Chapter 56 Lai Dingwen

The man let out a cold snort and said, "You dare to try shaking down my place? You didn't even bother to find out who I am! You, come here!"

He pointed the muzzle of his gun at me. I couldn't tell if it was a real gun or not, but I certainly didn't dare to gamble on it. I could only walk over obediently. The man pointed to a leather suitcase in the corner and said, "Go drag that suitcase over and pack everything inside into it. I only care about money, not lives. After I leave, just go back and tell Zheng Tianwang that you never saw me."

"Let me do it. This brother of mine is all thumbs, don't go damaging your precious items," Wu Dahai said with a ingratiating smile.

The man didn't seem to mind and nodded, "Then you come over. You, squat down in the corner!"

I obediently hugged my head and went to squat in the corner, while Wu Dahai slowly walked toward the leather suitcase. When Wu Dahai was about three or five steps away from the man, he suddenly lunged forward, turning around with incredible speed and charging straight at the man. The man cursed, "You're courting death," and swung the muzzle around, but Wu Dahai was even faster. He grabbed the man's wrist with one hand and gave it a light flick, sending the gun in the man's hand clattering to the floor. The man raised his right hand to counterattack, but Wu Dahai blocked it with his left hand and smoothly drove his elbow into the man's chest. The man collapsed onto the tea table with a thud, and before he could flip over and get up, Wu Dahai had already gripped his throat.

I immediately rushed over and picked up the gun. It was heavy, ice-cold, and had a very solid feel in the hand.

Having been counter-submitted by us, the man turned out to be quite a good sport. He said, "Doesn't Wu Dahai only have Cheng Yi under him? Since when did he have such a martial artist with him? Fine, I admit defeat. You can take the money, just leave me my life."

I couldn't help glancing at the open safe.

I had a concept of cash because I had just borrowed three hundred thousand from Uncle Yong. The cash inside should be around two hundred thousand, with not many US dollars, three gold bars, and a Buddha statue at the bottom.

This Buddha statue looked extremely bizarre. It had the attire of a Buddha, but the fierce, green-tusked face of a Yaksha, with numerous arms arranged like a thousand-armed Guanyin. Every single hand was forming a strange gesture, and in the center of each palm was an eye, the pupils dotted with green gemstones. Its surface was pitch-black, and where it wasn't black, a golden luster showed through. It looked quite aged and should be an antique.

Seeing me looking up and down at this Buddha statue, the man said anxiously, "Brother, you can take the cash and the gold bars, but don't touch this Buddha statue. It's not about whether this thing is valuable or not, but rather that it's wicked and ominous. I brought it back from the home of a local boss. This is no ordinary object, getting involved with it won't do you any good."

I didn't answer him.

At that moment, my mind was completely filled with those bundles of cash and gold bars.

I could ask Wu Dahai to take three hundred thousand to save his daughter because I needed Wu Dahai as an expert; having him join me would provide something to rely on for all my future paths. Yet, that three hundred thousand also brought me immense pressure. Now, with all this money laid out before me, taking it meant I could accomplish many things, pay back Uncle Yong, and even return to my hometown with this money to change my family's life.

To me, this money was within arm's reach.

Money was truly something that could test human nature.

To take it or not to take it?

I stared at it for a full three minutes, until the man couldn't help but say, "Brother, whether you want to kill or carve me up, just give me a straight word."

I sighed, waved my hand at Wu Dahai, and said, "Let him go."

Wu Dahai was somewhat surprised, but he still followed my instructions and released the man. I placed the gun back on the table. While this thing could give someone a sense of security, that was only if you knew how to use it. Since I didn't understand it, having this guy's weapon in my hand was instead a source of pressure, and I was afraid it might accidentally discharge at any moment.

"I need three hundred thousand to pay off a debt. Help me arrange it, consider it a loan from you. As for when I'll pay it back, the moment I earn enough, I'll return it to you first," I said.

The man looked at me as if I were a lunatic and said, "Brother, talking like that makes no sense. If you're going to take it, just take it. What's this talk about a loan?"

I shook my head and said, "It's different. A gentleman loves wealth and acquires it in the right way. Don't be so nervous either; I'm not Zheng Tianwang's man. Actually, I came here just wanting to make friends with you. As for the rest of it, it was all a twist of fate."

"What the hell?" The man widened his eyes and said.

"Sit down and let's talk," I said.

We sat down at the tea table. After I explained the whole story from beginning to end, the man was left between tears and laughter. He said, "Brother, you shouldn't play like that! You can scare people to death doing that!"

"Who knew you were so easily scared? I just bluffed casually, and you immediately confessed everything and wanted to spend money to avert disaster, which left me a bit at a loss," I laughed.

The man sighed and said, "The ancestors were right: if you haven't done anything wrong, you don't fear a knock on the door at midnight. I've been here for seven full years. When it comes to others, I consider myself to have done nothing wrong—you pay money, and I read fortunes for you. At worst, under the guise of performing rituals and consecrations, I slept with a few women who caught my eye, but that was entirely consensual, and since they are people of status themselves, they wouldn't go around shouting about it. But only in this matter with Zheng Tianwang did I act too despicably, treating a man like a cuckold, and no matter where I go, I can't justify it. Even leaving that aside, the main thing is that I know that woman He Wanyue too well; she's simply a first-class idiot who was bound to mess up sooner or later, and once she messed up, she'd definitely sell me out. Otherwise, the two of you wouldn't have been able to scare me off with just a few words."

What he said made sense. A locally renowned Feng Shui master naturally had his own connections and wouldn't care about two petty thieves trying to shake him down, but since I had invoked Zheng Tianwang's name, it would be difficult for him to track people down later anyway.

Why?

Because it was humiliating!

Moreover, Zheng Tianwang walked in both gray and black circles; having suffered such a profound humiliation, he certainly wouldn't let the matter rest and would inevitably come to settle scores. Even if he didn't bury him in the end, his reputation would be ruined, making it impossible for him to survive in this area. That was precisely why he had been planning to leave.

After exchanging a few more polite pleasantries, matching underworld jargon, and introducing our respective names, I learned that the man called himself Lai Dingwen.

Why the surname Lai? Because in the southern Feng Shui community, there were two extremely prominent figures. The first was Yang筠松 (Yang Yunsong), who had served as the Grand Master of Golden Lu Lu of the Tang Dynasty. There was a local legend that before the Tang Dynasty, the art of Feng Shui was a royal secret forbidden from spreading among the common people. When Huang Chao's army broke into Chang'an, Yang Yunsong brought the Feng Shui arts that originally belonged to royalty out to the common people, and then poured his entire life's effort into writing two monumental works: one titled *Yang Gong Feng Shui*, and the other *Han Long Jing* (The Shaking Dragon Classic). There was even a saying that "Yang Gong Feng Shui can save the world, and Han Long Jing can pacify the nation," and southern Feng Shui predominantly revered Yang Gong.

As for Lai, it referred to the commoner prime minister Lai Buyi. What Lai Buyi studied was precisely the *Han Long Jing*. During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, he rose to the position of Imperial Astrologer, only to be framed by Qin Hui later on and forced to wander among the common people, using commoner Feng Shui to save the world and help the people. He also enjoyed immense prestige in the south.

The surname Yang was too grand and he was afraid he couldn't live up to it, so he took the surname Lai, claiming to be the twenty-seventh generation descendant of Lai Buyi. This was extremely common in this trade, much like how many restaurants advertised that Emperor Qianlong had eaten there during his southern tours. If all of that were true, Emperor Qianlong would have been far too busy; it was nothing more than fabricating a good background story for oneself to deceive people.

In reality, his name was Linaiguo. Put the names Linaiguo and Lai Dingwen together, ponder them carefully, and it was plain to see which one looked more like a Feng Shui master.