Volume One, Chapter Eight: Avoiding Wood and Fire

Xiao Shiyu quickly caught up and took the bag from Su Tong’s hand.
“Let me carry it for you.”
The two of them got into the car. With no one else around, Xiao Shiyu finally ventured a careful question, “Do you need my help with your situation with the Su family?”
Su Tong shook her head, her voice crisp and decisive, “No, I can handle it myself.”
Xiao Shiyu gazed into her bright eyes and smiled faintly.
How could he have forgotten? Su Tong was a formidable practitioner of the occult arts—how could such a trifling matter possibly stump her?
It was all because of her sweet, doll-like face; people instinctively underestimated her age and felt the urge to protect her.
Xiao Shiyu changed the subject. “Have you eaten?”
“I already have. If you haven’t, I can wait for you,” Su Tong answered.
“Let’s eat at home.”
With that, Xiao Shiyu started the car and drove them home.
…
After Su Tong left, Shen Xianglan hurried to a secluded spot, took out her phone, and dialed a number.
The call rang for a long time, and just as she was about to hang up, someone finally answered.
Although Shen Xianglan was anxious, she kept her tone respectful. “Master Jiang.”
“What is it?”
The voice on the other end was somewhat languid, but Shen Xianglan dared not complain and maintained her reverence. “Su Tong is still alive. Did the Fate Exchange Ritual fail?”
“Impossible. As long as she wears the Blood Fiend Bracelet, the ritual can’t fail.” The voice brimmed with confidence.
“I’m serious, I saw her today,” Shen Xianglan insisted, then hesitated, “Could it be that Su Tong took off and put the bracelet back on?”
Master Jiang replied, “Once the Blood Fiend Bracelet is worn, it cannot be removed unless its owner dies.”
Pacing anxiously, Shen Xianglan couldn’t make sense of it. “Then why is she still alive? Will this affect Su Xi?”
After a moment’s silence, Master Jiang responded, “Perhaps Su Tong is deeply blessed or protected by accumulated virtue. The ritual may only have taken part of her luck and fate, not her life.
Su Xi has already gained part of her fate and fortune—the exchange succeeded. Whether Su Tong lives or dies makes no difference to Su Xi now.”
Relieved to hear the ritual had worked for Su Xi, Shen Xianglan let out a long sigh, but soon her brows knitted again.
The Fate Exchange Ritual was a forbidden, reviled practice.
If Su Tong died, no one would ever know they’d used such a ritual.

But with her still alive, what they had done risked coming to light, even threatening the Su Group.
They couldn’t let Su Tong live.
Shen Xianglan’s eyes turned cold. She spoke into the phone, “Master Jiang, do you have a way to end Su Tong’s life? I can pay more.”
Master Jiang replied, “A fate as blessed as hers comes once in a millennium. Merely taking her life would be a waste. I have other plans for her—leave it to me, you needn’t concern yourself further.”
With that, Master Jiang ended the call.
Shen Xianglan had absolute faith in his abilities. With Su Tong in his hands, she was at ease.
Putting away her phone, Shen Xianglan’s lips curled into a satisfied smile as she strode elegantly into the mall.
…
Back at the Xiao family home, Su Tong greeted Xiao Shiyu and slipped into her own room, where she began cutting talisman paper and mixing cinnabar.
She meditated for a short while to calm her mind, then picked up a wolf-hair brush and began to draw talismans.
The spiritual energy in this world was scarce, making successful talisman creation difficult, so Su Tong was meticulous with each stroke.
Two minutes later, she completed a protective charm.
Su Tong sighed softly, “Still not used to the spiritual energy here. Only a low-grade protective charm—more practice needed.”
Diligent as always, she spent the entire afternoon crafting talismans.
Her efforts paid off. By the time Mrs. Zhang called her to dinner,
She had made five intermediate protective charms, three intermediate luck charms, three intermediate peach-blossom charms, and nearly a hundred low-grade talismans.
She had also specially crafted a ghost-seeing charm and a ghost-summoning charm for Xiao Weiyi.
Back in her sect, she had enjoyed inventing all sorts of rare and unusual talismans; the ghost-seeing and ghost-summoning charms were her own creations.
As their names implied, the ghost-seeing charm allowed ordinary people to see ghosts, while the ghost-summoning charm would draw the ghosts within a ten-mile radius to her location.
These ghosts could not harm people, but for those who had never seen a spirit, it would certainly be an unforgettable experience.
Su Tong went downstairs and saw Xiao Shiyu about to leave.
Dressed in a pale gray bespoke suit, he stood tall and elegant, exuding an air of nobility and irresistible charm.
Seeing her, Xiao Shiyu explained, “I have a banquet to attend tonight. You’ll have to eat by yourself.”
Su Tong nodded, her clear, bright eyes blinking, “When discussing business tonight, avoid anything related to wood and fire, or things won’t go smoothly.”
Xiao Shiyu’s lips curved in a smile, his eyes shining like a starry sky. “Alright, I’ll heed your advice. Should I pay you for this? Two merits?”
At the mention of merit, Su Tong’s eyes lit up, but just as quickly dimmed. With a sigh, she said, “You’re getting off easy this time; I won’t charge you.”
Though Xiao Shiyu possessed great merit, not just anyone could claim it at will.

For example, this time, merely giving him a tip wasn’t enough to earn merit.
Until now, Xiao Shiyu had only seen Su Tong brimming with confidence and cheerful smiles—never before had he seen her look so crestfallen. He found it rather novel.
He smiled to comfort her, “Your advice is important to me. How about I buy it? Would five hundred thousand be enough?”
Su Tong’s smile returned. “That’s enough.”
She needed both merit and money. Since she couldn’t take merit, she must at least have the cash.
Staying at the Xiao home was only temporary—sooner or later she’d have to buy her own place.
In Haishi, where land was worth its weight in gold, even a fifty-square-meter apartment cost over a million.
Not to mention, she wanted something larger—she’d need at least five million.
“I’ll transfer the money to you now.”
With that, Xiao Shiyu pulled out his phone and sent her half a million.
Su Tong donated half of it, keeping two hundred and fifty thousand for herself.
Suddenly recalling something, Xiao Shiyu looked up and reminded her earnestly, “If Xiao Weiyi comes home tonight, don’t go out with him. None of his rowdy friends are any good. If anything happens, call me.”
“I understand.”
Su Tong took a folded protective charm from her pocket, handing it to Xiao Shiyu. “Here’s the charm I promised you.”
“Thank you. I’ll be off now.”
Xiao Shiyu tucked it away carefully and waved as he left.
After an entire afternoon spent making talismans, Su Tong was famished.
Entering the dining room, she saw the table laden with a sumptuous spread—roast chicken, steamed fish, braised prawns…
The delicious aroma made her mouth water.
She quickly picked up her chopsticks and reached for the fragrant roast chicken.
The first bite filled her with such satisfaction that she closed her eyes in bliss. It was simply delicious!
Alternating between chicken and shrimp, she soon devoured more than half the dishes on the table, along with two large bowls of rice.
Mrs. Zhang had never seen such a petite girl eat so much. Fearing for her digestion, she quickly advised, “Miss Su, do slow down. Eating too much at night isn’t good for you.”
Su Tong smiled, “Don’t worry, I can handle more. Mrs. Zhang, another bowl of rice, please.”