Chapter 95

Ding Ning was not so easily swayed. Looking at these old men who were being unreasonable, he sneered, thinking to himself, "What were you thinking last night when you were so greedy for money?"

He did not let them off easily, saying, "Gentlemen, you can't talk like that. I made it very clear to you last night that this money was for the spirits. You insisted on taking it, even boasting that you would take responsibility if anything went wrong. Now, you want me to take responsibility? Why are you coming to me?"

The old men were somewhat embarrassed by Ding Ning's words. One of them, gathering his courage, said, "Brother, there's an old saying that ignorance is no crime. We didn't know, did we? If we had known how serious this matter was, we wouldn't have dared to, even if you gave us the courage."

"That's right, we didn't know."

"Brother, my nephew and his wife are already packing my things. They said if I can't resolve this, they'll kick me out. You don't want me to sleep on the streets in my old age, do you?"

Ding Ning's facial muscles twitched. Where did this nephew come from? That niece-in-law looks much older than my mother.

Of course, he couldn't say that now. He had to keep up the act. Ding Ning remained silent, just looking out the window, as if this matter was very difficult to handle.

A more astute old man said, "Brother, do you think our money isn't enough? We know that the spirits we offended are hard to appease. Although we're not young, we all have pensions. We can each contribute more if you tell us how much."

"Right, right, if we know the amount, we can figure it out."

Seeing that the old men were willing to pay more, Ding Ning was somewhat tempted, but he knew what money he could take and what he couldn't.

These old men were not particularly good, but they were not particularly bad either. They were just ordinary old people who liked to take small advantages and were fond of petty gains, but they were not malicious.

Those who had ulterior motives had already received their punishment last night. These few could still speak freely in front of him, which meant they had not committed any major sins in their lives. A little lesson would suffice, and if he took their money, it might shorten his own life.

Ding Ning tapped his fingers on the table, pondering for a moment, and said, "Gentlemen, it's not that I'm unwilling to help. You should know that it's easy to invite spirits but hard to send them away. Yesterday was the day when the gates of the underworld were wide open. Those spirits came for the money, but you took it. They are naturally angry, and it's impossible for me to calm their anger now."

The old men looked at each other, their faces showing fear.

They had taken the money. Did that mean they would be haunted by ghosts for the rest of their lives? They were not young, and they probably didn't have much time left.

"Brother, you must find a way to help us. If you don't, I... I'll bow to you."

As he spoke, one of the old men actually tried to bow. Ding Ning quickly held him up, looking troubled, and said, "Oh, you're really putting me in a difficult position. Alright, I'll be honest with you."

Ding Ning had the old men sit down and then said, "These spirits have already taken up residence in this courtyard. It's not easy to send them away. The only thing I can do is stay and recite scriptures to purify them, but it's not clear how long that will take. It will probably take at least two or three months. During this time, anyone staying here could be possessed by the spirits or affected by their malevolent energy. You saw what happened to those people last night, right? That was the result of being affected by the malevolent energy."

The old men looked at each other, their eyes showing fear. They had seen those people who were raving and running a high fever, and it was terrifying. They couldn't understand what they were saying, but they could hear things like "don't find me" and "don't grab me."

It was clear that they had seen something very frightening.

"What can we do? Do we have to move out?"

"Ah! You're right. I have to stay here to recite the scriptures, and these spirits won't leave the courtyard. As long as you don't live here, you'll be fine." Ding Ning finally revealed his true intentions, guiding the old men's thoughts with a mysterious air.

"I'll move!"

One of the old men stood up first. "The developer's offer is not bad, even a bit higher than the market price. I'm old and don't have many desires. I can make the decision for my family. I'll move. My grandson is still in elementary school, and I don't want anything to happen to him here."

With one person leading the way, others followed. Two more old men agreed to move and asked Ding Ning to negotiate with the developer, saying they accepted the offer.

The other two promised to go home and discuss it with their families, hoping to give Ding Ning a response as soon as possible.

The news of the haunted courtyard spread like wildfire. Ten people fell ill in one night, which was unprecedented. The courtyard quickly became a place of fear, and those with children were the first to agree to move.

Of the twenty families in the courtyard, eighteen agreed to the relocation after the events of last night.

The speed at which these people moved was astonishing. After deciding to move, almost everyone acted immediately. Moving companies were overjoyed, and various moving teams entered the courtyard, causing a commotion. The courtyard gates were almost broken by the crowd.

From morning to evening, the courtyard was in chaos. By dusk, it was desolate and empty, with almost all the families gone.

The only ones left were Li Shuqin's family and San Yan's family.

San Yan was not a problem, but Ding Ning was troubled by Li Shuqin, who was still holding out. Her son Guangzi was in the hospital, yet she was still demanding more money.

It seemed that the saying "people die for wealth" was true. Li Shuqin was a fierce woman, fearless and unyielding. Compared to her, Guangzi was much weaker.

However, Ding Ning did not intend to let her off easily. If she wanted to stay, he would give her a taste of what it was like.

Many people were still paying attention to the courtyard. Some even came to see the commotion, curious about the haunting.

The general belief was that the haunting was a trick by the developer to drive the residents out. There were no ghosts in the world, just a tactic by the developer to force the residents to leave.

In their eyes, Li Shuqin, who remained, became a fearless fighter. Some even came to support her, telling her to hold out, assuring her that there were no ghosts.

Li Shuqin was quite pleased, declaring that she would not move unless the developer agreed to her price.

Ding Ning had to get Li Shuqin out. Turning the courtyard into a haunted house was part of his plan.

There was a damaged spirit-gathering array here, and with his current financial resources, he could not set it up. Now that he had no place to live, he would drive everyone out, repair the array, and live here for a short period.

With the spirit energy gathered, he could cultivate. He could even transplant plants like three-leaf grass and greenheart willows, which contained spirit energy, making this his temporary home.

It was already approaching October, and winter was coming. The developers would not start construction until spring, so Ding Ning could live here until then.

If this place became a haunted house, few people would come to disturb him, allowing him to focus on his cultivation.

As Ding Ning was planning how to get rid of Li Shuqin, a police car arrived.

Ding Ning was surprised. Were the police coming to cause trouble? Had Luo Shuai not resolved the issue? That shouldn't be the case; a city's police captain personally handling the matter should have been enough to resolve it.

Soon, Ding Ning's doubts were answered. The police car was from the local police station. The police had heard about the haunting and sent a few officers to dispel the rumors and reassure the residents.

If the police stayed for a few days and remained unharmed, the rumors of the haunting would be debunked.

The police, armed and with their luggage, entered the courtyard.

Li Shuqin and Ding Ning greeted them. The leading officer said, "Don't worry. We're here to prove that there are no such things as ghosts. They are just made up by people. You can rest assured and stay here. We'll take care of everything."

Li Shuqin, who seemed to have found a backbone, was actually just putting up a brave front. She had seen what happened to Guangzi, but she refused to leave because of her greed for the relocation fee.

She bravely asked the police, "It was quite a commotion last night. Even if there are no ghosts, it might still be unclean. Do you have anything to ward off the spirits?"

"Ha ha, Madam, we don't believe in superstitions, but I can give you some reassurance. See this?" The officer patted his gun. "This gun has taken down criminals before. According to superstitions, it has malevolent energy, and ghosts will avoid it."

Seeing the officer's gun, Li Shuqin felt reassured. "That's good, that's good. Your presence might scare away the unclean spirits."

Ding Ning smiled but said nothing. In his mind, he was already planning.

Just driving the residents out might not be enough to create a significant impact. If the police encountered the spirits, the effect would be much better. It would deter anyone from disturbing his haunted house in the future.

Maybe he should put up a sign that says "Haunted House" at the entrance. Then he would be the master of the haunted house, which sounded quite cool.