Chapter 156: Benefactor, You Are Impending a Calamity of Blood and Gore

Upon catching sight of Xiao Rongfei, Chen Yang immediately thought to himself: surely it cannot be such a coincidence? Could President Xiao be the one involved in a car accident?

As he pondered this, Chen Yang figured that since Xiao Rongfei was, after all, an acquaintance of his, it would be one thing if he hadn't seen it happen, but now that he had, pretending to be completely oblivious would be far too heartless.

Therefore, Chen Yang hurriedly instructed the taxi driver to pull over. He stepped out of the vehicle, walked toward Xiao Rongfei, and asked, "President Xiao, what is going on here?"

Xiao Rongfei looked up at Chen Yang, a look of sudden astonishment crossing her face as she said, "President Chen."

With a solemn expression, Chen Yang walked right up to Xiao Rongfei, glanced down briefly at the young man clutching his hand on the ground, and then looked back at Xiao Rongfei, asking, "How did you manage to be so careless?"

Helplessly, Xiao Rongfei replied, "I was driving to work this morning, moving along perfectly fine, when he suddenly cut across on his bike. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could, but it was already too late. We ended up colliding."

"Stop wasting time with useless talk," the young man interrupted with a frown. "Tell me, are we settling this through the authorities or privately?"

Xiao Rongfei asked with a resigned sigh, "Privately. How much money do you want?"

"At least ten thousand. My finger is definitely broken," the young man said angrily.

A complicated look flickered in Xiao Rongfei's eyes. Ten thousand yuan was, of course, nothing to a female executive like her.

Naturally, she intended to pay the compensation; after all, she wanted to avoid any unnecessary trouble. Ten thousand yuan—if used to compensate for a broken finger, cover medical treatments, and account for subsequent nutritional and nursing expenses—was roughly a fair sum when added all together.

"Alright, I'll pay. I'm so sorry," Xiao Rongfei apologized.

The young man said nothing further.

At that moment, Chen Yang suddenly looked down at the young man and said, "Show me your broken finger."

"What's there to see? What's the point? Do you think I'm lying to you?" the young man retorted with a displeased expression.

"What? You won't let me look? Got a guilty conscience?" Chen Yang narrowed his eyes and chuckled coldly.

The young man glared at Chen Yang angrily and snapped, "What the hell would I have to feel guilty about?"

"If you've got nothing to hide, then let me see it," Chen Yang said, keeping a smile on his face.

"Fine, look, take a look! But you'd better be careful—if you make my injury any worse, I'll be demanding more money," the young man said heatedly.

"If I really do take a look and accidentally make your injury worse, I'll pay the damages. I'll cover it," Chen Yang grinned.

The young man extended his broken ring finger and middle finger right in front of Chen Yang.

Chen Yang examined them closely, looking at them with extreme care.

The only reason Chen Yang had suddenly asked the young man to show his broken fingers wasn't out of mere curiosity; it was because he suspected that the young man was staging a scam—a classic professional碰瓷.

Sure enough, after studying them for a moment, Chen Yang suddenly scoffed, "These fingers of yours were clearly smashed with some sort of hard object. How on earth is this a fall injury?"

The young man's brow instantly furrowed. "I... dammit, I smashed it with an object myself! I... you just don't want to pay compensation, do you?"

"How about this? Let's settle it through the proper authorities. I'll make a call," Chen Yang said, reaching into his pocket for his phone. After all, professional scammers were invariably terrified of the police getting involved.

Realizing that this was indeed an extortion scam, and seeing that Chen Yang was clearly not someone to be trifled with, the young man panicked. He picked his bicycle up off the ground and muttered, "Fine, fine. Just my bad luck, pure bad luck."

The young man mounted his bicycle and prepared to make a getaway. However, just as he started to pedal away, Chen Yang grabbed the back of his bicycle seat and smiled faintly, "If you're really just a scammer, letting you walk away like this would be letting you off far too easily."

"Let go of my bike," the young man said in a panic.

Chen Yang smiled lightly, "As a good citizen, I simply cannot let you go."

After a moment's hesitation, the young man dropped his bicycle entirely and bolted forward on foot.

Yet, just as a surge of elation filled him with the thought that he was about to slip away scot-free, Chen Yang caught up to him in a flash and grabbed the back of his shirt, holding onto it with an iron grip.

The young man turned his head back, his eyes filled with panic. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Let you go? Since when is it that easy?" Chen Yang sneered.

"Damn it, I've got your number now. You want to play the hero, do you? I swear I'll ruin your entire family," the young man threatened.

With complete indifference, Chen Yang replied, "The only member of my family is myself. Come ahead and take my life if you can."

Seeing that hard tactics were completely useless against Chen Yang, the young man switched to a pleading tone, whining pitifully, "Big brother, big brother! It's not easy making a living in our line of work either. I'm begging you, please spare me and leave me a way out."

"I am giving you a way out. Do you have any idea? Handing you over to the police is the true path to survival for you," Chen Yang said with a completely serious expression.

"But I don't want to go to a detention center!" the young man cried, his face twisting into a mask of despair.

"No, that is your only way out," Chen Yang declared with an unwavering gaze.

With that, Chen Yang took the young man down to the ground and waited for ten minutes until the police car arrived. Only after handing the young man over to the authorities did he consider his task complete.

Watching the police vehicle drive away, Chen Yang walked back over to Xiao Rongfei and smiled, "President Xiao, you really ought to treat me to dinner. I just saved you ten thousand yuan today."

Xiao Rongfei gave a wry smile and replied, "Dinner? I'd be more than happy to. My only worry was that even if I invited you, you wouldn't have the time."

"A person like that was clearly running a scam. It's just your inherent kindness that makes you an easy target for such fraudsters," Chen Yang said with a light smile.

Hearing this, Xiao Rongfei blushed and said, "Sigh... Tell me, is this what you call being kind, or is it just being simple-minded?"

As she spoke, a thought suddenly occurred to her. She snapped her head toward Chen Yang and asked, "Oh, by the way, President Chen, how on earth did you figure out that man was a scammer?"

Chen Yang answered casually, "I don't know myself. Maybe... it was just a sixth sense?"

...

"I don't think so. It must be your extensive life experience that allowed you to see right through him at a single glance," Xiao Rongfei praised.

"It was nothing special," Chen Yang replied with a faint smile.

Seeing that he had chatted enough with Xiao Rongfei, he prepared to take his leave. However, right at that moment, another matter crossed Xiao Rongfei's mind. She looked at him again and said, "Oh right, President Chen, there's one more thing. Actually, if I hadn't run into you today, I wouldn't have brought it up, but since I did, I wanted to ask your opinion on it. I hope you can give me some advice."

"Oh? What is it?" Chen Yang looked at her with growing curiosity, his interest piqued.

With a self-deprecating smile, Xiao Rongfei said, "Please promise not to laugh at me after I tell you."

"Go ahead and tell me first," Chen Yang said helplessly.

Xiao Rongfei began, "It's about Guanshan Temple. Recently, a very prominent senior abbot emerged after three years of seclusion in the meditation chamber. A friend of mine told me that this master, whose name is Xuehai, spent those three years reading books from all over the world. He is said to be profoundly knowledgeable in astronomy and geography alike, deeply insightful into worldly affairs, and remarkably accurate in fortune-telling and guidance.

"Tonight, I'm thinking of going to pay my respects to that master. Of course, it requires a monetary offering. I want to have a chat with him and learn some of his wisdom. Do you think I should go?"

After listening intently to Xiao Rongfei's account, Chen Yang naturally understood what was on her mind.

He pondered the matter seriously, a faint smile instantly appearing on his lips as he replied, "If that master is truly a man of vast learning, then spending a bit of money to chat with him and gain some wisdom is well worth it.

"However, my concern is whether his so-called three years of study are genuine. How can you truly know for certain that he actually spent three years in seclusion?"

"That shouldn't be false. Many of my friends—wealthy executives—all say the master was in seclusion for three years, and that it's the truth. One of those bosses even went to look inside the cave where the master stayed and said it was filled with scriptures and classic literature from both China and abroad. It shouldn't be fake."

"Then you can go," Chen Yang said decisively.

After all, if Master Xuehai had genuinely spent three years in seclusion reading domestic and international literature, acquiring such wisdom would certainly be worth a modest monetary offering.

"Would you like to come with me?" Xiao Rongfei asked softly, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Chen Yang waved his hand immediately. "I won't be going. Maybe another time. Besides, if the master truly has the caliber people claim, I can pay him a formal visit in person later on."

"Oh, what a pity," Xiao Rongfei said with a wry smile.

"There will be other opportunities in the future," Chen Yang grinned, though inwardly, he remained rather skeptical of the whole affair.

Xiao Rongfei did not press him further.

After exchanging a few more brief remarks, Chen Yang parted ways with her and headed back.

Arriving at the Huading Corporation, Chen Yang went about his workday as usual. However, right around noon, two monks wearing monastic robes suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Huading building. One of them walked up to the corporate security guard, bowed slightly, and said, "Scanning this location, I perceive that within three days, a bloody disaster is bound to befall this place. Benefactor, might you be so kind as to arrange an introduction for me to meet the head of this company? To save a single life is said to accumulate more merit than building a seven-tiered pagoda. Amitabha, Amitabha."

Hearing these words, the security guard was naturally displeased and promptly urged them away, "What nonsense are you spouting? Watch it, or I'll call security. Go on, get out of here right now."

Instead of leaving, the monk stood his ground firmly with a deadpan, serious expression. "Benefactor, I take full responsibility for my words. This spot lies upon an ominous vortex and was destined for a bloody disaster; it is simply that the appointed time has not yet arrived. However, I perceive that the dark malevolent Qi gathering above your premises is growing thicker by the day. If it is not dispelled immediately, the consequences are likely to be unimaginably dire. Whether this calamity is resolved here or not depends entirely on you, benefactor. Amitabha, Amitabha."

Having listened to the monk's earnest warning, the security guard began to feel a creeping sense of unease. After all, the monk's absolute sincerity made it seem as though he wasn't simply lying.

Sensing this was no trivial matter—and knowing a lowly employee like him had no authority to make such decisions—he decided he had better inform the manager and let him handle it.

With that, the guard hastily pulled out his phone, called the head of the security department, and reported the incident.

Not daring to make an arbitrary judgment either, the security manager escalated the matter to the director of operations. Through these layers of reporting, the news eventually reached the ears of Shen Donghua and Chen Yang.

By the time Chen Yang learned of the situation, Shen Donghua had personally come to his office to brief him.

After listening to the report, Chen Yang pondered for a brief moment and immediately made a decision: "Let's go down and take a look."

Shen Donghua nodded briskly.

Leaving the office together, Chen Yang and Shen Donghua descended to the ground floor of the corporate tower, where they found the two monks maintaining their inscrutable, profound expressions.

Walking up to one of the monks, Chen Yang cupped his hands together in a polite bow and said, "Greetings, Master."

"Benefactor," the monk nodded slightly.

Chen Yang asked out of curiosity, "Just now, my subordinate reported to me that you mentioned a bloody disaster will befall us within three days. Is that correct?"

"Amitabha. Virtuous, truly virtuous," the monk replied with an air of mysterious profundity.

Though the monk did not give a blunt confirmation, his demeanor made it unmistakably clear that, from his perspective, a bloody disaster was indeed imminent within the three-day window.

Chen Yang thought for a moment, a faint smile crossing his face. "Master, upon what basis do you make such an assertion?"

The monk answered earnestly, "This land upon which the benefactor's establishment sits is an extremely ominous site, destined for bloodshed. Earlier, I observed that the dark vapor hovering over the benefactor's enterprise has been compounding continuously, reaching the verge of eruption. Thus, this humble monk ventured to make the bold prediction that a bloody calamity will inevitably strike within the next three days."

"Oh? And according to you, Master, how might this be averted?" Chen Yang inquired.

The monk replied, "If the benefactor is willing to place his trust in us, this humble monk needs only to help establish a designated spiritual ward to suppress the malevolent Qi plaguing your company."

"And how much would setting up this formation cost?" Chen Yang asked, sensing that this was the crux of the matter.

"The benefactor need not pay this humble monk directly; I am merely performing a virtuous deed and accumulating good karma. Therefore, the benefactor need only donate a single Buddha statue to our Guanshan Temple, allowing our sanctuary to bless you with a lifetime of peace and safety—this would be a shared blessing for both you and the temple. As for the cost of the Buddha statue, it is not exorbitant; a mere one hundred thousand yuan will suffice. For a corporation as grand as yours, this is likely a mere trifle. Of course, none of this is forced; it depends entirely on the benefactor's own volition. Amitabha, Amitabha." The monk spoke in soft, measured tones.

Having patiently listened to the monk's entire pitch, Chen Yang thought it over, chuckled softly, and said, "In that case, I'll pass. Thank you anyway, Masters, for your trouble."

Hearing this, the monk's brow furrowed tightly. "Does the benefactor consider the sum too high?"

"Not at all," Chen Yang smiled lightly. "It's simply because I have a bit of a prior grievance with Guanshan Temple, so there's no need for you to force the issue, Master."

The monk stared intensely at Chen Yang for a couple of seconds, realizing perhaps that Chen Yang had no intention of purchasing the Buddha statue. With a resigned sigh, he cupped his hands in a parting salute, nodded, and turned to walk away.

As soon as the two monks departed, Shen Donghua, who had been holding back a flood of words, frowned and asked, "President Chen, can those people possibly be trusted?"

"If they were trustworthy, would a monk be badgering me for money?" Chen Yang turned his head and smiled at Shen Donghua.

Shen Donghua thought about it for a moment, then burst into a sudden laugh. "Ah, I see. Of course."

"Believe and it exists; doubt and it is nothing. Live your life with a clear conscience, and you'll never fear a ghost knocking on your door in the dead of night," Chen Yang chuckled.

Understanding Chen Yang's underlying meaning, Shen Donghua smiled faintly and said, "As long as you hold no fear of spirits in your heart, there is nothing to worry about."

"Come, let's head back up."

"Very well."

Chen Yang led Shen Donghua back to the office. Although the monk's words had sounded somewhat ominous at first, the moment Chen Yang stepped back inside his office, he tossed those remarks completely out of his mind.

Shen Donghua then proceeded to give a serious update regarding Tianying Corporation.

As it turned out, following Chen Yang's previous directives, Shen Donghua had spent the past couple of days quietly investigating whether Tianying Corporation showed any signs of engaging in illicit activities.

Indeed, Shen Donghua had dispatched operatives to dig into them in secret. Given that Tianying's parent company, the Li family, had previously clashed with Chen Yang, and considering how high-profile their recent press conference had been, Chen Yang certainly had ample reason to suspect whether Tianying might be plotting something nefarious behind the scenes.

Looking earnestly at Chen Yang, Shen Donghua reported, "President Chen, after two days of covert investigation by my men, I found that all of Tianying Corporation's business dealings are entirely normal. They have not crossed into or conflicted with our business scope in any way. Furthermore, they have been operating strictly by the book, with not a single sign of abnormal activity."

"Is that so?" Chen Yang said, his expression turning grave.

After a brief pause, he looked at Shen Donghua and asked, "What do you make of this?"

Shen Donghua answered solemnly, "In my view... just because they aren't making a move now doesn't mean they won't in the future. We should maintain our vigilance and continue monitoring them."

"Then proceed according to your judgment," Chen Yang said casually.

"Understood," Shen Donghua nodded firmly.

"Very well, back to work with you. There's nothing else," Chen Yang instructed.

Nodding once more, Shen Donghua turned and promptly left the office.

By early evening, as the end of the workday arrived, Chen Yang did not head straight home. Instead, he hailed a taxi and directed the driver toward the Scenic Vista Villa residential complex.

The reason for his visit to Scenic Vista was simple: he had decided that this coming weekend, he would finally move his wife and her family into their new home.

In truth, had it not been for his mother-in-law Han Qin's sudden illness, Chen Yang would have moved Qin Muchuxue and her family into the new villa long ago. That unexpected medical emergency had completely disrupted his plans.

Still, moving this weekend, Chen Yang figured, was not too late by any stretch.

When the taxi stopped at the residential gates, Chen Yang stepped out, bent down to pay the fare, and strolled leisurely toward the entrance of the Scenic Vista complex, a deep sense of pleasant anticipation filling his chest.

With the move scheduled for this coming weekend, Chen Yang could already vividly picture the expressions that would adorn the faces of Han Qin and Qin Guoshan when they arrived—it was bound to be a thoroughly spectacular sight.

Passing smoothly through the security gates of Scenic Vista, he walked toward Villa Number One, the premier estate of the enclave. As he walked along, however, a familiar figure suddenly crossed his path coming from the opposite direction.

It was a woman, walking while wiping away tears, looking thoroughly disheveled and wretched.

After staring closely at the woman for a couple of seconds, Chen Yang recognized her. With her cascading long hair and alluring figure, who else could it be but Qin Yan?

Seeing Qin Yan crying her eyes out, Chen Yang felt no sense of schadenfreude; instead, a complex wave of emotions stirred within him.

As they crossed paths, Chen Yang took the initiative and greeted her, "Hey."

Qin Yan lifted her head to look at him and immediately spat out, "Get lost."

Chen Yang shrugged. "Even if you're upset, there's no need to take it out on someone who's trying to show concern for you."

Qin Yan stared at him with a bitter, mocking laugh. "Hah! You, concerned about me? You're probably laughing at me in your heart, right? That's right, I've been dumped. I was stupid, thinking I'd found someone who genuinely cared for me, only to find out he was cheating with two boats at once. I've bloody well become the other woman! Go ahead, mock me all you want, laugh your head off. I don't care anymore. I have nothing left to fear."

Chen Yang shrugged again. "I'm not going to laugh at you. I would never kick someone when they're down, and certainly never a woman."

"What kind of gentleman act are you putting on?" Qin Yan said with a sneer of utter disdain.

The corner of Chen Yang's mouth twitched slightly. "Actually, I've always been a gentleman. It's just that your heart has always been occupied by prejudice—even malice."

Qin Yan fell silent for a moment, her face freezing into an expression of deep thought as she seemed to digest the words Chen Yang had just spoken.

Chen Yang continued, "I really didn't mean to laugh at you. On the contrary, now that you've vented about your ordeal to me, don't you feel a little better inside?"

"Better about what?" Qin Yan stubbornly retorted, though deep down, she had to admit she did feel a fraction of relief.

Shaking his head, Chen Yang said, "I can't help you with this matter, but I will give you a piece of advice: sometimes, wealthy men aren't necessarily good men, and penniless men aren't necessarily bad ones. Stop setting your sights exclusively on rich guys. Find someone steady, someone who truly loves you and treats you well, and you'll find happiness for a lifetime."

"Easy for you to say! Where am I supposed to find someone like that?" Qin Yan asked bitterly, her voice chilled.