Chapter Fifty: Shooting Oneself in the Foot

“What do you know? The pleasure house was haunted last night.”

“What? Haunted? You must be confused. Our Tianzi City has cultivators in it. Where would ghosts come from?”

“Confused, am I? If there are cultivators, then how do you explain the death of the Yan family patriarch?”

“This…”

“Heh-heh, nothing to say now, eh? To be honest, I don’t believe it either. But several young masters died at the pleasure house today, and their deaths make no sense at all. The constables are run off their feet, and the city lord is nearly out of his mind with rage.”

“Then… it really has been one disaster after another!”

“That isn’t all. Do you know the Xun family?”

“Don’t tell me something happened there too?”

“Not exactly. At half past three last night, the Xun residence rang with horrifying screams. This morning, more than a dozen young maids were found dead. Not one of the bodies was intact—they had all been torn to pieces…”

“Now that you mention it, I remember. My little sister was planning to work as a maid at the Xun residence tomorrow. I’ll stop her when I get home tonight.”

“You’re lucky.”

“Tianzi City has been anything but peaceful lately. The same thing happened at the Liu residence last night. Several guards serving the Liu patriarch perished. I heard they died of suffocation.”

“It’s not peaceful in the old district either. The more you talk, the more frightened I get.”

“What are you afraid of? Take this old brother’s advice and don’t go out tonight. Going out would practically be asking for death. They must have done something so heinous that even Heaven was enraged… Last night’s events were probably retribution.”

“Oh dear. I’ll go home and warn my parents to be careful from now on.”

“Exactly. Even the Zhang family…”

The conversation faltered when it touched upon the great clan across from Little Zhang Teahouse. Many people wisely chose not to continue. Instead, they began discussing their studies. In the end, they paid for their tea and departed one after another.

Ye Feifan paid his bill and walked out of Little Zhang Teahouse, but his mood was somewhat gloomy.

The stormy night had been terrifying. It had indeed been wise not to act recklessly the night before. The Antiques Appraisal Auction House was probably suffering a headache as well.

From what those people had said, the Zhang family had also lost quite a few people last night. Whether that had anything to do with the Zhang family warehouse, however, was impossible to say. Even Chen Biao was wary of that place. If Ye Feifan asked to inspect it, Zhang’s father might secretly kill him to conceal whatever secrets lay within.

The coffin shop he had visited last time had given Ye Feifan plenty of inspiration. The ghost from “Knocking at the Door at Midnight” was very likely hiding inside something resembling a coffin—or perhaps a chest, a box, or something of the sort.

The search area had narrowed. That thing was definitely in the western courtyard of the Zhang residence.

The last side quest had originally been set to Normal difficulty, but he had upgraded it to Nightmare difficulty himself. The Zhang family’s losses during the stormy night were probably enough to leave them crippled.

“I only hope they managed to imbue those two peachwood swords with some spiritual power. Otherwise, empty-handed as I am, I’ll have no choice but to flee.”

After finding a secluded place to change back into Xiao Martin’s face, Ye Feifan put on a black leather coat and headed toward the Zhang family gates.

It was around five in the afternoon. In a few hours, midnight would arrive. That was when the horror surrounding the Zhang family would truly reveal itself. By then, he would probably be overwhelmed and scrambling from one emergency to the next. He would need more people to help shoulder the burden.

The servant at the gate saw a stranger approaching and was just about to stop Ye Feifan when he suddenly remembered something. He hurriedly asked, “Are you Mr. Xiao Martin?”

“Please announce my arrival,” Ye Feifan said with an awkward smile.

“The patriarch instructed us beforehand that you needn’t trouble yourself with formalities. This way, please…”

“Thank you.”

Ye Feifan followed the servant into the Zhang residence. Seeing several servants trembling as they passed, he could not help asking, “Has something happened here?”

The servant shuddered. After glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice and said, “Please don’t make things difficult for me, Mr. Xiao. The patriarch specifically ordered us not to speak of it. You should ask him yourself.”

“I was out of line.”

Ye Feifan was somewhat surprised. The tea drinkers at Little Zhang Teahouse had kept their mouths tightly shut, and the Zhang family servants were equally discreet. The number of powerful people the Zhang family had lost during the previous stormy night was probably terrifying.

Ye Feifan had read plenty of stories about such things in the past. He knew that vengeful spirits held grudges fiercely and were exceedingly difficult to deal with.

When they were weak, they would not emerge of their own accord, and even powerful cultivators often could not find them. Only after growing strong through cultivation would they come out and settle their scores with everyone who had wronged them. Even united, cultivators could not stop them.

By his reckoning, Zhang’s father was an expert of the Fluid Realm. The Yan family patriarch had also been a Fluid Realm expert, yet he had still died. Clearly, the waters surrounding that bus ran deep.

Since Zhang’s father had survived, the ghost haunting the Zhang family could not have been stronger than he was. The victims were probably merely some weaker young members of the clan.

As Ye Feifan pondered this, the servant led him into the reception hall. A maid hurried over to serve him tea.

“Mr. Xiao, please wait here for a moment. I’ll inform the patriarch that you have arrived.”

“Very well.”

After the servant left, Ye Feifan dismissed the maid as well and began examining the reception hall.

“Oh?”

It was nothing at first glance, but once he looked carefully, he discovered something troubling. There were traces of blood on one of the beams overhead. His estimation of the quest’s difficulty immediately rose several levels.

Murder?

Before he could figure it out, Zhang’s father entered from outside the hall.

“Brother Xiao, it has been far too long. I have missed you terribly!”

There was a smile on Zhang’s father’s face, but it was somewhat stiff. After Ye Feifan had played him several times, the fact that he could still greet him with a smile was already an extraordinary show of magnanimity.

“Patriarch Zhang, I hope you have been well. I’m rather ashamed to say that I intended to come at the appointed time, but I was ambushed and pursued. I only escaped by hiding in Wuju Town. I have failed the trust you placed in me.”

Ye Feifan wore an unmistakably embarrassed expression, as though weighed down by guilt. Zhang’s father was momentarily taken aback.

“Pursued?”

After thinking it over, Zhang’s father began wildly filling in the blanks. The information surrounding his family must have leaked. Someone did not want the Zhang family to recover, and had therefore decided to silence them permanently.

“Yes. Does Patriarch Zhang have some enemies?” Ye Feifan asked curiously.

“It was nothing serious. There’s no need for you to concern yourself with it, Brother Xiao.”

Although he clearly knew what had happened to the shop assistant, Zhang’s father began brushing the matter aside instead of investigating the Liu family’s involvement. His attitude made Ye Feifan even more cautious.

A flicker passed through his eyes. Ye Feifan sighed with a smile and said, “A few days ago, I was pursued again in Wuju Town. Fortunately, I was accepted into the Wufa Sect. Those men in black had no choice but to let me go, and I hurried back at once to lend you a hand.”

“The Wufa Sect?” Zhang’s father was startled. He studied Ye Feifan without revealing his thoughts. Yet Ye Feifan’s cultivation remained at the Second Tribulation realm, which made him question the truth of the rest of the story.

“Patriarch Zhang, you needn’t worry. The sect master has his reasons for suppressing all his disciples’ cultivation. Fortunately, I had not broken through earlier, or I might have missed this opportunity.”

Ye Feifan embellished his identity and recounted everything, including the claim that his Bottomless Pit had been created by an abandoned disciple of the Wufa Sect.

His lies were so elaborate and self-consistent that Zhang’s father listened with growing apprehension.

After some more polite conversation, Zhang’s father became considerably warmer. With the Wufa Sect behind him, Xiao Martin’s pursuers would not dare cause trouble for the time being. His change in attitude was only natural. He did not mention Ye Feifan’s failure to keep the appointment, and the two enjoyed a relatively pleasant exchange.

“Before I came to the Zhang residence, I heard that the Yan family patriarch boarded the same bus outside your home that your eldest son took last time. Did your son see him last night?”

The moment Ye Feifan mentioned the bus, Zhang’s father’s expression darkened. After some hesitation, he told him what had happened.

“The Yan family patriarch came to discuss something with me last night. Seeing how late it had become, I asked him to stay the night, but he insisted on returning home. No one expected that bus to stop outside our gate. The Yan family will probably regard the Zhangs as enemies from now on. It seems the relationship between our two families is bound to collapse.”

“Since escaping that disaster last time, Da’er has not gone out at night again. He should be safe, shouldn’t he?”

Zhang’s father’s face was deathly pale. He stared fixedly at Ye Feifan, terrified that the young man might say something disastrous.

Ye Feifan frowned and pretended to perform a divination with his fingers. Then he relaxed and said, “Fortunately, your son did not go out last night. If he had boarded that bus, he would probably be keeping the Yan family patriarch company by now.”

Zhang’s father also breathed a sigh of relief, but he still asked uneasily, “Brother Xiao, do you know where that bus came from?”

Ye Feifan pondered for a moment before replying, “It is a hearse packed with corpses. Everyone who boards it is a wronged spirit of the dead. Your son was lucky enough to escape last time, but that thing will certainly not give up. Patriarch Zhang, you must remain on your guard.”

“Thank you for the warning, Brother Xiao. I’ll remember it.”

Zhang’s father’s face darkened. The bus was not going to give up, and his son’s situation was hardly optimistic. The Yan family patriarch was proof enough of that.

“There is still time. There are more clouds today than usual, and it will rain tonight. That thing will probably emerge. We should make preparations as soon as possible.”

“You’re right, Brother Xiao. I’ve already done what you instructed last time. Come and see whether it meets your requirements.”

The two swords were being offered in the reception hall. Ye Feifan had not noticed them earlier, but when Zhang’s father led him over, he finally saw their current appearance clearly.

The two bloodstained red wooden swords were ancient and archaic. The moment one looked at them, a wave of dizziness swept over the mind. The power of faith seemed to have had some effect. The swords were no longer exactly the same in color: one was a deep crimson, while the other was bright scarlet.

The bright scarlet sword was his ten-thousand-year-old peachwood sword. The deep crimson one was a thousand-year-old peachwood sword. The Zhang family had even tried to deceive him about something that concerned their own lives. Their shamelessness was almost impressive.

Ye Feifan took out his ten-thousand-year-old peachwood sword and pointed to the other one.

“This sword is probably a thousand years old. It has not been worshiped for long enough, so you must continue the rites without interruption.”

Zhang’s father’s face turned the color of pig’s liver. He had planned to deceive the young man, never imagining that the other really knew what he was doing. The peachwood sword he had intended to replace had ended up returned to its rightful owner. It pained him terribly, yet he still had to keep smiling.

“I understand. I’ll have them continue worshiping it.”

“Good. Patriarch Zhang, I now need you to collect the urine of several hundred virgin boys, the menstrual blood of several hundred women, and the blood of a hundred black dogs. None of the black dogs may be killed; take only a palmful of blood from each. I’ll also need a pound of cinnabar.”

After listing the materials, Ye Feifan continued, “Find me a quiet chamber as well. I need to cremate and refine the peachwood sword into an exorcising artifact.”

“Rest assured, Brother Xiao. I’ll see to it immediately. Someone—take Brother Xiao to the secret chamber at once.”

The materials and conditions Ye Feifan had requested were rather embarrassing, but for the sake of driving away the evil, Zhang’s father could only grit his teeth and arrange everything.

“Patriarch Zhang, remember this clearly: the materials must include virgin boys’ urine and menstrual blood. The black dogs must remain alive after their blood is taken. If even one ingredient is wrong, all our efforts will be wasted. Do not forget!”

“Rest assured, Brother Xiao. I understand.”

A servant led Ye Feifan to the secret chamber. Once the servant had left, Ye Feifan surveyed the room from corner to corner. After confirming that no one was watching, he hurriedly took out a crystal.