FI CH43: Walking into the Muzzle

The restless aftereffects in his body calmed down.

The scorching hot fingertip was still pressed against his earlobe, not moving away.

Lin Su’s waist trembled, and he slightly lifted his head from the person’s front. He looked at He Zhenling, some color returning to his pale face, and said with a proper posture:

“Hugging once is an accident, hugging twice is ambiguous.”

“…”

He Zhenling looked down and let out a soft laugh. “I saw you were unsteady, so I temporarily let you lean against the door to my heart.”

A tingling numbness was still spreading from in front of him.

Lin Su, still leaning on him, said, “Your doorbell seems to be leaking electricity.”

“…”

A hand used a bit of force to pull him slightly away.

He Zhenling’s gaze was inscrutable as he looked at him and said slowly, “Who do you think is the cause?”

Lin Su looked back. “…Me?”

He Zhenling just looked at him without speaking.

He swallowed lightly, his eyes shifting away:

So there really is a connection. The thought of the aftereffects of that jolt of electricity sent a wave of tingles through him. And just now, he was doing it once per second, once per second…

The person in front of him was sharp. “What are you thinking?”

Lin Su adjusted his expression, feigning concern. “Then… are you okay?”

He Zhenling’s lips twitched. He reminded him, “Judging by the current situation, who is the one who’s not okay?” The fingertip resting on the small of his back pointedly tapped. “Can you still stand steady?”

“…” Lin Su trembled again, remembering the culprit. …Xuenima.

His consciousness was already dead silent.

After a moment, he took a breath and straightened up. “I’m also fine. I just did it so you would hug me a bit longer.”

The response was a scoffing laugh.

…

He stood firm on the ground again.

In front of him, He Zhenling took half a step back. One hand rested casually on his scabbard as he looked over.

Lin Su straightened his slightly messy collar. “Why are you here?” After a pause, he added sharply, “…How did you know I was here?”

The ring couldn’t possibly have a GPS installed.

He Zhenling was concise. “Ge Lili.”

“…” Lin Su began, “He promised he wouldn’t tell you.”

“That’s what he said in his original words, too.”

Lin Su: .

He pondered, “Did he do it on purpose or by accident?”

He Zhenling scoffed but didn’t answer.

After two seconds, his gaze fell on his earlobe. The pearly white earlobe had a hint of fleshy pink, and a crimson tassel earring was already back in the piercing.

“What were you messing around with that caused such a commotion?”

Lin Su pulled back his thoughts. “Changing the feng shui for Zhu Jianfei.”

He Zhenling raised an eyebrow. “Changed for the better?”

“Changed it ’til it was gone.”

“…”

He Zhenling was silent for a moment, then turned his head. “Alright.”

This was a villa area; the car hadn’t driven in.

The two walked out along the road and saw Kong Fu had parked the car at the entrance.

After getting in the car, Lin Su nestled into the seat.

He Zhenling closed the car door. “So, you went to confirm the thing you were concerned about today?”

A muffled “mhm” came from his side.

“What did you confirm?”

Lin Su opened his mouth, then closed it. A faint trace of disgust showed on his face. He pursed his lips before speaking. “Didn’t I say before that he was very ‘dirty’?”

He Zhenling looked over. “What was in the house?”

“A child.”

He Zhenling paused. The previous files said Zhu Jianfei was married with no children. His brow furrowed, and his expression turned cold:

“…Raising a ghost child?”

But Lin Su shook his head. “No.”

He paused, then added, “Or rather, not entirely. It’s a type of dark magic from overseas. Zhu Jianfei found someone from who-knows-where and had a fetus refined into a… form that’s between a ghost child and a Guman Thong. It doesn’t need to be fed or worshipped. It was made into a yin plaque and sealed beneath the living room.”

He Zhenling grasped the key point. “A fetus?”

“His wife, Fang Shuyu’s.”

He Zhenling frowned.

Before he could ask anything else, someone patted him. He turned his head to see Lin Su had opened his phone,

“So I took a case. Remember to file a report when you get back.”

“…”

He Zhenling’s lips moved slightly. “Mhm.”

Then he added, “She commissioned you for this. Was she forced into it?”

Lin Su said, “The fetus was miscarried at three or four months. Fang Shuyu originally thought it was just a miscarriage, but she didn’t expect Zhu Jianfei to secretly take it to be made into a yin plaque. She only found out about it by chance three years ago.”

He said, “A child made into a yin plaque cannot be reincarnated.”

The car was quiet for a moment.

He Zhenling asked, “So she came to you to rescue her child and get revenge?”

Lin Su nodded. “For the past three years, she has been enduring silently, using a docile appearance to lay low by Zhu Jianfei’s side. All to find an opportunity—”

“To remain silent, only to stun everyone with a single cry.”

Either don’t strike, or strike in a way that ensures the opponent can never recover.

He Zhenling, “…”

He Zhenling, “The one to be stunned is Zhu Jianfei?”

Lin Su paused, pleased. “You understand my heart more and more, Xiao He.”

“Heh, who told you to keep mashing the doorbell.”

“…”

He gently turned his head away, propped his chin on his hand, and closed his eyes peacefully. “Yeah, it really wore me out. I’m suddenly so sleepy. Good night, Inspector He.”

An understanding laugh came from beside him.

After that, there was no more talking, and silence fell.

Xuenima finally popped its head out and landed on his shoulder: [You’ve lifted all the restrictions. Will the child crawl out?]

He said indulgently: Children like to play, so just let him play.

Xuenima let out a series of “heh heh heh” laughs, then added reflectively: [But Fang Shuyu looks so fragile and gentle, yet she’s so tough and resilient inside.]

Lin Su, with his eyes closed: Probably because she’s a mother.

Lin Su had only taken one day off.

The next day, he went back to school.

As soon as he entered the classroom, the whole class stood up with a whoosh to look at him, like a horde of resentful ghosts:

“Where were you yesterday—”

Lin Su: “…”

Xuenima: [Possessed by Xiao He?]

Lin Su gently swatted it away. “What’s wrong?”

Chen You had already rushed in front of him, grief-stricken. “Yesterday was the opening ceremony! You actually missed the opening ceremony! Do you know how many underclassmen who wanted to see your magnificent style didn’t get to, and ran to our class to ask where we hid you!”

He stared intently. “…So where did you go?”

Lin Su sighed. “I accidentally overslept. When I opened my eyes, it was already today.”

The whole class was silent: …

After a moment, Chen You said in a daze, “Your situation should probably be called a coma.”

Lin Su: .

The morning self-study session hadn’t started yet.

He went back to his seat and sat down. Chen You, representing the whole class, came over with gossip to share secretly:

“After that, will the underclassmen still have a chance to witness your glorious dueling style?”

“Probably not.”

“Huh?”

Lin Su looked up and curved his lips. “Zhu Jianfei most likely won’t be coming to the school anymore.”

After all, he was going to be quite busy from now on.

…

A couple of days later, news came from the association.

The call was from Ge Lili. “Sir, Zhu Jianfei came to the association for after-sales service. He said that after you changed his feng shui, not only has he been having frequent bad luck, he’s also having nightmares all night. He wants an explanation from us.”

Lin Su asked, “Besides that, is there anything else?”

“Should… should there be anything else?”

“Want to know?”

Ge Lili pricked up his ears with a “Huh?”

Lin Su smiled faintly. “Advance screening is not supported. You’ll find out in a couple of days.”

“…”

He hung up the phone with a click after saying that.

When the weekend came, he went to the association again.

After a case is closed, one has to “turn in the quest” and register the incident under their name.

As soon as Lin Su entered the office, Ge Lili shot to his feet:

“Sir, you’re here!”

He took out his Tianshi certificate. “I’m here to log it.”

Ge Lili didn’t take it, glancing at him hesitantly before saying, “Actually, Zhu Jianfei came again yesterday. He said some strange things have been happening to him. It’s just… it’s just…”

Lin Su looked at him calmly. “Are you waiting for me to be your straight man by not spitting it out?”

“…”

“His stomach suddenly got bigger!”

Ge Lili recalled, his expression a mixture of strange and horrified, “And it’s like there’s fetal movement inside.”

Lin Su’s eyebrow twitched: Oh…

Ge Lili looked at him. “Sir, are you sure you want to register this case under your name? From the looks of it, it might damage your record and reputation.”

After all, a Tianshi’s reputation is directly linked to the ratings of their cases.

And everyone in the industry can look up the files.

Lin Su’s expression didn’t change. “He ate too much himself, what does that have to do with me? Go ahead and log it.”

Besides, the rating for this case wasn’t set in stone yet.

Ge Lili had no choice but to take the Tianshi certificate and log it into the system. As he did, he said, “Then what if the Inspection Association…” He said to the halfway point and reacted.

“Ah, President He has already been captured by you.”

“…”

It would have been fine if he hadn’t mentioned it, but now that he did, Lin Su remembered. “You and Xiao He are really frank and open with each other.”

Ge Lili froze, then whimpered, “Sir, I didn’t do it on purpose!”

He then added, “But I didn’t say the part about being too possessive.”

Lin Su shook his head in distress. “You don’t say the things you should.”

“?”

Ge Lili, ever astute: Was that something that needed to be said?

After finishing the confirmation, Lin Su went back.

Shu Yang returned to the office carrying bubble tea and saw Ge Lili standing at his desk, deep in thought. He peeked over:

“Director Ge, are you pondering the meaning of life?”

Ge Lili said profoundly, “I’m pondering how to be a more perceptive person.”

“…?”

In a detached villa in a neighboring city.

The coffee table was slammed with a bang!

Zhu Jianfei was sitting leaning against the sofa, roaring into his phone, “How dare they not respond!? Look what they did to my perfectly good feng shui, and they dare to cover for him… Hiss, ow…”

He sucked in a sharp breath in pain, one hand clutching his abdomen.

His stomach was now inexplicably bloated, like a balloon. He hadn’t left the house in days.

Thinking of the suffering he’d endured lately, Lin Su’s face appeared in his mind, and rage filled his heart. He knew it, how old was that little brat? What could he possibly change?

…No. Maybe it was on purpose!

The angrier Zhu Jianfei got, the more he thought about it. He said to his secretary on the other end of the phone, “The Xuncheng Association dares to ignore me, right? Then expose them!”

“Just say they put a curse on me, caused my bad luck, and deliberately tried to harm me—”

“Go do it now!”

The secretary repeatedly agreed, “Okay, okay…”

With his company’s team in operation, an anonymous exposé appeared online overnight. The metaphysics trend that had been stirred up earlier hadn’t died down, and this immediately attracted attention.

[Famous Entrepreneur Cursed, Strange Incidents Ensue.]

[Philanthropist Falls Victim to Malicious Hand, Curser is an “Orthodox Tianshi”!]

The headlines were full of clickbait.

Netizens clicked in and saw that it explicitly named the “Xuncheng Tianshi Association.”

—Holy crap! The Xuncheng Tianshi Association?

—Is that the Xuncheng I know of…

—No way, with that “big shot” overseeing it, how could the Xuncheng Association curse someone?

—Even the finest wood has woodworms.

—I don’t know who this “big shot” you’re talking about is. These days, you can know a person’s face but not their heart. Who knows what they’re really like in private. [eating melon]

—You can’t just accuse the Xuncheng Association of cursing someone based on one person’s word! Bring some proof!

…

While the netizens were arguing, the anonymous account updated with a new statement:

“To protect the privacy of the party involved, we cannot reveal the entrepreneur’s identity. But we have already hired another master to investigate and will soon have irrefutable proof of the Xuncheng Association’s wrongdoing!”

Every word was spoken with conviction.

This immediately attracted a crowd of gossip-loving netizens waiting for the follow-up.

…

In the villa’s living room, Zhu Jianfei looked at the online comments “denouncing” and “seeking verification” and finally let out a satisfied breath.

He called his secretary:

“Public opinion is in our favor. Go find another master now. Just like before, give them more money and have them do as I say.”

The secretary, “…The same channels as before?”

“Idiot! To testify online, of course it has to be a certified, orthodox Tianshi!”

“An orthodox Tianshi, will they listen to us?”

Zhu Jianfei sneered, “What do you know? Peers are competitors. The Xuncheng Association dared to mess with feng shui; they’ve basically dug their own grave and left such a huge piece of leverage in my hands—”

“Don’t blame me for teaming up with their peers to kick them while they’re down.”

The secretary acknowledged and immediately went to handle it after hanging up.

In the vast Tianshi Association.

Personnel in Tianshi robes came and went, bustling about in an orderly fashion.

A new case request came in.

The staff member organizing the requests took a look, let out a soft “Huh?”, then printed a report, stood up, and walked toward the president’s office at the back.

Knock, knock, two sounds.

After receiving a reply, he pushed the door open and entered. “President, look at this request!”

Behind the desk, a man in elegant robes looked up. His eyes were like cold stars, and he had an extremely handsome face.

It was Lu Yanzhou, who rarely came to the association. “What is it?”

Beside him, Chen Qiu also looked up: ?

__

Author’s Note:

Lu Yanzhou: (▼ヘ▼#)?

Chen Qiu: O▽O Oh?

Lin Su: Achoo! Someone’s trying to mess with me… Whatever, I’ll sleep on it first, hope things resolve themselves by the time I wake up. zzzZZZ

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