Chapter 25: Lu Si Si, the Walking Fortune
Within the dimly lit chamber, President Fang sat atop the hospital bed. Only after Chen Yan’s departure did the veil of civility peel away, revealing the storm of wrath brewing beneath his composed facade.
Minutes passed before that rage erupted. His face contorted in fury, and with a swift motion, he seized the glass cup from the bedside table, hurling it forcefully to the ground where it shattered into countless shards.
“Damnable wretch! That dog has siphoned at least two hundred million from me over the years! And yet he dares set me up?!”
A man like President Fang, who had the audacity to invest in haunted properties, was no saint himself. He steadied his breath, picked up his phone, and waited until his rage simmered down before dialing a number.
“Little Yan, are you alone? Good. I have something for you to handle… Look into that old fox, Uncle Qing. Find out his whereabouts. And then… find some fresh faces. I need something done.”
President Fang had not simply taken Chen Yan at his word. But when Chen Yan mentioned the Sandalwood Incense, everything clicked into place.
Last month, he had visited Elder Zi’s residence, only to be greeted by Elder Zi’s senior brother, Uncle Qing. That incense? A casual gift after a conversation about his habit of burning fragrances. Uncle Qing had claimed it was the finest product of Falling Cloud Retreat, crafted from the most exquisite ingredients.
Ever since he had taken that incense back, burning a stick or two occasionally, it seemed… everything had gone downhill. Misfortune after misfortune. Then came Uncle Qing’s cunning persuasion—claiming an evil presence lurked in his villa and that only an exorcism ritual could cleanse it.
It all lined up. Step by step, a perfectly laid trap!
Chen Yan exited the hospital’s inpatient wing and strolled toward the main gate. As he walked, he mentally calculated his earnings.
The exemption from rent and property fees wasn’t direct income, but it was future savings. Hard cash, however? He had pocketed three hundred thousand from President Fang over the past two days.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
[No wonder that old woman accumulated such a fortune. That vault in Harbor City, filled with gold, jade, and treasures…]
Once one entered this trade, they would realize—money flowed fast.
After assisting President Fang, Chen Yan discreetly examined his own Qi Circulation. No obvious increase. Strange.
[Shouldn’t breaking calamities and turning luck around enhance my cultivation? It worked the last two times. Why not now?]
So…
Was Lu Si Si the only one who counted as a “walking experience pack”?
Chen Yan’s heart stirred.
[A rare opportunity indeed. Each time I helped her, my cultivation surged. How could I pass that up?]
[Besides, it’s not like I’m using her purely for my own gain. I, Chen the Great Philanthropist, am simply trying to save a life!]
Days had passed since their last encounter. Given Lu Si Si’s extraordinary streak of bad luck, who knew what fresh disaster had befallen her this time?
With that thought, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts—
There it was, the number he had taken from one of her underlings. He had saved it under a simple yet fitting label: Experience Pack.
He dialed.
The call connected, and the waiting tone made him chuckle.
[A Buddhist chant? This girl is something else.]
Before he could muse further, the call was answered.
“Hello? Who is this?”
Lu Si Si’s voice remained as soft and timid as ever, like a frightened little rabbit.
Chen Yan cleared his throat. “Is this Miss Lu Si Si?”
“Yes, this is she. Who is this?”
[Polite little thing.]
Just as he was about to introduce himself, he suddenly froze. Something was off.
[Why does it sound like I’m hearing her in stereo?]
An eerie premonition struck him. He lifted his gaze, scanning ahead.
Sure enough—
Barely twenty paces away, by the hospital’s main entrance, stood a familiar petite figure. She was clad in a pale yellow down jacket, her mid-length hair tied into a ponytail, a small backpack strapped to her shoulders. The very image of a youthful, unassuming student.
[What are the chances?]
Chen Yan couldn’t help but grin.
The cold air had tinged her cheeks red. She held her phone to her ear, frowning in confusion. “Hello? Hello? Who is this? Speak up! Hello?”
He took the sight in, then decisively ended the call and shouted in her direction.
“Lu Si Si!”
The girl visibly startled. She turned, eyes locking onto him.
Chen Yan beamed, taking bold strides forward. “Miss Lu Si Si, it’s me! I was just looking for you, and what do you know—”
“Wait, hey—why are you running?!”
The moment she registered his face, Lu Si Si spun on her heel and bolted!
Chen Yan cursed under his breath and gave chase, stuffing his phone into his pocket. “Lu Si Si! It’s me! I’m not a bad guy! Wait!”
Lu Si Si’s face turned deathly pale, her pace quickening instead of slowing.
[Of course, it’s you! That’s exactly why I’m running!]
The two dashed through the hospital entrance, sprinting down the near-empty street. This private hospital was both expensive and remote, meaning few pedestrians were around.
Chen Yan’s sharp eyes caught sight of an imminent danger—
At the street corner, a food delivery rider in a yellow uniform was speeding on an electric scooter, clearly rushing to meet a deadline. Worse still, he was riding against traffic.
Lu Si Si, head down, sprinted straight toward the road, utterly oblivious.
With her luck, if she got hit, she’d be confined to a hospital bed for at least a fortnight.
No time to think.
Chen Yan inhaled sharply—
Decree of Evasion!
With a blur of movement, his figure lightened, his silhouette flickering forward like a gust of wind. In a blink, he closed the gap, reaching Lu Si Si just as the scooter barreled toward her.
She finally noticed the vehicle. Eyes widening in terror, she let out a shriek—but in her panic, she froze, rooted to the spot.
[Too late!]
Chen Yan didn’t hesitate.
In mid-air, he twisted his body, executing a flawless flying kick.
“Begone!”
BANG!
Lu Si Si was launched like a catapulted ragdoll, limbs flailing as she hurtled toward the roadside greenery.
She landed headfirst into a thick hedge, her petite form swallowed by the shrubs.
Chen Yan’s kick sent Lu Si Si flying, and as his feet firmly landed, a fierce gust of wind roared past his ears.
A sharp turn of his head—
From the periphery of his vision, a figure clad in a Azure Courier Robe, mounted atop a roaring mechanical steed, came charging toward him with reckless abandon.
Chen Yan: “Damn!”
Bang!
—
The emergency treatment hall of this Private Healing Pavilion was not a place for the impoverished.
At this moment, Chen Yan sat on a treatment bed, allowing a healer to cleanse the wound upon his forehead before affixing a strip of medical gauze. Though the pain forced sharp intakes of breath through clenched teeth, he dared not flinch.
The injury to his head was nothing—a mere scrape, a thin trickle of blood. The true calamity lay elsewhere. The final impact from that Azure Courier’s charge had wrenched his waist with such force that even the slightest motion sent jolts of agony through his body.
Chen Yan winced as pain twisted his features, while nearby, Lu Si Si sat upon another treatment bed. A second healer worked upon her, mirroring the same cleansing and dressing process.
Moments later, the two of them bore an uncanny resemblance—each donning a strip of gauze upon their foreheads.
One to the left.
One to the right.
Lu Si Si’s face had gone pale, her eyes flickering between fear and fury as she cast wary glances at Chen Yan. But she was a timid creature—though her gaze burned with resentment, she dared not voice it aloud.
Chen Yan sighed. Once the healers departed, he finally spoke in a hushed tone.
“Uh, Lu Si Si… you alright?”
“…You were the one who kicked me into the thicket!”
Her voice was soft, but each syllable was laced with quiet fury.
“Uh… That was to save you. If I hadn’t kicked you aside, that Azure Courier would have run you over.”
Yet her eyes remained guarded, brimming with skepticism. “At the Moonlit Fountain, you were also the one who kicked me into the water!”
“No, no! That wasn’t me! That was my companion! I even scolded him afterward!”
Lu Si Si merely rolled her eyes at him in response.
Her expression grew stubborn, her voice dipping lower. “And what about on the airship? You said you mistook me for someone else, but I know that’s a lie! You hit me on purpose!”
Seeing the way her eyes burned with accusation, Chen Yan understood—this girl had developed a deep-rooted resistance to him.
“You… You’re a villain! Why do you keep bullying me?! I don’t even know you! I never provoked you!”
Her voice trembled, her lips quivered, and before Chen Yan could react, her eyes turned red. A soft whimper escaped her mouth, and in the next breath—
She burst into tears.
“Hey, hey! Don’t cry!” Chen Yan panicked. “Don’t cry, I swear I wasn’t bullying you! Please, just—just stop crying! We’re in a Healing Pavilion! If you start wailing like this, people will think I did something to you!”
His attempt at reassurance only made things worse. Overcome with frustration, Lu Si Si sobbed even harder, her shoulders shaking violently.
“I—I don’t even know you! Why—why do you keep tormenting me? I’m already so unlucky… Why—why do you keep appearing just to make things worse? Wuwuwu—!!”
In an instant, she struggled fiercely, attempting to wrench herself free.
Chen Yan clamped a hand over her mouth, gripping her arm to still her. “Stop crying! I need to tell you something important!”
“Mm-mmph!”
“Listen! Have you been plagued by misfortune lately? One disaster after another? Either getting hurt or falling ill—nothing ever going your way?”
“…Mmm?”
Even though she still struggled weakly, Chen Yan could sense a shift in her demeanor. Her strength waned, and her gaze turned curious.
“I’m telling you the truth. Back on the airship, I foresaw great calamity befalling you. That strike I landed on you—it was to break the chain of misfortune! If I hadn’t intervened, a mere nosebleed would have been the least of your worries.”
He continued, voice firm. “And at the Moonlit Fountain, I saw an omen of drowning upon you. Do you understand what that means? Had I not kicked you into that shallow pool—where I was watching over you—you might have drowned for real elsewhere! What’s a few mouthfuls of water compared to death?!”
His words poured out in rapid succession. “And today—today, you saw it yourself! The Azure Courier would have run you over! If not for my timely intervention, your bones might’ve shattered!”
Lu Si Si stilled.
Some things could be ignored. Others could be denied.
But that moment earlier—when the Azure Courier’s steed had nearly crushed her—was undeniable. She had been so paralyzed by fear that she had forgotten to move.
Chen Yan removed his hand from her mouth and leaned forward. “Look, I’m serious. I can help you. I can help you change your fate.”
“…Mm?”
At last, he released her.
The moment she was free, Lu Si Si scrambled back, tears still welling in her eyes. She panted, glaring at him.
“You—you almost suffocated me.”
“…Ah. My apologies.” Chen Yan quickly glanced toward the treatment hall doors, his voice urgent. “This is not the place for such talk. Let’s go somewhere quieter, and I’ll explain everything. I promise you—I mean no harm. If you believe that my words ring true, if you’ve truly been suffering from endless misfortune, then I—”
“No,” Lu Si Si interrupted. Her gaze was strange, uncertain.
She hesitated.
“…I believe you.”
“…Huh?”
Even Chen Yan was caught off guard.
She trusted him just like that?
But hadn’t he struck her? Kicked her into the water? Knocked her aside?
She accepted his words so easily?!
[Girl, if you keep trusting people this easily, you’re going to be swindled into buying fake elixirs before you even grow old!]
“…It’s not that.” Lu Si Si’s face grew ever more complex, and the words that followed left Chen Yan stunned.
“I… I haven’t just been unlucky recently.”
She hesitated, then whispered.
“I… I’ve been unlucky for eighteen years… Ever since I was born… I have always been plagued by misfortune.”
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation