Chapter 70: The Last Bus (Part 5)

A few days later, Wang Zhen brought Wang Siqi to the door to express their thanks.

Wang Zhen had heard from her younger sister that Chen Jiu had not taken a single cent, and was moved beyond measure. So when she came, she brought large and small bags, daily necessities of every kind, and even some hometown specialties that replenished qi and blood.

“Little Boss Chen, our people over there eat this all the time. It’s especially good for women, particularly around the time of menstruation. You can stew it in soup, brew it in water, whatever you like.” Wang Zhen’s way of showing gratitude was very simple and honest. She noticed Chen Jiu’s complexion was a bit poor and assumed it was a qi and blood imbalance, which was why she specifically took out this bag of specialties to introduce separately.

Chen Jiu did not refuse her kindness, and in return gave two calming talismans. Then she explained once more that the commission fee had already been settled by someone else.

While they were speaking, Fang Lei came in from outside, greeting Chen Jiu and coming to pick up the peace talisman package he had previously ordered. This kid was genuinely a filial child, constantly taking some fresh novelty from Chen Jiu to show respect to the elders in his family.

Chen Jiu went to get the talismans for him. When she returned, Fang Lei had already revealed his online friend identity to Wang Siqi, and both of them were stumbling over their words.

Fang Lei recalled that Chen Jiu had once read his marriage fortune, saying “today there will be a shallow fate.” He supposed that must be Wang Siqi, otherwise why was his heart beating so wildly right now.

“Boss Fang, take your talismans.” Chen Jiu poked his shoulder with her finger: “Hey, come back to earth.”

Fang Lei’s whole body trembled, coming to his senses. Wang Siqi had already turned her face away in embarrassment.

Chen Jiu handed over the box with its simple, antique packaging, secretly laughing at his uselessness. Then she solemnly introduced to Wang Zhen: “This is the client. If you want to thank someone, thank him. His surname is Fang, and he should be about the same age as your younger sister.”

“Yes, yes, Mr. Fang!” Wang Zhen awkwardly rubbed her hands together: “I didn’t prepare two extra gifts. How about this, would it be convenient for you to join us for lunch? My treat, whatever you want to eat?”

Fang Lei let out an “ah”: “Ah, anything is fine.”

“Ahem.” Chen Jiu nudged him subtly in the small of his back with her elbow, then turned and walked away.

Fang Lei was suddenly enlightened: “I’ll treat you! My treat, my treat. I know all the good places to eat in Qiu City. How about I recommend a place? I happened to drive here.”

Wang Siqi: “How could we let you do that!”
Wang Zhen: “How could we let you spend money, no, no.”

“Why not?” Fang Lei laughed, turning to Chen Jiu and Su Xiaoyu: “Sis, Xiaoyu, come with us?”

Su Xiaoyu had been listening with perked ears for quite a while. She was about to agree when Chen Jiu declined first: “You all go. I still have to watch the shop. So many preordered packages aren’t done yet.”

“Oh…” Su Xiaoyu rested her chin on her hand in disappointment.

After some back and forth among the adults, in the end Fang Lei treated the Wang sisters to a meal. But this kid really knew how to conduct himself. Before leaving, he even coaxed Su Xiaoyu, saying that whatever they ate today, he would have someone send over a hot packed portion.

He knew that Chen Jiu was reminding him that an opportunity to show attentiveness had been delivered right to his door, telling him to seize it and not waste it.

The three of them left. Chen Jiu examined that bag of specialties, looked it up online, and saw it resembled small red ginseng. It truly did have the effect of replenishing blood and boosting qi. In any case, it would be good for her to eat it too, which showed that Wang Zhen was a thoughtful woman.

Su Xiaoyu was thinking about Fang Lei’s high-end takeout, and had no mind left for studying. She took a small comb and brushed the fur of Chen Xiaoxuan and Bingbing.

“Why is this package exploding again?” Chen Jiu stared at the online order rate, speechless.

This peace talisman package was originally created as a benefit for returning customers. The price was favorable, and it hadn’t been promoted anywhere. She had only mentioned it once in a WeChat group. But she didn’t know which kind wealthy lady had promoted it vigorously in her Moments, and orders began pouring endlessly into Chen Jiu’s online shop that had no description at all. One would think money was coming from all directions.

She had to promptly close the shop and indicate that the production period would be extended.

Su Xiaoyu asked while brushing fur: “Senior Sister, what do the other senior brothers and sisters usually do? If you called them over to draw talismans and paid them too, wouldn’t you yourself not have to work so hard?”

“Your eldest senior sister, I can’t afford to invite her. She’s an ascetic monk.” Chen Jiu complained, but Su Xiaoyu’s suggestion had indeed opened up additional avenues of thought. She began to mull over the others while processing orders.

Second Senior Sister’s mind turned faster than anyone’s. She made money much more easily than Chen Jiu herself, so she probably looked down on these meager earnings. Chen Huan? He had set foot on the broad road of professional talisman selling eight hundred years ago. His business had probably already expanded overseas. As a boss, he wouldn’t possibly be so foolish as to come work odd jobs for her. Chen Ge could be considered for some persuasion. Fourth Senior Brother was the easiest to talk to, but if she wanted to convince him to come, she would likely need to sway their master first. Chen Wu… right, Fifth Senior Sister was so timid. After descending the mountain, she changed jobs most frequently, never staying long at any work. Otherwise, she could just call her over for a temporary part-time job.

Although she was timid, her basic skills were quite solid. Crying while handling some minor ghosts and spirits was no problem at all.

Having made up her mind, Chen Jiu turned and sent a message to Chen Wu.

She carefully edited the compensation and work period, then explained the situation in detail, and finally sent everything to Chen Wu’s chat window, clear at a glance. But after waiting busily for half a day, eating the hot meal Fang Lei had delivered, taking a noon nap, walking the dog, and watching the sun set behind the western mountains, Chen Wu still had not replied.

Chen Jiu was somewhat puzzled, but in modern society, it was perfectly normal for people to be too busy to reply to messages for a day. So she did not think much of it, nor did she send additional messages to urge her.

But in the middle of the night, Chen Wu replied.

Chen Wu: Little Nine, I took on a really difficult commission, (crying emoji)… could you please help me, I’m really so scared… I didn’t know it would be this hard, the client lied to me. Now I can’t reach the person, and the money wasn’t paid to me either, but that ghost has already started visiting me in dreams.

She sent several crying stickers, then said: How can people nowadays be worse than ghosts.

Chen Jiu: How many days has it been? When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?

Chen Wu: I asked Eldest Senior Sister, and she said, if it’s not life-threatening, handle small matters yourself. I asked Second Senior Sister, and she said she had no time. I asked Third Senior Brother, and he didn’t reply at all… so I didn’t dare come to you.

Chen Jiu: wtf…

Chen Jiu: Come to my place, or give me an address.

So the next day, Su Xiaoyu had the good fortune to meet this legendary weeping fifth senior sister of the sect, Chen Wu.

“Fifth Senior Sister, hello.” Su Xiaoyu called out softly, handing her a cup of tea.

Chen Wu had not participated in the sect’s great battle last time, so she had not seen this new junior sister. The thought that as a senior sister she was so unreliable and unqualified made her eyes redden slightly: “Sorry, Little Junior Sister. Senior Sister didn’t prepare a meeting gift for you. Can I give it to you next time?”

Su Xiaoyu waved her hands vigorously: “It’s fine, Senior Sister, no meeting gift is needed. Are you alright…”

Chen Jiu had long grown accustomed to Chen Wu’s nature. She was born this way, and forcing herself not to cry was actually a form of torment.

Chen Xiaoxuan also circled around Chen Wu, sniffing her scent. Bingbing pressed against her ankle. It smelled very heavy sorrow on this human, and thus extended its tongue to express concern.

After quietly staying with the children for a while, Chen Wu finally felt much better.

“Alright, tell me what you encountered.” Chen Jiu stood up from behind the counter, stretched languidly, then sat beside Chen Wu and took a sip of tea.

Chen Wu placed her phone on the small table and began to play a video.

In the video, the girl’s expression was calm but haggard, clearly having suffered long-term mental torment. Her eyes were dim and lifeless, as if she had lost interest in everything in the world.

She opened her mouth, her voice somewhat dry, and said flatly: “If I die, help me investigate my boyfriend.”

“This video was given to me by this girl’s mother.” Chen Wu murmured: “She committed suicide three months ago. Then her mother went crazy, her mental state very unstable. She took her daughter’s phone to report to the police, but there was no evidence at all. No matter how they investigated, it was ruled suicide, the boyfriend was innocent, and the case was dropped… She reported to the police too many times after that, and the police attitude became perfunctory. So she had to seek alternative routes. Somehow she found me. I hadn’t had any business for a long time, so I agreed to do the job first and collect payment later…”

Speaking to this point, her expression turned fearful again: “Then, then I wanted to ask what was going on with this girl’s spirit, but I don’t know why, instead of haunting the person who killed her, she started haunting me. I wanted to go find her mother and say I won’t take this job anymore, let’s cancel the commission, but these past few days I can’t reach her mother at all. What should I do.”

She wailed loudly, and in the course of speaking, pulled tissues several times, each time taking several sheets at once. The tissue box was soon empty.

Su Xiaoyu almost started crying along with her, but seeing Chen Jiu’s calm expression, she quickly regained her senses and solemnly went to get new tissues for Chen Wu.

“Being unable to reach the client, this situation is indeed rare.” Chen Jiu countered: “Generally, the person who most wants to resolve the matter is the client. She hasn’t appeared or responded at all. Is it possible that she is currently in a state where she cannot respond or appear?”

Chen Wu said with tears streaming: “I don’t know. I also went to her home to look, and no one was there. Could this law-governed society still have people kidnapping her?”

“It might not be as serious as kidnapping, just something like restricted personal freedom?” Chen Jiu rubbed her chin, sat back down at the computer, and began to search for news of the girl’s suicide three months ago.

Three months ago, Xu Wei was ruled to have jumped to her death due to depression. Her boyfriend cried until he fainted at her funeral, becoming the devoted man in a report by a major Qiu City self-media account.