PDLP Chapter 20: Isn't America full of demons and monsters?
Chapter 20: Isn't America full of demons and monsters?
"Of course, with such good terms, why wouldn't I agree?"
Li Xuan smiled and agreed.
In fact, what he valued most was the first point: the right to immunity.
What the hell do you mean by being possessed or not? I say you're possessed, so you are!
You question me? You question me? Then I'll question whether you're possessed!
Of course, he couldn't just run around in the streets and kill people indiscriminately; that would be no different from being a madman.
When Li Xuan came out of the Los Angeles Police Department, his first reaction was that he had been taken advantage of.
Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have paid that damn Kun guy protection money!
I'm now a member of LACD, why should I have to pay protection money to your gangsters?
If word gets out, how will I ever be able to live with myself again?
Of course, once it's paid, it's paid; he wouldn't go back and ask for it back.
From now on, whenever those people want protection money, Li Xuan will only need to show his identification.
The title of Special Counsel to the Los Angeles Police Department is enough to intimidate those people.
Even the biggest organized crime syndicate is still an organized crime syndicate; they have to give way to the police.
While it's not as simple as a policeman to uproot the organization, the Huaqing Gang wouldn't be foolish enough to try and collect protection money from Li Xuan, only to get themselves into trouble.
Whether it's the Chinese Youth Gang or the Los Angeles Police Department, what they both want is the same thing: to maintain order.
Nobody wants chaos, not even gangsters.
The world of martial arts is all about human relationships and interests.
A week later, Li Xuan's shop finally opened.
The name is simple and straightforward, and it also includes a string of English words.
Li Xuan's Supernatural Affairs Agency
Li Xuan Paranormal Solutions
There are no superfluous decorations, no flashing neon lights, just a clean and simple acrylic sheet.
Pushing open the glass door, a faint scent of sandalwood greets you.
The entire space is about a thousand square feet, which isn't very large.
The floor is paved with dark gray cement bricks, the walls are painted white, and the ceiling has exposed pipes and air ducts, which are sprayed with a layer of matte black paint.
Several track lights hung from the ceiling, casting a warm yellow light that was not glaring on the walls, making the whole room feel quiet and deserted.
To the left of the entrance is a white stone slab reception desk, which is clean and uncluttered except for a laptop.
Behind the reception desk hung a framed plaque with four large characters written on it—
Tao follows nature
There was no name at the end; it was written by Li Xuan himself.
The characters aren't particularly beautiful, but there's an indescribable energy in the strokes; if you stare at them for a while, you can vaguely feel that the four characters are slightly warm.
The reception desk faces a set of dark gray fabric sofas arranged in an L-shape, with a black coffee table in the middle.
On the coffee table sat a bronze incense burner with three unlit incense sticks inserted inside.
A fiddle-leaf fig tree, over a meter tall, with glossy green leaves, stands in the corner next to the sofa. It's the only thing in the whole room that brings a bit of life to the room.
What truly captivates the eye is the corner directly opposite the main entrance.
That was a special area designated by Li Xuan for divine tablets.
The entire wall was covered with dark wood lattice, which contrasted sharply with the surrounding white walls and gray floors, as if it had been taken directly from a century-old temple and embedded there.
A recessed niche was carved out in the very center of the grille, and inside the niche was the shrine that had been brought from the rented room.
In front of the altar were three small bronze cups: one for water, one for rice, and one for coarse salt.
In front of the three cups was a fist-sized bronze incense burner, covered with a thick layer of ash and filled with the remaining incense sticks.
Directly in front of the incense burner, a string of copper coin swords lay horizontally.
One hundred and eight copper coins were strung together with a red string into the shape of a sword, with the sword tip pointing outwards, and placed on an ebony sword stand.
The copper coins were found at a flea market. Their condition varied; some were rusty, and some were covered in mud, but they were all Wuzhu coins. These things were plentiful and cheap; I bought 108 coins for just over 200 US dollars.
But the red rope was hand-woven by Li Xuan, with each copper coin re-strung and each knot tied in a Tai Chi knot.
The spotlight shone on the copper coin sword, and the 108 copper coins gleamed with a dull, matte light.
He believed that the deity was imbued with spirit, so he invited it over.
Burn three incense sticks morning and evening, and change the water daily.
He pondered that, given time, the copper coin sword, bathed in incense and the presence of deities, would eventually acquire a trace of divine power.
By then, it won't be an ordinary copper coin sword.
The office area is diagonally opposite the shrine area, separated by a semi-transparent frosted glass screen.
Inside, there's a height-adjustable desk, an ergonomic chair, and two 30-inch monitors placed side by side on the desk. The side of the computer case is made of transparent acrylic, and the RGB light strip inside is slowly switching between breathing colors.
A three-tiered metal drawer cabinet stood beside the table.
It contained some everyday items, such as cinnabar and ink.
Li Xuan was very satisfied with this firm.
It incorporates elements of Taoism as well as modern style.
Of course, it could also be described as a hybrid of two different things.
But that's not important; as long as it meets daily needs, that's fine.
The renovations cost him over $80,000.
After the firm opened, if he had nothing to do, Li Xuan would either sit cross-legged and cultivate or play games, waiting for distinguished guests to arrive.
His shop is like that; it either doesn't open at all, or if it does, it's enough to feed you for a month.
Li Xuan has prepared dozens of talismans these past few days, enough to last him for a while.
The only thing Li Xuan hadn't figured out yet was those protective talismans. He had tried using spiritual energy to carve a talisman inside them, but it was completely useless.
His spiritual energy couldn't be carved at all, which clearly shows that his cultivation was inadequate.
Now that he has a base of operations, Li Xuan will certainly not continue to swindle and deceive, and he cannot ruin his reputation.
However, he quickly came up with a solution: he stuffed the exorcism talisman into the sachet and sold them at different prices depending on the grade of the sachet.
Soon, Li Xuan ordered three kinds of sachets.
He stuffed the exorcism charms inside; the cheapest ones sold for a thousand dollars, while the more expensive ones cost three thousand dollars.
Each tier costs 1,000 more, and there are three tiers in total.
The core flavor is the same, but the aroma is different!
What we're selling is an added-value service!
In addition, Li Xuan also started a live stream. Although not many people watched it, it was still beneficial for him to promote his agency.
Li Xuan has been quite busy these days, with the firm just starting out and a lot of trivial matters to attend to.
It's not about making videos to promote the agency; it's about dealing with elderly people who come out of curiosity to just take a look.
Many people know Li Xuan and congratulate him on opening such a firm.
Some people wanted to have their fortunes told, but Li Xuan hadn't learned that skill yet, so he said he wouldn't take on that project for the time being.
For several days in a row, I didn't encounter a single customer.
"Where the hell did America go, all those monsters and demons?!"
Li Xuan grumbled and complained.
Suddenly, his expression changed as he thought of something.
"Yeah, didn't the school that Choi Jung-yeong's daughter attend have something going on?!"
"Amitabha Buddha, as the saying goes, if the guest doesn't come to me, I will go to the guest!"
"This humble Taoist is truly a godlike genius!"