Chapter 147 – Extra 8 – How Yao Wei Met Zeng Jingxuan 3

This was a villa district, with walls at least five meters high, and it was unclear whether they were equipped with protective measures like electric fences. How could someone be sitting on top of it? Yet, the slender figure was clearly visible, with long black hair hanging down, obscuring the face. The plain white dress fluttered in the night breeze, and the lifted hem revealed bare feet, with crimson blood dripping from the toes.

What the fuck, is this a person or a ghost? Yao Wei’s scalp tingled. No matter what, he was a disciple of the Laoshan Sect. He knew exactly what a malevolent ghost was like. Even if he had activated his “heavenly eye,” the most he could usually see was a hazy black or white shadow. Ghosts were, after all, manifestations of yin energy. Except for rare situations like yin soldiers or yin gathering pools, it was almost impossible to see the appearance of the deceased during their lifetime. This wasn’t a horror movie where you’d casually encounter a bunch of long-haired, beautiful female ghosts.

Yet, in the dead of night, with the eerie wind blowing and ghostly aura lingering, a woman in a white dress with bare feet suddenly appeared on the wall. She really didn’t seem like a living person!

Before Yao Wei could react, the man standing in front of him had already moved. Several black nails flew from his hand and embedded themselves in the corners of the building. As the nails sank into the ground, the woman on the wall suddenly disappeared into thin air. The next moment, a blue light flashed around the nails, and the white figure with waist-length black hair slammed directly into the blue barrier!

Holy shit! It really was a ghost! Seeing this inhuman scene, Yao Wei was completely certain. That woman in the white dress couldn’t possibly be alive. But it made no sense for her to appear in such a form.

“Upstairs!” A furious shout rang out. The man who had just set up the formation was already charging toward the building. The female ghost seemed to be trapped by the formation, still struggling to break free. Yao Wei didn’t dare hesitate. Ignoring the pain in his chest, he scrambled to his feet and followed the man, rushing into the villa like a gust of wind.

With a loud clang, the door was locked, and two talismans were immediately pasted on it. The man had no intention of staying behind. He bolted up the stairs, and Yao Wei, caught up in this unexpected situation, followed closely behind. When they reached the second floor, he immediately understood what had just happened.

In the center of the second-floor hallway, a pre-set soul-attracting formation had been destroyed. It was likely that his bean rats had triggered the formation’s power, causing it to malfunction. That was why the man had mistaken him for an attacker and immediately struck. Now, not only had he been beaten for no reason, but the man’s carefully laid formation had also been ruined. Below them was a powerful entity that could manifest in physical form. Things were about to get ugly!

Just as he was lost in thought, the man spoke up: “Close the windows! Light all the candles!”

The commanding tone left no room for argument, and Yao Wei didn’t dare delay. He rushed over to close the windows and quickly pulled out a lighter from his pocket, lighting the three candles arranged in a tripod on the windowsill. This was clearly a backup measure to prevent accidents. As the soft flames flickered to life, they illuminated the scene outside. Yao Wei took a quick glance downstairs and saw that the white figure had disappeared. But the “heaven-breaking sound” hadn’t been heard. Could it be that the female ghost had retreated? Did malevolent ghosts even have that kind of intelligence?

This wasn’t the time to ponder. After lighting the candles, he immediately turned to look behind him. The man was already redrawing a cinnabar formation, which seemed to be connected to the Seven Passes. He was so tense that beads of sweat had formed on his smooth forehead, and his expression was grave. Now wasn’t the time to interrupt. Yao Wei didn’t say a word, but his eyes couldn’t help but scan the villa. They were in the center of the second floor, with several doors closed. Only one bedroom door to the east was wide open. On the bed inside, someone seemed to be lying down, with their legs tied to the bed with safety straps, as if they were a mental patient. Looking at the talisman formation laid out by the bed, Yao Wei raised an eyebrow, beginning to understand what was going on.

It seemed this “pretty boy” really had been hired by the Song family to exorcise evil. Someone in the Song family had been possessed—whether by a haunting spirit or something else—and had to be confined in this villa. Miss Song had likely come here to “visit the patient,” not for some secret rendezvous with a lover. The secrecy was probably to keep the matter under wraps, which was why her fiancé had gotten suspicious and sent Yao Wei to spy. Coincidentally, he had stumbled upon the man setting up a soul-attracting formation, ruining the plan. Now, the ghost had been summoned, and it was a malevolent one at that, with nowhere to go. Naturally, it was going to lash out at the two living humans in its path.

Fuck, what terrible luck! Scratching his beard in frustration, Yao Wei took off his satchel and rummaged through it. Soon, he pulled out two pendants, put one around his own neck, and held out the other to the man who had just finished drawing the formation. “Here, a ghost-repelling talisman. It’ll buy us some time.”

The man didn’t take the wooden talisman. Instead, he asked coldly, “What are you here for?”

“Would you believe me if I said I was here for inspiration?” Seeing the man’s raised eyebrows, Yao Wei knew this wasn’t the time for jokes. He quickly came clean. “Actually, I’m a private investigator. Miss Song’s fiancé hired me to check up on you. I just happened to run into this mess.”

“Miss Song Yinyin’s fiancé?” The handsome man’s expression darkened. He clearly understood what Yao Wei was doing. Running into a spy while exorcising a ghost—it was no wonder he looked so upset. However, the man’s composure was remarkable. Instead of dwelling on it, he asked directly, “Which sect are you from? Mao Mountain or Lingbao?”

Was he suggesting they cooperate now? Yao Wei cleared his throat and answered honestly, “I’m from the Yao family of the Laoshan Sect.”

The man’s expression grew even more grim. Yao Wei felt a bit awkward. The Laoshan Sect was known for its many minor techniques and had produced quite a few scoundrels. By modern times, its orthodox lineage had nearly died out, making it somewhat disreputable. But he didn’t withdraw his outstretched hand. Instead, he added, “This pendant has been infused with energy. It’s useful for repelling ghosts. I’m really sorry about today. You should wear it for now.”

After a moment of hesitation, the man finally reached out and put the pendant around his neck. But his expression didn’t relax. He glanced out the window and said, “That woman cast a death curse. Her body hasn’t been found, so I had no choice but to try to capture her spirit. I didn’t expect it to be a true-form malevolent ghost.”

The so-called true-form malevolent ghost was a general term for evil spirits that could manifest in physical form. It was different from a long-established demon, but it was still a rare type of ghost with some level of intelligence, making it extremely difficult to deal with. But how could a recently deceased person suddenly turn into a true-form ghost? Could it be that the burial environment was problematic?

Yao Wei frowned and asked, “Can’t we just find a way to disperse the ghost?”

The man had set up a soul-attracting formation earlier, clearly not intending to eliminate the ghost entirely. The cinnabar formation he was setting up now was hard to understand, but the dead jade was still in place. It seemed he still didn’t want to fight to the death. But this was a true-form malevolent ghost, not some ordinary evil spirit. Trying to capture it now was like trying to lasso a tiger.

The man clearly understood the severity of the situation. He shook his head slightly and explained, “No, she used a blood fetus curse. If we don’t find her body and burn it, there’s no way to break the curse.”

“Fuck.” Yao Wei’s goosebumps returned. “Did she get abandoned after being used and discarded? She used a dead fetus to cast the curse?”

There was only one kind of curse that could be called a blood fetus curse—using a dead infant to curse its biological parents or blood relatives. This type of curse, tied to bloodlines, was the hardest to break. Simply exorcising the vengeful spirit wasn’t enough; the caster’s body had to be destroyed as well—literally turned to ashes. If both weren’t dealt with, the death curse would never be lifted. The victim would lose their mind, develop a massive ulcer in their abdomen, and eventually die from internal rot. It was a curse of mutual destruction. Only someone with immense hatred would resort to such a method.

The man didn’t refute him, clearly confirming his speculation. Yao Wei grimaced in frustration. “Why go to such extremes? If she wanted to sue for divorce, she could’ve hired a private investigator like me. Why resort to such a deadly curse? And you—why are you even helping such a scumbag?”

Unexpectedly, the man replied coldly, “The victim was his lawful wife. The one who cast the curse was her cousin.”

Yao Wei was stunned. This was a tangled mess. It seemed the wife had helped her younger cousin, only for the cousin to hook up with her husband and even get pregnant. When the affair was discovered, chaos ensued. Instead of targeting the cheating husband, the crazy mistress had turned her hatred toward her cousin, determined to make the wife’s life a living hell. What a soap opera.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Yao Wei sighed. “Alright, now that this thing has come knocking, it probably won’t let us off the hook. Let’s figure out how to deal with it first. Is your formation flawless?”

“It was.” The man’s tone was far from friendly.

Yao Wei forced a dry laugh. “Well, accidents happen…”

Before he could finish, a soft tap came from the bedroom balcony. Both men’s expressions changed, and they rushed toward the bedroom. All the rooms were dark, and in the cold darkness, a pair of glowing green eyes floated in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, like two small ghostly flames. Yao Wei, who had run too fast, took a couple of seconds to realize it was a dark-furred wild cat, unusually large. Whether it was bristling or just naturally that way, its mouth stretched wide to its ears, revealing sharp white teeth and a crimson tongue. Its constantly shifting pupils were fixed on the room, as if under a spell.

“It’s been possessed!” Yao Wei shouted. This was clearly a sign of a malevolent ghost possessing a living creature. No matter what precautions the man beside him had taken, they were meant for spirits, not living beings with physical bodies. His formation might not hold!

Sure enough, as soon as the words left Yao Wei’s mouth, the cat sprang forward and crashed into the glass! The double-layered soundproof glass shattered with a loud crash. The cat, its head bloodied and neck twisted, still charged into the room, heading straight for the bed in the corner!

With a loud buzz, white light flashed from the four bedposts, and the cat was sent flying. Clearly, some ritual instrument placed by the bed had taken effect. But before Yao Wei could breathe a sigh of relief, a black mist leaped out of the cat’s body and began circling the ceiling.

It was searching for someone! Yao Wei immediately held his breath. At this moment, the ghost-repelling talismans they carried came into play. The malevolent ghost could sense the presence of enemies but couldn’t pinpoint their exact location. Seizing the opportunity, the man beside him flicked his wrist, and three copper coins shot out. Without missing a beat, the tarnished coins pierced through the black mist, causing the ghost to let out a scream and charge straight at him!

In that split second, the man shouted, “Spirit Mimicry!”

Despite the lack of prior communication, Yao Wei’s reaction wasn’t slow. He scattered a handful of soybeans on the ground, and the small mice that materialized immediately scurried away with a series of pitter-patter sounds, like wild rats fleeing from a snake. The black mist hesitated for a moment, then turned to chase after them!

This was the nature of ghosts. These yin entities were the most opportunistic creatures in the world. They avoided those with strong yang energy and powerful spiritual abilities, but those with weak yang energy and low spiritual power were often targeted. The two living men in the room were both carrying ghost-repelling talismans, making it hard for the ghost to identify them. But the spirit mimicry bean mice were tangible carriers of Daoist energy. Faced with such easy prey, the malevolent ghost naturally chose to chase and destroy them first. After all, it wasn’t a demon with a myriad of true forms. Even with some intelligence, its decision-making was still limited.

Seeing the ghost distracted, both men felt a momentary relief. The man had already rushed out of the room, and Yao Wei followed closely. Outside, the formation that had been set up earlier was in place. The ghost, having been blocked downstairs and attacked twice, was no longer fully formed. It mindlessly followed the bean mice into the cinnabar formation. In front of it, the man knelt on one knee, swiftly drawing a talisman on the ground with blood from his fingertip. The cinnabar formation lit up with white light, and the ghost let out a scream. But the thick black mist refused to enter the dead jade, instead preparing for a desperate counterattack!

With a snap, one of the copper coins in the formation was sent flying! Yao Wei shouted, “You can’t hold it! Destroy it now!”

A drop of sweat rolled down the man’s forehead and fell to the ground, but he showed no intention of retreating. Instead, he gritted his teeth and spat a mouthful of true saliva onto the spot where the coin had been dislodged. Yao Wei knew exactly what this was for, and his tongue ached just watching. He yelled, “I have spiritual vision! I’ll help you find the body tomorrow! Hurry!”

The man’s body stiffened slightly. Suddenly, he pulled a peach wood sword from his waist and thrust it into the ground an inch in front of the talisman. A deafening “heaven-breaking sound” erupted, shattering all the windows in the room. In the cinnabar formation, the black mist that had been rampaging finally disappeared.

Yao Wei’s legs gave out, and he almost collapsed to the floor. This was way too close. How much money did you get paid to risk your life like this? But before he could catch his breath, the man slowly stood up. The earlier disheveled appearance was gone, as if the storm had passed and the sea had returned to calm. Even the sweat-drenched strands of hair on his forehead no longer looked messy. The bright moonlight cast a faint halo around him, and in the stark contrast of light and shadow, his strikingly handsome face turned toward Yao Wei. His dark, intense eyes locked onto him.

Yao Wei froze, a shiver running down his spine. His heart started pounding, unsure whether it was due to the man’s gaze or the fact that his face perfectly matched his aesthetic preferences. The man, however, didn’t seem to care about any of that. He simply said expressionlessly, “My name is Zeng Jingxuan, a descendant of the Zeng family of Sanliao Village. Are you a descendant of the Yao family of Laoshan?”