Chapter Two: The Two Brothers Sang in Perfect Harmony

With this thought, Zhang Xiaorui pulled out her phone and opened the most popular short video app of the moment: Douyu. As soon as the app loaded, a line both familiar and strange flashed across the screen: “If the heavens have feelings, even they will grow old. May your father and mother grow old together.”

A middle-aged man appeared, dressed in a bright yellow Taoist robe, sporting a full beard and a pair of thick mustaches, presenting himself as a Taoist priest. He stood there gesticulating wildly, spittle flying as he spoke. No sooner had Zhang Xiaorui opened the app than she was immediately recommended a metaphysical livestream.

She wanted nothing more than to cry out, “Heavens! I came here for a little distraction, not to listen to this charlatan ranting nonsense.”

She was just about to swipe away when she heard the excited shout of someone connected to the stream:

“Oh wow! Master, your predictions are scarily accurate. You truly live up to your reputation! All I can say is, I’m convinced.”

Now her curiosity was piqued, and she clicked in. No sooner had she entered than she heard the master again:

“You have to cook your own meals, you must lie down to sleep, and you surely didn’t attend your parents’ wedding.”

“My goodness! Master! You’re incredible! Please, accept my humble admiration. You’re my idol! I worship you! Master, can I have your autograph? Name your price and I’ll tip you right away.”

“Keep it low-key, stay calm, no need for all that noise. Don’t talk to me about money—I’m not interested in money,” the master replied coolly.

The young man on the other end looked utterly baffled, at a complete loss.

“Master, if we’re not talking about money, then what should we discuss? Romance? Would you be open to that?”

The Taoist in yellow twitched his lips in irritation. “Get lost! Romance? I have strict rules about gender—I like women, not men. Don’t talk to me about money or fate or whatever. If you rely on fate, you’ll never have a proper meal, fool...”

“Alright, I get it, Master. Sorry for overstepping. So, how much for a reading...?”

After a while, Zhang Xiaorui found the whole spectacle unbearably dull. This was clearly a scam, a bunch of frauds parading around under the banner of metaphysics, cheating people online. As the sole head of Qingfeng Temple, how could she possibly swallow this insult? “Since that’s how it is, let’s see how I can expose this so-called master.”

A sly grin spread across her face. “Master, did you make a mistake? Isn’t the young man connected to you actually your own brother? Why all this talk of ‘Master’ and ‘client’? What kind of farce is this supposed to be?”

The moment she said this, the chatroom exploded.

“What did you say? They’re brothers? That can’t be—I don’t believe it!”

“What the heck is going on? Am I really watching all this for free?”

“Guys, I smell some real drama brewing here...”

The fortune-telling Taoist noticed someone in the chat questioning him, even accusing him of being a fraud. How could he endure such slander? Stroking his mustache, he declared, “You impudent child, don’t spout nonsense here. I am Master Huang, and I’ve helped countless people. How dare you malign me?”

“Oh, really? So you’ve fooled a lot of people, is that it? How much have you swindled in total—why not share a bit with me?”

Zhang Xiaorui typed rapidly on her battered old phone, which lagged terribly and sparked at her touch.

Master Huang had been streaming on Douyu for a long time. Everyone who entered his room treated him with deference. For someone to suddenly burst in and cause trouble was more than he could stand. “If you’ve got the guts, connect with me live. I’d like to see what kind of formidable person dares slander me so brazenly.”

Zhang Xiaorui’s interest was piqued. Her phone was acting up and she was too lazy to keep typing. “Fine.”

Master Huang sent her a video call request, which she accepted without hesitation.

Three screens appeared in the livestream: one for Master Huang, one for the audience member—actually his brother—and one for Zhang Xiaorui.

The moment Master Huang saw Zhang Xiaorui appear on camera, he was briefly stunned. This girl was strikingly beautiful—big eyes, fair skin, long silky black hair, flawless from every angle. In a word: breathtaking.

He swallowed hard and wiped the corners of his mouth. “So, you’re the one slandering me? You’re pretty bold.”

Zhang Xiaorui pursed her lips in disdain. “Your real name is Huang Buhuang, age thirty-five, and that’s your brother, Huang Shang. The two of you have lied, cheated, stolen—never done a good deed, never missed a crime. Just three days ago, you two robbed a university student. You got away because it was late at night, there were no cameras on that little side street, so you were lucky the police didn’t catch you. Am I wrong, Master Huang?”

Huang Buhuang’s expression tightened, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead as he muttered inwardly, “How the hell does this girl know about that?”

He tried to bluster, “Stop spouting nonsense—I never did any such thing!”

“Where did you come from, you wild little brat, daring to question the master? You really don’t know your place.”

Zhang Xiaorui watched the two brothers put on their arrogant, coordinated act and just kept smiling, unfazed.

The chat erupted:

“Who is this girl? How dare she challenge Master Huang?”

“Looks like Master Huang’s in trouble.”

“Why bother worrying? Let’s just enjoy the show.”

“Huang Buhuang, haven’t you been having nightmares these past few nights, always dreaming of a girl? And every night, no matter how many blankets you use, you feel cold all over—even now, in this heat, you’re wearing thermal underwear. You’ve been haunted by something dirty without even realizing it, yet you still dare to swindle people here. You two really are bold. Or maybe, after all this time, you’ve both forgotten how that girl died—or have you hypnotized yourselves and convinced yourselves it didn’t happen?”

As soon as she finished, the chatroom went wild, like ants in a frying pan.

The faces of Huang Buhuang and his brother shifted rapidly—now pale as paper, now dark as soot.

Suddenly, Huang Buhuang shouted, “Stop making things up! None of that ever happened. Quit scaring people with your tricks.”

Zhang Xiaorui remained unbothered, gazing at them from a forty-five-degree angle. “If you think I’m making things up, why not just call the police and let them investigate? Yelling here won’t do you any good. Being loud doesn’t make you right. If you did it, you did it. Silence or shouting won’t change that.”

Master Huang was filled with mixed emotions. He never imagined that all his misdeeds would be so easily exposed by this young woman. Damn, who exactly was this girl? Wasn’t she just a little too uncanny?

“Tch, just because you say I did it, that makes it true? Where’s your evidence? This is hilarious. I could say you did it—how would you respond?”

Zhang Xiaorui rolled her eyes at him. “Is that so? You have a rather large freezer at home, don’t you? Care to tell us what’s inside? I think we should let the police come and take a look, don’t you? That would be much more convincing, wouldn’t it?”