Chapter Three: Sweeping the Heavens, the Earth, and the Air

Upon hearing Zhang Xiaorui’s words, Master Huang felt the world go black, and his legs turned to jelly, as if they had lost all their bones.

Huang Buhuang and his younger brother had been orphans since childhood, raised by the kindness of neighbors. Growing up, they had engaged in plenty of petty theft and mischief. By chance, the elder brother, Huang Dahuang, once saved a young Taoist priest. Huang Dahuang had shamelessly begged the priest to teach him a few tricks so he could scrape by and make a living. Out of gratitude for saving his life, the young priest taught him only the most superficial basics. From then on, Huang Dahuang began wandering the streets and alleys, telling fortunes. Having grown up relying on the charity of others, he possessed a wealth of street smarts and actually managed to swindle quite a bit of money.

Once, when the brothers were exposed for a fraudulent fortune-telling scheme, they were beaten severely. Harboring resentment with nowhere to vent it, Huang Buhuang happened to see a girl in a red dress. Driven by some inexplicable madness, the brothers robbed the girl. Not satisfied with just the money, they attempted to force her to spend the night with them. When she refused, the brothers’ anger turned to malice, and they killed her. It was a deranged act. Later, they dismembered the girl's body and hid it in their freezer. Because the girl had died so unjustly and remained filled with resentment, she haunted the brothers day and night.

Looking at the pair, Zhang Xiaorui addressed the viewers in her livestream: "Everyone, please call the police. The address is..." Having said that, she ignored the uproar in the chat and logged off, exiting the livestream.

Curious netizens actually called the police. When the officers arrived, the brothers were just about to flee, only to find the police waiting at their door. The officers immediately apprehended them and, upon searching the house, discovered the remains in the freezer. As for what followed, the brothers were promptly fitted with a pair of "silver bracelets" (handcuffs). They were subsequently charged with fraud, extortion, murder, and robbery. With the sentences running concurrently, they were sentenced to death, executed on the spot.

...

Zhang Xiaorui felt a sense of helplessness. Although this fake Taoist was a swindler and a villain who deserved his fate, seeing the viewers frantically showering him with gifts filled her with envy, jealousy, and resentment. "If a fake Taoist like that can scam people out of money on a livestream and live so well, surely a legitimate master of metaphysics like me can do it too? Why look further afield when the opportunity is right here? I’ll start a livestream myself. Damn it, Master—oh, wait, I mean, this Master will out-compete you fake, low-quality charlatans."

In Zhang Xiaorui's own words: "Compete with heaven, compete with earth, compete with the very air. The goal is to run after grinding everyone down, picking them off one by one, leaving no room for others to compete."

Once decided, she acted immediately. She spent a long time tinkering in the backend and reviewing the guidelines for new streamers.

Once everything was ready, a livestream titled "Master Zhang's Online Fortune-Telling" was launched with a bang. Her profile read: "Three fortunes daily, three thousand per reading; no charge if the prediction is wrong."

The livestream was empty when it first launched, but Zhang Xiaorui wasn't worried. As the saying goes, "Good food is worth the wait," and "Fine wine doesn't fear a deep alley." Just then, viewers began to trickle in.

System notification: "I Love Big Cats" has joined the room. "I Am a Little Sheep" has joined the room. "I Love Beauties" has joined the room. "A Star in the Sky" has joined the room.

Seeing the viewers arrive, Zhang Xiaorui smiled at the camera, revealing two cute little fangs, looking absolutely adorable.

[What the hell? What is this stream about?]
[Didn't you read the title? Master Zhang's Online Fortune-Telling. It's clearly a metaphysics stream.]
[I don't get why there are so many metaphysics streams on the platform all of a sudden.]
[I think this little sister is actually quite attractive. Forget the fortune-telling; just dance and sing, and Big Brother will tip you, come on now...]

Zhang Xiaorui wasn't offended. She continued to smile and said, "Hello everyone! Anyone want a reading? Three thousand per fortune, no charge if it’s inaccurate."

[Holy crap, are you serious? Three thousand? Are you robbing us?]
[Exactly! I go to the bridge and it costs ten or twenty bucks. Where does she get the nerve to ask for three thousand?]

Just then, a user named "Dying Under Flowers, Romantic Even as a Ghost" tipped a rocket. On the Douyu platform, a rocket costs exactly three thousand yuan.

[Whoa, who is this? Is he a sucker or a fool? Spending three thousand just like that on a reading.]
[Damn, he must be rich. Sigh, there are so many tycoons out there. I admit, I’m just a pauper...]

Seeing that someone had actually tipped her, Zhang Xiaorui straightened up, instantly energized. "My friend, would you like palmistry or character analysis?"

"Dying Under Flowers, Romantic Even as a Ghost": "Palmistry."

Without further ado, Zhang Xiaorui sent a video connection request. Moments later, a plain-looking young man appeared on screen. He looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five, wearing glasses and appearing quite scholarly.

"Hello, what would you like to have read?" Zhang Xiaorui asked after studying him for a moment.

"Hello, streamer. My name is Qin Fan. I’ve encountered something very strange recently. Can you help me look into it?"

"What happened? Tell me the details."

Qin Fan took a sip of water, took a deep breath, and began to speak slowly: "I’m a recent college graduate. My girlfriend, Zhao Min, and I were classmates since high school, and we became a couple in college. We promised to get married after graduation. But recently, she said she wanted to go on a trip. I had just started a new job and was quite busy, so I didn't go. She went alone."

At this point, Qin Fan couldn't help but burst into tears. "Streamer, once my girlfriend left, she never came back. She doesn't reply to texts and doesn't pick up calls. I knew something was wrong, so I called the police. But they investigated for half a month and still couldn't find a trace of her. I just want to know where she is. Can you help me figure it out? The most important thing is that lately, every time I sleep, I see her in a half-dream state. She looks terrifying—her eyes are bloody holes, her nose is gone, and her hands are covered in blood. She cries out in pain, and I can tell she’s calling for me to save her. Streamer, I beg you, help me! I’ve been tortured by this dream for so long. If this keeps up, I’m afraid I’ll fall into a depression. It’s too scary, too terrifying. Streamer, has something happened to my girlfriend?"

The netizens in the room were shocked. [Damn, was she snatched by scammers? Is she already dead?]
[I hope she wasn't taken to Northern Myanmar! If she went there, at best she’s working to death; at worst, they’ll harvest her organs. From what this guy said, it sounds like she’s already gone.]
[Don't say that, upstairs! That sounds way too terrifying!]

Zhang Xiaorui glanced at Qin Fan. "Send a candid photo of your girlfriend to my backend. Let me take a look."

Though Qin Fan didn't know why she needed the photo, he immediately sent an unedited picture of his girlfriend over.