This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

Zhang Chen walked up to President Zhao and patted the bronze box.

"Done."

His voice wasn't loud, but it sent a shiver down the spines of both General Manager Zhao and Boss Qian.

"Boss Zhao, this thing is too evil. It will only cause trouble if you leave it here. I have to take it away and get rid of it."

"Of course, of course!" Mr. Zhao nodded vigorously. "Master, please take it, burn it, smash it, whatever you want, I never want to see it again in my life!"

Zhang Chen nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject.

"As for the cost this time..."

He slowly extended his right hand, spread his five fingers, and waved them in front of the two of them.

Looking at the five fingers, Boss Qian couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

He swallowed cautiously and asked tentatively, "M...Master, is it...is it fifty thousand?"

In his opinion, spending 50,000 yuan to hire a real master is far too cost-effective.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen slowly shook his head.

A slight upturn of his lips revealed a calm smile.

"Five hundred thousand."

The room fell silent instantly.

The expressions on General Manager Zhao's and Boss Qian's faces froze.

Wang Xiaoer's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Five hundred thousand?

This is robbery!

He was about to say something when Zhang Chen glared at him, which stopped him from speaking.

Five hundred thousand...

Is it too much?

Compared to their lives, compared to the lives of their wives and children, is it a lot?

"Five hundred thousand! Great! No problem!"

Mr. Zhao slapped his thigh and said excitedly.

"Master, you've saved our lives! Even if it were a million, let alone 500,000, it would be worth it!"

Boss Qian nodded repeatedly, his face full of fawning smiles.

"Yes, yes, yes! Old Zhao is right! Master, you are truly our savior! We'll pay for it! We're willing to!"

They are not fools.

They had personally experienced how ferocious those two ghostly things were.

That can really kill people!

Now, spending 500,000 yuan can buy back two lives and also resolve a huge hidden danger.

This deal was an absolute steal!

They even felt that Zhang Chen was only offering a friendly price of 500,000 because of their good attitude.

"That's fine then."

Zhang Chen nodded in satisfaction.

"I prefer cash, but it's so late, a bank transfer is fine too."

"Okay, okay, I'll transfer it right away!"

Without saying a word, Mr. Zhao immediately took out his phone and his fingers flew across the keyboard.

Less than a minute.

Zhang Chen's phone pinged as he received a text message from the bank.

Zhang Chen glanced at the text message, then put his phone back in his pocket with satisfaction.

He patted Mr. Zhao on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Mr. Zhao, remember, don't bring things of dubious origin home in the future."

"You won't always be so lucky as to run into me."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Mr. Zhao nodded repeatedly. "I've remembered, Master is right! I'll never dare to do it again!"

On their way back, Boss Qian volunteered to drive them, but Zhang Chen refused, saying he didn't want to get involved with them anymore.

Inside the taxi, Wang Xiaoer, like a timid young wife, secretly glanced at Zhang Chen several times, opening her mouth a few times, only to swallow her words back each time.

Finally, he couldn't resist.

"Brother Chen, have you always been this amazing?"

He'd been holding this question in for the entire journey.

Zhang Chen was holding Wang Xiaoer's knock-off phone, looking happily at the long string of numbers that had been credited to his account on the screen, even the two digits after the decimal point seemed particularly dear to him.

He asked back without even looking up.

"Otherwise what?"

"You think I really made a living off a few cheap, nine-and-a-half-dollar items?"

Wang Xiaoer was speechless for a moment, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it today.

"Then why were you in such a sorry state at the internet cafe? And how did you manage to deal with Boss Liu's housekeeper in such a complicated way?"

He threw out his two biggest questions in one go.

He always thought that even if Zhang Chen was a Taoist priest, he was just a half-baked one who knew a little bit about the basics.

But today, facing those two ferocious and unreasonable terracotta warriors, he swept them away cleanly and decisively.

The contrast before and after is just too great.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen finally reluctantly looked away from the bank's text message.

He handed the phone back to Wang Xiaoer, leaned back, and sank into the soft seat.

He unusually abandoned his nonchalant demeanor, turned his head to look at the dazzling night view outside the window, his eyes filled with a sense of remoteness.

"Waiter, I've got it."

His voice was calm, yet it made Wang Xiaoer unconsciously sit up straight and prick up his ears.

"Treating people differently based on their status is a basic skill for a master in our line of work."

"what?"

Wang Xiaoer was stunned.

Zhang Chen ignored his astonishment and began to explain, like a seasoned master imparting his most treasured skills to his new apprentice.

"Let's start with the matter of Boss Liu."

"Do I need Taoist magic to deal with his mortal scheming? I can just draw a talisman and make that steward surnamed Zhou confess all the wrongdoings he has done."

"But then what?"

Zhang Chen turned around and looked at Wang Xiaoer.

"Then Mr. Liu will think, 'Oh, so he was possessed by a ghost, it wasn't his own problem.' He will be scared and suspicious, but he won't really learn his lesson."

"The most crucial point is that he'll think I'm eccentric and too mysterious, and he'll keep his distance from me in the future. The deal will just become a one-off transaction."

"So I played along with him in a play, letting him witness firsthand how the person he trusted most betrayed him, allowing him to see the true nature of humanity. Only then would he be convinced and take my words as golden advice."

"The money was paid readily, of course."

Wang Xiaoer listened thoughtfully, nodding as if he understood but not quite.

"What about that time at the internet cafe?"

Mentioning internet cafes, Zhang Chen's expression clearly became somewhat displeased, as if he was recalling some unpleasant experience.

"That was a completely different matter."

He tapped his temple.

"Our Taoist practices, talismans, and incantations are, to put it bluntly, products based on the rules of this real world. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, yin and yang, the five elements, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth—this is our domain."

"But what about Song Wen? His soul is trapped in 'data,' trapped in that virtual world made up of code and electricity."

"That's his home turf."

"To put it bluntly, I'm a mid-laner, and you're asking me to go to CS and snipe at the mid gate? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

"It's like being in a completely different field; this principle applies everywhere. On his turf, I'd be lucky to use even 20% of my skills, so of course I'd be restricted."

Zhang Chen paused, then changed the subject, his face regaining its confident, all-encompassing expression.

"But this terracotta warrior is different."

"It's purely an evil spirit, the stuff of our own making, which just happened to run right into my area of ​​expertise. Dealing with it is as easy as picking up a peanut with chopsticks."

Hearing this, Wang Xiaoer became even more confused.

"If it's that simple, then why did you...?"

He wanted to ask, if it's so simple, why did you make such a big fuss? With thunder magic, sword techniques, Bagua formation, and ink net, anyone who didn't know better would think you were fighting the final boss.

Zhang Chen looked at his simple and honest appearance, chuckled, and revealed a fox-like expression.