Luo Chen asked the same question as Jiang Tianxin, "Master, where did you get the jade pendant?"
Xu Zifan glanced at Jiang Tianxin and said with a smile, "It's just a little trick of a metaphysical scholar. I have to show a few tricks to prove that I'm not a fraud."
Jiang Tianxin said calmly, "The magic shows on the Spring Festival Gala every year are also very amazing." She stood up and said, "Mom, I have something to do at the police station. I'll go to work first. Two people can keep an eye on things here. Call me immediately if anything happens."
"I know, go quickly and be careful." Jiang's mother breathed a sigh of relief. She knew her daughter disliked these so-called masters, believing them to be frauds and criminals. In this situation, she felt it was best for her daughter to go to work; it would make the masters more comfortable, and her daughter would be more comfortable out of sight.
Jiang Tianxin left with a dozen or so policemen, leaving the villa much emptier. Xu Zifan borrowed a light jacket from Jiang Dong; he was feeling quite cold in the house.
He then spoke with Jiang's mother about many things she found strange and suspicious, but since he couldn't determine anything for the time being, he told her to go and rest. He then went to Jiang Dong's room with Luo Chen.
He stood by the window to look outside when the curtains suddenly fell down. He dodged to the side, almost hitting the window frame, which startled Jiang Dong and Luo Chen.
The two men, without prior arrangement, recalled the night he had almost been hit by a bottle, and belatedly ran over to check on him. Jiang Dong asked, "Master, are you alright? What's wrong with these curtains, these... what's wrong with the maid? I'll go ask her!"
Xu Zifan pulled him back and shook his head. "It's okay, it's normal. Just tell the maid to put the curtains back in place. There's no need to pursue this."
He glanced at the curtains, unsurprised at all; it was a miracle the curtain rod hadn't fallen down. But he'd been on guard for bad luck ever since he left the house, so why did it take so long for this to happen? Did fate somehow choose to torment him when he wasn't doing his business?
He glanced at the room layout, chose the safest bed to sit on, and figured he might as well avoid some bad luck while playing the role of a master in someone else's home, or he'd look even more like a fraud.
He looked out the window. This place was so big, there must be ghosts around at night, right? He really wanted to open Jiang Tianxin's third eye so she could see it. He wondered if it would shatter her worldview. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to open other people's third eyes yet.
Thinking of this, he greeted Luo Chen, lay down and pretended to be asleep, and took the opportunity to study the metaphysical books compiled by Shao Hua. He had Shao Hua scann all the books in the entire cultivation continent, so he wasn't worried about not learning any real skills.
About two hours later, Jiang Tianxin returned. She was really worried about having a swindler in the house. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that Xu Zifan was asleep. In her opinion, he should repay the favor for saving her brother; she was willing to give him money or other benefits, but she just wouldn't allow Xu Zifan to lie to her brother.
Given how much his brother trusted Xu Zifan, he was bound to be heartbroken to be deceived. Couldn't they just remain friends and not get involved in anything else?
She pulled Jiang Dong and his mother along, about to persuade them not to be superstitious, when she heard someone shouting at the door: "Xu Zifan! Get out here! Get out!"
Jiang Tianxin frowned and turned around. Seeing that it was Xiaofeng, her face turned cold. "This...little Taoist priest? What do you want?"
Xiaofeng shouted angrily, "Where's Xu Zifan? Tell him to get out here!"
Xiaofeng looked extremely miserable, with blood at the corner of his mouth, which immediately reminded the group of "misfortune is imminent".
Xuan Tong, with a stern face, asked Jiang's mother, "Madam Jiang, that Qingfeng Daoist has left? Do you know where he went?"
Jiang's mother glanced at Xiaofeng and said, "This... Daoist Master, is there something you need to see Daoist Qingfeng about? What's wrong with your disciple?"
Xuan Tong's face darkened further. Jiang's father coughed twice and said awkwardly, "Something happened to Daoist Xiaofeng. He suspects that Daoist Qingfeng did something to him, so he wants to ask Daoist Qingfeng in person to find out the truth." He then said to Xuan Tong, "Daoist, what do you think about this matter... Daoist Qingfeng seems to have said that everything would be fine after sunset. Why don't I call the family doctor to take a look at your disciple first?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Zifan descended the stairs. He gripped the handrail tightly, walking steadily and cautiously, yet his smile was arrogant. "Master Xuantong is back? How's things at the company?"
Xiaofeng stepped forward angrily and shouted, "Xu Zifan! What exactly did you do? Quickly undo your dirty tricks!"
Xu Zifan looked him up and down, then raised an eyebrow. "You're saying I used magic to harm you? Didn't you say... I was using the Qingfeng Temple's name to swindle people? Why do you suddenly think I'm cunning? Are you implying that your master's magic is no match for mine, so you had no choice but to ask me for help?"
"How dare you! You dare insult my master!"
"So that's not what you meant. If you're doing something wrong, your master will definitely have a way to resolve it. Why are you looking for me?" Xu Zifan walked around him and sat down next to Jiang Dong, keeping his eyes and ears open. It would be too much of a mood killer if he got into trouble right now.
Xuan Tong stared at him with a sullen face and said unhappily, "The world is so vast that no one can understand all the spells. It is not surprising that I do not know the spells on Xiao Feng's body. If you want to teach Xiao Feng a lesson for speaking rudely, you should have done so. Please be merciful and do not go too far."
Xu Zifan smiled slightly, "Master Xuantong couldn't see any trace of magic because I didn't harm anyone. I just saw from his face that he was facing misfortune. It will be dark in half an hour, so I don't think I need to waste any effort to avert it for him. Just let him wait patiently for half an hour."
Can't you see that Xu Zifan is teaching Xiaofeng a lesson? Xuan Tong, as Xiaofeng's master and a senior, was utterly humiliated that he couldn't help Xiaofeng avert his misfortune. Hearing this, he was furious but didn't want to lose face any longer. He called out to Xiaofeng and stormed off.
Xiaofeng glared fiercely at Xu Zifan, and before leaving, he didn't forget to throw out a harsh threat, "I won't let you get away with this!"
Once the master and disciple left, the atmosphere in the room improved considerably. Jiang's mother asked anxiously, "What exactly happened? Old Jiang, what happened to that young Taoist priest?"
Mr. Jiang glanced at Xu Zifan several times, then sat down and said, "It's amazing, he's really having a run of bad luck. When we got to the company, he tripped and fell as soon as he got out of the car, knocking out a front tooth. I offered to take him to the hospital, but he said it was nothing and he had to take care of business first. Then, when I was accompanying Master Xuantong to look at the company's feng shui, my secretary ran over and told me that Xiaofeng had been flushed in the restroom, and that the water pipe in the restroom had burst!"
Jiang's mother's heart raced as she listened, and she grabbed him, pressing him for an answer: "And then? What happened next?"
"I had my secretary buy him some clothes to change into, but when he got to the office lobby, his pants were ripped open! And guess what? That Taoist priest looked at him for ages, frowning the whole time, saying he couldn't figure it out, and that's why he ran back here." Mr. Jiang then looked at Xu Zifan and tentatively asked, "Taoist priest, what about that little Taoist priest..."
Xu Zifan frankly admitted, "Mysticism is mysterious. I don't mind ordinary people doubting me, but as a fellow member of the Taoist sect, if someone maliciously slanders me like that, wouldn't it be a disgrace to our Taoist temple if I didn't teach them a lesson? I just didn't expect his master to be so useless, unable to handle such a small matter."
The group immediately sided with him again, after all, they had personally witnessed Xu Zifan say that Xiaofeng was facing misfortune, and Xiaofeng had indeed encountered misfortune, and Xuantong had no way to resolve it.
Jiang Tianxin frowned slightly, staring at Xu Zifan. How could it be such a coincidence? He'd been sleeping at the Jiang family's house the whole time, so how did he manage to get Xiaofeng into trouble? Xu Zifan had only touched Xiaofeng when he patted his arm; what method could he possibly use to make Xiaofeng embarrass himself repeatedly after that?
She stroked her chin, deep in thought. Could Xu Zifan have drugged Xiaofeng, causing him to fall and knock out his front tooth? But why did the company's water pipe burst? The water pipe could be an accidental mishap, but how could the newly bought pants have a ripped crotch? Her father's secretary wouldn't buy such cheap pants. This is too strange!
Xu Zifan waited for a long time without any bad luck. He picked up his tea, took a sip, and said with a smile, "That Xuan Tong master and his apprentice are rather petty. I suggest you don't look for them again after this. Although people in the Xuanmen who follow the righteous path cannot harm ordinary people, there are always loopholes. There are always things outside the rules. When befriending people in the Xuanmen, you must carefully observe their character."
Jiang Tianxin became wary. Here it comes, two swindlers on the same stage. Now he's going to kick the other one out and has done this to make them believe him even more. Is the next step to start swindling?
What kind of lesson did they teach this young Taoist priest, claiming he had extraordinary magical powers? Wasn't that Master Wang who was arrested before also highly praised? Many high-ranking officials and nobles were fooled; before the truth came out, everyone said he was incredibly powerful. In the end, they're all frauds!
Seeing that her parents, brother, and Luo Chen were all treating Xu Zifan much better, her heart pounded. It seemed she couldn't persuade them, but she still had to go to work and investigate the case. How could she protect her family?
That night, Xu Zifan shared a room with Jiang Dong. He went to sleep early, closed his eyes, and used his consciousness to look at the books scanned by Shaohua, searching for records about Jiang Dong's situation, and studying diligently.
Jiang Dong felt a bit frustrated. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask Xu Zifan, but Xu Zifan was asleep, which defied the typical pattern of young people staying up late. However, when he thought about how Xu Zifan was a master, he realized it was normal. Masters usually cultivate themselves by going to bed early and waking up early, right?
He tossed and turned for a long time, then pulled out a jade pendant and a talisman from his collar. Facing Xu Zifan, he finally felt a little safer. He clutched the two protective charms in his hands and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Xu Zifan didn't sleep all night, frantically absorbing metaphysical knowledge like a sponge. Just before dawn, he finally found a record of a case similar to Jiang Dong's. It was a case of ancestral graves being tampered with. The effect was that a layer of yin energy would be shrouded above the house. The specific consequences depended on the situation at the ancestral grave, but those who disturbed their ancestral graves usually had very serious consequences. This was definitely a deadly feud.
Xu Zifan couldn't sleep after finding the root of the problem, so he got up, washed up, and decided to stretch his muscles. He opened the door and saw that the door opposite was also open, and Jiang Tianxin, wearing a sports vest and sports pants, came out and greeted him.
"Officer Jiang is doing morning exercises?"
Jiang Tianxin nodded, looked at his small frame, and smiled, "There's a gym at home, Daoist Master, why don't you go for a workout together?"
"It's good to stretch a bit, we still have important things to do today." Xu Zifan replied nonchalantly, stretching his arms as he went downstairs with her.
Jiang Tianxin thought to herself, if she couldn't get rid of him, she could scare him first.