I Am Your Natural Enemy-Chapter 496 - 201: Scrounging Offerings, Crow’s Mouth (5k)_3
"We were genuinely afraid that if we gave him a large sum of money all at once, he would change. You must know what eventually happened to many of those in Nanwu County who struck it rich suddenly, don’t you?" Cai Qidong said.
"Ah, yes, yes, you’re absolutely right," Wen Yan replied smoothly.
"I oughta..." Cai Qidong’s temple throbbed violently, his blood boiling from Wen Yan’s provocation.
Wen Yan continued, "He didn’t steal or rob; he earned that money through his own abilities. Don’t you think he knows how to spend it? If he can’t resist this temptation and changes completely, well, that’s his own choice. Who’s to say this isn’t a form of cultivation itself? Oh, but of course, you’re the Minister. What you say goes. You can withhold people’s bonuses, and no one can do a thing about it."
"I..."
CLICK.
Cai Qidong clenched his teeth. He hung up right after getting his point across again!
He looked at the phone and sighed helplessly. Actually, Wen Yan did have a point this time. After all, the person earned the money through his own abilities. And this really is a form of cultivation, a test. If he can’t resist temptation now, it will probably be even harder for him in the future, and the problems then would be much greater. The progress of a Professional can be peculiar like that.
He summoned Feng Yao and discussed the matter.
Feng Yao had initially harbored some reservations about Cai Qidong’s "it’s for your own good" approach. However, upon reflection, he conceded it was likely a more stable method and less prone to affecting one’s Professional Ability, so he hadn’t voiced strong objections.
Now that Cai Qidong had brought it up, Feng Yao took out his phone, opened his memo app, and tapped on a note.
Listed were two simple methods to discreetly award the large bonus without the recipient’s knowledge: First, compensation for land expropriated for road construction in his hometown. Second, give him a winning lottery ticket.
Cai Qidong knew at a glance that Feng Yao had already thought this through.
"Go ahead and take care of it. The finance department will cooperate with you."
"Understood."
「...」
Early in the morning, having found an excuse to call and "greet" Cai Qidong, Wen Yan felt refreshed and invigorated.
Just as he was about to step into the Funeral Home, Director He’s car pulled up nearby, honking twice.
When He Jian saw Wen Yan, a sense of unease settled over him.
The Funeral Home was incredibly peaceful on the days Wen Yan wasn’t at work. Lately, despite a noticeable increase in Ghosts, the Funeral Home hadn’t experienced any incidents whatsoever. He Jian found it increasingly difficult not to be superstitious.
He’d woken up that morning with his eyelids twitching, and upon arriving at the Funeral Home and spotting Wen Yan, Director He’s heart had lurched.
He quickly intercepted Wen Yan, stopping him just outside the Funeral Home entrance.
"You’ve been away for so long, it must have been exhausting. Why not take a few more days off? There’s nothing urgent here. You don’t need to come in; just get some proper rest at home."
"No, Director! I’m going to work diligently from now on. What happened before was just an accident. I love my job! I want to work!"
"No, you don’t!"
"Director, is something wrong?"
"Pah! Don’t say such things so early in the morning, you’ll jinx it! Just rest well. You really don’t need to come in," Director He said with utmost sincerity. If it came down to it, he’d willingly pay Wen Yan’s salary out of his own pocket just to keep him away from work. The Funeral Home was just that peaceful when he wasn’t around. Today, the moment Wen Yan showed up, I just knew those tranquil days were probably over.
Wen Yan was puzzled. What’s gotten into the Director?
As they were speaking, Wen Yan suddenly lifted his head and looked towards the main building of the Funeral Home.
Even though it’s broad daylight, he thought, it feels as if the rear of the Funeral Home has plunged into darkness, emanating that oppressive feeling unique to the dead of night.
The oppressive sensation pulsed a few times and then vanished, and daylight seemed to return to normal.
Director He followed Wen Yan’s gaze, and his expression shifted subtly. He immediately pulled out his phone to check. Sunrise was indeed getting later each day. Although it was bright out, the actual time of sunrise hadn’t arrived yet.
He grabbed Wen Yan’s arm. "I’m serious, just go home and rest. Don’t come here. You don’t need to come to work for the rest of the winter. We have enough staff, really. Don’t worry, your colleagues definitely won’t have any objections."
"Am I that unwelcome?" Wen Yan asked, taken aback. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"It’s not that! It’s just... whenever you’re here, things happen. When you’re not, it’s perfectly peaceful."
"..."
Wen Yan glanced towards the Funeral Home again, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
The Sun isn’t fully up yet, he thought, feeling a genuine flicker of fear. What if I step inside and end up in some other place again?
He decided against entering the Funeral Home and figured he’d just call a cab and go home to lie down.
Director He didn’t enter either. He asked Wen Yan where he was going, offering to drive him personally.
A few minutes later, as they were driving, Wen Yan looked ahead. A Spiritual Vehicle was approaching, heading towards the Funeral Home. Perched on its roof was a Ghost, radiating resentment and wearing a long, mournful face.
"Director, do you see that?"
"I see it..." He Jian sighed deeply.
Just as their car and the Spiritual Vehicle were passing each other, a loose stone, flicked by the Spiritual Vehicle’s tire, rolled directly under He Jian’s front tire.
The car shuddered violently, then fishtailed wildly like a Divine Dragon swinging its tail before crashing into the roadside guardrail. The mesh of the guardrail tore, and an iron rod, as thick as a thumb, punched through the passenger-side window and embedded itself in the steering wheel.
The vehicle lurched to a complete stop.
Wen Yan looked at Director He. Director He looked back at him. Both were speechless.
"You can’t blame this on me, right?" Wen Yan said. "I didn’t even step foot in the Funeral Home today!"
"..." Director He said nothing. He merely sighed, climbed out of the car, took out his phone, and made a call. "Tell that Spiritual Vehicle not to enter the Funeral Home. Have them wait."
Wen Yan also climbed out of the car. He took out a reflective warning cone and placed it a good few meters behind their damaged vehicle.
He stared at a fist-sized stone lying on the road, lost in thought. Such a large stone, sitting right there in plain sight on the road—how could I have missed it earlier? And Director He is an experienced driver; he wouldn’t have overlooked it either.
He turned, looking back in the direction of the Funeral Home, his heart thumping uneasily. Could it really be that I’m a jinx? Thinking about it, it’s not like something disastrous happens *every single time* I show up for work. It’s just that... things do seem to go wrong a bit too often.
Wen Yan was beginning to doubt himself. Could this really be my fault?
