"It was crying right next to his ear!"
Although it was broad daylight, Zhang Shan’s words still sent a chill down the spine and made the heart pound.
"How did you handle it afterward?" Su Xuan asked.
"I suspected it was a prank, that soone was deliberately targeting Xithe," Zhang Shan said. "I called the police, but the officers couldn’t find anything. They recomnded I consult so experts to see if an issue with the building’s architecture was causing the sounds."
"Finding them was useless," Zhang Shan said in frustration. "Those experts claid our funeral ho’s air ducts were poorly designed and that wind blowing through them was causing the crying. They even suggested we tear down a few walls to test the theory."
"Is that so?"
"Definitely not." Zhang Shan shook his head. "The doors are tightly shut at night, so there’s not even a hint of wind. Besides, all the on-duty staff and security guards fell ill. They were in the hospital for two days before recovering, and then they imdiately resigned. Could the wind make them all sick?"
Seeing Su Xuan’s stern and sowhat displeased expression, Zhang Shan quickly added, "But Boss, don’t worry. I’ve already found a very powerful master. It’s said that he’s a descendant of a Taoist Celestial Master, a demigod among mortals. If he takes a look, there definitely won’t be a problem."
Zhang Shan had hastily asked soone to find this master on his way over. He had already hired two other masters before, but neither had been able to solve the problem.
"When is he going to take a look?" Su Xuan asked.
"The master said midnight would be the most auspicious ti," Zhang Shan said.
"Then I’ll go over at midnight as well."
Leaving those words behind, Su Xuan continued with his Didi driving. He hadn’t been displeased just now; he was simply pondering if another one of those things that shun the light was causing trouble again. When it ca to dealing with that kind of entity, he was a master himself! As long as he had the lady in red stand guard, what demon or malevolent spirit would dare act up?
While driving his Didi, he couldn’t help but wonder. I rember the system once telling that rewards are based on my life’s trajectory. I’ve been running into these kinds of things so often recently. Has my life’s path already shifted toward the supernatural? Or is it that as my body grows stronger, I’m becoming a supernatural being myself, which is why I keep encountering these things?
Su Xuan couldn’t figure it out and was too lazy to dwell on it. Taking things as they co was part of his character. As midnight approached, he drove toward Xithe Funeral Ho.
"Why hasn’t the master arrived yet?"
Zhang Shan was the first to arrive at the funeral ho. The night was as black as ink, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. He didn’t dare go inside, so he just stood waiting outside the tightly shut gates. The so-called master was nowhere to be seen.
After waiting a few more minutes, seeing that the master still hadn’t co, he couldn’t help but pull out his phone to hurry him along. After all, Su Xuan had said he would co for a look tonight, and it wouldn’t be good to make his boss wait for the master with him. He was already convinced that this business with the crying sounds had given his boss a very poor opinion of him.
Just as he took out his phone and was about to dial, he suddenly heard a strange sound.
TAP. TAP.
It sounded like soone was tapping the ground with an object, the sound drawing nearer from a distance. He strained his eyes, peering in the direction of the noise, but he saw nothing in the darkness. Then, the sound disappeared.
A mont later, it abruptly started again! This ti, it was coming from behind him! And directly behind him was the tightly closed main gate of the funeral ho!
The gate was made of wrought iron. He whirled around to look inside and the sight nearly made him jump out of his skin! A dark figure was standing just behind the gate, leaning on a cane.
"Are you Manager Zhang?" the dark figure asked.
"Yes, yes!"
Hearing the man’s voice, Zhang Shan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned on his phone’s flashlight, shining it on the man’s face as he asked, "Master Zou?"
The man had to be at least sixty-seven years old. Not only was he leaning on a cane, but he was also wearing sunglasses. He was probably blind. The tapping noise from before must have been his cane striking the ground.
"That’s ," the man nodded.
"How did you get in?" Zhang Shan asked, bewildered, glancing at the funeral ho’s nearly two-ter-high walls. "You didn’t... pass through the wall, did you?"
Given Master Zou’s age, he shouldn’t have been able to climb the wall; Zhang Shan himself would have had trouble with it.
"Where the eyes see no wall, the heart sees no wall. Where the heart sees no wall, the feet will find no wall," Master Zou said mysteriously.
"Incredible!" Zhang Shan exclaid in amazent.
"Co inside and we’ll talk," Master Zou said, his voice grim.
"Alright, just a mont."
Zhang Shan took out his keys, unlocked the gate of the funeral ho, and walked over to Master Zou. Dressed in a long, black robe with a slight sheen, combined with his sunglasses and cane, Master Zou gave off an inscrutable, mysterious aura.
"Open the next door." Master Zou looked toward the entrance of the funeral ho’s main building, which was constructed like a long, enormous greenhouse.
"Right now?"
Zhang Shan flinched. What if I go in recklessly and hear soone crying in my ear? What if I catch that strange illness and end up in the hospital?
He imdiately asked Master Zou, "Shouldn’t you perform a ritual first? My boss is coming soon, too. It would be terrible if he got scared."
"Unnecessary," Master Zou said flatly. "With this master present, no evil spirits or deviant forces will dare to cause trouble."
Seeing that Zhang Shan was still timid, Master Zou took sothing out and handed it to him. "Here, hold this."
It was a brilliant yellow Spirit Talisman.
Zhang Shan quickly took it. Whether the Spirit Talisman was actually working or it was just a placebo effect, he imdiately felt less afraid.
"Master, would it be better if I stick it on my body?" Zhang Shan asked.
"As you wish," Master Zou replied.
"So, we’re really opening the door now?"
"Open it."
Zhang Shan took a deep breath and opened the glass doors of the funeral ho.
As soon as he pushed the doors open, a wave of cold air washed over him, making him shiver. He couldn’t explain it. Even during the sweltering heat of sumr, the funeral ho was always cold, even with the air conditioning off.
"Please, co in!" Zhang Shan gestured for Master Zou to enter, not daring to go first himself.
Leaning on his cane, Master Zou limped into the funeral ho.
Seeing Master Zou’s limp, Zhang Shan was even more certain he couldn’t have climbed the wall. Perhaps this master really can pass through walls. There’s a Taoist supernatural power called Shrinking Earth into Inches, which can reduce a vast distance to a single step. Sun Wukong’s ability to sorsault one hundred and eight thousand li is a power just like that. Even if this Master Zou can’t use Shrinking Earth into Inches, maybe he can shrink a wall down to nothing.
"Let’s sit here for a mont," Zhang Shan said, guiding Master Zou to a seat in the morial hall. This area was generally for the families of the deceased. Further in was the space for holding morial services. Beyond that were the funeral consultation office, rest areas, the crematorium, the columbarium, and the morgue. In every aspect, Xithe Funeral Ho was top-of-the-line in its industry.
Just then, Su Xuan was about to arrive...
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