Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 77 Conspiracy and Deception

Wuxin got up very early, washed up, and dressed neatly. A chipped glass mirror was pasted on the wall of his room, and he looked at himself in it from left to right. Sunlight hadn't yet entered his small room, so Xiaojian floated in front of the mirror, wanting to look at himself too. However, after looking for a long time, all he saw in the mirror was Wuxin.

He hugged Wuxin's leg affectionately, and said innocently, "Big brother, you look like a monster."

Wuxin, now pale with hunger and with sunken eyes, did indeed possess a sinister, demonic aura. Biting his fingers, he stared down at Xiao Jian, wishing he could devour him. Xiao Jian looked up to meet Wuxin's gaze; as the sunlight intensified, his shadow grew fainter—after all, he was just a little brat, and although he inexplicably possessed some power, that power was ultimately limited.

Wuxin had no real feelings for him, so she spoke the truth without thinking: "Sigh, if only you were alive. If you were alive, I could be your father."

Xiao Jian didn't die willingly, so hearing his words filled his young heart with sorrow. Wu Xin looked down at him with deep regret, his eyebrows furrowed, his sorrow genuine.

After scrutinizing Xiao Jian as a dull, sorrowful ball of light, he carelessly picked up his rolled-up cloth banner and left without a thought.

His apartment was on the third floor. He had just descended to the second floor, still carrying a sham, when he suddenly felt a chill, almost unbearable. He turned back and decided to change. The monk's robe he was wearing, worn for many years, was as thin as a cicada's wing, its sole purpose being to cover his body. Normally, disguising himself as a monk was more suitable for his survival; but today his purpose was clear, and it seemed acceptable to temporarily abandon his monastic identity.

He took out his key and opened the door. He pulled out a slightly worn pair of trousers and a jacket from his travel bag and changed into them, also finding a few loose bills in the jacket pocket. Stepping out again, he ran downstairs with a burst of energy. Before embarking on his grand undertaking, he bought a skewer of stinky tofu from a small stall. The stinky tofu was dripping with chili sauce, and he ate it cautiously as he walked, staining his lips and tongue bright red. Finally, he crossed the alley and bypassed the building, sitting down on the roadside opposite the building's front entrance. Two more pieces of stinky tofu were still skewered on the bamboo strip. Instead of eating them, he spread his boneless signboard on the ground beside him, indicating that he was a master fortune teller, feng shui master, and exorcist.

Then he continued eating stinky tofu, making passersby cover their noses as they walked by. The Ma siblings, enduring the stench, silently circled around him, finally stopping far behind him.

Both Saiwei and Shengyi hadn't slept all night, their faces uniformly covered in red bumps. They were both already thin, and usually quite dashing, even frail-looking; now, all their elegance was gone. They stood with their shoulders hunched and necks craning, like a pair of malnourished turtles, staring anxiously at Wuxin's retreating figure. Wuxin, dressed only in a thin shirt and trousers, was also extremely thin. Even through his clothes, one could see his clearly defined shoulder blades, the bones protruding like remnants of wings.

Sheng Yi nudged Sai Wei with her elbow, touching his ribs: "Sis, did you see that? He said he can catch ghosts."

Savi hastily wrapped a thin leather jacket around himself and touched the pimples on his face: "I saw him, but why does he look so pathetic, like a beggar?"

Sheng Yi said softly, "Masters are always unassuming."

Savi shook her head dismissively, feeling the other party was too young; even if they were hiding their true abilities, they still needed to have something to hide. Following her own suggestion, she planned to seek help from her aunt. Her aunt was an old woman, surely she would have some ideas; however, the old woman was too enthusiastic, and once they got involved, they wouldn't be able to easily get rid of her. They were only seventeen or eighteen, and couldn't bear the patience of dealing with an old woman.

Sheng Yi asked again, "Sister, do you want him or not? If not, let's leave. I'm about to be suffocated by the stinky tofu."

Saiwei wanted to leave, but before she could take a step, Wuxin, who was in the distance, suddenly turned around and looked at them. His face was very pale, his eyebrows and eyes were very dark, his lips were very red, and there was a smear of chili sauce on his face. He swallowed the last bite of stinky tofu without expression, and with his back to the rising sun and the noisy road, he waved to the Ma siblings.

Sheng Yi, a person who has opinions but no ideas, nudged Sai Wei in the ribs with her elbow again: "Sis, look, he's calling us over!"

Unsure, Saiwei pointed to herself as she met Wuxin's gaze. Wuxin nodded and then smiled at her.

Wuxin was quite clean-cut today; although his face was smeared with chili sauce, he could still be classified as a handsome man. Seeing his charming smile, Saiwei's legs seemed to spring into action, and he started walking forward on his own. Shengyi quickly followed, muttering all the way, "I told you to try him, but you wouldn't listen. Look, he's sitting downstairs; why not give him a try? If he's just a conman trying to make a living, we can easily pay him off with a couple of bucks, no trouble at all. Right? You insisted on going to Auntie. Do you think you can just go to Auntie so easily? When the old lady gets excited, who can get rid of her?"

Saiwei completely ignored him. With her slender legs, she walked briskly, like an impatient heron, stopping in front of Wuxin in just a few steps. Shengyi caught up, forming a pincer movement with Saiwei, surrounding Wuxin in the middle. Wuxin, looking up as if from a well, said directly, "I have something I want to say to you both, but I don't know if I should."

Savi licked his dry lips, trying to come up with an answer, but Sheng Yi interrupted, "Go ahead! We're listening!"

Wu Xin smiled and said, "I see that you two have dark circles under your eyes and look gloomy, which is a sign of impending bad luck."

Sheng Yi slapped his thigh: "Oh dear, this is terrible!" Then he looked up at Sai Wei: "Sis, sis, did you hear that? I told you he was reliable, but you didn't believe me."

Saiwei rarely encountered handsome men, and even though the handsome man was a beggar sitting by the roadside eating stinky tofu, it still stirred a small thought in her, making her try her best to show some inner beauty. However, Shengyi's incessant chatter prevented her from releasing her pent-up inner thoughts. Annoyed, she glanced at Shengyi and remained silent without comment.

Shengyi squatted down in front of Wuxin and continued to ask with great interest, "Then take another look, what kind of bad luck have we encountered?"

Wuxin could almost smell Xiao Jian's scent on them, so he confidently smiled and said, "Perhaps the house isn't clean enough?"

Sheng Yi was almost terrified, raising his hand to pat Sai Wei's leg: "Sister, sister, you're amazing!" Then he asked Wu Xin, "Are you dirty? If you don't have lice or fleas, I'll take you to our house. We'll reward you handsomely for exorcising the ghost for us!"

Wuxin rolled up the cloth banner and tucked it under his arm, then stood up and said to the Ma siblings, "I'm not dirty, I definitely don't have lice or fleas."

To keep the two customers occupied, he deliberately tugged at Sheng Yi's sleeve and collar, showing him his arms and neck. Sheng Yi immediately asked Sai Wei, "Sister, is he considered hygienic?"

Savi, annoyed by Sheng Yi's nagging, replied without thinking, "Yeah, she's quite fair-skinned."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them, feeling that she had made a very low-class statement. She remained silent for a long time, and when she finally spoke, it was a slip of the tongue.

Wuxin followed the Ma siblings into the building and took the elevator to the sixth floor. The apartment had a maid who arrived early and left early every day, responsible for cleaning and cooking. She only lingered on the back balcony and in the kitchen, rarely showing herself. In broad daylight, there was no way it would be haunted; so after a few words, Wuxin accepted the invitation to sit in the living room and waited for nightfall.

The broken bulb from the chandelier was removed, and the shards of glass on the sofa were swept away. The wool carpet, not yet ready for use, was simply taken down. Sheng Yi treated Wu Xin like a savior, gesturing wildly as she recounted her terrifying night. Wu Xin listened attentively, sipping hot orange juice. It was unclear what Sheng Yi had eaten that morning, but her breath was hot and sweet-sour. Sai Wei sat beside her, shifting his position every minute, never still for a moment. Surrounded by her presence, Wu Xin felt happy, constantly smiling, claiming to be a lonely monk who had wandered since his temple was destroyed in the war.

Sevi wasn't interested in his identity, because whether he was a monk or a charlatan, they weren't in the same social class, and there was no connection to marriage. However, he was a man, and she was a woman; everyone has their own desires, and knowing she wasn't very beautiful, she desperately wanted to use her intelligence to make a striking impression and leave a lasting impression. The problem was, her intelligence was also quite limited, which was really a problem!

Wuxin spent most of the day at the Ma family's apartment, having lunch and dinner, and even enjoying a refined afternoon tea. Since it wasn't dark yet, the three of them sat on the floor in front of the large glass window and started playing cards. As they played, Saiwei noticed Wuxin was always losing, so he tried a little trick, deliberately hiding and manipulating his cards to let him win a few rounds. However, his method was too clumsy, and he was caught red-handed by Shengyi.

Enraged, Saiwei immediately mimicked Master Ma's tone, cursing in an old-fashioned manner, "You scoundrel, how dare you defy your superiors!"

Sheng Yi slammed the playing cards on the ground: "You're only a minute older than me, what makes you so special!"

Seeing that he dared to resist, Saiwei immediately revealed his true colors: "You shameless scoundrel, you dare to talk back to me!"

Upon hearing the words "horse hoof," Sheng Yi was immediately struck where it hurt. She had been sitting cross-legged, but now she squatted down with her hands on the ground, eager to fight with Sai Wei.

Neither sibling was easy to deal with. They were the closest of siblings since childhood, inevitably leading to a love-hate relationship and frequent fights, but they never held grudges. Wu Xin, unaware of the situation, was surprised that such grown adults would resort to violence and wanted to intervene. Meanwhile, Saiwei, who had been silent for almost a day, was also feeling incredibly frustrated. She knelt up and took off her leather jacket, revealing a pink shirt underneath. She methodically unbuttoned and rolled up her cuffs, revealing her slender wrists.

Two similar faces locked eyes, neither willing to back down. Wuxin was about to push forward to separate them when, before he could even move, a gust of cold wind swept over the three of them. The sun had just dipped below the horizon; although a faint light still lingered on the horizon, the yang energy had dissipated and the yin energy had risen, meaning night had already fallen.

Ever since one of the light bulbs exploded, the chandelier hadn't been turned on, and the living room was only lit by a wall lamp next to the door. The wall lamp was purely decorative, with very limited brightness. Without thinking, I turned my head in the direction of the cold wind and saw Xiao Jian's shadowy figure clinging to the lamp, making faces at me.

In the brief moment between the Ma siblings' standoff, Wuxin winked at Xiaojian. Xiaojian immediately understood, wagging his tail and floating past the lampshade. The light flickered suddenly, then went out completely.

A moment of silence fell over the living room. Xiao Jian happily passed by the Ma siblings, then darted behind the floor-length curtains, appearing and disappearing in and out of sight. Two howls followed, and the Ma siblings, their hostility instantly turning to friendship, pounced on Wuxin like two wild ponies. Wuxin instinctively opened his arms, unexpectedly embracing them.

Both were thin, too small for him to hug. Their heads nestled against his chest, exuding the scent of leftover hair oil, perfume, and face cream. The three scents blended with the sweat and heat of their bodies, a complex mixture, but because they were young, it possessed a clean and fresh quality. So, despite the complexity, it didn't feel tainted to Wuxin. It had been a long time since he'd given anyone a proper hug. Wuxin tightened his grip slightly, feeling like he'd won the lottery.

"Don't be afraid!" He held the terrified siblings in his arms. "I saw it!"

Then, he released his grip at the opportune moment, got up, and went to shake the curtains. Xiao Jian peered down from above, looking inquisitive. Saiwei and Shengyi saw it clearly and immediately let out another howl. At the same time, Wuxin had already given a wink to someone above. Xiao Jian understood, turned around, and disappeared through the glass window into the night sky.

Without turning to the two siblings sprawled on the ground, he put his hands behind his back and said seriously, "It escaped!"

Savi stammered, "Run away? Run away? Will they come back?"

Wuxin shook his head: "As long as I'm here, it won't dare to come back!"

Sheng Yi also spoke up: "What if you weren't here?"

Without thinking for a moment, he replied, "Why don't you move?"

Saiwei and Shengyi said in unison, "We have no money!"

Wu Xin sighed, "Oh dear, those brats are the most troublesome. Getting rid of them won't be easy!"

Judging from his tone, Saiwei and Shengyi clearly intended to ask for an exorbitant price, so they felt relieved and prepared to seriously negotiate with him. Unexpectedly, before they could speak, the phone next door suddenly rang loudly, startling them both.

The phone rang urgently, incessantly. Saiwei and Shengyi got up, wanting to answer it, but lacking the courage. They stared at each other in a tense silence for a moment, before Saiwei finally ran next door, grabbed the receiver, and made a soft "feeding" sound. Shengyi listened intently, but heard nothing more.

At most a minute later, Saiwei walked out, looking utterly dejected. Leaning against the wall, she said softly, "Shengyi, it's a long-distance call from my brother in Tianjin."

Sheng Yi was puzzled: "What does he want now?"

Savi replied, "Mother is gone."

Sheng Yi blinked, as if she hadn't understood. So Saiwei repeated himself: "He said that his mother fell seriously ill and passed away this morning."

The "mother" she referred to was their biological mother, the second concubine of the Ma family. As a mother, the second concubine was unremarkable and could not serve as a role model for her children; but a mother is still a mother, so Sheng Yi froze on the spot upon hearing this.

"Impossible," he said weakly. "Mother was always healthy, how could she suddenly die of illness? Impossible."

Then the two of them raised their sleeves to wipe their eyes and began to sob.

(End of this chapter)