Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

The phone hangs up.

Manager Ma's smile faded as he pondered.

According to Lao Zhao, Sun Desheng must have offended Master Deng. It's highly unlikely that Lao Sun recommended Master Deng to the big boss.

So who took care of this?

Could it be that those two guys also hired someone?

That doesn't make sense...

in the hotel.

After breakfast, Cheng Mo and Xia He got into Wang Weiguo's car and headed to Shihuatang.

When they got into the car, Wang Weiguo noticed that neither of them showed any surprise or curiosity about his car.

Wang Weiguo reaffirmed his opinion of the two men—that they had no desire for worldly money.

Actually, he misjudged.

Both of them had a desire for money, just not as strong as they were.

As for luxury cars, they certainly didn't interest the two of them—after all, they weren't their own.

If you ask Cheng Mo to buy Xia He a car, do you think Xia He will jump for joy?

Cheng Mo directed the driver to stop in the open space next to Shihua Hall, and he and Wang Weiguo got out of the car and went to Shihua Hall together.

Liu Zhuzi was waiting at the door. When he saw them coming, he greeted them: "Young Master Cheng, Miss Xia, good morning."

Cheng Mo and Xia He responded with smiles.

Cheng Mo pointed at Wang Weiguo and said, "This time, it's Uncle Wang who wants to take care of things."

Wang Weiguo smiled and nodded at Liu Zhuzi: "Hello, Master."

Liu Zhuzi waved his hand: "I'm not a master, the master is inside."

He led the three of them inside.

After walking through the short corridor and into the hall, Wang Weiguo paused for a moment.

The red and green patterns on the wall, with their bold lines and intense colors, were indeed somewhat intimidating in the dim light. The abstract human figures, whose outlines were indistinguishable as either human or animal, were crammed together in a menacing manner.

He stood there for a long time, a sense of awe rising in his heart for no apparent reason.

Wang Weiguo felt a surge of anticipation for the people he was about to meet.

Continue walking in, pass through the courtyard, and arrive at the front of the hall.

Liu Zhuzi pushed open the palace door.

Deng Youcai was still the same as always—wearing a black vest, a floral cotton-padded jacket open, a big gold chain dangling from his waist, and sitting in a chair with his legs crossed.

Zhang Shuan, on the other hand, was fully dressed, wearing a colorful robe, with a mask painted on his face, and holding a drum in his hand, standing to the side.

Deng Youcai saw them and waved with a smile: "Brother Cheng, Miss Xia!"

Then his gaze turned to Wang Weiguo: "This must be Mr. Wang?"

Wang Weiguo quickly stepped forward and extended his hand: "Hello, hello, Master!"

Deng Youcai shook hands with him and said, "Don't stand, sit down."

Wang Weiguo sat down on the chair next to him, and Cheng Mo and Xia He also sat down next to him.

Deng Youcai leaned back. With legs crossed: "Mr. Wang, tell me, what happened?"

Wang Weiguo cleared his throat: "It's like this, our company has a project in the north called Beiguo Chunxiao Garden, and the accident happened not long after construction started."

"Initially, when they were digging the foundation, the excavator unearthed a nest of snakes. The workers said the nest of snakes was quite large, with about twenty or thirty of them, big and small. At the time, we didn't think much of it; we buried what needed to be buried and threw what needed to be thrown away."

"As a result, the construction site has never been quiet since then."

"First, the excavator driver was in an accident and broke his leg. Then, several workers got into a fight for no apparent reason, and one of them was stabbed by another and almost didn't survive. Later, a worker fell off the scaffolding and died on the spot."

"We stopped work to investigate, but we couldn't find the cause. The police said it was an accident, but this is too strange."

"My younger brother, Wang Weimin, is the person in charge of this project. He came to the construction site a few days ago to check on things, but he fell ill after only two days. He had a high fever for three days, and the hospital couldn't find the cause. They tried all kinds of medicine, but the fever just wouldn't go down."

Wang Weiguo looked at Deng Youcai and pleaded, "Master, please take a look and tell me what's going on?"

After listening, Deng Youcai didn't rush to speak.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Can you still see the place where you dug up the snake?"

Wang Weiguo nodded: "It's visible, so construction has stopped there."

Deng Youcai stood up: "Is it convenient for us to go to the construction site now?"

"That's where they dug out the snake."

Wang Weiguo quickly stood up: "Of course it's convenient, of course it's convenient. The car is right outside."

Deng Youcai looked at Cheng Mo and Xia He: "Would you two like to come along and watch the fun?"

Cheng Mo nodded: "Okay, I'll follow along and see."

The group left the hall and got into Wang Weiguo's car.

The driver stepped on the gas and drove north.

The construction site isn't far away; it only takes about twenty minutes to get there.

The car stopped at the main gate, and several people got out.

The construction site was quiet. Several excavators were parked on the open ground, covered with tarpaulins. Scaffolding was erected there, and steel bars were exposed.

A middle-aged man in overalls came forward; it was Manager Ma.

Upon seeing Wang Weiguo, he hurried over, exclaiming, "Chairman Wang! Why did you come in person?"

Wang Weiguo nodded: "Bring the master to take a look."

Manager Ma looked at Deng Youcai, then at Cheng Mo and Xia He, his gaze lingering on the two for a second.

Old Zhao also walked over from the side, saw Deng Youcai, and greeted him with a smile: "Youcai, you're here."

Manager Ma's mind raced.

His gaze swept over Cheng Mo and Xia He, noticing that the two were standing next to Wang Weiguo and spoke with such casualness that they didn't seem like his lackeys.

These two young men are probably the ones who introduced Master Deng to Chairman Wang.

It's fine as long as they're not from within the company.

It's always better for outsiders to benefit than for our own people to benefit.

Manager Ma's slight discomfort vanished instantly.

Deng Youcai nodded to Lao Zhao, stopped chatting, and took a walk around the construction site.

He walked slowly, stopping every now and then to look at a place before continuing on.

When he reached the spot where the snake's nest had been dug out, he squatted down and touched the soil on the ground with his hand.

Wang Weiguo followed behind him, wanting to ask but not daring to.

Deng Youcai stood up, dusted off his hands, and said to Wang Weiguo, "That's about enough. Can you go see your cousin?"

Wang Weiguo couldn't help but ask, "Um... about the construction site..."

Deng Youcai waved his hand: "Let's see the person first."

Wang Weiguo didn't press the matter further and nodded, saying, "Okay, let's go to the hospital now."

Manager Ma chimed in, "I'll go too. I visited General Manager Wang when he was hospitalized, but I've been busy with the construction site these past few days and haven't had a chance to go. It'll be good to go see him together."

Wang Weiguo nodded: "That's kind of you, let's go together."

Several people got into the car, and Manager Ma followed behind in his own car.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Manager Ma took a basket of fruit from the trunk and followed everyone upstairs.

The ward is on the seventh floor.

Wang Weiguo was stunned when he pushed open the ward door.

His cousin, Wang Weimin, was leaning against the headboard drinking water, though his face was still a little pale.

A young man was standing next to him; he was his secretary.

Upon seeing Wang Weiguo enter, the secretary quickly greeted him, "Chairman Wang."

Wang Weimin was also taken aback: "Brother? What brings you here?"

Wang Weiguo walked to the bedside and looked at his cousin: "Awake? How are you feeling?"

Wang Weimin was still a little confused: "I don't know what happened. I was still delirious with fever last night, but the fever went down as soon as I opened my eyes this morning."

The secretary chimed in, "Chairman Wang, a gentleman came last night and said that Mr. Wang is possessed by an evil spirit."

Wang Weiguo looked at him: "And then?"

The secretary recalled: "It was around nine o'clock when the ward door suddenly opened. I thought it was a nurse, but the person who came in was wearing a long gown, a hat and a mask, so I couldn't see their face."

"He came in and said, 'Someone here is possessed by an evil spirit; I've come to check.'"

"I tried to stop him, but once he stood there, I couldn't move."

Then the lights in the ward went out.

"I heard some rustling sounds, and people talking, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. About ten minutes later, the lights came on, and the person was gone."

"I quickly checked on Mr. Wang and found that his fever had stopped."

"I called the doctors and nurses, and they drew blood from Mr. Wang for tests. It took until midnight, and the results came out this morning. They said that Mr. Wang's inflammatory markers had come down, but he was still very weak."

Wang Weiguo looked at Wang Weimin: "Is that so?"

Wang Weimin shook his head: "I was unconscious at the time and didn't know anything."