Top Soldier Pursued by a Beauty

Beneath the ground were two paper effigies! They looked chilling and bizarre, their faces painted with strange, grotesque makeup that was deeply unsettling.

Everyone jumped in fright. Ji Xueyao was just as frightened, her face pale and her voice trembling as she asked, "Zhao Dong, what is this?"

Zhao Dong's brow furrowed, and he spoke in a grave tone. "This was placed here deliberately. I glanced at the surrounding terrain earlier. This place is the White Tiger Corpse Land. That small hill over there is the source of the White Tiger Malignance. Behind it is a patch of stagnant water, and to the left is a sparsely populated forest. These features align perfectly with your plot of land, creating what is known in feng shui as a White Tiger Malignance!"

"The White Tiger Malignance causes discord and infighting. It also leads to frequent accidents, general unrest, and even bloodshed!"

As Ji Xueyao listened, her face grew even paler. Zhao Dong paused before continuing, "Additionally, if I'm not mistaken, before this place was demolished... it was an abandoned school or hospital, right?"

Ji Xueyao's expression changed. "Indeed, it used to be a hospital!"

"Then I'm correct. There were graves underground here before, making it a land of the dead. The authorities eventually flattened the area, and someone performed rituals to suppress the White Tiger Malignance. However, placing these two paper effigies here has reawakened it. If this malignance isn't removed, not only will any mall built here go bankrupt, but the construction process itself will be plagued by accidents. At the very least, more people will die!"

"What?!" Ji Xueyao's face turned ashen. "More... people will die?"

Zhao Dong cracked a smile. "Don't worry. I've already dealt with the two points that were anchoring the malignance. There's nothing to fret about. You can proceed with the work. Go on, try the pile driver now and see if it works."

Ji Xueyao immediately nodded, her voice filled with excitement. "Good, I'll have someone try it right away! Men, start driving the piles now!"

At the side, Li An sneered dismissively. "Xueyao, you don't actually believe this charlatan, do you? I suspect he buried those things here himself just so he could come back and 'find' them to fool you. I refuse to believe two paper effigies could have that much power."

Zhao Dong glanced coldly at Li An. "I know you're a highly educated man who believes in materialism, but some things in this world can't be explained by science. Where science ends, theology begins."

"Theology my ass! Today, I'm going to see for myself if you're a charlatan or not! Someone, drive the piles!" Li An huffed, looking at Zhao Dong with utter disdain.

Ji Xueyao frowned slightly and said to Li An, "Mr. Li, Zhao Dong is a good friend of mine, and I trust his character. There's no need for you to be so hostile toward him."

Li An gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Xueyao, I'm just worried about you being deceived. You know I can accept anything except seeing you taken advantage of. We'll soon find out if this guy is a fraud."

Zhao Dong furrowed his brows. "You keep calling me a fraud. Is that any way to insult someone? What happens if I'm not?"

Li An snorted. "If you're not a fraud... I... I'll apologize to you."

Zhao Dong chuckled coldly. "An apology? And you think that's enough? Who do you think you are? Your word isn't worth that much."

"Then what do you want?" Li An's temper flared as he glared intently at Zhao Dong, a cold glint in his eyes.

Zhao Dong gave a faint, mocking smile. "Simple. If I'm right and the pile driver works now, you will kneel, apologize, and slap yourself across the face."

Li An erupted in anger. "Are you looking for death?"

Zhao Dong shrugged, a look of casual contempt on his face. "Pathetic. You don't even have the guts for that."

"You..." Li An's vision swam with rage. With Ji Xueyao watching, he couldn't afford to lose face.

Steeling himself, Li An snarled, "Fine, fine, fine! I'll take that bet! I've always believed in science, not your goddamn mysticism! You think digging up two paper dolls will make the pile driver work? Pfft! I don't believe it for a second!"

He then turned to the assembled construction workers. "How about you all? Do you believe it?"

The men exchanged glances before many shook their heads with small laughs. "We don't really believe it either."

Ji Xueyao bit her lip, a hint of hesitation in her eyes. She wasn't one to believe in the supernatural, either. She trusted Zhao Dong, but... Could the problems on this construction site really be explained by metaphysics? Could two paper effigies actually stop a pile driver?

Finally, she bit her lip again and said softly, "Regardless, we have to try. The construction schedule is too tight. If we don't make progress soon, the investors will start asking questions. If they pull their funding, we're finished. Let's just give it a try."

Zhao Dong smiled. "Class President Ji, you'll believe me in a moment." Looking at the skeptical crowd, he added indifferently, "Alright, enough talk. Just try it and see for yourselves."

"Fine! Let's give it a go and expose this fraud's true colors for Boss Ji! It's the 21st century, and we still have charlatans like this! Come on, everyone, let's get started!" Li An commanded, directing the workers.

Soon, the six pile drivers, which had been silent for some time, roared to life once more. The piles had consistently failed to drive into the ground, leading everyone to assume the machines were at fault. As they started up again, no one held out much hope.

After a moment, Li An sneered, "See? It's still not going in. And you still claim you're not a swindler?"

Ji Xueyao bit her lip, a complex expression on her face as she let out a soft sigh. It was still useless...

At that moment, Zhao Dong turned to a nearby worker and said calmly, "Go kill a rooster immediately and bring me its blood."

"What do you need rooster blood for?" the man asked, confused.

"Just do as I say."

Ji Xueyao, though startled, told the worker, "Go on. I think there are live roosters in the canteen."

The man gritted his teeth, shot Zhao Dong a reluctant look, and left. A short while later, he returned with a bowl of rooster blood.

Zhao Dong took the bowl and muttered something under his breath. Holding two fingers together, he traced a mysterious symbol in the air above it. The next second, he flicked the rooster's blood onto the spot where the paper effigies had been buried.

Li An scoffed. "Putting on a real show now. Let's see what you can..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence. THUD! The nearby pile driver slammed down, sinking several piles deep into the ground.

Everyone was stunned. The worker controlling the machine froze for a second before shouting, his voice thick with shock, "Boss Ji, the piles... they went in!"

Ji Xueyao was speechless for a few seconds before her face lit up with incredulous joy. She looked at Zhao Dong, her voice trembling with excitement. "Zhao Dong... it worked?"

Zhao Dong gave a faint smile and nodded. "You can begin the work. There won't be any more problems."

Joy flooded Ji Xueyao's heart. Unable to contain herself, she acted on impulse and threw her arms around Zhao Dong in a tight hug.

Zhao Dong stiffened, momentarily dazed by the feeling of her soft body against his.

"Thank you so much! Now that the piles can be driven, we can make up for lost time. Otherwise, we'd be facing a massive penalty fee! Thank you, Zhao Dong! I'm treating you to dinner tonight!" Ji Xueyao was moved, excited, and completely astounded by Zhao Dong's abilities.

Zhao Dong touched his nose and smiled. "It's nothing. Friends are supposed to help each other."

Nearby, Li An stood with his mouth agape. He looked at Zhao Dong, then hung his head in dejection and turned to slink away.

Just then, Zhao Dong's calm voice rang out. "Mr. Li, what were you saying earlier?"

Li An whipped around, his face furious. "Zhao, don't push it!"

Zhao Dong replied evenly, "How am I the one pushing it? You were the one who kept insulting me. Didn't it occur to you that *you* were going too far?"

"You—Don't go too far!" Li An's face was flushed red as he glared.

Just then, a black Mercedes drove up. Ji Xueyao's eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "Zhao Dong, my parents are here!"

Zhao Dong's gaze followed hers, and he raised an eyebrow. What are Ji Xueyao's parents doing here at a time like this?