Chapter 50: Amazing Tactics!

After the large and small foxes completed their transaction, Chen Yan hung up and continued eating.

At the table, Chen Yan devoured the dishes like a storm, eating until he was full and satisfied.

He called the server in to clear the table and brewed a pot of fine tea.

Shortly after, Chen Yan’s WeChat received an electronic document from Manager Fang: [House Repair Commission Contract], with a contract amount of five hundred thousand.

They had already signed and stamped it.

Soon after, Chen Yan’s account received a deposit of fifty thousand yuan, with the payment note: House Repair Deposit.

Manager Fang handled things neatly, leaving no loopholes.

Chen Yan smiled, his mood greatly improved.

Hu Tiantou would have to pay out twenty to thirty thousand for the short-term rental compensation—at least.

But Manager Fang gave him fifty, instantly filling the hole—and even turning a profit.

·

After leaving the restaurant, Chen Yan didn’t go home; instead, he found a chain boutique hotel on the commercial street and rented a room—he still had plans for tonight.

Inside the room, he took out the ink, brush, talisman paper, and cinnabar he had bought that day, and carefully drew several talismans in the room…

Around two in the morning, Chen Yan left his room and exited the hotel.

He wandered in the dark along the streets until he reached Luo Yun Zhai.

At midnight, the shop was naturally closed.

Behind Luo Yun Zhai’s shop lay three courtyards; on the left side, the wall bordered the street.

Chen Yan circled the wall, calculated the directions, then stopped at several spots, crouched down, pulled out a small knife from his person, sliced open the gaps between the bricks, and slipped folded talisman papers into the crevices.

He repeated this process at each of the chosen locations.

He worked for nearly an hour, fortunately with no one passing by in the dead of night.

After finishing, Chen Yan returned directly to his hotel room and settled in.

He still couldn’t go home… He had to wait until daytime to see the results!

·

In the villa, Miss Gu sat slumped on the sofa, legs drawn up, hugging herself tightly.

“How can someone… not come home?!”

“Lying in wait for a rabbit, lying in wait for a rabbit—how many days has this been? Who in their right mind has a home but won’t return?!”

·

Chen Yan slept until around ten in the morning.

He rose leisurely, washed up, dressed, then strolled along the commercial street, eating some snacks for breakfast.

Then he returned to the teahouse across from Luo Yun Zhai, found a window seat on the second floor, and sat down.

A pot of tea, plus six or seven tea snacks.

Chen Yan had come here several times and knew the place well; the tea was decent, and the osmanthus cake and mung bean cake tasted excellent—meeting the Chinese standard for desserts: not too sweet.

He pulled out his phone, opened a novel, sipped tea, read the novel, and basked in the warm sunlight streaming through the glass—comfortable and pleasant.

Near noon, Chen Yan was absorbed in his novel when suddenly he heard a cry from below the street outside the window.

First one cry, then a rapid succession of screams and shouts.

Chen Yan’s lips curled into a smile. He put away his phone and leaned out the window to look down.

Opposite, Luo Yun Zhai’s shop door stood wide open, but pedestrians nearby had scattered in all directions; some screamed, frantically stomping and dodging, desperately retreating…

Because from several nearby manhole covers and drainage channels, streams of rats were frantically surging out!

Soon, crowds of rats raced wildly across the street, converging into one mass.

As if driven mad, they surged en masse into Luo Yun Zhai’s shop entrance!

In barely ten minutes, all pedestrians on both sides of the once-bustling street had fled far away.

Some were so terrified they leapt onto elevated surfaces—standing on tables, climbing onto counters, jumping onto window sills…

Many young people kept their distance or stood high up, yet all pulled out their phones to film.

Rats continued emerging from gutters, as if drawn by some invisible force, rushing desperately into Luo Yun Zhai’s shop, one after another.

In this short time, at least hundreds of rats had flooded into Luo Yun Zhai’s shop entrance.

Chen Yan watched with a smile.

Luo Yun Zhai… your name is now famous.

·

Inside Luo Yun Zhai, chaos reigned. When the first wave of rats burst in, the few customers inside immediately screamed and fled.

The shop assistants also shrieked, panicked for a while, then, under direction, hurriedly tried to shut the main door.

But even after the door was closed, the rats outside didn’t dwindle; instead, they climbed up the walls, scaling the fences to get into Luo Yun Zhai!

Countless rats scaled the courtyard walls—this sight made anyone who saw it shudder.

This bizarre spectacle drew more and more onlookers, nearly everyone holding up their phones to film.

Among the crowd, opinions flew everywhere.

“Holy shit! This place must’ve pissed off some unclean thing!”

This remark instantly triggered murmurs among the onlookers.

“Yeah, this is way too sinister!”

“Exactly! Nobody’s ever heard of anything like this! It’s definitely sinister!!”

“I heard Luo Yun Zhai specializes in feng shui and fortune-telling—this street’s busiest shop.”

“Holy shit, then it’s definitely trouble—this place isn’t some… demonic cult?”

“You’re kidding, right? Too many novels—you think it’s a demonic cult? I say it’s a Beast Taming Sect!”

“Hey, don’t talk—you’ve read plenty of novels too!”

“Stop yelling—I think something unclean is definitely inside!”

“Exactly! Anyone doing this kind of business—feng shui, fortune-telling—they’ve definitely angered something unclean!”

Chen Yan sat in the teahouse, watching the crowd’s heated chatter.

He knew…

Luo Yun Zhai was finished.

It might not shut down immediately, but it was shattered—completely broken.

It wouldn’t recover for a long time.

·

What kind of business did Luo Yun Zhai run?

Simply put, it was easy to understand: exploiting people’s superstitions.

Superstitious people seek what?

Good fortune, love, safety, wealth…

Two simple words: [Seeking Luck]. The key lies in the word [Luck].

Now, this place was being whispered about as sinister, haunted, unclean…

Those superstitious clients and bosses would flee as fast as they could—who in their right mind would come here?

And don’t forget: there were other shops on this street doing the same trade.

Even if the onlookers hadn’t spread the story enough, hadn’t built enough momentum…

Those competitors wouldn’t hesitate to kick a man when he was down—if they didn’t, they might as well not have brains.

In this era, this line of work was small, the circle tight.

When Luo Yun Zhai had this incident, if just a few competitors quietly spread the word, the entire local industry would quickly know: Luo Yun Zhai was cursed!

With that reputation, which wealthy boss would be stupid enough to come for a feng shui reading or fortune-telling?

·

The onlookers on the street lingered, unwilling to leave. Then, suddenly, Luo Yun Zhai’s tightly shut door was pushed open, and eight or nine disheveled assistants ran out.

Each screamed and fled, not even caring about the door.

From inside came Qing Shu’s furious roar: “Don’t run! Don’t run!!!”

“Master Qing, we’re just employees! We can’t stay in a scene this terrifying!”

One assistant shouted back as he ran out the door.

With the door open, people outside could see the floor inside the shop—covered densely with rats, piled in layers—a nightmare for anyone with claustrophobia.

A few minutes later, Qing Shu himself ran out.

His face bore bruises, his head covered by a hat; he staggered out, looked at the crowd gathered on the street.

Qing Shu’s face turned pale and green; he clenched his teeth, dared not speak, shouted loudly, and dashed into the crowd and vanished.

·

At noon, street management officials arrived. Several uniformed men, trembling with fear, parted the crowd and peered into Luo Yun Zhai—but none dared enter, only standing outside to look.

Someone suggested bringing a ladder, placing it against the wall to look into the courtyard…

Instantly, the man on the ladder went weak-kneed, nearly sliding down.

“Holy shit! This is terrifying!!” He scrambled down the ladder and ran away, shouting to those nearby: “The courtyard floor is covered with rats! Like they’ve become spirits—they’re just lying there, not moving, not running!”

Soon after, the street health station and nearby firefighters arrived.

A fire truck pulled up to the intersection; several firefighters rushed in, looked at the door—and froze.

The phone call said there was a rat problem…

But no one said there were THIS MANY rats!!

With this many rats, you could tear down a house!

Yes, firefighters do have tools for exterminating rats, but…

Imagine hundreds upon thousands of rats lying motionless in a vast, unmoving mass on the ground right in front of you…

Even the firefighters’ scalps went numb—they dared not move!

And who would dare to strike?

Even if someone had the guts to actually swing a shovel…

With this many, you’d splatter blood and flesh all over the yard—and then no one would ever want to live there again.

·

Chen Yan didn’t wait for the spectacle to end; he paid his bill and slipped out of the teahouse, drifting away behind the crowd.

Hmm. Deeply hidden, merit and fame untouched.

He returned to the hotel, tidied his room, and prepared to leave.

He didn’t need to wait for the outcome… because according to his spell, the rats would scatter on their own within half an hour at most—the talismans he’d slipped out late last night were already losing their power.

Before Chen Yan had finished packing, his phone rang—it was Fang Zong.

After the call connected, Fang Zong fell silent for a long while, then slowly said: “Master Chen, impressive! I’ve truly seen something extraordinary today! What a skill!”

Clearly, Fang Zong had already received word—after finalizing the deal with Chen Yan the night before, he’d instructed his assistant Yan to keep a close eye on Luoyunzhai’s situation.

Chen Yan smiled faintly: “Mr. Fang, I don’t understand what you’re referring to.”

“Hahaha! Master Chen, let’s get to know each other better over time—I Fang Mou respect those with real ability! We’ll take our time, take our time, I promise you’ll see my sincerity.”

After hanging up, Chen Yan immediately received a text message—from his bank.

Deposit: 450,000. Note: Final payment for house repairs.

Hmm. Clearly, Mr. Fang, the client, was very satisfied.

In just one day, he’d deposited half a million.

“Time to go home!”

Chen Yan stretched out with full force.

As for the landlady, wait another day or two to let things simmer—then approach Luo Qing with terms, and it’ll have real effect.

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【A few votes, please~】

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