Chapter 109

Chapter 109

Yu Lang was rather surprised when he heard that Xia Ximo would be coming along too.

After thinking it over, he realized this matter had yet to be reported to Lord Ren, and there was still a fair amount of danger involved.

If something like what happened at Fu Tower occurred again, he was afraid he would be the one left to face the consequences.

“Miss Xia, Daoist Yan said it himself. This ‘ghost’ from Fu Tower is no ordinary thing…”

He tried to dissuade her, but Xia Ximo had no patience to listen. She only said to Yan Zhengchu, “Taoist, lead the way.”

“…”

Yan Zhengchu knew this young lady’s temperament all too well.

He shot Yu Lang a look and muttered under his breath, “Even if the Young Marquis were here, he’d probably have to listen to her. It’s no use trying to talk her out of it.”

With that, he packed up his tools and took the lead.

Yu Lang thought about it and realized that did seem to be the case, so he had no choice but to give up.

Though Yan Zhengchu was greedy for money, when it came to serious business, he was still reliable.

At that moment, he held a compass in hand and performed a series of ritual gestures. Before long, he had locked onto a direction.

The three of them then boarded Yu Lang’s carriage.

Inside the carriage, Xia Ximo still sat alone in the seat of honor, while Yan Zhengchu and Yu Lang sat on either side. By now, neither of them found it strange.

The carriage traveled for about fifteen minutes before Yan Zhengchu called for the driver to stop, and the three of them got out.

The night was silent, and there were surprisingly few pedestrians on the street.

Perhaps it was because the Fu Tower Case had only just been made public, causing those who usually went out at night in search of entertainment to rein themselves in.

Xia Ximo followed behind the two men, but then heard Lantern Spirit Wuyou whisper beside her ear, “By rights, even without the Earth Lord’s five layers of soul power, with your Soul Leaving the Body, you should have been more than capable of dealing with a single ‘ghost.’ How could it not be dead?”

She had just been thinking carefully about that very question.

As for the answer, she had only one guess-perhaps it was not that it had not died, but that it possessed the ability to regenerate.

A place like Fu Tower had once sealed away Vengeful Ghost and Evil Spirit entities beneath it, and its Yin-Sha Qi was dense.

Inside Tongtian Pavilion, demonic energy had also permeated the air. If that pool of soup was not being used to refine a “Yin-Yang Fiend,” then it absolutely had some other purpose.

What sort of ghost could regenerate?

They had not walked for long when Yan Zhengchu, at the very front, suddenly stopped. The compass needle shifted continuously before finally locking onto a dark, narrow alley.

He looked at the high walls on both sides, frowned, and guessed, “This place… it wouldn’t happen to belong to some powerful household we can’t afford to offend, would it?”

Yu Lang did not pay much attention at first, but after looking all around, he suddenly slapped his forehead and said, “This is the back gate of Renxuan Marquis Manor.”

“Huh?”

Yan Zhengchu’s expression changed drastically. He immediately put away the compass and said, “Then I definitely can’t go in…”

Yu Lang hurriedly grabbed him and said, “From the look of it, this ghost is clearly coming for the Young Marquis. You’re running away right before the battle? Isn’t that a little disloyal?”

“…”

“Since when am I afraid of that ghost?!”

Yan Zhengchu rolled his eyes, then looked deeply troubled. “Before I came down the mountain, Master warned me again and again not to go to Renxuan Marquis Manor…”

To be honest, if not for that warning from his master, he would have paid them a visit long ago!

Marquis Renxuan, Ren Xuan, definitely knew about Little Martial Uncle Ren Yao.

Yu Lang was extremely curious. “Does your master have a grudge against Renxuan Marquis Manor?”

“Not exactly…”

“Then why won’t he let you go?”

“It’s not something that can be explained in a few words. It involves too much, and I can’t explain it either.”

Yu Lang’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued. He was just about to persuade him again when Xia Ximo suddenly spoke from behind them.

“If he won’t go in, we will.”
“Mm! Then-”

“No, wait. That won’t work either!”

Yu Lang had nearly agreed on reflex when he suddenly remembered her relationship with Renxuan Marquis Manor.

If he brought her into the Marquis Mansion, wouldn’t everything be thrown into chaos?

Yu Lang did not dare make that decision on his own. Feeling guilty, he said, “Miss Xia, your identity is… special. Without the Young Marquis’s permission, I wouldn’t dare…”

Xia Ximo lifted her eyes and glanced at him. “You’re afraid that if I go to the Marquis Mansion, I’ll force them to call off the engagement?”

“…”

Making a scene about breaking off the engagement would be ugly enough.

But there was also another “Xia Ximo” in the Marquis Mansion.

If he rashly brought this one to their door too, with the real and the fake tangled together, wouldn’t it look as if he thought the mess wasn’t big enough already?

“As for the engagement, I’m waiting for Ren Fengjue to give me an answer. This trip is only for the ghostly thing that feeds on Living Soul.”

Only then did Yu Lang relax slightly.

“With those words from Miss Xia, I can rest easy…”

“In that case…”

He glanced at Yan Zhengchu again and couldn’t help asking, “Daoist Yan, are you really not going in?”

Yan Zhengchu was silent for a moment, then took two bells and two yellow talismans from inside his robe. “If you are going in, keep these on you.”

“The bell is called the Soul-Collision Bell. As long as a ghost is nearby, it will ring. The closer it is, the more violently it will ring.”

“As for these two protective talismans, simply keep them at your side. They can block Yin-Sha Qi.”

Hearing him explain everything so clearly, Yu Lang knew he truly had no intention of going inside.

He couldn’t help saying, “If you don’t go in, we won’t be able to catch any ghosts with just these two things.”

“You only need to force it out.”

“How?”

Yan Zhengchu handed him a small pitch-black porcelain bottle. “Once you discover the ghost is nearby, quickly scatter these ashes evenly in the due west and due north directions.”

“Those two directions are heavy with yin energy and can gather ghosts. As long as the ghost gets this scent on it, it will have nowhere to hide and will naturally flee the Marquis Mansion.”

After listening, Yu Lang almost wanted to take a sniff. “What kind of ashes are these? They’re that powerful?”

“Bone ashes.”

“…”

“Of course, besides that, they’re mixed with cinnabar, realgar, rooster blood, and more than a dozen other purely yang substances.”

“…”

Yu Lang no longer dared to smell it and hurriedly put the bottle away.

Yan Zhengchu continued, “Once the ghost has been forced out, the rest will be simple. I will immediately follow its trail.”

“However, you still need to be careful. If Manager Bai is inside as well, she will not be easy to deal with.”

Yu Lang looked in the direction of the Marquis Mansion and said, “Don’t worry, Daoist Master. If the ghost in Fu Tower isn’t dealt with, who knows what other bones might turn up for me to fish out. I’m truly terrified of it now!”

He sighed and took the items one by one. He was about to say something else when he saw Xia Ximo, who stood beside him, frown faintly.

“We should go…”

Renxuan Marquis Manor occupied a vast area. Even walking around from the rear gate to the main entrance took a good long while.

After Yu Lang reported their arrival to the gatekeeper, he took out the bells and yellow talismans, intending to give Xia Ximo her share.

But after she glanced at them, she did not take them.

“Keep them yourself. I don’t need them.”

When she said she didn’t want something, one truly couldn’t force it on her.

Yu Lang could only tuck the items away himself. At the same time, he began weighing in his heart what he should do if the bells started ringing later, and there were many people present. How was he supposed to tell who it was?

Just as he was thinking this, he caught sight of Ren Fengjue walking out from the courtyard with brisk, steady steps.