Chapter 27: The Seven-Arrow Nail Book
At the top floor of the Hengtai Group headquarters, in the president’s office.
“Bang!” A costly purple clay teapot was smashed violently against the floor by Bai Shi, shattering into pieces. His face was ashen, the veins on his forehead throbbing as he roared at his secretary, Xiao Zhao, who stood by trembling and holding his breath:
“Trash! A bunch of useless trash! Isn't Leopard supposed to be someone who never misses? You couldn’t even take care of a sick weakling lying in a hospital bed? And you ended up being chased by the police like stray dogs!”
Secretary Xiao Zhao shivered uncontrollably. “Sir, please calm down! Leopard said… he said the kid is incredibly cunning, as if he had been prepared all along… and the police ambush was far too swift…”
“Prepared? An ambush?” Bai Shi’s eyes turned as sinister as a viper’s. “It seems… we have underestimated this charlatan who plays with compasses! Since brute force won't work…” He paced to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the brilliant yet cold city lights below, a cruel and chilling arc forming at the corners of his mouth. “Then let’s try something ‘soft’! Let’s make him wish he were dead!”
He spun around abruptly, his eyes gleaming with a manic light. “Go and hire Master Qu, the ‘Ghost Hand’! Money is no object! I want Yang Rui… ruined and disgraced! Cursed with endless misfortune! I want him to rot and die on the streets like a stray dog in nothing but agony and despair!”
Three days later, downstairs at the Municipal People’s Hospital.
The early winter sun held a thin trace of warmth. With Su Jin’s support, Yang Rui walked slowly out of the inpatient building. His face remained pale and the wound on his back throbbed, but his gaze stayed sharp, carrying the guarded vigilance of a survivor. Zhao Zhigang had personally brought men to escort him.
“Comrade Yang Rui, Leopard is still on the run, and Bai Shi will never let this go. You must remain vigilant after being discharged and try not to act alone.” Zhao Zhigang’s expression was grim. “We will increase patrols around your residence.”
“Understood, thank you, Captain Zhao.” Yang Rui nodded, his gaze sweeping over the seemingly calm surroundings. He knew that Bai Shi was like a viper lurking in the shadows; having failed once, he would certainly have more insidious tricks up his sleeve.
A police car dropped Yang Rui and Su Jin off at his three-story building on an old street. The rolling shutter of the storefront below remained tightly shut.
“I’ll take you up,” Su Jin said with a tone that brooked no refusal. Leopard’s assassination attempt still left her shaken.
Yang Rui didn’t decline. With Su Jin’s help, he struggled slightly to open the security door. A familiar scent, a mixture of dust and fabric, wafted toward him, allowing his tightly wound nerves to relax just a fraction.
The staircase was narrow and dim. The two moved upward step by step. Upon reaching his front door on the third floor, Yang Rui pulled out his key and inserted it into the lock.
Just as the key turned and the lock clicked open!
A chilling, foul wind—reeking of intense mold and decay—rushed out from the apartment like a long-lurking viper! It struck directly at their faces!
“Watch out!” Yang Rui’s pupils constricted. Almost instinctively, he yanked Su Jin behind him! At the same moment, the Star-Fixing Compass he kept close to his body emitted a sudden, icy throb through his clothing!
“Hum—!”
The Star-Fixing Compass let out a low vibration that only Yang Rui could perceive! A layer of faint, invisible radiance rippled outward instantly!
The foul wind rushing toward them slammed into an invisible barrier, emitting a soft hiss before dissipating by more than half. Yet, wisps of chilling, sinister energy still permeated the air, making one’s hair stand on end!
“Cough, cough, cough!” Su Jin was sent into a coughing fit by the lingering scent of decay, her face turning pale. Though she couldn’t see the malevolent energy, the instantaneous chill and the intense, instinctive physical discomfort told her everything—someone had tampered with Yang Rui’s home! They had set a malevolent trap!
Yang Rui’s expression was dark enough to drip water. He stepped into the apartment, his sharp gaze scanning the familiar space like a searchlight.
Everything in the living room appeared normal, but in his eyes, it was filled with a faint, nauseating grey-black flow of energy. The source of this flow pointed toward the bedroom!
He signaled for Su Jin to stay at the door, and suppressing his pain, he walked toward the bedroom step by step. He pushed the door open—
An even more intense, tangible chill of decay rushed forth!
In the corner of the bedroom by the window, where a simple bookshelf had once stood, something had been placed!
It was a paper effigy about a foot tall, folded from coarse yellow ritual paper!
The effigy was covered in twisted, bizarre talismans drawn in dark red cinnabar that reeked of blood, or perhaps something even filthier mixed with blood!
The effigy had no facial features, save for a small tuft of hair stuck to its forehead—a color and texture that Yang Rui immediately recognized as his own!
Three long, pitch-black coffin nails were driven into the heart of the paper doll!
At the foot of the effigy lay several pieces of dark, mold-covered rotten wood, which were the source of that thick, putrid stench!
What fueled Yang Rui’s rage even further was that the window facing the effigy looked directly toward an old building under demolition nearby! The building had been stripped down to its frame, and a powerful, “ruinous” energy of decay was being channeled, like an invisible poisoned arrow, piercing through the window and driving itself into the effigy!
“Seven-Arrow Nail… Rotten Wood Curse…” Yang Rui squeezed these words through his teeth, his voice ice-cold and filled with soaring rage. “Old Ghost Qu! Bai Shi! You are ruthless!”
This was an incredibly insidious form of sorcery! Using the target’s hair and clothing as a conduit, they had fashioned an effigy, driven in death-bringing coffin nails, and placed it in a position to draw in ruinous energy to curse him day and night!
“Yang Rui!” Su Jin stood at the bedroom door, her expression grave. “What is this? What should we do?”
Yang Rui took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his churning blood and killing intent. Cold light flickered in his eyes; he did not immediately touch the evil effigy. He walked to the window and pulled the heavy curtains shut with a “swish,” temporarily blocking the malevolent energy channeled from the ruined building outside. He then turned, his gaze landing on Su Jin with unprecedented gravity and resolve:
“Dr. Su, a Feng Shui master hired by Bai Shi has cast a malevolent curse in my home. This thing is tainted and ominous; stay back.” He paused, his eyes as sharp as blades. “Since they chose to open this game with such gutter tactics…”
A chilling, extreme arc formed on Yang Rui’s lips. His smile held no warmth, only the frigid sharpness and lethal grit of a true Feng Shui master.
“…Then I, Yang Rui, shall play along with this ‘Master Qu’ and Boss Bai! Let’s see if their black magic is stronger, or if my ‘Star-Fixing Compass’ is!”