The location the Store Manager sent was a village called Lower Huang Village. It wasn’t particularly remote, just far from the city center and relatively underdeveloped.
Inside the car, Zhao Mingyue was carefully reviewing the information the Store Manager had sent.
There wasn’t much to it, really. The Store Manager didn’t know a lot himself. He was mainly telling Zhao Mingyue what to do upon arrival, how to handle things, and how to communicate with people.
He trusted Zhao Mingyue could handle the ghostly matters. What he feared was that before the matter even began, Zhao Mingyue would get into some conflict with the client.
This could not be helped. Whether it was Zhao Mingyue or Lu Liangting, they were still kids who hadn’t grown up. Just looking at them, they didn’t exude any reliable sense of security, only inviting suspicion.
After reading everything from top to bottom, Zhao Mingyue rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
The Store Manager said he had already communicated with the client. She and Lu Liangting were his “disciples.” Their Daoist skills weren’t deep, but they had experience and could absolutely complete this commission. He didn’t mention the process, but in short, the client had agreed.
After she and Lu Liangting arrived, they didn’t need to put on an act, change into Daoist robes, or anything like that. They were to pose as relatives, then ask about the situation on site and stall until dark. Once night fell, they would find the ghost, resolve it, and then wrap up work and go home.
They shouldn’t say anything they weren’t supposed to say during that time. If there were questions, they should answer with consideration. The main communication was to be left to Lu Liangting.
“I really didn’t expect the Store Manager to have such an identity,” Lu Liangting said from the front seat while driving.
“I didn’t expect it either. I only recently found out.”
“In that case, I won’t cause you any trouble this time. I can wait outside for you, or help you and Bai Yu out a bit.” Glancing toward the back row through the rearview mirror, Lu Liangting had a very clear self-assessment.
With Bai Yu present, it wasn’t his turn to act, no matter what.
“But the Store Manager said to let you take the lead in communicating,” Zhao Mingyue said, holding up her phone. “You take the lead, and I’ll follow behind you.”
“Me?”
“Mm-hmm, that’s what the Store Manager said. He said he was afraid I wouldn’t know how to talk to people.”
“Can I do it?” Lu Liangting glanced again through the rearview mirror, mainly looking at Bai Yu’s profile.
“You can, of course you can!” Zhao Mingyue clapped her hands, deciding the matter.
She was all too happy to have Lu Liangting take charge, then she could just follow behind. This way, the quest would be completed. Crucially, she wouldn’t have to deal with strangers. Why wouldn’t she enjoy that?
As for Bai Yu, she had her own thoughts. If Lu Liangting didn’t ask the key questions, she would supplement them.
“Alright then, I’ll do my best.”
The car interior fell quiet. Zhao Mingyue continued whispering with Bai Yu in the back row. She was practically plastered against Bai Yu, just short of hugging her. Bai Yu, for her part, listened very earnestly to what Zhao Mingyue said, occasionally murmuring something softly.
Lu Liangting could roughly see some of this in the rearview mirror. His foot unconsciously pressed harder on the accelerator. If it weren’t for the phone’s navigation constantly giving voice directions, he would have definitely been caught speeding many times along the way.
By the time they reached the destination guided by the navigation, it was already five-thirty in the afternoon. The sun was about to set in the west, yet dark clouds were gathering on the horizon. Lu Liangting’s car had just driven into the village entrance when they saw a person in mourning clothes hurrying toward them.
They had already communicated by phone earlier. Lu Liangting had given the other party his license plate number, so the person naturally recognized it.
The man reached out and knocked on the car window glass. “Hello there, young man, are you Master Li’s disciple?”
“I am.” The window rolled down. Lu Liangting nodded. “Li Tian’an is my Master. It’s just that today my Master encountered some minor issues, so I’ve come on his behalf to help you solve your problem.”
The man was in his forties, with dry, darkly tanned skin. Upon hearing this, he didn’t speak first but instead pulled a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, drawing one out to offer to Lu Liangting.
This was an old tradition. Men offer cigarettes upon meeting. Although Zhao Mingyue couldn’t understand why this was done, it was probably a way of expressing goodwill and fostering rapport.
“No, no, thank you, Uncle. I don’t smoke.”
Seeing that Lu Liangting was indeed quite young, the older man didn’t insist. He put away the cigarette, glanced left and right, then leaned in slightly, deliberately lowering his voice. “Little Master, when you come with me later, don’t speak first. Let me tell you, the situation is actually a bit complicated. The eldest brother’s family is deliberately saying there’s no big problem, just so they don’t have to pay much.”
“Two people have already died. The old man refuses to leave. He’s turned into a Fierce Ghost, now harming people everywhere.”
“If your Master had come, I wouldn’t say anything more.”
“Listen to your uncle here. Go back now. Everything can still be remedied, or call your Master over.”
The middle-aged man spoke this with a completely serious face. It was clear from his expression that his words were likely sincere.
“I wonder, Uncle, were you the person I spoke with on the phone earlier?” Lu Liangting didn’t rush to make any decision, asking back instead.
“No, that wasn’t me. The one you spoke with was the eldest brother. I’m the second son.” The middle-aged man pressed both hands on the car door, adding another sentence. “My surname is Huang. People in the village generally call me Huang’s Second Son. You can ask around; everyone in the village knows my character. But the eldest brother’s family is different. They’re difficult to deal with. Even though we’re biological brothers, our relationship isn’t good. They’re on guard against me in everything.”
“The person I spoke with on the phone was the Eldest Uncle, right?”
“Right.”
“Then why didn’t he come?”
“Ha, these small matters are definitely handed off to us. It would be strange if he actually came here himself.”
“Mm.” Lu Liangting grunted in acknowledgment. A sedan drove up behind them, blocked by their car, and honked its horn twice, urging Lu Liangting to move quickly.
“There’s a car behind us. Uncle, let’s talk more once we’re at the location. Do you have a vehicle? Want to ride in mine?”
“I’m telling you…” The middle-aged man met Lu Liangting’s eyes for a moment, then nodded. “It’s fine. I have a vehicle here. I’ll lead the way. Just follow me.”
With that, he turned and walked toward an electric tricycle on the roadside. He twisted the key to start the tricycle, turned it around, and drove toward the inner part of the village. Lu Liangting shifted into gear, gently touched the accelerator, and followed behind the middle-aged man.
“Something’s off,” Lu Liangting said inside the car, frowning. “I didn’t even ask him. Why is he so eager to prove his character? Also, he says the relationship between their two families is very bad. Then why, when I called the client, Huang Hai, did this person show up instead?”
“He also said the situation here is more complicated than we imagined. That Huang’s eldest son deliberately said this because he didn’t want to pay more. Then who is footing the bill? It can’t be that just the eldest son’s family is paying everything. It must have been discussed beforehand.”
“We’re already here, and he tells us to go back. That doesn’t make sense.”
Lu Liangting analyzed the brief conversation, unwilling to let go of any detail. He appeared to be quite professional.
Zhao Mingyue, sitting in the back row, said quietly upon hearing this, “Could it be that the older man who just spoke was genuinely kind-hearted? He saw we two are young, so he wanted us to leave. Didn’t he also say we could wait for the Store Manager to come?”
“A facade,” Lu Liangting spat out two words. “He knew beforehand that the Store Manager couldn’t come today, which is why he said that, to lower our guard.”
“I can’t figure it out. Does he actually want us to go, or does he not want us to go?”
Following at a distance, Lu Liangting looked at the back of the man on the tricycle ahead, his eyes narrowing.
“He wasn’t wrong about one thing. This matter is far more complicated than we thought, definitely not as simple as the Store Manager described!”
“Be careful once we go in. We…” Lu Liangting didn’t even finish his sentence, glancing through the rearview mirror at Bai Yu, who sat quietly in the back without a word.
His words just now weren’t entirely accurate. To be precise, it wasn’t we needed to be careful; he himself needed to be careful.
Zhao Mingyue had no problems at all. With Bai Yu around, what thing could possibly harm her?
He was the one in danger. Lu Liangting couldn’t be certain if Bai Yu would save him in a crisis.
He had somewhat thought it through now. Perhaps, maybe, probably, Bai Yu’s regard for him wasn’t as good as he had imagined.
To be more specific, even if he wasn’t wrong in his thinking, his place in Bai Yu’s heart was definitely far lower than Zhao Mingyue’s. If he and Zhao Mingyue were in danger at the same time, Bai Yu would definitely save Zhao Mingyue first. As for him, Lu Liangting, whether he was saved or not depended on Zhao Mingyue’s state at the time.
As much as he hated to admit it, that was the reality.
“Being careful certainly won’t hurt.” Lu Liangting left one final sentence. He followed the middle-aged man through a few turns and then arrived outside a family’s large courtyard gate.
Houses in the countryside generally had large plots of land. From a distance, Lu Liangting saw a three-story building draped on the outside with white funeral banners, black cloth, and funeral wreaths.
He parked the car by the roadside, turned off the engine, and got out.
Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu stood quietly behind him, gazing at this small building. From afar, they could see faint black qi seeping out from within. Such dense resentment energy couldn’t possibly belong to just an old man unwilling to leave due to unfulfilled wishes.
Keep in mind, this was still broad daylight, and the weather today was very good, with intense sunlight—it was also summer. Such a harsh sun should have been fully capable of dissipating resentment energy and suppressing ghosts.
If things were really as the information described, then this coffin wouldn’t even need them to act. Placed under the blazing sun, by afternoon it would absolutely be light enough to lift and bury.
After arriving at this family’s doorstep, Zhao Mingyue was surprised to notice the sky seemed to darken somewhat, dark clouds gathering as if it were about to turn overcast and rainy.
She knew a ghost, no matter how strong, could not possibly influence the weather. Never mind a ghost, even an Evil God couldn’t influence the weather. The Evil God at Eternal Life Village was powerful enough, and it only affected the magnetic field.
But she had to admit, the gloomy sky made the already oppressive atmosphere even harder to breathe, especially looking at this household currently holding a funeral.
It was an extremely pronounced sense of foreboding.
There was definitely a Red-Clothed Ghost here. Zhao Mingyue could say that with certainty.
What she didn’t understand was how a household like this in a rural village could give rise to a Red-Clothed Ghost.
“Sister Yu, did you sense it?” Zhao Mingyue spoke in a low voice to Bai Yu beside her.
“What?”
“The scent of food…” Zhao Mingyue revealed a smile. “Just kidding. It’s a Red-Clothed Ghost Fierce Ghost, though that seems about the same.”
“I sensed it. Can’t pinpoint the exact location.”
Bai Yu tilted her head back, looking at this three-story building. She could see that a grand funeral ceremony had been held here not long ago. Many people had been invited to dinner, and traces of the open-air banquet could be seen both inside and outside the courtyard.
Even many funeral wreaths and the Soul Summoning Banner had been taken down, propped against the wall and ignored.
At this half-dismantled funeral site, quite a few people were coming and going in the courtyard, but the atmosphere was eerily quiet. Not one man, woman, old, or young spoke a word. They were either somber or expressionless. Those wearing mourning clothes mostly had pale faces, clearly having suffered severe fright.
The people in the courtyard were all direct family relatives—many people. Those with slightly more distant connections had already left. Even though they could have had another free banquet meal tonight, no one dared to come.
Rural areas have always been very superstitious about such matters. The fact that Old Man Huang refused to be buried, that thirteen strong young men couldn’t lift his coffin—this news had spread in the shortest time possible, through the entire village, and was even spreading to neighboring villages at a considerable speed.
A funeral missing its conclusion, yet Bai Yu saw two coffins in the courtyard.
Both coffins were pitch-black, without a hint of red. The two ends of the coffins were pasted with paper talismans.
The color of a coffin carries significance. A red coffin generally indicates a joyous passing, representing an elder who died of old age and lived a full life.
A black coffin, however, is generally used for those who died by violent or unnatural means: suicide, premature death, and the like.
Of the two coffins, one was brand new. The other was covered in dirt as if just dug out from the earth, even the signs of decay on it clearly visible. It had obviously been around for many years.
The new coffin went without saying—it was Old Master Huang’s. So the question was, who did the other coffin belong to?
One coffin couldn’t even be lifted away. Not only was it not buried, but another one had been added to the household.
Bai Yu narrowed her eyes, casting her gaze around.
“Hey, let’s go.” At that moment, Zhao Mingyue tugged her hand.
The middle-aged man who had guided them over earlier hurried over from the courtyard, holding three strips of white cloth.
In the local customs, anyone attending the funeral had to wear this white cloth around their neck. If one was a direct family member, they were required to wear full mourning clothes. Zhao Mingyue and the others were guests, so they naturally had to wear them as well.
After handing the three white cloth strips to Lu Liangting, Huang Cheng’s face was full of gravity.
“Little Master, since you insist on coming, then tonight everything rests on you. Tonight is the last night. Tomorrow, the coffin absolutely must be buried, or the whole family will have terrible luck.”
“I’ll do my best.” Taking the white cloth and giving one each to Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu, Lu Liangting truly shouldered this heavy responsibility and walked toward the courtyard.
For some reason, he felt a strange sense of familiarity here, as if he had been here before.
Once inside the courtyard, he tilted his head and asked, “Uncle Huang, may I ask, is there a child named Feng’er in this family?”
“Feng’er? How do you know that? Feng’er is the Fourth Brother’s second daughter,” Huang Cheng said in surprise.
“Oh, then that’s definitely it. My younger sister and Feng’er were elementary school classmates, a very close relationship. I came here once when I followed the family car to pick her up.”
