, and his profession is a geomancer." said Old Tang.

  "What is a geomancer?" Cao Yu Ying asked Liu Zhi Zhi in a low voice.

  "That's what people usually call a Feng Shui master." Liu Zhi also replied in a low voice.

  The two voices were low, but Lai Jixue heard them and didn't get angry. He smiled slightly: "Miss, what's your surname? It seems you don't understand the profession of a geomancer, maybe you think it's superstition."

  Liu Zhi felt a stir in his heart, and he and Cao Yu Ying's voices were very low. In this noisy hall, he could actually hear it. This person was not simple, and he couldn't help but look at Lai Ji Xue with interest.

  "My surname is Cao, and my name is Cao Yu Ying. I really didn't understand this profession of divination before, thinking it was superstition, but now I don't think that way." Cao Yu Ying composed herself quickly, covering up her momentary panic with a calm demeanor as she spoke to Lai Ji Xue. Cao Yu Ying's performance caught the attention of Sun Lao and several other elderly men, who nodded slightly in approval.

  Yu Ying, smiling and fragrant as she goes! What a great name! Why do people now think it's superstitious? Lai Jixue casually mentioned the origin of Cao Yu Ying's name, and also asked with some interest.

  "On the way to Shencheng, I saw a ghost. In the past, I thought it was superstition, but now I don't have any confidence." Cao Yuying seemed very calm at this time, her clothes looked relatively shabby in this grand hall filled with noble and wealthy people, but her performance now seemed confident. Liu Zhizhi had an intuition that this girl would not be an ordinary person in the future.

  "What's going on?" Lai Jixue's evaluation of Cao Yuying changed immediately, and as soon as he spoke, the others also perked up their ears.

  "I also experienced it, and this matter is related to my younger brother Liu Zhi!" Cao Yu said with some hesitation, looking at Cheng Zhenqian and Liu Zhi. Seeing this, Cheng Zhenqian took over the topic and told the story of what happened to the three of them on Zhuangtai that day.

  "You mean one of you flipped a coin and the ghost just disappeared?" Lai Jixue was somewhat incredulous.

  "Not bad, Younger Brother Zhi threw out a one-yuan coin and said something about buying road money, tolls. Younger Brother, you say, is that right?" Cheng Zhenqian turned his head to ask Liu Zhizhi.

  Liu Zhi knew in his heart that he was suffering, this Lai Jixue seemed to be a master of the art, a geomancer. He had seen it in some books before, legend has it that there was a Lai Buyi who even became an immortal through Feng Shui techniques, I wonder if he is related to him.

  Seeing everyone's gaze on him, Liu Zhi showed a hint of a smile: "That's right, I've heard old people say that in the past, when someone died, they would often scatter paper money in front of the coffin and along the road. Now in rural areas, when an elderly person passes away, they also throw two coins while crossing the bridge, saying it's to buy passage money. At the time, I was anxious and thought of this, so I gave it a try, and unexpectedly it worked."

  Liu Zhi didn't acknowledge that he knew these things. In modern society, this is often seen as superstition and leads to misunderstandings. He also doesn't rely on it for a living.

  "Is there no other reason? Liu Zhi Zhi, Ge Wu Zhi Zhi, good name, it seems that among the elder brothers of Liu, there is a high-ranking person!" Lai Ji Xue still didn't believe.

  As they were talking, others gathered around. People are often more interested in this kind of strange news, and even Xu Qian and Yu Fang also unconsciously squeezed over, Huang Weiguo saw Yu Fang coming over again, and also squeezed over.

  Liu Zhi knew that Lai Jixue was not convinced, and he was also showing off his own talents, but he didn't realize how ridiculous it was. He casually said: "Brother Lai doesn't believe it, there's nothing that can be done about it! Lai Jixue is the successor of the ancient saints' unfinished studies! Brother Lai must have come from a family of poetry and books, to have such an air about him!"

  In terms of national studies, Liu Zhi didn't have a strong foundation, but after all, under the pressure of his grandfather, he also read some books. What Liu Zhi was good at was modern science, especially physics. His university major was physics, which is a rare choice for people to choose as their major due to its fundamental nature, and Liu Zhi happened to be interested in it.

  Liu Zhi knew this, and Tang Lao laughed, saying: "Little Liu, you're right, Ji Xue comes from a noble family, the Di Shi family of Rui Jia, their Feng Shui geography skills, due to previous political reasons, are now rarely known in China, but in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and among global Chinese communities, they are all famous."

  This remark confirmed Liu Zhi's conjecture, and he pretended to be taken aback, looking at Lai Jixue again with a changed tone: "So brother Lai is indeed an old acquaintance. This time we've encountered a ghost, I don't know if it's good luck or bad luck. How do you view ghosts?"

  "Lai Jixue's words were actually not entirely convincing to himself, as he was a geomancer and occasionally came into contact with such things, which is why he suspected Liu Zhi's earlier claims. Now that the other party showed him great respect, he didn't dare ask further questions, so he made up an excuse and spoke in a roundabout way."

  Liu Zhi knew secretly admired him, unexpectedly able to find this reason, apparently not telling the truth, and readily gave the other a high hat: "I didn't expect Brother Lai to be so well-versed in modern science, I studied physics in college, Brother Lai said it's very reasonable!"

  The people around nodded one after another, but the two parties involved did not believe this statement. Liu Zhi knew the truth and Rui Ji Xue's family learned from a deeper source, starting from that angle, suspecting that there was another hidden situation.

  There were always people greeting Sun Lao and Tang Lao, while Liu Zhi didn't have much to do, so he made drinking and filling his stomach his top priority. Cheng Zhenqian was the same, but Cao Yuying quickly became familiar with some other people, which made Liu Zhi look at her in a new light.

  The host also said a few words, but Liu Zhi ignored them and instead started chatting with Lai Jixue, who was very interested in him. Liu Zhi introduced himself as a volunteer and mentioned that he happened to be there by chance. He also knew that Lai Jixue had helped Tang Lao solve a feng shui problem. The Tang family's main business in Shencheng was real estate, and they often relied on Lai Jixue for help with feng shui issues. Today, Liu Zhi took the opportunity to introduce Lai Jixue to two wealthy individuals, potentially paving the way for future clients.

  Liu Zhi knew some bottom and gave it to him, Liu Zhi showed himself as a martial arts practitioner, also considered a master, and instead solved one of Lai Ji Xue's doubts. People who practice martial arts have abundant blood and energy, can easily overcome ordinary yin souls, it seems that it is not the money for the road, but Liu Zhi's yang energy overcame the ghost, and the ghost disappeared.

  Lai Jixue didn't know that these were just his assumptions, and what happened that day was clear to Liu Zhizhi. In fact, Liu Zhizhi only understood a part of it, but the twists and turns behind it were not clear to him at all.

  Two people were chatting, and the on-site charity auction began. This was part of the annual meeting, mainly where guests present something from their body for an impromptu auction, which is also a source of donations. Liu Zhi didn't know about this beforehand, as he had never participated in it before. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but pause in surprise.

  Sun Lao found that Liu Zhi knew a daze, thought of it, and said: "Don't worry, it's not necessarily to donate something. You are participating for the first time, no preparation is normal. Little Liu, you and Little Cao's things I will prepare."

  "Sun Lao, don't bother about it, can anything be done?" Liu Zhi Zhu's eyes fell on the sickle and the bag of lingzhi beside him.

  As soon as Old Sun saw him, he knew that there were several good things like Ganoderma lucidum in his bag, and his heart moved, nodding slightly.

  At this time, Cao Yu Ying and journalist Xu Qian walked over to this side. On the other side, Yu Fang was being bothered by Huang Wei Guo, but just then Huang Wei Guo greeted another person, so Yu Fang glanced at Xu Qian and the two of them walking towards Liu Zhi Zhi's side, and shouted out as she also came over. Huang Wei Guo followed after her. The middle-aged man that Huang Wei Guo had just greeted also happened to walk over, this person was a bit short and chubby, with two people following him like attendants.

  Liu Zhi knew stood up and asked the three women to sit down. Huang Weiguo's eyes flashed a hint of displeasure, but his face still wore a smile as he said: "Miss Yu, let me introduce you, this is our Japanese friend Abe Kiyama."

  Liu Zhi knew had little good impression of the Japanese, his grandfather's hometown was Sichuan Province. At that time, more than 3 million Sichuan troops went out to resist Japan, bravely shedding blood and sacrificing, with a tragic sacrifice ranking first in the country. Liu Xingxu was still young at that time, but among his fellow villagers, several people sacrificed themselves on the anti-Japanese battlefield, leaving a deep impression on Liu Zhi from an early age.

  Liu Zhi didn't respond, while Cheng Zhenqian let out a cold snort, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward. Qian Kung just wanted to speak up and ease the tension when two waiters happened to pass by with a tray in their hands, but instead of wine glasses, there were items donated for auction.

  Huang Weiguo beckoned, and a waiter came over. Huang Weiguo took off his watch from his wrist and handed it to the waiter. Another waitress pulled out a note, asked Huang Weiguo's name and some information about the donated item in a low voice, wrote a note, and put it under the watch. This was to prepare some information for the auctioneer.

  Abe took out a string of Buddhist beads and handed them to the waiter. The waiter was about to leave when Huang Weiguo's eyes lit up, and he smiled at Liu Zhi and others, saying: "Japanese friends have all made donations, you can't lose face for our country!"

  He mainly said to Liu Zhi, he knew the truth about Liu Zhi, and saw that there was nothing valuable on Liu Zhi's body, so he set a difficult problem. Liu Zhi was very strange, this guy seemed to be targeting himself today, it was okay at first, but now it felt a bit off. Liu Zhi paid attention to Huang Weiguo, seeing Cao Yuying's face turn red, she had not expected these things, and there was nothing on her body that could be taken out.

  Liu Zhi knew one smile, took out a wild ganoderma lucidum from the cloth bag, Tang Lao and Sun Lao's eyes lit up, two people are experts, knowing that this brown ganoderma lucidum should be wild ganoderma lucidum.

  "This wild ganoderma is Miss Cao's auction item!" After finishing, he put it on the plate. The waiter came over to ask for some information. Liu Zhi knew waved his hand and took over the note and pen. His handwriting was still very beautiful, after all, he had been practicing under his grandfather's pressure since childhood.

  Cao Yu Ying cast a grateful glance at Liu Zhi Zhi, and there were still several herbs in the cloth bag. Huang Wei Guo saw it and said with sarcasm: "Mr. Liu won't donate another herb, will he?"

  "These are all truly wild spiritual medicines, you want me to be unwilling, you think to buy but there is no place to buy, I'll just donate this knife!" Liu Zhi said lightly drawing his sword, the sword half out of its scabbard, a fierce aura pressing down on people. Lai Ji Xue's eyes suddenly lit up, then narrowed slightly, and another was that Japanese person Abe Kiyoyama, whose eyes flashed with sharpness, immediately staring at the knife.

  This sword is a magic weapon, but Liu Zhi didn't take it seriously. He himself could refine magic weapons and could refine another one at any time, but he neglected the value of magic weapons, thinking that a knife worth only over a thousand yuan was nothing to worry about.

  "This broken sword!" Huang Weiguo couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  He hadn't finished laughing when Lai Jixue spoke up: "Liu Zhizhi, sell me the knife and I'll take care of the donation for you!"

  "Mr. Liu, sell me the sword, and you can take whatever you want from me!" Abe Kiyoyuki also shouted out, speaking fluent Chinese.

  Huang Weiguo had just smiled halfway when he suddenly choked up like an old goose with its neck pinched.

  Liu Zhi knew was writing an introduction, and said: "Later it will be auctioned off, you can bid for yourselves!" A doubt arose in his mind, could these two see the difference in this knife, recognize the law enforcement tool? He himself couldn't enter that state, and couldn't see it. Lai Ji Xue, it seems the Di Shi family is not to be underestimated. That Japanese devil also saw it, Abe, he had heard of it before when reading books, could it be the legacy of Japan's Onmyodo?

  Things were sent up, and soon after, the auction began. The wild lingzhi donated by Cao Yuying was finally taken down by Tang Lao for 10,000 yuan. Next to be auctioned off was Huang Weiguo's watch.

  "This is a Patek Philippe watch donated by Mr. Huang Weiguo, as everyone knows, Patek Philippe is a synonym for high-end watches, with over 160 years of watchmaking experience, this Patek Philippe wristwatch is an eternal pursuit for all connoisseurs, and the reserve price set by Mr. Huang is one million!" The auctioneer spoke fluently.

  After several rounds of bidding, it was finally sold for 220,000 yuan. Huang Weiguo couldn't help but glance at Liu Zhizhi with a hint of pride. Several other small items were auctioned off, some selling for tens of thousands and others for just a few thousand, until finally it was time for Liu Zhizhi's treasured sword.

  "Now up for auction is a Miao Dao donated by Mr. Liu Zhi, forged by the great Miao master Xiang Ye, purely handmade, with a sharp blade that can cut through gold and iron, having beheaded a giant python, named 'Python Slayer', starting price 10,000 yuan!" The auctioneer drew out the Miao Dao from its scabbard, its surface slightly blue, like a tranquil pool of water.

  Charity auctions have a pricing strategy, although the donor sets the price, if it doesn't sell, the item returns to the original owner, but the donor must buy it back at the reserve price. So the price isn't randomly set. When Liu Zhi bought the knife, he only spent 1,000 yuan, now it's priced at 10,000, a tenfold increase. Although the Liu family is wealthy, Liu Zhi himself doesn't have much cash on hand, only around 200,000 yuan. So Liu Zhi has a plan, in the worst case, he'll just donate 10,000 yuan himself.

  "Twenty thousand!" Lai Jixue directly doubled it.

  "One million!" Abe Kiyoshi flipped five times again.

  Liu Zhi knew that he couldn't accept it, his original intention was to sell the knife for around 10,000 to 20,000. Cheng Zhenqian was even more stunned, and whispered to Liu Zhi: "Younger brother, this knife is so valuable, I have another one at home, I'll auction it off someday!"

  "Three hundred thousand!" Lai Jixue directly added twenty million, not to mention that Liu Zhizhi was shocked, even Huang Weiguo was also shocked, and he didn't dare to believe his ears. This broken knife is so valuable, and in his heart, he even thought of going to Miaojiang for a trip, ordering a batch of Miao knives from that Daxi master.

  "Five hundred thousand!" Abe Kiyoyuki also didn't show any weakness, as if he was determined to get it.

  Two people bid against each other, making others unbelievable. Liu Zhi knew the price of the artifact was astonishing and even thought about whether to refine a few more and then auction them off.

  "One million!" Lai Jixue directly overpowered him with his aura.

  "Two million!" Abe Kiyo didn't show any weakness, and as he spoke, his hand quietly flipped over, forming a hand seal. A small gust of wind arose beside him, and Liu Zhi suddenly felt something was off. He concentrated slightly, and everything in the world changed. A faint, smoky snake shadow pounced towards Lai Jixue, but no one else sensed anything abnormal.

  "You little scoundrel, how despicable!" Liu Zhi's mind stirred and he was about to take action, but after a moment's thought, he withdrew his hand, for it was no longer necessary.

  "Hmm!" Lai Jixue hummed a low sound, and a hint of killing intent appeared in his eyes. His fingers, like those playing the piano, hung down beside his leg, quickly jumping up and down. Liu Zhizhi clearly felt that with each movement of his fingers, it seemed to form a special pattern. The gloomy aura in the hall rapidly gathered around Lai Jixue, shooting out like arrows. Wherever the aura passed, the snake shadow instantly dissipated. The gloomy aura suddenly hit Anbe Kiyoyama, and he felt a chill run down his spine. Before he could react, he felt countless fierce ghosts pouncing on him. He fell into an illusion created by the gloomy aura, but fortunately, he was also an expert. He immediately calmed himself and used his techniques to drive away the gloomy aura.

  "Three million!" Lai Jixue calmly reported a number, while Abe Kiyoyama was busy fighting with hallucinations and didn't hear it at all. The crowd didn't feel the duel between the two, except for Liu Zhi, who only felt that Abe Kiyoyama suddenly became stunned, as if he had been hit by the competition and couldn't bear it. Some people maliciously thought in their hearts that this little devil's psychological quality was too poor, being scared into this state just by hearing three million.

  Liu Zhi knew fell into deep thought, Lai Ji Xue was a geomancer, could it be that this was an attack by the geomancer, not like a talisman, but rather seemed to collect and guide the yin evil energy in the environment to attack the opponent.

  The auctioneer asked three times and then fell, the Miao Dao returned to Lai Jixue. After another half minute or so, Abe Jinshan finally let out a dull hum, with a thread of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, before he broke free from the illusion and woke up, glaring at Lai Jixue with anger in his eyes. Lai Jixue looked back at him coldly with a provocative gaze.

  Abe no Kiyo looked up at the stage again, and the auctioneer was already auctioning off other items. He knew he had missed out on the sword and gave Rai Keigaku a vicious glare, then shot a resentful glance at Liu Zhi-zhi. Liu Zhi-zhi rolled his eyes and muttered: "Disgusting thing!"

  The waiter brought over a knife and Lai Jixue opened a check and handed it to the waiter.

  "Xiao Lai, why is this knife so expensive? Is there some secret?" Tang Lao asked curiously, and the crowd also shifted their gaze to Lai Jixue.