Chapter 37

At first glance, Qi Xiang was stunned, only to see that the scroll was completely blank, with no trace of any painting.

The scene was as if the painting on the scroll had been drawn with a pencil and was now erased by someone, leaving no trace behind.

"This can't be possible," Qi Xiang got out of bed, took the scroll, and placed it on the table to examine it.

He studied it repeatedly, but his brows knitted into a frown.

The painting had indeed completely disappeared, leaving no trace. The entire scroll was blank, as if someone had deliberately framed a piece of yellow paper to deceive others.

Qi Xiang thought for a moment, his mind filled with thoughts. Without a doubt, the out-of-body experience was indeed related to the painting. However, the specific reason still needed careful investigation...

Vaguely, Qi Xiang had some memories. He tried hard to recall, and some impressions gradually became clearer.

That night, Qi Xiang didn't sleep, but the next morning, he still looked refreshed and radiant, with a rich smile in his eyes, clearly having gained a lot.

He had finally sorted out his thoughts and wanted to try it out while the memory was fresh.

At this moment, a cacophony of sounds came from outside. It was daylight, and the streets were bustling with various vendors' cries, mixing together and making it hard to concentrate.

"Never mind, I'll try again tonight."

Qi Xiang changed his mind, washed his face, and went out for breakfast.

A basket of small buns and a cup of soy milk. The breakfast was not much, but Qi Xiang took a long time to finish it. Mainly because he suddenly realized that after breakfast, he had nothing to do.

If he were in Jinling, at this time, he would either be sitting in his shop with a fan or chatting with his colleagues. He wouldn't be idle, but now, it seemed he had nothing to do.

Qi Xiang ate a small bun, his thoughts wandering...

Suddenly, he felt a stirring in his heart, recalling that last night, when his soul left his body and overlooked the entire city, he seemed to have noticed something unusual in the direction of the city outskirts.

"The city outskirts."

Qi Xiang pondered for a moment, finished his breakfast in a few bites, and then hailed a car, instructing the driver to take him to the foot of a mountain on the city outskirts.

He had lived in Huzhou for a few years and naturally knew what this place was.

Huzhou is near Taihu Lake and is the only city named after a lake among the cities surrounding Taihu Lake. Generally, cities built by the lake have relatively flat terrain, belonging to the plains.

In fact, Huzhou does have many plains, but at the edge of the city, there are the residual ridges of Tianmu Mountain.

The mountains in front of Qi Xiang were a series of rolling hills.

The hills were not high, but the vegetation was lush and vibrant, full of life. Most importantly, standing on the hills, one could vaguely see the scenery of Taihu Lake.

The lake and mountains blended together, forming a beautiful landscape, a rare and picturesque scene.

It was said that many years ago, this place was also a scenic spot in Huzhou. Many people liked to come here on weekends to relax and enjoy the mountains and water.

However, in recent years, the number of visitors to the mountains has decreased. It's not that people didn't want to come, but rather that some powerful developers had their eyes on this area, investing and building extensively.

At this moment, Qi Xiang stood at the foot of the mountain, looked up, and saw through the sparse branches, luxurious mansions, villas, and mountain retreats, partially hidden, magnificent and beautiful.

To be honest, Qi Xiang knew about this place before but had never been here. After all, the people living here were either rich or noble, and he always kept his distance to avoid trouble.

Now that he was here, walking along the mountain path, he felt a sense of familiarity.

As Qi Xiang walked, he pondered, and suddenly a flash of insight came to him, and he immediately understood what was going on.

The environment here was clearly similar to Moling Manor. The vegetation was lush, full of vitality, and the aura was strong. If it weren't for the different terrain, it might as well be another Moling Manor.

"Too similar..." Qi Xiang's heart stirred, and he muttered to himself, "Dharma, companions, wealth, and land... a place for cultivation!"

Qi Xiang suddenly understood why he felt this place was different last night and why it had a clear attraction to him.

"Hey, who are you?"

While Qi Xiang was deep in thought, someone hurriedly walked over, with a questioning look. The person was in uniform, with a walkie-talkie on his waist and a baton in his hand, clearly a security guard.

As soon as he arrived, the security guard scolded him angrily, "This is private property. Don't wander around here. Get out quickly!"

"I just wanted to take a look..." Qi Xiang explained casually.

"Even looking is not allowed," the security guard waved his hand. "When you have enough money to buy a house on the mountain, then you can come back."

Qi Xiang frowned slightly, then relaxed and asked, "Are there any houses for sale on the mountain?"

"Hey..." The security guard glanced at him, his tone dismissive and mocking, "Yes, there are many. About seven or eight, each costing five to six million. If you want to buy, I can give you a ten percent discount..."

"Six million!" Qi Xiang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How much is the down payment?"

"Go away..." The security guard said impatiently, "Why are you asking such nonsense? This is not your business. I'll say it again, this is private property. Unrelated people are not allowed to come near."

"Do you want to leave on your own, or do you want me to force you out?"

The security guard was very rude, seemingly enjoying the feeling of being overbearing and domineering.

Qi Xiang frowned, then turned and left.

He didn't go far when he heard the security guard muttering, "Hmph, just a poor guy, coming here to act all high and mighty, probably trying to find a way to attach himself to someone important. I've seen this kind of thing many times. No way he's getting through..."

Hearing this, Qi Xiang walked even faster. But after about ten minutes, he came back, this time accompanied by two young and beautiful girls.

The three of them walked slowly, chatting and laughing, looking very relaxed.

Soon, they arrived at the gate, where the same security guard was standing. Seeing Qi Xiang again, he was taken aback, looking surprised.

Qi Xiang smiled at him and walked past the threshold without hesitation, heading straight in.

"You... stop!" The security guard was stunned and couldn't help but reach out to stop him, shouting, "Who allowed you to enter?"

"Can't I come in?" Qi Xiang ignored the security guard and turned to look at the two girls.

"Of course you can," one of the girls smiled, then turned serious and frowned, "Sir, we are from the sales department. We are here to show a client around. Please step aside."

"Him?" The security guard widened his eyes, "Buying a house?"

"Yes," the other girl nodded, urging, "Don't block us. Move aside quickly."

The security guard was stunned. He checked their IDs and confirmed that the two girls were indeed from the sales department. But he never expected that Qi Xiang, who had just been turned away, would suddenly become a client looking at houses.

Although at this moment, he wanted to shout, "Can this guy afford a villa?"

But his remaining rationality told him that if he dared to say such a thing, the two girls would report it, and he would be fired and left to fend for himself.

So, no matter how unwilling he was, the security guard had to reluctantly let go and forced a smile, "Oh, I see... You should have said so earlier. Please come in."

The security guard quickly stepped aside, and the three of them walked past with a smirk.

"Good dogs don't block the way!"

"Without discernment, he'll be fired sooner or later..."

A moment later, the two girls' voices carried by the breeze reached the security guard's ears, making his face turn especially ugly, and he felt uneasy.

After a while, the three of them followed the winding path and turned a corner to reach the halfway point of the mountain.

At this moment, Qi Xiang smiled and said, "Thank you, ladies."

"Hey, you're welcome," one of the girls said with a grin, "We owe you a favor. After drinking your coffee, we should help you out."

"Exactly," the other girl agreed, "We hate those who judge people by their appearance. We're all working for others, so why should they look down on us and think they're better?"

"If everyone in the world were as reasonable as you two, the world would definitely be much more peaceful," Qi Xiang didn't hesitate to praise. After all, kind words cost nothing, so why not say more?

The two girls were very pleased. To be honest, the sales department rarely had customers, and they were quite idle. Qi Xiang had treated them to coffee and said many nice things, so they were happy to help with small tasks.

Who doesn't know how to take advantage of someone else's power?

Besides, they were also doing their job. If a customer came to look at a house, they couldn't refuse. Whether in terms of procedure or reason, there was nothing to criticize.

"Hey, let's go," one of the girls said with a smile.

At the same time, the other girl added, "To be honest, we haven't toured the mansions on the mountain many times. Today, we have enough time and a good reason, so we should enjoy it."

"Right," the other girl agreed, looking forward to it.

Clearly, they had been thinking about it for a while, and Qi Xiang's request aligned with their wishes, so they were happy to help, achieving two goals at once.

"Sure, lead the way," Qi Xiang naturally had no objections.

Led by the two girls, Qi Xiang bypassed the mansions that already had owners and slowly arrived at a villa on a hill.

The villa was built on the hill, with two floors and an attached lawn courtyard, covering at least 300 square meters.

The two girls easily opened the lock with their access cards and led Qi Xiang into the villa.

Upon entering, they found a spacious courtyard, with flower beds and a garage on both sides. The flowers and plants in the flower beds were green and vibrant, clearly well-maintained with daily watering and fertilizing.

From the courtyard to the villa entrance was an S-shaped path of pebbles. The pebbles were neatly arranged, forming different patterns and colors, adding a touch of charm.

As Qi Xiang walked along the path, he felt a clearer and more vivid sense of the surroundings...

...

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