chapter 9 Master Xiaoqi

After leaving Bragrance Mountain, Andrew Qi ate something in the cafeteria and then prepared to return to the dormitory.
Earlier on the mountain, he had sensed, with the help of the dragon spirit Ulysses's Divine Consciousness, that the girl with the ponytail in the Spring Knowledge Pavilion and the other three were martial artists. Especially the old man in the wheelchair, who was a martial artist with internal extremities, equivalent to a mid-stage cultivator. Andrew Qi, with the help of the power of talismans, was not afraid of martial artists, but he did not want to get involved with martial arts practitioners to avoid unnecessary complications. So, when they noticed him, he quickly left.
After avoiding them and on his way back to the dormitory, he bumped into Belle Tang, who had been waiting for him. She had been waiting at the security office, ready to seek justice for her friend and to teach Andrew Qi a lesson.
"Return Viola Su's money!" Belle Tang extended her mini-sized hand, which was light in complexion to Andrew Qi. She did not believe Andrew Qi would really dare to confront her, as he used to be almost obedient to her.
"The money? I've already spent it," Andrew Qi said honestly. "By the way, she still owes me eighteen thousand. When will she give it to me?"
Andrew Qi still needed money to buy materials for qi cultivation preparation.
"Two thousand yuan... You spent it all in one night? Andrew Qi, you really do know how to spend!" Belle Tang scolded him, attracting the attention of many passing students. Even the elderly security guard was all ears, thinking that this young man was really capable, spending a pretty girl's money like that.
"Yes, all spent, so remind your friend. I know she has already used one of the talismans, so she better hurry up and give me the rest of the money," Andrew Qi said. He had rented a house and bought furniture, so not much of it was left.
For a talisman master like him, money spent could always be regained. However, as a poor man now, he naturally could not let go of the money owed to him, even if it was from Belle Tang's friend.
"Have you really spent all of it? You're really something!"
Belle Tang said, exasperated. "Do you think its fun to cheat Viola Su of her money? She bought the talisman to save her mother! How can you be so heartless in cheating her of her money! — Seriously speaking, Andrew Qi, it seems I’ve misjudged you! You may not be good in your studies or skilled in any area, which is fine, we could still be friends. But I didn't expect you to be so poor in character. I have really misjudged you!"
Andrew Qi thought to himself that he had misjudged her in the past. He wanted to say, "What does my matter have to do with you?" and then turned around and left with his back facing her.
But remembering Belle Tang's father, who was a man of true honour and the only real friend of his father, and her deceased grandfather, who genuinely liked him, he sighed, "If your friend wants to go back on her word, she will naturally come to find me. Then I will certainly return her money."
"Are you stalling?" Belle Tang was very annoyed. She had personally intervened today, and yet Andrew Qi was making her look bad. Why was he acting so out of character?
Could it be, as Rachel Ni said, that Andrew Qi thought the old way of persistently pestering her was useless, so he simply resorted to a 'play hard to get' strategy?
"I'm not stalling. You really think too highly of yourself," Andrew Qi replied, annoyed. "Don't worry, she should be coming to find me today. She still owes me eighteen thousand, and she might even thank me."
"You're still thinking about the remaining eighteen thousand, and you think she will thank you? You're dreaming—" Belle Tang was speechless, thinking Andrew Qi had an incredibly thick face.

But before she could finish her words, she heard Viola Su's voice, "Master... Master Andrew Qi, I've brought you the remaining eighteen thousand! Thank you so much— Belle, what are you doing here?"
Belle Tang was completely confused. Just a moment ago, she thought Andrew Qi was daydreaming, but now it seemed like she was the one dreaming.
Not only did Viola Su not request Andrew Qi to return the money but instead brought her mother to give him the remaining money, and it looked like her mother had recovered mentally, only to be a bit thinner than before.
"Is this the… geomancy master you mentioned?"
Although Moira Chen knew that the evil-warding talisman which her daughter brought back was genuine, she did not expect this young man, who looked like a student to be the so-called geomancy master. However, knowing that these masters often have great airs about them and must not be offended, she expressed her gratitude to Andrew Qi after a moment of surprise and directly handed him twenty thousand yuan to show sincerity.
"Isn't this too much?" Andrew Qi intentionally ‘weighed’ the money in front of Belle Tang, angering her.
"Not at all, Master Andrew’s talisman is absolutely worth it!" Moira Chen insisted on him accepting it, which puzzled Belle Tang even more.
The onlookers were stunned by the scene.
Three beauties, one being older and two being younger, were eagerly giving money to this young man at the dormitory entrance. What was going on? Was this young man involved in a profession that specialized in conning women's money?
Although Belle Tang had not changed her opinion of Andrew Qi, she suddenly thought of something. Previously, she had heard from her grandfather that among Andrew Qi's ancestors, there were very powerful geomancy masters. The Volong Well at Qingtai Mountain was said to be related to his family, and Andrew Qi had boasted about it a few times. So, it made sense for him to have a few ancestral talismans.
Thus, the talisman Andrew Qi sold to Viola Su was most likely genuine, but he was using his ancestors' reputation to deceive people. That was the most reasonable explanation.
"I shall let this brat be complacent for now, I'll expose him later!" Belle Tang thought coldly to herself. At that time, Moira Chen and Viola Su were still praising Andrew Qi, so Belle Tang did not want to dampen their spirits.
However, Belle Tang's expressions and actions were noticed by Moira Chen, who realized that the Tang family seemed to be very close to this young geomancy master. It seemed like a good idea to have her daughter attain some information through Belle Tang.
Moira Chen felt that the recent evil encounter was very strange, as if she had been targeted, so she has decided to investigate about this incident thoroughly. If there really was someone behind it, she would need a powerful ally to help her. Although this "Master Andrew" was just a student and might not seem reliable, he possessed genuine talismans, which were more trustworthy than those dubious Taoist priests and monks of unknown origin.
Of course, Moira Chen did not forget the most important thing— to buy the talismans!
In the hospital, Moira Chen and her daughter had personally witnessed a talisman killing an old ghost. So, no matter what Andrew Qi's abilities were, his talismans were at least genuine. Since they were real, they were valuable and not to be disregarded.
Belle Tang and Viola Su, being young girls, did not understand the true value of a magical instrument, but Moira Chen knew well. In her circle of relationships, there were many officials and nobles who were willing to pay high prices for such items that could bring fortune and ward off misfortune, and those items were often hard to authenticate. A price of twenty thousand was nothing compared to their true worth!
Thus, Moira Chen very politely and tactfully expressed her desire to buy talismans from Andrew Qi, indicating she would not haggle over the price.