Chapter 10 – Encounter with Evil

In the afternoon, Wei Yang and Sun Chengfeng went to the scenic villa area in the suburbs to inspect the feng shui of Mr. Li’s new home. The old charlatan praised Wei Yang’s new outfit extravagantly and grandiosely bestowed upon himself the title of “famous master.” Different clients required different approaches, and while there were few like the blunt and simple-minded Mr. Wang, for high-end intellectuals, a well-spoken and knowledgeable apprentice who was proficient in feng shui was far more useful than a dull-witted follower. It also better accentuated the master’s otherworldly aura.

Thus, this feng shui inspection became a practice run for their partnership. Mr. Li was an old acquaintance of Sun Chengfeng’s, having consulted him about feng shui several times before. Fortunately, the old charlatan had never messed things up, and now that he was moving into a new home, Mr. Li naturally wanted to secure his blessings first. Both Sun Chengfeng and Wei Yang were familiar with such requests. As soon as they arrived, they launched into their spiel, dazzling Mr. Li with their expertise. By the end of the afternoon, Mr. Li was thoroughly convinced and obediently adjusted several layouts in his home. He also spent money on a couple of small decorative items to alter the feng shui flow. After a whirlwind of activity that lasted until dusk, the two charlatans left, their pockets full and their stomachs satisfied.

On the way back, Sun Chengfeng didn’t put on his usual airs. He shoved Wei Yang out of the driver’s seat and took the wheel himself, speeding along the road. As he drove, he curiously asked, “Ah Yang, why did Xiaofeng call today saying a woman came to inquire about our shop? Did you take on another job?”

Xiaofeng was Jiang Xiaofeng, the shrewd and somewhat flirtatious middle-aged secretary at Jieshui Studio. She had almost become the stepmother of the otaku-like Sun Chengfeng and was highly “valued” by the old charlatan. Wei Yang chuckled, “It’s not really a job. It’s just a landlord I met while house-hunting. I’m planning to set a trap to lower the price.”

Sun Chengfeng perked up immediately, “The house you’ve been eyeing? How are you planning to lower the price? Tell me!”

“Well, it’s actually quite simple…” Wei Yang began to explain leisurely.

After spreading rumors about the haunted house online, Wei Yang had been keeping a close eye on the situation. In this world, many people believed in ghosts, but few would immediately sell their houses because of it. After all, most families only had one property, and even if they felt uneasy, they still needed a place to live. Renting it out was already the limit. Those who would sell their homes immediately were either extremely wealthy or had something to hide. Wei Yang had initially planned to buy the house where someone had died, but a sales listing caught his attention.

The seller was a recent college graduate named Yan Yiyi, who had no steady job. Unlike others who sold their properties through agents or real estate companies, she had left her real phone number. Through this number, Wei Yang easily found her information on several peripheral websites, as well as her Weibo and WeChat accounts. This woman was indeed good-looking and adept at using her appearance for “investment.” She was a social butterfly, often posting “mistress-like” content on dating websites—some for her sugar daddies to admire, and some as her genuine, albeit melodramatic, expressions.

Among her posts, a few caught Wei Yang’s attention. They were posted around the time of the incident, and her tone had clearly changed. She seemed anxious, helpless, and even resentful, with a hint of pain in her words. In the corners of the photos, faint traces of Mifepristone tablets could be seen. Through these fragmented background details and basic investigation, Wei Yang discovered something: this girl had likely had an “abortion” recently due to certain human-related reasons.

Normally, a professional mistress like her having a few abortions wouldn’t be unusual, as not all sugar daddies were keen on having illegitimate children. However, the fact that her personal property was in that particular neighborhood raised suspicions. Her current sugar daddy was a government official with vague ties to the real estate industry. It was impossible to believe she had no personal connection with the developer who had jumped to his death. Knowing the deceased, having had a secret abortion, and now rushing to sell her house—it was clear she had something to hide. The question was, what exactly was she hiding? After a simple test, Wei Yang easily got the result he wanted.

“That silly girl had an abortion in her own bathroom, and then someone jumped to their death from the building above her place?” Sun Chengfeng burst into laughter after hearing Wei Yang’s explanation. “This is a deal sent straight to your doorstep! Ah Yang, you’ve got some good luck.”

The harm an abortion could inflict on a young woman was evident, and with the added shock of someone she knew jumping to their death from the building above, Miss Yan must have been terrified and fled. However, even after escaping, the building had already gained notoriety as a haunted house due to the online hype. Having an abortion in such a place would naturally make anyone with any sense of fear anxious. All Wei Yang had done was vividly describe the “entity” she should fear—a vengeful baby spirit formed by feng shui evil, a terrifying calamity so powerful it could drive someone to jump to their death. Once frightened, the woman would inevitably go home and research, and like astrology or blood types, the more one researched such things, the more they believed in them. In fact, it could subtly change one’s personality. When someone harbored such fears and believed in them deeply, they were not far from actually encountering ghosts.

Sun Chengfeng was an expert in the charlatan world and naturally understood this psychological manipulation perfectly. How could he not burst into laughter? Wei Yang also smiled, “So in a few days, I might need to go back and ‘exorcise’ the place. If I need to use Jieshui Studio, I’ll have to ask for your help, Uncle Sun.”

“Sure, it’s no big deal!” Sun Chengfeng didn’t care about such supernatural matters and agreed readily. The two of them chatted and laughed as they drove back to the city.

Since the villa they had inspected today was in the new scenic area of Miaotou Mountain, which was quite far from the city, it took them over half an hour to reach the outskirts. Ahead was the vicinity of Mr. Wang’s cemetery, which they had passed several times in the past few days. Sun Chengfeng confidently turned the steering wheel, about to make a turn onto the highway when suddenly, a figure darted into the middle of the road, right in the path of the car. It was a figure of medium height, like a child of about ten years old.

Sun Chengfeng let out a shout and slammed on the brakes, but at such a high speed, it was impossible to avoid the collision. With a loud crash, the car collided with the figure. Normally, this would have been a serious traffic accident, with the pedestrian either being flung dozens of meters or crushed under the wheels. But contrary to the two men’s expectations, the powerful car seemed to have hit not a human body but something like a rock or a tree. The impact instantly rebounded onto the car, causing it to skid wildly. Due to the sudden turn and the uneven force, the car let out a sharp screech of tires, spinning out of control like a wild beast. It veered off the road and crashed into the wild grass on the side with a loud thud.

The incident happened in an instant. Wei Yang didn’t have time to react. He felt the world spin, his chest tighten, and then as if a heavy weight pressed down on him. His body tilted, and he was slammed against the seat. The impact of the airbag dissipated after a few seconds. Suppressing the urge to vomit, Wei Yang struggled to reach out and press the door handle. His ears were still ringing, and he felt extremely dizzy. His senses were in chaos—the smell of burning rubber from the tires, the faint sound of gasoline dripping, the strong scent of blood in his nose—everything made him feel nauseous.

After finally calming his racing heart, Wei Yang turned his head with difficulty to look at the old charlatan beside him. Sun Chengfeng’s face was covered in blood, and he was slumped over the steering wheel, unable to move, but he was still moaning softly. Wei Yang breathed a sigh of relief and struggled to unbuckle his seatbelt, intending to climb out of the car and then drag Sun Chengfeng out. Having watched too many Hollywood movies, no one dared to wait for the car to explode. Naturally, they had to get out of the danger zone as quickly as possible. But as soon as he leaned halfway out of the car, he froze. The figure that had been hit by the car was now staggering to its feet.

This was a shocking sight. The figure looked like a child, and after being hit so hard, how could it still be alive? Yet, the figure stood up, albeit unsteadily, and began limping toward them. Wei Yang’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. Only then did he see what the figure truly was.

It was indeed a child, about twelve or thirteen years old. One arm had been broken by the car, and its legs were twisted unnaturally. However, there was no blood on its body. Above the thin, pale chest, where the head should have been, there was nothing. Instead, a furry head protruded from the torso—a bloody, earless, long-necked head that looked like a grinning weasel.

Wei Yang had grown up in the countryside and knew what a weasel looked like. But this weasel’s head was attached to a human body—a child’s body! Every hair on his body stood on end. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he struggled even more fiercely to escape. All sorts of rural legends he had heard before raced through his mind—possessions, body snatching, hauntings—but what on earth was this thing in front of him?

With a sudden jerk, his trapped body loosened, and he finally tumbled out of the car. The monster in front of him also quickened its pace, charging toward him with a foul stench. At that moment, Wei Yang felt as if his soul was about to flee his body. He struggled a few times but couldn’t get up. As a feng shui expert, he was adept at creating atmospheres and using ghost stories to deceive and scare people, but he had never believed in them! Now, witnessing this inhuman terror with his own eyes, he suddenly realized that everything he had believed was a joke. And after the laughter came genuine, bone-chilling fear!

No, I, I have to do something! Wei Yang grabbed a piece of metal that had fallen beside him. It was about two feet long, twisted and deformed, and its sharp edges cut into his palm. But Wei Yang didn’t feel the pain. He just held the piece of junk in front of his chest like a shield. The monster was now less than ten meters away, its bloody maw filled with sharp teeth, its red, round eyes gleaming with a sinister light. Its human-like arms had grown long, black claws, like a ferocious beast pouncing on its prey.

“Ah!” Wei Yang screamed. At the same moment, another sound rang out—light and swift, like an arrow released from a bow. With a thud, it embedded itself in the ground near the monster’s feet. The creature suddenly stopped in its tracks. Its body, which had not flinched at the car, now trembled violently as if electrocuted. It stumbled back a few meters, then turned to flee!

But there was no escape now! With a few more swishing sounds, similar objects flew in, embedding themselves in the ground around the monster, forming a perimeter about two meters away. Upon closer inspection, they were ancient coins with square holes. Now, these small coins acted like an electric net, firmly trapping the monster. Enraged, the creature let out a furious roar. The sound was like a shockwave, and with a hum, half of the coins were blown away. But before it could break free, a figure rushed in from the distance, fast as lightning. A brilliant white light flashed from the newcomer’s palm, slashing through the air toward the monster.

A piercing metallic clang rang out, followed by a soft thud. The monster’s chest was split in half, while its sharp claws pierced the newcomer’s shoulder, a few drops of blood splattering to the ground. Wei Yang stared dumbfounded at the scene, which seemed frozen in time, still clutching the piece of metal in his hands. But before he could catch his breath, another twist occurred! The monster’s long neck extended and retracted, and a black shadow shot out from its torso, darting toward Wei Yang.

This unexpected turn of events clearly caught the newcomer off guard. He moved swiftly to intervene, but the shadow was faster than the monster. In the blink of an eye, it leaped up, its sharp claws aimed straight at Wei Yang’s face!

In that moment, everything happened too quickly for Wei Yang to react. In his narrowed eyes, all he could see was the weasel’s ferocious face. But the expected pain never came. Instead, something in his chest grew warm, and a brilliant light burst forth like a silver star, radiating dazzling brilliance. With a loud bang, the weasel slammed into the light barrier, unable to advance. A pungent burning smell filled the air as the creature froze mid-air. A blade then sliced through its neck, driving it with a cold force into the ground below.

Wei Yang didn’t blink. He couldn’t, and he forgot to. The white light, the blood, and the blade flashed across his vision, finally settling on a man—a very handsome young man, exuding a sharp, murderous aura, yet also a cold, detached indifference. Like the sword in his hand and the monster he had just slain, he seemed entirely removed from this world, strange and icy. However, he had saved me… For some reason, Wei Yang’s heart suddenly relaxed. His body swayed a few times, and he fainted, collapsing to the ground.

The man pulled the blade from the weasel’s body and stood up. Even after killing such a formidable foe, his expression remained unchanged. He was like an unfeeling machine, slowly retracting his murderous intent and returning to a state of cold indifference. Normally, he would have taken the weasel’s body back for investigation, but today, he didn’t move. Instead, he stared straight at the person who had fainted in front of him. His lips moved slightly, and he whispered, “Talisman Jade.”

As if awakened by the words, a hint of emotion flickered in his eyes. He took a step forward and repeated, “Talisman Jade!”

After saying this, the man sat down on the spot, thrusting his short sword into the ground in front of him. Like a cold statue guarding a treasure, he remained motionless, solid as a rock.