I muttered to myself, the small river had already quieted down, with not a sound to be heard. The river breeze whistled, making me shiver, so I had to turn around and wave to Wang Qian, saying, "Let's go, it's time to go back to school."
Wang Qian hesitated and looked at the river. "Do we not care about Long Lanxiang's situation?"
I shook my head helplessly. "There's no way to intervene. Long Lanxiang has been taken back by the soul searching claw. She won't be able to come out for a short time, even if we call for her, it's futile."
Wang Qian seemed reluctant, but still turned around. Looking at her, I couldn't help but ask, "Senior Wang, I want to ask you a question, and I hope you will answer truthfully."
"Huh?" Wang Qian stopped and looked at me puzzled. "What do you want to ask?"
"Yes," I nodded. "What is your relationship with Long Lanxiang?"
As soon as I said this, Wang Qian's face changed instantly, she looked at me in astonishment and said, "Duan Mu, what nonsense are you talking about? I have no relationship with Long Lanxiang."
I gently shook my head. "Senior Wang is not willing to tell me the truth. For the past few days, you seem to be overly concerned about Long Lanxiang, don't you?"
"I..." Wang Qian started to stammer, obviously too nervous. "Duan Mu, I really have no relationship with Long Lanxiang."
At this point, Wang Qian lowered her head, seeming to hesitate. I watched her in silence. Eventually, Wang Qian raised her head and said, "Okay, I'll tell you."
"Hmm?" I nodded. "Go ahead."
Wang Qian looked up with a disgusted expression and said, "It's true, I have no relationship with Long Lanxiang. But I came to you for another reason."
"Is that so?" I looked at Wang Qian in confusion.
Wang Qian nodded. "Of course it is. I came to you because of my father. Lately, he has been behaving strangely. I wanted to find someone to check on him, but all the people I've found so far are swindlers. After seeing your skills at Pang Dun's house the other day, I followed you to the river to deal with Long Lanxiang's situation, but actually, I just wanted to see your abilities for myself."
"Oh." Hearing this, I couldn't help but shake my head. I originally thought that Wang Qian's great concern for Long Lanxiang might be related to her, and I wanted to find out more about Long Lanxiang from her, but it seems I was overthinking.
"However," at this point, Wang Qian said, "However, I have long been convinced of your abilities, so why don't you do me a favor and come to my house? Don't worry, I won't let you go unrewarded. Shall we make a deal?"
"A deal? What kind of deal?" I asked.
Wang Qian said, "Aren't you looking for Nie Wei? I know this person, so why don't I tell you Nie Wei's address, and you come to my house?"
"Huh? You know Nie Wei?" I had always thought that Wang Qian was simple-minded, but when I heard this, I was suddenly taken aback. Not only is Wang Qian not simple, she is also quite scheming. I was even more surprised by Wang Qian.
Wang Qian nodded gently, "This person had business dealings with my father. He was the vice principal of our school ten years ago, but for some reason, he has now left the school in Laowa town."
"Alright, I agree to help you," I finally nodded, even though I didn't want to. But when Wang Qian mentioned Nie Wei, how could I refuse?
Right now, Nie Wei is the biggest threat to me. Because, being burdened with disaster, I cannot allow any danger in the town. Nie Wei not only set up an evil array, but also imprisoned Long Lanxiang's soul in the river, causing all those who drowned in the small river to remain there. For me, this is undoubtedly a time bomb.
Wang Qian and I didn't say anything more. At this moment, I became a little more wary of Wang Qian, and I could no longer smile. When we returned to the town, it was empty, probably because everyone had been scared off by Long Lanxiang's haunting cries just now.
When we reached the school, evening self-study had just begun, and we went straight to the classroom. What I didn't expect was that Pang Dun, this kid, was also attending class, which worked out perfectly.
When class was over, I suddenly grabbed Pang Dun's hand and said, "Come with me to a place."
As soon as he heard this, his face contorted, "Let go of me, you punk, and don't think about tricking me into going."
"Hey," I showed him the phone screen, and in an instant, his face went white, "What are you planning to do?"
"Guess," I said as I grabbed my backpack and headed out of the classroom. As I expected, as soon as I left the classroom, Pang Dun promptly followed. After all, the phone screen showed the picture of him and Wang Qian from that day. How could he not come?
Walking beside me, Pang Dun said unhappily, "Duan Mu, I'm telling you, the thing I hate the most in my life is knowing you and being swindled by you every day."
I ignored Pang Dun, and silently left the school, holding the note Wang Qian had given me. The address of Nie Wei was written on the note.
This address was not in Laowa town, but not far from it, in a village near Laowa town. I left the town directly, holding a flashlight, and headed towards Nie Wei's house.
Seeing me leaving the town, Pang Dun muttered beside me, "Duan Mu, where are you taking me? I'm telling you, don't you dare scare me again."
"What are you afraid of? It's right there," I said as I shone the flashlight ahead. The village where Nie Wei's address was located could almost be seen from the town. At the moment, only a few lights were visible in the village.
Seeing that the village was close by, Pang Dun finally stopped muttering. The two of us quickly arrived in front of the village. The village only had seven or eight households, so it could be said that it was all readily visible at a glance.
As I looked over the entire village, I immediately saw an unusual house. Because there was a baby lying on the wall surrounding the house. The baby lay on the wall, not moving, but its eyes stared fiercely at me and Pang Dun.
This baby appeared suddenly, so it could be seen without using clairvoyance. At that moment, Pang Dun also saw the baby at the same time, and he was so scared that he shuddered and cursed loudly.
"It's a house guarding spirit child," I furrowed my brow slightly, "It looks like this is indeed Nie Wei's house, and Wang Qian did not lie to me."
"House guarding spirit child?" Pang Dun said with a puzzled expression, "What's that?"
I couldn't help but pat Pang Dun's shoulder, shaking my head, "You want to know, huh? I'll tell you slowly when we go back. For now, your task is to guard this exit for me. Don't let anyone leave, understand?"
Saying this, I looked around. The road we were on was the only way out of the village, and although there might be another road behind the village, I had no time to worry about it for the moment.
After saying this, I carried my backpack and headed straight towards the house with the house guarding spirit child.
I heard Pang Dun shout from behind, "Where are you going?"
Helplessly, I said, "What else can I do? I'm going to find Nie Wei. You guard here, don't let him escape, got it?"
After saying that, ignoring whatever Fatty Dumpling was complaining about, I quickly walked towards that building. It was a relatively high-end building, four stories tall, with a large courtyard outside. As I walked towards the building, the guardian spirit child crouching on the wall began to look fierce, and it emitted a very terrifying roar.
It was warning me not to come near. Seeing this, I suddenly took out a stack of paper money from my pocket, lit it, and threw it towards the spirit child.
Generally, guardian spirits don't bear much resentment. As the name suggests, guardian spirits are used to protect the house, or the family.
These spirits are usually made using the souls of infants who died shortly after birth due to unfortunate accidents. Because these infant spirits are the easiest to control, they can be easily made into guardian spirits.
As for those with a strong grudge, who would dare to use them to guard a house? So, if you understand a little, a little favor can easily bribe them.
After throwing the paper money, I stood still and watched whether the guardian spirit child would pick it up. But to my surprise, the spirit not only didn't pick up the money, but also became more fierce, and its roaring grew louder.
"What's going on?" I furrowed my brow and involuntarily took a few steps back.
Something was wrong; this was definitely not a typical guardian spirit child. A normal guardian spirit child wouldn't react like this. This is... Is this a guardian spirit child made from the heavily resentful spirit of an infant?
This thought sent a chill down my spine. Nie Wei was truly a terrifying individual. While others specifically choose slightly resentful infant spirits to make guardian spirits, Nie Wei had specifically chosen an infant spirit with such a heavy grudge.
Is this really for guarding? If such a guardian spirit guards the house, would the owner dare to live there?
Seeing that the paper money had no effect, I sighed and realized I had to take a different approach. I then pulled out a paper cart from my bag and lit it before throwing it again at the guardian spirit child.
But once again, the guardian spirit child disappointed me. It not only didn't respond, but also tore the burning paper cart to shreds.
At the same time, the guardian spirit child turned towards me, its eyes emitting a vicious light.
Realizing that bribery wouldn't work, I sighed and knew I had to resort to force. With that in mind, I took out a red string and the ghost-calling umbrella from my bag. I then recited the incantation: "Ghost-calling umbrella, clear the way in front of the underworld gate. Let the ghosts on the Naihe Bridge feel anxious." As the incantation was recited, the umbrella generated a suction force and pulled the guardian spirit child towards it. As I expected, the heavily resentful guardian spirit child was too much for the ghost-calling umbrella to handle. So, as it struggled against the umbrella's grip, I ran towards it, using the red string to bind the guardian spirit child.
After a moment, the guardian spirit child was completely tied up by the red string. However, even then, the ghost-calling umbrella still couldn't take it away. So, I pulled out the dog hair whip and relentlessly whipped the guardian spirit child. With a loud snap, the spirit let out a piercing scream. Finally, it was sucked into the umbrella, leaving only a pile of red string on the ground.
"Hmm." Seeing that the guardian spirit child was gone, I looked at the building in front of me, feeling a surge of curiosity. I wondered what Nie Wei really looked like.
With that in mind, I pushed the door open, feeling uneasy because it seemed that the people in the village had already been awakened by the guardian spirit child's recent commotion. Voices could be heard from the other houses.
"Who's there?"
Suddenly, Fatty Dumpling panted and ran up to me, sweating profusely. He said, "It's not good, Duan Mu. The villagers have found us. We need to hide quickly."
I glanced at Pang Dun and said, "What are you afraid of? You haven't stolen or robbed anything. When you go back, make sure to block that road for me. Absolutely do not let anyone leave."
Pang Dun glared at me fiercely and said, "It's not strange to be afraid. Each and every one of those villagers is carrying a weapon. They look like they want to beat and kill me. This village is so strange. Don't waste time. Hurry up and hide."
As Pang Dun spoke, I heard the voices of the villagers behind us. Suddenly, I saw that all the villagers had a fierce and menacing look, each holding various weapons.
Alarmed, I quickly pulled Pang Dun to hide in a corner.
At this moment, Pang Dun whispered, "I didn't lie to you, did I? This village is completely abnormal."
"Yeah," I nodded, "Maybe they're associated with Nie Wei. It's not surprising, not surprising."
"Who is Nie Wei?" Pang Dun asked foolishly.
I shook my head, too lazy to pay attention to him, and stealthily peeked outside. At this point, all the villagers had a fierce look, but when they were about two meters away from the house, they stopped approaching, showing fear on their faces, as if they were afraid of something inside the house.
Perhaps they were afraid of the spirit that had guarded the child.
Seeing that they dared not approach, I felt a bit more confident and quickly grabbed Pang Dun, saying, "Let's go, make it quick. Let's get inside."
Saying that, Pang Dun and I quickly ran through the courtyard with our heads down, coming to the front door and pushing it open. Upon entering, I was surprised to smell a musty odor. Looking inside, I saw a row of coffins.
"Oh my god," seeing the coffins, Pang Dun immediately pulled back, his face full of astonishment. "Duanmu, have you made a mistake? Is this place for people to live?"
"Hmm?" Seeing the coffins, I was also surprised. But without hesitation, I turned around and closed the door, then used my flashlight to shine into the coffins inside the room.
At first glance, I was stunned, and even Pang Dun was dumbfounded. "What kind of coffins are these? So strange?"
"They are coffins, indeed. However… these are not coffins from our era."
In front of us were bronze coffins, a stone coffin, and some wooden coffins. These coffins were all wrapped in heavy coffins, and they couldn't possibly belong to our era. They were clearly coffins from ancient tombs.
Seeing these coffins, I suddenly realized, "This house is definitely not meant for people to live in. I was wondering why there was such a fierce guardian spirit outside. There's very likely an ancient tomb hidden beneath this house."
"An ancient tomb?" Pang Dun looked at me in surprise. "Duanmu, who is this Nie Wei you want to find?"