Dragon Hermit

Xia Yan blacked out as he felt dead tired. He kept drooling even as he got carried out by people.

After some time had passed, he finally opened his eyes. Then, he cleared the sleep from his eyes, and gazed at the white ceiling in lost thought.

[It feels like I had a dream, but why can’t I recall it? Is that ugly bald old man in the dream the lich who passed his memory to me? Why did he appear in my dream?]

Xia Yan couldn’t conclude anything even after pondering on it for a while. But thanks to this, he was wide awake now. He stood up, checked the surroundings, and determined that this place was a ward in the hospital. He also noticed that a pair of brand-new packed clothes were present in the room. He knew the Liu family had prepared it.

After freshening up in the washroom, he changed into the pair of branded clothes and immediately felt rejuvenated.

[I wonder whether old man Liu woke up already?]

Xia Yan thought as he opened the door to face an empty corridor. He could hear faint voices from a nearby room, so he made way towards it and knocked on the door.

“Xia Yan, you’re up!” Dong Quan had opened the door. Xia Yan had already realized this guy was the handyman of the Liu family. Greeting people downstairs, shopping outside, and opening the door were all handled by him.

“Xia Yan, you’re finally awake!” Liu Xue’er appeared before Xia Yan with a smile on her face. The black circles under her eyes had disappeared, and she had meticulously applied make-up, so she looked stunning. Xia Yan blanked out for a moment and felt his heartbeat race up instantly.

“How long was I sleep?” Feeling his cheeks turn hot slightly, Xia Yan shifted her attention right away.

“12 hours. I returned home to catch up on sleep and came over after applying make-up.” Liu Xue’er beamed a smile at him.

“Is old… Elder Liu awake yet?” Xia Yan queried.

“Grandpa woke up just a few minutes after you fell asleep, but he’s still under observation in the hospital.” Liu Xue’er fluttered her eyes and stared at Xia Yan, “Thank you!”

“Master Xia, so you’re awake! Enter quickly!” Liu Shan’s voice came through from the room together with the awkward, fake coughs of old man Liu.

[Old man…] When he recalled old man Liu’s unreasonableness at the Liu family’s villa before, Xia Yan felt elated. [How do you feel, old man? This bro is here to slap your face now!]

As for Liu Shan, the way he addressed Xia Yan had now changed into ‘Master Xia.’ The bone spirit had shocked him that much.

“Mr. Liu!” Xia Yan didn’t know the others, so he only greeted Liu Shan and glanced towards old man Liu with a smile across his face, “Elder Liu, we meet again.”

“Ahem!” Old man Liu coughed again as he felt too embarrassed. He had thought that this student was just a scammer, but never expected him to have actual skill. When old man Liu recalled his words from back then, his face flushed up from the embarrassment.

Xia Yan felt evermore pleased after watching old man Liu act this way. But as it wasn’t right to continue taking jabs at him, he turned aside and asked, “Mr. Liu, the hospital should have done an examination, right? How were the results?”

“They did the full course,” Liu Shan smiled, “Doctor Wang said that the shadow inside the brain has disappeared, and except for a slight weakness, there are no other problems!”

“That’s good then,” Xia Yan nodded and surveyed the room. Those within the ward right now were the people who had witnessed him perform the exorcism. Only Doctor Wang wasn’t present here.

“Mr. Liu, please keep the matter from yesterday a secret. I don’t wish for too many people to know about it… Eh, you get it!”

“Don’t worry, I understand the severity,” Liu Sha nodded, “Besides Doctor Wang, only those within this room know about your methods. Even others from the Liu family aren’t aware of the details!”

“All right.” Xia Yan had thought it over, but he still didn’t feel assured. Putting the others aside, if Dong Quan were to ask his mother, she would probably say it all out. But this wasn’t something he could prevent. Luckily, since the incident was too bizarre, it would become harder for someone to believe it after it passes through the word of mouth of others.

“It’s all good as long as Elder Liu is well. Well, then… I have things to do at university. Mr. Liu, how about the…” Xia Yan hesitated at the end and gazed at Liu Shan. His intentions were obvious. Since he had done the job, he was awaiting the remuneration.

“Do you have a bank account, Master Xia? Can you tell me the account number?” Liu Shan had guessed what he wanted, so he asked the required details promptly.

“I do, it’s an ICBC account. The number is 6259171234567898001!” Xia Yan felt jubilant and gave his account number immediately. [I wonder how much Old Liu will transfer.]

Anticipation filled Xia Yan’s heart.

Liu Shan picked up his cell phone and operated it for a moment, “It’s not that much, so I hope this doesn’t offend Master Xia!”

[Not that much?]

Xia Yan’s lips twitched. [That’s no good. Old Liu o’ Old Liu, I saved your father’s life. How could you send me off with words such as ‘not that much,’ eh? Show your sincerity! This won’t do. I have to make him add more!]

As he went through this internal struggle, the notification beep sounded out from his Nokia. Xia Yan took it out and saw that it still had two bars of charging left. Nokia phones had a long battery duration, so he felt conflicted about swapping it.

[Hold on! How many zeroes are these?]

Xia Yan’s eyes turned into saucers when he read the text message about the balance change. After counting the number of zeroes carefully, he immediately felt flabbergasted and overwhelmed.

“Fuck! This ‘not that much’ of the wealthy folks aren’t something to take lightly. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!” Xia Yan felt his worldviews crash. That long string of zeros fluttered within his eyes and made them shine like diamonds.

[Five million! A whole five million! Only the bumper prize of a lottery can match such an amount… No wait, you can only get four million after cutting the tax… but why did I use ‘only’ to describe this? Four million is great too!]

Xia Yan’s thoughts were going wild, but he maintained a stone face. This made Liu Shan feel that the youth before him had the airs of an expert and that he wasn’t someone who sought wealth.

(Silavin: He lies as easily as he breaths!)

“Master Xia, you mentioned that you need some other things before. Why don’t you tell us that, and the Liu family will help you look for them?” Liu Shan’s words interrupted Xia Yan’s fantasies.

“I must trouble you then, Mr. Liu. The things I need are a little unusual…” After calming down, Xia Yan probed subtly.

“Just say the word, Master Xia!”

“I need sets of complete human skeletons!” Xia Yan stated.

His request stunned everyone from the Liu family. Even Elder Liu looked at Xia Yan with shock, as this thing was a bit… too unusual!

Although it was an unusual item, it was easy to accomplish with enough money, so this matter fell into the hands of the handyman, Dong Quan, again. He made a few calls and then said, “The items will take two days to reach here.”

“Thanks. Call me when they arrive!” Xia Yan gave his phone number to Dong Quan and casually made use of him as a handyman too.

Xia Yan had guessed it right. Liu Xue’er’s aunt had really narrated the ‘exorcism’ performed by Xia Yan to her son. Dong Quan had almost wet his pants! He wished to give himself a few slaps. [Out of all things, I just had to provoke this terrible guy that catches ghosts. What will I do if this guy holds a grudge and sends a Hex my way?]

Therefore, Dong Quan treated Xia Yan in an even more polite manner than his own father. He quickly noted down the phone number and handed over his gilded business card to Xia Yan, [Master Xia, just call me if you need anything. I shall accomplish it at any cost!]

Since the Liu family was so understanding now, Xia Yan thought that perhaps he ought to pay them back a little, “Oh right! Mr. Liu, I have two questions for you.”

“Please ask, Master Xia!” Liu Shan saw how serious he looked and made a solemn expression too.

“Did the Liu family offend anyone? And from where did you get that ebony toad?” Xia Yan asked.

Liu Shan and Elder Liu glanced at each other and saw the shock on their faces. Liu Shan answered hastily, “Master Xia, are you saying someone entrapped my father?]

“I’m not too sure. We will have to trace back from that ebony toad. If it’s just a coincidence, then you can only blame your ill luck. But if someone planned it… Hehe, you get my point!” Xia Yan stated.

Elder Liu’s expression turned sour. After pondering for a while, he said, “To tell the truth, Master Xia, this ebony toad is my…”

“Hold on!” Xia Yan stopped him, “Elder Liu, I’m just reminding you. You need not explain it to me since I’m not interested in this matter!”

[Are you kidding me? One look at your current expression is enough to tell me something’s wrong with that ebony toad.]

TV shows had already used these plots repeatedly. The affairs of the wealthy folk were too troublesome. Chances were that some kind of intricate conspiracy was unfolding behind the scenes. Xia Yan didn’t wish to enter these muddled waters, so he had no desire to listen to Elder Liu’s words.

“Master Xia…” This had stunned Elder Liu too. His expression turned ugly as he understood Xia Yan’s intentions instantly, but he didn’t insist on continuing and stopped speaking.

Liu Shan also knew someone had secretly made a move against the Liu family. He didn’t fear the typical methods as he had experienced a lot of matters over his years in the business world. He had a strong immunity towards the usual schemes, but faced with such terrifying and bizarre methods, he too was helpless.

Liu Shan trembled in fear when he recalled that enormous skull that had come out of his father’s head. It was hard to defend against such a method. Luckily, Xia Yan settled it this time, but he feared what they would do the next time if Xia Yan couldn’t come because of other matters.

Liu Shan didn’t even dare to think of the consequences of such a scenario.

“Xia Yan, can you help?” Liu Xue’er had exceptional intelligence, so she had also caught onto his intentions. Hence, she tried to advise him.

“I really can’t!” Xia Yan interrupted her too, and forced a smile, “I’m still a student and have to attend university!”

Liu Xue’er said nothing more. Since Xia Yan had already said this, it showed his determination to not meddle in this matter again. If she told him anything more, it would only disgust him and strain the relationship that had eased up after much difficulty.

“Master Xia, this mammoth tusk…” Since Xia Yan didn’t agree to get involved in the matter, getting an exorcist magic artifact was also a good choice. Liu Shan pointed towards the suitcase and gazed at Xia Yan ardently.

“Since you bought it, it’s naturally yours,” Xia Yan didn’t show any hesitation while replying. Since he had five million now, he didn’t care much about this tusk.