CHAPTER 226: CHAPTER 225: THE BRONZE DOOR

"What kind of cursed place, and what’s with the two thousand silver taels? Are you here to extort money?"

Mr. Shen’s heart was pounding, and a momentary flash of suspicion crossed his mind, but he rudely said, "Your Liu Family even manages to extort people for money, truly shameless."

"Who are you calling shameless? It’s you lot, aren’t you being disrespectful?"

Mr. Liu was furious and rolled up his sleeves to fight.

"Why are you arguing? It’s the middle of the night, what’s all this noise about?"

Ms. Shen stepped out from inside, her face pale and haggard, as though drained of energy, sallow and ghastly.

"Whoa—what happened to your face?"

As Ms. Shen stepped over the threshold, her horrifying appearance raised the goosebumps on Mr. Shen’s arms.

"What’s wrong with my face?"

Ms. Shen touched her cheek and was startled, "Why is my skin all wrinkled?"

She retreated back inside, and her face returned to normal, although still overly pale.

"Aaah—"

The servants of the Shen Family saw this and screamed, fleeing in panic, trying to escape onto the main road, only to find themselves back at the entrance steps in an instant.

Aaah—

This time, not only were the servants terrified, but both Mr. and Ms. Shen rolled their eyes and almost fainted.

"What is going on here? Waaa... could there really be ghosts?"

The servants huddled together, trembling.

"This is a ghostly wall phenomenon. You feel nothing because you’re inside, enveloped by a supernatural magnetic field. Your Shen Family has become a haunted mansion."

Yu Nianzhao snorted softly, shaking the talisman in her hand, "Two thousand taels of silver, are you buying?"

Mr. Shen was muddled and still a bit suspicious of Yu Nianzhao’s identity.

Yu Nianzhao didn’t say much and tossed the talisman onto Ms. Shen.

Sizzle—

White smoke billowed out with the ear-piercing screams of little ghosts.

A shadow darted and fled from Ms. Shen, caught swiftly by Yu Nianzhao, who mercilessly crushed it in her hand before feeding it to Jiu Ying.

With the weight of the little ghost lifted, Ms. Shen felt a sudden lightness, and even after stepping out the door, her face returned to normal, though still pale.

"Buying or not?" Yu Nianzhao asked again.

Mr. and Ms. Shen scrambled to respond, "Buy, we’ll buy! We’ll pay whatever it costs!"

"Miss, give me one too, though I don’t have that much money!"

"I want one too!"

The servants cried, wanting to buy, but two thousand taels was a fortune.

Yu Nianzhao took the money from Mr. and Ms. Shen, giving each a talisman, saying to the servants, "Stay here, it’s safer than going inside."

"Yes, yes, we understand!"

"Miss Yu, what exactly is wrong with the Shen Family?"

Liu Yi swallowed hard, scared to the point of hesitating to enter.

"Miss, you practice sorcery, right? I mouthed off earlier, please don’t take it to heart."

Witnessing what had transpired, Mr. Shen slapped his mouth apologetically, "How could our Shen Family have ghosts? It’s unbelievable, and we didn’t notice a thing."

Ms. Shen smiled bitterly, "Our son is still inside, Miss, please save him!"

Liu Tong grew anxious, "My husband is still in the mansion? He might be entranced by ghosts, Miss Yu, please help!"

"Save?"

Yu Nianzhao replied with a hint of a smile, "Perhaps saving is not what he needs."

"What? What do you mean?"

Liu Tong was confused, but watched as Yu Nianzhao already proceeded inside, quickly following.

The Shen home was shrouded in darkness, only a faint candlelight provided eerie illumination.

"Hiss—I never noticed the mansion felt so off before."

Mr. and Ms. Shen huddled together, had it not been for their son, they might have stayed outside with the servants.

"Of course you wouldn’t notice, the spectral field’s energy permeates gradually."

Yu Nianzhao flung a Fire Talisman casually, instantly brightening the surroundings.

"So, my husband saved me by sending me back to my family."

Liu Tong’s eyes reddened, feeling strangely warm inside.

Yu Nianzhao shot her a sideways glance, unmoved, "Getting lost in romance is bad, you’d best clear your head!"

"Huh?" Liu Tong looked bewildered.

"Miss Yu, weren’t we here to find the child? How did it come to a ghost exorcism?"

Mr. Liu held grievances against the Shen Family, thinking they deserved being haunted.

"Because the child is here!"

Yu Nianzhao declared, stunning everyone present.

"What? The child is within the Shen home?"

"What? The child is in our home?"

Both Liu and Shen family members were struck dumb, unable to fathom.

"Ha, are you joking, Miss? Are you sure you got this right? How could the child be here, when he was lost on the way out, did someone return him to the manor?"

Mr. Shen was a bit intimidated by Yu Nianzhao, but scoffed at the notion, "Impossible, if the child were here, surely we’d have noticed."

"Oh! Did you notice being haunted, did you notice the early twilight, or your wife’s changes?"

Yu Nianzhao glanced at him, displeased.

The more she spoke, the weaker Mr. Shen’s resolve became, "We... did not notice."

"Haha, I heard the child’s cries the moment I entered, attempting to use him for spectral creation or a sacrifice?"

Yu Nianzhao asked coldly, "Where’s Shen Qing?"

"He’s supposed to be asleep in his room."

Arriving at Shen Qing’s room, they found it empty.

"Huh? Why isn’t he here? We didn’t see a sign of him on our way." Mr. Shen felt a sudden foreboding.

Yu Nianzhao brandished talismans and ignited them at the four corners of the Shen house, flames roaring.

Dark mist gathered from all directions, forming a giant ghostly face intent on devouring them.

Yu Nianzhao stood centrally, hands weaving seals, golden runes scattering the ghostly cloud.

Flames from the four corners shot to the sky, incinerating the darkness.

The oppressive evil qi parted overhead, allowing the moonlight to finally shine through.

"Oh my god, there’s a path ahead."

Liu Tong gasped, covering her mouth, pointing at the courtyard where a new path emerged leading to a copper door.