Mom's Back. The Villain Triplets Are in Trouble.

Chapter 99: Chapter 98: Another Problem Discovered

What was there for Xia Zelin not to understand? He’d picked on someone’s kid, and now the parent had come to his door to demand an explanation!

He’d experienced this kind of thing far too many times growing up. Regardless of whether it was his fault, he was always the one who got a visit, because he had no parents to stand up for him.

Although the orphanage had a director and teachers, they only cared that you stayed alive. They didn’t really care about anything else. Whether it was the director or the teachers, they all had their own families and their own children to look after.

His biggest secret was already out, so Xia Zelin couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore. He sat on the sofa, looking at Gu Qingyin with a smirk. ”What? The Curse Doll stopped working? Want to trade it in for a new one?”

Gu Qingyin’s eyes narrowed. ”Is that how you speak to your elders?”

Xia Zelin scoffed. Just as he was about to retort, ’What kind of elder are you?’, a chill spread up the back of his neck, making him shudder.

He was a Little Heavenly Master, more or less, so he could at least tell the difference between a normal drop in temperature and the presence of a ghost soul. This situation clearly meant a Fierce Ghost had abruptly appeared behind him, and this Fierce Ghost was most likely brought by Gu Qingyin.

Xia Zelin unconsciously sat up straight, but he didn’t dare make any sudden movements. He cleared his throat and asked, feigning composure, ”If you’re not here to exchange the doll, then why did you come looking for me?”

Gu Qingyin walked over to the adjacent sofa and sat down. She took the Curse Doll out of her backpack. ”This thing... you got it from Lin Wu?”

”...Yeah,” Xia Zelin grunted in response. There was no point in denying it now; they had clearly investigated him before coming here.

”What’s your relationship with him? His spokesperson?” Gu Qingyin asked curiously. ”Or are you just a middleman, simply taking a cut?”

Xia Zelin’s mouth twitched. ”You could at least try to be a little more subtle.”

Gu Qingyin raised an eyebrow. ”The result is the same, so why care about the process?”

Xia Zelin was speechless.

To put it bluntly, he was just a half-baked amateur. He knew a little Xuan Technique, enough to fool ordinary people, but in front of an expert, it was a pathetic display. Plus, there was a Fierce Ghost eyeing him like a tiger from behind.

Xia Zelin could see no other way out besides cooperating.

”I’m... sort of Lin Wu’s apprentice.” Xia Zelin ran a hand through his hair in frustration. ”I met him when I was very young. He often came to the orphanage to donate things, and we got to know each other over time.”

”At first, I didn’t know he was a Heavenly Master. That changed in middle school, after I went with some classmates to explore an abandoned haunted house. I picked up something unclean and fell so ill I couldn’t get out of bed. Then Lin Wu came to make a delivery. He performed an exorcism for me, and I recovered immediately.”

”I thought it was amazing and was fascinated by it, so I started pestering him to teach me Xuan Technique. He didn’t want to at first, but I guess he eventually gave in because I wouldn’t leave him alone. Still, he never really taught me anything proper.”

Xia Zelin ground his teeth in resentment. ”It was Lin Wu’s idea for me to enter the entertainment industry. Even though the things I do aren’t great, it’s all consensual. We’ve never forced anyone.”

Gu Qingyin nodded. ”Right, right, right. You never coerce, you only entice.”

Xia Zelin: ...

He shrugged. ”There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You have to give something to get something. It’s perfectly fair.”

Gu Qingyin responded with a noncommittal question, ”Then what have you given up to get to where you are today?”

’What had he given up?’ Xia Zelin couldn’t answer. Thinking back, it seemed like he hadn’t given up anything special.

”Can’t think of anything? Then let me tell you.” Gu Qingyin’s face was devoid of expression. ”After you die, you will go to Hell. Every minute and every second, you will experience torture worse than death. If you’re lucky enough to make it out of Hell alive, you’ll still have to suffer through the Six Paths of Reincarnation. You won’t even be qualified to be reborn as a human until you have atoned for all your sins.”

”Trading several of your future lives for your current wealth and glory—do you still think that’s fair?”

Xia Zelin was clearly rattled. ”Don’t try to scare me! Brother Lin Wu said I’m just the middleman. Even if there’s a judgment after death, it won’t be as serious as you say.”

Gu Qingyin let out a dry laugh. ”Of course he wouldn’t tell you. If he scared you off, where would he find another tool who trusts him as much as you do? If I’m not mistaken, he takes the lion’s share of the profits, right? You only get a small fraction.”

”How did he put it to you? Did he act all generous and say he’d provide all the technical support, that you should watch and learn, and once you found a suitable buyer, he’d give you a cut of the money? Thirty percent? Or forty?”

Gu Qingyin shook her head, clucking her tongue. ”Lin Wu is quite the schemer. He hides in the background making a killing, while you carry all the karma.”

Xia Zelin remained silent, his expression growing darker and darker.

He didn’t want to believe it, but Gu Qingyin’s guesses were too accurate. In fact, the cut he got was only twenty percent.

Lin Wu had actually offered him forty percent at the beginning, but he felt the work he did was too simple to take that much. His conscience wouldn’t have been clear. He never expected...

’No, no, no, this can’t be. I can’t just blindly believe Gu Qingyin’s words! What if she’s just trying to sow discord? I can’t be fooled this easily!’

Just then, Mao Mao came out of the bedroom, dragging a bag. Compared to Mao Mao’s size, the bag was indeed far too large.

So much so that at a glance, you would think the sack had come to life and was running out on its own.

Xia Zelin was already on edge. Seeing this scene, he was so startled that he jumped up from the sofa, only to be slapped back down by Huo Yunjing.

A deathly cold presence pressed down on his shoulder, and Xia Zelin’s entire body went stiff.

Mao Mao dragged the bag to Gu Qingyin’s feet, scurried out from under it, and climbed up her pant leg to her knee, tilting its head up to be petted.

Gu Qingyin smiled and reached out, stroking it from head to tail. Its fur was exceptionally smooth. ’Mao Mao is becoming more and more like a pet,’ she thought.

Xia Zelin, however, stared at Mao Mao with shock and suspicion. ’What in the world is that thing? Don’t tell me it’s just an ordinary monkey, I don’t believe it!’

Gu Qingyin made a show of being polite. ”Excuse me, I’m just going to take a look at the things in your bag. We’re both Heavenly Masters, so I’m just trying to learn.”

The bag’s contents were all related to Heavenly Masters. Needless to say, there were the basic items, but besides those, there was also a half-finished Curse Doll, a wooden Ghost Doll, and a notebook with a combination lock.

Gu Qingyin took out the wooden doll for a look and frowned. ”Is this for summoning a little ghost?” A thought struck her. ”Did Huo Xinghai raise a little ghost?”

Xia Zelin slumped dejectedly on the sofa, not saying a word.

Gu Qingyin didn’t ask again. She tossed the wooden doll aside and started examining the notebook. It had a very common type of combination lock. Without bothering to ask for the combination, she simply squeezed the lock hard and crushed it.

Xia Zelin looked up, and the corner of his eye couldn’t help but twitch, but he still didn’t make a sound.

Gu Qingyin flipped open the notebook and glanced inside. It recorded the clients Xia Zelin had developed in the entertainment industry over the past two years. Not only were there celebrities, but also the bosses of many entertainment companies.

Turning to the third page, Gu Qingyin saw Huo Xinghai’s name.