Chapter 105: The Vagaries of Fate
Yang Haoran’s destination for this trip was Liu Family Village, a neighboring village to Yangjiawan, yet distinctly different.
Liu Family Village was primarily inhabited by those with the surname Liu. Besides the majority of Liu villagers, there were also some households with different surnames. These were not original residents of Liu Family Village but had moved there later for various reasons and decided to settle down.
Yang Haoran learned from his mother that the young woman he was to meet for a blind date, though residing in Liu Family Village, was not originally from there.
The young woman had lived with her parents until, for reasons unknown, both of them passed away. Her paternal grandparents, who heavily favored boys, had never treated her well as a granddaughter, so she held no deep affection for them.
Fortunately, her maternal grandparents had always been kind to her. Therefore, ever since her parents’ deaths, she would spend Chinese New Year with her maternal grandparents in Liu Family Village each year, and this year was no exception.
However, Yang’s mother heard that the young woman would not stay in Liu Family Village for long and would leave after the New Year. So, to be safe, she had already arranged with the young woman’s maternal grandmother for the blind date to take place today, even before Yang Haoran’s return.
Of course, Yang Haoran had informed his family about his return date long ago; otherwise, the blind date wouldn't have been so coincidentally set for the day after his arrival.
Upon arriving at Liu Family Village, Yang Haoran felt even more anxious. But a drawn bow has no turning back; now that he was here, he couldn't back out just because of his apprehension. He found a villager, offered a cigarette, and inquired about the whereabouts of the young woman's maternal grandparents' home.
Soon after, he drove and parked outside the courtyard of a two-story house.
However, the house itself was secondary. While its existence merely suggested the family was well-off in this poor and backward place, what truly indicated their wealth was the luxury car parked in the courtyard outside the house.
Although Yang Haoran wasn't knowledgeable about cars, he recognized some of the emblems. Anyone who could afford such a car was undoubtedly a rich individual.
Looking at the luxury car parked in the courtyard, Yang Haoran secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing he had driven his own car here; otherwise, he might really have been looked down upon by the other party.
Before even meeting anyone, Yang Haoran was startled by their apparent wealth. Logically, with a family so rich, how could the elders agree to a blind date with a poor kid like him? But upon reflection, he considered a possibility.
His mother told everyone he was a boss in the city, with a thriving career. Knowing his mother, she must have told this family the same thing.
Fortunately, he did possess some genuine abilities now, and earning money was much easier than before, giving him a bit more confidence. Otherwise, whether he would even step through the family's gate, let alone go on a blind date, would have been questionable.
With a nervous heart, Yang Haoran opened the car door and stepped out, preparing to retrieve the gifts he had bought. Whether it worked out or not, since he was already here, he had to at least give it a try.
However, just as he was about to turn to the trunk for the gifts, his body suddenly froze. As if something had struck him, he turned back to look at the luxury car, his brows furrowing slightly.
"I think I've seen this car somewhere before."
The luxury car in front of him felt vaguely familiar. He seemed to have seen this car somewhere, but where? He couldn't recall it at the moment.
"Perhaps in some advertisement?"
Yang Haoran wasn't quite sure. Shaking his head, he decided not to dwell on the issue. Whether he had seen the car before or not, everything would become clear once he went inside and met its owner. He had no time to waste here.
With this thought, Yang Haoran's slightly furrowed brow finally relaxed. But just as it relaxed, it knitted together again.
This time, not only were his brows tightly furrowed, but his complexion also changed.
His sudden drastic reaction wasn't because he remembered where he had seen the car, but because he sensed the presence of Yin Qi in this building, and it was quite strong!
"Ghost Eye, open!"
Seeing no one nearby, Yang Haoran secretly activated his Ghost Eye and looked towards the building.
The building itself wasn't enveloped in strong Yin Qi, which meant the intense Yin Qi he sensed must be coming from a specific person, object, or ghost inside. It seemed the source had only recently arrived, so the Yin Qi it emanated hadn't yet pervaded the entire house.
However, if this entity wasn't removed, given the intensity of the Yin Qi it emitted, the entire building would be shrouded in a layer of Yin Qi within a few days at most, and everyone inside would, without exception, be affected to varying degrees by it.
Yang Haoran truly hadn't expected to encounter something like this just by coming for a blind date.
On the way here, he had been anxious, and especially after arriving at Liu Family Village, he felt his heart was about to pound out of his chest. All his attention was focused on the blind date itself, which was why he hadn't noticed the presence of this Yin Qi until now.
If this luxury car hadn't distracted him, he wouldn't know when he would have detected this Yin Qi.
Now that he had detected the Yin Qi, today's matter was no longer just a simple blind date. He would do his utmost to make the blind date a success, and at the same time, he absolutely had to take this ghost away with him.
Judging by the intensity of this Yin Qi, this ghost was not an ordinary Spirit. The Yin Qi emitted by a common Spirit Body was not this strong. However, this ghost hadn't reached the terrifying level of a Half-step Evil Spirit either; it could only be considered a very powerful Spirit.
Such a Spirit must have devoured many other Spirits, which was why its Yin Qi was so heavy. But as long as it wasn't a Half-step Evil Spirit, Yang Haoran was confident he could take it down.
With his decision made, Yang Haoran's attention returned to the blind date. But the mere thought of it made his heart involuntarily pound faster.
Licking his dry lips, he didn't move immediately. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, taking a few deep drags. Not only did his nervousness fail to subside, it intensified instead.
"I'm truly pathetic."
Muttering a curse at himself, Yang Haoran stubbed out the cigarette he had barely smoked, took out a bottle of mineral water, and chugged it down. If he could, he wished he were chugging alcohol instead of water right now.
Just then, a figure emerged from the house. As Yang Haoran clearly saw the person's face and appearance, his heart gave a violent lurch, and a mouthful of water sprayed from his mouth.
The other party evidently spotted Yang Haoran as well, and an expression of disbelief appeared on her face, as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight!
"Yang Haoran! Why are you here? !"
The other party's voice was filled with shock; both her tone and expression conveyed her inner astonishment.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough!"
Yang Haoran was equally shocked, but choking on water, he couldn't utter a single word and kept coughing.
In that moment, Yang Haoran finally remembered why that luxury car had seemed familiar to him!
When he went to the cemetery to collect souls earlier, besides taking Wang Qing's Spirit Body, he had found nothing else; the entire cemetery was clean, devoid of any other spirits.
After descending the mountain, he encountered Xu Meijing, who was also a Night Watcher. After a brief verbal spat with Xu Meijing, he left. On the roadside at the foot of the mountain, he spotted a luxury car. At the time, he thought the car looked quite good and took a few extra glances, so he had some impression of it.
However, the impression wasn't deep, which was why when he first saw the luxury car just now, he found it familiar but couldn't recall where he had seen it.
But now, the appearance of this woman in his line of sight finally made him remember where he had seen this car.
That's right, the owner of this luxury car was Xu Meijing, and the person staring at Yang Haoran with a look of shock was also Xu Meijing!
Xu Meijing's shock lasted only a few breaths before she regained her composure. She scoffed, her hands plunged into her pockets, and then she walked towards Yang Haoran with an arrogant expression.
In the past, with Xu Meijing walking towards him like this, Yang Haoran wouldn't have felt guilty; instead, he would have approached her with a smile, ready for a verbal sparring match.
But now, as Xu Meijing approached him step by step, a feeling of dread welled up in his heart, as if a primordial beast was closing in on him.
"I wondered why I sensed such strong Yin Qi. I thought some clueless ghostly thing had delivered itself to my doorstep. Never imagined it would be you. You're quite something, expanding your business to my home. What, did you sense the Yin Qi on me, and come to collect me?"
Xu Meijing spoke as she walked, and by the time her words trailed off, she had stopped a meter away from Yang Haoran.
Facing Xu Meijing's aggressive gaze, Yang Haoran managed a smile—his signature smile, though it looked extremely unnatural at the moment.
He had just sensed strong Yin Qi in the building and assumed there was some ghostly presence. Now it seemed all that intense Yin Qi originated from Xu Meijing.
Night Watchers were surrounded by strong Yin Qi, but that was just the tip of the iceberg of the Yin Qi within their bodies. If a Night Watcher activated their Spirit Power, the Yin Qi around them would multiply, which was why he had mistakenly believed there was only a powerful Spirit in the building.
"I'm here to see Old Lady Xiao," Yang Haoran said, forcing a smile.
At this moment, he had no inclination to bicker with Xu Meijing. Today, he was here for a blind date, carrying his parents' hopes, so he didn't want to mess things up. But with Xu Meijing's unexpected appearance, he naturally understood what it implied.
Either his blind date today was Xu Meijing herself, or even if it wasn't, the date was closely related to Xu Meijing. For Yang Haoran, the latter would be better; he could still try his luck. But if it was the former, he could only disappoint his parents once again.
As his words fell, Xu Meijing frowned, a look of displeasure on her face. She asked, "Why are you looking for my maternal grandmother?"
Hearing the words "maternal grandmother" come from Xu Meijing's mouth, even an idiot like Yang Haoran would understand what was happening.
He inwardly cursed his fate, but outwardly showed no sign of it. Clutching onto his last shred of hope, he smiled at Xu Meijing and asked, "What a coincidence, you're Old Lady Xiao's granddaughter! How many granddaughters does Old Lady Xiao have?"
"My maternal grandmother only has one granddaughter—me. Hey, Yang Haoran, why are you acting so strange today? " Xu Meijing's face showed a puzzled expression.
"It's nothing, nothing. My life lately has been like some damn movie; even novels wouldn't dare write it this way. Excuse me, I'll see you at the end of the month."
Yang Haoran, who rarely swore, couldn't help but let out a curse in this situation.
With those words, under Xu Meijing's bewildered gaze, he opened the car door, ready to get in and leave.
"A blind date? What blind date? ! This damn thing was over before it even began!"
Cursing to himself, Yang Haoran yanked open the car door.
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