Chapter 1

What did I see? I saw a bright red dudou (traditional Chinese undergarment) hanging on the sign of my shop!

Most of the shops on our street were in the funeral business, and their signs were mainly in black and white. Suddenly, my black sign with white characters had such a bright red dudou. It was so conspicuous that you could see it from one end of the street to the other, like a small flag.

And it wasn't just a dudou; it had an indecent pattern embroidered on it. The idle folks at the entrance were all craning their necks to look at the embroidery on the dudou.

This infuriated me. I tore the dudou off and glared, asking which mischievous brat had hung it up.

Second Auntie immediately took offense, pulling a long face and asking, "Wan Qian, what do you mean by that? You haven't even investigated properly, and you already assume it was a brat? Our kid is indeed famous on this street for being a troublemaker, but he wouldn't do something like this, right? Besides, is this the kind of thing a child could get their hands on?"

I hadn't found a place to vent my anger, and now Second Auntie was picking on me. It was my fault for not being careful with my words. I forgot that "brat" was Second Auntie's son's nickname, and she took offense at me scolding her son.

I waved my hand and apologized to Second Auntie, saying it just slipped out and I didn't mean anything by it. Second Auntie harrumphed, still looking displeased.

Fine, I wouldn't guess anymore. I had surveillance cameras at my door. Whether it was a brat or a grown-up troublemaker, I could find out by checking the footage.

I turned around to go back into the shop to check the surveillance, when someone spoke from behind.

"No need to check. I hung the dudou."

The crowd consciously made way, revealing a ragged old man behind them.

We all knew this old man. He drove a tricycle around the street every day, collecting cardboard, bottles, and aluminum cans. Sometimes he even scavenged recyclable waste from the trash cans. At first, everyone thought he was old and struggling, so they took care of him. If they had waste, they would call him over, and no one would haggle over a few kuai.

But before long, everyone discovered that the old man was light-fingered. He would take things left at the door as if they were his own. At first, he would empty the boxes, taking only the cardboard. Later, he would take the whole box, contents and all. If you saw him, he would say they were left at the door and he thought they were unwanted.

Last month, I had just brought back a few packages of good paper and was clearing a space in the shop when he swiped them. I had it all on surveillance, but when I asked him, he refused to return them, claiming he didn't take them. Second Auntie also had half a coffin board stolen. Second Auntie saw him taking it and rushed out to grab it, but accidentally pushed him over. He then extorted five hundred kuai in medical fees, which made Second Auntie stand at the door and curse for three days.

It was only because the old man was old that no one bothered with him. If he were ten years younger, he would have been beaten dozens of times.

I already disliked this old man, and now he was trying to disgust me. I went over and grabbed him by the collar.

"Who told you to do this?"

The old man wasn't afraid at all. "Of course, a wealthy master told me to do it. If I didn't have money, I would have kept this thing for myself to smell. Why would I be willing to hang it on your door? Young man, I advise you to be polite to me. My old bones and legs can't take much. If you hurt me even a little, you won't be able to afford it."

Second Auntie also quickly came over to advise me to let go of the old man. She said that enduring a moment of anger was nothing, but if this old thing scammed me, I would lose everything, even the shop. Young people shouldn't be too hot-tempered. Just because my family had an elixir, I shouldn't be reckless. These old things couldn't be reasoned with. Even if you healed him, he would say he wasn't healed. A hospital examination would still show he was full of ailments.

Second Auntie was being sarcastic. She wasn't really trying to advise me; she was just enjoying the show, hoping I would beat up the old man. Anyway, she wouldn't lay a hand on him, and if anything happened, it would be my responsibility.

I laughed in anger and asked the old man, holding the dudou, "You got me this thing, there must be a reason, right? What are you planning to do? You're not just here to get beaten, are you?"

"That's more like it." The old man harrumphed like a master and straightened his clothes. "Bring me a chair and brew me a pot of good tea, and I'll tell you all about it."

Oh, he was really pushing his luck! Was he trying to manipulate me? I snapped my fingers, and two gusts of Yin wind shot out from the shade of the trees. They circled the old man a few times, and the old man started shivering from the cold.

"You brat, you're ruthless. I'll tell you the truth. The genius Feng Shui master from the Tianshi (Celestial Master) Mansion, Qin Tianming, has come to Huacheng. Someone wants you to challenge Master Qin. If you win, this matter will be dropped. If you lose, hand over the eight-tailed red fox." The old man said, shivering with his arms crossed.

"That's ridiculous. I have no grudges against Qin Tianming, and I don't need to compete with him for Feng Shui rankings. Why would I challenge him?"

"If you don't challenge him, I'll hang dudous on your door every day until you agree to challenge him. I know it's easy for you to deal with me, but there are many scoundrels like me on the street. Just give us a little money, and we'll cause trouble without end. We may not be able to kill you, but we'll disgust you to death. Don't think you can avoid it. I'll not only cause trouble for your shop, but I won't let any shop on this street off the hook. Anyway, my life is worthless. If I die, someone will pay five million, which is enough for me."

Then, the old man shouted loudly, asking everyone present to be a witness. If any shop was unlucky enough to be splattered with feces or urine in the next few days, it was because of me, and they could come directly to me.

Damn it, who came up with this dirty trick? It really showed that shameless people were invincible.

As the old saying goes: There's a thousand days to be a thief, but not a thousand days to guard against one. If these scoundrels hang dudous and throw feces on our doors every day, how many people can withstand it? Even if I have the means to prevent them from getting close to my door, what about the neighbors on the street?

Although we're not the closest of friends, we've been seeing each other for so many years. During festivals, they would bring me a bowl of dumplings. I can't just watch their shops, which they worked so hard to build, be flooded by an army of scoundrels, right?

The neighbors also came over to advise me, telling me not to be afraid of a Qin Tianming. They said not to listen to the title of genius Feng Shui youth. How many young people in big families have real skills? Aren't they all just piggybacking on their elders' reputations? They knew my abilities and were sure I could win.

In fact, they also knew that Qin Tianming wasn't just a pretty face. He had glorious achievements in the Feng Shui world. They were saying this because they were afraid I wouldn't dare to challenge him.

I didn't think there was anything wrong with what the neighbors said. On the contrary, I thought they were very genuine. These scoundrels were originally targeting me, and the neighbors still had to support their families. I really shouldn't implicate them.

I suppressed my anger and said to the old man, "You said you're all scoundrels, why should I believe you? Even if I win against Qin Tianming, you'll still cause trouble on Funeral Street. What can I do to you? I can't kill you all, can I? You can throw away your worthless life, but I don't want to dirty my hands."

The old man chuckled and said, "Well, someone has already thought of a solution for you."