Chapter 53: Wealth Aura

“Uncomfortable?Why?” Ou Zhiqin looked at the commercial center, puzzled; she didn’t feel anything uncomfortable.

“I can’t really explain it, but it just feels somewhat off,” I said.
Upon a closer look at the wealth aura, I noticed a few clues.

Theoretically, the Feng Shui array of the commercial center should only gather wealth aura.

However, it was now incredibly violent, as if forcefully plundering all the surrounding fortune.
The shops on the surrounding streets that were already closed or even abandoned no longer had any aura, and some even began to emit traces of malevolent aura, very similar to how my home used to be.

And these malevolent auras were also being drawn in, flowing into the commercial center along with the wealth aura.
Because the wealth aura was shimmering golden, I didn’t notice the malevolent aura mixed within it at first.

The commercial center, having absorbed these mixed auras, looked like a lurking demon in my eyes.
People walking into the mall seemed to be swallowed into its belly.
Even though it was brightly lit in the fading twilight, it still appeared eerie.

I told Xiao Qing about this feeling.

She thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, “I don’t know either.Perhaps the mall owner is using a special method to activate the Feng Shui array, trying to gather more wealth aura?
But it doesn’t have much to do with us.
We’ll buy clothes and then go back.”

With that, she pulled me into the commercial center.
I couldn’t resist her.
Just as I entered, I felt something being drawn out from within my body.

And it wasn’t an illusion; I could see it with my own eyes.
Streaks of golden wealth aura were being drawn from my body.
Xiao Qing also had some being drawn from her, but much thinner than mine.
Even the surrounding customers had faint traces of wealth aura emerging from them.

“Brother Xiao, are you saying the commercial center is actually using a Feng Shui array to extract wealth aura from customers?
This is already illegal,” Ou Zhiqin said with a frown.

“Do Feng Shui and supernatural matters also have laws?” My first reaction to hearing “illegal” was confusion.

“Yes, this aspect cannot be openly discussed, but there are indeed customary rules in the industry.
If they are truly violated, there will be overt legal sanctions.
If the mall is indeed tampering with customers’ auras, then it should fall under unfair competition,” Ou Zhiqin said.

“That’s allowed?
The commercial center is already doing this, so why isn’t anyone stopping and punishing them?” I asked.

“Two possibilities.
One is that the commercial center is doing it very discreetly, or has only been doing it for a very short time, and no one higher up has discovered it yet.
The other, of course, is collusion—officials and businessmen working together, tacitly allowing them to do it.
After all, ordinary people can’t tell that their wealth aura is being siphoned off,” Ou Zhiqin said, frowning.

“That’s possible too?” I said with a frown.
After encountering the supernatural world, I found that society seemed to have many hidden dark sides.

“Actually, Senior Sister Mo didn’t tell you one more thing.
The reason the government conceals the existence of the supernatural is that many people, after knowing about ghosts, will try to exploit them for profit, even though many people are already doing so in reality,” Ou Zhiqin sighed.

So that was it.
When I met Yi Zhiqiu earlier, he repeatedly probed me about whether I already knew about ghosts and also advised me not to delve deeper or go down a crooked path.
It seemed that attempting to exploit ghosts was indeed a very serious matter.

“I understand.
If wealth aura is drawn away, it must be bad for us, right?
We should still…
Eh?” I was about to say we should leave when I suddenly took a deep breath, sucking back the wealth aura that had just been drawn out.

“What’s wrong, Brother Xiao?
Is even your vital energy being drained by this Feng Shui array?” Ou Zhiqin asked anxiously, pulling my hand as if to lead me out of the commercial center, but I stood still.

“Wait a minute, I think I, I sucked the wealth aura back?” I said.
Another deep breath.
This time, even the wealth aura flowing in the commercial center was significantly absorbed into my body.
These were things that originally didn’t belong to me.

“Huh?!” Ou Zhiqin exclaimed in surprise, drawing the attention of shoppers around her.
Xiao Qing quickly offered an apologetic smile to them, then pulled me into a milk tea shop in the mall, where we sat down and ordered two milk teas.

In my impression, Xiao Qing wasn’t a stingy person; she was actually quite willing to spend money, but she wouldn’t spend it on useless things, nor was she particularly fond of milk tea.
Now, she simply wanted to create a suitable place for us to chat at leisure, so she just walked into a milk tea shop.

And the two teas she casually ordered were quite expensive, one over twenty yuan and the other over thirty, and she showed no reaction that anything was amiss.
Was this the result of her wealth aura being drawn away?

“Brother Xiao, you just said you could absorb wealth aura?” Ou Zhiqin looked at me with some disbelief.

“Yes, not just mine, but even some of the wealth aura flowing in the mall, I can absorb it.
Will this cause any harm?” I asked, although I actually felt more comfortable.

“No, it won’t.
In theory, you should even experience some good luck.
Very few people can directly absorb aura.
Perhaps we should browse the mall more?” Ou Zhiqin suggested.

“Isn’t that a bad idea?
Xiao Qing also had her wealth aura drawn away,” I reminded her.

“That’s nothing more than a small loss of money.
Anyway, we came here to buy things.
The commercial center wouldn’t dare to go too far.
After all, so many people visit the mall every day; if anything serious happened, no matter how powerful their connections, it would be useless.
They probably just try to subtly influence customers’ spending,” Ou Zhiqin said.

When the two milk teas were served, Xiao Qing gave a bitter smile, realizing where she had been influenced.
Even if she ordered milk tea, she wouldn’t order such expensive ones, adding extra milk foam, tianhan, pearls, and a bunch of other showy, impractical toppings.
“I’ll pay for these two,” I said to the server, then took out Xia Yubing’s phone and scanned the QR code.
For her tens of thousands in spare cash, two milk teas were merely a drop in the ocean.

“Brother Xiao, isn’t this a bit much?” Xiao Qing was still a little uncomfortable.
Because my family was poor before, she always treated me when we were together.
Now, with me suddenly paying, Xiao Qing felt a strong sense of unease.

“It’s fine.
You’ve treated me so many times and even saved my life.
It’s time I returned some of the favor,” I said.
Anyway, I was spending Xia Yubing’s money, so I felt no pang of regret at all.

“Customers, today marks our store’s tenth anniversary celebration!
All shopping customers can participate in our lucky draw.
You two can each draw once,” the store clerk suddenly told us.