Chapter 38: Casual Chat

Sitting on the genuine leather sofa, Li Dajiang's brow was furrowed with worry.

He took out a cigarette and lit it for himself.

"When encountering gold, there is danger; when encountering wood, there is auspiciousness. What does that even mean?"

"Gold—does it refer to President Qian? It seems that the conflict between me, Sun, and him started just a few days after we met with President Qian!"

"But who does this 'wood' refer to?"

…

Amidst swirling cigarette smoke, Li Dajiang's mind was racing.

He could guess his own general situation, and although he didn't fully trust Chen Hai's abilities yet, he already believed him to a considerable extent.

Otherwise, with his cautious personality, he wouldn't have handed over thousands of yuan in payment to Chen Hai without a second word.

With Chen Hai's skills and having accepted the money, the few words he left behind before leaving couldn't possibly be all nonsense.

After much contemplation, Li Dajiang had a rough understanding of the meaning behind the first sentence.

But about the 'wood' in "upon encountering wood, there is auspiciousness," he thought for a long while and still hadn't found any lead.

"Forget it, I'll just call everyone I know whose name is related to 'wood' one by one!"

"I refuse to believe I can't figure out who this 'wood' represents!"

With gritted teeth, Li Dajiang grew determined.

He took out the phone book, looked through the names, picked up the phone beside him, and started dialing directly.

…

In room 8301 on the other side.

A standard room with no fancy leather sofas, obviously.

As soon as he entered the room, Chen Hai immediately lay down on the soft mattress.

Resting his head on the pillow, he first took out the leather envelope from Li Dajiang and opened it.

Carefully counting the banknotes with portraits of four old men, fifty bills in total, not one less.

"Hai, I used to think you were like a silent gourd, never realizing that when faced with situations, you're actually quite bold!"

"Just a moment ago, when Boss Li told us to get out, my legs were literally shaking with fear!"

"Fortunately, you kept your cool. Otherwise, we would have really been thrown out and wouldn't have made this much money!"

Sitting on the edge of the other bed, Sun Jinzhong stared at the stack of cash in Chen Hai's hand, swallowing his saliva repeatedly.

Five thousand yuan—not to mention him, even all the savings of his family combined wouldn't amount to this much.

Yet now, he and his cousin had only met Boss Li for about half an hour, and such a huge sum of money was already in their hands.

At this moment, he truly admired his cousin Chen Hai to the utmost.

"Brother Zhong, I promised to give you one thousand yuan, here, take it!"

Picking out ten bills from the stack, Chen Hai tossed them beside Sun Jinzhong, saying with a smile.

Never in his life had he held such a large sum of money.

Though he felt somewhat weak and extremely tired now, his spirits were actually quite high.

As for his appearance at Li Dajiang's, looking like he could barely stand—that was half true, half feigned.

He had deliberately put on such an act not only to find an excuse to leave but also to make Li Dajiang feel that his money was well spent.

"Hai, handing me one thousand yuan now, isn't that a bit improper?"

"Previously, we agreed that after finding the tomb for Boss Li and completing the job, I would receive the reward, and you'd give me one thousand yuan."

"But now, the money you're holding is the reward you got after helping Boss Li with divination!"

"In this matter, I didn't contribute; I just tagged along and didn't do much."

...

Struggling with his response, Sun Jinzhong hesitantly spoke.

Seeing his hesitation, it was clear that his heart wasn't unmoved by the money.

The reason he hesitated was simply that he felt he hadn't contributed and was just taking advantage of Chen Hai.

"Brother Zhong, that's not right. Without you gathering information for me, I wouldn't even know where Boss Li lived, and there'd be no chance to help him with divination!"

"Besides, without you there to bolster my courage, Boss Li might have easily intimidated me with just a few words."

"Just being with me, even if you did nothing, you helped me a great deal."

"This one thousand yuan is rightfully yours. Take it and spare me the nonsense!"

Chen Hai, slightly annoyed, glared at Sun Jinzhong and chided him.

His words weren't just flattery; he truly felt that his cousin Sun Jinzhong had put in a lot of effort and had greatly helped him.

"Hai, since you put it that way, I won't be polite!"

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Sun Jinzhong scratched the back of his head and chuckled, then quickly and carefully pocketed the money.

Staring at the cash, he had been drooling over it for a while; Chen Hai had already provided a reason for him to take it, and any further hesitation would just seem hypocritical.

"By the way, Hai, weren't you busy preparing for exams recently? When did you have time to learn all these bizarre skills?"

Sun Jinzhong, having witnessed Chen Hai's divination skills firsthand, was extremely curious.

He had wanted to ask this question for a while, but only just found the opportunity.

"I just figured it out on my own from books. Why, Brother Zhong? Are you interested in this stuff?"

Turning his head with a meaningful look, Chen Hai sized up Sun Jinzhong and inquired.

"Yeah! Learning skills like these, making money seems so easy. Hai, can you teach me a few tricks?"

Like a chick pecking at grains, Sun Jinzhong eagerly nodded and asked.

At his age, it was the prime time for a bit of rebellious fantasy.

Moreover, the fact that Chen Hai had earned five thousand yuan so quickly was truly stimulating to him; his question now was sincerely from the heart.

"Brother Zhong, it's not that I don't want to teach you; it's actually because I really can't teach you!"

Chen Hai pondered for a moment, his head shaking like a bobblehead.

Then he added, "Learning these skills, if you only fail, that's still okay. But if you're really unlucky, one small error could cost a life!"

Chen Hai solemnly warned Sun Jinzhong.

He had achieved some success in Taoist skills by many coincidences, but even so, he had still faced several perilous situations.

"Hai, is learning your skills really that dangerous?"

"Yes! My success is purely luck; it's not something that can be replicated."

"Hai, besides divination, do you have any other skills?"

"Exorcism, ghost-catching, and checking Feng Shui, I guess I know a bit about each!"

"If you have such services, you can refer them to me. I'll definitely give you your share, but just so you know, I'm not interested in poorly-paid jobs, so don't bother contacting me for those!"

...

Amid the casual chat between the cousins, unbeknownst to them, Chen Hai had already fallen into a deep sleep.