Chapter 230: First Volume_Chapter 230 I see your brow is dark (18)

First Volume_Chapter 230 I see your brow is dark (18)

Yu Beihan lowered his eyes, the fingers resting on his legs gradually tightened, his pupils fixedly staring at the talisman on his knee.

"What is this?"

Jiang Zhi retracted her fingers, stood up, and said, "It can make them stop looking at you like a monkey."

Yu Beihan felt the faint warmth emanating from the yellow talisman; the passersby around him, as she said, no longer looked at him, as if he had become an invisible person.

He lifted his gaze, which fell on the back of the girl walking ahead; she was in a good mood, humming a song he had never heard.

She speaks bluntly, but is very meticulous and kind-hearted.

Someone like her shouldn't appear in his world.

Yu Beihan extended his distinct-knuckled fingers to probe the sunlight sprinkled on his legs, feeling a hint of warmth.

He slightly raised his head, letting the golden sunlight shine on his face; this was the first time he went out without needing to worry about others' gazes, enjoying the bright sunshine in this crowded bustling city.

Walking to the end of the pedestrian street, this side of the market was filled with snack stalls; the aroma drifted to her nose from afar, and the hawking calls rose and fell.

She stopped at an empty spot, set up a small table, raised a banner, on which four characters were written.

【Subdue Demons, Exorcise Evil】

The script is crooked and twisted, lacking any calligraphic foundation, as ugly as ghost-drawn talismans, but barely recognizable as those four characters.

Passing several elderly people who had practiced calligraphy, they scorned the banner; one even couldn't stand it, walked up to her and began lecturing.

"Look at what this says? Even printed versions are better than this." The old man pointed at the banner, critiquing it.

Jiang Zhi didn't care about others' opinions, she shrugged and let out an "oh".

The old man was so angry he couldn't speak, flicked his sleeve and left.

Jiang Zhi sat down on the chair without any pretense; this spot happened to be under the eaves, the shade fell on the stall, shielding her from the scorching sun.

Secretary Liu pushed the man to stop beside them.

Yu Beihan's gaze swept over the snack stall not far away; compared to the bustling street side, this place seemed quite 'desolate'.

"Why not go over there?"

"If she wants to set up a stall to attract customers, she should set it up there to actually get customers."

Jiang Zhi took out a book to read, casually saying, "It's too sunny over there."

Yu Beihan fell silent.

He looked at the book she was holding, assuming it was something related to exorcising ghosts, or at worst an ancient classic.

Meanwhile, the girl's book had a cover depicting a man and a woman embracing and kissing, with several flamboyant dragon-and-phoenix characters printed.

《Billionaire Husband's Yin-Yang Eye Charming Wife》

After looking at it for a while, she switched to another book.

《Ghost Wife's Black-Bellied Prince》

Yu Beihan's eyes felt a bit sore; he shifted his gaze, raised his fingers, and rubbed his eyes.

The girl engrossed in her book looked delighted, not like someone setting up a stall, but more like a tourist.

Secretary Liu speechlessly glanced elsewhere; the snack stall not far away was doing booming business, unlike their stall which was dismal.

He couldn't help but ask, "Miss Jiang, will there really be customers?"

As they waited, the sun was about to set, yet it still didn't look like there would be any customers.

Jiang Zhi didn't lift her eyes, immersed in her book; after a while, she gave a perfunctory reply, "They'll be here soon."

Seeing her confident demeanor, Secretary Liu felt he had encountered a swindling charlatan.

But after a few minutes, a bald man clutching a leather bag staggered over, paused briefly when passing the stall, then quickly continued forward, soon disappearing into the crowd.

Secretary Liu watched the man leave, realizing he had actually believed the girl's words, leaving him even more speechless.

Yet less than a minute later, that bald man with the leather bag came running back, panting, and plopped onto the chair in front, his heavy weight nearly collapsing the frail seat.

"Grand... Grand Master..." he panted as he ran over, but as soon as he saw the master's face clearly, he immediately stood up, intending to leave.

Mainly because this master looked just like a newly adult high school student, completely lacking the aura of a master.

Jiang Zhi lightly said, "You won't survive tonight."

If an ordinary person heard this curse aimed at them, they'd surely be furious, but the bald man, upon hearing it, nearly had his legs buckle, hastily sitting back down on the chair.

"Grand Master... Grand Master, please save me!"

Jiang Zhi put down the book in her hand, looked at him, and said, "First tell me what happened."

The bald man incoherently recounted his terrifying experiences over the past two days.

He had a hobby of collecting antiques, making him a veteran in the antique circle, and had befriended many people.

A few days ago, a friend mysteriously showed him a painting; the painting had a thousand-year history, was well preserved, but no one knew which master had created it.

The bald man took a liking to the painting at first sight and bought it from his friend.

That night, however, he received a call from his friend telling him to throw the painting away.

The bald man had spent money on it and liked the painting, so he was unwilling to discard it.

The next day, however, he heard shocking news: his friend had died suddenly at home, the time of death shortly after he left, making the bald man the prime suspect.

The bald man panicked and was astonished; he had just received a call from his friend that night—how could his friend have died after he left?

The police quickly cleared his suspicion, but when the bald man returned home, the more he looked at the painting the stranger it seemed, and he wanted to toss it, yet the painting always found its way back to his house.

Moreover, that day he was extremely unlucky; on his way to work he nearly got hit, so he took leave intending to go home, but his car broke down, taxi drivers refused to pick him up for various excuses, and the subway was always under construction.

He could only walk home; on this journey home, it was like clearing levels in a game—walk a bit and encounter strange things, several times narrowly escaping dangerous accidents, his nerves were frayed, feeling like he was about to go mad.

"Master, can you take that painting away? I beg you, I'm truly terrified; I've collected antiques for so long and never encountered anything like this—I don't want to die. Although I'm unmarried and have no girlfriend, I have elderly parents to care for; I really don't want to die."

As he spoke, tears streamed down uncontrollably.

A big man sat on the tiny chair, sniffling and tearing up as he cried.

Jiang Zhi glanced at him with disdain, took out a pack of paper from her bag and threw it to him, saying, "You don't need to return it to me."

The bald man's surname is Wu; his full name is Wu Yuan, an antique enthusiast who has been single for over forty years without a girlfriend, all because of his love for antiques.

He sat upright with a sturdy build, wiping his tears, feeling wronged and scared.

Jiang Zhi said, "Ten thousand for your life."

Wu Yuan hastily nodded, indicating it wasn't a problem, took out his wallet from his bag, pulled out a stack of money and placed it on the table, saying, "This is twenty thousand; if Master, you can really save my life, I'll give you another five hundred thousand."

In the face of life, money is nothing but fleeting clouds.

Jiang Zhi pushed aside ten thousand, leaving only ten thousand, saying, "Just ten thousand."