Chapter 43

Ten-thirty in the morning.

Hu Yuanfei had been holding the calligraphy brush for a full two minutes.

Two pairs of unblinking eyes were fixed on him, still eagerly anticipating the moment his brush would touch the paper.

The viper was waiting as well.

He couldn't lose face now. Gritting his teeth, Hu Yuanfei began to write directly. If he hadn't written characters before, surely he had seen them; he just needed to copy the shapes.

Then the two of them watched his bizarre and erratic strokes. The trajectory of each character was completely unpredictable, and the final formed words were crooked, juvenile, and resembled demonic talismans.

These characters were truly hideous.

Yet since a master wrote them this way, there had to be a reason; perhaps they held some special significance.

The old woman thought to herself in silence. As soon as Hu Yuanfei finished writing, she immediately praised in a loud voice, "The Master's handwriting is truly, truly unique! So extraordinary, truly worthy of a high-ranking master! Thank you so much!"

Hu Yuanfei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to muddle through these characters.

However, two more sheets of paper remained to be written. He gripped the brush tightly, clenched his jaw, and began writing again with his whole body tensed.

This time it took a little longer, and midway through he almost made a mistake, but fortunately he managed to stumble through to the end.

Even by his own standards, his handwriting could only be described as ugly, but after all, it was something he had written for the first time, and after looking at it for a while, a faint touch of elegance could still be discerned.

Being able to recognize what was written was already quite impressive; Lang Xiao definitely couldn't compare to him.

Hu Yuanfei felt secretly proud for a moment and handed over the two Spring Festival couplets.

Once everything was properly arranged, the viper coiled itself up onto the shrine, directly taking over the memorial tablet.

The old woman and Zhong Yihui washed their hands and faces, changed into clean clothes, and then lit incense. With devout expressions, they stood before the shrine and began to kowtow, their muttered chants not asking the snake immortal for blessings, but rather for the snake immortal's forgiveness.

When the incense was inserted, the figure of the viper vanished, and the swarms of snakes that had accompanied it disappeared as well, no doubt hiding once again in some corner of the house.

The summoning of the immortal had succeeded, and the viper would no longer easily harm this family. Hu Yuanfei could finally leave.

He was already impatient to return, seeing as it was nearly noon.

"The matter is settled. From now on, whatever happens is between you and this snake. Worship it well. I'll be heading back first."

The old woman uttered a couple of acknowledgments. Remembering that she needed to pay, she hurriedly nudged Zhong Yihui a few times. "Quickly offer your respects to the Master. If it weren't for the Master today, this matter wouldn't have been resolved so smoothly."

Zhong Yihui didn't know what amount they had previously agreed upon. Opening the payment interface on his phone, he handed it to the old woman for her to enter the sum. The old woman glanced at her son's legs, her expression turning gloomy for a fleeting second, before finally typing in one hundred thousand.

Hu Yuanfei's pupils dilated instantly upon receiving the transfer notification. The slight irritation he had felt moments before vanished completely—the money was in his hands!

One hundred thousand! It really was one hundred thousand! He had never seen this much money all at once in his life.

In a rare display of enthusiasm, Hu Yuanfei stepped forward and grasped the old woman's hands. "If you ever have business like this in the future, please refer us more often. We can solve any kind of problem."

The old woman maintained the smile on her face.

"Certainly, certainly."

Hu Yuanfei stepped out with a buoyant, light-footed stride, and no sooner had he gone outside than he ran right into Zhong Yilan and her group just as they were returning.

Zhong Yilan looked him up and down and greeted him, "Is the Master leaving?"

"Yes, the matter has been resolved."

Eager to get home, Hu Yuanfei didn't linger and immediately hailed a cab by the roadside.

***

After Zhong Yilan entered the house, the old woman could no longer maintain her smile. Drooping the corners of her mouth and heaving sighs, she muttered softly, "What are we going to do about the eldest's legs, oh sigh. What kind of master is this, completely unreliable..."

Zhong Yihui glanced at the household guardian deity they had just welcomed back. "Mom, stop talking."

Zhong Yilan arranged for the children to go upstairs to sleep. When she came back down, she paid her respects at the shrine, only to hear the old woman still expressing dissatisfaction, complaining that one hundred thousand was already too much to give, and so on.

Zhong Yilan hadn't expected them to cap the payment at exactly one hundred thousand. Remembering her promise at the time, she wondered if the Master would be angry, so she immediately pulled out her phone, found Hu Yuanfei's number to add him on WeChat, and then transferred another one hundred thousand to him.

"Master, thank you both so much for what happened today. My mom and the others just have that kind of temperament; if there was anything done wrong, please don't be upset. This one hundred thousand is a token of our appreciation for your hard work, please be sure to accept it."

By this time, Hu Yuanfei had already arrived home, a silly grin still plastered across his face. He pushed open the door and spun inside like a peacock spreading its tail, scooped up Qingyao who was still playing, and planted a couple of loud smacks on her face. Then he picked up the cat and kissed it, followed by the dog, and finally drifted over to Lang Xiao, leaning straight in to plant a kiss on her cheek as well.

The sound was exceptionally crisp, leaving two distinct saliva marks on Lang Xiao's face.

Lang Xiao's busy hands paused instantly, her pupils trembling wildly. Just as Hu Yuanfei was about to drift back toward Qingyao to plant a few more kisses, she whipped around, grabbed Hu Yuanfei by the collar, and slapped him right across the head with a loud *thwack*.

The blow was heavy, instantly knocking Hu Yuanfei back to reality and sobering him up.

"Ah? Why did you hit me?" Hu Yuanfei rubbed his head, completely bewildered.

Lang Xiao took a deep breath, frantically convincing herself not to get angry. Calmly, she asked, "What good thing happened to make you so excited?"

Mentioning this immediately re-energized Hu Yuanfei. He whipped out his phone, opened his bank account balance, and showed it to her. "I got the money! One hundred thousand, look, one hundred thousand!"

Lang Xiao: "..."

This fox had gone crazy over a mere one hundred thousand. What a low ambition.

Before Hu Yuanfei could finish his manic celebration, she tapped her phone screen, pointing at Ma Daxian, who had helped them. "Transfer twenty thousand to her."

Hu Yuanfei wiped the smile off his face in a single second. "Why?"

Lang Xiao met his gaze without speaking.

Hu Yuanfei knew it was because the other party had helped them. If not for Ma Daxian, his plan wouldn't have worked out, and the matter couldn't have been resolved so satisfactorily. Besides, that person was only brought in as a favor to Daoist Master Wenyuan. Although the Daoist master was the one returning a favor, they still lived in the human world and needed to cultivate ties with capable experts; they might need her help again someday.

"Isn't the remaining eighty thousand enough for you to use? What else do you want to buy?"

Hu Yuanfei whined discontentedly, "Buying a house isn't enough. Twenty thousand of this is our rent for the next two years."

"Stop talking nonsense and transfer it quickly. Say thank you after you're done."

"I know, I know."

After completing the transfer, Hu Yuanfei sent another forty thousand to Lang Xiao; splitting money like this was their default rule.

Once the money was divided, he finally calmed down completely. What was left in his hands was only forty thousand. Although it was still worth celebrating, compared to the initial sum, he had sobered up. It was just this much money, after all; he could always earn more next time.

Seeing that he had finally calmed down, Lang Xiao took off her apron and tossed it at him. "Go to work."

"Coming, coming."

Hu Yuanfei scurried into the kitchen. Just as he started cooking, the phone in his pocket rang. It was a friend request from Zhong Yilan. Though puzzled, he accepted it anyway. A minute later, after reading the message Zhong Yilan had sent, his eyes slowly widened. He let out a couple of excited squeals of "Ah!", giving Lang Xiao a fright.

"What happened this time?!"

Hu Yuanfei leaped straight up like a spring and thrust his phone right in front of her face.

Lang Xiao saw the additional one hundred thousand that had been transferred.

Rich people really were generous. Very calmly, she handed the phone back to Hu Yuanfei and pushed him back down to the floor.

"Cook properly! Qingyao is getting hungry."

***

Heaven and earth were vast, but the toddler was the highest priority. Hu Yuanfei immediately returned to the kitchen to resume cooking, though the corners of his mouth refused to drop the entire time. His mood was radiantly happy, and the meal he prepared even surpassed his usual standard, turning out noticeably better than ordinary days.

After devouring his meal, Hu Yuanfei's emotions finally stabilized. He scooped Qingyao into his arms as she patted her overly full belly and gently massaged her stomach.

"What did our Yao-yao do all morning? Did you miss me? Now that you have playmates, you probably didn't think of me at all. *Sob*, if Qingyao didn't miss me, I'll be very sad."

Qingyao batted at his face in disgust, pushing him away. She didn't say a single word, while Hu Yuanfei acted out an entire drama all by himself.

Qinglai squatted in front of him, wagging his tail. "Officer Yan came over this morning."

That prompted Hu Yuanfei to remember. "Oh right, you two were supposed to get your household registration sorted this morning. Have you thought of names?"

"We picked them. My name is Qinglai, 'Lai' as in Penglai."

Li Bai hopped onto the sofa armrest and sat up straight. "My name is Qingli, 'Li' as in pear tree."

Hu Yuanfei was stunned. "Qingyao, Qingli, Qinglai—you three are sisters and brothers! Is your household registration linked with ours now? Doesn't that make us a family of five?!"

Feeling as though he had suddenly acquired a pair of children, Hu Yuanfei looked at the cat and dog with slightly more complex emotions.

From now on, ordering them around to do chores wouldn't feel quite so justified anymore.

With an unexpected windfall of one hundred thousand, Hu Yuanfei decided to splurge and live extravagantly that very evening. He treated himself to a place he had eyed for a long time but never dared to enter: the foot massage and bath parlor near their residential compound.

The shop hadn't closed during the Spring Festival holiday, and business looked even livelier than usual.

Announcing that he was treating, Hu Yuanfei told Lang Xiao to bring Qingyao along with them.

Qingli and Qinglai didn't tag along; they had gone back to their original neighborhood to check on the kitten pups.

The foot parlor in the evening glowed with dazzling lights, its colorful neon signs almost blinding to the eye.

A number of middle-aged men walked inside with arms draped over each other's shoulders, chatting, laughing, and smoking. The smell of cigarette smoke made Lang Xiao take a couple of steps back; even before stepping inside, her psychological evaluation of the place was already stamped with a rejection label.

Hu Yuanfei stood at the entrance, waving excitedly at her. "Come on inside."

Frowning, Lang Xiao took quite a while before finally stepping through the doors with a cold expression.

The interior was resplendently decorated, carpets covered the floors, and the indoor heating was exceptionally warm. A young and glamorous receptionist dressed in a *cheongsam* greeted them with a smile. "Welcome! How many, please?"

Upon seeing the child in Lang Xiao's arms, the receptionist's smile seemed to freeze for a split second. Who brings a child to a place like this?

Hu Yuanfei spoke up, "Two adults, the child isn't getting a service."

The receptionist replied, "We separate men and women here. Please go this way, the women's section is over here."

Hu Yuanfei felt a bit displeased. He just wanted to soak his feet, get a massage, and see what it was all about; why did they have to separate men and women?

"Is there a place where we aren't separated?"

The smile on the receptionist's face grew somewhat strained. How could this person be so oblivious? Clearly, he was already married with a child, yet he didn't act like someone who couldn't understand plain language.

She looked Hu Yuanfei up and down, unable to figure out if he was joking or serious. Since these kinds of matters weren't easy to state explicitly, she only said, "It depends on the masseurs and the types of services, ranging from budget to premium. Which kind of service are you looking for?"