Li Mazi said that the female ghost had bewitched me. If he hadn’t acted fast and improvised, it would have been game over for all of us.

Li Mazi would never miss any chance to brag. He began to babble and headed toward Xiao Li.

“Yeah, you really saved me this time.” I heaved a sigh of relief and complimented him.

Li Mazi contentedly raised a brow. “Of course, don’t you know who your brother is?”

I ignored him and turned to talk to Xiao Li. However, when I went to the sofa, there was no one there. Xiao Li had disappeared.

“Where’s Xiao Li?” asked Li Mazi in a shaky voice. “Damn, this place doesn’t feel right at all. Little Brother Zhang, we should leave.”

I rubbed my temples. I was completely lost.

There are two souls in that room, and Xiao Li is gone. This villa has at least three departed souls.

Were they a group? Also, is Xiao Li a human or a ghost?

At this instant, so many questions filled my brain.

Li Mazi pricked his ears toward the toilet. After a while, he said, “Little Brother Zhang, it seems Xiao Li’s in the toilet.”

After hearing Li Mazi, I lifted my head and looked at the toilet behind us. When we opened the toilet door, we saw Xiao Li crouching in a corner. She was hugging her knees, her face full of fear.

“What happened?”

I asked her without getting too close. Moreover, I was careful and held a talisman in my hand. If she did something strange, I’d be prepared.

“A ghost… There’s a ghost! The ghost looks exactly like me. She told me not to go out...”

Xiao Li started to cry. I took out the ox tears I had prepared and smeared them on my eyelids. After the sour feeling was gone, I studied Xiao Li carefully. Her three Yang flames were still burning. My mind eased, and I walked forward to lift her.

There was nothing wrong with her, so the Xiao Li we met earlier was a ghost. I regretted accepting this case and really wanted to ignore it since it was beyond my capability.

However, my heart was softened when I saw Xiao Li crying. After all, she was a woman in need of help.

I needed to prioritize the tasks. The urgent task to do first was to identify the ghost that had impersonated Xiao Li. Who was she, after all?

I looked at Xiao Li and asked her to tell us what had happened to her.

“I don’t know. That ghost has never shown up before. This is the first time I saw her. I went to the toilet and saw her, but she didn’t want to harm me. She only told me not to leave the toilet. When you guys descended from the second floor, she disappeared,” said Xiao Li while shaking her head in fright.

That ghost didn’t harm Xiao Li. It seemed she wanted to protect her.

I decided to ignore Yuan Datou for now. If the ghost told Xiao Li to stay in the toilet, there should be something hidden there.

To verify my assumption, I asked them to leave. Then, I switched off the lights and held a compass, moving around the area. However, even after a few rounds, the compass needle was still.

“Why is this?” I frowned and mumbled to myself.

Then, the situation suddenly changed. The compass needle moved fast then pointed upward.

I looked at the compass needle and sighed. Whenever the needle pointed upward, the phenomenon was called ‘Floating Needle.’ It meant that a departed spirit was here. Moreover, it was a kind one.

In geomancy, when this phenomenon happened, it meant the ancestor of the family or a House Protector was present in the house to protect the family.

Since the ghost looked like Xiao Li, she had to be Xiao Li’s ancestor.

I put the compass away and burned three incense sticks, placing them by the windowsill. Although there was no wind in this narrow toilet, the three incenses burned evenly. The smoke surrounded me.

I took a step back and respectfully bowed to the smoke. When I lifted my head, I saw the smoke create the word, ‘Thank you.’

The ghost had thanked me for protecting Xiao Li. I gave a gentle nod and said, “Senior, don’t worry! Since I accepted this case, I will take care of everything.”

After I said that, the words shook and slowly dispersed.

After I left the toilet, my perspective of the case changed. Even Xiao Li’s ancestor was persistent in protecting her. As such, being an otherworldly merchant, what reason did I have to give up this case?

“Little Brother Zhang, should we leave or not?” Li Mazi hurriedly asked. He hadn’t gotten a hold of himself yet.

Xiao Li looked at me, worriedly. She was afraid that I would leave.

“I’ve decided to accept this case…” I answered.

My words stunned Li Mazi. “Hey brother, are you okay? Do you have a fever?” Li Mazi stammered, reaching his hand to check my forehead.

“Just go to watch the TV!” I smiled and pushed him away. “Xiao Li, you should sleep. I know how to deal with the departed souls. Tomorrow, we will arrange everything.”

Xiao Li repeatedly thanked me. However, she lingered as she didn’t want to go to her room. I knew she was scared, so I told her that she could sleep on the sofa.

It seemed she was really tired. She didn’t refuse and quickly drifted into sleep.

“Did you find anything?” Li Mazi asked.

I smiled and told Li Mazi about the encounter with Xiao Li’s ancestor. Li Mazi became excited.

“With this extra force, why would we be afraid of them? No wonder you suddenly became so bold. And, if that ghost was Xiao Li’s ancestor, I’m sure she’s been here longer than those two ghosts upstairs. They were from the time of the resistance war, after all. Maybe we don’t need to do anything. The ancestor will finish them.”

“It’s not that simple.” I admired Li Mazi’s spiritual victory method.

“What do you mean?” asked Li Mazi.

“If she didn’t let Xiao Li leave the toilet, it means she can only protect Xiao Li when she’s in the toilet! Moreover, the two ghosts upstairs have strong resentful energy, but they only stay inside the room. They didn’t chase after us. Did the three parties reach an agreement of some sort?” I imagined the possibilities as I explained my thoughts to Li Mazi.

Li Mazi thought about it then gave me a nod. “Do you have any solution to lure the two souls to the toilet? Actually, it’ll also be good if we can get them downstairs.”

“We can try. But we should sleep now.” I laid on the other sofa in the living room and closed my eyes.

“Little Brother Zhang, where should I sleep?” Li Mazi was dejected.

I then noticed that there were only two sofas in the living room. Xiao Li and I had occupied them all.

If Li Mazi didn’t want to sleep with the two ghosts upstairs, he would have to lie on the floor.

“Up to you. You can take the toilet.” I then closed my eyes and decided to ignore him.

When I woke up the next morning, Xiao Li had prepared breakfast. She didn’t look bad. It seemed our presence had supported her a lot.

After I washed my face, I noticed that Li Mazi had disappeared. “Xiao Li, have you seen Li Mazi?”

She shook her head.

“Where could this fellow have gone?” I took out my phone to call him.

The ringtone resounded from underneath the sofa, and Li Mazi crawled out right after, his face drowsy.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Nothing…” I was speechless.

After breakfast, I called Yin Xinyue and told her that I was all right. Then, with a serious look, I called Senior Shu.

I was helpless and needed extra help. It would be nice if he could give me some ideas.

However, the old man didn’t pick the call. In the end, I had to send him a threatening message that said that if he didn’t pick up the call, I would ask Chuyi to give him a call.

Right after I sent the message, he called me.

As soon as the line went through, Senior Shu said, “If you need something, tell me quickly. I’m going to play mahjong.”

I laughed. “I have something I want to ask you, Senior.”

“What is it? Spit it out quickly.” Senior Shu was impatient.

“It’s like this...” It was rare for him to give me a chance to talk. I carefully chose my words and told him the story.

After I had finished talking, Senior Shu kept silent for quite a long time.

I called him a few times, and he asked me to continue.

I said, “Continue what? I’m done talking. Haven’t you been listening to me?”

“It’s something this trivial and you need my help? You bring shame to your grandfather!” Senior Shu said then hung up.

I looked at the phone, feeling baffled. I thought about calling him another time, but I refrained myself from doing so.

It was because he said that I had shamed my grandfather.

I’m not going to ask anybody! And don’t think that I can’t survive on my own!

To my surprise, Senior Shu then sent me a message. “Hatred grows from the heart. If there’s no hatred, the spirit will leave.”

Although what he told me wasn’t helpful at all, I could still feel his concern. My heart warmed up.

I put aside the thought of asking for external help and recalled the conversation between the two ghosts from yesterday.

“Xiao Li, do you have any photos of the previous owner of this villa? I mean the mistress that Yuan Datou forced into committing suicide.”

Xiao Li thought. “Yes, I do.”

She searched through Yuan Datou’s blog and found a photo of the mistress. At first glance, I knew the mistress was the ghost wearing the red cheongsam from yesterday!

“Do you know her name?”

“She was called Bai Xiya.”

Last night, Yuan Datou had addressed the female ghost by the name ‘Xiya.’ It seemed that the ghost not only had the same appearance as the mistress, but they also shared the same name.

If she was a prostitute in the Eight Great Streets and had a relationship with the spirit, I guessed she wasn’t just an anonymous person. I decided to search for her name on the internet.

I got many results. However, they were all junk, like ‘How many people are there in the country with the name Bai Xiya?’ or ‘Who was Bai Xiya’s husband?’ There were many results like that. I couldn’t find the information I was looking for.

I felt discouraged.

Li Mazi vowed that he would find her. Then, he accessed a secret website...