New Times, New Hell

Chapter 59 - Purifier Debate

Yu Zhengdu watched as Yuan Qing excitedly opened a new file and started recording his future development ideas. His entire being felt quite complex regarding this.

It seemed like the little Daoist priest was truly going to continue walking down the path of turning cultivation scientific. Though this couldn’t be considered something bad, Daoism and other modern technologies were ultimately different. Among the people, it had a very poignant image of being completely traditional.

For example, the Underworld energy purifier Yuan Qing had finally successfully finished developing after much difficulty. Even though they were being sold in Qinglian Temple, a place that had an abundance of believers, people wouldn’t necessarily trust them.

Yu Zhengdu pondered how to sell off all these purifiers while starting to send messages on WeChat.

Suddenly, a middle-aged Daoist wearing a grey robe rushed in in panic. With a hostile expression, he glanced at them, then angrily said, “Yuan Qing, why are you still here? There’s trouble outside!”

“Hello Shishu.” Yuan Qing politely bowed toward him and asked, “What’s going on outside?”

The person who had arrived was Daoist priest Mu’s shidi. He was also an elder of Qinglian Temple whose name was Wu Yuping. He had entered Qinglian Temple quite early so was of high standing, but was only average at understanding the Dao. Normally, he was mainly in charge of taking care of the temple’s temporal affairs. Thus, he was extremely displeased with people like Yuan Qing who were originally very talented but determined not to go down the formal path.

“What’s going on?” Wu Yuping explained in an implicating tone of voice, “Isn’t it all because of your purifier thing?”

“Ah? What happened with the purifier?” There was a hint of bewilderment on Yuan Qing’s face.

“What else? Naturally that the buyer isn’t satisfied so has now come to make a scene.” Wu Yuping was obviously quite displeased with Yuan Qing’s experiment. Even in front of Yu Zhengdu and them, he spoke bluntly, “Your brain is just muddled. Such good foundations but you refuse to obediently practice Daoism and decide instead to go down a strange and mistaken path. Saying stuff like you want to make the products of Daoism enter the households of thousands. And Shixiong doesn’t have his priorities straight, actually allowing you to act so foolishly. Now you’ve done it. Trouble has come knocking……”

Wu Yuping was Yuan Qing’s elder. If he wanted to criticize the other, Yuan Qing didn’t dare to make any rebuttals. He could only hang his head and listen.

But Shang Que was very impatient. He coldly cut the other off and said, “Do you know how to get straight to the point? What is actually happening?”

Out of the blue, Wu Yuping got rebutted. He had a bunch of criticisms left to say that got stuck in his chest, unable to come out. A moment later, he finally angrily pointed at Yuan Qing and said, “The Underworld energy purifier you sold to Grandma Gu a few days ago. Her family member has come here and caused a commotion, saying he wants a refund. Right now there are a bunch of worshippers outside all waiting to see this joke.”

Yuan Qing’s expression collapsed. “That can’t be?” He had only sold two purifiers in total. And now someone was here to return one.

This couldn’t be described with the single word “tragic” anymore.

The group of people hurriedly rushed to the front hall. Along the way, Yuan Qing appeared extremely anxious. Yu Zhengdu comforted him, “ Don’t worry too much. I just looked over everything. There’s nothing wrong with the product. We can resolve any other situation after getting the whole picture.”

Wu Yuping followed beside them. Upon hearing this, he very rudely glared at Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que. “So you’re the ones who tricked Yuan Qing into giving up on Daoism to go fiddle with those random things?”

Yuan Qing hurriedly said, “That’s not it. I wanted to study them myself……”

“Don’t mention your experiments anymore. To me, they’re just jokes.” Wu Yuping didn’t wait for Yuan Qing to finish speaking before interrupting him impatiently. His tone was mocking, “Does anyone want those things? This is because you’ve never heard what those worshippers say about them. What high-tech purification and evil removal. You’re just charging intelligence taxes.”

Yuan Qing clearly knew about the poor response to his new product. After being scolded by Wu Yuping, his expression became a little embarrassed too, but he refused to accept this and continued to explain, “It’s inevitable that new products encounter setbacks and errors in their developmental process……”

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuping became even more furious. “Don’t talk to me about your socialist Daoism. How utterly asinine……”

“The little Daoist is right.” Shang Que was too lazy to even look at Wu Yuping, but he complimented Yuan Qing. As a ghost king who had finished a professional MBA course, he had a certain understanding of market regularities now. He said, “The market needs to be fostered. There’s no need to feel dismal because of a temporary setback.”

“Quit using your words to fool people,” Wu Yuping spoke up mockingly. “If you’re so capable, clear out all the products in the storage first. I’m going to be rude upfront: our temple has helped Yuan Qing sell them for seven days. We only sold two machines. Don’t say I’m purposefully making things difficult for you. It would even be okay if you guys could sell a dozen or so……”

Halfway through his speech, he saw Yu Zhengdu lift his head and ask, “Yuan Qing, you guys can send packages from here, right?”

Yuan Qing didn’t understand why he was asking this, but still nodded in response. “Yes.”

“Then wait for me to send a purchase order list to you later. Ship out the products according to the addresses listed on there.” Yu Zhengdu put his phone away and said, “I just sold a little over two hundred purifiers.”

Wu Yuping: “……” Suddenly choked.

Yuan Qing’s eyes widened too. “So many?”

“It’s not that many,” Yu Zhengdu answered with a smile. Just now, he had casually sent the introduction of their new product to Luofeng’s VIP customers. These people had disposable wealth; regardless of whether or not the product was effective, they would order without any hesitation just because of Luofeng’s brand. “These are all test trials. Some clients said that if it’s effective, they’ll make a mass order at the end of the year as gifts.”

He patted Yuan Qing’s shoulder. “So, don’t worry too much. Though we can’t sell a large amount, it won’t be that much pressure to clear out the storage.”

With this, Yuan Qing finally became a bit more confident. “Okay.”

Wu Yuping: “……”

He unwillingly hummed. “Being able to sell them isn’t impressive. You must also be able to ensure that customers won’t ask for a refund or try to cause trouble. I think that you guys should first resolve the issue with the person creating a ruckus outside.”

As soon as Wu Yuping said this, Yu Zhengdu hurriedly glanced at Shang Que. He had already instinctively prepared himself to placate the other. According to Shang Que’s strong desire for victory, it was very likely that he was about to start mocking the Daoist to his face.

Only to see Shang Que merely chuckle and turn his head to lowly whisper to Yu Zhengdu, “The way he looks when he’s unwilling to admit defeat is so hilarious.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……” Don’t know if this is an illusion, but Boss’s mood seems to be strangely good these days.

And also……Boss dares to mock someone else for being unwilling to admit defeat. He really has a double standard.

Wu Yuping off to the side: “……!!” Though the other hadn’t mocked him to his face, he had still! Heard! It!

When they made it to the front hall, they saw a thirty-something man sitting in the middle of the room. His expression was angry and an Underworld energy purifier was next to his foot. Beside him, a young Daoist child was pouring him a cup of water.

And outside the hall, a crowd was in the middle of pushing their heads in to peer inside.

When the Daoist child saw them, he immediately rushed over and softly explained the situation.

This man was named Gu Hai. He lived near Qinglian Temple, so his mother Grandma Gu was a very faithful worshipper. Normally, she often came to Qinglian Temple to request for charms. She was also one of the only two people who had purchased an Underworld energy purifier.

Personally, Gu Hai didn’t really believe in these things. But previously, the old lady wasn’t spending much on requesting charms. Thus, he allowed those spendings to slide. He hadn’t expected that this time, Grandma Gu would get worse and spend thousands on some so-called “Underworld energy purifier”. Gu Hai immediately couldn’t accept this. In his eyes, there was no difference between this and tricking old people into buying health supplements. Consequently, as soon as he got a break, he brought this purifier to Qinglian Temple.

Coincidentally, or rather, uncoincidentally, he arrived on the day of Daoist priest Mu’s lecture. There was a mass of people in the temple. When he started causing a scene, he instantly attracted the attention of a multitude of people. Though the Daoist child invited him into the hall in a timely manner, the story had already gotten out. If this issue couldn’t be properly resolved today, Qinglian Temple’s reputation would probably be negatively impacted.

Yuan Qing hadn’t thought that selling an Underworld energy purifier would cause so much trouble. He hurriedly rushed into the hall and bowed to Gu Hai. He asked, “This householder, I’m the developer of the Underworld energy purifier, Yuan Qing. I heard that you aren’t satisfied with your purifier. May I ask what’s wrong with it?”

Gu Hai had already thrown a tantrum earlier. Now, he was calm. He only coldly stated, “Nothing. I want a refund.”

That meant that he wasn’t open to discussion.

Yuan Qing was a bit exasperated. Refunding it was no big deal, but the problem was, there were so many people waiting for a result outside right now. If they didn’t properly explain it as soon as possible, when the story got out, people would only believe that there was something wrong with Qinglian Temple’s product.

Instead, the current Yu Zhengdu could already calmly handle customers’ problems. He immediately walked forward and smiled. “Sir, refunding won’t be a problem, but shouldn’t you at least give us a reason? This way, we can also make improvements.”

Gu Hai suddenly saw a youth wearing a trench coat appear before him. The youth didn’t look like he belonged at Qinglian Temple at all. Somewhat confused, he asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m an employee of Amazing Future.” Yu Zhengdu handed him a business card. “The purifier is a product co-produced by our company and Qinglian Temple.”

Gu Hai received the business card and took a look. After, he scoffed and said, “I wondered why Qinglian Temple was suddenly selling these things. Turns out they’re collaborating with a scamming company.”

Yu Zhengdu had witnessed these situations quite often. His response was the textbook definition of calm. Not even the angle of his smile changed. Unbothered, he responded, “Sir, if you have any questions, I can explain the concepts behind the purifier to you. Please don’t make such assumptions off the bat.”

“I don’t need you to explain any concepts to me.” Gu Hai acted like he already knew how the trap would work. He kicked the purifier and said, “I know exactly how you guys operate. You randomly have the machine display a few numbers that say that the Underworld energy levels are too high. A bit later, you lower the numbers and say that purification has succeeded.”

He stood up and mocked, “But if you want to use this to earn money, at least make the product a bit more realistic. Shouldn’t the numbers on it be slightly more plausible? Start selling them after they pass the quality test. Don’t sell ones like the one you sold my mom. The number on the display has already surpassed the maximum purification capacity given on the instruction manual.”

As soon as Gu Hai said this, Yuan Qing became completely lost. He reflexively stated, “Impossible. I personally examined the purifier that we sold Grandma Gu. All functions were operating normally.”

Because they had only sold two purifiers in total, Yuan Qing especially valued these two customers that he had attained through much difficulty. Before shipping the products out, he specially checked them over to ensure that there weren’t any quality issues.

“Quit faking,” Gu Hai sneered. “The number setting isn’t the only thing wrong with this machine. Don’t you guys also claim that this thing can purify Underworld energy? Then how come it’s been at my home for several days but the energy levels haven’t gone down a bit? Even my mom could tell that there was something wrong with your product. What a joke.”

Gu Hai had originally only wanted to get his refund and leave, but after seeing Yuan Qing try to explain himself, he suddenly became angry again. He purposefully raised his voice while saying this, so that the people loitering outside the hall could also hear.

Yuan Qing glanced over. Quite a few people outside were pointing fingers. He didn’t know how much they had heard. He wanted to explain, but temporarily didn’t even know what the problem was. Thus, he could only feel blatant anxiety.

Wu Yuping was pissed. He swung his sleeve but also feared that the situation would get even more out of hand. He rushed over and smiled ingratiatingly. “Mr. Gu, how about this. We’ll refund you immediately……”

Only to hear Yu Zhengdu suddenly saying, “Mr. Gu, your situation might not be because something is wrong with our machine.”

Gu Hai scoffed. “Then what else could be causing it?”

Yu Zhengdu looked at him and smiled. “Perhaps you’ve encountered a ghost.”

Gu Hai: “……”

Everyone else: “……”

Can you not be so relaxed saying stuff like that!

Gu Hai almost lost his temper. But after changing his thought process, he started laughing instead. He purposely walked closer to the door. This attracted the attention of a large crowd of people. After, he raised his voice and said, “Your temple is a little too hilarious. First, you scam old people into buying these useless things. Now, you’ve been exposed but refused to admit your mistakes obediently. Instead, you’ve created an excuse about how I’ve encountered a ghost. Do you believe me when I say that I’ll report you to the Consumers Protection Association?”

As soon as he said this, the crowd started muttering among themselves. Those who had witnessed the first half of the drama were very kindly explaining the situation to those beside them. Combined with Gu Hai’s words, everyone’s attitudes suddenly became biased. Though they were all Qinglian Temple’s worshippers, they were against allowing Daoists to unrestrictedly earn money. In an instant, everyone’s gazes became strange when they looked at Yuan Qing and them.

Sweat formed on Wu Yuping’s forehead out of agitation. He was about to step forward and persuade Gu Hai when Yu Zhengdu beat him to it. The other said, “Mr. Gu, in my opinion, we should go take a look around your house.”

Before Gu Hai could refute him, Yu Zhengdu added, “This counts as free post-sale service. If it proves that there is actually something wrong with our machine, we will give you an unconditional refund and a public apology. No matter how you defame us in public, we’ll admit it. What do you think?”

Honestly, Gu Hai was reluctant in his heart. It was too much trouble for them to examine his house just to return a product. But he was purposefully causing a commotion in front of so many people to make Qinglian Temple lose face. Yu Zhengdu’s conditions were also so sincere. If he refused to agree, it would appear as if he was guilty and in the wrong instead.

Gu Hai thought about it. Either way, his house wasn’t far. A trip was only a trip. Later, he would be able to return with evidence to press Qinglian Temple into the ground and wipe the floor with them.

Wu Yuping was about to go mad from rage. He stepped forward and started yelling, “Are you crazy? You’re joking with the reputation of Qinglian Temple……”

Yu Zhengdu spoke, “Daoist priest Wu, you think Qinglian Temple’s reputation would be fine if we don’t clearly explain the situation today?”

Wu Yuping was rendered temporarily speechless. Truly. So many people had already witnessed everything. Unless they could prove that there was nothing wrong with the purifier, no matter how they tried to save their reputation, they wouldn’t be able to remove this stain.

But in the end, the real problem was that they shouldn’t have produced that purifier thing.

Wu Yuping’s chest hurt due to his anger. On the other hand, Yu Zhengdu was very relaxed. He exchanged eye contact with Shang Que, then walked out with Yuan Qing and Gu Hai.

They headed towards Qinglian Temple’s exit. A few gossipy crowd members followed them part of the way. They discussed things quietly among themselves.

“They’re really going?”

“The situation has already gotten out of hand. They have no other choice but to go.”

“So after they finish examining it, will they come back and announce the results to everyone?”

“How would they do that? There’s an 80% chance that won’t happen. They’re just trying to save face for each other.”

“What’s wrong with Qinglian Temple. How could Daoist priest Mu allow the people below him to sell these things? Isn’t that ruining his reputation too?”

“Ey, what’s so strange about that. Haven’t all Daoist temples started becoming more and more commercial lately.”

“But they can’t be so horrible at it……”

Gu Hai took large strides up ahead. He didn’t forget to vex Yu Zhengdu and them along the way. “Let me give you a kind warning ahead of time. None of my family, relatives, friends, or coworkers have died recently. They haven’t even had any accidents. I haven’t gone anywhere haunted and the house we live in has been the same one we’ve occupied for the past few decades. It can’t possibly be a haunted house. We also never bring anything random into the house from outside. That’s the situation. Careful with what excuses you plan to make in the future. I’m interested in seeing what new, interesting lies you guys can come up with……”

It seemed like Gu Hai had truly done his homework before coming to return the product. He had already eliminated all the usual possibilities of encountering evil known among the general public.

After he said this, even Yuan Qing became a bit nervous. He softly asked Yu Zhengdu, “It’s very unlikely that he’s encountered anything evil with his situation. Could it be that there really is something wrong with our machine?”

“Don’t worry.” Yu Zhengdu patted his shoulder, but he also felt a bit hesitant in his heart. He lowly asked Shang Que, “What’s the situation with this person? Could it be that he really hasn’t encountered a ghost?”

Shang Que was completely unbothered. “Who cares. Either way, he’s definitely going to encounter a ghost today.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……Promise me. Whatever you do, you won’t act personally.”

Shang Que looked at him. Suddenly, he crooked his lips into a barely noticeable smile. “Okay. I promise you.”

Yu Zhengdu: ……I noticed it!

Gu Hai was still incessantly mocking them, “Do you guys have any other circumstances where one would encounter a ghost? Share them with me so I can give you a consultation. Otherwise, it would be too awkward if you made something up and it didn’t match with the general conditions at my house……”

By now, they were already by Qinglian Temple’s gate. As Gu Hai spoke, he stepped outside the gate, then saw Yu Zhengdu suddenly stop walking. The other said, “There’s no need. We already know what’s going on?”

Gu Hai’s footsteps paused. He thought that his mocking had allowed them to recognize the difficulty and surrender. He couldn’t keep the disdain out of his tone. “What, giving up so quickly? Or is it that you can’t come up with any other excuses?”

“That’s not it, Mr. Gu. We already know what evil you’ve encountered.” Yu Zhengdu stared at the spot by the other’s foot and asked, “May I ask if you’re familiar with a yellow dog?”

Upon hearing this, Gu Hai furrowed his brows. He inquired in confusion, “A what dog?”

Yu Zhengdu kept staring at the spot by his foot. He spread his arms apart and gestured, “A yellow mutt, about this big. It has a white spot on its right leg and there’s a piece missing from its left ear……”

Following his description, a disbelieving expression slowly crept onto Gu Hai’s face. When Yu Zhengdu started talking about the ear, he finally couldn’t help charging forward and grabbing onto the other’s wrist. “That’s Meichao! You’ve seen Meichao! Where is it?”

Shang Que reached a hand out from the side and pried the other’s hand off. He coldly said, “American banknotes are in the bank. Keep your hands to yourself.”

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Gu Hai’s face, but he still couldn’t hide his excitement. His originally arrogant attitude completely disappeared too. He said, “Meichao was a rural dog I used to keep. It suddenly disappeared two months ago. I searched for a long time but couldn’t find it. May I ask where you guys saw it? Can you take me to go find it?”

Yu Zhengdu sighed. His eyes remained glued to the spot by Gu Hai’s foot. “It’s right by your side.”

Just now, Gu Hai had stepped out of Qinglian Temple’s gates. Immediately, the spirit of a large, yellow dog had pounced over and started walking in circles around his feet.

According to this situation, it seemed that for this period of time, this dog had been staying by Gu Hai’s side. No wonder the Underworld energy levels on the purifier wouldn’t decrease no matter what.

But the temple was protected by the power of the gods and the faith of the worshippers. Evil and Underworld spirits couldn’t enter. Thus, when Gu Hai walked into Qinglian Temple, the big dog could only stand guard outside and wait for him.

At this time, the big dog seemed to discover that Yu Zhengdu could see it. It leaned its head back and started whimpering at him nonstop.

Yu Zhengdu squatted in front of the big dog. His gaze was filled with pity. “It’s very old already.”

If at first Gu Hai had still been a bit suspicious, he finally couldn’t keep the tears back after hearing this. “That’s right. Meichao is already very old. It’s a little directionally challenged now, which is why it probably got lost……”

“It didn’t get lost.” Shang Que stared at the big dog and calmly relayed, “It ran off on its own.”

“Ran off on its own?” Gu Hai paused. He asked in confusion, “Impossible. Meichao accompanied me for so many years. It wouldn’t bear to leave me……”

Shang Que: “It had to bear to even if it couldn’t bear to. It reached the end of its life.”

Gu Hai was speechless. Suddenly, he understood everything.

He had raised Meichao for several years. Naturally, he knew dogs’ habits. Several loyal dogs would choose to leave their owners near the end of their lives because they didn’t want their owners to witness their passing.

But he hadn’t expected that Meichao’s affections towards its owner would be so deep. Prior to death, it had avoided Gu Hai. After death, its spirit stayed by his side, guarding him, just as it had in life. It refused to leave.

Gu Hai couldn’t help the tears pouring down his face anymore. “Meichao, Meichao——”

The big dog: “Wu——”

Inside Qinglian Temple, Daoist priest Mu just finished his lecture. As he exited the main hall with the flow of people, Wu Yuping hurriedly made his way to the other’s side and impatiently tugged him into a corner. He relayed what had just happened and in extreme agony stated, “Shixiong, you can’t allow Yuan Qing to continue fooling around like this. Otherwise, our Qinglian Temple’s reputation is going to become ruined sooner or later……”

Daoist priest Mu also hadn’t expected that a purifier would be able to cause so much trouble. He pondered a bit and said, “Little Householder Yu’s company is very professional. Perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding with the client. We should wait and see……”

“Why do you still trust those two people? They’re just silver-tongued scammers!” Wu Yuping was almost beside himself with worry. “Shixiong, you didn’t see how that Householder Gu caused a commotion just now. He directly ripped our face away. If you don’t act quickly now, when Householder Gu comes back, we won’t be able to control the situation anymore!”

Daoist priest Mu was shocked. “It’s really so serious?”

Wu Yuping got straight to the point. “It’s much more serious than that. If you don’t believe me, look at the worshippers outside. Aren’t they pointing fingers at us?”

Daoist priest Mu glanced outside. As expected, there was a group of worshippers making their way over. They surrounded them and started whispering among each other. He could make out words like “purifier” and “is that real or fake”. All of their expressions were surprised and confused.

Wu Yuping appeared both anxious and smug. He held his hands out: “Shixiong, see!”

Daoist priest Mu’s expression darkened. In his heart, he was biased towards Yu Zhengdu, Yuan Qing, and them. But this matter was related to Qinglian Temple’s reputation. It was no longer a question of right or wrong.

Just as he was in the middle of a fierce debate with himself, the incessantly chattering worshippers outside suddenly split into two groups and cleared a small path in the middle. Then, he saw Yuan Qing leading Gu Hai over. Gu Hai couldn’t stop saying, “Daoist priest Yuan Qing, please promise me that you will arrange for the best soul releasing ceremony for Meichao……”

Yuan Qing nodded. “Don’t worry, my master’s cultivation level is very great……”

Gu Hai looked up after giving his instructions. As soon as he saw Daoist priest Mu, he immediately became overjoyed. He shouted, “Daoist priest Mu, you’ve finished lecturing? That’s great!”

Upon seeing this, Wu Yuping’s entire body tensed. As if facing a great enemy, he said, “Shixiong, this is that Householder Gu.”

Daoist priest Mu’s expression became severe. He hurriedly rushed forward and said, “Householder Gu, you mustn’t be agitated. We can have a civilized discussion about the purifier……”

Gu Hai immediately cut him off, “No no no, there’s no need for discussion.”

Wu Yuping instantly became even more nervous. “What do you actually want?”

“I don’t want anything……” Gu Hai’s expression appeared a bit awkward, but his attitude while apologizing was more than passable. He politely bowed and said, “Daoist priest Mu, the purifier you guys are selling is too great. As expected from high tech. I’m not going to return the original one anymore, and also I want to buy another one as a gift.”

Daoist priest Mu: “……”

Daoist priest Mu turned around and looked at Wu Yuping in perplexion.

Wu Yuping: “……”

How come the willpower of young people these days is so weak! How could they switch sides so quickly!

The author has something to say:

Daoist priest Mu: I knew it. Scientific Daoism can’t go wrong!

Zhengdu: How come Boss has been so agreeable these past few days?!