From the start, I could tell that this fellow named Wen Hao was infatuated with Guo Xiaotong. The moment she walked in, his eyes never left her.
Now, just as I was about to leave, Guo Xiaotong grabbed my arm tightly, refusing to let me go. When I looked back at Wen Hao, his eyes burned with jealousy, as if he wanted to kill me on the spot.
"Xiaotong, let him go. Look at him—barely weaned and already out here swindling people. His family must not care. Now that he's seen I brought a real master, he's afraid we'll expose his tricks, so he's trying to run," Wen Hao sneered.
The moment those words left his mouth, the faces in the room changed. Uncle Huzi was furious, Guo Ziping's expression turned dark, and both Zhang Yunyao and Guo Xiaotong looked at Wen Hao with open disgust.
"Liu Wenhao! How dare you speak to Young Master Wu like that? Do you know who he is?" Zhang Yunyao, who had been quiet until now, finally snapped.
"I don't care who he is. If he's here at Tongtong's house flaunting himself and deceiving people, then he needs to get out!" Wen Hao shot me and Uncle Huzi a hostile glare.
Uncle Huzi suddenly gave a cold, dangerous smile. His facial muscles twitched, and he cursed under his breath, about to step forward to deal with Wen Hao—until I stopped him again.
Whenever Uncle Huzi made that face, it meant he was ready to kill. His temper didn't allow anyone to show me the slightest disrespect.
Before he could act, I pulled him back and shook my head.
"Young Master, this brat has gone too far. I have to kill him," Uncle Huzi growled through clenched teeth.
"Wen Hao, you're going too far. Do you know that he—" Guo Ziping began, unable to stand it any longer.
But Wen Hao cut him off mid-sentence. "Uncle Guo, whether this kid has real skills or not, we'll find out soon enough. I've brought a master of my own. Why don't we have them compete? Whoever's better, we'll hire. What do you say?"
The room fell silent. Guo Ziping glanced at me.
Though he knew I was the disciple of the Feng Shui King, Li Xuantong, he wasn't sure what my actual abilities were. He gave Wen Hao a mild rebuke: "Wen Hao, don't be ridiculous."
At that moment, Zhang Yunyao walked over to me and discreetly took my hand, giving it a little shake. "Young Master Wu…" she murmured with concern.
I smiled faintly at her and said, "Those of us in the Feng Shui tradition learn to exorcise evil and safeguard the land. We're not street performers doing tricks for the crowd. Pitting skills against each other could harm someone—this is hardly proper."
Wen Hao's tone dripped with mockery. "Such lofty words. You're just scared, aren't you? For a so-called 'mystic,' you're worse than a street busker."
Even Guo Ziping began casting doubtful glances my way.
Furious, Guo Xiaotong stepped to my side. "Young Master Wu, just accept the challenge and show them your power."
"Boss, teach him a lesson," Uncle Huzi urged, still seething.
Though I was young, I had little desire to prove myself. Not out of fear, but because I was the disciple of Li Xuantong—whose name commanded the highest respect in China's Feng Shui circles. To fight with the skills he taught me would risk tarnishing his reputation.
I had no interest in meddling further in the Guo family's affairs. I could tell Wen Hao was an old acquaintance of Guo Ziping, who clearly trusted him more. Why should I force myself into their business?
Frankly, I'd only come because of Zhang Yunyao.
"Uncle Huzi, we're leaving," I said in a low voice after scanning the room.
But as I turned to go, Wen Hao jeered, "Coward!"
His words made my anger spike.
What I didn't expect was for the man standing beside Wen Hao to step forward and say, "Young man, I can see you're also in the Feng Shui field. We're colleagues. By the rules, since you arrived first, I shouldn't interfere. But as it happens, people here doubt both our abilities. Why don't we have a small match? Just a light test, nothing serious. What do you say?"
Now that even he had said so, if I backed down and left, it wouldn't just hurt my pride—it would embarrass Zhang Yunyao and Guo Xiaotong.
Worse still, Uncle Huzi might just explode on the spot.
I turned back and walked straight toward Wen Hao and the old man he'd brought.
"Fine. I'll compete with you," I said, sitting down without hesitation.
"Shall we go with a literary contest or a martial one?" the old man asked with a smile.
"Either is fine. Senior first," I replied evenly.
He nodded, and the smile faded from his face. "Very well, I'll go first."
From his robes, he drew a sheet of yellow talisman paper. Murmuring incantations under his breath, he folded the paper into the shape of a crane. Once done, he placed the paper crane on the table in front of us.
Everyone watched intently, especially curious about what trick he was about to reveal.
I noticed Wen Hao standing behind him, arms folded, grinning at me with smug satisfaction.
I sat expressionless, waiting.
Moments later, the old man finished folding and began forming hand seals. The air around us seemed to stir. Then he pressed his palms together, pointed at the crane, and barked, "Rise!"
To the shock of the entire room, the paper crane began to move, its wings fluttering as it took to the air and circled above us.
Everyone—except me—was stunned.
"Incredible… simply incredible," Guo Ziping said in awe, having never seen anything like it.
I only let a faint, cold smile curl my lips.
It was nothing more than a simple illusion—a parlor trick good enough to fool ordinary folk, but I'd seen far better.
Even so, Zhang Yunyao and Guo Xiaotong now looked at me with concern, worried I might not be able to match the old man's "skills."