Chuyi said, “That woman is aiming for the company’s equity. She asked the doctors to do something during the operation. I guess she wanted her husband to end up in a vegetative state. She had also prepared a departed soul that she could control and made it possess her husband. However, it was unexpected that Yuan Chonghuan was the one who possessed her husband in the end. She’s no expert in this field, so there was someone backing her, guiding her through all of these steps. According to the clues I’ve found, that person may be related to the Longquan Villa…”

I frowned. 

It’s the Longquan Villa again.

I then asked, “Do you have any plans?”

Chuyi silently threw another stone into the lake. I guessed he was still pondering.

After throwing the fifth stone, he said, “No.”

“Why didn’t you speak this whole time?” I almost vomited blood. 

“I was waiting for you to speak first.”

This time, I really wanted to vomit blood. Li Mazi was being held hostage, and the rich woman was watching us at all times; we were at the receiving end so far.  

I suddenly remembered one of the thirty-six stratagems, which was called ‘the guest acts as the host.’

Perhaps we could take the initiative... It might be risky, but it could work!

“Did Shen Hongbin make a move?” I asked. 

“He’s planning to schedule a board meeting for tomorrow. He wants to make the tycoon sign the equity transfer contract in front of them.”

"What time?” 

“Around noon.”

A plan popped up in my head. “We have to kidnap the tycoon somehow! They won’t be able to do a thing as long as we can control the key person!”  

“Not a bad idea. But how are you going to do that?” Chuyi asked as he looked at me. 

“It’s not easy to carry out the plan with only the three of us. I need you to cooperate with me so that we can stage a good show for them to watch.”

I told Chuyi about my plan, and he agreed to it. I then bid him farewell and went to the antique shop to prepare some tools. Whether this plan would work or not, another fierce battle against the Red Barbarian Cannon was inevitable. I had to prepare well!

Of course, it was impossible to get everything ready within two hours. There were some items I couldn’t find, and I had to replace them with something that produced similar effects.

It was almost dawn when I returned to the villa. The bodyguards were so anxious that they were pacing back and forth like ants on a hot pan. They were afraid that something would happen if they weren’t vigilant, so they were ecstatic to see me return.

“Don’t panic. Open all the windows and move the furniture in the living room outside,” I asked them.

While the bodyguards were busy moving the furniture, I discreetly shoved a piece of paper into Yin Xinyue’s hand. She opened it and gave it a quick look before giving me a nod.

Soon, the entire living room had been emptied. I used the swine blood the rich woman had given me to draw a new formation on the floor. I also sprinkled salt and threw iron nails around. The bodyguards were amazed, just as if they were watching a profound and unpredictable magic show.

I pretended to be mysterious after everything was set up. “There will soon be a magic duel between me and the grandmaster from Hong Kong! People who were born in the year of the rooster, the snake, and the monkey should go away. Otherwise, I won’t take any responsibility if something bad happens to you.”

Several people left the room. Yin Xinyue looked at me then asked, “Brother Zhang, I was born in the year of the snake. Should I also leave?”

“You should. This magic duel is not a joke. You should hide in the kitchen. Do not peep,” I advised.

“Okay, I got it.” Yin Xinyue pouted her lips, looking displeased as she walked to the kitchen. 

I asked the remaining bodyguards to sit cross-legged around the formation. No matter what happened, they had to stay put unless I said otherwise!  

Then, I sat cross-legged in the middle of the formation. I noticed that one of the bodyguards had a phone partially hidden under the hem of his jacket. I knew the rich woman didn’t trust anyone; she had asked her guard to ‘livestream’ this magic show so that she could watch. It was quite normal, anyway.

This was good news to me. It would produce a better effect if she watched the fight with her own eyes rather than only listening to her bodyguard’s report.

I closed my eyes and began to chant a spell. After a while, the nearby window panels began to rattle loudly and the lights above our heads to flash. A strange wind twirled around the formation, bringing with it a whining and howling ghost.

“Look!” One of the guards pointed at the wall. Then, a blood-dripping woman slowly protruded from the wall. Half of her body had been flattened with a long streak of tire print. Her gums were exposed, while blood and brain matter were spilling from a crack in her head.  

If I hadn’t known it was Chuyi messing around... I would have been scared out of my wits. 

“Don’t panic!” I shouted, and continued to chant the spell. More and more ghosts came out of the walls, trying to break the formation and attack the people present. However, they would be sent back whenever they came close. In fact, this formation was very weak. It was all a show.

"Begone!”

I threw a handful of salt at the ghosts. They howled in agony and disappeared. The guards were quite grateful, and they seemed to respect me even more.

“Quickly, protect your soul and don’t let those ghosts possess you!” I advised.

The bodyguards looked at me in a daze; they didn’t know what to do. Actually, I didn’t know how, either. I just wanted to mess with them for a while so that they wouldn’t have a clear mind to keep an eye on us.

After around twenty minutes, the gust of wind slowly subsided. I was sweating as I said to them, “We defeated them. That Hongkonger definitely suffered some internal damage. He could even be spurting blood.”

“Grandmaster, you’re so fierce!” the guards praised me. 

“It was just a small feat.”  

At this time, someone shrieked in the kitchen. We hurried to go and check. Yin Xinyue was on the floor, shivering. She even had foam at the corner of her mouth. The bodyguards who had been asked to leave were anxious and bewildered.

I shouted at them, “What did I tell you? Why didn't you look after her?!”

“It wasn’t our fault. She said that the magic battle was over and wanted to see. I even told her not to,” explained a guard. 

I looked at the sky, sighing. “Not good. She was possessed by some resentful soul.” 

“Oh… Grandmaster, can you do something?” The bodyguards were terrified. 

I scooped Yin Xinyue up and took her to the bed. I then turned and shouted at the bodyguards following us, “All of you, get out!”

Since they saw how angry I was, they quickly left the room with grim expressions.

Yin Xinyue was still shivering after they had left. I pinched her cheek, and she laughed. “Brother Zhang, did I act well?”

“It was perfect. I almost thought it was real. But tell me, what’s the deal with the froth in your mouth?” I was curious. 

“I put a piece of soap in my mouth. We sometimes do this when we shoot movie scenes.” Yin Xinyue said happily.

I brought her a glass of water to rinse her mouth and offered her a clean handkerchief.

“Honey, try and pretend to be unconscious. Tomorrow, we will act as planned.” 

I drew several talismans and adhered them on the bed to cover up for any flaws in our plan. I even entangled a few red threads with bells around the room, to prevent people from entering. The plan was for Yin Xinyue to leave this place, get a car, and pick up the tycoon the next day.

It was two o’clock in the morning when I finished getting everything ready. I sank on the couch and went to sleep. 

Early in the morning, I was woken up by the noise outside. I walked to the window to check. Two groups of bodyguards were facing each other. Shen Hongbin was also there.

It seemed Shen Hongbin wanted to see me, but the rich woman’s guards had stopped him outside. The two parties were about to engage in a fight.

Shen Hongbin suddenly slapped a guard. The guy was mad and raised his fist menacingly. Shen Hongbin wasn’t scared at all as he studied him. “You should consider your current situation. What if my sister-in-law doesn’t have money anymore... Who’s going to give you money for your meals?”

As soon as he said that, the rich woman’s guards paled and made way.