"This little girl has quite a temper, doesn't she?"
Lin Fan put away his phone and looked up at Lin Fan opposite him.
Lin Fan's face was ashen, his entire body drenched.
The boy and girl standing behind him were no different, their initial arrogance completely gone.
"Everyone, does anyone still doubt that Li Yusheng from earlier was a fake?"
Lin Fan scanned the crowd and asked.
"How could we?"
"Li Yusheng truly lives up to his reputation as a leading figure in the Southern Feng Shui world. Look at his presence, his depth of knowledge. His fame is well-deserved!"
"Today, I finally understand what a true master looks like. No wonder the masters invited from the South are so expensive. Their demeanor is truly remarkable."
The words of Sun Yang and the others made Lin Fan as uncomfortable as sitting on thorns.
"Master Lin, Li Yusheng said he'd never met you. What do you say?"
Lin Fan's gaze was sharp as he asked.
"I... perhaps he has too many acquaintances and forgets. If I mention a few things, he might recall."
Lin Fan stammered a defense, his heart uneasy.
"Oh? No need for such trouble. I can call him again, and we can ask him right now."
Lin Fan picked up his phone and stared directly at Lin Fan.
"There's no need."
Lin Fan's eyes darted away. "It's not good to bother him so often. Besides, the Northern and Southern factions are at odds. Li Yusheng must have said that deliberately."
"Hmm?"
Lin Fan was a little curious.
This imposter was no simple trickster!
He not only knew about the competition at West Lake but also the conflicts between the Northern and Southern factions.
"Which school of the Formist school do you belong to? Who is your master? Do you have a membership certificate?"
Lin Fan asked three questions in a row.
"I, I..."
Lin Fan stammered, unable to articulate a single coherent point.
He knew he had encountered an expert.
After much deliberation, he could only look at Lin Fan with pleading eyes, hoping Lin Fan would be lenient and let him go.
"Master Lin, you dare to practice Feng Shui for others without a membership certificate? You truly show no regard for the association!"
Lin Fan said coldly.
"I, I have a certificate."
Lin Fan stammered.
By this point, everyone knew he was a fraud.
Sun Yang and the others stared at him intently.
They couldn't let him escape!
He had already taken a lot of benefits from them. They would definitely make him return it all!
"Tell me, when was it registered? Who was the recommender? Where is your registered territory? I'll check for you."
Lin Fan opened his phone book and found Zhong Chen's number.
According to the rules of the Northern Feng Shui Association, every Feng Shui master who entered the profession had to register a membership certificate with the association, have a lineage, and their own territory.
Those who established private sects would be ostracized by the entire association, and specialists would be sent to challenge them.
Of course, for small, insignificant places in towns and villages, the association didn't care to manage, nor could it.
"I..."
Lin Fan's face turned ashen, and he trembled, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground.
"I'm not feeling well today."
Lin Fan clutched his stomach and stood up. "I, Lin, will take my leave first."
The boy and girl, heads bowed, followed behind him.
"Master Lin, shouldn't you refer to yourself as 'this humble Taoist'?"
Someone beside them quickly blocked their path.
"This humble Taoist misspoke for a moment."
Lin Fan shrunk his body, trying to sidestep them.
"Hey, don't go!"
A burly middle-aged man pushed him and said coldly, "Did you eat the cordyceps I gave you?"
"No, no."
Lin Fan had lost all semblance of a master, looking like a caught thief, not daring to raise his head.
"Brothers, what do we do?"
A group of people surrounded Lin Fan tightly.
"Damn it, he dared to swindle me! Today, I'll show you how many eyes King Ma has!"
"Take him to my construction site, and I'll teach them a lesson!"
"And those two young ones, not one of them will escape!"
The boy and girl tried to slip away quietly but were immediately pulled back.
"It has nothing to do with me. I was hired by him for two hundred yuan a day. I don't know anything!"
"Let me go, I'm calling the police!"
The two shouted desperately.
"Calling the police? I want to call the police too!"
"He scammed me out of over two hundred thousand yuan! Damn it, let's call the police now and send you to jail for life!"
"I know Director Li at the Public Security Bureau. I'll make the call!"
Upon hearing that someone wanted to call the police, Lin Fan's face turned deathly pale.
"Don't call the police, please, spare me!"
Lin Fan trembled like a sieve. "I am a registered Feng Shui master, so I wasn't entirely deceiving you."
Slap!
Sun Yang swung his arm, his slap nearly sending him flying.
As he fell to the ground, people around him took the opportunity to kick him.
"You're still being stubborn when you're facing death!"
"Let's beat him first!"
"That's right, I can't swallow this humiliation!"
In an instant, punches and kicks rained down.
These were all respectable individuals in their daily lives, and they had suffered such a significant setback today.
They were already unhappy because Wang Ying had her heart set on someone else.
Now, to be toyed with like fools by an imposter in front of Wang Ying, how could they possibly swallow their resentment?
"I really am a registered Feng Shui master!"
"I have proof!"
Lin Fan curled up on the ground, covering his head with his arms, rolling back and forth.
After a while.
The group, unaccustomed to strenuous activity, had finally vented their anger.
Lin Fan, on the other hand, was covered in footprints and looked utterly pathetic.
The hotel staff watched from a distance, seemingly restrained, and dared not approach.
"I, I am truly a registered..."
Lin Fan coughed twice, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and still murmured a defense.
"Everyone."
Lin Fan frowned and stepped forward, cupping his hands. "Let him return all the money and valuables he received, and leave the handling of the person to me, alright?"
Wang Ying chimed in, "You're hitting him so hard, aren't you afraid of hurting him?"
"It's good that he's not dead."
Sun Yang replied indignantly.
"Don't act rashly."
Wang Ying gave him a sidelong glance. "As long as you get the money back."
"Fine."
"Since Section Chief Wang has spoken, of course, we will listen."
"We are also very grateful to you today."
The crowd flattered Wang Ying, but completely ignored Lin Fan.
Men, who wanted to be overshadowed by a beautiful woman?
Sun Yang waved his hand and called over two young waiters.
With them accompanying the boy and girl, they were to go to the hotel and retrieve the valuables.
The imposter had been staying in the presidential suite of the Jinhui Hotel, with daily room rates costing three to five thousand yuan.
This was all their money!
The crowd dispersed, ordered a pot of hot tea, and waited.
Lin Fan lay on the ground like a dead dog, ignored by everyone.
"Hey."
Lin Fan called out to Lin Fan.
"I am truly a registered Feng Shui master..."
The imposter seemed possessed, muttering this phrase upon hearing the sound.
"Tell me your name, and I'll check your membership certificate."
Lin Fan felt there was something strange about this and decided to get to the bottom of it.
"My name is Duan Wenshi. I registered in '97. My recommender was my father, Duan Tiande, and my registered territory is Shimen Town."
Lin Fan said intermittently.
Lin Fan sent this information to Zhong Chen.
"Master, could you please check if there is such a person in the association?"
"Yes!"
"Why are you asking this?"
"Did you encounter him?"
Zhong Chen replied quickly, seeming to have a deep impression of Duan Wenshi.