At the exit of the Hedong city high-speed railway station, two old guys are involved in a playful bout of Cosplay. One was dressed in a white robe, with hair as white as snow but a face as youthful as a child's. His right hand was holding a fly whisk which rested on his left arm, giving him an aura showing a profound Daoist charm. If he could arrange a small stool and spread out a piece of cloth on the ground with a Tai Chi Yin-Yang Diagram on it, there might even be people willing to come to him for fortune telling. The other old man was dressed as the God of Wealth, holding a toad made of gold in his hands, and his clothes were adorned with gold ingots woven with gold threads.
At half past four in the afternoon, a train arrived at the station. The two old men, who had been meditating with their eyes closed, immediately perked up, their faces showing an inscrutable demeanor.
As it was the summer vacation for students, many pupils who had gone out to study were returning home. The station was bustling with activity. However, as if the passers-by could not see the two old men, some people even seemed to walk right through them.
The two old men found it a bit overwhelming amid the crowd. Their gazes occasionally fell on the girls dressed in cool clothes, showcasing long, beautiful legs in different shapes and sizes.
About ten minutes later, people began to disperse. Two old men blinked, looking slightly disappointed.
"When will the opportunity arrive? Brother Taibai, did you get something wrong?" The old man dressed as the God of Wealth rubbed his big-frog-belly with a look of disbelief, then gazed again at the empty train station exit.
"I haven't got it wrong, we just have to wait patiently." The old man in the white robe responded confidently.
Just when the exit was about to be closed, a man in his early twenties rushed out. His name was Chen Mu, carrying a somewhat old-fashioned canvas backpack, his jeans washed white.
As soon as Chen Mu left the station, he rushed towards the side of the road. His younger brother had called him the day before, saying that their father's condition had worsened. Their uncle was urging their grandfather to drive them out of the old house. As the only adult man in the family, Chen Mu had to hurry back.
As Chen Mu didn't continue walking for long, the old man in the white robe not too far from him had his eyes light up. He felt that there was something special about the vibe Chen Mu gave off, he was exactly the person they were looking for.
The man in the white robe stepped forward and blocked Chen Mu's way with an unfathomable look on his face. "Young man, do you have time? There's something I'd like to... "
Chen Mu lifted his head. The old man in front of him - white robe, white hair, white whisk - couldn't hide the aura of a scam artist.
"I don't want my fortune told, I don't need a place to stay, I'm not looking to buy any maps, and I don't have any special talent for martial arts. Saving the world has nothing to do with me. Is there anything else?" Chen Mu, whose mind was on his parents at home, hoped to get back as soon as possible. If he was delayed further, he might miss the last bus and that would mean additional unnecessary expenses.
"You've misunderstood, young man. I'm not a fortune teller. I'm here to offer you a great opportunity. Would you be interested?" said the old man in the white robe, mysteriously.
"No interest!" Chen Mu flatly refused, and continued on his way, bypassing the old man in the white robe.
Chen Mu was stopped again by the God of Wealth. "Young man, opportunity doesn't knock twice, not everyone can have this chance."
"Could you guys behave more professionally? Isn't my outfit obvious enough? Can't you see how poor I am, how miserable I am? Seriously, I have no money. If you want to trick someone, trick the rich!" Chen Mu, with self-mockery, helplessly said.
After graduating from high school, Chen Mu moved south to work. He only kept five hundred yuan for necessary expenses out of his monthly salary and sent the rest home. He had been wearing the same clothes for three years. Anyone with eyes could see that he was a struggling lowlife.
The robed old man was slightly annoyed. He was a deity, favorited by the Jade Emperor. How did he become a scam artist in front of this kid? If it weren't for the kid's unique physique, which only he possessed in the world, Taibai Jinxing would have slapped him dead.
"Young friend, do not overthink. The old man is merely offering you a job. With this job, your life will undergo earth-shaking changes. Let me tell you a secret; we are deities. The old man is Taibai Jinxing, an envoy of the Jade Emperor, and this is Wang Caishen Zhao Gongming, the God who controls all the world's wealth. Now, are you interested in the job?" Taibai bragged smugly.
Chen Mu's mouth twitched. Are today's swindlers all so arrogant? Did this old man lose his sanity, or did he mishear? Was he testing his intelligence?
"Are you guys really deities? Are you sure you're not mental patients who escaped from a hospital?" Chen Mu said dismissively.
"Guaranteed to be true!" Taibai Jinxing confidently said. But then a moan escaped his lips as Chen Mu savagely kicked him in the groin. The pain was literally overwhelming!
Taibai's face flushed, and he clenched his buttocks, struggling not to squat down.
"Deities are supposed to have indestructible bodies, aren't they? I didn't even kick hard, and you're already in so much pain. Why should I believe you're deities?" Chen Mu responded seriously, thinking that he should play along with their game.
Tears streamed down Taibai's face, who knew that even a deity's private parts were so vulnerable!
"Don't waste your time on me. I really am penniless." Then, bypassing the two, Chen Mu prepared to go on his way.
"What if we give you money, would you be interested then, young man?" The God of Wealth asked cunningly, then whispered in the robed old man's ear: "Money can move the devil, let alone a mortal!"
Chen Mu paused, turned to look at the two stupid old con men. What sort of tricks were scammers playing these days?
"To get something from someone - first give them something."
"No less than 300,000 yuan, or there's no deal," scoffed Chen Mu. This was the cost of his father's surgery, and the staggering price was making him despair. He blurted it out, hoping to deter the two old men. 300,000 yuan wasn't a small sum, and no scammer would risk such a large capital.
"Deal, here's the employment contract," Tai Bai immediately agreed, waving his hand, and a contract appeared in front of Chen Mu.
Tai Bai Jin Xing's decisiveness stunned Chen Mu, causing him to laugh in disbelief, suspecting the two men might be insane. But he quickly became dumbfounded as a stack of red banknotes appeared magically in Zhao Gongming’s hand.
"You wanted 300,000 yuan, I give you 500,000 yuan. Young man, do you believe our sincerity now?" Zhao Gongming said.
With one of them holding a contract and the other waving a stack of 500,000 yuan, Chen Mu felt dizzy and his heart pounded. He had seen two people conjure a contract and cash out of nowhere. For a moment, he was dumbstruck. Were these two old scammers actual immortals?
"Don’t doubt it; we really are immortals." Zhao Gongming waved his hand, conjuring a large stack of red banknotes from thin air. A few seconds later, the money vanished, only to reappear moments after. This was repeated several times, leaving Chen Mu speechless.
Confirmed that the money was real and finding no abnormalities around him- it wasn’t a magic show or prank- Chen Mu’s worldview collapsed. Immortals existed in this world!
"As long as you sign this employment contract, the 500,000 yuan is yours," Zhao Gongming and Tai Bai Jin Xing seemed very satisfied with Chen Mu's astonished expression.
Thinking of his father's surgery, Chen Mu decided to take the cash and put it into his canvas backpack. Whether they were immortals or not, his priority was to pay for his father’s medical expenses.
"What do you need me for? And let's be clear, I won't do anything like murder or arson, nothing against the law," Chen Mu said.
"We won’t ask you to violate the laws of mankind. Sign the contract first," Tai Bai Jin Xing handed the contract to Chen Mu. As Chen Mu opened the contract, he noticed the unique material- not paper, nor silk, but something silky to the touch, carrying a sanctified aura. Chen Mu was impressed, the immortals indeed had extraordinary ways, even with the material of their contract paper.
When he finished reading the contract, his face twitched.
Heavenly Court Reform Committee’s Special Employment Contract!
Heavenly Court is undergoing reform? There's even a reform committee established?
As he continued reading on, he found it only contained a few lines. Basically, it was an offer to hire him to manage a piece of land in the Heavenly Court for three years. During this period, Chen Mu was not allowed to unilaterally terminate the contract. Otherwise, his lifespan would be shortened by a hundred years!
Chen Mu snorted; the immortals were hiring him to cultivate land in the Heavenly Court. What does farming have to do with reform? And an abnormal clause about reducing a hundred years of life span in the case of termination; could he even live that long? Were the brains of the immortals malfunctioning?
"If there's no problem, then sign it," Zhao Gongming and Tai Bai Jin Xing said seriously, praying in their hearts for Chen Mu to sign the contract quickly. Watching Chen Mu's puzzled face, the two old men grew increasingly nervous.
