Ma Xiaolin was already at his limit. He collapsed onto the ground, trembling all over, muttering incessantly, "Master, save me, Master, save me..." His steward wasn't much better. Leaning against the wall to avoid falling, his body had stiffened; he tried to come over to us but simply couldn't lift his feet.
That white shadow was strange as well — it just circled around Ma Xiaolin. We were all in the same room, practically within arm's reach. We had fired a shot at it earlier, but the white shadow showed no interest in us, not even the slightest intention to move toward us.
"Something's off," Xiao Heshang murmured. He had been holding Wu Rendi's portrait the entire time, carefully watching the white shadow. Seeing that the white shadow didn't seem to be coming closer, he finally thought to put the scroll away, but his movement was a bit too abrupt — his arm hit the rack with a clatter.
That single noise startled the white shadow. It suddenly stepped toward us, then quickly retreated. Judging by its behavior, it wanted to come closer but seemed to fear something.
"Old Xiao, not to be rude, but can you be a little quieter?" Sun Fatty said from behind him. If this sealed room had any windows or back doors, Sun Fatty would have already jumped out by now.
Xiao Heshang ignored him. Seeing the white shadow hesitate to approach, the old Taoist seemed to have figured something out. He turned back and took Wu Rendi's portrait off the rack again, then said to me, "Little Lazi, come help me unfold the painting."
"Seriously? At a time like this? Old Xiao, you've met the man himself already. If you want to see him again, go look for the real person," I said, my hand gripping the pistol sweating with nerves. I had no mind to help Xiao Heshang.
"Don't you two see it yet?" Xiao Heshang slowly unfurled the scroll. Wu Rendi's full-body portrait was fully revealed. Upon seeing the portrait, the white shadow became visibly uncomfortable. It lowered its head as if it dared not look at Wu Rendi's image.
"Hurry up and help!" Xiao Heshang shouted at me. Without hesitation, Sun Fatty and I stepped forward, each taking one side of the scroll, holding the portrait facing the white shadow's direction. At this, the white shadow grew restless, pacing back and forth.
"Move forward!" Xiao Heshang commanded from behind. Sun Fatty glanced back, "Old Xiao, it's just a painting. What if it can't hold this Misfortune Deity down?"
"You think it's afraid of the painting?" Xiao Heshang snorted, his tone shifting, becoming reluctant. "What it fears is the person in the picture. No telling who the scoundrel was who painted it — it's not just a likeness, they even painted the spirit and energy into it..."
No way, right? That's a deity! No matter how powerful Wu Rendi is, his portrait alone wouldn't scare a god away, would it? Sun Fatty and I hesitated. After a moment with no movement from us, Xiao Heshang suddenly dashed forward from behind, snatched the side of the scroll Sun Fatty was holding, and used Wu Rendi's portrait as a shield, slowly advancing toward the white shadow.
I was forced to hold the other side of the scroll, walking forward with Xiao Heshang. Most of the portrait was shielded by Xiao Heshang's body, so I stayed a bit behind, ready to retreat immediately if the wind changed.
As Xiao Heshang and I closed the distance with the white shadow, Sun Fatty warned me, "Lazi, be careful. If things go south, pull back immediately. Old Xiao can cover you up front." Despite the tense situation, Sun Fatty's loyalty showed as he casually dismissed Xiao Heshang from the equation.
Xiao Heshang seemed not to hear, steadily moving toward the white shadow. The closer the portrait got, the more panicked the white shadow became. The air pressure in the dark room dropped noticeably; I even started feeling like I couldn't breathe. When we were still about two or three meters away, the white shadow could no longer endure it. At that distance, even if Xiao Heshang threw the portrait, the white shadow probably wouldn't be able to dodge.
Just when I thought Xiao Heshang was about to press the portrait onto the white shadow, the white shadow suddenly let out a sharp, piercing scream—full of unwillingness and resentment. As the scream echoed, its form grew increasingly faint. The moment the scream faded away, the white shadow vanished completely. The entire dark chamber no longer held that unique, gloomy, damp aura it once had.
"Old Xiao, where did it go?" I still couldn't believe the plague spirit was chased away that easily.
Xiao Heshang cleared his throat and said, "It should still be hiding somewhere in this room, probably inside one of Mr. Ma's collectibles. Sigh, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack — impossible to find." As he spoke, Xiao Heshang let out a weary sigh.
Still in the chamber? But I couldn't sense the plague spirit's presence at all. Looking at Sun Fatty's mischievous grin, I finally realized and echoed Xiao Heshang's words: "I was telling you, I felt the plague spirit was still in the chamber. If it's hiding inside those collectibles, then it really is impossible to find. I've got a few tricks for ghosts, but a Misfortune Deity… sigh, I'm powerless."
"Master, three masters, no need to write anything more. Just take everything away; consider it done." Hearing that the Misfortune Deity had disappeared, Ma Xiaolin had just started to recover a bit, but now that he heard Xiao Heshang and me agreeing, his heart was back up in his throat.
"Mr. Ma, what kind of joke is that? You think I'm after these worldly things?" Xiao Heshang's expression changed immediately. If you didn't know him, you'd think this old fellow truly regarded money as dirt and was an enlightened recluse who cared nothing for fame or fortune.
"Master, you misunderstand. These things have been tainted by the Misfortune Deity's misfortune. Only with your supreme power can the bad luck be cleansed. Besides, it's about fate. My bond with these treasures has ended. Rather than letting them fall into the hands of common folk, it's better if you, Master, become their destined caretaker." Ma Xiaolin spoke earnestly, as if he would kneel before Xiao Heshang on the spot if he refused.
"Sigh." Xiao Heshang sighed deeply. "If you put it that way, I'll reluctantly accept them, but it's not for me. I'll find someone who's truly destined for them." He shook his head repeatedly, looking extremely unwilling.
Ma Xiaolin gave a thousand thanks again, and his steward had already helped him up. Ma was even ready to write a 3 million yuan check as a reward, but Xiao Heshang refused outright, saying they had fate and he couldn't take the money no matter what. Ma argued for a while before giving up.
Afterward, we toured around Ma Xiaolin's villa again. By then, the yin-yang energies in the house had nearly balanced, no longer dominated by yang as when we first entered. I privately asked Xiao Heshang, who explained that although the Misfortune Deity is a yin entity and not a true god, other yin energies cannot flourish where it passes. It's like the presence of Tai Gong causes other gods to retreat.
Xiao Heshang then seriously arranged a Peace Formation in the villa's courtyard. Sun Fatty, watching him busy at work, smiled and said to me, "This counts as after-sales service."
After all the fuss, night had fallen, well past dinner time. Ma Xiaolin had originally planned to dine at his private club, but surprisingly, Xiao Heshang insisted on guarding the formation for six hours to let the Peace Formation take effect. (Just a few days ago, he ate with Sun Fatty and me every day without being polite. Actually, he was reluctant to leave the chamber's treasures, afraid that once we left, Ma Xiaolin would have the steward swap them out for fakes.)
Ma Xiaolin wanted to order a top-tier abalone banquet from a hotel, but Xiao Heshang refused, saying outsiders entering would disrupt his formation. Sun Fatty rolled his eyes at this. So we had to make do with a simple meal at the villa.
No abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, or fish maw feast—Sun Fatty and I were so annoyed by Xiao Heshang that we claimed we were hungry and headed to the kitchen for snacks. The steward wanted to follow, but Sun Fatty told him to stay and help Xiao Heshang.
Luckily, the kitchen was fully equipped. Though fresh vegetables were scarce, Sun Fatty didn't treat himself like an outsider; he rummaged through the fridge and found a few small cans and some mushroom-like things.
"Old Ma really has good stuff. Lazi, stop digging through the instant noodles and come try some fancy food," Sun Fatty said, holding up the cans and mushrooms.
"What good stuff?" I asked.
Sun Fatty grinned slyly, "Caviar and truffles. Caviar's common enough, but these truffles are rare."
I glanced at the grayish mushroom chunks in his hand and frowned. "I'm starting to doubt your taste. They look all dull and dirty, don't seem tasty at all. What's so rare about them?"
Sun Fatty looked at me disdainfully. "Not to be rude, but you need to broaden your horizons. This is truffle, it's good for virility…"
The next morning, the three of us took the earliest flight back to the capital. Ma Xiaolin used his VIP status to get all those treasures through customs without inspection and onto the plane.
Xiao Heshang personally watched the treasures board the plane before getting on himself. Only after the plane was airborne did the serious expression on Xiao Heshang's face finally ease.
Sun Fatty, seeing this, suddenly burst out laughing, "Old Xiao Master, the stuff's on the plane, why worry about it running away? Tell the flight attendant you're feeling stuffy and want to go to the cargo hold for a smoke. Maybe she'll let you."
Xiao Heshang gave Sun Fatty a cold look. "Little Fatty, who do you think I'm watching over? You don't want these things?"
Sun Fatty hurried to say, "Old Xiao, remember the deal, don't back out now."
"Now you remember the deal?" Xiao Heshang snorted. "Last night, when you two were sneaking good stuff, you didn't think of me? Caviar and truffles—nice meal, huh?"
"Lazi, you're just talkative." Sun Fatty gave me a disgruntled glance.
"Big Saint, what are you looking at me for? You think I'm the one who said it?" I said a few words to Sun Fatty, then looked at Xiao Heshang, "Old Xiao, how do you know? Did you see us eating?"
"Do I need to see? You didn't wipe your mouth. I could smell the truffle's gas smell from far away. Sun Fatty, you're even worse—feeding caviar to Wealth Rat, making it all fishy-smelling. You'd rather feed caviar to a rat than give me a taste." Xiao Heshang glared at Sun Fatty.
"Heh," Sun Fatty laughed dryly. "Well… both are high-stimulus foods. Old folks like us shouldn't eat them. We hid it so you wouldn't lose control when you saw it. Besides, caviar and truffles are just so-so—one's fishy and salty, the other's got a garlic-earthy smell with a hint of gas. Old Xiao, lucky you didn't eat it; you'd have puked right then."
"Good stuff but no good taste." Xiao Heshang gave up and closed his eyes to nap.
Before he fell asleep, I teased, "Old Xiao, judging by what you said, you've eaten these before. I remember when you were at Lingyun Temple, winter meals were just radishes and cabbage, but you enjoyed it. Didn't expect you've even had caviar and truffles. Real masters never show off."
Xiao Heshang, eyes closed, mumbled like in a dream, "There are things you don't know. When it comes to good food, Gao Fatty and Xiao San are the real experts…" He stopped himself, sighed, and went silent, as if truly asleep.
Several hours later, we landed and Po Jun was waiting at the airport with a customs clearance certificate. Half an hour later, we returned to the Bureau of Investigation with both people and goods.
Rarely, at the entrance we saw Hao Wenming—recently the director had been elusive. For a while, I thought Hao Wenming was seriously injured or even dead.
Unexpectedly, Director Hao recognized Consultant Xiao and was quite familiar, "Xiao , I heard you were back and wanted to see you. Didn't expect to meet here."
"Who are you?" Xiao Heshang blinked and tried to recall but failed.
Hao Wenming was a bit awkward, "I'm Xiao Hao from Division One, Investigator, now the Director of Division One."
"Oh." Xiao Heshang tilted his head but still didn't recall. Hao Wenming was extremely embarrassed and found a way out, "Xiao Ke, Director Gao asked for me. I have to go, we'll talk later." Then he turned to me and Sun Fatty, "You two wait in Division One, I have something to tell you." After a nod to Xiao Heshang, he headed toward the elevator.
"Old Xiao, you really forgot Hao Wenming?" Sun Fatty squinted at Xiao Heshang. "You remember the taste of caviar and truffles after thirty years, but you forget a living person?"