This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

The two followed Li Da to an old-fashioned office building that looked quite old.

What they wanted to see was a shop on the ground floor of this office building. Although it was diagonally opposite the intersection, it was a dead end, separated by a not-too-wide inner moat.

There is a bridge at the intersection, but it is said to have been in disrepair for many years, so both ends were hastily blocked off and a "No Entry" sign was put up there.

As soon as Li Da opened the door of the shop, a cold draft rushed out.

Wang Xiaoer couldn't help but shudder.

But the shop itself was completely different from what he had imagined.

The space is a full 100 square meters, with a square layout, spacious and bright, and there is also a duplex floor above for people to live in.

But that chill lingered for a long time, making one feel a coldness down their spine.

"How is it? Not bad, right?"

Li Da rubbed his hands together, his tone somewhat guilty.

Wang Xiaoer was starting to have doubts; this place was indeed eerie.

Zhang Chen remained silent, but a strange light seemed to flash in his eyes the moment he stepped into the house.

Then, he took out an old compass from his tattered bag, which had been used for who knows how many years, and walked around the room. After circling around, he stopped in the center of the second floor.

The compass needle trembled wildly, but finally pointed steadily in a strange direction, neither due south nor due north.

Zhang Chen's expression shifted several times before finally settling into a deep, unfathomable calm.

"It's alright, this is fine!"

Li Da, who had followed, was somewhat bewildered. He opened his mouth, then hesitated before finally saying, "You, what did you say? You're really not afraid this is a haunted house?"

Zhang Chen was too lazy to explain to him anymore and made the decision directly.

"We're renting this house! Let's sign the contract!"

Upon receiving confirmation once again, Li Da was naturally overjoyed. As long as he could get rid of this hot potato and keep his job, whether it was a haunted house or whether something bad would happen in the future was none of his concern.

Holding the contract, Li Da felt like he was dreaming. He thanked the two men profusely, as if they were not tenants but living bodhisattvas who had saved him from suffering.

After seeing the agent off, only the two of them remained in the empty house.

The evening breeze blew in through the cracks in the glass door downstairs, then surged up to the second floor, making a whistling sound, as if something was crying.

Looking at the empty but eerie surroundings, Wang Xiaoer couldn't help but shrink back.

"Is this place... really okay?"

Zhang Chen stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, his back to him, quietly looking at the river below.

He smiled mysteriously, his voice echoing in the empty room.

"This is a big problem."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoer immediately became nervous: "This...this place really is a haunted house?"

"Haunted house? What a load of rubbish!"

Zhang Chen slapped his hand on the compass, his eyes burning as he stared out the window.

"This is a damn treasure trove!"

He pointed to the arched viaduct in the distance.

"Look at that road, doesn't it look like a drawn bow pointing directly at our building? This is a classic example of 'reverse bow evil' in feng shui. The bow's back faces outwards, which signifies financial loss and separation. It's no wonder that ordinary people who live here would go bankrupt!"

Wang Xiaoer listened in a daze, then nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes, that's what the agent said too."

Zhang Chen changed the subject and pointed to the winding moat outside, which looked like a dark green ribbon in the night.

"But they all overlooked what was right in front of them: a river flows around this building!"

"The road is artificial water, the river is real water. This 'reverse bow' formation is perfectly contained by a flowing river that resembles a 'jade belt encircling the waist'!"

Zhang Chen's voice was somewhat excited, as if he were admiring a perfect work of art.

"Evil energy is in front, wealth is behind! This is called 'good fortune hidden within misfortune, and turning adversity into prosperity'! The fiercer the evil energy in front, the stronger the wealth energy behind will be!"

"This isn't some inauspicious place at all; it's clearly a once-in-a-century treasure trove of wealth!"

"Most people are unlucky and weak, unable to withstand this evil energy; they would only be destroyed and their families ruined. But for us..."

Zhang Chen grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"It couldn't be more perfect!"

Zhang Chen's voice echoed in the empty room, carrying a hint of mysterious allure.

Wang Xiaoer felt that the place was empty, with no walls on all sides and not even a place to sit.

We've found a treasure trove of wealth, but it's already dark, so we'll probably have to sleep on the floor tonight.

He looked around again, and somehow managed to pull out a piece of cardboard from somewhere, which he then laid out on the ground and sat down.

"Um... Brother Chen, shouldn't we buy some things first?"

Zhang Chen turned around, looked at his embarrassed appearance, and burst into laughter.

"That's right!"

He waved his hand with great flair, displaying an air of heroic spirit.

"Let's go! The first thing we need to do when starting a business is a massive shopping spree!"

Half an hour later, Wang Xiaoer dragged his tired body into a large shopping mall for the first time in the true sense of the word.

Even at night, the air conditioning seemed to pour down from above as if it were free, dispelling the summer heat.

The spotless floor reflected the dazzling crystal chandelier on the ceiling. All around were shops selling all kinds of goods, and well-dressed men and women walked past him, filling the air with a pleasant fragrance of perfume.

Wang Xiaoer felt like he didn't have enough eyes to see everything.

Everything here is completely different from his life over the past twenty years; it's like another world.

"Don't just stand there, get to work."

Zhang Chen patted him on the shoulder and handed him a densely written list and a bank card.

"You can buy household items, office desks and chairs, pots and pans, etc. I have other important equipment to get, let's split up."

"Oh right, let's consider that card as our starting capital. How about we each contribute 100,000? It's already been used to pay a year's rent. Mine is already in there; you can transfer it in tomorrow."

Wang Xiaoer held the thin card, his palms sweating slightly. He didn't object to Zhang Chen's suggestion; he was just a little nervous. He had never bought anything in such a luxurious place before.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't nervous.

"So much stuff, I..."

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Zhang Chen interrupted him.

"The password is six eights. We're spending our own money, so let's be assertive."

After saying that, Zhang Chen put his hands in his pockets and, like an old cadre inspecting work, strolled away and disappeared into the crowd.

Wang Xiaoer stood alone, took a deep breath, and clenched the list in his hand.

He looked at the first item on the list: towel, toothbrush, shampoo.

He took his first step, and for the first time, he voluntarily walked into this world that both frightened and intrigued him.

As he pushed the shopping cart and placed the items from the shelf one by one, an unprecedented sense of security enveloped him.

When it came time to pay, the cashier announced a number he had never even dared to imagine before.

Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Xiaoer handed over the card and entered the PIN.

A soft "beep" sounded, like the opening whistle of his new life.