Chapter 123: 123

123 "You're not having lunch with me at noon?"

Originally Tushan Jiu wasn't quite sure, but before she left, she hesitantly asked if she could take a photo together.

Alright, now she was completely certain.

Lin Xiu'er said she had become the metaphysics circle's new-generation 'Little Flower'; at first she thought it was exaggerated, but now it really wasn't.

After finishing these things, Tushan Jiu prepared to leave the office.

Today Lin Xiu'er and them were quite busy; although that Black Calamity had been eliminated, the Dead Water Pond that gave birth to it had not yet been found.

If not thoroughly dealt with, endless future trouble will arise, and decades later a new Black Calamity will still be bred.

Fortunately, that Black Calamity cannot stray far from its birthplace; searching within a ten-li radius around that park will find it soon.

Tushan Jiu had just left the office, hadn't even walked out of the alley, when she received Fang Qingyi's call.

"Hey, Qingyi."

"Sister, is it convenient for you to talk now?" Fang Qingyi's voice trembled.

Tushan Jiu seemed not surprised that she would call.

She calmly said: "Put your phone on speaker, I'll talk to them!"

Fang Qingyi paused for a moment, then reacted and quickly turned on speakerphone: "Sister, I've turned it on."

Tushan Jiu's voice grew more solemn as she said into the phone: "Listen, I am a creditor of the Tushan family; this girl is my friend, she is not the owner of this shop, just a temporary worker. You are indeed victims, but grudges have a source and debts have a debtor—go find the boss and ask about the source. If you dare to threaten her again, don't blame me for being rude."

As her words fell, in the funeral shop where Fang Qingyi was, the constantly flickering lights, the incense and merchandise falling to the ground like an earthquake, and even those animated paper effigies all became still.

Fang Qingyi breathed a sigh of relief.

After such a frightening incident, she even admired herself for still being able to think calmly and first call Tushan Jiu for help.

She thought, having seen her deceased father, she could now be considered worldly; after all, compared to ghosts, humans are scarier.

"Sister, they've stopped causing trouble, thank you." Fang Qingyi thanked Tushan Jiu.

"By the way, sister, I happen to have good news to share: I've paid off all those gambling debts, without needing a loan; it was my great-aunt and second great-aunt who brought me the money, saying it was the benefits my two uncles had gained from the casino back then; they spent part of it and gave the rest to me so I could repay my father's gambling debts, and they almost knelt to ask me to forgive those two uncles."

That day during the meal, Tushan Jiu had told her that her two uncles would spend the rest of their lives in pain.

They must have been scared too, afraid that Fang Yonghua would come looking for them again.

Tushan Jiu listened, very satisfied: "That's great; this money should be coughed up by them. Congratulations, Qingyi, on your rebirth—but shouldn't you change how you address me? Still calling me sister?"

Fang Qingyi's side froze for two seconds, then, a bit embarrassed, called out to Tushan Jiu: "Sister-in-law."

"Ah, that sounds nice; I wish you and your third younger brother a long-lasting relationship—if he ever disobeys, just tell me and I'll have his older brother straighten him out!" Tushan Jiu teased.

Fang Qingyi couldn't help laughing, then suddenly thought of what had just happened and still couldn't help asking: "Sister-in-law, did Boss Zhang run into trouble of that sort?"

"Yes and no—he took advantage of a small bargain and brought in a batch of 'Decapitated Incense'; customers who bought incense from him burned it for their deceased relatives and friends; living people don't consume incense, so they naturally wouldn't know, but those subterranean entities that do consume it naturally wouldn't tolerate it—thus the souls lingering in graves, also called Guardian Corpse Souls, came over to cause trouble."

"Oh, I see now—learned something new. It seems this is Boss Zhang's karmic retribution for knowing ghosts and gods exist yet not revering them." Having said that, Fang Qingyi became even less afraid, especially since she had someone backing her up!

"Mm, that's right." Tushan Jiu affirmed her statement.

"Then after they've finished with Boss Zhang, will they also go look for the boss of the source factory? After all, to thoroughly resolve this, we must address the root."

Fang Qingyi's words reminded Tushan Jiu, who asked: "Qingyi, check and see if that batch of incense produced by the development zone incense factory in your shop has been recalled and collected?"

Sometimes Fang Qingyi isn't at the shop, so she might not know; that's why she asked her to take a look.

Normally, after handling this matter, the office personnel would cooperate with relevant departments to jointly investigate and recall and destroy all sold 'Decapitated Incense', just like those counterfeit spirit money before.

Here, Fang Qingyi was just about to get up to pick up the incense on the ground to check the factory source.

As soon as she moved, several boxes of incense 'slid' to her feet.

She froze, lowered her head to look at the incense by her feet, bit her lip, steeled herself to bend over and pick it up, and then said to the air, "Thank you!"

No need to look; they directly placed the correct answer into her hands.

Tushan Jiu also heard Fang Qingyi's thanks and understood immediately.

She said: "Alright, I heard you; it seems they haven't finished resolving this matter. I'm near Southern University—are you about to get off work soon? Come here, I'll lend you a nail clipper; keep it close to you. Although they won't harm you, being ghosts they still carry yin energy, so the price for the knife is just a cup of milk tea."

Fang Qingyi responded, and coincidentally she also brought the gift she had bought for Tushan Jiu.

The day before yesterday she received her salary, so she went to buy Tushan Jiu a bracelet.

But during the holiday she didn't disturb her, thinking she would give it to her later when the opportunity arose.

In fact, the idea of buying Tushan Jiu a gift had been in her plans since that day.

However, she had originally planned to wait until she had paid off her debts, then save a little each month, but now the plan could be moved up entirely.

So, being debt-free and light-hearted, as soon as this month's salary arrived she went and got that bracelet.

Soon they would meet, so they didn't say much more and quickly hung up.

After putting away the phone, Tushan Jiu got into the car.

After getting in the car, she told the driver to go to the university town near Southern University.

After arriving, she first found a very popular milk tea shop, then sent Fang Qingyi the location.

Half an hour later, Fang Qingyi arrived at the milk tea shop.

When she gave the gift to Tushan Jiu, Tushan Jiu was very surprised—she hadn't expected to receive a gift at all.

Today's surprises were truly too many.

Tushan Jiu accepted it openly; this was Fang Qingyi's heartfelt intention, so she naturally wouldn't refuse.

Moreover, Fang Qingyi had noticed she was wearing a jade bracelet, so she bought the bracelet to match it—it can be stacked or worn alone, and looks great either way.

Tushan Jiu liked it a lot, and right then had Fang Qingyi put it on her.

She took out a nail clipper and gave it to Fang Qingyi.

Today's milk tea, paid for by Fang Qingyi, completed the transaction.

Glancing at the time, it was almost time for lunch.

Tushan Jiu and Fang Qingyi prepared to go directly to the nearby mall to eat.

The two walked out of the milk tea shop holding hands.

Unexpectedly, just as they left the milk tea shop, they ran into Xie Jingting.

He gazed at them with a complex expression; Fang Qingyi, who had her arm linked with Tushan Jiu's and wore a radiant smile, said, tone tinged with surprise and hurt, "You didn't have lunch with me at noon?"