Chapter Sixty-Four: Er Gouzi's Warning

Soon, the three corpses of Feng Fugui and his companions, buried in the pit, were dug up. By now, they were utterly decomposed, crawling with maggots—an appalling sight, reeking with a stench that defied description. They were unrecognizable as human beings. Yet Master Feng was able to identify his son by the remnants of his clothing. In that instant, he collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by agony. Grief and pain battled across his face, flickering ceaselessly.

The servants nearby did not dare utter a word. They hung their heads low, terrified of provoking Master Feng’s wrath.

“My son! Who murdered you? I swear I will avenge you, and tear the murderer to pieces!” Master Feng roared, his entire body trembling with rage. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked, as though he wished to break his own fingers.

“Old Ghost Woman! Where are you?” Master Feng sprang to his feet, shouting in all directions.

At that moment, the Old Ghost Woman was inside the study in the second courtyard, her gaze fixed on a painting inside a porcelain jar. It was the very painting where Lan Qirou was hiding. The Old Ghost Woman reached her hand out, as if to seize it.

Master Feng burst in. “Old Ghost Woman, can you help me find who killed my son? I’ll pay you two thousand taels of silver!”

She paused, turning to look at Master Feng. “I can. But I want two thousand taels.”

“Fine… very well!” Master Feng gritted his teeth in assent.

“Then let’s go!” Without hesitation, the Old Ghost Woman strode outside. Master Feng hurried after her, and the group quickly left the residence.

Only after a long while did Lan Qirou emerge from the adjacent room. She looked at the gaping pit outside—no one had bothered to remove the remains; only Master Feng and his party had departed.

A cloud of worry crossed Lan Qirou’s face. She was the one who had killed those men, yet the Old Ghost Woman had not brought Master Feng to seek her, but had instead left. Most likely, they had gone to find Feng Yuan.

Though Feng Yuan had indeed set up Feng Fugui and buried him, he was not the one who killed Feng Fugui and his two companions. If Master Feng’s group sought out Feng Yuan for revenge, his fate would be grim—especially with the Old Ghost Woman, who seemed truly terrifying.

If anything happened to Feng Yuan, she would be consumed by guilt. After all, Feng Yuan was supposed to help her find Young Master Huang. If something happened to him, who would help her then?

What was she to do?

Lan Qirou paced anxiously but had no way to warn Feng Yuan. She was trapped here, helpless but to worry.

——

Meanwhile, Feng Yuan had just left Master Feng’s house with Hu Xiao. They were heading toward the mountain shrine to check if the evil spirit from Master Feng’s residence had gone up the mountain to prey on the villagers.

Halfway there, they suddenly saw a large, dark shape sprawled across the road. As they approached, they realized it was an enormous water buffalo, and leaning against its belly was none other than Ergouzi.

“Ergouzi? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” Feng Yuan stepped forward, puzzled.

“Feng Yuan, don’t go home. There are wolves at your house—three of them. Two inside, one behind. They’re very, very big. Don’t go back, or they’ll eat you alive!” Ergouzi grinned at Feng Yuan, spoke these words, then led the buffalo away without waiting for a response.

Feng Yuan’s expression turned grave. Ergouzi wasn’t acting foolish; the last two times Feng Yuan had encountered supernatural dangers, Ergouzi’s warnings had proven true. Clearly, his eyes saw things invisible to ordinary people.

If Ergouzi was warning him now, there was a real chance that wolves lurked at his home.

Wolves—Feng Yuan immediately thought of Master Zhang. Zhang had previously sent a wolf demon to attack him at night, and just a few days ago, Fatty Zhang had mentioned that the Zhang household steward was inquiring about his whereabouts. It was entirely possible that his movements had been discovered and Master Zhang had once again dispatched wolf demons to assassinate him.

The thought put Feng Yuan on high alert. Looking ahead, his house was still two or three hundred meters away. He and Hu Xiao had yet to be detected; now was the time to quietly investigate.

He shared his suspicions with Hu Xiao, who nodded in agreement. She had been thinking the same.

“Master, if there really are three wolf demons inside, we’ll be in grave danger. I could handle one, but three? I’m not at all confident. Besides, after Master Zhang’s last failed attempt, any wolf demons sent this time will surely be stronger. Even one of them might be more than I can handle. In my opinion, it’s best not to risk investigating. We should stay away until dawn, then see how things stand.”

Hu Xiao looked at Feng Yuan, voicing her advice.

Feng Yuan considered this and found her reasoning sound. If they had no chance of winning, probing blindly would be reckless—like a fragile hero in a strategy game stumbling into an ambush, doomed to be struck down in an instant. His situation was no different.

“All right, then let’s head to the mountain shrine. If the evil spirit is there, we can confront it, and if not, we can at least spend the night in safety. A lone spirit, we should be able to handle.”

“Understood, Master,” Hu Xiao replied. Together, they made their way toward the shrine behind the village.

There were two paths to the shrine—a main road near Feng Yuan’s house, and a smaller path to the south of the village. The main road was too risky, as the house was too close and any lurking wolf demons might spot them. They chose the small path instead, circling around to the south side of the village. By the light of the moon, they moved cautiously toward the mountain.

Before long, the two reached the base of the mountain. Looking up, they could see the shrine above. To Feng Yuan’s alarm, there was a faint firelight flickering inside. The shrine was normally desolate—what could the fire mean? There was something amiss; perhaps the evil spirit truly was inside, murdering someone.

With this in mind, Feng Yuan led Hu Xiao up the mountain quietly. Soon they were just thirty or forty meters from the shrine, hidden beneath a tree, peering into the dim interior where a candle burned, but no figures could be seen.

“Master, my cultivation is greater. Let me go ahead and investigate; you wait here,” Hu Xiao offered.

“All right. Be careful. If anything seems wrong, run at once,” Feng Yuan instructed. She nodded, then transformed into a streak of green light and flew silently toward the shrine.

Feng Yuan drew his dagger, eyes fixed on the shrine, ready to rush to Hu Xiao’s aid at a moment’s notice. If she was pursued, he would unleash his sword technique without hesitation.