Chapter 61: The Whispering Ghost Lives, Today is Ill-fated

The neighbors had already noticed and had been discussing it here for quite a while.

Jiang She raised his eyes. The old woman was dressed in a dark blue silk tunic, with a plain-colored sleeveless vest over it. Her skin was somewhat tanned and wrinkled, making her look like the matriarch of a rural household.

The burly man beside her wore coarse, short-sleeved hemp clothing, long tied trousers, and straw sandals, which suggested he was her manservant.

He nodded slightly.

"Indeed."

The old woman let out a sigh of relief. "The real estate agent told me this house had already been rented out, and the contract reached my hands some time ago."

"However, the rental payment has never arrived, and I haven't been able to get in touch with that agent from my end..."

"I wasn't sure if the gentleman simply hadn't paid yet, or if something happened in between."

"So I came to take a look."

The old woman spoke quite politely.

At first, seeing the door locked and nobody in sight, she had feared the tenant might have run off, and she had almost fainted on the spot.

Fortunately, a neighbor told her that the house was indeed occupied, and washing sounds and voices had been heard from inside that very morning, meaning they must have gone out.

That was why she had waited until now.

Jiang She pondered for a moment.

"The rent has already been paid. It was a bolt of silk, with a market value of five strings of cash."

"There was an excess of more than five hundred copper coins, which the agent brought to me the following day."

The old woman sized up the young gentleman. He looked refined and handsome. Living here in Jixian Ward, he was surely a scholar.

Earlier, she had stood on her tiptoes and peered into the courtyard, noticing two horses in the stable, which were valuable assets.

She figured he would hardly try to swindle her out of a few strings of rent money.

The old woman's suspicions eased somewhat, and she frowned. "Then it must be the agent..."

Li Bai chimed in from the side, "I saw that agent at noon today. Was his name Qiu Nei? He was buying things in front of the puppet show stall, though I don't know what he was up to."

The old woman hurriedly asked:

"Which stall? Where was it?"

"Over near the South Gate Street of Jixian Ward," Li Bai recalled. "He left very quickly."

"If Grandmother knows his dwelling, you should go look for him. He left a long time ago while we were drinking tea upstairs, and you probably won't find him if you go now."

The old woman slumped in dejection.

"It's precisely because I don't know where he lives that this is so troublesome!"

This residence had been purchased by her eldest son. Property in Luoyang was expensive, and since it couldn't be easily sold, it was left vacant for people to rent. The rent was collected by his elderly mother, providing a modest income.

Four strings of cash were enough to live on in the countryside for half a year. If exchanged for rice, it could buy over two hundred dou—enough to last for years without running out.

Yet unexpectedly, those four thousand copper coins had vanished into thin air after several days.

Just like that, gone.

Worried sick, the old woman had come knocking on their door.

Deep down, she knew the agent had likely pocketed the money, and her weathered face turned pale as ashes.

For a moment, she could barely stand and had to be steadied by her servant.

The neighbors were craning their necks to look over, wondering what had happened and muttering incessantly amongst themselves.

Jiang She pushed the door open.

He invited the old woman and her servant inside first. Being out in the scorching summer heat for long could easily harm someone of advanced age.

Once they entered, the door was shut, cutting off the gaze of the neighbors.

Yuan Danqiu poured some tea. Not wishing to waste the master's fine tea on this old woman, he simply brewed some coarse tea casually in the kitchen. Without any spices or grains, he just added a pinch of salt—enough to moisten her throat.

He brought it out to the courtyard.

The old woman sat across from Jiang She, clutching her chest with a worried expression.

Yuan Danqiu said, "I happened to see that agent early in the morning two days ago. When we previously talked about the food in Jixian Ward, he knew every detail and even mentioned frequently going to Qingyuan Taoist Temple for free iced cream. Chances are, he lives right here in Jixian Ward."

Jiang She fell into deep thought.

Noticing the old woman's frantic state—her hands trembling violently every time she lifted the teacup—

He reassured her:

"Do not worry, Madam. We will find that agent first and recover the money."

With tears in her eyes, the old woman nodded repeatedly, momentarily too choked up to speak.

……

……

Qiu Nei stared intently at the puppet.

It was wrapped with five types of threads in red, black, white, blue, and yellow. These threads not only had to match these five colors, but they also had to be dyed using the dregs of five minerals.

It was the first time he realized that these colorful stones were so exorbitant. A tiny scrap cost hundreds of cash.

The money on his person was almost entirely gone. Not only had all his ready cash been poured into this, but he had even misappropriated the funds belonging to his employer, spending them all together. Over the past two days, he hadn't dared stay at home much, fearing his wife would grow suspicious and ruin his grand plan.

Day and night, he had huddled in this porter's dilapidated shack, studying this whispering spirit together.

The puppet looked somewhat different from the day he first saw it, appearing much more animate.

Its painted facial features, originally closed, had gradually opened a slit through being nourished with both rooster blood and dog blood over the past few days.

It revealed jet-black pupils.

It looked as though it could spring to life the very next second.

Qiu Nei did not dare look too long, feeling an unspeakable wickedness, and quickly averted his gaze. "I've bought these small garments. What else do we need?"

The porter lifted his wine bowl.

"Your blood!"

Qiu Nei was startled. Seeing his reaction, the porter burst into loud laughter.

"What are you afraid of? I'm just going to prick a finger with a needle and squeeze out a few drops. Did you think I was going to eat you?"

Taking a large gulp of wine, the porter walked over.

"I sought you out simply because those five-colored stones are outrageously expensive and must be replaced fresh every day. I was running short of cash these past couple of days and saw you still had some savings."

Qiu Nei forced a weak smile.

He certainly wouldn't mention that most of the funds he used were rental payments that he hadn't yet handed over to the landlord.

Still, once this whispering spirit began to speak and allowed him to win back his wealth, everything would be fine!

The porter's run-down shack didn't even have a needle and thread, so Qiu Nei hardened his heart, bit down hard on his finger, and watched the blood flow out before hastily smearing it onto the puppet.

Drop by drop.

Drop.

Seeing the half-closed, half-opened eyes painted on the wood tremble slightly, showing a tendency to open wider, Qiu Nei steeled himself and pressed down hard on his finger to force more blood out.

Having drunk the blood, the puppet quivered, as if trying to wriggle free from the binding cords.

Giving Qiu Nei a great fright, he hastily asked:

"Did the old man who gave you this thing leave any other instructions?"

"Is it truly this miraculous?"

The porter scoffed and said, "With ropes binding it, the whispering spirit cannot run away. You have nothing to worry about; this treasure is immensely powerful. You'll see for yourself in a moment."

"He was an enlightened master of the Dao, yet you still harbor doubts?"

Qiu Nei squeezed his finger until it turned white and then purple, the wound gradually crusting over and beginning to heal.

He vaguely understood why this porter who hauled cargo had sought him out. Bleeding like this every day, no matter how robust a man was, his body couldn't hold out.

Hardening his heart once more, Qiu Nei bit open another cut.

The puppet looked bizarre, having already revealed the majority of its pupils, which were pitch-black and lifeless.

Drop by drop.

……

"It's opening! It's opening!"

As Qiu Nei stared fixedly at the puppet, the sight gave him such a fright that he instinctively shrank back.

Then he heard the puppet open its mouth, making a creaking sound.

It slowly turned to look at the retreating Qiu Nei.

Its black pupils filled the entire eye sockets, leaving no whites visible.

It uttered the first words it had spoken in days:

"Today, ominous—"

Hearing clearly what the thing had said, Qiu Nei's face instantly turned ashen. He looked at the porter, his lips trembling with fear.

"Big brother, this..."

The porter remained completely unconcerned.

"What are you afraid of? Today you first suffered financial loss, and now you've shed blood, bringing about a calamity of blood. If this isn't ominous, what is?"

He yanked Qiu Nei to his feet.

"Let's go. Bring the whispering spirit with us, and we're heading to the gambling den. What's the point of fighting roosters? We're going straight to the gaming tables to see just how powerful this treasure is."

"We'll make a fortune and win back everything you lost before."

"Ha ha..."

With a glance at the puppet, thinking of the money he had lost and his recent reckless spending, Qiu Nei hardened his heart, picked up the whispering spirit from the table, and carefully tucked it into his bosom.

With a pale face and a hunched back, he headed toward the gambling house.