Courtyard House: The Frog Boy Brings Back a Genetic Potion at the Start

Hao Jianguo scoffed, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "That's utter nonsense! If I truly possessed such extraordinary abilities, would the Jia family even warrant my efforts? There are countless families in Beijing far more prominent than the Jia family. Why would I choose to drain the fortune of this impoverished household instead of seeking out others? What sense does that make?"

The neighbors, who had been shaken, were taken aback by what they heard and quickly came to their senses.

Indeed, even if one had to choose a family from this courtyard, the Yi family would be the more logical choice, while the Jia family... certainly doesn't have enough weight.

Amidst the doubts and whispers among the crowd, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui stepped forward.

Hao Jianguo's rhetorical question subtly shifted everyone's mind, and the false wall built by the deaf old woman's impassioned words instantly showed cracks.

The two knew that standing with Hao Jianguo was the wise thing to do at this moment.

"Grandma, you can't keep saying things that are just baseless rumors."

Liu Haizhong put on a stern face and said, "Where did Hao Jianguo get such crooked and evil supernatural powers? Why bring up such unfounded rumors?"

"This is a new society now."

Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses and slowly replied, "Those outdated superstitious dregs should have been thrown away long ago."

"What 'luck-attracting' nonsense? You're really daring to talk big, spouting such empty words."

With his hands behind his back, Liu Haizhong, with an air of being in charge, slowly said, "These words are baseless and unsubstantiated. The old lady is old and confused, so they don't count."

In my opinion, everyone should leave.

The neighbors all know Hao Jianguo's character; there's no point in making wild guesses now.

He tried to quell the situation with just one sentence.

In Liu Haizhong's eyes, the deaf old woman was just being unreasonable and it wasn't worth wasting everyone's time on such a baseless matter.

To his surprise, the old lady showed no sign of panic or annoyance after hearing his words. Instead, she remained confident and composed, with a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Is she holding other cards in her hand?"

Liu Haizhong's heart sank inexplicably, and he muttered to himself.

"Grandma, that's not fair of you. Using these baseless superstitions to slander Hao Jianguo is a joke, isn't it?"

"They must have run out of other options to come up with such an absurd excuse, right?"

"Still trying to absorb the Jia family's fortune? What era are we living in? Still resorting to these outdated feudal practices?"

Before the deaf old woman could reply, the residents in the courtyard who were watching the commotion started talking all at once.

Although everyone initially just wanted to watch the show and was unwilling to take sides easily, seeing that the two managers in charge of the courtyard were vying to speak up for Hao Jianguo, it was clear to everyone which side to lean towards.

Besides, everyone benefited from Hao Jianguo's previous banquets, and now that he's a leader in the factory, it's always good to be on good terms with him.

So everyone took the opportunity to join in, teasing the deaf old woman with their own words.

However, these people are all very shrewd, and none of them want to be the one to stick their neck out.

With Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui leading the way, even if the old lady ultimately prevails over Hao Jianguo, the reckoning will only target those two, and won't involve them.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui understood their neighbors' thoughts perfectly well. They felt both aggrieved and angry, and almost cursed at them to their faces.

In fact, not to mention others, even after Jia Zhangshi came to her senses, she didn't believe the deaf old woman's story at all.

This is too bizarre. Unless you see it with your own eyes or have irrefutable evidence, who would believe such a mysterious thing?

What's strange is that, normally, if someone were to criticize and mock her like this to her face, the deaf old woman would have jumped up and started cursing like a cat with its fur standing on end.

Today was different. She listened to the discussions around her, her face always bearing a cold, mocking smile. Her confident demeanor made it seem as if she really held some incredible leverage over herself.

Her confident expression gradually calmed the surrounding whispers.

The crowd unconsciously stopped talking, and the courtyard fell silent for a moment.

The deaf old woman glanced around before letting out a slow, cold laugh.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me."

As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Wang Daoren, who had been standing in the corner. "Don't you even trust his words?"

In fact, the people in the courtyard had already noticed the unfamiliar old man, but because he looked strange and was quite old, they didn't think much of it.

In addition, the deaf old woman's imposing presence had drawn all attention, so no one bothered to ponder the origins of this silent old man.

At this moment, after she pointed at them, everyone looked at them with suspicion.

The younger generation looked at each other, none of them recognizing the old man.

Liu Haizhong, who was of advanced age, frowned. He hadn't looked closely before, but now, after being reminded, he vaguely felt that the person looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

Unable to contain his doubts, Yan Jiecheng turned to his father and asked in a low voice, "Father, have you seen this person before?"

He secretly guessed that since the old lady dared to speak so confidently, the old man in front of him must be of extraordinary origin.

But when he saw the same blank look on his father's face, he realized he had been overthinking things.

Yan Bugui frowned slightly, then shook his head hesitantly: "You look familiar, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before..."

Hao Jianguo also scrutinized the old man known as Wang Daoren with a critical eye, his tone revealing disdain: "Who is he? Why should we take his words seriously? It's absurd—does he possess some kind of extraordinary ability?"

These words expressed the doubts of many people present.

The deaf old lady scoffed at his words, her expression full of disdain for Hao Jianguo.

"Short-sighted!"

She raised her voice, "Do you really think that just because you've had a few good days, you can disregard your seniors? How utterly foolish! Let me tell you, this is Master Wang, who cultivates on Jade Emperor Mountain."

The old lady stopped being mysterious and directly revealed her name.

In an instant, several elderly residents in the courtyard gasped, and when they looked at the silent old man again, their eyes were filled with astonishment and bewilderment.

"It's... that Master Wang from Jade Emperor Mountain? I saw him once from afar many years ago, but I never imagined that the years would take their toll and he would grow so old... No wonder I didn't recognize him at first."

"Ah, back then this man was quite a figure. All the prominent families in Beijing invited him to their homes."

Who would have thought that things would turn out like this...

"In the end, he's just an ordinary person."

In the old society, people valued superficial things, which is why he gained power.

In today's new society, superstition has been eradicated, and naturally, it has no place to exist.

"That's not how it works. Master Wang is truly skilled."

If he were just a conman, would those shrewd and wealthy families have been fooled by him?

The long-time residents of the courtyard house began to chat quietly, one after another.

Although the old ways are no longer popular in this new era, Wang Daoren was indeed very famous in the past.

These were figures that ordinary people could only look up to in the past, and now that they were standing right in front of them, they couldn't help but be somewhat intimidated by their former fame.

Moreover, these days are all about "feng shui".

The two words became a frequent topic of conversation among the people in the courtyard. The strange occurrences made people uneasy, and they gradually began to doubt such claims.

If this recognized expert truly points out that the feng shui of this place is problematic, even a stubborn person like Liu Haizhong would probably have to take it seriously.

The younger generation, hearing their elders' discussion, exchanged bewildered glances, unable to hide their surprise.

They grew up in a new atmosphere, listening to teachings about breaking with old habits from childhood, and should have scoffed at this.

However, the strange things that have happened recently have quietly shaken their deep-rooted beliefs.

Especially now, with "feng shui" being a matter of vital interest to everyone.

This statement makes it even more important for people not to take it lightly.

Xu Damao opened his eyes wide and stared intently at Wang Daoren.

He suddenly remembered the whispers of Yan Jiecheng and the others earlier—if the feng shui really prevented him from having a child, he would go crazy with worry.

At this moment, a thought even popped into his mind: once this matter is settled, he must ask Master Wang to take a good look at the layout of his house and do some divination to see when his marriage will take place and when he will be able to hold his big, fat son.

Thinking about it this way, I felt that something good was about to happen, and a hot, restless feeling rose in my chest.

Hao Jianguo remained standing quietly by the door, his face calm and composed.

The surrounding discussions naturally did not escape Hao Jianguo's ears, but he did not expect that this Taoist priest would have such a reputation.

However, to use such an old Taoist priest to suppress oneself is to give him too much credit.

The whispers reached Wang Daoren's ears, filling him with mixed emotions.

The fact that someone still remembers him after so many years was a source of great emotion, but before the feeling could fully spread, the words that followed pierced his old wounds like needles.

Wang Daoren knows his current situation better than anyone else, and his pride has long been worn down.

If I hadn't come to terms with it long ago and gone through those ups and downs, I probably wouldn't even have had the will to live.

I'm here today to keep order for the deaf old lady.

He was about to step forward from the crowd to have a good talk with Hao Jianguo, but little did he know that the other party was not one to wait to be beaten.

Before Wang Daoren could speak, Hao Jianguo had already sneered.

"Where did this charlatan come from, daring to play tricks here? Humph, how absurd."

"If you were truly as powerful as the legends say, would you have ended up like this? If you were truly capable of divination, you should have avoided your fate long ago. Why would you be stuck on Jade Emperor Mountain suffering like this? I think you were just a swindler trying to make a living. You don't have any real skills. You can't be trusted."

Hao Jianguo's tone was as indifferent as cold water, and the younger generation couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

They had never seen Wang Daoren possess any supernatural powers. No matter how mysterious the older generation spoke, seeing the old Daoist's tattered clothes and disheveled appearance, they felt that Hao Jianguo's words made sense—how could a true master be reduced to such a state?

Of course, while he thought this in his heart, he dared not say it aloud, for fear of being scolded by his elders.

Wang Daoren was enraged by Hao Jianguo's words.

No matter how miserable the past years have been, being publicly ridiculed by a junior is ultimately a loss of face.

"You're saying I'm a charlatan?"

Wang Daoren laughed heartily, but his laughter was full of sarcasm, as if mocking the other party's ignorance.

At this moment, Aunt Er and Aunt San hurriedly squeezed to Hao Jianguo's side.

They have always believed in these things and know that Wang Daoren is no ordinary person. They are afraid that Hao Jianguo's words might offend the master.

If the old Taoist priest were to retaliate with magic and ruin the feng shui of the entire courtyard, that would be an undeserved disaster.

The two lowered their voices and repeatedly tried to persuade him.

"Jianguo, you can't just say things like that. Master Wang is truly capable! Those powerful people back then weren't fools. If he didn't have real skills, would they have been convinced?"

Aunt Er tugged at Hao Jianguo's sleeve and said urgently.

Aunt San nodded repeatedly: "You young people talk about materialism, but there are some things in the world that science really can't explain."

"Some things are better believed than not! Otherwise, think about it, why have so many strange things been happening in our yard lately?"

"That's right, that's right."

Several elderly men and women gathered around. "Starting with Banggeng, then Jia Zhangshi, Jia Dongxu, then Shazhu and the deaf old lady, and even Qin Huairu went crazy a few days ago."

One after another, who would believe it if there weren't some supernatural or feng shui explanation?

The strange events of the past few days have already made everyone in the courtyard uneasy. When talking about it, outsiders all think that the house is unclean.

If it were just one or two isolated incidents, it could be considered a coincidence. But for one person to experience hysteria and see evil spirits one after another, that would be anything but ordinary.

Listening to the crowd's words of advice, the deaf old woman standing at the back slowly curled a cold smile onto her lips.

She wanted to use this opportunity to completely destroy Hao Jianguo.

At this moment, the deaf old lady and the others felt that all the anger in their chest had been released. Even if they didn't say anything more, the people in the courtyard would naturally harass Hao Jianguo on their behalf.

The deaf old lady firmly believed that today's events would plant a thorn in everyone's heart, causing them to harbor resentment towards Hao Jianguo.

Hao Jianguo maintained his calm and composed expression as he quietly observed the group of middle-aged women in front of him.

Under his gaze, Aunt San and the others gradually stopped talking, their expressions showing some embarrassment. They felt that Hao Jianguo was looking at them as if they were a group of clowns.

"According to you, since Master Wang is so capable, and you and the deaf old lady are both saying that I, Hao Jianguo, have absorbed the Jia family's fortune—do you all also believe that I am a sorcerer who is going to devour the fortune of our entire courtyard?"

Hao Jianguo's words were sarcastic.

Upon hearing this, the elderly men and women who had just advised him not to speak recklessly and to believe Master Wang immediately fell silent.

Previously, they were only thinking about not offending Wang Daoren, but they did not expect Hao Jianguo to point this out.