Chapter 947: Heart Rending
Zu An sighed in relief when he saw that she had agreed. “Then I’ll have to trouble the lady this time.”
Nan Xun smiled and said, “Young master, Lady Kong normally does not interfere with matters at all. She really has treated the young master with special favor this time.”
“Nan Xun!” Kong Nanwu reprimanded her. Nan Xun stuck out her tongue and said nothing else.
Zheng Dan was surprised. Why does this courtesan queen instead sound like a servant when those two women talk? But this Nan Xun has an incredible reputation… And with her temperament, how could she be willing to serve another? But she quickly tossed that thought to the back of her mind.
Zu An chuckled and said, “I’m afraid that there’s no way for me to repay this gratitude properly. If you don’t find it beneath you, I can offer you my body.” With how he was now, there was no way he would be swayed so easily by a few words. After all, this master and servant might just be working together to throw him off.
Zheng Dan smiled. After having known Zu An for so long, she already understood him well. Despite the words he had said, she could hear the mockery in his tone. That was why she wouldn’t feel jealous over such a thing.
The woman behind the curtains harrumphed when she heard those lowly words, completely ignoring Zu An. She raised her head to look at Zheng Dan and said, Unfortunately, I only have a smattering of knowledge. If the user’s cultivation is too profound, I might not be able to do much about it either.”
“Lady Kong is too humble. It’s enough as long as you do what you can; I’m not someone who doesn’t know when to stop,” Zu An said.
Kong Nanwu felt relieved. “Then please have this young lady sleep here. Once that evil spirit comes to bother her, I’ll see if I can catch it for you.”
“That might be rather difficult…” Zu An gave her a rough recount of his encounter with that sinister thing. “It might be too scared to come out again for quite some time.”
That was also what had given him the biggest headache. After all, one could be a bandit for a thousand days, but who would be vigilant against bandits for a thousand days?
Furthermore, he was going to Cloudcenter Commandery soon, so he couldn't stay at Zheng Dan’s side to protect her at all. It would be really troublesome if that evil thing came out while he was gone.
“The young master is actually proficient in exorcism methods?” Kong Nanwu was shocked. After all, this kind of malicious spirit was something sinister and unconventional. Rarely would human cultivators come into contact with it, let alone be able to deal with it.
“It was just a coincidence. Furthermore, I wasn’t able to capture it and instead let it get away.” Zu An didn’t expose the fact that he knew the Primordial Origin Sutra.
“That is indeed a bit tricky…” Kong Nanwu began to think to herself. She also began to consider how to deal with the situation.
Zheng Dan felt a headache when she heard those words. A look of disappointment appeared on her face. Zu An gently held her hand to console her. Nan Xun bit her lip when she saw him do so, but she didn’t say anything.
“I have a solution.” Kong Nanwu didn’t continue to speak. Instead, she brought over a sheet of talisman paper. Her hands moved quickly, folding it into a small and exquisite paper crane. Then, she blew against the crane, and it seemed to come alive. It fluttered around, then moved through the curtain and arrived in front of Zheng Dan.
“This is…” Zheng Dan was shocked. When had she ever seen such a magical technique?
“It’s but a small trick.” Kong Nanwu said. She didn’t want others to know that she was from the fiend races. “It can sense the aura left behind by the malicious spirit, and it was able to sense that the user isn’t anyone too formidable. It should be able to take you all to the mastermind. However, I fear that I can’t get involved further, so I must apologize to the young master for that.”
Zu An knew about her struggles and said, “Thank you. I’ll remember this favor.”
Kong Nanwu gently chuckled from the other side of the curtain and said, “This sounds much more reliable than the devotion you promised earlier.”
Zu An’s face heated up. Not even someone as thick skinned as him knew what to say at that moment. Fortunately, the crane began to move again. After circling Zheng Dan a few times, it spread its wings and flew in a certain direction out the window.
“Hurry and follow it; don’t lose sight of it. This aura is faint, so we might not be able to track it a second time,” Kong Nanwu reminded him from behind the curtains.
“Thanks!” Zu An cupped his hands toward her, then he and Zheng Dan jumped out of the window.
Sang Qien heard the activity inside and rushed over. When she saw the two jump out, she couldn't even be bothered that they were holding hands. She asked, “Did something happen?”
“I’ll explain along the way. Follow that paper crane!” Zu An pointed at the paper crane. He actually noticed that it wasn’t a paper crane, but rather a paper peacock. He hadn’t expected Kong Nanwu to be so skilled with her hands, that she could weave such fine origami so quickly.
When she saw the flying paper peacock, Sang Qien’s beautiful eyes opened wide. Her red lips were so wide open that she might be able to fit an egg inside her mouth.
“Why are you standing there looking all stupid?” Zu An grabbed her hand and chased the paper peacock.
“You can let go of me now.” Sang Qien finally snapped out of her daze a while later. She felt very uncomfortable when she sensed the warmth on her wrist. Just what would others think if they saw him holding her and Zheng Dan’s hands in public?
Zu An obviously wouldn’t do something like take advantage of her. He took t he chance to tell her about what happened just now.
“What kind of background does this young miss Kong have to be so skilled?” Sang Qien was incredibly shocked. Zheng Dan also looked at him curiously.
“She doesn’t wish for others to know where she’s from, so you two will have to forgive me for not telling you,” Zu An said frankly.
“Just don’t say it then.” Sang Qien harrumphed. “But the two of you seem pretty close… She doesn’t want others to know, but she doesn’t mind telling you? Tsk tsk tsk…” She sneaked a look at Zheng Dan while speaking. She really didn’t mind stirring the drama between them a bit. After all, Zheng Dan is my sister-in-law! Even though I know my father has his plans, it hasn’t even been that long since my big brother died, but sister-in-law is already following someone else?
Zheng Dan smiled. “I really am grateful to Miss Kong today. Once this is over, I’ll owe her a life-saving favor. I have to properly thank her later.”
Sang Qien became gloomy when she saw that she had failed to drive a wedge between them. She lost all interest in saying anything else.
…
The three quickly followed the paper peacock outside of the city. That was still expected, because the inner city was a place filled with high officials and nobles. Something sinister like this obviously had to lay a bit lower.
The paper peacock continued to fly through the air. It arrived by a remote street, then stopped near a tattered courtyard after circling it a few times. It landed on the ground, and the power supporting it ran out.
“This house seems to be unoccupied,” Sang Qien said while staring at the tattered entrance.
A passing older woman saw the three of them walking around the house. She quickly came over and warned them quietly, “Did you all come here to buy this house? I advise you to choose a different one. This house is haunted.”
Sang Qien quickly asked her for more information. She learned that the previous owner’s family had died one after another in quick succession. It had been inherited by a distant nephew, but he didn’t dare to continue living there. As such, he tried to sell the place through a middleman. But after it had passed through the hands of several owners, all kinds of strange things had happened. They all sold off the property one after another. Eventually, rumors that the house was haunted began to circulate.
Zu An couldn't help but smile. It seemed that regardless of which world it was, there were always these warmhearted and gossipy older women.
Sang Qien wanted to ask more questions, but the older woman was worried that she might catch something from staying for too long and quickly left.
Zu An smiled and said, “If it’s haunted, then we came to the right place.”
“Is there really a ghost?” Sang Qien’s complexion paled. She had used to hate having physical contact with Zu An, but now, she unconsciously moved a bit closer to him.
“You’re a cultivator yourself. For better or for worse, you’re pretty strong. Why are you scared of these things?” Zu An found it rather funny.
“It’s different, okay?” Sang Qien gave him a glare. This guy is so annoying! He’s still teasing me even now…
“You’ll know if you go in and take a look yourself,” Zu An said. The main entrance was locked, so Zu An brought Zheng Dan around the wall.
Sang Qien stomped her feet. She followed along after some hesitation.
The inside was extremely run-down, with dried leaves and branches everywhere, as well as some rotting furniture. There was only a single main room and a few empty rooms. The owner of the place was clearly not that well off either.
“I don’t see any trace of people living here.” Sang Qien didn’t dare to look around herself. Instead, she scanned the place with her ki. After all, she was at the fifth rank. Unless their cultivation was much higher than hers, it was hard for anyone to escape her detection.
That immediately gave her much more courage. She ran out and opened several doors in succession to regain a bit of dignity after how scared she had been acting a moment before. Sure enough, there was nothing inside.
“That friend of yours isn’t reliable at all! There’s clearly nothing here,” Sang Qien said.
“Did you check that well yet?” Zu An pointed to a dried-up well nearby.
“What can a well have? Don’t tell me there’s someone living at the bottom of the well?” As if to prove her words, Sang Qien walked closer to the well as she said that. Unfortunately, the bottom was pitch black, so she couldn't see anything.
She felt a bit scared. Just as she was about to pull back, however, long and seemingly endless strands of hair flew out from inside the well! They wrapped around her face to pull her down.
“Ahhhh!” A shrill scream tore through the courtyard.