I couldn't help but frown. Although I didn't know what was going on, seeing those two people acting like that made me feel quite disgusted. The two of them drove away, but the crying in the courtyard continued for a long time. Some onlookers nearby kept pointing and whispering about that house.
From their conversations, I roughly understood what had happened. It turned out that the girl from this family went to the same school as the daughter of that man and woman I saw earlier, and they even lived in the same dormitory. The daughter from that rich family often bullied this girl.
No one knew exactly how, but a few days ago, the girl had jumped off a building and died. The exact cause of her death was unknown.
I felt very sorry for the parents—losing a daughter in middle age—how they would live the rest of their lives in pain.
In the evening, Manhe finally came back. When he saw me, he jumped up excitedly.
"Taiping, why did you suddenly come? You didn't tell me in advance so I could come pick you up." Manhe said as he took the bag from my hand.
"If I told you, it would have delayed your work. I came on my own," I smiled and followed Manhe into the house he rented.
It was a house with a small courtyard, two rooms, and a little yard. Inside, Manhe hurriedly tidied up while apologizing, "It's a bit messy."
Indeed, the place was quite messy. Clothes were scattered on the bed and chairs, and garbage was all over the floor. But how clean could a man's room really be?
I helped Manhe tidy up a little. He said today was his first day off and wanted to treat me to a good meal outside—to welcome me and thank me for saving his wife.
Knowing it wasn't easy for Manhe to earn money, we just picked a small roadside restaurant that looked reasonably clean and enjoyed a nice meal.
Manhe said he would take a day off tomorrow and bring me to tour Haicheng properly. I said I could go by myself and didn't want to cause him to miss work. But Manhe insisted on taking leave to accompany me, and seeing his determination, I agreed.
The next day, Manhe took me all around the streets and alleys of Haicheng. Strictly speaking, this was my first time entering a city. Before I was six, I always lived in the village, then went to Huilongguan, and stayed up in the mountains. I was like a country bumpkin who had never been to the city, and everything seemed fresh and new.
At night, Manhe wanted to take me to visit the night market. Before we arrived, his walkie-talkie on his waist rang.
Manhe found a phone booth to call back. After a brief conversation, he hung up and awkwardly said, "Taiping, the manager told me to hurry to the boss's house. There's some urgent work needing extra hands."
"If you have work, go ahead. I'll head back by myself," I said.
Manhe thought for a moment, "Come with me. My buddy will take you to see how the rich live. My boss's house is truly magnificent. If I ever get to live in a place like that, even if I died after, it would be worth it."
Seeing Manhe's dreamy expression, I playfully smacked his head. "Are you out of your mind? What's the use of living there after you die?"
Manhe laughed, "You have to go see it for yourself. Opportunities like this are rare."
I originally didn't want to go, but after Manhe's persuasion, I followed him.
We took a taxi, and soon the car left the city and turned onto a tree-lined lane.
The car quickly passed through the lane and stopped at a gate. Manhe told me this kind of neighborhood isn't easy to enter; you have to be an owner or have the owner's permission. Otherwise, you simply can't get in.
Manhe went to talk to the security guard at the gate while I took the chance to observe the surroundings' feng shui.
The place had excellent feng shui, and the house positions were chosen according to optimal feng shui principles. It was clear that when the place was built, experts had been consulted.
People living here, as long as their luck wasn't too bad, would become very wealthy and successful.
"Taiping, let's go in," Manhe called me.
After the security talk, we entered through the gate. Walking along the villa's paths, Manhe quietly introduced, "My boss's surname is Bai—Bai Dewei. His family runs supermarkets. In Haicheng alone, they have seven or eight supermarkets, and even more in other cities."
"The family's money is so much that seven or eight people counting it all day and night wouldn't finish."
Hearing this, I laughed, "Did your boss tell you all that?"
"Hardly ever meet the boss in person. I heard it from the manager," Manhe scratched his head and smiled.
"This place is really nice. See that pavilion and those flowers? Last time I came, it was when the boss moved in, and I was here helping."
But I felt nothing inside. Wealth was just fleeting clouds to me, and indulgence in pleasures was the easiest way to lose oneself.
When I descended the mountain, my master warned me that even if one lived amidst the noisy mortal world, their heart must remain in the quiet mountains and not be burdened by worldly affairs.
Manhe was just an ordinary person, so having such thoughts was understandable.
Soon, Manhe stopped in front of a standalone villa. A woman in plain clothes, without any makeup, stood silently with arms crossed.
Seeing her, Manhe quickly greeted, "Third sister."
The woman Manhe called "Third sister" only raised her eyelids slightly and said coldly, "You all go inside first."
Manhe wanted to say more, but she impatiently waved her hand. Manhe awkwardly led me inside, whispering, "This is the boss's third sister, we call her Third Sister too."
Inside the villa's hall stood more than a dozen strong young men.
"Such a big gathering—what's going on?" Manhe whispered, looking around and then asking a familiar guy, "Binzi, what's happening?"
"I heard the boss's house has some unclean thing. The boss hired a feng shui master to get rid of it," Binzi whispered back.
"Unclean thing? Then why call us here?" Manhe was puzzled.
"Didn't you hear that the Yang energy of a virgin boy is strong?" Binzi sneered. "Manhe, you're still a virgin, right?"
Manhe lowered his head, "Nonsense. I'm a bona fide virgin."
Listening to their talk, I started to understand.
While they spoke, the villa's main door opened. The "Third sister" led an elderly man inside.
The old man was about sixty, somewhat plump and short, wearing a Tang suit. His hair was graying, and he had a one-inch beard on his chin, looking like a sage.
Third sister showed great respect, even bowing a bit, completely different from her earlier attitude toward us.
"Master Mo, please sit. I'll go get my brother-in-law and sister," Third sister said, pouring tea for Master Mo before heading upstairs.
Soon, a man and a woman came down from upstairs.
Seeing these two, my heart skipped a beat—they were the same man and woman I saw yesterday, but now the dark aura on their faces had intensified.
They politely shook hands with Master Mo and said, "Master Mo, since everyone's here, this should be enough, right?"
Master Mo glanced at us and nodded. "Enough. Give them the things I asked you to prepare."
The man waved to Third sister, who called two people and went to the back. They brought out some sticks wrapped in red cloth and handed one to each of us.
Master Mo nodded and said to the man, "Good. Now go to your daughter's room, and have everyone follow."
A man and a woman led Master Mo ahead, while Third sister brought us along.
We were led to a finely decorated bedroom, mostly pink, very princess-like.
On the bed lay a girl about ten years old. She resembled the woman slightly and was probably their daughter.
The girl lay motionless, as if asleep, her face without any abnormality. Yet I felt faint yin energy near her temples.
At that moment, the girl's lips curled into a slight smile—an eerie expression.
Seeing her face, I snorted coldly inside.
Though the girl was pretty, her character was not kind.
Her lips were as thin as cicada wings, a facial sign of sharp and mean nature. Also, her cheekbones were higher than average, showing a stubborn personality.
A person's face is not fixed from birth but changes with their deeds. This girl looked like someone who enjoyed causing trouble and harming others.
Combined with what I saw and heard yesterday, I already had a rough idea of the truth.
The death of that girl from the other family must be connected to this little girl; otherwise, she wouldn't act like this.
Standing behind the crowd, I thought to myself: if the girl who died came back to seek revenge on this one, I can't just watch Master Mo shatter the little girl's soul. I need to act carefully.
With that thought, I concealed my aura.
Master Mo approached the girl, bit his middle finger, and dabbed the blood on her forehead between the brows.
Soon, the girl on the bed groaned and opened her eyes.
The woman rushed over, hugged the girl tightly, and cried, "Tingting, you finally woke up!"
"Mom, Mom," Bai Tingting's big eyes filled with tears. She hugged her mother and said, "Mom, I'm so scared."
"Tingting, don't be afraid. Mommy's here," the woman comforted, patting her back.
Suddenly, Bai Tingting pushed her mother away sharply, curling up and shouting, "She's coming, she's coming for me! Don't come! Don't come!"
The woman tried to hug her again, but Bai Tingting pushed her hard enough to stagger her.
Bai Dewei anxiously said, "Master Mo, please hurry and perform the ritual."
Master Mo nodded and told Bai Dewei and his wife, "You two get out first."
The couple quickly left, and Master Mo told us to gather by the bed.
"Whatever you see, hit it hard with the stick," he instructed.
Hearing this, I secretly chuckled. Just now, when Master Mo awakened Bai Tingting, I thought he had some real skill, but now it seemed he just wanted to use our yang energy to dispel that girl.
This method might work on ordinary ghosts, but if it's a powerful one, it would be useless.
Judging from Bai Tingting's state, the girl who was killed by her wasn't easy to deal with.
I thought this silently and said nothing. I was curious to see how Master Mo would handle this.
Following his instructions, we quickly surrounded the bed.
At this moment, Bai Tingting kept screaming in terror, "Don't come! Don't come!"
Suddenly, the lights went out, and the room plunged into darkness. Everyone panicked; some screamed in fear.
I clearly felt Manhe next to me grab my clothes, trembling slightly.
"Little ghost, Master Mo, don't harm innocent people!" Master Mo's voice rang out at that moment.