The young driver's beautiful boss

The next morning, Qi Jing's reply came faster than Tang Bei had expected.

The message Gu Tian relayed was only one sentence: Qi Jing agreed. Three o'clock this afternoon, at the teahouse in the east of the city, come alone, bringing the Longevity Pill.

Tang Bei took the Longevity Pill out of the drawer. The pill was in a small porcelain bottle; Wen Boyuan had told him it was worth at least several million when he gave it to him.

Tang Bei put the porcelain bottle in his pocket, and before leaving, he stopped by the window and whispered, "Qi Yue, stay in the dorm today and don't move."

Qi Yue floated out from the corner, her face even paler than a few days ago. "Master, that Taoist priest will make a move."

"I know." Tang Bei put on his coat. "So you need to stay away. He's after you, and he won't have any excuse unless you're there."

Qi Yue looked at him, something flashed in his dark eyes, then she nodded, shrank back into the corner, and became almost invisible.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Tang Bei arrived at the teahouse in the east of the city on time. The door to the private room on the second floor was open, and Qi Jing was sitting inside, with a tea set in front of him, pouring tea into two cups. Hua Daoren was not there.

Tang Bei sat down opposite him. "Where's your Taoist priest?"

"Master Hua didn't come today." Qi Jing pushed the teacup towards him. "He said you misunderstood him, and to avoid making you worry, he waited for you elsewhere today."

Tang Bei picked up the teacup but didn't drink it. He held it to his nose, smelled it, and then put it down. "The things are here. What about the message?"

Qi Jing picked up a file folder from beside the chair and placed it on the table. "Everything I found is in here. Qingya Town, Shendu, and why your master went there three years ago—it's all in here."

"Give me the message first."

Qi Jing smiled and pushed the file bag over. Tang Bei opened it and glanced inside. There were several pages of printed documents and a few blurry photos. The photos showed a blurry figure from behind; the face wasn't very clear, but Tang Bei recognized the silhouette.

He's been watching for ten years; he'd never be wrong.

He was his master.

Tang Bei carefully put away the file folder and took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket, placing it on the table. "Longevity Pill, one."

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 202ᴋᴋs.ᴄᴏᴍ]

Qi Jing picked up the bottle, uncorked it, smelled it, narrowed his eyes, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face. "Mr. Tang is straightforward. That matter—you said you owed me a favor, is that still valid?"

"count."

Qi Jing carefully put away the porcelain vase, stood up, and straightened his clothes. "Alright. Then we're even. Mr. Tang, until we meet again." He paused at the door, turned back to look at Tang Bei, and his smile faded slightly. "But there's something I want to remind you—the Flower Daoist has a bad temper. He didn't get anything from today's transaction and is unhappy. You'd better be careful."

Tang Bei ignored him. After Qi Jing left, he sat in the private room for a while longer, going through all the documents in the file folder from beginning to end. Qingya Town is more than 300 kilometers south of Ancheng, near the provincial border, a small place with many mountains and dense forests. After Shen Du's name, it was noted that he was "a former employee of the Qingya Town Forestry Farm, who left three years ago and whose whereabouts are unknown." Below that was a line of handwritten words in Qi Jing's handwriting—"Shen Du has a past with your master and knows his whereabouts."

Tang Bei put away the documents and left the teahouse. Just as he reached the street and was about to get on his electric scooter, that familiar chill pressed against his back again.

Flower Taoist.

He turned his head. Under the sycamore tree across the street, the Taoist priest was leaning against the edge of the tree pit, his Taoist robe spread out on the ground, holding a paper cup in his hand, the contents of which were unknown, and he was taking sips. Seeing Tang Bei looking over, he raised his chin and smiled as he held up the paper cup.

Tang Bei did not move.

Hua Daoren stood up, slowly crossed the road, and stopped two steps in front of Tang Bei. "Mr. Tang, don't be nervous. I'm not here to cause you trouble today." He shook the paper cup in his hand. "I just want to tell you—you'd better not linger too long with that female ghost."

Tang Bei looked at him but didn't reply.

The Taoist priest finished the last drop of water from his paper cup, crumpled it, and tossed it into the nearby trash can, patting the water off his hands. "Her resentment is too strong, her hatred too deep. The longer she stays in the mortal realm, the worse it will be for you. A ghost contract, to put it nicely, is a pact; to put it bluntly, it's a chain. If you're bound to her, her malevolent energy will eventually erode your fate." He took a half-step forward, lowering his voice, "I'm helping you subdue her; it's for your own good."

Tang Bei took half a step back, creating some distance. "Are you done?"

The Flower Immortal shrugged. "That's all."

"Then let me say something to you too." Tang Bei looked at him, his voice not loud, but each word was clearly enunciated, "She's my friend. If you try anything with her again, I don't care who you are, I'll make sure you don't leave Ancheng."

The smile on Hua Daoren's face froze for a moment, then slowly disappeared. He stared at Tang Bei for two seconds, and finally, a hint of something real appeared in his lecherous eyes—a cold, sharp, and murderous glint. "Fine. Mr. Tang, then you can keep your friend safe." He turned and left, the hem of his Daoist robe billowing in the wind, trailing behind him like a dusty gray tail.

Tang Bei hopped on his electric scooter and started riding towards the dormitory. Qi Yue was still waiting for him there. The wind whistled past his ears, and he reached into his pocket to feel the file folder inside; the documents were hard and digging into his fingers. He finally had a lead on his master's whereabouts, but he didn't feel relieved at all.

The Flower Master's last words made him uncomfortable. Not because he was afraid, but because he knew the Flower Master was telling the truth.

Qi Yue's resentment was indeed growing stronger.

She grew increasingly distant, but the chilling aura around her intensified. Tang Bei had been sensing this for days—every time Qi Yue approached him, he would have nightmares at night, dreaming of a girl in a tattered dress sitting in the shadows, crying.

It was almost dark when he got back to his dorm. He pushed open the door, and Qi Yue floated out from the corner and approached him.

"Master, have you received the message?"

"Got it." Tang Bei placed the file bag on the table, turned on the desk lamp, and spread out the documents. "I'll go to Qingya Town tomorrow."

Qi Yue looked at the documents and remained silent for a while. "I'll go with you."

Tang Bei glanced at her. She looked even more pale than yesterday, her features blurred, and if you didn't look closely, you couldn't even make out her facial features. But her dark eyes were still bright, staring steadily at him.

"Okay," Tang Bei said, "Let's go together."