Chapter 13: The One Finger Gesture

“July, can you please help me? I really don’t want to lose everything. This is the result of half a lifetime of hard work—I don’t want to just lose it all like this.”

Liu Sihai dropped to his knees, tears and snot streaming down his face.

He clearly couldn’t accept the answer I had given him; he didn’t want to lose what he had painstakingly built.

I nodded, acknowledging Liu Sihai’s feelings in that moment.

Who wouldn’t find this unbearable?

After all, money is a good thing—everyone loves it.

But Liu Sihai’s fortune had already fled him; he could no longer hold onto his wealth.

“July, what should I do? How can I regain my fortune?”

“Do I need cosmetic surgery again, or maybe move somewhere new?”

Liu Sihai looked at me with a pained expression. He obviously couldn’t accept my previous answer.

“Uncle Liu, you have to give up. The aura of wealth has left you; you can’t hold onto your fortune anymore,” I said, shaking my head helplessly at his requests.

Though I learned secret arts from my grandfather that could increase wealth luck, those methods were mostly dark and forbidden.

I knew them but refused to use them.

Since this was the reality, I decided to be straightforward with Liu Sihai: once a person’s fortune disappears, trying to retrieve it is an impossible feat.

I didn’t want to give him false hope, lest he do something extreme in pursuit of wealth.

He had already achieved success and fame.

Leaving quietly was not such a bad thing.

Though he lacked fortune, he wouldn’t starve.

At worst, he would live the rest of his life as an ordinary man.

But for someone accustomed to a life of luxury, like Liu Sihai, this was utterly unacceptable.

He absolutely could not bear to live out his days as an ordinary person.

“That company I have left—the one registered under Qingqing’s name—wasn’t affected by the recent troubles. If you can help me regain my fortune, I’ll give you that company. I guarantee you a life of luxury,” Liu Sihai said, trying to tempt me with the company when I said nothing.

But he clearly underestimated my resolve. A mere small company would not sway the decision I had already made.

No matter what the Liu family decides, I am leaving.

Liu Sihai’s nature had long since turned into that of a profit-driven businessman.

Corrupted by wealth and money, he could not accept going home empty-handed.

There was no helping him—no amount of kind words could sway a damned soul.

“I’ve said all I have to say. What you choose to do now is your own business,” I said, then prepared to leave the Liu family villa.

I had completed all my tasks; whatever happened next had nothing to do with me.

I stood and began to walk out.

Suddenly, a stern voice rang out from behind me.

“You claim to be a practitioner of the Dao, yet you say there’s no way to restore fortune? There are many methods.”

With the sharp tone came a man in his sixties slowly entering from the side door of the hall.

“You must be Chen Tiande’s grandson, Chen July? Quite a handsome face you have,” the elderly man said lightly, his eyes filled with curiosity and doubt as he looked me over.

“Don’t be surprised. I was an old acquaintance of your grandfather,” he continued.

“I just saw you and something about your grandfather came to mind. Your nose, eyes, and mouth—so much like his.”

He spoke earnestly, and from his words, I sensed there were secrets between him and my grandfather.

Yet, in my grandfather’s lifetime, I never heard him mention a junior disciple.

This suggested their relationship wasn’t close—perhaps even antagonistic.

“July, don’t look at me like that. Your grandfather and I simply had different views, but we were both practitioners of the Dao.”

“I heard from my son Feng that you can summon the vengeful spirits of the underworld? Is that true?”

The old man bombarded me with questions, clearly intrigued by the abilities I had just displayed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied, then moved to exit the villa.

To my surprise, I found I couldn’t leave the main hall.

It was baffling.

Apparently, this old man didn’t intend to let me walk out so easily.

Fine. I had some questions to ask him as well.

“May I ask what your intentions are? Do you plan to forcibly detain me here?”

I glared at the elder, beginning to understand why my grandfather didn’t get along with him.

“I mean no harm. I just want to see if your skills are truly as Chen Feng described—able to summon the underworld from thin air.”

He bowed respectfully, then slowly extended his palm.

Suddenly, I felt as if I had been transported to a frigid, frozen wasteland.

Then, a fearsome ghost wielding two knives appeared before me.

“There’s no choice, little brother. Since you refuse to show me, I will test you myself,” the old man said, then lightly pointed at me.

Instantly, the two-knife ghost lunged toward me with a grimace.

I didn’t understand why this elder was attacking me.

But judging by his tone, he was very interested in my underworld summoning abilities.

The more interested he was, the less I intended to comply.

As the ghost charged, I remained calm.

I gently took the Soul-Calming Bell from my waist and rang it toward the ghost.

The ringing sound caused the ghost to freeze in place, unable to move.

“Go deal with it and find out what’s going on,” I commanded, chanting an incantation to call forth two spirit minions from the bell.

The twin-knife ghost was fierce, and I couldn’t quite gauge its true nature.

“This is the corpse of a general who died in battle. His soul lingered, becoming a wandering spirit,” the female spirit explained seriously.

They had fully accepted me as their master.

They would do their utmost to help me find answers.

“Since he’s a general who died in battle, we shouldn’t trouble him further. Let’s send him back.”

I lightly shook the Soul-Calming Bell again.

To the surprise of the spirits, the ghost suddenly turned and attacked the old man.

Even they were stunned.

They hadn’t expected my power to be so terrifying—not only to command ghosts, but to drive them away as well.

“Interesting. You do have some of your grandfather’s skills and insights. It seems he chose well when he passed his legacy on to you,” the elder said.

As the ghost neared him, the old man simply touched its forehead with his index finger.

With a wail, the ghost vanished without a trace.

The elder’s ability was astonishing.

One touch erased a powerful ghost.

Chen Feng hadn’t lied—my grandfather was indeed a formidable feng shui master in the provincial capital.

Facing him was no small challenge.

But I represented my grandfather and the legacy of the Qingma Physiognomy family.

For that alone, I could not admit defeat.

“All right, all right. Since you won’t show me more, I won’t press. But remember this—don’t act too arrogantly in the provincial capital, or you will disgrace your grandfather’s name.”

“Also, listen carefully. Don’t interfere in the matters between my grandson Chen Feng and the Liu family’s eldest daughter. Otherwise, don’t blame me for having no mercy and sending you to meet your grandfather.”

“I am Chen Yanlong. If you disagree, come find me at the guild. Liu Sihai has my contact information.”

With that, Chen Yanlong left arrogantly.

His actions caught me off guard.

What was his purpose?

Was he afraid my grandfather’s Qingma Physiognomy legacy would overshadow him?

If that was true, then all the more reason for me to press forward.