Chapter 7

Mrs. Zhou also got out of the car and when she saw Yu Xuanwei, her eyes lit up. She respectfully asked, “May I ask, this Daoist…”

“This Daoist is here because I invited him to check the Feng Shui of our home!” Wu Qingluan chuckled, “Since nobody has been living in the yard for a while, we thought it’s time to invite a master to purify the place before we move back in.”

“That’s right,” Mrs. Zhou nodded repeatedly, “It’s time to have the master take a look. Greetings to the master!”

To Wu Qingluan’s surprise, Mrs. Zhou even bent down to kowtow to Yu Xuanwei. She quickly grabbed her and said, “Nana, what are you doing?”

“These masters are all immortals. I should properly kowtow to the master; it’s a tradition!”

Mrs. Zhou insisted on kowtowing, but Wu Qingluan desperately signaled to Yu Xuanwei with her eyes and silently mouthed, “Help me out!”

Mrs. Zhou came from a humble background, illiterate throughout her life. She wasn’t superstitious but very religious. She checked the almanac every day and would bow to deities and Buddhas when she saw their images. She would also give money to Taoist priests and monks when she encountered them.

Yu Xuanwei, with his celestial aura and Daoist appearance, was certainly quite intimidating.

Yu Xuanwei reached out to support Mrs. Zhou and said, “There’s no need for excessive courtesy from the elderly. I follow this path of cultivation and can’t accept such formalities.”

“Oh, I see,” Mrs. Zhou nodded and straightened herself as best as she could, “Qingluan, quickly open the door and invite the Daoist inside.”

“Alright,” Wu Qingluan looked up at the sky. Was she really in the modern world?

“Elder sister!” the driver of the small truck rushed over, “Something’s wrong with your chickens!”

Wu Qingluan hurried over to take a look, and indeed, all sixteen cages of chickens were drooping, some had passed out, some were convulsing and foaming at the beak, and a few were having continuous diarrhea.

“What’s happening? They were fine when we loaded them!” The whole truck reeked, and Wu Qingluan felt like she was going to suffocate.

“It looks like they might have contracted avian influenza!” The driver was also in a panic.

“My chickens!” Mrs. Zhou approached and saw her precious chickens in such a state. She shouted at the driver, “Is your truck poisoned? They were perfectly fine before getting on the truck. How did this happen so suddenly?”

The driver was also upset, “Mrs. Zhou, please don’t falsely accuse me. Your chickens have turned my truck into this mess. I haven’t even mentioned compensation yet!”

“Compensation?” Mrs. Zhou retorted, “You should be compensating us too!”

“Alright, stop arguing!” Wu Qingluan was overwhelmed, “I’m sorry, Master. Could you please help us by unloading these chickens? I’ll pay you extra for your trouble, and I’ll cover the car cleaning expenses. Grandma, please say a bit less!”

The driver unloaded all the chicken cages into the yard and took the money before quickly leaving.

Mrs. Zhou was very anxious. She opened each cage and examined the chickens one by one. “It doesn’t seem like poisoning, more like they were frightened by something. Qingluan, please ask the Daoist to perform a ritual to dispel evil spirits!”

Wu Qingluan was searching for the phone number of a nearby veterinarian, preparing to have someone take the chickens away. She was shocked when Yu Xuanwei said, “Don’t call anyone. I can heal them.”

“What?” Wu Qingluan was astonished.

Yu Xuanwei took out two yellow talisman papers from his sleeve. Without using any fire, the talisman papers ignited on their own, quickly turning into a small pile of ashes in his palm.

Yu Xuanwei raised his hand and scattered this ash towards the chicken cages.

“Cluck?”

“Cluck cluck!”

…

A miracle unfolded before their eyes. The chickens, which had been on the brink of death just moments ago, suddenly sprang to life. Some of them flapped their wings and jumped out of their cages, excitedly running in circles around Yu Xuanwei.

“This…” Wu Qingluan pinched herself; it hurt, confirming that she wasn’t dreaming!

It was too unscientific. Could ashes from burnt paper really cure chicken plague? Or was it some kind of real magic?

Wu Qingluan was unsure, but Mrs. Zhou believed. She turned around and saw Mrs. Zhou bowing to Yu Xuanwei.

Wu Qingluan covered her face. “Grandma, please stop bowing!”

Mrs. Zhou invited her to join as well, saying, “Quick, come and pay respects to the divine being!”

After much persuasion, Wu Qingluan managed to convince Mrs. Zhou to stand up and brought her inside the house to rest.

Yu Xuanwei followed them in without waiting for an invitation and started inspecting the house. The house had been vacant for a long time, covered in thick layers of dust, and the furniture was incomplete.

While Yu Xuanwei was upstairs, Mrs. Zhou ordered Wu Qingluan to “serve the master.”

Wu Qingluan nervously approached him. “Master Yu Xuanwei, what brings you here this time?”

“To help you clean up the house.”

“What?”

Yu Xuanwei really came to help her clean the house. More precisely, he first came to assess the situation and then called two renovation teams to completely renovate her house!

Wu Qingluan initially wanted to refuse. After all, this was her home, and who was Yu Xuanwei to decide?

Yu Xuanwei’s response was, “Your children are coming, and they need a place to stay. If you’re not satisfied, you can do it yourself.”

Wu Qingluan promptly closed her mouth.

As a result, the renovation teams quickly moved in, and the sounds of renovation and construction filled the house.

When Mrs. Zhou inquired, Wu Qingluan had to explain that these changes were suggested by the master after his assessment, and they had to proceed with these renovations and improvements.

However, in private, Wu Qingluan couldn’t help but shed tears. Who would have thought that she would still be in debt!

The interior of the large villa was soon completely renovated. The original Nordic palace-style decor was transformed into an elegant, new Chinese-style design. Yu Xuanwei even brought the ornate screen from his room and placed it in front of the staircase on the first floor.

Wu Qingluan and Mrs. Zhou’s bedrooms were both relocated to the first floor, while the second floor was reconfigured into four bedrooms – one large and three small.

Wu Qingluan, filled with complaints, asked Yu Xuanwei, “You only have three sons, right? Why are there four bedrooms?”

Yu Xuanwei answered quite naturally, “I will be staying here frequently, so naturally, I need a room as well.”

“You…” Wu Qingluan was about to unleash her frustration but then thought about the 40 million yuan, so she forcefully swallowed the anger that had reached her lips.

In this household, Wu Qingluan was probably the only one feeling heavy-hearted. Mrs. Zhou had no idea what was going on. She cheerfully directed the renovation team to dismantle the sculptures in the garden, dig a well in one corner, and set up a grape arbor. She also fenced in the chicken coop…

The European-style large garden was transformed into a chicken farm and vegetable garden, and Mrs. Zhou earnestly took up the roles of raising chickens and growing vegetables.

When the renovation team left and Wu Qingluan looked at her completely transformed house, she felt like crying. This was just… unbelievable!

However, Mrs. Zhou was delighted. “Qingluan, this looks much better than before. It used to feel so cold and empty here. Thanks to the master’s wisdom, our home now looks like a palace. I bet the chairs where the queen sits are not as good as ours, right?”

A palace? Wu Qingluan forced a laugh. Just then, a plump mother hen leisurely strolled into the living room, pooped on the clean floor, and then strolled back out.

Wu Qingluan was furious. “Grandma, I want to eat chicken today!”

Unfortunately, she didn’t get to eat any. These chickens, after miraculously recovering from their mysterious illness and being treated by Yu Xuanwei, had become quite aggressive and surprisingly intelligent.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Wu Qingluan always felt like those chickens could understand their conversations. Especially the largest rooster in the flock, its small, beady black eyes always sparkled with shrewdness.

As soon as Wu Qingluan mentioned wanting to eat chicken, all the chickens disappeared.

One evening, after helping Mrs. Zhou with her bath and ensuring she fell asleep peacefully, Wu Qingluan quietly left her room. As she stretched lazily, she suddenly spotted Yu Xuanwei standing in front of the folding screen.

Wu Qingluan was startled. “How did you get in?”

“I have a key.”

Wu Qingluan couldn’t hold back any longer. “Master, I owe you money, but can you please show some respect for me? This is my home. In the future, could you at least give me a heads-up before coming in? We have all women living here, so please be more considerate.”

Yu Xuanwei lowered his gaze and looked at her with the same icy expression. “I apologize. I will inform you in advance from now on.”

His quick apology left Wu Qingluan unable to continue complaining, so she reluctantly nodded. “That’s more like it.”

Yu Xuanwei took out his phone. “Let’s exchange WeChat contacts for easier communication.”

“Sure… alright.”

After exchanging WeChat contacts, Wu Qingluan looked at his profile picture, which featured three chubby, cute young foxes stacked together. It was adorable but highly incongruent with his own demeanor.

The profile picture resembled the kind often used by young parents with children, although they typically used a picture of their own child’s big head. This man had chosen foxes instead.

It was yet another fox-related choice. This Daoist Xuanwei seemed to have a peculiar fondness for foxes.

With WeChat added, Yu Xuanwei remained silent, observing her with a cold expression. Under his gaze, Wu Qingluan began to feel a warm sensation in the palm of her hand. Here it came again, the Daoist with a hook in his eyes, far from being straightforward!

“Do you have something specific you’d like to discuss?” Wu Qingluan reminded him to get to the point – if he had something to say, he should say it; if not, he should leave.

Yu Xuanwei replied, “Tomorrow, I’ll bring the children over. I wanted to let you know in advance.”

Finally, they were coming. Wu Qingluan took a deep breath. “Alright. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of them.”

She dared to say this confidently because of the presence of Grandma Zhou. When she was rescued from the mountains by Grandma Zhou years ago, she was in dire straits, and it was Grandma Zhou who nursed her back to health. With her grandmother around, there was no child she couldn’t take care of.

“They are three brothers; the eldest is calm, the second is polite, but the youngest can be a bit mischievous. You may need to put in extra effort for him.”

Wu Qingluan quickly jotted down these notes in her notebook.

Yu Xuanwei reached into his sleeve and pulled out a shiny golden rope. “Take this.”

Wu Qingluan looked at the rope, feeling a sense of familiarity. Wasn’t this the same rope he used to leash his pet fox? Was it the same one?

“If the youngest doesn’t behave, use this to restrain him. It will make him behave,” Yu Xuanwei said.

Wu Qingluan refused, “Your child is only three and a half years old. Even if he misbehaves, you can’t restrain him like this. It’s cruelty!”

Yu Xuanwei took her hand and wrapped the golden rope around her wrist. “You will need it.”

Wu Qingluan asked cautiously, “Do you often use it to restrain children?”

Yu Xuanwei nodded.

Wu Qingluan took a couple of steps back, shocked by the revelation. He was so ruthless, using such methods on children! Should she report him to the authorities?

Suddenly, the golden rope wrapped around Wu Qingluan’s wrist moved slightly. She trembled and pulled up one end of the rope to examine it more closely. “It seemed to have moved just now?”

The golden rope remained motionless, looking no different from an ordinary rope except for its vibrant color.

Strange…

“This rope…” Wu Qingluan looked up, only to find that Yu Xuanwei had disappeared.

In front of her stood the ornate folding screen. Under the soft glow of the lights, the plants and trees on the screen seemed to sway gently, as if someone had just walked past it.