"Master Xia, sorry to bother you. Someone asked me to find you," Shen Anguo said.

"Who is it?" Xia Liang asked.

"Do you remember the girl who was rescued? Her family wants to thank you and would like to treat you to a meal," Shen Anguo explained.

I'm done with the stall for today anyway. Xia Liang thought for a moment before immediately agreeing.

"No problem. Where is it? I can drive over now."

"The Qingyun Grand Hotel."

「...」

After hanging up, Xia Liang had a strange feeling. After all, someone is inviting me to a meal... at my own hotel. Ah, whatever.

Shaking his head, he drove toward the Qingyun Hotel.

Xia Liang had just pulled into the parking lot when a middle-aged man opened his car door. The man then led him to private room number three in the Qingyun Grand Hotel.

Inside, the grand dining table was laden with all sorts of delicacies. A couple with an extraordinary air about them sat at the table.

"Mister Xia, you're here. Please, have a seat," the couple said, rising to greet him.

"Hello," Xia Liang replied, politely shaking their hands in turn.

"My name is Zhang Zhou, and this is my wife, Ling Zhen," the distinguished-looking man said.

The Zhang Corporation... Xia Liang had heard of it. It was a gaming company with assets of several tens of thousands of Yuan.

"I've heard a lot about you," Xia Liang responded courteously.

"Mister Xia, please don't be so formal. We came here today specifically to thank you," Zhang Yuanzhou said. "Thank you for bravely stepping in to save our daughter." As he spoke, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Yes, thank you so much," his wife added, dabbing at her tears with a handkerchief. She hadn't slept soundly for two days, ever since learning her daughter had gone missing.

"You're welcome," Xia Liang said with a wave of his hand. "I am quite curious, though. Does Miss Zhang not have any bodyguards?"

"The child is very low-key. Apart from a few people, no one knows she's my daughter, so I felt it was safe enough not to hire any," Zhang Yuanzhou said, his face full of regret.

"I see," Xia Liang nodded.

At that moment, a young man with a sloppy, lurching gait walked in, yawning.

"Dad, the guy's here," the young man said nonchalantly.

Seeing his son's insolent behavior, Zhang Yuanzhou's expression immediately soured. "Stop being so flippant all the time! We have an honored guest. Greet him properly!" he scolded.

"Hello," the young man said, scratching his head.

"My apologies, Mister Xia. This is my son, Zhang Liangcai. Please forgive his rudeness," Zhang Yuanzhou said with an apologetic expression.

"It's nothing," Xia Liang replied, not minding much.

"Hm?"

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Xia Liang glimpsed something on Zhang Liangcai's chest that seemed off.

"What is it, Mister Xia?" Zhang Yuanzhou asked.

"What is that you're wearing around your neck? May I see it?" Xia Liang asked, pointing at Zhang Liangcai.

"On my neck?" Zhang Liangcai looked down and pulled a bone plaque from his collar. As he did, Xia Liang saw a flash of sinister energy flicker across it.

"You want it? Here, it's yours." Zhang Liangcai, assuming Xia Liang coveted the bone plaque, started to take it off to hand it to him.

"Where did you get this?" Xia Liang asked as he accepted the plaque. It was icy cold to the touch, its surface impossibly smooth.

"A friend brought it back from Thailand. Said it would bring good luck," Zhang Liangcai recalled, looking up.

"Has your luck gotten better recently?" Xia Liang asked.

"It has, actually. Everything's been going my way lately. But that's obviously because I'm exceptionally talented. What does this plaque have to do with anything?" Zhang Liangcai said with absolutely no self-awareness. He was a notorious profligate whose only real talent was burning through his family's money.

"This plaque can indeed bring good luck," Xia Liang said, placing it on the table.

"How could a worthless plaque have that kind of effect?" Zhang Liangcai yawned, clearly not believing in such superstitions.

"Do you know what this is made of?" A mocking smile touched Xia Liang's lips.

"Made of what? How would I know?" Zhang Liangcai drawled, slouching in his chair.

"Let me tell you," Xia Liang said, his voice dropping. "It's made from the skull of someone who died a violent death."

"A skull..." The color drained from Zhang Liangcai's face. "Don't try to fool me," he stammered, swallowing hard.

"Is that any way to speak?" Zhang Yuanzhou admonished with a frown. He had already heard from Captain Shen that Xia Liang was a physiognomist with real abilities. Although he wasn't a firm believer in fortune-telling or feng shui, he knew Captain Shen wasn't one to make things up. Moreover, he could tell there was more to Xia Liang than met the eye. After all, what kind of physiognomist drives a Lamborghini Poison worth several million Yuan?

"This is called a Dark Token," Xia Liang stated calmly. "It's created by Thai mages who follow a dark path. The materials for such tokens are often nefarious things like human bones, corpse oil, or even human fetuses."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the young man. "You should be grateful that your friend gave you a Dark Token made from a skull. The spirit sealed inside doesn't have the strength to harm anyone. If you had received one made from the body of someone younger, you'd already be a corpse."

"Damn it, don't scare me!" Zhang Liangcai cried out in fear.

"Look at your right shoulder," Xia Liang instructed. "Is there a red mark?"

Zhang Liangcai frantically pulled his collar aside. Sure enough, on his right shoulder was a red, palm-shaped mark.

"What is this?!" he shrieked, his heart flooding with terror. This can't be a coincidence... Those things really exist in the world!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.