Chapter 39

Originally, Second Young Master Qin Lu would not easily bring people home to live, but this time, encountering such a series of complicated situations made him feel it was a test from the Buddha. Given the circumstances, he had no choice but to consider bringing the old man and the child home to rest and recuperate.

Qin Ming, seeing the old man's frailty and the child's emaciation, did not think twice. His younger brother, who had a heart for doing good, was also unwilling to tangle with this matter further. Thus, he went along with his brother's wishes and instructed him to bring the old man and the child home to live, but added a word of caution:

"Our house has few rooms, and they cannot occupy your room. What would it look like for a proper Second Young Master to have a servant's room? Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll have our two servants go home to rest for a couple of days and not come early to serve. That way, we can leave their rooms for the old man and the child to rest in."

In this Kunshan Village, the guards, old women, maids, and servants either lived in the outer rooms of their homes or were originally from the village. Therefore, this arrangement was reasonable. Qin Lu, hearing his brother’s plan, was naturally delighted and praised, "No wonder you’re the big brother! Your arrangement is excellent and ingenious. I’ll go bring them over right away!"

Qin Ming smiled slightly and waved his hand, "Go ahead!"

Watching his younger brother take the servants to bring the old man and the child home, Qin Ming turned to look at the inn behind him, recalling Kong Feng’s words and actions, and felt a bit uneasy. After all, he was a master they had invited, and even if his character was questionable, what other options did they have?

He could only hide his worries and hope that the master’s abilities were genuine!

***

The Qin family mansion was a large courtyard in the shape of the character '回' (hui), built with blue stone. The outer walls were constructed with green granite beams, the gaps filled with a mixture of lime, water, and glutinous rice, and secured with copper nails and iron clasps. The inner structure was reinforced with crossbeams and short posts, making the entire courtyard as solid as a barrel!

The space between the outer and inner walls housed various storerooms, living quarters for the guards and old women, the kitchen, and the toilet, as well as the woodshed and stables. Only a few maids and close guards were housed inside. The servants' rooms were in the outer area, which did not violate the family rule against outsiders staying overnight.

The wall between the inner and outer layers, though thinner, was still built with blue bricks, with tall blue stone pillars standing every few meters. The height of this wall was the same as the outer wall, creating a fortress-like structure. The top of the space between the walls was covered with thick wooden beams, secured with rivets and filled with straw and wood chips, then coated with tung oil mixed with river sand, making it both sturdy and fire-resistant. This area provided shelter from the wind and rain, allowing people to move freely in the corridor. In case of an attack by bandits, this top layer would serve as a natural shield, protecting those below from arrows and allowing them to shoot back from a higher position, much like a city wall or a fortress.

Inside, a large quadrangle house was built a few meters from the outer wall. The courtyard was covered with wooden beams, but the middle section was interspersed with many pieces of glazed tiles, allowing light to pass through while providing shelter from the rain. It was unknown how much silver was spent on this construction.

When Old August and Zhi Zun Bao entered the Qin family mansion, they couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. They hadn’t been back for decades and didn’t know it had been built to such a grand scale. Qin Lu, seeing their expressions, felt secretly pleased, thinking they were just country bumpkins who hadn’t seen such grandeur. Little did he know what was going through Old August’s mind.

The two were led to the servants' rooms by Qin Lu’s subordinates. Soon, hot soup and water were brought, and a stove was lit, filling the room with warmth. Not only that, but later, some pastries and dried fruits were brought by the second young master’s order, supposedly for Bao'er. The two thanked them repeatedly and ate the fruits in a crude manner, which made the old women laugh. After laughing, they didn’t do anything else but explained the proper way to eat them in detail.

Old August had initially come to observe the young disciples of the Wu Lun Sect and didn’t intend to get involved in this matter. If Kong Feng had allowed them to stay in the outer room of the Heavenly Number One, he might have revealed the truth. However, the current situation had ignited Old August’s rare anger, and he decided to go along with the second young master’s wishes—

"I want to see what you’re capable of!"

It was already late at night!

The lamps were lit, and the night was chilly. Kunshan Village gradually fell into silence. As the cold grew, a misty fog rose, enveloping the entire village in a mysterious haze.

In the darkness, a figure moved swiftly along the beams of the corridor, agile like a monkey or a cat, making it impossible to see his face!

This person was Old August!

When Old August first entered the Qin family courtyard, he felt a strange smell, something he had vaguely encountered before. Taking advantage of the night, he sneaked to the platform in the space between the walls and stood high, taking in the entire view of the Qin family and Kunshan Village—

Kunshan Village was built according to the guidance of a high-ranking person, situated between the cliffs of Dragon and Tiger Mountain, where the wind circulates and brings good fortune. Although it wasn’t a place of outstanding natural beauty, it was still a peaceful land. The distant mountains and valleys caught the morning sun and the red clouds, while the large mountain behind allowed the sunset and colorful clouds to pass through, creating a picturesque landscape. But now?

There was an indescribable gloomy and miasmic atmosphere lingering in Kunshan Village!

Old August observed from his high vantage point but found no issues with the feng shui. He then turned his gaze to the stars, but the miasma obscured them completely. After much thought, he descended into the corridor between the walls.

As soon as he entered the corridor, he saw a flash of light. Two night guards with torches were patrolling. He quickly leaped up, bending and twisting his body to hang upside down on the wooden beams, then pressed himself against the ceiling.

His movements were so light and quick that he wasn’t detected at all!

The two guards chatted as they passed beneath him, their shadows stretching long and slow. Once they were far enough away, he quietly let go, ready to land and think of another plan. Suddenly, he saw a black shadow flash through the gap in the wooden beams!

What was that?

He became intrigued.

He returned to the top of the wooden beams and looked up to see a dense swarm of bats swirling above the Qin family courtyard, forming a large black vortex!

The center of the vortex was directly above a vacant lot on the side of the courtyard, where a makeshift shed was set up with several mats. An indescribable strange smell emanated from inside!

With his decades of experience in exorcism, Old August immediately deduced that something extremely powerful was inside. Even he might not be able to handle it—his only hope was that it hadn’t fully formed and could be subdued with the power of the sun!

The power of the sun, known as the Red Sun Fire, is the highest quality of the Nine Yang Fires. It refers to the sunlight at noon on a fire year, fire month, and fire day, which, when reflected and concentrated through an octagonal mirror, forms a flame that, combined with sunlight, has a strong destructive effect on evil spirits!

Just as he was about to investigate, Old August remembered something and couldn’t help but laugh—

In such situations, he often became too engrossed and forgot his own position. The thing inside could only be dealt with using sunlight because he didn’t have the necessary talismans or tools from his sect, nor did he have any tools to communicate with the spirit world. However, this matter wasn’t his responsibility; someone from his sect had already come!

Since Kong Feng was here, he must have brought the necessary talismans and tools, and might already be prepared. All he needed to do was set up an altar and summon the spirits from the underworld, and the creature would be forced into the cycle of rebirth. Why should he worry about it?

He comforted himself: Although Kong Feng’s character was questionable, he wouldn’t neglect such important matters, right?

With this thought, he returned to his room, planning to meditate until dawn to see how Kong Feng would handle the situation. However, when he opened the door, he found the room empty—Zhi Zun Bao was gone!

He was shocked!

He couldn’t believe that the child he had brought was missing right under his nose!

He immediately rushed out, ready to search, but then he saw a small figure in the distance—it was Zhi Zun Bao!

Old August quickly ran over and whispered angrily, "Where have you been?"

"Master... Master..." Zhi Zun Bao was out of breath, gasping, "It’s bad, it’s bad, you have to see, the second young master... the second young master..." In his panic, he couldn’t explain clearly, only pointing frantically backward!

"Something happened?" Old August didn’t have time to get angry and said, "Lead the way, I’ll come and see!"

Zhi Zun Bao nodded and ran off.

***

Before leaving, Old August had given Zhi Zun Bao instructions, not to sleep but to stay in the room, tend the stove, and recite scriptures. He had also told him, "I’m going out to investigate, not to fight or interfere. Stay in the room and recite the scriptures. Don’t run around or follow me. Do you understand?"

Zhi Zun Bao nodded repeatedly, thinking to himself, "It’s so cold, I won’t go out—ha ha, I’ll just go to sleep after you leave. Who knows when you’ll be back? I’ll just say I was very tired, and you won’t blame me!"

He did exactly as he thought. As soon as Old August left, he climbed into bed.

Zhi Zun Bao, being young and weak, was exhausted from the day’s travel, rain, and feigned illness. He quickly fell asleep, dreaming peacefully. But just as he fell asleep, he heard a loud, incomprehensible shout!

The shout was so loud that it woke him up from his sleep!

PS: The Great Bliss Heaven Book Fan Group: 47133594, welcome to join. In the group, there are real stories of encountering evil spirits, ghosts, out-of-body experiences, and communicating with the spirit world, with countless people discussing ghosts and deities...

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