Chapter 99: The Tree Desires Calm but the Wind Does Not Cease

Upon seeing the appearance of this short young occultist, Su Chunfeng quickly regained his composure. He turned back as if nothing had happened and walked past the minivan.

At that moment, a middle-aged man got out from the driver’s seat of the minivan. He was tall and burly.

The sullen-faced short young man and this middle-aged man glanced at Su Chunfeng, who was strolling casually past them, and paid him little mind. It was obvious — he was just an ordinary student wearing a middle school uniform, out for a leisurely walk during the weekend holiday back home.

“Is this spot okay here?” the middle-aged man asked.

“I need to check the positioning first…” The short young man waved his hand. “Don’t speak anymore.”

The middle-aged man said indifferently, “Hey, it’s fine, nobody can hear anyway.”

The young man fell silent. He turned and looked seriously at the vast stretch of wasteland across the road, and at the compound and buildings of the Fukang Combine Harvester dealership enclosed by a red brick wall over two meters high. Simultaneously, with an imperceptibly strange gait, he slowly paced back and forth along the roadside.

By this time, Su Chunfeng had already reached the entrance of the “Old Ma Restaurant” at the intersection. He started chatting idly with the owner, Ma Xinzhang, who had just come out to dump some wastewater.

Ma Xinzhang was under forty, a local of Erdaokou Town. This restaurant was also his home. Even though the business didn’t seem very bustling, the income was still decent because there was no rent to pay. He had an excellent impression of Su Chunfeng’s family. As they say, small matters reveal a person’s character. On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month this year, the father and son, along with the town mayor Xu Xiangdong, had just sat in the restaurant for a while to discuss some matters, drinking two glasses of water. In the end, Su Chunfeng even left twenty yuan behind.

What honest people!

Squatting by the steps at the restaurant entrance, Su Chunfeng chatted with Ma Xinzhang while observing the two men near the minivan not far away.

He knew that in the over ten years since the reform and opening up, the country’s economy had undergone earth-shaking changes and continued to maintain stable and rapid growth. Now was precisely the time of revival for the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts. Qimen Mystics and Esoteric Techniques were gradually infiltrating and integrating into all walks of life in society. So, the appearance of Arcane Arrays and mystics performing Art Casting wasn’t strange at all. The reasoning was simple: if they couldn’t demonstrate some real skill, why would people believe in the mystics? How could the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts revive otherwise?

And precisely because of this, Su Chunfeng had to be extra careful. As the saying goes, a tall tree catches the wind. With the family business doing so well, it would be very bad indeed if they caught the eye of Qimen Mystics.

“Little Feng, you enjoy yourself, I need to go back inside and tidy up a bit…” Ma Xinzhang said with a chuckle.

“Alright, Uncle Ma, you go ahead and be busy,” Su Chunfeng replied politely.

Not far away, the young mystic had already raised his hand, forming a strange finger seal. He was aiming it around, sometimes shifting his steps left and right, as if surveying suitable terrain and sensing the fluctuations of the nearby Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. His lips moved slightly as if talking to himself, but he was actually silently reciting a Spell Incantation.

Su Chunfeng squatted cheerfully on the restaurant steps, watching this scene. “He’s a novice.”

He could now be sure this young mystic had nothing to do with the vast Feng Shui Magic Array surrounding the area.

Moreover, this young mystic, whose cultivation level was at most the late stage of Talisman Offering, might not even realize he was standing within an Arcane Array laid down by a Physiognomy Expert. And here he was, full of confidence and seriousness, preparing to perform Art Casting… or perhaps, intending to set up an Arcane Array?

This was getting interesting.

Suddenly, Su Chunfeng’s eyes narrowed, a cold gleam flashing within them.

He saw the young mystic’s hands, still forming the seal, finally point towards the Fukang Combine Harvester dealership and remain still for a long time.

After a while, the young mystic exchanged a few words with the middle-aged man, then got into the minivan.

The minivan drove away.

Frowning tightly, Su Chunfeng got up and started walking back. As the saying goes, the tree desires calm but the wind does not cease. In this era of the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts’ revival, his family, walking the path of sudden wealth and rise, had attracted the attention of a mystic. They were about to become a small stepping stone on the broad road of the nationwide revival of the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts.

This filled Su Chunfeng’s heart with both anger and conflict.

He didn’t want to get involved in the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts, let alone incur its grudges. But he also had to help his family escape poverty and live a happier life.

And the result of that was now this: being treated as a foundation stone for some mystic’s rise.

Overestimating his abilities!

A cold laugh echoed repeatedly in Su Chunfeng’s heart. “This is really getting more and more interesting, more and more lively. Could it be that the Physiognomy Expert who set up that Feng Shui Magic Array also has designs on this family business?”

But who was this young mystic?

Did he have a powerful backer behind him, or… where did he learn his skills?

In Su Chunfeng’s memory, he knew all the famous mystics in Pingyang City, but he had no impression whatsoever of this sullen-faced young mystic.

It was almost noon when Su Cheng returned.

The business license for Wantong Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. had been obtained. However, as soon as it was ready, Chen Yufang took away the original and duplicate copies. She needed them to apply at various government departments for the land use rights to contract the several dozen acres of development land from the Erdaokou Town government. She also had to go to the bank to apply in advance for a large loan.

During the meal, Su Chunfeng said with a smile, “Dad, from now on we’ll have to call you President Su.”

Su Cheng couldn’t help but laugh heartily. “You rascal. If you weren’t still in school, I’d want to toss this General Manager title at you to handle. I get a headache just thinking about it all day.”

“You’ll get used to it gradually,” Su Chunfeng said. “Wasn’t Li Sheng also just a country bumpkin before?”

“That’s true,” Su Cheng said, full of confidence.

After lunch, the brothers Su Changhai and Su Changjiang returned to the dealership after making deliveries. They reported the accounts to Su Cheng, talked about the transport tasks already scheduled for the next few days, then helped their father Su Li tidy up a bit. They drove their father back to the village.

After seeing Su Li and the others off, Su Cheng returned to the house and instructed, “Xiao Feng, get some extra sleep this afternoon. You’ll watch the compound for your uncle tonight. I need to go out again this afternoon.”

“Okay,” Su Chunfeng agreed, then turned and went to his uncle Su Li’s room to sleep.

…

A little past one in the morning.

The night was deep, starless and moonless.

The light from the lamp above the outer door of the dealership building shone on the open area in front, making it look like a patch of dim yellow existence in the boundless, silent darkness. In the compound, a few light bulbs were also installed on the row of warehouses on the south side, where the combine harvesters and machinery were stored. They cast faint glows under the quiet night sky.

On National Highway 107 and the South Ring Road, vehicles occasionally passed by, their dazzling beams shaking, engines roaring and rumbling, briefly shattering the night’s peace as they sped past.

Soon, the night quickly filled the torn wound, plunging the entire land back into the peace of the evening.

Light shone from the window of the south room.

Su Chunfeng sat at the desk, diligently reviewing his schoolwork.

Outside the window, Lulu, the beast, would occasionally let out soft whines as if unable to bear the loneliness, then quiet down again.

Right at this moment, Su Chunfeng frowned slightly. He sensed again that faint fluctuation of the Five Elements Magnetic Field within the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. It was identical to last night. The vast Arcane Array laid by the Physiognomy Expert had already begun operating, yet there was still no trace of any damaging Esoteric Technique aura.

“Whine…”

Lulu suddenly let out a somewhat restless and uneasy sound. He jumped up, placing his paws on the windowsill and peering inside at Su Chunfeng sitting at the desk.

Su Chunfeng thought for a moment, then got up and quietly opened the door, stepping outside.

Lulu immediately ran over, wagging his tail and running around him, looking extremely affectionate.

“Guard the compound well, don’t bark randomly,” Su Chunfeng said softly, squatting down and gently stroking Lulu’s head and broad, sturdy back. Lulu turned his head, squinting his eyes with a look of enjoyment, and tried to lick Su Chunfeng’s cheek with his tongue. Su Chunfeng laughed and dodged, stood up, walked to the side gate, and gently opened the small door which wasn’t locked, just latched from the inside. He then kicked Lulu, who had followed him, back inside before stepping out and softly closing the door behind him.

Outside, the light was dim.

The dazzling neon lights of the city not far away seemed tightly bound by the thick night, unable to spread out. The massive silhouette of the city with its towering buildings, situated on the wasteland, seemed enveloped in a faint halo, appearing serene and peaceful under the pitch-black night sky.

Su Chunfeng followed the base of the wall, moving quietly northward.

Reaching the base of the wall near the South Ring Road, he turned right and vanished into the darkness.

The changes in magnetic field fluctuations brought about by the operation of the Arcane Array laid by the Physiognomy Expert were steady, gentle, and soft. Ordinary people, even ordinary mystics, couldn’t detect the existence of such abnormal fluctuations. Lulu, that beast, naturally couldn’t detect it either.

However, when it came to other movements, the beast Lulu was much more sensitive than humans.

Lulu’s slightly unusual behavior just now allowed Su Chunfeng to immediately deduce that the young mystic he encountered during the day had probably appeared near the road not far away. Because the young mystic clearly had his sights set on the Fukang Combine Harvester dealership. Even though he hadn’t performed any Art Casting yet, his mere presence had already aroused the vigilance of a beast like Lulu.

Standing in the darkness at the base of the wall, Su Chunfeng saw, under the cover of the pitch-black night, a white minivan parked on the South Ring Road opposite, not too far away. Its bright headlights were still on.

In the driver’s seat sat the middle-aged man.

Outside the vehicle, near the outer side, stood the young mystic who had appeared during the day. His left hand was raised to his abdomen, forming a seal. His right hand was raised above his head, forming a strange finger seal. Suddenly, the young mystic flicked his left hand, sending several sheets of Talisman Paper flying out. In the night, a strange, bright flame flared up.

The flame vanished in a flash.

Su Chunfeng narrowed his eyes. He had already sensed the heavy aura of Esoteric Technique from the other’s Art Casting and had roughly judged — the other party intended to set up an Arcane Array.

Sure enough, the young mystic turned and walked around the front of the vehicle, disappearing into the darkness of the wasteland beside the road.

After brief consideration, Su Chunfeng immediately began moving his feet within the dark shadow at the base of the wall. Silently reciting a Spell Incantation and forming a seal with his left hand, he gently and slowly stepped in a certain pattern. At the base of the north wall, he traced out a small pattern, one so minor it could barely even be called an Arcane Array.

But it would be sufficient to deal with that not-so-highly-cultivated mystic.