Chapter 13 Evil Aura

Though she didn’t fully understand, Huang Li had witnessed some of Yan Zhen’s abilities through Zhou Yimin. Combined with Zhou Yimin’s trustworthy nature, she decided to respect Yan Zhen’s opinion and got into the car first.

Zhou Yimin sat with Huang Li in the backseat, waving at Yan Zhen through the window. “Grandmaster Yan, are you really not coming up?”

Yan Zhen waved them off. “You lead the way.”

How could they disobey when the Grandmaster had spoken? The driver followed instructions and stepped on the accelerator—though, understanding Mrs. Huang’s concerns, he didn’t drive too fast, maintaining a speed that could be matched by a light jog.

Huang Li and Zhou Yimin kept glancing outside, worried Yan Zhen might fall behind.

To their surprise, as soon as they turned their heads, they saw Yan Zhen walking beside their car window—wait, “walking”? Even at this slow speed, the car was moving faster than a walking pace!

Huang Li’s heart raced as she asked Zhou Yimin, “Yimin, what’s Grandmaster Yan doing?”

Zhou Yimin nearly stuck his head out the window in shock. Yan Zhen was indeed just “walking” alongside them, unhurried yet effortlessly keeping pace with the car. Stranger still, none of the pedestrians seemed to notice anything unusual. He swallowed hard. What… what was happening?

Seeing Zhou Yimin silent and dazed, Huang Li also peered outside. When she noticed the passersby’s complete lack of reaction—as if Yan Zhen were invisible—a chill ran down her spine, raising goosebumps all over her body.

After a few minutes, Huang Li stiffly told the driver, “Drive a little faster.”

The driver complied.

Yet Yan Zhen still walked casually beside their window.

Huang Li: “Faster.”

Yan Zhen kept pace without effort.

“Faster.”

He remained there.

“Faster.”

Still there.

Holding her breath, Huang Li said, “Again—”

The driver sighed. “This is the fastest we can go on this road.”

Huang Li exhaled softly.

Zhou Yimin, regaining his composure, said, “Mrs. Huang, I think this might be Grandmaster Yan’s spell.”

Huang Li paused, then suddenly understood. The fear gripping her heart instantly transformed into joy.

Of course—it wasn’t just ghosts who could do such things. Those with profound abilities could too. She’d been so frightened lately that her mind had jumped to the worst conclusion.

Just as Huang Li had this realization, the car stopped.

“Madam, we’ve arrived.”

Composing herself, Huang Li waited as Zhou Yimin stepped out and opened her door. She exited gracefully, offering Yan Zhen an elegant smile. “We’ll be relying on you this time, Grandmaster Yan.”

Yan Zhen grinned brightly. “Of course.”

·

Yan Zhen was completely unaware of Huang Li’s train of thought. As he faced the mansion ahead, his brow furrowed.

Why did it have to be this guy?

The mansion was shrouded in a thick, unsettling aura—one that inexplicably stirred unease in anyone who saw it, as if compelling them to commit some misdeed.

Noticing Yan Zhen’s sudden stillness, Huang Li grew nervous. “Grandmaster Yan, is something wrong?”

A sudden sense of foreboding gripped her heart. Previously, she had invited several supposedly renowned Grandmasters to the villa, but once they stepped inside, they would inexplicably start fighting each other. In the end, they were all left battered and bloody, and even as the family bodyguards forcibly threw them out, they were still tearing at each other, unable to stop.

This time, after great difficulty, they had managed to invite Grandmaster Yan, but now he had stopped moving right at the entrance. Could it be that he couldn’t even enter the door?

Just as she was thinking this, Yan Zhen spoke unhappily, “Recently, has anyone who entered your home ended up fighting? And your husband—he’s been doing terrible things, hasn’t he?”

Huang Li froze for a moment before realizing that the Grandmaster hadn’t been immobilized at the door but was instead analyzing the situation right there. Hearing his words, she quickly replied, “You’re absolutely right, Grandmaster. To be honest, we’ve invited several other Grandmasters before, but every time they entered, they ended up at odds with each other…” That was putting it mildly. To be blunt, they had beaten each other senseless. “Later, we had no choice but to invite only one at a time, but whoever entered ended up losing their nose.”

Just speaking about it made her heart ache. Huang Li and her husband, Liu Bingyuan, shared a deep bond. Liu Bingyuan was not only a trustee of South Lake University but also ran a highly successful business, while Huang Li was his capable partner, holding significant shares in the company and possessing other private assets. They were, by all accounts, an affluent and distinguished family.

The couple came from equally prestigious backgrounds and shared compatible temperaments. Beyond their ambitious careers, they consciously made time to manage affairs in their charitable foundation, even personally engaging in philanthropic activities.

In short, they were a kind-hearted, wealthy couple. Even in their company, they were far from ruthless employers—their corporate culture was outstanding, offering generous salaries and ample vacation time.

But just half a month ago, after Liu Bingyuan returned from a hiking trip with some friends, he seemed like a completely different person.

Of course, his appearance hadn’t changed. But where his smile had once been warm, it now seemed superficially gentle—yet upon closer inspection, somewhat unsettling.

As his wife, Huang Li was the first to notice the change in her husband, though she kept it to herself at first, as nothing more serious had happened yet. Soon, however, Liu Bingyuan began causing trouble at the company.

Previously, Liu Bingyuan had been fair and decisive—rewarding the outstanding, giving slackers one chance to improve, and dismissing them if they didn’t, replacing them with competent hires. But now, he suddenly fired two of the most loyal and capable department managers without even settling their due wages. Instead, he promoted two of the biggest slackers in the company—the very same employees he and Huang Li had discussed firing at the next routine meeting.

That wasn’t all. Liu Bingyuan then meddled with their charitable foundation, attempting to cut funding for several of the poorest students. Fortunately, Huang Li promptly called the person in charge, preventing his scheme from succeeding. Later, Liu Bingyuan used his own connections to funnel large sums of money to a gang in City B for “funding.” It was only through Huang Li’s desperate efforts, leveraging their shared network, that she managed to resolve the situation discreetly—preventing word from spreading that Liu Bingyuan had seemingly lost his mind…

After that, Liu Bingyuan stirred up trouble at the company again. He drastically cut salaries and demanded employees work day and night without sleep. Who would agree to such exploitative and idiotic practices? The secretary he ordered finally understood why Huang TaiTai had told her to keep a close eye on President Liu recently and monitor his unreasonable actions. So, taking advantage of Liu Bingyuan’s absence, she immediately called Huang Li. With Huang Li’s approval, they ignored Liu Bingyuan’s absurd orders and continued managing the company according to the old rules.

Later, Liu Bingyuan’s attitude toward Huang Li also became extremely hostile, and he moved alone into their shared villa. Huang Li wanted to go in and reason with him, but the moment she reached the entrance, she felt an overwhelming urge to grab a kitchen knife and attack Liu Bingyuan. Terrified, she quickly fled the villa.

It was then that Huang Li noticed the protective jade Buddha she had worn since childhood had shattered. A chill ran down her spine as she realized—her husband must have encountered some evil entity!

Desperate, Huang Li sought help from anyone she could—bodyguards, Taoist priests, Buddhist monks, nuns, even fortune-tellers under bridges. But every time a group entered, they ended up fighting, and those who came out alone would lose their noses.

The consequences were predictable, leaving Huang Li utterly overwhelmed.

Just two days ago, Zhou Yimin reached out to Huang Li. Grasping at any chance for help, she agreed to meet him. When Zhou Yimin stood at the villa entrance for over ten minutes using his Five-colored Jade and remained clear-headed, Huang Li was convinced.

The two then came together to seek Yan Zhen’s assistance.