"What?" Seeing what Li Fu was doing, Yangg Yan was about to lose his mind.
As a Noble Family's Young Master, he was naturally aware of Li Fu's standing in Luoshui City. If not quite on par with the Clan Leaders of the Four Great Families, he wasn't far off.
A man of his stature would receive VIP treatment wherever he went; even the City Lord had to show him some respect. Yet now, in fewer than ten sentences, Nie Yun had duped him into kneeling on the ground...
Is... is this really happening?
The Nie Yun he knew had always been somewhat withdrawn. How could he have changed so completely in just a few days? It was like he was a different person.
"Sigh, you reap what you sow. Since you're begging so earnestly, very well." Nie Yun reached out, pulled Li Fu to his feet, and glanced around the room before continuing, "Judging by this room's layout, your household is surely dominated by Yin and lacking in Yang. If this continues, you will be tortured to death by Yin Sha Qi within three years! Hmm? This room faces southeast. If I'm not mistaken, the person you are having an affair with must be located southeast of here!"
Years ago, Li Fu had been stripped naked by his "tigress" wife and thrown out along with his mistress. The mistress's hideout was, of course, well-known—less than five hundred meters southeast of this spot. Nie Yun, with his knowledge of the future, stated this fact nonchalantly, but to Li Fu's ears, it was like a bomb had gone off!
'I thought no one but me knew where I kept my mistress, yet this old man deduced it in a single breath!' The last wisp of doubt in his heart vanished like smoke.
'This old man must be my savior! He's an old Immortal sent to rescue me!'
"You are right! Please, old Immortal, teach me how to break this curse!" Having realized this, both Li Fu's tone and form of address changed.
"Your problem isn't impossible to solve. We just need to set up a Reversing Fate Array. However, obtaining the materials for the Array Base is... quite difficult..." Nie Yun's brows furrowed.
"The Reversing Fate Array? Old Immortal, will it change my destiny?" Li Fu asked eagerly.
"Destiny is decided by the heavens; how could it possibly be changed!" Nie Yun flicked his hand dismissively. "My Array can convert Yin and Yang, gradually turning Yin Qi into Yang Qi. It will completely reverse your and your wife's positions!"
"What? Reverse my wife's position and mine? That's fantastic! Old Immortal, no matter how difficult the Array Base is to acquire, just tell me what you need! If it's something I can do, I won't hesitate for a moment!"
Li Fu shouted with excitement.
'If I could really switch places with my wife,' he thought, 'wa-ha-ha, that would be the best thing ever!'
"The Array Base must be made of Gold. With eighty-one bases, you will need at least eight hundred and ten gold bars!" Nie Yun shook his head. "Gold represents nobility and righteous Qi. Only by using Gold for the Array Base can you eliminate this dominance of Yin over Yang. Of course, once the Array Formation is complete, you can take the gold bars back. It's just... finding that many gold bars will be incredibly difficult!"
"Eight hundred and ten gold bars? Old Immortal, you're overthinking it. There are things I, Li Fu, cannot find, but this is a Money Shop! Eight hundred and ten gold bars are no problem at all!" Hearing the "old Immortal" say the Gold was only needed for the setup and wouldn't be taken away, Li Fu spoke with rushed excitement, terrified the man might change his mind.
"You have them? Excellent. We'll set up the Array right here in your courtyard. I can draw the Array Map for you, and you can place the bars yourself. After all, Gold represents wealth. If a bar or two were to go missing, it would put me in an awkward position!" Nie Yun waved his hand dismissively.
"Nonsense, old Immortal! Since I've asked you to perform the Array Formation, I naturally trust you completely. Besides, I don't know the first thing about Arrays. What if I misplace something? My efforts would backfire!" Hearing the "old man's" words, Li Fu felt even more at ease and quickly replied.
"Very well. However, my Array Formation requires me to commune with nature's spiritual energy. During this time, it is imperative that I am not disturbed. After you have your men bring the Gold here, do not let anyone disturb me for one hour. If you do, all our work will be for naught. For me, it would mean losing a day's rest at most, but if the Qi and fortune of this estate are disrupted, you will undoubtedly suffer the consequences!"
Nie Yun's brows knitted together. He paused to think, then let out a sigh. "On second thought, perhaps we should forget it. Setting up this Grand Array will take a toll on my strength and even my lifespan. The cost is too great... Besides, with so much Gold left here, you probably wouldn't feel at ease..."
"Old Immortal, what are you saying? I, Li Fu, trust you implicitly! Please, don't refuse. I'll carry out your orders at once. I'll have everything ready for you in no time!"
With that, terrified the "old Immortal" might leave, Li Fu hastily scurried toward the Money Shop's vault. He feared any delay would displease the "Immortal" and cause him to walk away...
"Ahem, Nie Yun... where did you learn a trick like that?"
Seeing the courtyard was empty, Yangg Yan finally couldn't hold back a cough and whispered.
'I've seen con artists before, but never one this damn good!'
'He conned the guy into willingly handing over his Gold—he'd probably be upset if he *couldn't* give it away. Brilliant! Truly brilliant!'
'I've known this kid Nie Yun for years. How did I never realize he had this kind of talent...'
"Okay, that's enough. Go prepare four identical carriages, fill them with rocks, and wait outside!" Nie Yun ignored the question, giving a dry laugh as he gave the order.
'I'm an old monster who's lived for over three hundred years—what haven't I seen? Honestly, a scam like this isn't even that clever. If the world's greatest, the Divine Thief Qiang Huan, were here, he wouldn't even need a Disguise. He could cheat you out of your life, and you'd still be counting his money for him.'
"Yes, sir!" Yangg Yan was now in total awe of Nie Yun. He vaulted out of the courtyard and hurried off to follow his orders.
While he was busy, so was Li Fu. He and a dozen of his subordinates bustled about, and in less than half an hour, the ground was piled high with Gold. A quick count confirmed the number: exactly eight hundred and ten bars.
The price of Gold was a hundred times that of silver. A single gold bar weighed a full ten jin, making eight hundred and ten bars equivalent to 8,100 taels of Gold, worth 800,000 taels of silver. Even with Li Fu's substantial wealth, this much Gold completely emptied his vaults. He had even taken the assets many clients had stored with him!
Li Fu's subordinates had no idea what their boss planned to do with all the Gold, but they didn't dare defy his orders and could only ferry the bars back and forth.
"Old Immortal, I've brought all the Gold bars. Please, take a look..." Li Fu wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face beaming with excitement as he spoke.
"Heh, since you are so sincere, I shall begin the Array Formation. You and the others are to wait outside. And I'll say it again: for the next hour, do not allow anyone to disturb me. Otherwise, you will have only yourself to blame!"
Nie Yun stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his robes immaculate. From his appearance alone, he was the very picture of a worldly master.
"Yes! We will leave everything in your hands, old Immortal!"
Li Fu slowly backed out and closed the courtyard gate.
...........．
'As long as the old Immortal succeeds in changing my luck and I swap places with that tigress, I'll show that bitch who's boss!'
Seated in his room, Li Fu sipped his tea, growing more delighted with every passing thought.
'When I first came to the Money Shop today, I was so depressed. I never thought my kindness would be rewarded like this. A kind-hearted Immortal like him is truly a rare find...'
While he was fantasizing about how he would turn the tables and deal with the tigress at home, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ear. His body jolted and he shot to his feet. Then, he heard a voice that made his blood run cold.
"Who are you planning to swap places with? And which 'bitch' are you going to 'show who's boss'? Do tell."
"Ah..." Hearing that voice, he knew instantly who it was. His face turned deathly pale as he cried out, "Wife, please, calm down! I... I was just spouting nonsense!"
"Nonsense? Hmph. I heard from the servants that you emptied the entire vault. What exactly do you think you're doing?" a burly, coarse-featured woman roared from nearby.
"Er... I was afraid the Gold would get moldy, so I took it out to air in the sun..."
Li Fu couldn't believe one of his own subordinates was a spy. He was furious enough to scream but didn't dare talk back, so he quickly came up with a ridiculous lie.
"Gold getting moldy? It looks to me like *you're* the one getting moldy! You want me to toss you in a dumpster and let you sprout some hair? Now get that Gold and move it back, quick!"
The burly woman roared!
"Yes... but, ah... It's only been a little over half an hour. Can we please wait a bit..." Li Fu mentally calculated the time. It hadn't even been a full hour yet. Remembering the "old Immortal's" warning, he tried to reason cautiously with his wife.
"Wait a bit? Fine. I'll have someone throw you in a dumpster right now and let *you* air out..." the woman roared, then swung her thick arm and slapped Li Fu across the face.
"Alright, alright, I'll go right now..." Utterly terrified by his ferocious wife, Li Fu's face was a mask of misery as he pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped cautiously inside. "Old Immortal? Old Immortal...?"
But before he could finish his call, the world spun and his vision went black. THUD. He collapsed to the ground!
"My Gold...!"
He let out a heart-rending scream, like that of a raped male wolf, a cry that pierced the heavens.
Before him, a carriage-sized hole had been smashed through the courtyard wall. The ground, once piled high with Gold, was completely bare. It had all vanished into thin air!
Seeing this, no matter how foolish he was, he knew he had been scammed. That so-called "old Immortal" was a complete fraud!
"They moved the Gold, the carriage must have left tracks! After them!" Li Fu roared again.