Tales of Folk Feng Shui Mysteries

We were led to a window-side table by the waiter. Honestly, the night view from here was stunning. Jiang Shiyu skillfully ordered the food, and once the waiter left, we talked about many things from our school days. She even laughed and mentioned that she had liked me back then, but I had been too busy with my ambiguous relationship with Liu Ruoyi. Back in school, it was always the clean, well-behaved, studious guys who got the girls' attention, and I was undoubtedly the top student in the class.

They say a woman looks her best under the light, and when you look at a woman who's already beautiful under warm lighting, it gives you a sense of awe.

Just as the food was set on the table, she asked, "Was Cui Hai's death really retribution?"

Knowing her curiosity about this, I patiently explained, "Cui Hai's retribution ended with Huang Daxian's death. All of their retribution fell on me, so their family's death shouldn't be considered fate."

"What is it, then?" she asked, puzzled.

I took a bite of beef, silently thinking that the money spent on this meal could have bought me ten kilograms of beef. With her question in mind, I continued, "What happened to them was a man-made disaster. My 20 years of life were already sacrificed to offset the karma, but the main issue is that the killing they caused was too severe. We know that Cui Hai's grandfather was an old hunter, and if he had caught that big black wolf and raised it like a household pet, then everything would have been fine. But that weasel had just developed its intelligence—it was like a child of three. The more you hit it, the more hatred it built. Yicheng brought in a pack of dogs and wolves, which escalated the conflict. In the end, I let the weasel go because I owed it something. And since Yicheng protected it, he wouldn't easily give up. If Cui Hai and his family hadn't eaten meat, maybe they'd have survived for another three to five years without issue."

Jiang Shiyu pondered this. "So you're saying none of our classmates are in danger?"

"Theoretically, yes. But their fortune will still be affected. The resentment from that weasel's death is so strong that they'll have bad luck for three years." I felt a bit of sadness rising within me. Everyone had escaped danger, but only I... had my life cut short.

She sighed after hearing this. I actually wanted to ask her what exactly she liked about me, but the words never left my mouth. Maybe I was afraid of damaging my pride again, so I chose silence.

Just as we were finishing the meal, a waiter approached with a bottle of red wine. "Good evening, as part of our promotion today, we're offering a bottle of French red wine to the 521st customer to arrive. We hope your love will be as intoxicating as this wine."

This was awkward. We hadn't even defined our relationship yet, but Jiang Shiyu, in her usual generous manner, had the waiter open the wine. She then put 100 yuan in the tray, saying, "Thank you to your boss."

The waiter smiled politely, but I noticed something was off. His smile seemed a bit too stiff. But then again, working in the service industry, constantly having to smile could make it look unnatural.

Raising the glass, Jiang Shiyu smiled and said, "This is my treat. But when I come back from abroad, it'll be your turn to treat me."

I knew she was just teasing, so I laughed and replied, "Of course, of course. I'll take you to eat the most delicious food!"

We clinked glasses and drank it all in one go. This wine was like a way to close this chapter of our ambiguous feelings. But I didn't expect the wine to hit me so hard. The moment it went down, my head began to spin, and my heart raced. My vision started to blur, and when I looked up, I saw the waiter smiling at me. And next to him stood a middle-aged man wearing traditional ethnic attire—his ancient appearance starkly contrasting with the modern restaurant.

Both of them smiled at me, and I faintly noticed a tattoo on the man's exposed neck. His left hand was holding a string of human finger bones. As he grinned widely, I realized things were about to go horribly wrong!

Before I could react, my head tilted, and I collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud. "Bang!" The sound echoed in the air.

Jiang Shiyu immediately sat up in panic, calling my name, "Dabao! Dabao, what's wrong?"

I felt like my limbs were uncontrollable, and an unbearable, crawling sensation filled my body—itching, deep to the bone. My chest heaved, and I spat out a mouthful of blood. To my horror, I saw that the blood was crawling with tiny, wriggling insect larvae.

Screams erupted around me, and everything around me spun. Jiang Shiyu's frantic calls faded as I was slowly swallowed by darkness.