Seeing that I wanted to run away, Si Jiangchen immediately reached out and grabbed my wrist.
"I'll go with you."
But... Si Jiangchen had said that he had an important meeting to attend today. Isn't a company's president supposed to be swamped with work?
How could he have the time to follow me, a spiritualist, around in this mountain village?
"This has nothing to do with you, Mr. Si. Moreover... we may not be able to find it today!"
I shrank back my hand in fright.
But Si Jiangchen's big hand locked my wrist tightly. He turned his head and squinted at me with a half - smile, saying, "How does it have nothing to do with me? It concerns Si Tong's life and death. I need to keep an eye on you."
"Shut up! If it weren't for you, Si Tong wouldn't have become a vegetable!"
Wei Yuan also stood up with me and stared at Si Jiangchen like an aggressive rooster.
"A Yuan."
Si Jiangchen's lips still wore a faint smile, but his eyes had turned as cold as ice. "Watch your words. Your father's company has been facing a lot of problems lately. If you want to make things worse, I don't mind..."
"You!!"
Wei Yuan was so choked by his words that his face turned red. He mumbled a few times but couldn't say a single word.
Si Jiangchen was truly a cunning fox who knew exactly how to manipulate people's minds.
Wei Yuan was a playboy who relied entirely on his father's support. If there were problems with Ruiyin Venture Capital, his good days would be over.
"Hehe."
Si Jiangchen pushed away his coffee cup and stood up. He said with a smile, "Good nephew, instead of wandering around in the mountains, you'd better go back and persuade your father not to invest in Taoran Media. That company will be dead soon."
Hearing Si Jiangchen's words, Wei Yuan's face changed drastically.
He held an idle position in Ruiyin Company and naturally knew something about the company's situation. His father, Wei Wenzhao, was indeed in contact with the currently popular Taoran Media and planned to invest to buy 40% of its shares.
Si Jiangchen's words sent a chill down his spine.
Ruiyin and Fir were competitors, yet Si Jiangchen seemed to know all their business secrets like the back of his hand?
Wei Yuan immediately wanted to leave in a hurry. He even forgot the original reason for coming all the way to this mountain.
"Wait!"
I quickly stopped Wei Yuan. Then I took out a yellow talisman from my pocket and handed it to him. "Keep the one I gave you last night close to your body. Stick this one on your motorcycle."
The female ghost had already dealt with the two culprits, "Little Li" and "Brother Dong". She should come after Wei Yuan soon.
"Ah, thank you!"
Wei Yuan almost broke out in a cold sweat. All he could think about was rushing back to the company to tell his father to pay attention to Taoran Media's trends. He had completely forgotten that he was haunted by a fierce ghost and was in danger of dying at any time.
"Don't be afraid. These two talismans are enough to keep you safe."
Seeing his face turn pale instantly, I quickly comforted him. "Remember not to go out at night when you get back. Wait for me to come to you."
"Okay!"
Wei Yuan nodded. I whispered behind him, "Remember to transfer the deposit to me when you get back!"
Wei Yuan's back stiffened for a moment, but he still nodded heavily.
The motorcycle roared away from the villa.
I wondered if it was just my imagination, but it seemed that Wei Yuan had slowed down his speed.
"When did you meet him?"
Si Jiangchen slowly walked up behind me. Squinting his eyes, he looked at the road where the dust was gradually settling with me.
"Um..."
I didn't want to answer this question, let alone let Si Jiangchen know that I had extorted ten million yuan from his nephew.
At this time, Uncle Li came up to us and asked cautiously, "Mr. Si, are you going with Miss Du to look for Lu Dayong?"
"Yes."
Si Jiangchen glanced at me, casually took out a cigarette, lit it, and put it in his mouth. "There are wolves in the mountains. I'm afraid they'll carry her away."
"Hehe, Master, you're just joking. There are no wolves around here."
Uncle Li was a simple - minded mountain man. He only knew that Si Jiangchen was handsome and approachable, so he couldn't help getting closer to him. "I've got a few homemade guns here. If you want to go hunting in the mountains, you can take them and give it a try. Maybe you'll shoot a few pheasants."
"Really?"
Si Jiangchen seemed quite interested.
But I quickly waved my hands and said, "Uncle Li, we're here on important business, not for fun."
"But my wife said that Lu Dayong has been dead for decades. Miss Du, you must be mistaken."
Uncle Li shrugged.
"It doesn't matter. Xiao He and I will just take a stroll. We probably won't be back for lunch. You don't have to stay here."
Si Jiangchen really had an impeccable personality in the eyes of ordinary people.
"Okay!" Uncle Li nodded. "I'll clean this place up. I'll ask my wife to lead you two to Lu Village. If you can't find Lu Dayong, finding Carpenter Liu is also okay. He's also a great carpenter!"
...
When Aunt Li led Si Jiangchen and me to Lu Dayong's residence in Lu Village, it was almost noon.
The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but a chill rose from the bottom of my heart.
Lu Dayong's house was right in front of us. It was a cave close to the mountain. There was a stone wall made of locally - sourced stones outside. Due to the passage of time, it had collapsed, and we could see the situation inside the yard.
The ground in the yard was overgrown with weeds, and the fallen leaves had piled up layer upon layer.
The doors and windows of the cave were already badly decayed. The torn newspapers pasted on the window frames had faded to a yellowish - brown color. When the wind blew, they made a continuous "rustling" sound.
"Miss Du, you can just stand here and take a look. Don't go in."
Seeing me reach out to push the half - decayed courtyard door, Aunt Li quickly stopped me. "Even the villagers here don't go in. They all say there are ghosts inside!"
"Ghosts?!"
I widened my eyes in surprise. "Is this a haunted house?"
"Sort of!" Aunt Li nodded.
"Why don't you just tear it down? It's been decades. There should be no one living here for a long time, right?"
I stood on tiptoe and looked inside. It was pitch - black and filled with a chilling aura, but I didn't see any ghosts.
"Don't we want to tear it down? Not long after Lu Dayong was buried, strange things started to happen in the village. Chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs kept dying. The fortune - teller we invited said that Lu Dayong died unwillingly and turned into a zombie to harm people."
Aunt Li still had a lingering fear when she recalled the terrifying incident that had happened decades ago. "At that time, the village head wanted to dig out Lu Dayong's body and burn it after hearing what the fortune - teller said. But unexpectedly, the new grave had already been dug up, and the body was gone!"
"Um..."
Although it was noon and the sun was shining brightly,
the coolness in the mountains and the so - called haunted house in front of me made my scalp tingle.
"Since we couldn't find Lu Dayong's body, the fortune - teller told us to tear down his house. But unexpectedly, this house is really evil..."
As Aunt Li was speaking, her face also changed. She remembered the villagers who had entered the house to tear it down and fled out of the house like crazy.
"Lu Dayong's house was a cave dug into the mountain. We could only tear it down with explosives. This house... no one can even enter. A few brave young men had just walked inside when they seemed to have seen a ghost. They howled and ran out. The next day, they all died in their beds with blood oozing from their seven orifices..."