Chapter 8: Taking Money to Solve Problems

To raise tuition fees for his younger sister, Li Moxuan left home and headed for Wushi. Peach Blossom Village is over twenty kilometers away from Wushi, but for him, this distance was a matter of minutes. Even though he had not yet reached the Golden Core stage and could not fly on a sword, his physical prowess made such a journey trivial.

On the way, Li Moxuan pondered ways to make money. With his skills, earning a large sum in a short time was not difficult, and he certainly didn't need to resort to illegal activities. Whether through alchemy, healing, drawing talismans, or practicing Feng Shui, any number of methods would suffice to gather a significant amount of wealth.

After some deliberation, Li Moxuan decided to go to a marketplace in the southern part of Wushi. The southern market, where dragons and snakes mingled and people from all walks of life gathered, was the largest in the city. It offered everything from daily commodities and vegetables to gold, jewelry, jade, and antiques. There were also many fortune tellers and wandering Taoists setting up stalls.

Li Moxuan decided to set up his own stall there to see if he could find any business. He found a spot and wrote a line on the ground with a stone: "I take money to resolve disasters; there is nothing I cannot do. Price negotiable!"

He didn't bother with any props to feign divinity, nor did he care if others believed him. He simply sat in a corner and waited for business. The marketplace was crowded, and before long, Li Moxuan’s actions drew the attention of curious onlookers. People gathered around, pointing and whispering.

"There is nothing he cannot do? People dare to brag about anything these days."
"Exactly, it's an exaggeration. Does he really think he's a living immortal?"
"I think he's just a con artist. If he really had such abilities, the rich would have been serving him like an ancestor long ago. Why would he need to set up a stall here? He doesn't even have a booth; he's definitely a fraud."

Some hooligans also started teasing him. "Hey, 'immortal,' can you tell me if I'll have a romantic encounter tonight? If you get it right, I'll reward you with ten or twenty bucks."
"Is there a way to make a man capable of handling ten women a night?"
"Do you have a miracle drug to help me gain ten centimeters?"
"Master, give me a 'Peach Blossom' talisman so I can summon a dozen beauties right now. If it works, I'll share one with you, how about that? Hahaha..."

Li Moxuan ignored these troublemakers entirely.

Just then, a blue Maserati pulled over. The window rolled down to reveal a beautiful woman with wavy hair and black sunglasses. She stared fixedly at Li Moxuan, lost in thought. A short-haired woman in professional office attire sitting in the passenger seat frowned and said, "Ms. Zhou, this young man looks like a street con artist. He's not to be trusted."

"We should go find a true master to resolve this. The several we've hired before were all useless, and it has already wasted a lot of time; the project progress has been severely affected. If this continues, something terrible will happen!"

Zhou Li took off her sunglasses and sighed deeply. "Sigh... it's not easy to find a truly capable expert."

Zhou Li was very troubled. Her group had recently been developing a resort project located in a forest area that was rumored to be a former mass grave. Since the development began, strange things had been happening at the construction site. At first, there were intermittent sounds of women crying and screaming, and occasionally, fresh blood could be found under the trees.

Sometimes, workers would see corpses hanging from the trees. Even more bizarrely, a worker went to the restroom in the middle of the night and saw a yellow weasel bowing to the moon. It had turned its head to reveal a mouth full of sharp teeth and smiled eerily at the worker, asking if it looked more like a human or an immortal. The worker was so frightened he fainted on the spot and fell ill immediately upon returning home; even the doctors were helpless.

The construction site was now in a state of panic, causing massive chaos and severely impacting the project's schedule. Even vehicles and construction machinery were being damaged for no apparent reason. As the project manager, Zhou Li had been ordered by the higher-ups to find an expert to resolve the matter. However, after spending a fortune hiring several so-called experts, it turned out they were all "embroidered pillows"—useless despite their fine appearances.

Zhou Li rubbed her temples in frustration. Today, the higher-ups had given her a final ultimatum: if she couldn't find someone capable, she would be out of a job. For the sake of her career, she had to give it her all.

The assistant next to her suggested, "Ms. Zhou, why don't we go see that master by the river?"

Zhou Li replied impatiently, "Forget it. That guy is just an old fraud who cheats people out of money and takes advantage of women. All he does is eat, drink, and sleep around. If you want to go, you can go yourself..."

The assistant lowered her head. "But... if we don't find an expert, we won't be able to report back!"

The atmosphere in the luxury car was heavy, and both fell into silence. At that moment, Li Moxuan heard their conversation clearly. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He then called out, "Nothing I cannot do, reasonable prices, honest service! I specialize in fortune-telling, ghost catching, exorcising demons, ensuring household peace, and warding off evil. No pay if I'm not effective!"

Having said that, Li Moxuan rose to pack up his stall. Suddenly, Zhou Li got out of the car and called out loudly, "Handsome, please wait!"

Li Moxuan felt a surge of amusement; the "playing hard to get" strategy worked well. Zhou Li walked quickly in her high heels, her long legs clad in gray silk stockings. Her professional skirt outlined her charming curves, and her figure was captivating.

Li Moxuan looked her over. Zhou Li had a beautiful face with a touch of dignity and professionalism, and a mole near the corner of her eye added to her allure. She smiled and extended her hand. "Hello, I am Zhou Li, the manager of a real estate development company..."

Li Moxuan didn't waste time. "Let's get straight to the point!" He adopted an inscrutable expression.

A hint of joy appeared in Zhou Li's eyes, and she quickly explained the situation at the construction site. "As long as you can break this, the price is negotiable. Whatever conditions you have, we can agree to them!"

Zhou Li felt confident. For some reason, her female intuition told her that Li Moxuan might really be able to solve the problem. Li Moxuan looked at her confident, charming gaze and glanced briefly at her long legs. "Any conditions?"

As a manager, Zhou Li was not a naive girl. She nodded firmly. "Yes, any conditions. As long as you can solve it, I will definitely treat you to a meal later and thank you properly. This matter is truly very important to me."

Zhou Li tossed her hair, releasing an alluring fragrance, and gave Li Moxuan a flirtatious wink. She thought that although Li Moxuan was dressed a bit shabbily, he was young and handsome. If he could save her job, she wouldn't mind a night of passion with him.

Facing her subtle hints, Li Moxuan steadied his mind, thinking to himself that she was quite the temptress. He straightened his expression. "Where is the construction site?"

"South of Cloud Mist Mountain."

Upon hearing the location, Li Moxuan understood. Although the world had entered the Age of Dharma Decay due to pollution and the fading of spiritual energy, there were still places where some energy lingered. Where there is spiritual energy, there is also yin energy, and such places are prone to harboring filth. The yellow weasel's "seeking of investiture" and those haunting spirits loved to gather there. It was highly likely that the development project had disturbed the peace of the dead. With his strength, resolving this would be easy.

Li Moxuan looked at her curiously. "There are many 'experts' here, why choose me?"

Zhou Li joked, "Those are just frauds. My intuition tells me you aren't. Besides, those people ask for outrageous terms. Since I have to agree to something anyway, I'd rather choose someone young and handsome like you; I won't be losing out." She paused, then added, "How about this: if you can solve it, 50,000 yuan, plus a dinner with me, how does that sound?"

She walked closer to him, crossing her arms and subtly emphasizing her figure to hint at her offer.

Li Moxuan didn't immediately agree. He smiled slightly. "It's not that simple; there are many factors involved. Furthermore, you have a problem yourself."

"I have a problem?" Zhou Li widened her beautiful eyes in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you felt that in the last two days, while showering, you felt like someone was touching you even though you were alone? And you always feel like someone is watching you from the shadows?"

Zhou Li’s face turned pale. She knitted her brows and asked in a low voice, "How did you know?"

"You’ve been targeted by a lecherous ghost. I can handle that for you as well, but... that will cost extra!"

Zhou Li was shocked. She had only come to check him out on a whim, but she hadn't expected him to be the real deal. She understood immediately. "Fine, 100,000 yuan, plus dinner... whatever you want, I agree!"

She bit her red lip, a flush of shyness appearing on her face. The project involved various interests, and as the main person in charge, if this Mr. Li could really solve the problem, what did it matter if she gave herself to him? Besides... Mr. Li seemed quite well-endowed. She glanced down, and the slight bulge she saw made her heart flutter, wishing she could do some "interesting" things with him right now.