Secretary Liu left the documents. After Jing Jiujiu signed them, he departed.
Bai Fu watched from the side with wide eyes and an open mouth.
...The youth so close to his great-grandfather was actually this wealthy! With just a wave of his hand, he could buy a whole mountainside, right?
Had his great-grandfather... been kept by someone outside?
Bai Fu pondered dazedly, taking a while to come back to his senses, until Bai Yuhuai called out to him.
"Bai Fu, come with me to the restaurant from yesterday again," Bai Yuhuai said coldly.
Bai Fu responded with an "Oh" and silently followed.
When they reached the doorway, Bai Yuhuai paused. Master Tingyi quickly spoke up: "I know Mr. Bai is worried that Daoist Master Qu Yi still has accomplices, or that some disgruntled people from the metaphysics circle might come to attack while you're away. But Mr. Bai can rest assured, I'll be here guarding. ...Moreover, the young friend still has the King Yama statue - who would dare to offend?"
Only then did Bai Yuhuai give a low "Mm. Thank you for your trouble, Master."
Then he left with Bai Fu.
Jing Jiujiu was dazed for a few seconds, pinching the Ancient Castle Evil God statue in his hand before turning to ask Master Tingyi: "What's he going there for again?"
"Yesterday, the statue in Daoist Master Qu Yi's hand was smashed by Mr. Bai... The statue is broken, but the divine consciousness inside is still there. It needs to be dealt with," Master Tingyi explained.
"Hm? Won't it run around everywhere?"
"If it's a statue that hasn't received incense yet, after its physical form is destroyed, it's at its weakest and can only choose nearby objects to reside in..."
Jing Jiujiu understood: "So it should be in the tables, chairs, floor now..."
Ah, this.
Wouldn't it just be stepped on by people?
Master Tingyi nodded and looked at the Ancient Castle Evil God statue: "This object is sinister and closely related to your Jing family. It's actually the most troublesome."
Jing Jiujiu held the statue and began fiddling with it casually. His tone was slightly indifferent: "But its believers are all dead..."
The Jing family was already extinct.
Master Tingyi was stunned, let out a long sigh, and didn't know how to comfort him for a moment. He could only close his mouth for a while before speaking again: "Then place it here, and after I chant sutras for it for seven times seven, forty-nine days, the evil within it will naturally be dispelled."
Jing Jiujiu nodded: "Mm, then you can sell it."
Master Tingyi's face reddened slightly as he said: "Thanks to your kindness, and with Master Zhou's help, I've earned quite a bit lately. There's no need to sell it."
Jing Jiujiu put the Ancient Castle Evil God on the table: "It's fine, it's just sitting there anyway. Isn't it better if it can be sold for money?"
Master Tingyi sighed inwardly at his generosity and then nodded.
Meanwhile, the Ancient Castle Evil God, once powerful but now having its fate of being sold decided in such a brief conversation: "..."
He felt very frustrated.
"And this one..." Jing Jiujiu picked up the Four-Faced Buddha statue.
Master Tingyi hurriedly said: "This one, this old monk cannot accept."
Jing Jiujiu: "Hmm, then let's return it another day."
"Return?"
"Yes, whoever sold it, whoever used it to absorb the fortune of other countries for their own benefit, we'll return it to them."
The Four-Faced Buddha was completely unaware of what they were discussing, only thinking that this youth was discussing with that old baldy how to deal with himself...
Danger!
Both statues simultaneously sank into an anxious sense of crisis.
By the time Bai Yuhuai returned, their sense of crisis had reached its peak.
Meanwhile, Bai Fu was carrying a small plastic bag, which he placed in front of Jing Jiujiu.
Alas... it seems that his great-grandfather had no say in this household. This beautiful youth who looked like a fox spirit was actually the one in charge.
Bai Fu said: "Inside are the statue fragments and some statues that weren't smashed."
Jing Jiujiu poked around to look, and each statue inside was uglier than the last...
Jing Jiujiu: "...Is this a competition for ugliness?"
Master Tingyi glanced and said: "This is because they're wrapped in evil energy and malice, that's why they're ugly."
Jing Jiujiu: "Oh."
Jing Jiujiu looked at the Ancient Castle Evil God: "It's strange, we still haven't been able to see clearly what it looks like. Is it because it was originally too ugly?"
Master Tingyi: "Possibly."
Ancient Castle Evil God: "..."
He now somewhat missed Jing Tinghua.
After Bai Yuhuai finished dealing with the mess, Master Tingyi, seeing that there was nothing else he could help with, stood up and said: "This old monk will take his leave first. When I see others, I'll probe their intentions again to ensure the young friend's safety."
Bai Yuhuai's expression remained cold as he responded lightly: "Mm." "Even if they have other thoughts, it doesn't matter."
Master Tingyi opened his mouth, suddenly sensing a hint of bloodlust from Bai Yuhuai.
As his heart skipped a beat, he suddenly recalled yesterday's great battle, with divine light, Buddha light, and various charm powers filling the sky... Among them, there was a trace of powerful force that seemed to come from Bai Yuhuai himself.
That power seemed like that of gods, Buddhas, and the thunderous power of heaven and earth...
Master Tingyi couldn't see clearly.
Master Tingyi bowed deeply before leaving.
Master Zhou, on the other hand, stayed behind.
As the villa gradually quieted down, Master Zhou spoke softly: "Mr. Bai, what you said about chaos eating people... is it true?"
Jing Jiujiu turned his head first: "Hm?"
Master Zhou rubbed his hands: "Could you read the phenomena written in that letter to me again?"
Bai Yuhuai casually handed him the letter: "Here, look."
"Ah, ah!" Master Zhou hurriedly cupped it with both hands.
Jing Jiujiu, curious, wanted to lean forward to look, but was pressed back by Bai Yuhuai's hand on his back, obediently staying put.
With just this action, a bit of golden light leaked from Jing Jiujiu's body.
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Jing Jiujiu: "What's wrong with me? I didn't eat any light bulbs."
Bai Yuhuai held him down: "Divine and Buddhist energy..."
Jing Jiujiu: "Hm?"
Bai Yuhuai: "The energy in your body is still unstable. Collisions, pressure, can all cause it to leak out. Especially when facing danger."
Bai Yuhuai's hand on his waist gently caressed.
Unfortunately, Jing Jiujiu's senses were not as keen as a paper person's. At this moment, he just swayed his body a bit, without any other reaction.
Bai Yuhuai collected his thoughts and said softly: "If Tao He is smart enough, she should be offering incense for you at home by now."
"Hm? But she doesn't have a statue of me."
Bai Yuhuai: "No need for a statue. In ancient times, how could poor families afford statues of Guanyin or Buddha? But they were still devotees of Guanyin and Buddha. As long as she has this thought in her mind, she will become your believer. The stronger the thought, the more incense she offers for you, the more faith power she will contribute to you..."
Hearing this, Jing Jiujiu twisted left and right, but couldn't see any difference in himself compared to before.
The coldness on Bai Yuhuai's face gradually faded, replaced by a softness suddenly surging from the bottom of his heart. He suppressed the urge to pat Jing Jiujiu's head and continued: "Yesterday you swallowed another false god's divine consciousness..."
Jing Jiujiu was shocked: "That golden light yesterday was divine consciousness? Wasn't it just divine power?"
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm."
Jing Jiujiu looked down at his own hands.
He still couldn't see any difference.
"You receive people's offerings and faith, and you're already an extremely powerful existence among fierce ghosts. You were already a notch above that false god to begin with."
"Really?" Jing Jiujiu still felt a bit unreal, "Am I that powerful?"
"Mm."
Do you want to become even more powerful? The words reached Bai Yuhuai's throat but were swallowed back.
Of course, it wasn't just because of this.
It was also because his energy had been eaten by Jing Jiujiu too.
Bai Fu, however, seemed to understand something and looked at Jing Jiujiu even more shocked.
His great-grandfather had actually... dual cultivated with him... with a ghost?!
Little did he know, that was nonsense. Bai Yuhuai had to rely on drinking soup even to give a couple of kisses.
The clock soon pointed to 3 PM.
Bai Fu's stomach made a gurgling sound.
"He's hungry," Jing Jiujiu said.
Bai Yuhuai looked back: "Mm." Then he made a phone call, asking his assistant to send over a set meal from a private kitchen restaurant.
However, after making the call, Bai Yuhuai felt a bit regretful.
Such a sumptuous meal, yet Jing Jiujiu couldn't eat it. Wouldn't that be uncomfortable?
Bai Yuhuai frowned slightly.
Forget it, tomorrow he'd give Bai Fu KFC or a nutritionally balanced vegetarian meal.
These things, Jing Jiujiu definitely wouldn't like.
Soon after, the food arrived.
Bai Fu was still a bit uncomfortable, squirming as he sat down in the chair and asked, "Are we just going to let these little ghosts lie at our feet while we eat?"
In his short eight years of life, this was truly a magical scene he had never experienced before!
Jing Jiujiu sat down at the table: ?
Jing Jiujiu: "I'm a ghost too."
After hearing this, Bai Yuhuai immediately frowned and coldly looked at Bai Fu.
Bai Fu quickly corrected himself: "They can sit together with us, big ghosts and little ghosts are all welcome!"
He just couldn't wrap his head around why ghosts, who can't eat, would sit together at all.
But soon Bai Fu understood why.
Jing Jiujiu would sincerely ask him, "Does it taste good?"
Bai Fu opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Bai Yuhuai coldly interrupted: "Don't smack your lips while eating."
Bai Fu could only close his mouth and eat more quietly.
Jing Jiujiu looked on disappointedly, then turned and went upstairs to find the little paper man to play with.
Bai Fu was stunned for a moment, only then vaguely understanding something. Was it... to keep them from feeling hungry?
At this time, another eye-catching piece of news was released online, quickly dominating two trending topics.
#How many billions does the Jing family have?#
#The youngest billionaire#
Clicking in, one could see the portraits that were inadvertently captured by the "How to Escape" program crew when filming at Sleeping Beauty's castle.
The portrait of the beautiful youth was now prominently displayed in the attached images of the trending news.
Entertainment Editor: Remember the youth who was rumored to be with superstar Bai a few days ago? He once stunned countless people with a fleeting appearance in a reality show. Today, his father Jing Tinghua passed away, leaving him billions in family assets. You think that's all? Who still remembers the once-famous Mr. Yu Ran who disappeared overnight? All his inheritance was left to his only son Jing Jiujiu? Adding up the two inheritances, how rich has Jing Jiujiu become? According to estimates and speculation, his net worth may have reached 50 billion...
The comment section was filled with exclamations.
[Who said he was the superstar's kept lover?]
[Wow, enough to buy several superstars, right?]
[This... _(:3∠)_ Congratulations to my idol for marrying into a wealthy family.]
[There's no need for that, actually Bai Yuhuai is also shockingly rich... And according to insiders, his family background is very mysterious, with connections that would amaze you]
[Is this... another version of Jing Tinghua and Yu Ran? Not marrying into wealth, but a union of equals?]
[Didn't they clarify that he's just a child from the family? They don't have that kind of relationship]
[A child from the family... isn't that sweet enough? Think about it]
[Wuwuwu such a rich and beautiful boy, with cars and houses and both parents gone, Bai, why don't you introduce him to me?]
[The one above is dreaming]
[It seems like everyone in the Jing family is dead except for him? Yu Ran apparently disappeared too. It's quite strange, this family. Could there be some conspiracy?]
[I looked up the Jing family history, and it's not really... People in the Jing family seem to die easily. Jing Tinghua's older brother had a child who supposedly fell into a ditch and broke his neck as a child. And Jing Tinghua's aunt died abroad after swallowing a magnet... The people in their family die in all sorts of bizarre ways.]
[? Thanks, my sanity is plummeting]
...
As the discussion online intensified, the topic became hotter, and later people began to dig into why the Jing family was so peculiar.
Would the beautiful youth Jing Jiujiu one day also die an unnatural death?
They even began to wonder if the news of Jing Jiujiu's death that had circulated before was deliberately fabricated... Wasn't there an old saying in their hometown? If you're haunted by a ghost, you can burn some old clothes, erect a tombstone saying so-and-so has died, and then the ghost will stop haunting you...
[Too scary...]
[Ahhhh why is the comment section suddenly talking about ghost stories!]
[Speaking of which, do you know about Lingyang Mountain?]
[??? What place is that?]
[It's a Taoist holy site~ There have been a lot of ghost sightings there recently, they say there's a bright light on the mountain, like someone whispering, but when you listen carefully, there's nothing]
[There have been a lot of disappearances in Phoenix City recently too, 36 cases reported to the police station...]
[? Is that true?]
Xu Sanyu read through all the trending topics, the comments underneath, and various hot posts.
He was speechless: "...So this crisis just passed like that?"
The PR team behind him mumbled: "It doesn't really seem like it was a crisis?"
Xu Sanyu: "...I guess not."
Xu Sanyu covered his face.
The young master is really so rich...
If he had even a fraction of that beauty, he would want to be the young master's mistress!
At this moment, at the foot of Lingyang Mountain.
A statue, sculpted to be exceptionally beautiful, looking neither like a god nor a Buddha, was placed there, with an incense burner in front of it.
Countless travelers and pilgrims passed by.
A little girl, holding her mother's hand, pointed at the statue in surprise and said: "Mom, this statue looks so pretty... Can I worship it?"
The woman shook her head: "No. You can't worship Buddha statues carelessly."
A young woman beside them paused: "Oh, is that so? I passed by here yesterday and paid my respects..."
The woman turned around, surprised: "You came yesterday?"
The young woman said worriedly: "Yes, I come every day. Some time ago, the old monks in the temple, I don't know what happened, they all closed their doors and stopped seeing visitors. Drawing lots, interpreting fortunes, consecrating talismans... they stopped doing everything. I thought I'd try again today." "Can we really not worship this deity statue?"
"That's right..." Just as the woman's voice trailed off.
The young woman suddenly pointed at the statue in surprise: "Light!"
"What?" The woman turned back in shock.
At this moment, everyone clearly saw a golden light quickly slide across the statue.
The light finally embedded itself into the statue, making it look even smoother and more beautiful.
The woman dared not say anything more and quickly clasped her hands together, bowing to the statue first.
So the rest of the people hurriedly bowed as well.
The old monks on the mountain also vaguely sensed something.
They stood at the temple gate, looking down from afar, only to see people as small as ants seemingly stopping there, not moving forward.
An old monk murmured: "No way? Is a statue of a ghost cultivator more popular and worshipped than our proper Buddha statues in the temple?"
A young monk: "Maybe because he looks good."
"Are you saying the Buddha is ugly?"
Young monk: "Well, he does have a bit of that..."
The old monk raised his shoe: "You stop right there!"
After the incident, the old monk relayed this scene to Master Tingyi, anxiously saying: "I haven't seen such a scene in many years. Do you think there might be something amiss here?"
Tingyi also found it strange.
That day, the divine aura on Jing Jiujiu was particularly strong, far beyond what could be achieved by just one or two people worshipping.
Tingyi hung up the phone and called Master Zhou.
This Master Zhou had been in the mortal world for a long time and understood much more than him.
Who knew that Master Zhou didn't answer the phone for a long time.
At this moment, in Bai Yuhuai's villa, Master Zhou finally sighed softly and slowly put down the letter he had been repeatedly stroking.
Seeing his sorrowful expression, Jing Jiujiu was about to ask him.
Master Zhou opened his mouth, but first let out a burp.
Master Zhou said sheepishly: "Oh, I ate a bit too much of Mr. Bai's hospitality just now."
Jing Jiujiu: "..."
Bai Yuhuai gave him a cold glance, and Master Zhou quickly suppressed the urge to describe how delicious the food was.
If he described it, wouldn't Mr. Bai kill him on the spot?
Master Zhou quickly brought the conversation back on track, saying: "My son disappeared just like this. Suddenly one day, there was no news, no trace. We couldn't find him anywhere."
As he said this, he let out a genuine sigh.
Jing Jiujiu was stunned for a moment.
Even Bai Yuhuai gave him an extra look.
"Where did he disappear from?" Bai Yuhuai asked.
"Home," Master Zhou's face showed a hint of confusion and fear, "It was just in the blink of an eye, I said I was going to make him some soup. When I turned around, he was gone."
Bai Yuhuai remained silent.
Jing Jiujiu said softly: "All of the Jing family businesses now belong to me. Let's go back to the Jing family home first, take a look, then go to Master Zhou's home to look. We can see if there are any similarities between the two?"
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm."
Jing Jiujiu thought for a moment: "Before that, we could also visit Daoist Master Qu Yi's home again."
Bai Yuhuai: "Hmm?"
"Do you remember what Daoist Master Qu Yi said that day? He said he could create gods," Jing Jiujiu paused, then continued, "I think he wasn't just referring to himself, but also to the evil god statue in his possession."
"Moreover, he mentioned that day that his ancestors had helped the Jing family place and enshrine the evil god statue. ... Don't you think it's possible that from the very beginning, the evil god statue that the Jing family picked up from the war-torn area was deliberately left there by Daoist Master Qu Yi's ancestors for them to find?"
Jing Jiujiu fiddled with the fragments of the god statues and said, "Perhaps he has other statues at his home... We could take them all away as well."
Bai Fu listened in astonishment.
Bai Yuhuai responded, "Alright."
He had guessed the same thing.
If Jing Jiujiu wanted it, then they would just raid Daoist Master Qu Yi's entire house.
Bai Yuhuai: "I'll make a call and have Xu Sanyu arrange the itinerary."
Jing Jiujiu nodded.
After Jing Tinghua's death, he felt a bit lost. But as long as he had enough things to do, he wouldn't feel so disoriented.
However, before Bai Yuhuai could make the call, he received one instead.
A trembling voice came from the other end: "Mr. Bai, the paper figurine you ordered... I've finished making it for you..."
Bai Yuhuai asked for the address and drove out personally.
Meanwhile, Master Zhou wasn't so dazed anymore, since they had already decided to pay a visit to his house.
Master Zhou patted his chest and looked down, only to realize he had three missed calls.
They were all from Master Tingyi.
Master Zhou was deeply moved, thinking, "Master Tingyi is so respected and impressive, yet he still remembers me..."
Master Zhou hurriedly called back.
"Master Tingyi."
"Master Zhou." Tingyi paused, then asked, "Is the young friend by your side? Ask him why his statue suddenly emitted golden light, attracting several people to worship? Tell him, he must not walk the path of those evil cults..."
Master Zhou was stunned, thinking to himself, "Is the young master really that extraordinary?"
Master Zhou was about to speak up, but suddenly remembered something.
Master Zhou smiled and said, "Oh, about that... You should check the news, look at that trending topic, the one I taught you about last time... Take a look, and you might find the answer."
Master Tingyi went to check, utterly confused.
He saw the comment section filled with: "Wuwuwu Jiujiu is so rich! I love Jiujiu! Marry me, Jiujiu!" "Daddy, I'm your long-lost son!" "Can I get some financial luck by worshipping Young Master Jing?" "Inhale~"... Every comment was brimming with fanaticism.
Each of them seemed to be a devoted follower of Jing Jiujiu.
Master Tingyi had a sudden realization and called back: "...Perhaps in this world, anyone with money will have countless followers."
The old monk on the other end: "?"
Good heavens, were these people more popular than the Buddha in the temple?
Master Tingyi thought for a moment and said, "Even I can't help but make wishes to RMB every day."
Times have changed!
Master Tingyi sighed inwardly.
Soon after, Bai Yuhuai pushed open the door, carrying a human-sized paper figurine in his arms.
The face of the paper figurine was depicted vividly.
Bai Fu nearly fainted on the spot when he saw it.
"Ma-Master... Is the mi-mirage blood gone?"
Bai Yuhuai: "There's still about half a bottle left."
Bai Fu: !
Heavens! King You of Zhou lit beacon fires to amuse Bao Si! Master used up the mirage blood for a ghost!
Bai Yuhuai asked Jing Jiujiu: "Do you like it?"
Jing Jiujiu: "I like it."
As soon as he finished speaking, he slipped inside.
The paper figurine immediately came to life, vastly different from the small paper figurine before. It didn't look like paper, but rather like a living person, capable of expressions, tangible, and even warm to the touch.
It was as if one could glimpse the blood vessels flowing slowly beneath the snow-white skin.
A smile appeared on Jing Jiujiu's face.
The curve of Bai Yuhuai's lips also softened considerably.
Then he heard Jing Jiujiu say loudly: "You go to Daoist Master Qu Yi's lair alone! I'm not going anymore!"
Bai Yuhuai: ???