The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Statue

Getting paid twice for one job was something Qian Ran hadn’t dared to dream of before. Due to her unique constitution, she was usually lucky to get paid at all for two jobs; now, for the first time, she had extra income!!!

Qian Ran knew she was benefiting from Jiang Zitan’s presence, so she intended to put her heart and soul into the task Tao Yitong had entrusted to her.

Right, which star did Tao Yitong say she was connected to? Was it… the Southern Dipper, the Tianxiang star? Wait, it couldn’t be that coincidental, could it? A look of gravity crossed Qian Ran’s face.

She remembered her master mentioning once that the Southern Dipper had been dim for many years, only regaining its brilliance nearly twenty-eight years ago when the Tianxiang star flickered back to life.

The age of the woman before her seemed to match that specific point in time perfectly. Was there a connection between the two?

As a descendant of the Shensha Sect who had dealt with constellations since she could remember, Qian Ran couldn’t help but be curious about such a person. If Tao Yitong hadn’t staked her claim first, she really would have wanted to study her.

A pity now, any hand stretched out would surely be chopped off.

“Don’t worry, I know what to say now,” Qian Ran promised Jiang Zitan with a smile.

When Tao Yitong returned, she was met with a barrage of flowery praise from Qian Ran claims of her being a “lucky star from birth” whose life would be “smooth sailing.” Qian Ran’s expression was so sincere that had Tao Yitong not already heard her true fate from the woman’s own mouth, she might have actually believed it.

What is this woman up to?

Tao Yitong suspiciously handed the various dried plums and preserved fruits she had bought to Jiang Zitan. The elder woman gave her a subtle look; Tao Yitong didn’t understand it at first, until Jiang Zitan began to echo Qian Ran’s words of praise. Only then did she realize this was Jiang Zitan’s way of protecting her she wanted to lessen the impact of that “Lone Star of Death” nonsense on Tongtong’s mind.

A warm, soft emotion rippled through her heart. Tao Yitong couldn’t quite describe this complex feeling; it didn’t feel like mere gratitude. Perhaps something else had been added to the mix.

“Ahem.” Qian Ran cleared her throat twice. Could these two stop staring at each other so affectionately? Standing nearby, she felt the awkwardness of being a third wheel. Come to think of it, weren’t they sisters? What was with this cloying atmosphere?

Speaking of cloying atmospheres, Qian Ran remembered what she had just seen regarding Tao Yitong’s “Red Phoenix” romantic star moving. A thought flashed through her mind. Wait, if Tao Yitong’s romance star is moving, the corresponding person is…

Qian Ran’s eyes suddenly widened. She looked at Jiang Zitan, then at Tao Yitong, and then, at the risk of her eyes being stung by the light, she took off her sunglasses.

“Meeting today is fate. I’ll give you one more reading for free.”

Hoh, is the sun rising from the west today? The iron rooster is actually being generous? Tao Yitong raised an eyebrow.

“No need for me…” Jiang Zitan was about to decline, but Qian Ran had already seen the signs.

“Mhm… congratulations,” Qian Ran said with a meaningful expression. “Your ‘good news’ is approaching.”

“Good news?” Before Jiang Zitan could speak, Tao Yitong pressed for an answer. “What good news?”

Her tone had lost its previous calm. Seeing this, the corners of Qian Ran’s mouth curled up. “The good news I’m talking about is, of course, regarding your love life.”

 Tao Yitong’s face instantly slumped. She did not look happy.

Jiang Zitan had never considered her romantic life; she couldn’t imagine herself in a relationship anytime soon, nor had she made any such plans. She had never liked anyone and didn’t know what type would make her heart skip a beat. Since the young stall owner said it was “near,” she felt it was unlikely.

However, since the woman had just helped her, she didn’t want to debunk her. She simply took it as a blessing.

Jiang Zitan offered her thanks and prepared to lead the dazed Tao Yitong away. But the moment she turned around, the cord holding the copper coins in Qian Ran’s hand suddenly snapped.

Ding-ling-dang-lang…

The coins fell to the ground with a strange, crisp sound. Jiang Zitan froze in her tracks. The sound of the falling coins echoed in her ears like it was coming from a surround-sound system. The surrounding noise of the crowd vanished in that instant; she felt as if she were trapped in an isolated space.

Due to her previous experiences, Jiang Zitan tensed up the moment she sensed an abnormality. she looked around inconspicuously, her gaze eventually landing on Qian Ran.

The girl who was at least twenty years younger than the average stall owner was staring at her with hollow eyes. No, not hollow she was looking through her at something else. Her eyes seemed to shimmer with a dark purple light; looking closer, it was as if a starry sky had fallen into her pupils.

If a member of the Shensha Sect had passed by, they would have noticed that after the cord snapped, the copper coins fell into a mysterious formation. The array hidden beneath the ground was what Qian Ran called the Star-Gazing Array. Due to limited conditions, this was a simplified version. Her sect possessed a Star-Gazing Array that had been passed down for a thousand years it used mountains and rivers as its foundation and the sun and moon as its eyes. If she had that to assist her, Qian Ran would have the confidence to unravel the origins of even a reincarnated deity.

But her current environment was far too crude. Mountains and rivers were replaced by concrete and gutters, and the celestial bodies were replaced by copper coins. Not only were the results diminished, but the power Qian Ran had to expend was far greater.

Crack!

Jiang Zitan found the abnormality around her had vanished. Everything felt like a hallucination. The mysterious young stall owner closed her eyes, and strange sounds came from the ground.

Tao Yitong looked at the copper coins at her feet—every single one had shattered.

These coins were antique items. Seeing them crack, Tao Yitong felt her wallet let out a wail. Her remaining pocket money was likely going to be spent on repairs!!!

“The coins…” Jiang Zitan knelt down to pick one up. She looked hesitant. How could a copper coin shatter just from falling on the ground?

“No trouble, I’ll pick them up myself.” Qian Ran silently swallowed a mouthful of blood, enduring both psychological and physiological pain as she gathered her most valuable possessions.

Tao Yitong helped as well. When she handed the shards to Qian Ran, she met a gaze that looked ready to spit fire. Qian Ran was indeed dirt poor; this string of coins was most of her assets. Tao Yitong could only grit her teeth and nod, indicating she would pay for them.

Qian Ran’s murderous gaze softened instantly. “Thank you,” she said, her words carrying a double meaning.

Tao Yitong now had a wealthy sister and would soon have a wealthy partner; her life was going to be incredibly comfortable. Replacing a set of copper coins was a drop in the bucket for her future self. However, Captain Tao was used to a stingy life and hadn’t shifted her mindset yet but Qian Ran had ways to make her pay willingly.

“Tongtong, did you just…” Feel something strange?

Tao Yitong tilted her head, waiting for Jiang Zitan to continue, but after a moment of pensive silence, Jiang Zitan said, “Nothing. let’s go.”

Jiang Zitan gave the strange stall owner one last look. The events just now left her feeling restless. After returning all the shards to Qian Ran, she immediately led Tao Yitong away from the place.

Buzz. Qian Ran took out her phone and sent Tao Yitong a message.

Tao Yitong pulled out her phone and peeked at it. Her expression turned grave instantly.

A moment later, Qian Ran smiled as she tapped on a transfer notification.

The reason Tao Yitong’s expression had changed was because Qian Ran’s message contained a warning. She still needed time to investigate the matter of the Tianxiang star, but when she activated the array just now, she discovered that Jiang Zitan would encounter danger soon. Tao Yitong had to keep a close eye on her.

Tao Yitong knew that if she wanted more information from this woman, she had to at least settle part of the debt for the copper coins. Sure enough, after receiving the payment, Qian Ran became proactive. After going home, she worked overtime to calculate the celestial movements, finally giving Tao Yitong an answer.

Mount Shuangyi.

This was a low mountain on the outskirts of Rong City, near the rural areas. Though it looked ordinary, the surrounding residents passed down many legends about it, including the temple that was supposedly very “effective.”

Places with heavy history and human faith are the easiest breeding grounds for spirits. Additionally, the spiritual energy here was slightly denser than in other places, so it might attract ghosts.

Upon learning that Jiang Zitan might be in danger, Tao Yitong didn’t wait around at the hotel. Every time Jiang Zitan left, she would head out shortly after with a bag, pretending to go sightseeing. In reality, she followed Jiang Zitan from a distance, never letting her leave the maximum range within which she could protect her.

Qian Ran’s warning wasn’t slow, but Jiang Zitan’s itinerary was too tight. By the time Tao Yitong received the message, they had already reached Mount Shuangyi.

“So the problem really is here…” Tao Yitong looked up at the mountain thick with green shade. Before Jiang Zitan arrived, she had scouted the entire mountain, intimidating the smaller spirits and dealing with anything that looked troublesome.

However, there were fewer things on this mountain than she expected. Aside from a few newly born spirits, she hadn’t found any powerful entities occupying the area.

Abnormality implies trouble. Tao Yitong sought out many local elders to ask about the legends of the mountain. While legends are often exaggerated, their origins are likely real events from the past.

The elders spoke in a local dialect, leaving Tao Yitong confused. It took several households and the help of some young people to translate a few stories.

One legend described this place as having been flat land. One day, an evil dragon appeared. It demanded a living sacrifice from the village every month; otherwise, it would kill everyone. Initially, out of fear, the villagers complied. But the dragon’s appetite grew until it wasn’t satisfied with eating humans once a month. Its demands became increasingly excessive.

If they let it continue, the village would be eaten clean in no time. How was that different from being killed now? So someone proposed killing the dragon. But mortal strength was limited; they failed and were eaten instead. Finally, after a series of tragedies, Heaven took notice. A certain Bodhisattva manifested in the mortal world, captured the dragon, stripped its scales and horns, and turned it into this Mount Shuangyi.

The silhouette of the peak did look a bit like a dragon’s head, which was likely where the legend came from. But if there really was an evil dragon suppressed beneath the mountain… Tao Yitong felt a heavy weight on her heart.

The legend said the temple was built to suppress the dragon, but Tao Yitong had sneaked in to investigate and found nothing related to the legend. The monks were ordinary people, and there was no record of this temple in the Rong City Special Affairs Bureau files.

While Tao Yitong was disappointed not to find traces of the Bodhisattva, she found something else on the mountain.

On the path leading up the back of the mountain, she frequently saw things that looked like Earth God shrines. These tiny “temples” weren’t even as high as Tao Yitong’s knees. Inside sat a deity with a ferocious face, looking like a vengeful ghost.

The statue’s eyes were open, staring straight at every passerby. The mountain paths were all very similar, and every junction had such a nameless statue. Every time she walked past, she was met with its gaze; for a moment, Tao Yitong thought she had encountered a “ghost wall” trap.

This was definitely not an ordinary statue. Looking at its appearance, it was likely some evil entity from who-knows-where being worshipped as a god. It might not even be a god at all. Those in the Special Affairs Bureau knew well not to worship random statues in the wild; it was easy to invite trouble.

Thinking of this, Tao Yitong quickly sent a message to Jiang Zitan, telling her absolutely not to worship the strange statues on the mountain.

Jiang Zitan didn’t have a habit of worshipping deities, so she naturally wouldn’t have bowed to them. However, the general manager of the subsidiary company traveling with her led a group to worship the oddly shaped statues one by one, along with the locals.

If they were worshipping legitimate gods or Buddhas in a temple, Jiang Zitan wouldn’t have found it strange. But seeing these people piously bowing to a ghost-like statue by the roadside was somewhat hair-raising.

They even tried to pull Jiang Zitan into the worship, even preparing incense for her. Jiang Zitan was considering whether to “do as the Romans do,” since the Jiang Group’s new project was located here and she naturally wanted to respect local customs.

Just then, she received the message from Tao Yitong. Her sister told her not to worship those “wild gods” at the junctions; apparently, previous tourists had met with misfortune after doing so. Those stories made the already ferocious statues look even more sinister.

Her sister’s tone held a hint of fear, so Jiang Zitan politely declined the enthusiastic invitation.

When she refused, they didn’t force her. They continued their pious worship, and Jiang Zitan followed behind them. She thought there was no one behind her, but as she passed a broken stone statue halfway up the mountain, she was suddenly pushed to the ground by a great force from behind.

She slammed into the side of the statue, her palm sliced by a sharp stone. Fresh blood instantly stained the earth in front of the statue!

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