After assessing his distance from the evil water ghost, Chen Hao's mouth twitched. He turned towards Bai Ru and asked her, "Manager Bai, have you played 'throw the handkerchief' before?"
Bai Ru, who was initially thinking hard about why Chen Hao was smiling, was stunned to hear this question.
Throw the handkerchief? What's this?
Chen Hao understood from her expression. He shook his head and said, "You're indeed a daughter of a rich family who doesn't even know how to throw the handkerchief."
Bai Ru was exasperated.
What's the meaning of this? I've had enough. You've been playing tricks and mocking at me the entire time. Do you find this funny? I'm engaging your help with cold, hard cash. Can't you just talk normally?
But when she thought of the importance of the Stream Mountain construction site, Bai Ru fought hard to suppress the anger in her heart. She tried her best to force a smile. "Although I haven't played before, from the literal meaning, it has something to do with some sport like making shots?"
Chen Hao nodded. "Something like that. When we were little, the boys would throw marbles and the girls handkerchiefs. Mm, I think there's even a nursery rhyme to do with throwing handkerchiefs. Have you heard it before?"
Realization suddenly dawned on Bai Ru. Ah, nursery rhyme about throwing handkerchiefs? That she had heard before. But she truly had never played it before.
Casting a dubious look at Chen Hao, Bai Ru asked, "Well, Master Chen, is there a reason you're asking me this?"
Chen Hao pointed at a tree leaf floating by on the water and said, "Do you see that? It's under that tree leaf. I'll give you something. See if you can strike it?"
Bai Ru looked at where he was pointing. It was perhaps five meters away, a distance neither too far nor too near.
But actually, she had a talent in this area. Bai Ru smiled gloatingly. "Master Chen, you might not believe it. When I was in university, I was the strongest player on my basketball team. Every time we competed I was the MVP."
Chen Hao's eyes lit up. "Then, alright. Throw this jade Guanyin there. If you hit the spot, I can preliminarily agree to help you settle the problem at Stream Mountain construction site."
Bai Ru's eyes instantly sparkled and she excitedly asked, "Really?"
Chen Hao said calmly, "I'm a man of my words. As a man, I have at least this much credibility."
"Ok, watch me."
Taking the jade Guanyin from Chen Hao's hand, Bai Ru sized it up.
At first glance, she deduced it was a fake good. The jade was murky, evidently something made in assembly line production and sold at roadside stalls.
But staring at it longer, Bai Ru discovered that this was no ordinary jade Guanyin, for there appeared to have a visible flowing glow. Holding it in her hands gave her a subtle sense of security.
This was a trinket.
Within a short amount of time, Bai Ru labeled the jade Guanyin as something expensive.
This was such an expensive item, yet he could bear to have it thrown into the water? This Master Chen was truly hard to fathom.
In any case, it wasn't hers, so Bai Ru didn't feel any pressure throwing it. After taking aim at the spot where Chen Hao specified, Bai Ru calmed herself down and, with her sharp gaze, that feel she had when she played basketball—something she hadn't felt for some time—returned to her.
Target locked. Throw!
Bai Ru threw the jade Guanyin without any hesitation.
The jade Guanyin made a beautiful arc in the sky before it landed neatly in the water.
At the sight of this, Chen Hao couldn't hold himself back from cheering out loud.
This throw was incredibly accurate, striking right at the spot where the water ghost was. She was indeed the MVP of her basketball team.
Bai Ru was about to gloat when suddenly, a loud "bang" was heard coming from the water and bringing about a splashing of water, startling her.
She stared at the surface of the river in shock, dumbfounded. Did I not throw a jade Guanyin but a firecracker instead?
Chen Hao didn't have the time to bother with Bai Ru. He was too busy staring at the water surface.
Using his Yin Yang Eyes, he could see that the blessed magical artifact had struck the body of the evil water ghost. In an instant, the Dharmic Aura boomed, resulting in a loud explosion.
Under the attack of the blessed magical artifact, more than half of the evil water ghost's dark energy dissipated. The overall vibes its yin body exuded were inferior to the other water ghost, only very slightly stronger than the one among the grass.
Tsk, tsk, effective. This blessed magical artifact is truly impressive. Merely striking the ghost with the artifact obliterated its cultivation. Now, even if this water ghost wants to commit evil acts, it will have to cultivate for quite many years before it can harm humans again.
Chen Hao felt much better.
Regardless of whether this thing had killed the child in the grass, simply looking at the evil energy surrounding it, he could tell it was something bad. Couldn't go wrong hitting it.
"Erm, Master Chen, what's this situation? That explosion sound just now, surely they didn't come from the jade Guanyin?"
Bai Ru was no fool. Looking at Chen Hao's expression, plus considering the words he said, she immediately realized. Hence, she asked this with trepidation.
Chen Hao, who was in a pretty awesome mood, nodded and said, "Yes, that jade Guanyin you tossed out just now is a magical artifact. The spot where you struck, a water ghost is hidden. What do you think will happen when a magical artifact hits a water ghost?"
Bai Ru was stunned.
There's really a water ghost? He's bluffing me, right? Does a ghost dare to come out in broad daylight?
But looking at Chen Hao's expression, he didn't seem to be lying to her. Bai Ru felt shaken.
Then, she suddenly asked, "Master Chen, then how's the water ghost now? Has it been destroyed?"
Chen Hao said with a smile, "It's not that easy. This water ghost was hidden by the aura in the water and has an added layer of protection. Although that jade Guanyin is a magical artifact, its grade isn't high, so it only managed to injure the water ghost severely."
"Ah? Not dead? How can it be? Master Chen, do you have other magical artifacts? Let's continue. We must destroy the water ghost," Bai Ru quickly said.
Chen Hao was astounded. Why does this lass hate evil more than I do? So upright and full of integrity?
But seeing Bai Ru's pale face, the terror in her gaze, and her trembling body, realization suddenly dawned on Chen Hao.
It's not that she hates evil like it's her enemy. She's just clearly afraid.
She struck the ghost with an object, but the ghost wasn't destroyed. She was afraid she'd have to live with unease from now on, fearing revenge from the water ghost.
Chen Hao asked with a teasing smile, "Why? Are you scared?"
Bai Ru furiously glared at Chen Hao. Scoundrel, you were the one who deliberately duped me into this. Because I didn't believe in ghosts, you tempted me to hit the ghost, then get the ghost to bully me in order for me to believe in the existence of ghosts. This was a trick! So it turns out everything you did before this was just to confuse me so that I will fall for your trick. This Master Chen is so devious.
If Chen Hao had any idea what was going on in Bai Ru's head right now, he would surely exclaim that it was a waste of her talent not to be a writer.
"Don't worry, this water ghost can only move about in the water. Just now it was even severely injured. It can't wait to hide from you, much less take revenge on you." Chen Hao reassured her.
Bai Ru continued glaring at him. What a joke. You're not afraid, but I'm just an ordinary person. How can I not be afraid?
"I don't care. You must destroy it." Bai Ru wasn't convinced.
Chen Hao gazed at the water surface. After it was severely injured, this water ghost was really scared out of its wits—it had sunk to the depths of the river. Perhaps even if they continued to toss magical artifacts in there, they wouldn't be able to injure the ghost anymore. And he didn't know any spells to destroy the ghost, so he wasn't able to do it.
After some thought, Chen Hao said, "I've already chased this water ghost away. Right now there's nothing I can do either. How about this? I have another magical artifact, I'll sell one to you. With a magical artifact protecting you, never mind this water ghost, whatever other ghosts won't dare to come near you. What do you say?"
Chen Hao gazed at Bai Ru with an expression of "if you don't agree, there's nothing I can do as well."
Gritting her teeth, Bai Ru had her doubts.
Did this fellow really have no way, or was he deliberately trying to sell her magical artifacts? Or perhaps, this was all a ruse to cheat her out of her money?
However, even though she thought this way, Bai Ru didn't dare to gamble on this. Spending some money to buy a peace of mind was really better than being defenseless when the water ghost came to seek revenge on her.
"How much does one magical artifact cost?" Bai Ru asked, her gaze flickering.