Commission

Commission

This elderly woman's surname was Tian. She lived beside the market in Fenghua County. Her husband had died early, leaving behind only a small home and a son.

Her son, Tian Sangen, served as a soldier in Anshen City and could return home only once every two months. Besides Tian's Wife, his wife Ruqiu, also lived there. Ruqiu was already seven months pregnant, and because she was in poor health, she spent most of her time bedridden and recuperating. Their only source of income was Tian Sangen's military pay. Though the family was not well-off, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law got along harmoniously, and their modest days had been quite good.

Seeing that she would soon be holding a grandchild, Old Madam Tian naturally took even greater care of her daughter-in-law. In her spare time, she even made handicrafts to sell at the market, hoping Ruqiu could eat a little better. But she never expected a sudden misfortune to strike the household half a month ago.

At first, it was only sounds—when the night grew still, strange tap, tap noises would arise inside the house. Sometimes they seemed to come from the rafters, sometimes from before the windowsill, and occasionally they even sounded right beside the two women, startling them into cold sweats.

Afterward, things gradually worsened. Clay jars and rice bowls shattered for no reason, holes were bored through the window paper, and the sounds little by little began to affect reality.

Even when the two lit candles throughout the entire house, they could not stop these strange phenomena from appearing.

Tian's Wife already needed rest and recovery. After being tormented like this, she grew haggard all over. Not only had she lost a great deal of weight, but her mental state was becoming increasingly unstable. If this continued, never mind a safe delivery—even the child in her belly might not be saved.

It was not as though Old Madam Tian had not considered solutions, such as moving out for a while. Yet the family was already far from wealthy, and whether renting a house or staying at an inn, they could not keep it up for long.

She had also bought holy water and ghost-dispelling talismans from nearby temples, but the strange sounds persisted, and seemed to be drawing ever closer.

Left with no alternative, she sought out Zhao Dahai.

When Zhao Dahai had first arrived in Fenghua County, he had used the banner of the Demon-Subduing Master to deal with several "supernatural incidents," earning himself a little reputation. Of course, in Xia Fan's eyes, most of those supernatural phenomena had merely been the villagers' imaginings or ailments of the heart. As for that so-called reputation, it amounted at most to neighbors mentioning him in passing during idle chatter. Yet Old Madam Tian had not only heard of him, but remembered him, and when she was at her wit's end, she came to Zhao Dahai.

At the time, his master had already escaped the predicament of debt, so he readily agreed. Unfortunately, this time he could not bluff his way through. After several "demon-subduing" attempts, he still could not make the strange sounds disappear and could only shut his doors to visitors. But Old Madam Tian clearly had not given up. She merely believed Daoist Zhao had not used his full strength, and came to plead with him every day or two. Only when Xia Fan returned to Fenghua County did the opening scene occur.

"Daoist Zhao said that if even his disciple cannot solve it, then there cannot possibly be a second person in all of Fenghua County who can." The old woman gazed at Xia Fan eagerly. "Little Daoist... little immortal master, please save my family!"

He really had found himself a fine master. Xia Fan silently rolled his eyes. This was not finding his disciple work to do—it was simply shirking responsibility. Did his master not realize that everything his disciple had learned came from him? If the master could not handle an Evil Spirit, could his disciple somehow succeed?

Wait... it seemed he actually could. If he directly unleashed a Thunderclap Zhen Technique inside the house, then whatever evil thing was hiding there would probably be reduced to ashes. The problem was that once that bolt of Heavenly Thunder came down, half the old woman's house would likely be destroyed as well. Would that not mean helping was the same as not helping?

That method would not work.

But should he refuse...? To be honest, Xia Fan could not bring himself to do it.

Old Madam Tian before him was around fifty. Her hair had already turned completely gray, and the wrinkles and sun marks on her face showed that she had endured no small amount of hardship in her life. To her, seeing her descendants come into the world was likely the greatest consolation of her life. That was why she did not hesitate to throw herself before a young man not even a third of her age.

If there was a miscarriage, Tian's Wife, frail and sickly as she was, would likely face grave danger as well. Even if this family remained, it would surely be shattered and no longer what it once was.

Xia Fan had been taught from childhood to take pleasure in helping others. It was simply that in the past, his abilities had been limited, and helping others meant no more than returning lost property or giving directions to strangers. Now that he had the ability to save lives, it was hard for him to pretend he had seen nothing.

As he pondered, Xia Fan's gaze suddenly stopped on the shadows of the inner room.

Right, was there not a direct disciple of the Bureau of Military Affairs' Azure Blade right here?

If he let her inspect the scene, perhaps she might discover some clue!

The Fox Demon was injured and unable to fight, but that was not the key. The key was finding a way to deal with it. As for fighting, he could completely handle that himself.

Xia Fan considered it briefly and found that the idea was unexpectedly feasible.

First, from what he had heard from Old Madam Tian, the "strangeness" in her home was not some ferocious Yao or Demon. Otherwise, his master would never have gone a second and third time after failing the first—if the opponent had been even slightly dangerous, he would have fled far, far away.

Second, the county town was not controlled as strictly as a big city. There was neither curfew nor night patrols, so the risk of the Fox Demon being exposed was very low.

The only question was whether Li was willing to involve herself in this matter.

But when it came to persuasion, Xia Fan considered himself absolutely certain.

"I can give it a try, but there are several conditions that must be made clear in advance."

"Please speak, little Daoist. So long as I can do it—"

"You will definitely be able to do what I ask." He interrupted her. "First, no one may remain inside while I perform the ritual. You may only wait outside. Second, you may not publicize this matter. I do not want anyone to know that it has anything to do with me. Third, I cannot guarantee the result. Evil Spirits come in every strange and grotesque form. I can only say that I will do my utmost."

"I understand, I understand..." The old woman nodded again and again.

"And the fourth point..." Xia Fan said slowly. "I need a set of your daughter-in-law's clothes, something loose-fitting. A bamboo hat and a rain cape as well, one set each. I will pay for them."

"There is no need for money! But... what does little Daoist need those for?"

"In case the weather changes in the dead of night."

After Old Madam Tian left, Li poked her head out from the inner room. "Who told you I agreed to help her? I am a Yao, and she is human. I have no reason whatsoever to help an unrelated human, just as humans would not help a Yao."

As expected of a Fox Demon—before he had said anything, she had already seen through his intentions completely.

Li's tone was quite displeased. She seemed extremely dissatisfied with Xia Fan's presumptuous behavior. "Let me make this clear first. I agreed to cooperate with you, but that does not mean I will listen to you in everything. We are not in a subordinate relationship. Cooperation means discussing matters fully before making decisions—"

"You are right, but this concerns lives after all, and I had no chance to discuss it with you just now." Xia Fan soothed her in a gentle tone. "As for your first point, I think it is somewhat biased."

"Biased? It would already be good enough if humans did not shout about killing Yao on sight."

"Have I ever helped you?" Xia Fan asked in return.

"Yes."

"Am I not human?"

Li was momentarily tongue-tied. "Th-that is different with you..."

"Then if you will not help her, you can help me, can't you?" He pressed the advantage. "She is not a Bureau of Military Affairs sorcerer and has no direct conflict of interests with Yao. Helping me will not bring you any bad consequences either. Were we not just discussing the classifications of Evil Spirits? Treat it as a field lesson."