Chapter 153 Changing the Feng Shui

Li Muyang gave another silly grin. I yawned and said, "I'm going to wash my face."

With that, I walked out without waiting for Li Muyang to reply. Just as I reached the threshold, I heard his phone ring.

"Hello, who is this, please?" Li Muyang answered the call.

I paused, turning my head to look at him. He didn't put the call on speaker, so I had no idea what the person on the other end was saying, but I noticed Li Muyang's brows furrow slightly.

"Taishan Avenue, is it? Alright, I'll send someone over to take a look in a bit. What is your name... Oh, okay, got it, I'll have someone go right now."

Li Muyang hung up and looked at me with a smile. My heart sank, knowing for sure nothing good would come of this, and I quickly tried to walk away. But the moment I took a step, Li Muyang lunged forward, grabbed my wrist, and said, "Lin Xuan, we've got a job. You should go check it out. It's on Taishan Avenue. The client's name is Hong Weiguo, and he runs a crayfish restaurant."

I let out an internal bitter laugh, knowing full well it was never anything pleasant. Turning to him, I asked, "Why don't you go yourself? They didn't call my number."

"Hey, Lin Xuan, that's irresponsible of you. Didn't we agree to do business together? I stayed up all night yesterday, and I'm practically dying of exhaustion now. It won't kill you to go. I'll take a quick nap and come find you immediately. Sound fair?"

I sighed and said, "Who told you to stay awake all night? Fine, send me the number. I'll go after brushing my teeth. You better show up soon, kid, or I swear I'll make you regret it."

Seeing that I had agreed, a smile finally appeared on Li Muyang's face. He sent the client's number to my phone and walked down to the second floor with me. While Li Muyang dragged his feet back to his room, I went to change my clothes. By the time I stepped out of my room, I could already hear his snoring echoing through the hallway. I shook my head and muttered to myself, "Absolute lunatic. Stays up all night and insists on sleeping during the day."

With that, I gave Li Muyang's door a heavy knock and dashed down to the lobby. After putting on my shoes, I could still hear his muffled curses from above. I let out a hearty laugh and opened the door to step outside.

On the way, I hailed a passing taxi. Since I still didn't have my driver's license, having to take a cab every time I went out was quite a hassle. Once inside, I gave the driver the approximate location, and we headed straight toward Taishan Avenue.

Twenty minutes later, I got out of the taxi on Taishan Avenue. I walked along, looking around to find the restaurant Li Muyang had mentioned. After walking a full circle, however, I realized that while there were plenty of restaurants, Li Muyang hadn't told me the name of this specific one. I certainly couldn't go into every single shop and ask. With a silent curse directed at Li Muyang's utter lack of preparation, I pulled out my phone and dialed the client's number. A moment later, the voice of a middle-aged man answered on the other end: "Hello, who is this?"

I paused and said, "I'm here to help. Is your name Hong Weiguo?"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes! I'm Hong Weiguo. Where are you?"

The man sounded somewhat anxious. I nodded and said, "I'm near Lilac Road at the South Gate. Where are you?"

"The South Gate? Oh, I'll be right there. Please wait a moment."

I gave a soft acknowledgment, and Hong Weiguo hung up. Shortly after, I saw a somewhat plump man hurrying toward me, holding a phone in his hand and looking around anxiously. As he looked about, our eyes met.

When he reached me, I tentatively asked, "Are you Hong Weiguo?"

The man nodded, looked me up and down, and asked, "And you are? From the Paranoid Forum...?"

I nodded as well. Hong Weiguo gave me a thorough once-over, frowning slightly. Catching his hesitation, I said, "Are you worried I'm a fraud? Don't worry, I'm a professional. I can handle any paranormal event."

Hong Weiguo still seemed somewhat skeptical. "How come the person I spoke with on the phone earlier didn't sound like you?"

I smiled and replied, "That was my partner. He's tied up and will be here later. Let's talk about what's going on first."

Hong Weiguo gave an awkward laugh. "Well, young man, I am indeed in some trouble, but looking at your age... in this day and age, ordinary folks have to be a bit cautious, you understand."

I shook my head and said, "You think I'm too young, right? Don't worry, if I can't resolve this, I won't charge a single cent. How about that? If you still don't believe me, there's nothing more I can do."

Hearing this, Hong Weiguo hesitated for a moment, looked me over one more time, and finally gave a reluctant nod. I smiled and said, "Alright then, let's go somewhere else to talk."

Hong Weiguo agreed and led me into his establishment. The moment I stepped inside, something felt off—I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was definitely a lingering aura of ghosts present.

Hong Weiguo poured me a glass of water, and after thanking him, we sat across from each other. I surveyed the surroundings and said, "Boss Hong, such a large restaurant—business must be quite good. And the name is rather catchy, too: *Shrimps and Crabs*. Not bad."

Hong Weiguo waved his hand dismissively. "Don't even mention it. Originally, this was the only restaurant around here serving crayfish and hairy crabs, and business was indeed fantastic, especially in the summer when it was packed to capacity. But lately, I don't know what's gotten into us. Did I fail to check the almanac before stepping out, or am I just cursed? My business has been getting worse and worse, and even regular customers have stopped coming around often. Meanwhile, someone opened an identical restaurant not far from here, and their business is booming. What bothers me the most is that I've actually seen several of my old regulars going over there instead.

"And the last few days have been even worse! My chef's hand was scalded when a pressure cooker exploded, and my wife cut her finger while chopping vegetables so deeply the bone was nearly visible. But the scariest thing happened to my daughter. One night, while she was sound asleep, she suddenly sat upright in the middle of the night and started walking toward the door. I was exhausted from a long day and sleeping heavily, so I didn't notice until I heard her crying. When I woke up and ran downstairs, all the tables, chairs, and even bottles of liquor and cola were inexplicably scattered all over the floor, and my daughter was sitting there crying. My wife was terrified, thinking a burglar had broken in. But when we checked the security cameras the next day, there was absolutely no one on them. My biggest worry isn't even the business anymore—it's my family. Today it's a cut finger, but tomorrow it might be something much worse. That's why I went online to find you guys."

Hong Weiguo poured out a lot of grievances, which showed he had placed at least some tentative trust in me. I nodded and said, "That certainly sounds bizarre. Hmm... Have you offended anyone lately? Or do you often come home past midnight? Also, when you first opened the shop, who did you consult for Feng Shui?"

Hong Weiguo blinked, paused to think, and replied, "No, I've always had a good reputation around here and haven't offended anyone. As for coming home late, there was one time I got back at 1:00 AM, but I'd read online that people who come home late at night should smoke a cigarette outside the door first, and I followed that advice. As for the opening of the shop... let me think."

I nodded, took a sip of water, and after a short while, Hong Weiguo shook his head and called out toward the back, "Honey, come out for a moment."

With that, a woman wearing an apron and with gauze wrapped around her finger walked out and asked, "Daguo, what is it?"

Hong Weiguo looked at his wife and asked, "When we opened the shop, who did we ask to pick the date and check the Feng Shui?"

By "date," he meant the auspicious timing. His wife thought for a moment as well and said, "It seemed to be a master named Wang Feng. The people at Qiongfang on the opposite street recommended him to us."

Hong Weiguo nodded. "You mean the wife of the guy who runs the restaurant next door?"

The woman said yes. Hong Weiguo nodded again and told her, "Go back to what you were doing, but be careful not to cut your finger again."

The woman gave a soft acknowledgment and headed back into the kitchen.