Chapter 55: Black Crow

Uncle Hu and I looked at each other in dismay, neither of us expecting this place to be so ominously bizarre.

"Brother Qiyue, to get into this place, you need to swipe a membership card. Since neither you and Uncle Hu have one, it will probably be very difficult to get inside."

Liu Qingqing took a membership card out of her bag and said to Uncle Hu and me with a serious expression.

"Management here is very strict. Without a card, you are absolutely not allowed to enter."

"My mother got a membership card for me, so I can go in, but you guys probably can't."

Hearing Liu Qingqing say this, I felt somewhat helpless.

I pulled out a compass from the cloth bag I carried with me, wanting to see if I could find any other way.

Yet at that very moment, I instinctively sensed a chilling aura approaching, and the needle on the compass began to quiver bizarrely.

I knew this meant a malevolent entity was coming toward us.

Generally, feng shui masters use a compass to determine directions and judge auspiciousness or misfortune.

However, those with genuine cultivation usually use a compass to detect ghosts and spirits.

With my level of discernment, I immediately judged that a malevolent entity was lunging at us from behind, which matched my premonition.

I shoved Uncle Hu and Liu Qingqing aside, simultaneously channeling my Profound Yang Qi to envelop myself in an instant.

Soon, that sinister and evil aura reached right in front of me. To my astonishment, however, it was not some evil spirit, but a black raven.

It circled around me once, then flew onto my shoulder and landed, standing completely motionless as if treating my shoulder like a tree branch.

Feeling somewhat perplexed, I turned my head to take a look.

At that single glance, I knew the matter would not be easily resolved.

"Liu Qingqing, the situation here is beyond your imagination. You should go back first, and I will look for you after I handle this."

I spoke to Liu Qingqing with a solemn expression, signaling her to leave quickly.

"Brother Qiyue, what's wrong with you? Is there something amiss? Are you trying to chase me away?"

Reluctant to leave, Liu Qingqing pouted and muttered aside.

"The situation here is special; it's not convenient for you to stay. Uncle Hu, please escort her back to the Liu family villa. It's not convenient for you to stay here either."

I said to Uncle Hu—Tieshou—signaling for him to take Liu Qingqing away together.

The situation here was far too complicated; keeping even one extra person here meant an extra layer of danger.

"Alright then, Brother Qiyue. So that I don't distract you, I'll leave for now. How boring, I didn't even get to see a ghost's shadow."

Liu Qingqing muttered, and then, guided by Uncle Hu, the two of them temporarily left the entrance of the Haitailan Women's Club.

As soon as Uncle Hu and Liu Qingqing had completely departed, I swiftly formed a hand seal with my fingers and slapped the raven perched on my shoulder.

With that single strike, the black raven vanished, leaving only a piece of black paper shaped precisely like a raven resting on my shoulder.

Just as I had guessed, the black raven was not real, but folded by an expert.

I unfolded this black slip of paper and saw four characters written upon it:

"Perilous, do not enter!"

Seeing those four words, I let out a heavy sigh of relief. It seemed this expert was a friend rather than a foe!

Yet a question arose in my mind: Who on earth was this fellow?

Why would he send me a message?

Judging by his methods, his cultivation was exceedingly profound. This paper-crafting technique could practically be considered miraculous.

Among the legends of the feng shui underworld recounted by my grandfather, only Crippled Li—the one whose ghostly hands could craft three thousand worlds—seemed capable of such a feat.

Judging by this person's methods, even if he fell slightly short of Crippled Li, he could probably trade blows with him for a few rounds. He was undeniably a formidable character.

This also left me puzzled: such a small women's club actually harbored a feng shui master of such terrifying caliber.

It seemed that if I wanted to lift the infant-spirit mark from between Liu Qingqing's eyebrows, I would need to plan my next steps very carefully.

I folded the black paper back into the shape of a raven, slapped it once more, and silently chanted a passage from the Rebirth Mantra.

Momostents later, the raven fluttered its wings and flew up.

However, the way this raven flew lacked its previous supernatural grace; it simply looked like a sheet of black paper fluttering through the sky.

As the paper raven flew in the sky, I followed closely on foot behind it.

After walking about five or six hundred meters, the paper raven turned and flew into a secluded alley, disappearing from sight.

I hurried forward in pursuit, only to see the paper raven transforming into a roaring ball of fire not far ahead of me, burning fiercely.

"Senior, I am Chen Qiyue. Thank you for your guidance. This junior offers you his utmost respect."

I bowed respectfully toward the spot where the paper raven was self-combusting, expressing my profound gratitude.

Suddenly, I heard a sharp shout from behind me:

"Chen Qiyue, you have some nerve! How dare you spy on the Blindfolding Array? Have you grown tired of living?!"

Startled by the scolding voice, I spun around to look and saw a middle-aged man wrapped in a dark green military trench coat squatting in the corner of the alley. Judging by his appearance, he looked about the same age as Uncle Hu.

I quickly trotted over, eager to ask for a way to break the array.

As I drew closer, my attention was immediately recaptured by the other party.

The middle-aged man was sitting on a small stool made of paper, swaying unsteadily as if he were about to fall asleep.

Yet despite his violent swaying, the paper stool showed no signs of snapping whatsoever, remaining as steady as a rock.

This further convinced me that this expert's abilities were truly extraordinary.

At the very least, he was far stronger than Uncle Hu and me.

A few paper figures and paper horses were displayed in front of him, making him look rather like a wandering street performer.

His appearance and demeanor also genuinely resembled a vagrant Taoist priest of the underworld; his hair hadn't been washed in so long it had grown greasy and clumped together.

He looked nothing like an expert, resembling a sleazy, scruffy old rogue instead.

"Um... Great Master. I am Chen Qiyue. If I have overstepped in any way, I ask for your senior guidance."

Although I could hardly appreciate this uncle's attire, I still addressed him with utmost deference.

You cannot judge a book by its cover, just as you cannot measure the sea with a pint cup.

The more bizarrely he dressed, the more formidable I believed him to be.

Perhaps he had truly attained a state where he ignored his outward appearance to focus solely on the Dao.

Perhaps upon hearing my greeting, he scratched his scalp and asked me in a low voice:

"Nephew Qiyue, did you bring any cigarettes?"

I didn't smoke, so naturally, I shook my head.

"You brat, why don't you know how to enjoy life? Drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes grants boundless magical power. No wonder your Taoist arts haven't progressed—you need to learn how to be flexible."

With that, he pulled a tobacco pipe from his cloth pouch, lit it with a match, and began puffing away while sitting to the side.

Not daring to disturb him, I could only wait patiently by his side.

I figured that once he finished satisfying his craving, he would naturally offer me some guidance.

Sure enough, after taking a few puffs of his pipe, the middle-aged uncle raised his head to look at me and said solemnly:

"You little rascal, you've got some damn big guts! Just how dangerous is this Blindfolding Array, and yet you dared to spy on it? Do you feel like you've lived long enough?"

After saying this, the middle-aged uncle tapped his tobacco pipe against the ground and continued:

"Tell me, who gave you this kind of courage? When your grandfather was alive, we never saw him act this recklessly! How did it end up with you being such a headache?

"You stinky brat, don't tell me you're running wild just because you have that withered old codger shielding you?

"Don't you forget the perils of the feng shui underworld—a single careless step and you'll die!"

Hearing this, my heart tightened.

This unassuming, unkempt uncle was definitely a ruthless expert!

And the withered old codger he mentioned must surely be the elderly man who had chased away Chen Hongyi!

I never imagined this fellow would know so much.

It seemed his purpose in coming here today was specifically targeted at me.

"Senior possesses supreme wisdom and divine foresight. This junior is in awe. Does uncle truly have information regarding that withered old man?"

I addressed the middle-aged uncle, hoping to pry some details about the old man from him.