Even though the audience knew that Zhaocai was an illusion.
In the photo, under the illumination of the lamp shadows, in the blurry picture,
beside Duan Qinghuai's tall figure stood Ning Yitao, a graceful young woman.
Her long, black, wavy hair was like seaweed, gently draping over her back.
The wind blew up the hem of her dress, just touching Duan Qinghuai's suit pants, exuding a unique tenderness.
Zhaocai, looking a bit silly, leaned close to Ning Yitao, tugging at her clothes as it followed her forward.
On both sides of them were the staff. With their looks, an outsider might mistake them for a celebrity couple out on the street.
When Duan Qinghuai saw this photo later, his eyes lit up immediately.
His fingers quickly tapped on the screen. He managed to dig out a watermark - free version of the photo online, saved it, found the album, clicked on the crop function, and neatly cropped the picture to only include himself and Ning Yitao.
Duan Qinghuai paused for a while, admiring the photo of their backs. The tenderness in his eyes was almost overflowing.
He quickly set this photo as his wallpaper. His movements were smooth and without a hitch.
There was no trace of emotion on Duan Qinghuai's face. The passing employees thought their boss was working hard.
No one knew that the Duan Qinghuai, who was looking down at his phone screen seriously, was secretly overjoyed inside, finally having a group photo with Taotao.
**********
By now, it was already dark. Duan Qinghuai and Ning Yitao didn't return to the Taoist temple.
Instead, they went back to Duan Qinghuai's home.
They arrived at the Duan family's old mansion.
The car drove for a while and then entered the wrought - iron gate. The villas on the mountain were all in the Western - style of the Republic of China era. The white columns stood majestically, and the marble curled up in snow - white whirls.
The ebony doors and windows were all exquisitely carved. Hidden among the woods, the mansion looked even more magnificent.
As soon as they entered the villa, there was a circular fountain in front of them.
Although this place was called Duan Qinghuai's home, it was only in name.
Since his parents passed away when he was young, Duan Qinghuai had never stayed in this so - called home for more than five times.
It had been about a year and a half since his last visit.
At that time, he rushed back anxiously to find his bank card to raise medical expenses for Lu Anguo and contact doctors. After getting what he wanted, he left soon.
Since his parents' death, Duan Qinghuai had started to resist the approach of others.
He thought that he would bring bad luck to others and hurt his loved ones.
On the day Lu Anguo died, Duan Qinghuai secretly cried many times alone. He was afraid of the approach of Lu Anguo's relatives, fearing that his bad luck would affect them.
He even thought that Lu Anguo's death was just another proof of his bad luck.
But with Ning Yitao's appearance, Duan Qinghuai always felt at ease. Ning Yitao always showed him through her actions that he was not wrong and that he could have the confidence to interact with others.
Things that Ning Yitao thought were no big deal actually solved the problems that had been bothering Duan Qinghuai for a long time.
On the other hand, things that Duan Qinghuai never cared about left Ning Yitao stunned and speechless.
Just like now, standing in front of the Duan family's old mansion, Ning Yitao's eyes sparkled as she looked at this house full of history.
This was a noble private villa, obviously the residence of a wealthy family. The tall fence was twined with gorgeous rose thorns; the mottled light and shadow reflected the luxury of the yard.
The location was excellent. In terms of feng shui, the northwest position of a residence was related to nobility, prosperity, and longevity. The northwest should be high, not low - lying, and should not be affected by road or river collisions or other inauspicious factors.
This mansion did very well in these aspects.
Ning Yitao knew that many people now preferred houses facing south. However, not everyone was suitable for such houses. It depended on each person's attributes, and their birth year and five - element properties were closely related.
A residence was a place to live for a lifetime, so the choice needed to be more cautious.
Generally speaking, houses facing south were a popular choice. They had good lighting, could avoid the wind and yin energy, thus avoiding many pitfalls in choosing a house site.
The spiritual energy emitted by the Duan family's old mansion with its profound history could obviously nourish the people living here.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ning Yitao saw Duan Qinghuai and wondered in confusion:
"Even a person with a lack of good karma could achieve great success if living in such a house. Why did he, a son of good fortune, live here since childhood but end up with a broken fate? Is there something special in this house?"
Seeing Ning Yitao standing there in a daze, Duan Qinghuai bent down and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Ning Yitao came back to her senses and saw that Duan Qinghuai was unconsciously very close to her.
She was stunned. Her heart skipped a beat. She averted her eyes from Duan Qinghuai, pushed him away, and said,
"It's nothing. I was just thinking. Let's go in quickly."
Duan Qinghuai didn't know what he had done wrong. He told Ning Yitao something about the mansion:
"The old mansion hasn't been lived in for a long time. Usually, only the aunt comes to clean it regularly. It might be a bit shabby. Just now, as soon as Zhaocai got out of the car, for some reason, it trotted in."
As soon as Zhaocai was mentioned, understanding dawned in Ning Yitao's eyes. It must have rushed in because it sensed the abundant spiritual energy. She smiled helplessly yet indulgently and said, "Don't worry about it. Let's go in first."
Walking into the villa, the first thing they saw was an extremely luxurious hall. The complicated lighting emitted a cold light.
The high walls on all sides cast dark shadows on the soft carpet. Walking through the long, wide but desolate corridor, the eyes of the famous people in the paintings on both sides seemed to grasp people's hearts.
The design of the inner rooms was needless to say, but the precious decorations couldn't hide the oppression and desolation in the rooms.
Zhaocai, which had rushed into the mansion first, shivered involuntarily when it reached the corridor among the paintings. It felt a sense of foreboding in front.
The end of the corridor was pitch - black, like a black whirlpool ready to suck it in. Zhaocai shivered again, shook its head, and decided to turn around and run back to find Ning Yitao.
Ning Yitao had felt something different as soon as she came to this villa on the mountain. This mountain was not just a villa area.
This mountain had a spirit, and there was a mountain god.
The person who could build a house on this mountain was naturally not an ordinary person. He must have obtained the permission of the mountain god.
A mountain with a mountain god was special. The mountain god needed the power of offerings, a large amount of it, to support him in protecting the mountain.
The power of offerings obtained from the animals and plants alone was far from enough in this world where spiritual energy was drying up.
Ning Yitao gave a meaningful look at Duan Qinghuai, who was still briefly introducing his home, and thought:
"Why is there a secret in every place Duan Qinghuai goes? Sure enough, for a son of fortune who has leaked his luck, his fate is always being targeted."
Looking up, Ning Yitao saw Zhaocai rushing towards her in a hurry.