Taoist priest goes to America

Chapter 96 The Simp Arrives

"You should go to the hospital to treat your hand injuries first, don't delay," Li An suggested.

Chen Chengyan then remembered that his wife's hands were covered in shards of glass and blood, and quickly helped Su Jingxian out. Before leaving, Su Jingxian looked back at Li An and murmured a few words of thanks before Chen Chengyan shoved her into the passenger seat of the old Toyota.

The car started, turned around, and drove out of the narrow alley; the engine sound gradually faded into the distance.

Only after the couple's car had completely disappeared from the alleyway did Ang Lee return to his worktable.

He picked up the carving knife, lowered his head and continued carving. The blade scraped curled wood shavings off the amulet, which fell onto the table.

The shop quieted down, save for the faint sobs of Chen Houde's granddaughter in his arms. Holding his granddaughter, Chen Houde slowly walked to the woodworking table, dragged out a chair, and sat down.

He looked at Ang Lee, opened his mouth several times, and finally let out a long sigh.

That sigh contained helplessness towards her son and daughter-in-law, guilt towards her granddaughter, and utter shame at having been caught by Ang Lee in the most shameful aspect of her family.

"Handsome guy," Chen Houde finally spoke, his voice sounding ten years older, "what do you mean by this?"

Li An didn't even raise his head, the tip of his knife tracing the grain of the wood. His technique was very steady, each strike was planned in advance, and he chopped down without hesitation.

"Don't worry, I have a way to save you." Li An blew away the sawdust, squinted at the proportions, and said, "You'll be fine in three days."

Old Chen was stunned for a moment, then realized what Li An was going to do, and his expression changed immediately. He reached out and grabbed Li An's wrist.

"Don't do anything foolish! That Qingfan sect—there are too many people. Not to mention online, there are several thousand members in offline churches. You must not confront them directly."

,

Ang Lee finally raised his head and looked at Chen Houde.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then Ang Lee withdrew his hand and continued carving.

"What about your granddaughter?"

'

Old Chen looked at his granddaughter's face, which was still red from crying, and fell silent. He slowly lowered his head, clenched his fist, and placed it on his knee, remaining silent for a long time.

Li An glanced at him, gave an impatient smirk, and continued working with his hands: "You saw how your daughter-in-law was today. If you don't stop her today, she'll dare to feed it to you again tomorrow."

"How old is your granddaughter? How can you bear to let her drink that kind of medicine of unknown origin?"

""

"I'm doing this all because of you, you old geezer!"

"Why are you making excuses when I offer to help? Don't you want your granddaughter to have a good life?"

Old Chen didn't reply. He stood up and stepped back, straightening his clothes. Before Li An could react to what he was going to do, he saw the old man bend down, his back straight, his white hair pointing downwards, and give Li An a proper bow.

Ang Lee paused for a moment, then resumed carving.

"Alright, alright, get up. You're shortening my lifespan."

,

"This is a favor you owe me; you should remember it."

The room quieted down, with only the soft rustling of the carving knife scraping through the wood. The sun outside the window gradually set, and by evening, the final step was completed.

Ang Lee took out a Bagua jade pendant from the shop, threaded a red string through it, and solemnly hung it on the heart of the doll—this was the core of the formation.

Next, four amulet coins were taken out. The back of each coin featured the twelve zodiac animals, while the front had Bagua symbols. These coins were then embedded into the doll's wrists and ankles, fitting perfectly into the doll.

Next, take a peach wood plaque and press it onto the doll's face to suppress its seven orifices. Finally, take five coins from the Five Emperors and place them one by one at the lips, stacking them in a row to seal the opening.

He took out a bundle of red rope from a hidden compartment under the table. The rope had been soaked in cinnabar and rooster blood beforehand, and after it dried, it turned a deep dark red color. When you brought it close, you could smell a faint rusty odor.

Ang Lee began wrapping the red rope around the doll's head, tightening and knotting each strand to secure all the auspicious symbols firmly to the doll.

As the last red line was drawn, Ang Lee exhaled a breath of stale air, his forehead glistening with a fine sheen of sweat.

A gentle evening breeze swept through the main room, causing the red threads on the dolls to sway slightly. Li An raised his hand to wipe away sweat, his gaze falling on the gradually darkening city skyline outside the courtyard.

He placed the doll on the table, examined it for a moment, and then turned to look at Old Chen, who had been standing guard beside him.

"Old Chen."

Ang Lee grinned.

"Bring out all your hidden gems, I'm preparing for battle."

It's late at night.

On the edge of Brooklyn's old industrial district, the damp, fishy smell of the old East River swirled in the night wind. Ang Lee squatted on the roof of an abandoned heating factory, his right hand resting on his knee, his left hand holding a pebble he had picked up in the alley, turning it idly between his fingers.

The surface of the pebble was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the moon overhead, which was half-hidden by thin clouds.

Qigul had been sealed inside the puppet at his waist. The puppet's surface was covered with intricately carved runes and magical artifacts, which sealed him inside.

A violent, restless, pitch-black aura of death occasionally leaked out from the seams of the red thread under the moonlight.

He is waiting.

After leaving the paper shop, Yuzu sent him an encrypted message.

The message reads: Ise Kibo has taken the bait and will come alone tonight.

Below are the time and place, all written clearly, and even some of the underhanded tricks that Ise Kibo was known for are attached at the end.

For example, he likes to hide in the victim's blind spot, lay down two layers of black fog, and then make his move. For example, his starting move is always to use the largest object in his field of vision as a shield, because he is essentially a coward, afraid of dying, and always defends before attacking.

Yuzuo also added a sentence at the end of the message: "There's a shop that makes really good cream cookies. Shall we try them together when we're done?"

Ang Lee glanced at the message, then put his phone away without replying.

The pebble stopped between his fingers, and in the distance came the deep, long whistle of the ferry on the river, which lingered for a long time before fading into the night.

Then Ang Lee heard a sound coming from behind the rusty exhaust pipe behind him.

"You're late! You didn't arrive early for your date with a girl?" It was Yuzu's voice.

"I've been looking for directions for ages," Li An said expressionlessly. "The street numbers in this area are completely messed up. There's a number 13 after number 7. Were the numbers in the middle eaten up?"

""

Without turning around, he casually tossed the pebble downstairs. The pebble shattered on the ground several floors below, making a crisp, clattering sound.

"The location you chose," Li An said, pointing to the night sky, "has three sniping positions and four ambush sites. Anyone coming from any direction can be silenced within thirty seconds. It's pretty good."

""

"Of course, it was chosen for that idiot." Yuzu walked over to him and sat down on the edge of the rooftop in a very natural way, with her legs dangling down from the edge and swinging in mid-air.

She tilted her head and glanced at Li An, her round eyes sparkling in the moonlight, carrying the excitement of a child preparing to play a prank.

"I gave him the route map, and he said thank you for the information I left, and that he would treat me to dinner after he killed you."

Where is he?

"It will take him about forty minutes; he's coming from Queens."

Yuzu swung her legs and took out her phone from her pocket. On the screen was a simple tracking interface, with a small red dot moving along the highway.

"When he gets here, he'll make the first move. I absolutely have to capture the expression on his face when he sees me next to you!"

"What a devil," Ang Lee said.

"Hey! I'm your teammate!" She protested, placing her hands on the concrete ground behind her and tilting her head back.

"Ignoring her, Li An stood up from his squatting position and stepped onto the edge of the roof. The night wind made the hem of his dark red suit flutter. In the distance, the surface of the East River reflected scattered lights, like a handful of gold dust sprinkled on black silk."

"Don't keep Fujiwara Sakuin waiting too long. After we deal with this one, he'll be next."

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