Although I had solved the problem in the museum, the murderer’s last words still lingered in my head. Strangely, I was in a low mood.

Chuyi bid us farewell, and as usual, he didn’t tell me where he was headed.

While Li Mazi and I were packing our belongings to return home, I received a call from Song Zhong’s wife.

“Ma’am, did something happen?” I frowned and thought that something had happened to her family.

“Ah, no…” stammered Song Zhong’s wife.

I heaved a sigh of relief. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Are you still in Shenyang?”

“Yes, I am.”

She seemed to want to tell me something, but she sounded hesitant. After a long moment, she asked, “Could you help me with something?”

“Is it related to an otherworldly item?” I was surprised.

She hesitated for a while and said, “I’m not sure.”

Then, she briefed me on some details of the incident.

She had a cousin called Yuan Datou from her father’s side. Yuan Datou was a businessman who mainly worked in the three Northeastern provinces.

However, as the saying goes, all businessmen are devious. After Yuan Datou’s business prospered, he began to meddle with evil people. He befriended a bunch of thugs and often helped high-position officials and rich people deal with illegal matters.

A few days ago, he made a deal with a Taiwanese businessman. After the task was completed and he received the payment, something happened before he could enjoy his commission.

Yuan Datou became hot-tempered and went as far as hitting his children. At first, his wife thought that he was stressed, so she didn’t want to quarrel with him. She thought he would get better after a while.

However, Yuan Datou completely changed afterward. He showed hatred to anybody near him and acted as if the entire world had offended him.

His family decided to take him to a mental hospital, where he could receive proper treatment. However, the doctor there said that there were no problems with his brain.

Soon after, Yuan Datou’s health worsened, and he started to lose weight. That was when his wife recognized that perhaps he had angered some evil spirit. She quickly searched around to find an expert that could help her husband.

After Song Zhong’s wife listened to the story, she immediately remembered me and Li Mazi. She tried her luck by giving us a call. Fortunately, we were still in Shenyang.

“I see…” I thought and answered, “Ma’am, since it’s not related to you, I will need to receive some payment.”

If it was related to her, even if I had to take risks, I would help her. After all, it wasn’t easy for her to survive on her own as she was a widow with children. However, if it was someone else’s case, I wouldn’t hesitate to charge them, especially if the other party was a black-hearted businessman. Li Mazi would also agree with this.

“I understand. He’s rich. He can pay you a lot!” Song Zhong’s wife quickly told me that as though she was afraid that I would reject the case.

I nodded and asked her to wait for us at her home. Then, I hung up.

Li Mazi was next to me, and he also listened to the call. He sniggered and said, “This trip wasn’t in vain in the end, right?”

“Look at your happy face!” I smiled and scolded him.

In the afternoon, Li Mazi and I went to the market to buy some stuff we thought might be useful. Around twilight, we drove to Sheshangou Village.

When we arrived, we saw many elderly people sitting under the big trees and playing mahjong while the kids were running around.

Many of them recognized us. They greeted us and asked if we needed help.

Seeing them like this, I guessed they had gradually forgotten about Song Zhong’s tragic death. I lied and said that I was about to leave Shenyang, so I came to visit Song Zhong’s family for the last time. I did so to ease the villagers’ worries.

The real reason for my arrival was to ask Song Zhong’s wife to take us to Yuan Datou’s house. However, when I went to her house and saw the two kids, I changed my mind. I asked her for the address and the contact information before leaving.

“Why did you change your mind?” Li Mazi asked.

“We should always consider the consequences,” I answered. “I’m not sure if Yuan Datou has encountered an otherworldly item, but it’s not necessary to involve the widow and her children in this matter.”

Yuan Datou’s house was in the Fifth Ring of Shenyang City. On the way to his house, the surroundings looked like the junction between the urban and the countryside areas. Domestic trash and peddlers were everywhere.

Eventually, we found Yuan Datou’s house at the end of the street. It was an independent villa. A woman around thirty or forty years old was standing at the big gate, waiting for us. When she saw our car, she walked forward to welcome us.

“Are you Yuan Datou’s wife?” I asked.

On the way there, I had already called her. I thought that the woman was her.

“Yes, I am Yuan Datou’s wife. You can call me Xiao Li.” The woman nodded. However, she kept bending her upper body to look into our car.

Li Mazi’s face grew irritated when he noticed the woman’s actions. “Big sister, what are you doing?”

“Ah, nothing…”

Xiao Li smiled embarrassedly. Although she had said that, her eyes were still scanning our car. I guessed she thought that Li Mazi and I looked too young and that the real master was inside the car.

“If you doubt people, you shouldn’t ask for their help. Ma’am, do you need our help or not?” I calmly asked her.

Otherworldly merchants had their pride. If she said she didn’t need us, I would leave immediately.

However, she wasn’t too stupid. After hearing my words, she repeatedly apologized.

I didn’t have time to talk nonsense, so I asked her to tell me all the details concerning her husband’s incident.

She invited us to the villa and made us two cups of coffee. Then, she started to tell the story. “After my husband helped a Taiwanese businessman take something from a farmer in the countryside, his personality has changed greatly. He often gets mad without reason. He wasn’t like that before. All of a sudden, he doesn’t even recognize his family…”

“Please get to the important points!” I didn’t have time to listen to her bitter story. My brows slammed together.

“Yes, yes. I will…”

Xiao Li paused for a while. Her face suddenly turned chalk-white as if she had just recalled something very terrifying.

A moment later, she started to speak. “It’s even stranger that he loses his mind in the morning, but at night, he becomes very gentle. He’s like a well-educated gentleman. He always sits on my bed and tells me romantic things! Moreover, when he talks to me, his face is always focused on me and his voice is so loving. No matter what I pour on him, he won’t be angry or stop talking sweetly to me. I felt strange when he acted like that. But I couldn’t tell how or why he behaved like that. I just hope that he returns to his previous self.”

While telling us, Xiao Li shivered. I knew she was scared. I patted her shoulder and asked her to continue talking.

“Until a few days ago, I was at my parents’ house. When I came home, it was late at night and thought that Old Yuan was already sleeping. However, as soon as I went to our bedroom, I heard him talking sweet words to someone. My first thought was that he had cheated on me and brought another woman home. I was so angry that I kicked the door open. When I entered the room, Old Yuan was sitting alone on the bed and mumbling those words. He didn’t react no matter how loud I called him. It looked like he was talking to a ghost.”

Xiao Li patted her chest to calm her racing heart. From that moment on, she had recognized the seriousness of the situation. She didn’t dare to stay in that bedroom anymore.

“It seems your man is bewitched by a female ghost!” Li Mazi looked amused. He crossed his legs and pretended to be all mysterious.

He was taking revenge on Xiao Li as she didn’t respect us at first.

Xiao Li was scared and asked Li Mazi, “What should I do now?”

“Oh, it’s not a big matter. I don’t need to handle it myself. My apprentice can solve it in my stead.” Li Mazi pointed at me.

I helplessly shook my head. Li Mazi did look older and more mature than I did. That was why he pretended to be my master in many cases. I couldn’t deny this fact.

Xiao Li looked at me with tears in her eyes. I had to comfort her. “Don’t worry, ma’am! I’ll be sure to help you.”

Then, I fiercely glared at Li Mazi.

While Li Mazi was chatting with Xiao Li, I carefully scanned every corner of the villa. Soon, I noticed that the whole villa was dry except for a bedroom on the second floor. It was humid, just like a room by the beach. I observed the area and even found a wisp of black mist at the door.

I couldn’t help but frown. I pointed at the bedroom and asked Xiao Li, “Is this Yuan Datou’s room?”

“Yes, it is.” Xiao Li was surprised. “How did you know that? Did you see anything bizarre?”

I nodded with an indifferent face. I went to Li Mazi and muttered something in his ear. Li Mazi blinked. He said nothing and left the villa.

After he left, I asked Xiao Li, “Ma’am, during this time, did any abnormal things happen in your house?”

From the black mist at the bedroom door, I knew that the otherworldly item that was pestering Yuan Datou wasn’t ordinary. If it could attach to Yuan Datou and tell love stories every night, I was certain that this room was hiding something else, too.

Xiao Li’s eyes sparkled for a moment, but she denied. “No, nothing strange has ever happened.”

I was sure she was trying to deceive me. I sneered and said coldly, “Very well. If you don’t want to tell me, don’t blame me later when something bad happens to your husband.”

“Wait! I’ll tell you...” Xiao Li bit her lower lip. She was hesitant for a long moment before she decided to tell the truth.

It turned out that they didn’t buy this villa. Yuan Datou had used illegal methods to take it.

Previously, this villa was the property of Yuan Datou’s boss. He had bought this place for his mistress. However, before he could do the paperwork to transfer this property to his mistress, he passed away.

Of course, after the boss was gone, Yuan Datou claimed the throne. Unfortunately for the mistress, he had already laid his eyes on this villa. The thugs came, splashed paint on her door, and sent her threatening letters every day. In the end, the woman decided to kill herself right inside this villa.

Yuan Datou was a bold gangster. He believed in neither gods nor ghosts, so he moved in shortly after that.

After telling me the story, Xiao Li looked at me with a worried face.

“Has the ghost of that mistress come to take revenge on us?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this case. You should invite another master.” After listening to her story, I furrowed my brows. I wanted to leave.

I was just a small otherworldly merchant, and whenever I encountered a strong otherworldly item, I had to risk my life.

Before I could even find the otherworldly item, I discovered that this villa also had a female ghost with strong resentment. Unless I was dumb, I shouldn’t accept this case.

When Xiao Li heard my words, she recognized the seriousness of the matter. She hurried to grab my arm. She cried and begged me.

I felt helpless as I just couldn’t say no to crying women. Moreover, Yuan Datou was the bad guy who committed the crimes. Xiao Li was just an innocent housewife.

I took in a deep breath. “Ma’am, please don’t be impulsive. I will check to see if I can help, but I can’t assure you anything for now.”

“Yes, yes. Please try your best!” Xiao Li stammered. She looked really frightened.

I needed more details. “Ma’am, around what time does Yuan Datou become tender and loving?”

Xiao Li replied immediately, “Around 12:00 AM every night.”

It seemed my guess was correct. In ancient times, people believed that 12:00 AM was the moment Yin and Yang met and shifted. Only a powerful and dangerous ghost could come out and talk to the otherworldly item during this period.

“Ma’am, what has Yuan Datou been doing these days?” I asked.

“Except for babbling his romantic words at night, he sleeps all the time. I have to feed him to keep him alive,” said Xiao Li.

If Yuan Datou couldn’t even eat, it seemed he would die soon.

Li Mazi returned with a dirty face. He held a big bag of grass ashes, which he then threw to me. “Damn it, I have to do all the dirty and laborious tasks! This time I will request more payment! I want extra money!”

I ignored him and asked Xiao Li to take me to Yuan Datou’s room.

She curiously looked at the bag of grass ashes in my hand. “What are you going to do with that?”

“It used to be willow twigs soaked in saltwater. Ten pounds of willow twigs burned into one pound of ashes. As to what this bag is used for...” I smiled coldly and looked at the black mist at the door.

“Master, will it hurt my husband?” Xiao Li sounded anxious. She was worried about Yuan Datou.

My impression of her improved. I asked her not to worry too much. She nodded and opened the door for us.

I carefully observed the strange black mist. When the door opened, I noticed that it didn’t disperse. Quite the contrary, it seemed to grow denser.

At the same time, a pungent smell exuded from inside the room. I entered the room and saw Yuan Datou sleeping on the bed. His face didn’t have a bit of color, and he looked as thin as a match. It was clear that he wouldn’t be able to endure it for long.

“He makes this room his toilet too?” asked Li Mazi as he pinched his nose. I followed his line of sight. Indeed, there were many bottles and cans full of excrement scattered around the room. The waste created a horrible stench.

I couldn’t help but frown. Yuan Datou had turned into this state, and Xiao Li had neglected him all this time?