After bidding farewell to Qingyun and Changfeng, the sky began to darken. Wang Xiu followed the direction they had pointed out, walking through several cold and deserted alleys before arriving in front of a luxurious estate.
The plaque was inscribed with two large, gilded characters: He Manor!
Hmm. How should I put this? The manor’s current decorations are certainly... peculiar.
When a normal family suffers a death, they hang white lanterns at their door to light the way ho for the departed soul. The He Manor had also hung lanterns. In fact, their lanterns were large and luxurious, clearly very expensive. But the problem was that, apart from the lanterns, the entire estate was plastered with yellow talisman papers, all densely packed together.
Good lord. They’re all Taoist exorcism talismans. With so many of them wrapping the He Manor layer after layer, the place is completely airtight. It’s no exaggeration to say that forget wandering souls, even Resentful Ghosts or Malicious Ghosts with weaker spiritual power wouldn’t stand a chance of breaking in.
"This Landlord He has a few tricks up his sleeve," Wang Xiu muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching as he eyed the sea of talismans. If I’m not mistaken, the little old man squatting by the door... must be Landlord He’s father.
Indeed, squatting at the gate of the magnificent estate was a wandering spirit. He looked to be about forty or fifty years old and was dressed in splendid funeral attire.
He’s clearly the ghost of a wealthy man. Considering he’s lingering around He Manor, unwilling to leave, his identity isn’t hard to guess.
"You little bastard!" the spirit cursed. "I should’ve just shot you against the wall back then! When other fathers return for their seventh-day visitation, their families open the gates wide to welco them in grand style. But you! You plaster the place with so many exorcism talismans you won’t even let in! You unfilial son, you unfilial son!"
The little old man was curled into a ball, trembling with anger as he grumbled incessantly. On the day of the seventh-day visitation, a newly departed soul temporarily regains its senses to see its family one last ti before letting go of its attachnts and moving on to Reincarnation. However, maintaining lucidity consus soul energy. Without offerings of incense from family, a spirit will weaken, and its Divine Soul might even dissipate, sending its True Spirit directly into the cycle of Reincarnation.
The old man’s condition didn’t look good. If Wang Xiu hadn’t stumbled upon him, he probably would have kicked the bucket in another four hours.
What rotten luck, to have your seventh-day visitation coincide with a city-wide ghost infestation.
"Landlord, do not fret," Wang Xiu said with a smile, forming a Daoist hand seal to protect the old man’s spirit. "This humble Daoist will escort you inside."
Suddenly faced with a Daoist Master who had the appearance of a banished immortal, the old landlord was so moved he was on the verge of tears. "Immortal Master, I’ve finally been blessed by your arrival! WAHHH! You of the Sanqing Immortal Sect must seek justice for ! That unfilial spawn of mine won’t even let in the door! It’s an offense to gods and n, an outrage that heaven itself should punish! Immortal Master, how about I offer you more money? You can destroy that vile son of mine and have him co down here to keep company!"
*Pfft.*
Such a touching display of fatherly love and filial piety.
Torn between laughter and tears, Wang Xiu knocked on the door ring while explaining the city’s recent haunting to the old landlord, which finally cald the spirit down a little.
"Immortal Master, your arrival is a true blessing!" a booming laugh echoed from within the estate.
The manor doors swung open, and a man in his early twenties, dressed in bright red silk and as round as a ball, hurried over. Wang Xiu felt that if his knees could have handled it, the man would have run to greet him. This was Landlord He, and he was quite young.
Wang Xiu had assud that since he had botched the initial request, Landlord He would be furious. However, that wasn’t the case. Landlord He was a reasonable man. Although his father’s final rites had been delayed for many days, his attitude toward a True Disciple of the Sanqing Immortal Sect was still warm, even reverent.
Considering the yellow talismans plastered all over the estate, he must feel a great sense of relief now that a True Disciple of the Sanqing Immortal Sect like is here to hold down the fort.
At that mont, Landlord He’s face was wreathed in smiles. "The feast is prepared. Immortal Master, please grace us with your presence. Allow to welco you and help you settle in."
Looking at the overly enthusiastic landlord, Wang Xiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Landlord He, there is no need for such courtesy. There were complications with the task, so it is I who should be apologizing."
"Not at all!" Landlord He said earnestly. "The Daoists from Qingfeng View in the city have already explained everything to ! You were grievously injured while slaying a demon for Maple City and had to return to the mountain to recuperate. The dead are already gone. What’s most important is for the living to carry on. You, Immortal Master, slew the Tiger Demon and saved our Maple City from disaster. If my father in the heavens knew that delaying his burial for a few days allowed a favored son of heaven like yourself to recover sooner, he would surely be smiling in the netherworld."
Old Landlord He was fuming.
Smiling in the netherworld? I’m standing right in front of you, why don’t you look and see if I’m smiling! Seeing his son dressed in bright red brocade and looking so pleased with himself, the old landlord’s spirit was practically smoking with rage. This unfilial boy! Does he look like soone whose father just died? Who celebrates a seventh-day visitation so joyously?
"Landlord He," Wang Xiu said, still at a loss. "Today is your esteed father’s seventh-day visitation. It’s probably not appropriate for you to wear such bright colors."
"Ah," Landlord He’s smile froze for a mont before he scratched his head. "I forgot about that."
With that, he stripped off his bright red silk robe and tossed it to the ground, revealing the white mourning clothes underneath. He then pulled out a white mourning sash and a hemp garnt to put on.
"My apologies, Immortal Master," Landlord He said with a sheepish smile. "I didn’t want to wear red on my father’s seventh-day visitation either. But there’s that Malicious Ghost in red haunting the city, right? The two Daoists from Qingfeng View couldn’t handle her. They said she’s incredibly fierce. So I figured, the ghost wears red, I wear red. If we run into each other, maybe we can find so common ground!"
He really thought they could be buddies just because they wore matching outfits? Trying to get chummy with a Bound Spirit... only he could co up with an idea like that.
Suppressing a laugh, Wang Xiu said seriously, "A creative idea, but seeing the color red only makes a Malicious Ghost more excited. Trying to be friendly is useless. Besides," he added, "with exorcism talismans plastered on your door while you’re inside wearing luxurious red clothes with a brilliant smile on your face... if your father weren’t so magnanimous, this city might have more than one Malicious Ghost by now!"
With that said, Wang Xiu smiled, ford a hand seal, and cast a Revelation spell.
Instantly, Old Landlord He’s form materialized in the courtyard. His furious expression made Landlord He’s legs tremble. "F-Father..."
Father? A little late to rember I’m your father now, isn’t it?
Looking at his quivering son, Old Landlord He rolled up his sleeves. "Daoist Wang, would you mind if I took a mont to... ’catch up’ with my son?"
Wang Xiu smiled. "Old Landlord, please, be my guest."
Old Landlord He nodded, grabbed his son by the ear, and dragged him inside the house. A mont later, a series of bloodcurdling screams echoed from within.
"Daoist Master! Daoist Master, help ! There’s a Malicious Ghost in here trying to kill ! Daoist Master, aren’t you going to do anything?! Old man, don’t take it too far, you’re already dead! I’m the master of this house now! AHH! Ah! Dad, I was wrong! AHHHH!"
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