Chapter 9: Heading to Rongcheng

Xie Sui picked up the spirit tablets from the floor one by one, cradling them in his arms.

The middle-aged man’s face turned various shades of blue and white at Xie Sui’s words. Realizing he couldn’t win the argument, the fellow rushed in front of Xie Sui, preparing to resort to violence.

He had judged that Xie Sui’s slight frame wouldn’t be able to withstand his weight of over two hundred pounds.

However, before he could even get close, Xie Sui looked up at him as if he had anticipated exactly what the man was about to do.

Those pitch-black eyes were deep and lightless, like a bottomless abyss or a sudden, all-consuming whirlpool appearing on an empty sea. Being stared at by those eyes felt as if a sharp cone had pierced through his forehead, pulling his Three Souls and Seven Po¹ out through a gap in his spine, leaving them to be swept away by an invisible force into an unknown, cold, dark sea.

The man was so terrified by that single look that he fell into a trance, freezing in place, not daring to move an inch.

Xie Sui stood up and looked at the scruffy man as if he were looking at a corpse. He said in a cold voice, “You will face a Blood Calamity² within three days. It might be life-threatening, so you should prepare your funeral arrangements and final words. I won’t call the police about you breaking into my home, nor will I ask for compensation for the broken lock. After all, the dead are to be respected, and I won’t hold a grudge against a dead man.” Without waiting for a reaction, he walked into the house and closed the door.

The man was infuriated by Xie Sui’s curse-like words, and it took him a long while to recover before he began shouting insults outside the door.

No matter how much the guy threw a tantrum outside, Xie Sui didn’t care. He placed the spirit tablets back in their original positions and began to slowly wipe them clean.

Looking at the pitch-black ash urns on the table, Xie Sui’s hand paused. He said to them, “Next time someone breaks into this room while I’m not home, just deal with them directly. Even if they don’t touch your ash urns, you can still take action.”

After thinking for a moment, Xie Sui searched his phone for photos of the uniforms worn by inspection team officers and medical personnel. He showed these photos to the ash urns.

“People wearing these clothes are exceptions. Don’t touch them.”

His landlord was currently living in resettlement housing in the city with the government’s demolition compensation and wouldn’t be returning to this urban village. Furthermore, he paid his rent via online transfer. As long as he didn’t fall behind on rent, the landlord had no reason to come over.

However, just in case, Xie Sui found a small identification photo of the landlord in the rental contract and showed it to the ash urns.

Earlier at Fushun Lou, Xie Sui had already agreed with Lin Zixin to take a train to Rongcheng that evening.

Lin Zixin’s hometown was in Rongcheng, Minjiang Province. It took about four hours by high-speed train from Zhaoping City, which wasn’t too far.

Both Lin Zixin and Xie Sui believed the sooner this matter was resolved, the better. So while they were eating at Fushun Lou, Lin Zixin had helped Xie Sui book a ticket to Rongcheng for that night and transferred the fifty thousand deposit directly to him. If it hadn’t been for that suicidal neighbor interrupting, Xie Sui would have originally gone home to pack his bags and left immediately.

However, before going to Rongcheng, he had to call back the little ghost attached to Zhang Yun. If an ordinary person stayed with a little ghost for too long, their future fortune could easily be affected.

On his way back, Xie Sui had contacted Old Zhao and learned of Zhang Yun’s location. With that connection, it was very convenient to call An-an back… he just hoped Zhang Yun hadn’t been too badly frightened by her.

Xie Sui found An-an’s ash urn, took a small incense burner from a drawer, and placed it in front of her urn. Then he took out three cigarettes and inserted them into the burner.

Xie Sui’s relationship with An-an and the other little ghosts was not one of master and servant. They didn’t have the contract-based bonds used by those in the Xuanmen who raised little ghosts, so they couldn’t be summoned instantly. Once the distance between Xie Sui and the other little ghosts became too great, exceeding the range of his perception, they would lose contact.

However, calling them back was simple. As long as he knew the host’s general location, he just needed to light a special incense in front of the little ghost’s ash urn.

When the three sticks of incense were half-burned, Xie Sui sensed An-an’s presence in the room.

Feeling the irrepressible joy radiating from An-an, Xie Sui paused for a moment.

He didn’t know what she had encountered to make her so happy… but regardless, it was fine as long as she returned safely.

After setting up the room’s “security” and waiting for a locksmith to install a new lock, Xie Sui took his packed luggage and headed toward the station.

When he stepped out, the neighbor who had been cursing at his door earlier had already left. It was unclear whether the man felt he was wasting his time or if he was planning some other disgusting scheme.

But Xie Sui didn’t care about a cockroach-like fellow like him. If he dared to break in again… he could only hope for the best.

*

When the train arrived in Rongcheng, it was already ten o’clock at night. Someone arranged by Lin Zixin was waiting at the station with a very obvious sign, and Xie Sui saw it as soon as he exited the platform.

The person meeting him was a young man around the same age as Lin Zixin. However, compared to Lin Zixin’s wild and flamboyant style, this young man’s appearance was much more conventional. He had a neat student-style haircut, wore a gray padded coat and black-rimmed glasses, and looked quite refined.

Lin Zixin must have sent him a photo of Xie Sui. Upon seeing Xie Sui emerge from the station, the young man’s eyes lit up. He put down the sign and walked directly toward him.

“Hello, you must be the Mr. Xie that Zixin-ge introduced? I’m Lin Ziyan, Lin Zixin’s younger brother.”

Upon seeing Xie Sui’s attire, Lin Ziyan paused.

Xie Sui was still wearing only a thin white shirt. It was now late February, nearing March, and even in the south, the temperature was still quite cold. Wearing something so thin was truly a bit strange.

However, Lin Ziyan was clearly a well-mannered young man who wouldn’t casually comment on others’ appearances. He said nothing more and led Xie Sui toward where the Lin family’s car was parked.

Seeing that the person picking him up was a young man even younger than Lin Zixin, Xie Sui keenly sensed that something seemed off.

Once the two were seated in the car, Xie Sui spoke up. “Excuse me, I’d like to ask. Do the elders in your family know that Lin Zixin invited me here?”

Lin Ziyan, who was sitting in the back row with Xie Sui, went stiff and fell silent for a moment. He was clearly the type who couldn’t lie to save his life.

Xie Sui didn’t need him to say anything more; he already understood. Still, he asked with a hint of uncertainty, “Don’t tell me that inviting me to check the Feng Shui of your ancestral hall was entirely Lin Zixin’s own idea?”

“Please don’t worry, Mr. Xie. As long as you can solve this, the remaining 150,000 will definitely be transferred to your account in full,” Lin Ziyan promised with a serious expression.

“So…” Xie Sui paused. “I, an ‘outsider,’ am going to visit your Lin Family Ancestral Hall and start a livestream, and the elders of your family have no idea?”

“No one will disturb you during your livestream,” Lin Ziyan replied, still avoiding the direct question.

“Right, I see what’s going on.” Xie Sui rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

He had wondered how a traditional clan, where every major life event like weddings and funerals took place in the ancestral hall, would listen to a junior like Lin Zixin and let a streamer of unknown ability handle such matters.

As it turned out, this was just a farce orchestrated by two over-privileged brats who had more money than sense.

He blamed himself for being blinded by the staggering sum of 200,000 yuan, subconsciously ignoring the fact that his client, Lin Zixin, was actually a college student younger than himself who hadn’t yet experienced the harsh realities of the world.

Xie Sui tried his best to suppress his chaotic emotions and asked as gently as possible, “Can you give me a general idea of what’s happening? I’m not leaving, I just want to know the background and what exactly your brother wants me to achieve by solving the problems at your ancestral hall.”

Deceived by Xie Sui’s gentle facade, Lin Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief and promptly spilled everything Lin Zixin had done. “It’s like this. Two months ago, Zixin had a falling out with the family. He didn’t even stay for the Spring Festival³ before running off to Zhaoping City. Later, when he heard that something had happened at the ancestral hall and hadn’t been resolved, he wanted to fix it secretly. He wanted to mock his dad and Second Uncle for being incompetent. He’s mainly using this as a chance to vent his frustrations against the family.”

Lin Ziyan’s voice grew quieter as he spoke. Finally, he scratched his head sheepishly and said, “But don’t worry, 150,000 is nothing to my brother. He won’t stiff you on the final payment. While you’re livestreaming in the ancestral hall, I’ll help lure away the people guarding it to make sure no one disturbs you.”

“Alright, I understand,” Xie Sui nodded. “Take me to see the elders in charge of your family.”

“That’s good… Wait, what?!”

“Or you can give me their phone number; I need to communicate with them.” Xie Sui’s tone was firm and left no room for argument. “This isn’t up for negotiation. Otherwise, I’ll just get out of the car and head back to Zhaoping City. We haven’t driven that far yet anyway.”

Under Xie Sui’s persistence, Lin Ziyan finally relented and prepared to take him to the Lin Family Old Mansion to find his Second Uncle.

As it happened, the Second Uncle was at the mansion right now. He had invited several other metaphysical masters over the past few days and was planning to have them inspect the ancestral hall tonight.

After telling the driver to change the route, Lin Ziyan asked one last time, “Are you really going to go…?”

“Isn’t it more interesting to slap their faces in public?” Xie Sui switched to a logic more acceptable to a spoiled brat. “Think about it. If I, the person Lin Zixin hired, not only outshine all the ‘masters’ your Second Uncle brought in but also solve the incident right in front of him, wouldn’t that be much more satisfying than doing it behind his back?”

He was joking, of course. If he really trespassed into the ancestral hall without the elders’ permission, getting caught wouldn’t just mean a police report and detention. If the Lin Family Ancestral Hall was in a more remote or traditional area, he might even be beaten to death by a mob for trespassing.

Although ordinary people couldn’t hurt him, Xie Sui didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble. This 200,000 yuan was payment for fixing the ancestral hall’s Feng Shui; he had no interest in being a pawn for some rich kids’ face-slapping power fantasy.

If the elders agreed, he would stay and handle the matter. If they didn’t, he would do his best to convince them. This 200,000 yuan was life-saving money, and he wouldn’t let it go easily.

Translator’s Notes