A proud lion would never be intimidated by a pack of mice, let alone be chased by them.
Lu Ming was that lion!
Peng Ying was clearly awestruck by Lu Ming's arrogance. It was the first time she had met such a charismatic man. She couldn't help but lick her lips, examining Lu Ming more closely.
"What an interesting man."
Lu Ming said no more and turned to leave the underground parking lot. This was his first encounter with the Star Saint Envoy, and there would be many more opportunities to cross paths in the future.
His deputy, He Honghui, asked, "Star Saint Envoy, what do we do next?"
Peng Ying smiled. "No rush. I'm very interested in this Lu Ming. Let me study him a bit. Let's drive back."
"Yes."
The car started, and Peng Ying and her group left Rong Shang Technology.
Back in the office.
Lu Ming saw that Jiang Lan had already woken up. She looked to be in good spirits, suggesting she was not seriously injured. However, Jiang Lan's face was grim, and she appeared unhappy.
Secretary Xiao Min stood by with her head bowed, like a child who had made a mistake.
She had indeed made a grave error.
Seeing Lu Ming return, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Lan asked, "Lu Ming, are you alright? Did Peng Ying do anything to you?"
"I'm fine." Lu Ming turned to Xiao Min and said, "Your daughter has been rescued and is now safely home. The White Lotus Cult will no longer hold her hostage, so you can rest easy."
Xiao Min's eyes welled up with tears of joy. She immediately knelt before Lu Ming and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Mr. Lu, I will never forget your immense kindness!"
"Get up," Lu Ming said with a smile.
Jiang Lan, with a stern face, told Xiao Min, "Let me tell you, this is only allowed to happen once. Don't let it happen again. If I find out you've betrayed us again and tried to assassinate us, I will never forgive you!"
Lu Ming waved his hand. "Don't scare her. She was forced into it. The real culprit is Peng Ying, not her."
Xiao Min was deeply touched by Lu Ming's generosity and righteousness.
...
Meanwhile, at the Jiang family villa.
Jiang Xueyi and Xu Qin were secretly planning a major event: to restore their daughter, Jiang Mengxin, to her normal self!
Ever since Jiang Mengxin returned from Mist City, she had changed completely. She no longer obeyed her parents' wishes as she used to and had become very resistant to them.
Jiang Mengxin was getting very close to Lu Ming, and their relationship seemed to be heating up.
How could this be allowed?
After all, Lu Ming was a penniless grave digger. The Jiang family had no choice but to let Jiang Mengxin get engaged to him according to the old master's dying wish.
However, the couple never truly believed that Lu Ming was worthy of their daughter.
They had been looking for a suitable opportunity to drive Lu Ming away and find a better match for their daughter, a more suitable son-in-law for themselves.
In the past, they had never worried about any potential relationship between Jiang Mengxin and Lu Ming. Given Jiang Mengxin's beauty, status, and intelligence, she would never have taken a liking to Lu Ming.
But.
Things were different now.
Since her return from Mist City, Jiang Mengxin's attitude towards Lu Ming had undergone a 180-degree change. She had even spoken up for Lu Ming on several occasions, openly defying her parents.
This was not right.
According to Jiang Xueyi's theory, Jiang Mengxin had likely been bewitched by Lu Ming, manipulated! Otherwise, Jiang Mengxin would never have taken a liking to this poor fellow.
Xu Qin agreed.
She said, "Ever since Lu Ming came to our house, I've noticed he's a bit odd. He doesn't have any real skills, just likes to dabble in unorthodox things. Our daughter must have fallen under some spell during her trip to Mist City!"
Jiang Xueyi analyzed, "If Mengxin marries him, the Jiang family's fortune could very well fall into Lu Ming's hands, and the Jiang family might as well be renamed the Lu family."
The thought filled the couple with deep anxiety.
They firmly believed that Lu Ming had come to their Jiang family with the sole intention of seizing their vast wealth!
"We need to find a way to stop him," Xu Qin said.
After much deliberation.
Jiang Xueyi held up two fingers and said, "We need to approach this from two angles."
"Which two angles?" Xu Qin asked.
Jiang Xueyi replied, "First, prevent Lu Ming from stealing the Jiang family's fortune. Second, help our daughter return to her senses and stop being controlled by him. Actually, we don't need to worry about the first point. Lu Ming indirectly killed the Moon Saint Envoy of the White Lotus Cult, and the cult will not let him go. We just need to wait for good news from the cult. The second point is the most crucial; we need to find a way to break the spell on our daughter!"
Removing a spell from someone was no easy feat.
After thinking it over, Xu Qin said, "When I was playing mahjong, I heard some of my friends mention a 'Wang Banxian' in the southernmost part of Jinling. He's said to be very effective. If we could get Wang Banxian to help, perhaps there's a chance to remove the spell on Mengxin."
"Oh? Wang Banxian? Do you have his contact information?"
"I'll ask my friends."
"Quickly!"
Xu Qin immediately called her mahjong friends and obtained Wang Banxian's contact details.
It was said that this Wang Banxian was a spirit medium.
When Wang Banxian was young, he had saved a mouse and helped it successfully overcome a tribulation. The mouse, grateful, became Wang Banxian's spirit protector, and Wang Banxian became the mouse's disciple.
There had always been legends of the five great spirit mediums in folklore: Hu (fox), Huang (weasel), Bai (hedgehog), Liu (snake), and Hui (mouse)!
It was said that becoming a spirit medium granted one supernatural powers.
The stronger the 'immortal's' powers, the stronger the disciple's powers. Some powerful spirit mediums could even bring the dead back to life or move mountains and fill seas; they were incredibly formidable.
Jiang Xueyi was impressed upon hearing this. "If Wang Banxian is this powerful, a mere spell won't be able to defeat him. Quick, call Wang Banxian and ask for his help!"
"Okay."
Xu Qin immediately dialed Wang Banxian's number. After a long wait, the call was finally connected.
A child's voice came from the other end: "Hello, who are you looking for?"
The voice sounded like that of a seven or eight-year-old child.
Had she dialed the wrong number?
Xu Qin asked, "Is this Wang Banxian's number?"
The child replied, "Yes, Wang Banxian is my master. He is currently helping a benefactor with an exorcism and cannot answer the phone. Tell me what you need, and I will relay it to my master."
Exorcism?
Oh ho?
She had found the right person!
Xu Qin immediately explained her situation, essentially that her daughter had been cursed and needed Wang Banxian's help to break it.
The child on the other end of the line casually replied, "Removing a curse? That's very simple, completely doable."
Xu Qin was overjoyed. "Thank you, thank you!"