Chapter 72 – The Old Mansion

It was a large mansion, covering more than an acre of land. The towering courtyard walls were already mottled with age but still stood imposingly at the end of the path, like a gloomy sentinel firmly guarding the western entrance of the village. In the vicinity, not only were there no other households, but there wasn’t even a living creature in sight, making the old mansion appear even more eerie and terrifying.

Seeing this scene, Wei Yang couldn’t help but stop in his tracks. This mansion carried a familiar, nostalgic scent, yet it was also vastly different from what he remembered. Despite his many experiences, he couldn’t help but feel a bit disoriented.

Zhang Xiuqi also stopped and turned to look at Wei Yang with a puzzled expression: “Yangyang?”

Awakened by the call, Wei Yang took a deep breath and forced a smile from the corner of his mouth: “This is my ancestral home. Let’s go, I’ll take you to have a look.”

The two walked side by side to the front gate. As they got closer, they realized that the mansion had been abandoned for who knows how long. The large wooden door was already in a state of disrepair, cobwebs densely hung from the eaves, and the brass lock on the door ring had rusted.

Sighing softly in his heart, Wei Yang pulled out a large brass key from his bag, inserted it into the lock, and twisted it a few times. With a click, the lock sprang open. He removed the lock, gently pushed the door, and with a creaking sound, the door slid inward, now free from its restraints.

Inside the gate was a spacious courtyard, with wooden side rooms on both sides. Unlike the grand courtyards of Shanxi or the Beijing-style siheyuans, although the mansion covered a large area, its layout was quite simple. There were no screen walls or partition doors; instead, it more resembled an enlarged version of a rural courtyard, divided into inner and outer sections, with a long covered walkway connecting the two sides. Simplicity was paired with a touch of elegance.

Brushing off the cobwebs hanging above his head, Wei Yang explained to Zhang Xiuqi with a smile: “This ancestral home was built by my ancestors when they moved to Wei Family Village. It’s been passed down for three generations and has a long history. My grandparents used to live here, but my eldest uncle wasn’t interested in divination or fortune-telling and didn’t like this old mansion, so he moved to the east end of the village after getting married. Later, when my grandmother fell ill, the house was left empty.”

Though Wei Yang’s face wore a smile, his voice carried a tinge of melancholy: “I lived here as a child. It wasn’t too far from the school shared by the two villages, but I never had any friends come over to play. It made me quite sad back then—such a big and fun mansion, yet no one wanted to visit. But now that I think about it, it’s probably because the kids were too scared to come. This courtyard must have been too eerie even for adults.”

This was one of the strongest feelings Wei Yang had upon returning. What he remembered as fun as a child now seemed like nothing more than a pile of dark, old wood. The eaves and corridors were of an old-fashioned structure, with beams carved with ferocious chiwen and other mythical beasts. Even the carved walkways had turned black, and the hanging eaves no longer carried a poetic charm but instead resembled withered vines.

But the ancientness of the mansion was only part of it. What was even more frightening was likely his grandmother’s reputation as a “shenpo”¹spirit medium. He had always thought that shenpo were charlatans like the fortune-tellers, and the villagers were just gullible fools. But now it seemed that what the old woman had said—”Later, it stopped working”—was probably the crux of the matter. But why had his grandfather never mentioned it to him?

While Wei Yang was lost in thought, Zhang Xiuqi also carefully examined the mansion. He looked at the main hall of the gate, then turned his gaze to the roof ridge and the walkway, before finally saying: “The structure is good. It’s a lucky house in terms of feng shui.”

Only this little Celestial Master would judge a house by its feng shui rather than its appearance. Wei Yang genuinely smiled this time: “You know, the person who built this house and chose the ancestral burial site was my great-grandfather. The Wei family’s expertise in divination also came from him. Looking at it now, it seems our ancestors really had some genuine skills. Come on, Brother Qi, I’ll take you to see where I lived as a child.”

After closing the door behind them, the two walked into the courtyard. The large room in the center of the courtyard was the main hall for receiving guests. The side rooms on the left and right were the kitchen, storage room, and other living areas. A long walkway connected the main hall to the inner residence at the back. All the rooms were empty, with only a few old pieces of furniture remaining. Everything of value had been moved away, whether sold or stored in his eldest uncle’s new house. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, and as they walked, they left behind two neat rows of footprints.

As they walked, Wei Yang continued to explain to Zhang Xiuqi the former uses of these rooms: “The storage room on the left was always empty when I was a child. I used to play hide-and-seek there with my grandfather. There’s also the study and the secondary bedroom, which were my territories. My grandfather would sit in a rocking chair with a notebook, writing and drawing, and occasionally teaching me calligraphy…”

With a creak, another door was pushed open, and a cold, musty smell wafted out. Wei Yang couldn’t help but shiver. Looking inside, he saw a long incense table placed against the wall, with carved wooden beams above and a half-hanging tassel.

After a moment of silence, Wei Yang spoke: “This is our family’s ancestral hall, used specifically for ancestral worship. It used to hold many ancestral tablets and bone boxes, but after my grandfather passed away and the ancestral home was left unattended, the tablets were moved to a temple in the county, and this place was left empty. I remember when I was a child, the ancestral hall was only opened to the family during festivals. Usually, it was tightly shut, always dark and gloomy. This was probably the place I was most afraid of in the entire mansion…”

Yes, why had he been so afraid of the ancestral hall as a child, yet dreamed of being inside it? And after leaving this room, where had he gone?

His gaze involuntarily fell on the threshold, where he suddenly noticed a small chiwen pattern carved into the corner of the wall. The delicate pattern was almost imperceptible, winding along the edge of the wall. In front of the pattern was a small statue of a suanni, complete with a head and tail, its body carved with a fluffy lion’s mane, both majestic and slightly endearing. Following that were statues of yayu, xiezhi, xingshi, qingniu, danghu, and other mythical beasts. They resembled the celestial beings and beasts often placed on the roof ridges of temples, but there were many more of them here, and occasionally, some infamous ferocious beasts appeared.

In the old days, the decorations on roof ridges were strictly regulated. The “Nine Sons of the Dragon” and “Celestial Beings Leading the Way” motifs could only be used in temples and palaces. Ordinary households couldn’t use them even if they wanted to, and no craftsman would dare carve them. Yet these patterns, though faint, were vivid and clearly not accidental.

When Wei Yang reached the last mythical beast, he suddenly looked up, and a narrow courtyard came into view. It was the inner courtyard of the inner residence, much smaller than the outer courtyard but still paved with thick tiles. The original polished green bricks had been obscured by grime, now dirty and stained. They shouldn’t have been this color back then…

“Yangyang!”

A warm hand tightly gripped his wrist. Wei Yang shivered and suddenly came back to his senses. Without realizing it, he had already taken a step forward, about to walk into the inner residence. That direction led straight to his grandmother’s embroidery room. His grandfather had once told him not to barge into the embroidery room and disturb his grandmother, as embroidery was delicate work…

But was that room really just an embroidery room?

His heart pounding, Wei Yang couldn’t help but grab Zhang Xiuqi’s arm: “Brother Qi, is this house really a lucky one? If it is, why are there so many protective and ferocious beasts carved into the walkway? Why is it laid out in this jade belt pattern without a screen wall? What is it trying to attract—wealth or something else?”

Attracting qi, attracting evil, or attracting a household spirit known as Foxy Lady…

Zhang Xiuqi didn’t answer. Without proper divination and analysis, it was impossible to answer such a question. After all, his expertise was as a Celestial Master, not a yin-yang master from Sanliao Village. But as soon as the words left his mouth, Wei Yang regained his composure and smiled self-deprecatingly: “What does it matter? It’s been so long, and there’s probably nothing to worry about now, right?”

With that, he took a step forward and led Zhang Xiuqi into the inner residence: “The inner residence is smaller than the outer courtyard. My grandmother spent all her time here, sometimes sleeping in the main room, other times doing embroidery in the embroidery room. But she never let me wear the things she made, and I never saw my grandfather take them out. I just remember her as a thin, stern old woman, especially when she looked at me…”

His words drifted on, echoing in the empty courtyard, carrying a chilling coldness. Wei Yang didn’t want to admit that his heart was racing, but his grip on Zhang Xiuqi’s hand was indeed tightening, as if holding onto a lifeline. When they reached the elegant wooden door with its intricate carvings, he finally stopped, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

The room was like all the others, covered in a fine layer of dust. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, forming a tattered net. In the center of the room was a wooden table, its material indiscernible but the wood so old it seemed ready to collapse. In the corner was a mark left by something that had been placed there for years—probably a daybed, once covered with a thick red silk cushion…

Wei Yang’s heart skipped a beat. He had never entered his grandmother’s embroidery room before. At first, it was because he was afraid, and later, it was out of rebellion. So how could he know that there had been a daybed there?

The image of that thin figure reappeared in his mind. Wei Yang closed his eyes and asked: “Brother Qi, do you think there’s something wrong here? Is there a household spirit or some other evil presence…”

Zhang Xiuqi glanced at Wei Yang and shook his head firmly: “No. It’s very clean.”

“What?” Wei Yang was stunned. The little Celestial Master was not one to lie. If he said there was nothing, then he truly didn’t sense anything. But where had his dream come from? He had already matched so many details today, so how could this part be wrong?

As if to comfort Wei Yang, Zhang Xiuqi added: “Household spirits follow people. If the house is empty, there won’t be any.”

This statement was like a rollercoaster ride. Wei Yang’s heart sank: “So, even if there had been a household spirit here before, it’s gone now? Household spirits don’t stay in empty houses—they follow people?”

Seeing the little Celestial Master nod, Wei Yang’s lips curled into a bitter smile. It seemed this lead was impossible to follow unless he could summon his grandmother’s spirit and ask her directly. As for the name “Foxy Lady” in his grandfather’s note, it was probably untraceable. Unless he could find the other half of the note, there was little hope…

Sighing softly, Wei Yang didn’t say anything more and continued to show Zhang Xiuqi around the house. Partly to show him his old home, but also to search for clues. Even after moving, some remnants should have been left behind.

After rummaging through the old mansion for most of the day, they still didn’t find anything useful, only ending up covered in dust. Brushing the cobwebs off his head, Wei Yang shook his head: “It seems today’s a bust. It’s too much trouble to search like this. I’ll have to ask my eldest uncle where he moved all the things from the ancestral home. And about my parents and that ‘Foxy Lady’—whatever he says will be better than searching aimlessly like this. What do you think, Brother Qi?”

Though phrased as a question, it was more of a rhetorical one. Seeing Zhang Xiuqi’s straightforward gaze, Wei Yang couldn’t help but smile: “I know, it’s alright. We’ll take it slow.”

Having made up his mind, Wei Yang didn’t waste any more time and led Zhang Xiuqi back to the entrance. A gust of wind blew through the half-open door of the embroidery room, making a creaking sound—like the wind, or perhaps like the laughter of some animal. Zhang Xiuqi suddenly stopped and turned around.

“What’s wrong?” Wei Yang also stopped, looking nervously into the courtyard.

After a while, the little Celestial Master turned back: “I saw wrong.”

His voice was flat, and it was unclear what he had actually seen. Wei Yang didn’t mind: “It’s an old mansion—there’s bound to be something here.”

This time, neither of them stopped, and they walked straight out of the gate. But behind them, on the empty floor, a few small claw-like marks suddenly appeared, as if something had scurried past.

By the time they returned to his eldest uncle’s house, it was almost evening. His uncle didn’t seem to have left the house all day and was now sitting on a small stool by the door, smoking. When he saw Wei Yang return, he immediately stood up: “Ah Yang, you… you’re back. Where did you go today?”

“I wandered around the mountains, visited my grandfather’s grave, and took a look at the ancestral home,” Wei Yang replied without hiding anything, smiling.

His uncle’s face fell, and after hesitating for a while, he added: “Did you… did you see your great-uncle and the others?”

Wei Yang chuckled: “No, my grandmother probably hasn’t been buried in the ancestral grave yet, and I didn’t run into them on the way.”

His uncle seemed to sigh in relief: “That’s good… Ah, no, I mean, it’s fine. You two haven’t eaten yet, have you? Come in and have dinner!”

The old man had probably been sitting at the door all day, worried about this. Wei Yang felt both helpless and bitter but didn’t say anything. He just followed his uncle into the courtyard. But as soon as he entered, he was startled to see Lao Ye sprawled in the yard, its head drooping lazily on the ground. It had somehow escaped from the room, and on its back perched a proud little hen, as if it had mistaken the turtle shell for something else.

Seeing Wei Yang return, Lao Ye immediately perked up and stood up in one swift motion. However, the little hen on its back wasn’t pleased and began flapping its wings noisily. Lao Ye, now realizing it had an uninvited guest on its back, slowly turned its neck and let out a grunt.

“Wait, Lao Ye!” Seeing the situation, Wei Yang quickly ran over and rescued the little hen from certain doom, patting the turtle’s shell with a wry smile. “How did you even get out here? Wasn’t the basin comfortable enough for you?”

To keep Lao Ye from causing trouble, Wei Yang had specifically asked his aunt to prepare a large wooden basin for it to stay in. The basin was sturdy enough that even if the turtle tried to tip it over, it wouldn’t budge, and he’d even placed a brick inside for it to climb on. But now it seemed like all that effort had been for nothing.

His uncle walked in at that moment: “That turtle somehow managed to get downstairs. We were so worried someone might take it that we didn’t dare open the door all day.”

“Sorry for the trouble, Uncle. I’ll take it back upstairs and be down for dinner soon,” Wei Yang said with a forced smile, picking up Lao Ye and heading upstairs.

For some reason, the turtle seemed particularly grumpy today, constantly scratching at Wei Yang’s clothes, almost tearing a hole in them. After struggling halfway up the stairs, Wei Yang couldn’t hold onto it anymore and simply set it down on the steps: “What’s gotten into you today? Too excited about being back home?”

Lao Ye ignored him, tucked its head and limbs into its shell, and then slid down the stairs with a loud clatter. Its wide plastron made it easy to navigate the concrete steps, and it shot down like it was riding a skateboard. The momentum was so strong that it tipped over at the bottom, landing on its back with a thud.

Wei Yang stared in disbelief, about to rush down to help, but the turtle had already extended its neck and, with a quick twist, flipped itself back over. Without waiting for Wei Yang to catch up, it scurried off into the yard with surprising speed.

Wei Yang: “…”

After raising Lao Ye for so many years, he had no idea it had such a special talent for descending stairs! With a dry laugh, he didn’t bother trying to catch it and instead went upstairs to wash his face, put away his backpack, and then headed back down. By then, Zhang Xiuqi had also washed his hands and was sitting at the dining table. Though he was clearly hungry, his gaze wasn’t fixed on the food but was instead searching for Wei Yang.

When he saw Wei Yang, his gaze relaxed, and he picked up his chopsticks, turning his attention to the meal. It was impolite to start eating before everyone was seated, but Wei Yang didn’t care. He simply smiled and sat down next to Zhang Xiuqi, picking up his own chopsticks.

“By the way, Uncle, when I visited the ancestral grave today, I remembered that my parents’ ashes are still in the city cemetery. It’s not right to leave them there forever. How about I bring their ashes back and bury them in our family’s ancestral grave?”

At this seemingly casual remark, his uncle’s face, which had just calmed down, immediately tensed up again. His eyes darted around nervously, and his lips trembled for a while before he finally spoke: “Back then, your grandfather said that those who die an untimely death can’t be buried in the ancestral grave. The cemetery is bustling with people, so it’s better for them there…”

Wei Yang frowned: “What era are we living in? Why are we still sticking to these old beliefs? Uncle, my father was your only younger brother. Isn’t it pitiful that even his remains can’t come back?”

His words carried a hidden meaning—it wasn’t just his parents who couldn’t return. Even he himself had been barred from returning. They were blood relatives—what could possibly sever such a bond?

His uncle’s expression grew even more troubled, as if he were grappling with something. But after a long pause, he finally shook his head: “That was your grandparents’ decision. I… I can’t do anything about it…”

“Won’t the villagers gossip about our family? Something like this, if it gets out, won’t look good,” Wei Yang pressed, adding another layer of pressure.

But instead of relenting, his uncle’s expression grew even more resolute: “This matter is settled. Don’t bring it up again!”

Wei Yang’s heart sank. It seemed that the key issue wasn’t just the ancestral grave—even if they couldn’t move his parents’ ashes there, they could have buried them in the village cemetery. But clearly, there was some reason why his parents’ ashes couldn’t even enter the village cemetery, something so scandalous that it would cause the villagers to gossip if they tried.

After a moment of thought, Wei Yang changed the subject: “Alright, forget it. I’m planning to visit Wang Village tomorrow with Brother Qi to do some sightseeing. Do you know much about the neighboring village?”

At this, his uncle’s expression didn’t improve. Instead, he quickly said: “What’s so interesting about Wang Village? It’s been getting really strange in recent years. You’d be better off going to the county. How long are you planning to stay here?”

The urgency in his voice was unmistakable. Wei Yang gave his uncle a deep look and forced a smile: “We won’t be staying long, Uncle. Don’t worry.”

Wei Yang knew exactly what was in the county, and his uncle probably knew exactly what was in Wang Village. His parents had spent some time in Wang Village back then, though he didn’t know where the so-called car accident had happened. But ever since he was a child, his grandfather had never allowed him to visit the neighboring village, even though it was just a short walk away.

What had happened in Wang Village? Wei Yang didn’t ask. Instead, he smiled at Zhang Xiuqi, who had stopped eating at some point, and slowly began his meal.

In the yard, Lao Ye had once again sprawled out on the open ground, its head drooping lazily as if in a light sleep.

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