CHAPTER 362: CHAPTER 359 LIFE-SAVING MONEY

Xie Chong had picked up a bag of Silvers a while ago, making quite a killing, thinking he had hit the jackpot. Little did he expect that after picking up the Silver, his misfortune worsened day by day, to the point where he could inexplicably fall flat on his face even on a smooth road, as the saying goes, getting his teeth stuck even by drinking cold water.

Minor misfortunes continual was one thing, just yesterday, as he passed by a shop, the Amulet he had placed in his bosom, which he obtained at Feichang Dao, suddenly became unbearably hot. He hastily stopped and took it out, only to have a sharp arrow fly out of that shop, nearly skimming past the tip of his nose.

The feathered arrow stuck in the door frame of the opposite shop, while the Amulet in his hand self-ignited, turning into ash.

Xie Chong watched the trembling feathered arrow in horror, then turned to the ash and remnants of the Peace Talisman fluttering everywhere. Recalling the recent string of calamities, he couldn’t help but howl and run towards the location of Feichang Dao.

Had he taken one step further, that arrow would have pierced through his neck, leaving him dead beyond doubt.

Xie Chong arrived at Feichang Dao in a panic, but the shop was closed. He didn’t dare to leave and shrank in front of the shop, spending the entire night there. He barely made it through the night until the shop opened, and even though the master wasn’t there, he still didn’t dare to leave, waiting at the entrance.

Now he had met Qin Liuxi, and Xie Chong’s tears and snot flowed together as he begged Qin Liuxi to save his life.

He truly had encountered abominable bad luck!

Entering Feichang Dao, he was still trembling, his face filled with terror, his stubbled face unspeakably haggard.

Seeing his state, Qin Liuxi instructed Chen Pi to give him a peace charm.

Xie Chong’s eyes brightened, and he grabbed it eagerly, looking at Qin Liuxi with earnest eyes, and swallowing his saliva, he said, "Master, what kind of strange occurrence is this? The talisman you gave me burnt up, and I narrowly escaped death—does that mean my bad luck is gone?"

Qin Liuxi sneered: "You’ve accepted someone else’s Life-saving money. If you don’t die, how can it be called Life-saving money?"

"I didn’t!" Xie Chong jumped up.

Qin Liuxi: "Didn’t you say you picked up a bag of Silver?"

Xie Chong was stunned, his face turning paler by shades, trembling as he said, "I—I purely found it on the side of the road, I had no idea it was Life-saving money. My heavens, Master, I really just picked it up. If I had known, I wouldn’t have touched it even if you killed me. You must save me, Master. I still have an old mother at home waiting for me to care and provide for her in her old age. I can’t die."

While he spoke, he started crying again.

Xie Chong was a prodigal son, but since he was brought up by a widowed mother, his conscience hadn’t been extinguished, and he was filial to his mother.

"Stop crying!" Qin Liuxi irritably dug at his ear and said, "Such a grown man, crying and wailing, it’s so annoying!"

Xie Chong immediately covered his mouth, feeling utterly wronged. He was on the brink of death, and he’s not even allowed a cry?

Wuwu.

"That Silver, have you spent it all? When did you pick it up, and what have you spent it on?" Qin Liuxi asked.

Xie Chong was a bit embarrassed, but for the sake of his life, he told the whole story of the Silver he found: "Apart from buying some winter quilts and clothes for my mother and adding some household items, I gambled the rest away."

Chen Pi said, "Looking at your outfit, it’s not that luxurious. Heaven gave you a windfall, and you didn’t think to make some investments; instead, you gambled everything away. Your mother didn’t break your legs!"

Xie Chong touched his nose: "Isn’t it because I thought I was on a lucky streak after finding the Silver? Who knew it would turn out this way? Master, it was just a bag of Silver; how could it cost me my life, I haven’t even revealed my birth dates."

"This also counts as a substitute for death. Presumably, that person was seriously ill or not long for this world, and they sought someone from the Evil Path to deploy Magic. Since you picked it up, it’s as if you accepted the Silver willingly to exchange your life for the other’s fatal fate. What are your birth dates?" Qin Liuxi asked.

Xie Chong broke out in cold sweat, and then he revealed his birth dates.

Qin Liuxi calculated with the crackling of finger joints, his eyebrow raised slightly, then upon taking a closer look at the person’s face, he said, "Besides the amulet I gave you, you’ve survived another brush with death – it was your accumulated merit that transformed your fate."

Xie Chong let out a sound of surprise: "What merit?"

"What good deeds have you done since you got that silver?"

Xie Chong tilted his head and thought, suddenly saying, "Does paying for medicine for a mother and son count?"

Qin Liuxi’s mouth carried a smile, and he nodded his head.

Xie Chong’s breathing evened out, and he quickly said, "That day after I stumbled upon the silver, I immediately thought of going to the gambling house. As I passed by West Street’s Ten Inch Alley, I saw a ragged woman holding a child who was almost dying, kneeling in front of the pharmacy’s door. They did not have the silver to pay the ten taels of medicine money, I had a rush of heat to the head and just helped pay for it."

Afterward, he was going to head straight to the gambling house but, thinking of his old mother, he hurriedly brought some stuff back home. Only then did he go to the gambling house, little did he know, he would lose it all. At that time, he even regretted paying those ten taels for the medicine.

"This is the merit you’ve accumulated. It was your spontaneous act of goodness that saved your life," Qin Liuxi said. "If you hadn’t helped that mother and son that day, you wouldn’t have accumulated this merit, nor would you have had the ability to avert a brush with death, and you wouldn’t have had the chance to meet me."

What use is there when someone’s dead.

Xie Chong felt a bit dazed and mumbled, "I just felt sorry for them. I was raised by a widowed mother too, seeing them reminded me of my own childhood, so I momentarily had the urge to help, but I didn’t think..."

At this time, Chen Pi said, "Your only stroke of good luck was that it came from the good you did. So, in the future, it would be better for you to accumulate more yin de and do more good deeds."

Xie Chong pursed his lips.

Qin Liuxi asked, "What about the cloth the silver was wrapped in, did you throw it away?"

Xie Chong shook his head, patted himself down, and pulled out a piece of cloth from his sleeve, handing it over with a sheepish laugh, "I thought the cloth looked quite new, so I kept it to patch up clothes for my mom."

Chen Pi rolled his eyes dramatically, "So filial of you, why didn’t you keep the silver for your mom?"

Xie Chong smiled awkwardly.

Qin Liuxi took the cloth, saying, "This is a mourning cloth, can’t you recognize it?"

Xie Chong’s eyes widened.

Qin Liuxi smoothed out the cloth and saw a talisman drawn on it, which looked as if it was drawn with blood traces, giving a particularly ominous feeling.

When Xie Chong initially found the silver, he opened it and saw several ingots of silver, along with a few silver notes tied with red string, so he just unwrapped it. He put the silver notes in his pocket without inspecting further. Now, seeing this talisman, he felt chills down his back and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Master, what kind of blood is this? It doesn’t look like vermillion," Chen Pi also took a glance.

Qin Liuxi said, "It should be the blood of a black cat."

A black cat is ominous. To draw a talisman and perform such evil magic with it, there’s nothing more fitting.

"Master, I’ve already spent that life-saving money, can this spell still be broken, you must save me!" Xie Chong said while wringing his hands, "My mother only has me for a son, I’m all she has to provide for her in her old age."

Qin Liuxi gave him a sidelong glance and said, "The magic can be broken, but as you know, I run a business here, and in business, it’s about buying and selling."

She casually threw the mourning cloth with the talisman drawn on it onto the table and said, "Just pay me twenty taels of silver, and I’ll save you, but it has to be money you’ve honorably earned."