At that moment, seeing Li Gui leading people over, the middle-aged man addressed as Fourth Brother nodded with satisfaction, then waved for them to proceed, before turning back to Xing Qiu with a smile. "Manager Xing, shall we continue our tea?"

Xing Qiu hesitated for a moment, then quickly called out, "Wang Guan, if you have nothing else to do, why don't you join us for tea?"

"I do have something..." Wang Guan chuckled, and to Xing Qiu's astonishment, he walked directly to the seat opposite the middle-aged man and asked quietly, "Are you Fourth Brother?"

"Yes, yes..."

The middle-aged man glanced at Xing Qiu, then at Wang Guan, clearly unsure of the situation.

"Good, then tell me how you plan to resolve this matter." Wang Guan smiled faintly. This man clearly needed something from Xing Qiu, and with Xing Qiu right there, only a fool wouldn't seize the opportunity.

"What matter?"

If the middle-aged man had been merely bewildered before, he was now utterly confused. It wasn't just him; Xing Qiu beside him looked equally puzzled. "Wang Guan, you know Fourth Brother? What is there to discuss?"

"Just his business," Wang Guan said, vaguely gesturing toward Liu Liang while sighing with feigned helplessness. "I've been asked by someone to specially come here to apologize to Fourth Brother..."

As he spoke, Wang Guan glanced at the middle-aged man. He noticed a bandage wrapped around his left foot, but the fact that he still had the inclination to come out for tea and discuss business with Xing Qiu suggested the injury wasn't severe.

"Ah!"

This unexpected response startled the middle-aged man, leaving him momentarily speechless and adrift.

"What's going on?"

Appropriately, Xing Qiu asked, completely bewildered, "Why the sudden need for an apology, Wang Guan?"

"Fourth Brother is not to blame. The responsibility lies with him," Wang Guan countered, pointing at Liu Liang, then casually hooking his hand. "Aren't you going to hurry over and pour tea for Fourth Brother to beg forgiveness?"

"Coming, right away." Liu Liang nodded repeatedly, quickly fetching tea and water, then respectfully bowed his head before raising the teacup high, presenting it before Fourth Brother.

For Liu Liang, a simple bow was nothing. If it could resolve this situation, he likely wouldn't hesitate to kneel. After all, if things weren't settled smoothly, he would inevitably face physical retribution, perhaps even being crippled. Between two evils, Liu Liang naturally knew which choice was lighter.

"Hmph!"

However, the middle-aged man let out a cold snort and made no move to take the cup. Instead, he shook his head. "My young friend, by rights, you are Manager Xing's acquaintance. So, out of respect for Manager Xing, I won't press the issue further. But this matter also involves Manager Xing, so you should ask for his opinion."

"Hmm?"

Wang Guan froze, and Xing Qiu was equally surprised. "How does this involve me?"

"Manager Xing, didn't you ask us a few days ago to keep an eye out for any old artifacts?" the middle-aged man explained. "Since we don't understand that stuff, we asked him for help. He recommended a box to us, claiming it was from the Republican era..."

"It really is from the Republican era," Liu Liang mumbled, his expression utterly innocent.

"Is there a problem with the box?"

At the same time, Xing Qiu frowned. "The item was meant for my grandfather. He recently became obsessed with antique collecting, and I planned to give it to him for his seventieth birthday."

In an instant, Wang Guan held his forehead and let out a long sigh. A casket intended for a birthday celebration—this was simply...

Wang Guan didn't know how to articulate it. Now he completely understood why the middle-aged man was so angry. If he had actually handed the box to Xing Qiu, and Xing Qiu then gave it to his grandfather, anyone who recognized the box's true nature would realize the situation was catastrophic. Disaster, monumental disaster!

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Liu Liang's face instantly changed. As someone who made a living using his eyes, even if his antique appraisal skills were lacking, he possessed the basic ability to read people. The box wasn't what the middle-aged man wanted for himself; it was intended for someone else. This implied that person's capability surpassed that of the middle-aged man. If that person wanted to deal with him, wouldn't it be as easy as crushing an ant?

Connecting the dots, Liu Liang panicked. He quickly retreated beside Wang Guan and pleaded sorrowfully, "Big Brother Wang, I really didn't mean to; I had no idea about this..."

"You didn't mean to, you intended to," the middle-aged man snorted. "To think you’d dare sell such an inauspicious item. It's bad enough that it caused me to get into a car accident; if it leads to any mishap for Elder Xing, you're finished."

"Inauspicious item?" Xing Qiu asked, startled and doubtful. "I was just wondering why you got into a car accident for no reason earlier; was it because you bought that thing?"

"Exactly," the middle-aged man confirmed without reservation, glaring fiercely at Liu Liang.

Some things are simply bizarre. The day after he bought the box, just as he was about to take it to Xing Qiu, a drunk motorcyclist came speeding out of nowhere. Although he managed to dodge quickly, he was inevitably grazed by a wheel. Even without a fracture, the area swelled significantly. He was stunned at the time, taking a long while before realizing he needed to pull out his phone to call an ambulance. A passerby kindly tried to help him gather the box that had scattered on the ground. However, this person was clearly knowledgeable; upon picking up the box, he tossed it down as if it were venomous snake, spitting several times and repeatedly calling it bad luck. At the time, he didn't understand, until he overheard someone muttering the words "casket." Only then did it dawn on him.

Whether one calls it superstition or the fury of being deceived, the result was that the middle-aged man was furious. He would track down Liu Liang, even if it meant crossing provincial borders. He hadn't figured out how to deal with him upon capture, but it certainly wouldn't be a peaceful resolution.

Sensing the middle-aged man's menacing gaze, Liu Liang grew more frightened and simply hid behind Wang Guan. His eyes darted around restlessly, calculating whether the stairs were blocked, he would jump straight out the window into the lake. His swimming skills were good, after all; he wouldn't drown.

"Fourth Brother, this is indeed his fault."

At the same time, Wang Guan nodded in agreement. "Whatever you wish to beat or scold him for, it is entirely justified. However, I don't think now is the time to assign blame. The most critical thing is that the bad luck surrounding Fourth Brother doesn't seem to have completely vanished."

"What do you mean?" The middle-aged man was startled, his expression shifting subtly, unnaturally so.

"After the incident, Fourth Brother must have been busy settling accounts with him and didn't have time to go to a temple or Taoist shrine to burn incense and ward off evil spirits, right?" Wang Guan chuckled lightly, his demeanor taking on a hint of unfathomable profundity.

"How did you know?" the middle-aged man blurted out.

"I have a friend who had a similar experience, buying an item like this, thinking it was trivial and not paying it much mind," Wang Guan sighed. "Who knew it was just the beginning of misfortune? Over the next month, he sprained his ankle playing ball, cut his hand chopping vegetables, and even choked while drinking water. That was bad enough, but it even implicated his family."

Ding...

Before Wang Guan finished speaking, a phone rang. The middle-aged man pulled out his phone, looked at it, and quickly answered. After only a few words, he suddenly exclaimed in horror, "What? The child has heatstroke? What's the situation now... Alright, I'm coming right away... Wait, I'll be there in a bit..."

In that instant, everyone stared, dumbfounded. When Wang Guan had been speaking earlier, most had been skeptical, thinking he was merely trying to scare the middle-aged man. But upon hearing the content of the phone call, everyone’s expression became strange, secretly wondering if this coincidence was too uncanny, causing a creeping feeling to settle in their hearts.

In reality, it wasn't just them who were surprised; even Wang Guan, the center of the incident, paused, marveling if he possessed the potential to be a harbinger of ill fortune—whatever he said seemed to come true, more effective than a charlatan.

As for why his prediction was so accurate, a moment's thought revealed the reason. The concept of bad luck probably wasn't something the middle-aged man fully believed; it was mostly anger stemming from being deceived by Liu Liang, so he certainly wouldn't think of burning incense to the gods. Furthermore, the heatstroke wasn't a curse from Wang Guan; primarily, given the weather across the entire nation, everywhere was a massive oven. Heatstroke was a common occurrence; it was just that it happened to be the middle-aged man's child. Put simply, it was a matter of probability.

Of course, even if they understood this intellectually, the sheer coincidence made their thoughts waver. Amidst the questioning gazes of the crowd, Wang Guan calmly sipped his tea, projecting an air of mastery.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man ended the call, immediately looking up at Wang Guan, and adopting a mindset of "better safe than sorry," he asked cautiously, "My young friend, how do you suggest I eliminate this bad luck about me?"

"I don't know much about that either. You could go to a temple or Taoist shrine and ask around. I imagine they would be happy to help you solve the problem," Wang Guan answered honestly. Since he wasn't a specialist, he naturally didn't know the specific methods.

However, Wang Guan not overpromising made him appear humble and cautious, which actually made the middle-aged man trust him more. After a moment of hesitation, he immediately stated, "As long as this young friend can help me dispel this bad luck, we can discuss any other matter amicably."

Although Wang Guan told him to seek help from local monks or priests, the middle-aged man felt that local clergy were more likely to be swindlers. Besides, the "master" was right here; why look elsewhere? To be fair, even now, the middle-aged man was only half-convinced. But with matters like this, even a sliver of doubt was enough to unsettle someone. Moreover, it involved his child. Even though the child was largely recovering after receiving medication, thinking about the potential "hidden danger" on his person made it impossible for him to feel at ease. Perhaps subconsciously, the middle-aged man didn't mind being fooled again, as long as it brought him peace of mind.

Wang Guan scratched his head over this. His dramatic warning was intended for precisely this outcome. But how to convince the middle-aged man that he had indeed dispelled his bad luck was a moderately sized problem.

Wang Guan's hesitation seemed perfectly normal to the middle-aged man. Masters were like this; they wouldn't act easily. Just as the middle-aged man was about to ask Xing Qiu to put in a good word, Wang Guan suddenly stood up, walked over to the money tree in the center of the hall, circled it slowly, his face etched with deep thought... (To be continued) RS

For more novels, visit storyread.net.