I've made up my mind.
Sir Wu ordered Fang the steward to summon the servants, wanting to have the household attendants accompany Chen Yun, Lin Chen, and others.
Soon, a dozen household attendants entered from outside.
Chen Yun took a look, and these household attendants were all young and strong. He guessed that Mr. Wu also feared something might happen and cause trouble, so he wanted to send some of the family's elite.
It was precisely this action that made Chen Yun even more certain that the evil spirit in the villa was not ordinary.
However, Lin Chen, relying on having the Zhong Kui tablet, seemed very indifferent and didn't seem to be afraid at all.
Zhang Qian and Li Si are both like this.
Sir Wu addressed the household attendants, "Wu Lu, you go with the several immortals to exorcise the ghost."
A short and thin young man in the crowd with a pale face said, "No, I have a stomachache, I can't go. Please, the master, send someone else."
Sir Wu's face was slightly unsatisfied, but the household attendants were not all scum and slaves. Some of them were hired, and he couldn't force them. So he just addressed another young household attendant: "Wu Yu, you go."
The dark-skinned youth kept waving his hands, "No, I have poor eyesight; I can't see at night."
Chen Yun, who has lived two lifetimes, can't claim that his thoughts are extremely meticulous. However, he has a certain ability to observe and analyze people's words and actions.
He immediately judged from the reactions of these two household attendants that the evil spirit in the other courtyard must be very powerful, so powerful that it makes people too afraid to even speak.
Chen Yun became cautious without realizing it.
As more and more household attendants refused, Sir Wu furrowed his brow and said, "If any of you go with the immortals to exorcise the ghost, it won't be a free trip. One night alone, I'll pay five two silver coins in advance. It's agreed upon that only two people go."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Lu immediately said: "I'll go! I'll go!"
Sir Wu, exasperated, said, "Aren't you still feeling your stomachache?"
Wu Lu made up an excuse, "I feel better now."
Sir Wu didn't bother to respond and addressed the crowd again, "Who else wants to go?"
Wu Yu hurriedly volunteered, "I am willing to go."
Sir Wu teased, "Don't you have poor eyesight at night?"
Wu Yu grinned and said, "No, Master didn't understand, I can't see in the dark but as long as there's a lantern, I can."
Sir Wu cursed, "You two are so greedy for the silver that you're claiming all your ailments are gone. You scoundrels!"
Wu Lu and Wu Yu didn't say anything.
However, Chen Yun secretly relaxed, since there was someone willing to go under the hefty rewards, it should mean that the evil spirit wasn't that terrifying. At least it wasn't so dreadful that people wouldn't dare to go even for such substantial rewards.
The companions have been assembled.
Sir Wu looked at Lin Chen and said, "Mr. Lin, if you need anything, let me order the servants to prepare it for you."
Lin Chen said with great arrogance, "No, really, I just told you that I have the Zhong Kui tablet, and I'm not afraid of ghosts."
Sir Wu, seeing that Lin Chen was so confident, could not say anything more. He simply instructed Fang the steward to lead Wu Lu and Wu Yu, the two household attendants, to accompany Chen Yun, Lin Chen, and the others.
Fang the steward, along with Lin Chen, Zhang Qian, and Li Si, walked at the front.
Chen Yun, however, deliberately lagged behind by a few steps and began to chat with Wu Lu and Wu Yu, trying to gather information.
Although the distance from the Wu household to the villa is only about a mile or two, in such a short time, Chen Yun had already gathered a general understanding of the situation from Wu Lu and Wu Yu.
First, let's take a look at the layout and seating arrangements of the villa.
The main villa consists of three large compounds arranged in a front-to-back sequence.
The first courtyard is a narrow courtyard before the hanging flower gate, occupied by the side rooms.
The second courtyard is composed of auxiliary rooms, main buildings, and verandas.
The third courtyard is the back room behind the main building.
During the second son of the Wu family's lifetime, he resided in the eastern auxiliary room of the second courtyard.
The north room is occasionally used by Sir Wu.
That means the second son of the Wu family did not live in the main building.
This is the first important piece of information.
The second piece of information is that Chen Yun learned that no one from the Wu family had visited the villa for over a month.
That is, the information provided by the Wu family still pertains to events that occurred in March.
Chen Yun pondered to himself, "In three months, a ghost has transformed into a place full of ghostly shadows. If my initial guess is correct, and the evil spirit is 'leveling up,' then this time must be even more dangerous."
Thinking about this, he unconsciously lagged behind a few more steps.
As the saying goes, it's better to leave a friend behind than to leave oneself behind.
Chen Yun didn't want to charge into battle and end up lying dead on the spot.
At this time, Fang the steward was also chatting with Lin Chen.
Fang the steward, with a look of curiosity, asked, "Lin Master, is it true that the Zhong Kui tablet can really subdue that evil spirit?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yun perked up his ears.
He was very curious about what exactly the Zhong Kui tablet does, and why it makes Lin Chen so "arrogant."
Unfortunately, Lin Chen just smiled and remained silent.
Chen Yun thought he wouldn't be able to find out.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Qian took over with a smile and said, "Fang the steward, you may not know this, but my younger brother Lin's Zhong Kui tablet is not easily obtained. It was personally drawn by my senior brother Cai Rujin from our Daoist sect. This talisman possesses mysterious and powerful protective effects against evil spirits, dispelling disasters, curing diseases, protecting families, and boosting wealth. If lit up, the Zhong Kui tablet can summon the divine image of Zhong Kui and kill demons and evil spirits in one strike."
Huh?
The Zhong Kui tablet is so powerful?
Chen Yun suddenly recalled information about Zhong Kui.
It is said that Zhong Kui is a folk deity in Taoism, specializing in exorcising ghosts and evil spirits.
Not only is he the guardian deity who can suppress ghosts and evil spirits, drive away calamities and expel demons, but also the judge who commands ghosts and wields the power to eliminate demons.
If lighting the Zhong Kui talisman can summon the divine image of Zhong Kui, then dealing with a mere evil spirit seems like child's play.
Chen Yun slightly eased his heart.
However, out of caution, he still lagged behind the crowd by a few steps.
...
In a casual conversation.
The group arrived at the villa in the western city.
This place is the central area of the wealthy residential district in Xigou City, with many large courtyards surrounding it.
Chen Yun noticed that many of the large courtyards nearby were brightly lit, but the two large courtyards on either side of the villa in front of him were completely dark.
Luckily, the moon was bright at the moment, and he could see the layout of the villa dimly, indeed as Wu Lu and Wu Yu had described.
This villa occupies about one mu of land, and based on the current price of 200 taels for every 100 square meters in Xigou City, the value of this villa should be around 1400 taels.
One jin of money is equal to one liang of silver.
One thousand four hundred taels, which is equivalent to one thousand four hundred liang of silver or about 140 liang of gold.
Of course, it's reasonable for Sir Wu to spend ten taels of gold to exorcise the ghost.
Chen Yun could guess dimly that Sir Wu's willingness to spend a lot of money on exorcising the ghost was not solely because of the high value of the house.
Such wealthy aristocrats can afford to lose more than a thousand taels of silver.
Chen Yun guessed that Sir Wu spent a lot of money on exorcism mainly because the property was his son's former residence and he wanted to visit it frequently.
More importantly, for a wealthy family, it's about maintaining face. If the ghost problem was not resolved, others might think that the Wu family had done something worthy of divine wrath and human resentment, and they would be mocked.
This should be the real reason why Sir Wu is willing to spend ten taels of gold to exorcise the ghost.
Ten taels of gold is equivalent to one hundred taels of silver, and Chen Yun's previous family might not have earned this amount over ten years.
He couldn't help but silently reflect that indeed, in any world, the gap between rich and poor is very large.
Lin Chen, who was walking in front, said, "Fang the steward, open the door."
Fang the steward took the key from his waist and said, "Alright, Lin Master."
Said and done, he approached to unlock the door.
Click, the long lock was opened.
Subsequently, Fang the steward removed the lock and pushed the door inward from the outside.
As the vermilion-painted door was just opened.
Whoosh, a gust of chilling wind blew up from inside.
The chilly wind was extremely sinister.
Chen Yun was standing quite far behind the group, but even so, a shiver ran down his spine as he was blown by the cold wind.
This "coldness" is different from the severe winter weather.
It's as if the soul is drawn out and thrown into an ice cellar, making one shiver involuntarily in both body and mind.
Chen Yun felt something was amiss and intentionally stood far away without moving forward.
Lin Chen, Zhang Qian, and others didn't pay it much attention.
Lin Chen joked, "The ghostly aura seems to indicate that this evil spirit has some level of cultivation. Let's see how I use the Zhong Kui tablet to treat it."
At this moment, when Lin Chen was speaking, Chen Yun had not yet noticed any abnormalities.
However, what followed made Chen Yun's hair stand on end.
Speaking, Lin Chen stood still and didn't move, nor did he show any action. He just lightly shouted, "Bring me a fire matchstick!"
Fang the steward didn't move either, "Lin Master, here is the fire matchstick for you."
Chen Yun was taken aback for a moment. He thought, "You said to give the fire matchstick to Lin Chen, but why do you stand there doing nothing?"
He was a bit confused.
Suddenly, Zhang Qian laughed loudly, "Oh, the Zhong Kui talisman is indeed extraordinary. As soon as it's lit, it emits a divine glow, illuminating the evil spirit who screams incessantly."
Li Si said, "Master Cai is a master of profound law. His personally drawn talisman, dealing with a mere evil spirit like this is simply wasted. In my opinion, this evil spirit will fall within the next moment."
Ah?
The Zhong Kui talisman was lit?
And it emits brilliant divine light?
Chen Yun thought to himself, "How come I didn't see that."
He had already sensed that something was wrong, and it seemed that these people were under some kind of spell!
As expected, Wu Lü suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my dear mother, what a grand figure of Zhong Kui! The evil spirit was immediately slain by Zhong Kui's sword. That's amazing, Lin Master, you're truly formidable."
Wu Yu also drew in a breath of cool air, "Amazing! Lin Master, you're so formidable!"
These people also didn't move, as if they were talking to the air.
Chen Yun could clearly see the several people in front of him with a crazy look on their faces, as if they had seen something unusual.
Who are you talking to, you scoundrels?
Chen Yun of course knew why these few people were talking to the air, and it was no surprise that they had been mesmerized by the evil spirit.
He couldn't help but feel a chill down his back. He finally understood how formidable the evil spirit was, having silently bewitched the five or six people in front of him.
Chen Yun was puzzled, though. He wondered why, besides the initial shiver from the cold wind, he had experienced nothing else.
Was it because he was standing a bit far from the door, or was there some other reason?
