After settling down in a large courtyard, the Taoist priest named Lenny Lee made himself at home. In the county, families hosting weddings or funerals would always invite him. Strictly speaking, he wasn't part of any official Taoist sect; like Zachary Justice, he was what people called a 'wild Taoist.'
It was clear that when Lenny Lee recognized Zachary Justice, he was deeply respectful. Elder Peach knew this well—within the mystical arts community, Zachary Justice was widely respected. Over the years, whenever Elder Peach traveled with his master, he would always hear stories about Zachary Justice.
Even his own master had said that Zachary Justice was truly an outstanding person. So, whenever his master attended Taoist gatherings, he was always happy to sit and talk with Zachary Justice, and genuinely enjoyed it.
At this moment, Ethan Zhang returned with plenty of stinky tofu, while Zachary Justice opened the bottle of wine given by a ghost on the road and began to drink.
Lenny Lee’s disciple served tea and water, then started cleaning the house. He gazed at Zachary Justice with great admiration. The two disciples also joined in the cleaning without being asked.
Elder Peach smiled. Once, he too had been like that teenager, yearning for everything about Zachary Justice. But it was only yearning—when he tried to do things himself, he realized how harsh reality could be, far from what he had imagined.
Just the endless rules and regulations of the sect left Elder Peach mentally exhausted. Unless absolutely necessary, he never interfered in others’ affairs, simply because he lacked the energy. The reason he confronted the evil ghost that was about to become a Wraith was purely out of restlessness; he and his master had reached a major conflict, and his master even threatened to expel him from the sect.
After Elder Peach left the mountain for a while, he planned to return. But that night, the spirits and monsters saved him—and that completely changed his life.
Elder Peach clutched his chest. Perhaps he had never felt this way before—the desire to take action on his own, to intervene in matters that didn’t concern him.
Most of the ghost-related matters were just tasks assigned by the sect. Every time, he wanted to finish quickly and escape the boredom and tedium. But with Zachary Justice, Elder Peach found a certain enjoyment.
By now, night had fully fallen, and Zachary Justice was somewhat drunk. Lenny Lee still hadn't returned. According to him, tonight's task was only to carry the coffin to the mountain across the way; the actual burial would happen early tomorrow morning. The groom's family didn’t want to be tainted by such misfortune, so they insisted the bride’s family either cremate or bury her quickly.
The bride died suddenly just three days after the wedding. For the groom’s family, this meant nothing but bad luck ahead. Lenny Lee’s young disciple said that the whole city had been abuzz with rumors about the incident, spreading all sorts of stories.
Originally, after discovering the bride’s death, the groom’s family wanted to keep it secret and deal with it quietly. But somehow the news leaked, and soon everyone was mocking the Zhou Family. They were a prominent clan in the city—wealthy, owning several restaurants, lots of property and farmland—but notorious for their cunning and cruelty. Many locals called them ‘Howard Zhou and his lot.’
Now, with this scandal, the Zhou Family’s reputation was in ruins and they had become a laughingstock. The bride’s family, who had once been fairly well-off and closely tied to the Zhou Family, was also dragged down. This disastrous marriage cost both families dearly, and for days neither dared to leave their homes, since the streets were filled with ridicule.
“Besides,” the young disciple complained, “Howard Zhou only gave us a little money to bury the girl. My master was helpless—after much trouble, he finally found someone to help. He almost lost money on the coffin and burial supplies.”
The young disciple grumbled, while Ethan Zhang just laughed heartily.
"Want me to mess with their family a bit?"
Zachary Justice glanced over.
"Nonsense. If you dare, I’ll tan your hide."
Elder Peach smiled. He knew well that when the Zhou Family—so ruthless in daily life—faced trouble like this, most people’s first reaction was to say they deserved it, that it was divine retribution.
Finally, Lenny Lee returned, but he was followed into the house by several officials. They immediately began searching the place, locked up Lenny Lee, and sealed the house. Lenny Lee and his young disciple were both taken away.
The charge seemed to be something like fraud—they pinned that accusation on him. Elder Peach was about to intervene, unable to stand it any longer, but Zachary Justice stopped him.
"We can't meddle in the rot of the living world."
The group immediately understood—the Zhou Family was venting their anger on Lenny Lee. When the bride died, they had called Lenny Lee over, but the news still got out. So the Zhou Family must have suspected that he was the one who leaked it.
Back on the street, the four of them wandered deep into the night. No one knew how Lenny Lee would be treated after being taken away. Zachary Justice and the others circled the city, then left for a nearby temple to spend the night. The monk there kindly took them in.
At this point, Elder Peach could see that Zachary Justice seemed troubled, as if he wanted to help but didn’t know how. He even admitted that such matters of the living world were beyond his control.
"Master, why not summon a few ghosts to scare the Zhou Family and make them release him?"
Zachary Justice just smiled and shook his head.
"You can scare them for a moment, but not for a lifetime."
After resting in the temple for the night, Zachary Justice set up a fortune-telling stall in the market early the next morning, right beside an alley next to a restaurant.
The two disciples wandered nearby, constantly trying to bring customers for Zachary Justice. Elder Peach sat beside him, watching people coming and going from the restaurant, but it seemed no one was interested in fortune-telling.
By the end of the day, not a single person came for a reading. The four returned to the temple, where the monk had set aside some vegetarian food for them. After hearing their story, he could only sigh helplessly.
“Amitabha. Speaking of the Zhou Family, even I as a monk am powerless. Master Justice, when this temple was built, the Zhou Family originally donated to its construction. When everything was finished, I obtained a consecrated jade from a senior far away and planned to use it as the foundation stone. But the Zhou Family saw it, seized it by force, and even demanded materials equal to their donation, tearing down half the temple in the process. Sigh, a monk shouldn’t lie. Amitabha, what a sin.”
Zachary Justice smiled and glanced around the temple. No wonder it was so irregular—the Zhou Family had torn down much of it.
“That really is despicable. The Zhou Family’s luck is running out. I observed them closely today—their fortunes are nearly spent. I fear the Zhou Family’s son won’t live much longer; they’ve exhausted too much of their blessings.”
Zachary Justice smiled and nodded.
The next day, they set up their stall again beside the Zhou Family's restaurant. This time, a well-dressed man in his forties, with a big belly, walked over and held out his hand.
"Want your palm read?"
Zachary Justice asked, but the man shook his head.
"This spot is mine. You set up here yesterday, so you owe me a stall fee."
The man before them was the head of the Zhou Family, known as Howard Zhou. Everyone in town feared him—he was rich, powerful, and had close ties to the authorities.
Howard Zhou squatted down, wearing a sycophantic smile.
"How about this, Taoist? You give me a free reading, and I’ll count it as yesterday’s stall fee. Today’s you’ll still have to pay. Let’s see if you’re any good."
Zachary Justice smiled, saying nothing at first, then began his reading. Soon, Howard Zhou’s eyes widened in terror—Zachary Justice listed out many details of Howard Zhou’s life, from childhood to now, one after another.
"How do you know, Taoist? Did you know me before?"
Zachary Justice shook his head.
"I’m already over sixty, and this is my first time here. How could I possibly know you?"
Howard Zhou looked suspicious and kept asking.
"So, about our family lately..."
"Forgive my bluntness, Mr. Zhou, but your family is about to fall from grace. What happened before was just a sign. Within three days, something will happen at your home."
Howard Zhou immediately asked,
"What should I do then?"
"If you want to know how to break the misfortune, give me one hundred taels."
Howard Zhou’s eyes widened. He immediately jumped up and cursed, calling Zachary Justice a fake Taoist and demanding stall fees. In the end, Zachary Justice gave him the last of his money.
"I’m staying at the temple on the mountain, Mr. Zhou. If you really have trouble, come find me!"
Lenny Lee had already been imprisoned, sentenced, and was to be sent to the frontier as a convict in a month.
Many people in town felt sorry for Lenny Lee and cursed Howard Zhou.
On the third day, Zachary Justice didn’t set up his stall, but stayed at the temple, waiting—he’d read Howard Zhou’s fortune and knew something big was about to happen.
Sure enough, by dusk the next day, Howard Zhou came running to the temple, crying out loud.
"Master, you have to save me!"
"How can I save you when it’s already happened? Let me hear what exactly happened."
Howard Zhou stammered as he explained: a batch of rice sent to the court was found to be mostly bad, mixed with sand and stones. Now there was a strict investigation, and even the county magistrate had lost his position.
"It makes sense—you did a dishonest thing, and now it’s exposed. Investigation is only natural."
"Master, I wouldn’t dare touch government grain even if I had several heads! How could I? Besides, something strange happened the night before the shipment."