Chapter Thirty-Five: The Weasel’s Dwelling

The residential complex where Old Zhao and Liu Juan lived was called Scenic Garden. It was the city’s first villa development, built ten years prior, situated on prime land surrounded by top schools, subway access, and bustling commercial districts. The most luxurious villa sold for an astonishing twelve million.

I dragged Old Liao into a taxi, and before long, we arrived at the entrance of the complex.

“Hello, Liu Juan? We’re at the gate. Which way to your house?”

“Thank you, Boss Zhang. I’ll call the guard to let you in. My home is number 44, right in the center of the complex.”

Old Liao and I waited at the gate for a while. Soon, the security let us through. Number 44 sat at the heart of the estate; following the main road, we spotted it easily.

Just as we reached the door, Old Liao stopped me. “Wait, don’t go in. Something’s off.”

I saw the wooden compass in his hand, its silver needle trembling wildly, as if it might leap from the dial at any moment.

His expression changed. “Retreat, retreat! This house is too sinister. If we don’t leave now, we might never get another chance.”

His words infuriated me. Old Liao, who had been boasting in front of the client, was now losing his nerve right at the doorstep. Wasn’t he ruining his own reputation?

“Did you see the compass? That’s the ‘frightened needle.’ There must be something extremely malevolent inside. Our abilities aren’t enough to handle this.”

“We’re already at the door. We promised them, so we must follow through. That’s the commitment of our trade. Besides, how can you catch the tiger’s cub without entering its lair?”

I grabbed Old Liao’s sleeve and pulled him into the villa. Once inside the courtyard, he seemed to remember his own image, straightened up, and forced himself to follow me in.

Liu Juan greeted us, “Masters, you’re here. Please come upstairs. There’s a lounge up there.”

We followed her up the stairs.

A strange, chilly sensation crept into my heart.

Suddenly, the chandelier at the landing flickered, a cold wind swept through, and Liu Juan’s shadow stretched and twisted across the wall.

Old Liao pointed at his compass, which was trembling even more fiercely, as though we were standing in the midst of spirits.

“Don’t mind it. That light’s always been faulty, just bad contact.” Liu Juan ushered us into the lounge, poured us tea, and smiled.

“Masters, is there any cure for my trouble?” she asked, touching her belly, worry etched across her face.

“Rest assured, since we dared to come, we’ll get it done. As for the fee…” Old Liao started putting on airs again.

“Two hundred thousand.”

Both Old Liao and I stared in shock. This was the biggest job since Old Zhao.

“Is it not enough?” Liu Juan frowned.

“It’s just right,” I replied, suppressing my excitement.

The lights flickered again. As we talked, a sound like an old phonograph began emanating from Liu Juan’s mouth, a sharp singing voice interspersed with eerie giggles and cackles.

Honestly, this was the first time I’d faced such sinister spirits directly. I’d always had masters nearby to keep things in check. Now, my only companion was Old Liao, whose talents lay mostly in talking.

“Do you have anything besides that broken compass?” I whispered through clenched teeth, nudging him with my elbow.

“My talismans won’t work on these spirits. I said before we should’ve retreated,” Old Liao whispered, sweat pouring down his forehead. He added, “Don’t show fear. Never appear weak in their territory.”

I nodded. It was like facing a vicious dog in the wild; bare your teeth, don’t show fear, and it often won’t attack.

“Little ghost, don’t show off in front of your grandpa. Reveal yourself!” Old Liao braced himself, stepping forward and shouting.

“Cackle, giggle…” The shadow on the wall grew larger and hunched, its limbs morphing into sharp claws.

The villa’s lights returned to normal, and Liu Juan’s strange song stopped. The shadow took shape—clearly not hers.

Liu Juan sat in her chair, face vacant, while the hunched shadow stood before us.

The shadow spoke. Strangely, Liu Juan’s mouth moved as if speaking, but the voice came from the shadow on the wall.

“Why do you two experts trouble a humble spirit?”

“Yellow Fox!” Old Liao exclaimed after a moment of careful observation.

Looking closely, the shadow’s claws and form were unmistakably that of a large yellow fox. Had we encountered a wild spirit? But Liu Juan’s trouble was clearly a ghost pregnancy—how was the fox involved?

We now understood: since we’d put on a strong front, we couldn’t show weakness. If the yellow fox sensed our lack of power, we’d likely die horribly in this villa.

I summoned my courage. “Bold yellow fox, the inheritor of the Yin-Yang Needle stands before you, and yet you dare to wreak havoc among mortals!”

“Cackle, giggle… She entered my domain, I simply borrowed her belly. What harm is there?”

“For the sake of your hard-won cultivation, I’ll give you one day to leave. Otherwise, tomorrow we’ll send your soul to oblivion!”

After saying this, I looked at Old Liao. “Brother Liao, shall we give this beast one more chance?”

He clasped his hands behind his back and nodded, “Fine, let’s give it one more chance.” With that, he strode toward the door. I followed, swaggering out, though my legs were numb and my back drenched in cold sweat. I dared not look back, fearing the yellow fox might leap out and tear us apart.

Thus, the two of us inexplicably walked out of the villa.

Thanks to our perfect understanding, we found a way out with just a few words.

“Brother Liao, you really played the part.”

“It’s not just acting. Only by staying calm in danger can you turn peril into safety.” Old Liao had recovered from his fright and was back to boasting.

“But that yellow fox is a vindictive wild spirit. Why would it harm people without cause? There must be a reason,” Old Liao mused, stroking his chin. “Let’s start with this house and investigate carefully.”

We chatted as we walked to the gate, intending to ask the guard to let us out, but found no sign of him anywhere.

I pulled open the window of the guard’s booth, only to find him trembling in a corner, hands clasped in prayer, muttering, “Heavens, please protect those two who just went to Number 44. No more deaths in that building, please.”

My mind exploded. So the guard had known something all along, yet never warned us, nearly getting us killed.

Seeing our faces at the window, the guard dove under the desk in terror, then cautiously peeked out and asked, “Are you human or ghost?”

“Of course we’re human!” I shouted, banging the glass.

He hurriedly opened the gate and invited us in. After a sip of water, he calmed down a bit. “That building is cursed. They say that when it was developed ten years ago, they dug up a whole den of yellow foxes.”