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

Chapter 154: Chapter 153: New Commission

After a month of dedicated cultivation, Gu Qingyin could finally cast her Air Ban instantly.

By now, all the New Year decorations at home had been taken down, and the old villa had returned to its former state of understated luxury.

Huo Xingchen had gone back to his training to prepare for his upcoming competitions.

Huo Xinghai’s new song had been released, and he was currently busy with promotions.

Huo Xingye was even busier, flying all over the world.

Having been cooped up at home for so long, Gu Qingyin was finally getting stir-crazy. She wanted to take on a commission. Making money was part of it, but mostly, she just wanted something to do.

That same day, Gu Qingyin arranged to meet with Liu Ergou.

In the Heavenly Master World, Liu Ergou was Gu Qingyin’s most important contact.

After they met and exchanged a few pleasantries, they got straight to the point.

Liu Ergou said with a smile, ”What a coincidence. I just took on a commission yesterday, but today I got a message from the mountain telling me to return. I was just worrying about who could take it over.”

Gu Qingyin smiled back. ”Tell me about it.”

”The client’s name is Zhou Qi. Two days ago, she was still the wife of the president of Begonia Fragrance. Now, the president of Begonia Fragrance is dead, and Zhou Qi has inherited her husband’s shares, making her the company’s largest shareholder.”

”She suspects that her husband’s death was unusual and, after some searching, she found me. I met with her yesterday. She’s covered in a thick layer of ghost energy and resentment; she’s clearly been marked by a vengeful spirit.”

”However, Zhou Qi is a very low-key and pragmatic person. She rarely even argues heatedly with anyone. After thinking it over, the only person who held a grudge and couldn’t stand to see her succeed was her ex-husband, Lin Hongtao.”

”Half a month ago, Lin Hongtao’s company went bankrupt. He committed suicide by jumping off a building and has very likely become an Evil Ghost.”

Gu Qingyin agreed. Lin Hongtao was indeed the most likely suspect.

”Give me Zhou Qi’s contact information. I’ll take this case.”

Liu Ergou sent the number over and then added, ”Zhou Qi came from Hang City. To solve this, you’ll have to make a trip to Hang City.”

Gu Qingyin smiled, unconcerned. ”It’s right next door, not far at all. When are you leaving?”

Liu Ergou glanced at the time. ”My flight is at three in the afternoon. I have to head out now.”

”In such a hurry?” Gu Qingyin raised an eyebrow in surprise. ”Is there trouble at Wudang Mountain?”

Liu Ergou’s face fell. ”The triennial competition between Wudang Mountain and Longhua Temple is about to start. My master wants me to go back and run a training camp for the disciples.”

Gu Qingyin’s eyes showed a hint of sympathy. ’This is the downside of being part of a big, established sect,’ she thought. ’No freedom.’

After chatting a bit longer, Liu Ergou left in a hurry.

Gu Qingyin finished her coffee, then called Zhou Qi to schedule a meeting.

She didn’t bother going home, instead calling her driver to come and take her directly to Hang City.

On the way, she checked the talismans in her satchel. The variety was complete, and the quantity was substantial. During her month of cultivating at home, she had naturally restocked all the talismans she had used up.

Four hours later, Gu Qingyin arrived at the designated clubhouse and met Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi had shoulder-length hair and a hint of sharp charisma in her features. She wasn’t a conventional beauty, but the kind who grew on you—the more you looked, the more attractive she seemed.

”Master Gu?” Zhou Qi looked at Gu Qingyin, her voice hesitant. If not for the fact that she’d been referred by an acquaintance, she would have suspected she was being pranked.

She was a fan of Huo Xinghai! Naturally, she had also seen the show *Happy Family*. ’My idol’s mother is a Heavenly Master? And she just happens to be the one who’s going to exorcise a ghost for me? What were the odds I’d encounter something so surreal?’

Gu Qingyin smiled. ”You must be Zhou Qi. Please, have a seat.”

”Oh my god, this is too incredible,” Zhou Qi was still marveling after she sat down.

Gu Qingyin raised an eyebrow. ”More incredible than you running into a ghost?”

At this, Zhou Qi gave a wry smile. ”Maybe just a little less. Before all this, I was a staunch materialist.”

”Tell me about the history between you and your ex-husband.”

Zhou Qi fell silent.

Gu Qingyin guessed she was either reminiscing or trying to organize her thoughts to find a good place to start.

After a long moment, Zhou Qi took a deep breath and began to speak. ”I moved in next door to him when I was fifteen, and that’s how we met. We started dating our freshman year of college, got our marriage certificate right after graduation, and three years into our marriage, I found out he was cheating. Then we divorced.”

”He was a part of more than half my life,” Zhou Qi said seriously. ”Even though we didn’t end well, I can’t deny that I once loved him deeply.”

She lowered her gaze and smiled. ”But by the time I decided to be with my husband, I had already let him go completely.”

”Things got very ugly between us in the period before we separated.” Thinking back on it now, Zhou Qi still felt a knot in her stomach—not of sadness, but of disgust.

”I started noticing something was off about six months before the divorce. I saw him less and less. He was always on business trips, and on the rare occasions he came back, he’d most likely be called away by a phone call.”

”He missed my birthday, our wedding anniversary, and he even bailed on our biannual trip, which had been a sacred tradition.”

Zhou Qi let out a small laugh. ”I thought he was just really busy, until I saw him on his secretary’s social media feed.”

”He didn’t have time to go on a trip with me, but he took his secretary to Paris. You could tell from the photos how much fun they were having, just like any other couple in the throes of love.”

Zhou Qi grew more agitated as she spoke. She closed her eyes, not wanting to lose her composure over the past. After pausing for a few seconds, she spoke again. ”I confronted him after they came back.”

Zhou Qi gave a mocking laugh. ”The moment I exposed him, he felt no guilt, no regret. Instead... it was as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.”

This twist was truly unexpected. Gu Qingyin raised her eyebrows, her attention sharpening.

”He said... he was just looking for something new. That we had been together too long, and our life was as dull as stagnant water; he needed some excitement. He even promised he wouldn’t divorce me, that no one could ever shake my position as Mrs. Lin.”

”Ha.” The disgust in Zhou Qi’s eyes was about to overflow. ”It was on that day that I realized the boy I had loved so dearly had, at some point, turned into an arrogant, shameless, and utterly disgusting man!”

”I completely lost my temper, more than I ever had before, and I insisted on a divorce. He must have been scared by my attitude because he started begging for forgiveness, getting on his knees and apologizing with tears streaming down his face, promising it was the last time.”

”I guess I couldn’t bear to throw away all the years I’d invested in our relationship, so after a lot of hesitation, I chose to forgive him.” Zhou Qi laughed at herself. ”But a man who cheats is like a drug addict. It’s never just once; it’s one time and countless more.”

”On his birthday, I accidentally overheard him talking to a friend and found out he hadn’t broken up with that secretary at all! He fired her, but only to set her up in an apartment he was paying for!”

”I was completely disgusted! I went home, signed the divorce papers, and moved out. I was afraid he would harass me, so I just left the country, and then... I met my current husband.”

”Lin Hongtao harassed me many times after that, and it was always my husband who dealt with it for me.”

A shadow of grief crossed Zhou Qi’s eyes. ”I never expected something like this to happen. We hadn’t even been married for a full year.”

Gu Qingyin was fuming as she listened. ”How does Lin Hongtao still have the nerve to come after you for revenge!”