Chapter 15: Commission Completed

Hearing that Xie Sui intended to let the Water Fiend go, Taoist Master Xuanxu’s face turned pale instantly.

If it was released, how was he supposed to catch it? Catch it with his life? Even his trump card talismans couldn’t suppress this “water ghost” just now. If he really had to catch it all over again, his reputation would be utterly ruined.

Even more anxious than Taoist Master Xuanxu was Second Uncle Lin.

By now, Second Uncle Lin had more or less figured out Taoist Master Xuanxu’s true level. Having spent so many years in the business world, there was no type of person he hadn’t encountered.

He had seen right through Taoist Master Xuanxu’s bluster and professional jealousy. Although he didn’t show it on his face, his contempt for the Taoist Master was deepening by the second.

Perhaps Taoist Master Xuanxu had a bit of genuine skill, but his character was truly lacking.

Second Uncle Lin stepped forward unobtrusively to block Taoist Master Xuanxu. While offering a placating smile to smooth things over, he changed the subject: “Mr. Xie, you’ve worked hard. Is this the ‘Water Monkey’ that has been causing trouble in our family’s ancestral hall?”

Xie Sui nodded and lifted the Water Fiend so Second Uncle Lin could inspect it.

Seeing such a non-human creature at close range, even the well-traveled Second Uncle Lin couldn’t help but change color. He took a few steps back, the smile on his face becoming very forced: “As long as this thing is killed, will our family’s problems be solved?”

Xie Sui explained the origins of the Water Fiend to Second Uncle Lin. During his explanation, Elder Lin also walked over and stood to the side, listening silently.

“…Slaying the Water Fiend will indeed immediately solve your Lin Family’s problem. However, it might affect the spiritual resonance of your Lin Family’s Feng Shui Formation. You’ll have to decide for yourselves.” Xie Sui shook the Water Fiend in his hand.

Second Uncle Lin didn’t reply immediately, but instead looked toward Elder Lin.

Compared to Second Uncle Lin, who looked like someone not to be trifled with, Elder Lin was much more ordinary. He had a very low presence; neither his appearance nor his temperament could compare to Second Uncle Lin. He looked like nothing more than an unremarkable middle-aged man.

Yet it was this ordinary-looking middle-aged man who was the head of the Lin Family.

Elder Lin looked at Xie Sui and said in a deep voice, “Slaying the Water Fiend or leaving it alone aren’t the only two options, are they? You just said that the Water Fiend appeared because something went wrong with our family’s Feng Shui Formation… Doesn’t that mean that if we restore the compromised Feng Shui to its original state, the Water Fiend will disappear?”

Xie Sui looked up at the plain-looking middle-aged man and said quite bluntly, “Because it’s a hassle, and I don’t want to do it. Furthermore, I’m not an expert in Feng Shui. I’m not confident I can 100% restore your family’s compromised Feng Shui.”

“What’s more…” A mocking smile curled at the corners of Xie Sui’s mouth. “Would you really feel safe letting someone like me, whose background you don’t know, touch your family’s most important Feng Shui formation? Aren’t you afraid that I might tamper with the Lin Family’s Feng Shui, just like the person who plotted against you?”

“There are probably very few people who can enter your Lin Family’s ancestral graves to tamper with the Feng Shui. You should have a good idea of who wants to harm your family. I have no desire to get involved in your family’s internal strife.”

Elder Lin sighed softly. “I’ve caused offense. I won’t force Mr. Xie to act on our behalf. Please, go ahead and slay this Water Fiend.”

Xie Sui nodded, acknowledging the request.

Just as Xie Sui was about to deal with the Water Fiend, he suddenly remembered Lin Zixin’s commission.

Lin Zixin had commissioned him to livestream because he wanted to see the resolution of the Lin Family Ancestral Hall matter. The final payment of 150,000 hadn’t been transferred yet; he couldn’t be perfunctory with his first employer.

Thus, Xie Sui carried the Water Fiend over to the phone.

As he got closer, Xie Sui saw that his livestream screen had actually been split into three perspectives.

The perspective showing the interior of the ancestral hall was his own phone’s lens. Earlier, to prevent filming the Pan Pond behind him, Xie Sui had specifically switched the phone from the selfie view to the rear camera.

Another was an overhead perspective, likely from the courtyard’s surveillance cameras.

There was also a third perspective filming him.

Looking at the angle capturing his back, Xie Sui turned around and locked eyes with Lin Ziyan, who was holding up a phone.

Xie Sui recalled that Lin Ziyan seemed to have been filming with his phone since Taoist Master Xuanxu’s performance.

Was Lin Zixin afraid that his own livestream wouldn’t capture everything, so he specifically asked his younger brother Lin Ziyan to help film?

When a Water Fiend isn’t moving quickly, it can be captured by a camera. Similarly, ghosts and monsters can be filmed when the Yin Qi is heavy enough… Earlier, he had been busy catching the Water Fiend and hadn’t paid attention to his livestream. If Lin Ziyan had been filming the whole time, the footage of him catching the Water Fiend must have been captured.

Xie Sui sighed softly and carefully studied the three split screens in his livestream.

He noticed that above the other two perspectives, it displayed “Shared Video from Ganfan Huahua Shijie”… Case closed. So Lin Zixin was the one who set up this split screen.

He didn’t know what Lin Zixin’s goal was in sharing screens on his livestream… Xie Sui hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided against pressing the “Cancel Sharing” button.

After all, the man was the boss who provided the money, and the primary purpose of this livestream was for Lin Zixin to watch.

With the Lin Family’s 700,000 on the line, Xie Sui was very tolerant of Lin Zixin’s meddling in his livestream.

As long as the money was paid, everything was negotiable.

Moreover, the majority of the comments flooding the livestream chat currently assumed it was all special effects. Very few people thought what had just happened was real.

[The streamer is back! Streamer, is that thing in your hand the Water Monkey?]

[It’s so fake, not moving at all… The semi-transparent effect is so well done, why not add some struggling effects?]

[This script is no good, feels like child’s play. It was solved too easily. They should have fought the monster for eight hundred rounds before ending it.]

[Special effects cost money, bro, especially real-time livestream effects. The streamer is being sincere enough. Isn’t this better than those so-called big-budget movies?]

[I suspect the streamer is a newcomer being pushed by some film company. This livestream is just a test run.]

[+1. I searched and found the streamer used to be a host for Zhaoping City’s TV station. I reasonably suspect he’s using the station as a springboard to enter the entertainment industry.]

The bullet chat was filled with all sorts of theories, but not a single person believed that what had just happened was real.

This was different from last night’s haunted house livestream. While some viewers might have questioned the existence of ghosts during that broadcast, they were treating today’s stream entirely like a special-effects web drama.

This was mainly because the commotion Xie Sui caused while capturing the Water Fiend was far too fantastical. It didn’t look like something that could happen in the real world.

It was like seeing strange-shaped lights in the sky; people might believe UFOs truly exist. But if a real alien appeared on the street without any disguise, people would only suspect it was a theme park employee in a bodysuit rather than calling the police.

Seeing the direction of the comments, Xie Sui quietly breathed a sigh of relief. This was perfect; he didn’t even have to worry about making up an excuse.

People are rebellious like that sometimes. The more desperately you try to hide something, the more the audience will speculate wildly. When you display the whole truth openly before them, they instead question its authenticity.

Xie Sui switched his phone to the selfie perspective and then lifted the Water Fiend… after all, he had to prove to his employer that he had properly completed the commission.

The Water Fiend, a creature with intelligence similar to an animal, had no concept of life or death. However, when facing Xie Sui, it felt an instinctive sense of fear.

Although its body was suppressed by the blood talismans, its tiny eyes kept darting around, seemingly looking for an opportunity to escape.

Xie Sui gave it no such chance, directly activating the blood-red talisman on its chest.

Crimson light erupted instantly. The Water Fiend’s originally translucent body was immediately dyed a vivid red, and then darker, deep-red cracks appeared out of thin air, crawling inch by inch across its deformed body. It looked like a petrified statue, the cracks serving as the countdown for its life. Once the twisted fractures completely overtook its body, it turned into fine powder and vanished entirely from Xie Sui’s hand.

Xie Sui clapped his hands and spoke to the camera. “This livestream was purely fictional special effects. Any coincidences… well, there probably won’t be any. Anyway, thanks for watching. There will be more supernatural appraisal streams in the future. If you’re interested in the host, feel free to follow. Thanks for the support. See you next time.”

With that, Xie Sui ended the stream without hesitation.

He had been in a completely lazy, perfunctory state during this broadcast… but the results were surprisingly good. He had gained a lot of fans, which could be considered an unexpected bonus.

After confirming with Xie Sui that the Water Fiend had completely disappeared, Second Uncle Lin immediately called the staff on night watch at the company, instructing them to launch a newly built speedboat into the water.

If the speedboat didn’t corrode upon entering the water, it would prove that the Lin Family’s crisis had been fully resolved.

These speedboats had been rushed out by the Lin Family’s shipbuilding company over the past two months. Their sole purpose was to verify whether the Lin Family’s curse still existed. After all, since ships would corrode immediately upon touching the water, no matter how wealthy the Lin Family was, they wouldn’t use a ship worth tens of millions for an experiment.

Second Uncle Lin’s fingertips turned white as he gripped his phone, his heart beating faster and faster.

Success or failure rested on this one move.

Over the past two months, several frauds had claimed to have completely solved the Lin Family’s Feng Shui problems, but as soon as a vessel hit the water, those charlatans were exposed.

He hoped Xie Sui wouldn’t let him down.

Just as the thought crossed Second Uncle Lin’s mind, excited shouts erupted from the other end of the line.

“No corrosion! We launched three speedboats in a row and none of them corroded! Our company’s ships can sail normally on the water again!”

He had the phone on speaker, and all the Lin Family members standing near him heard the exhilarating news.

Xie Sui also breathed a sigh of relief.

It was finally over. He could go back, take a shower, and change his clothes.

But there was one more thing to do before leaving.

Xie Sui looked at Taoist Master Xuanxu and said with a faint, mocking smile, “So, can you apologize now?”

Originally, Xie Sui didn’t truly care whether Taoist Master Xuanxu apologized or not, but the old man’s constant antics were truly disgusting. If he hadn’t interfered, Xie Sui wouldn’t have ended up in such a disheveled state.

Since this Taoist Master Xuanxu cared so much about his fame and reputation, Xie Sui would tear the things he valued to shreds.

Only by seeing him show a look of genuine agony would Xie Sui feel satisfied.