Thinking of the things he brought with him, especially that statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan enshrined in the bedroom, Huang Huai harbored secret guesses as the innkeeper hurried up to him and said, "High God, it is all this old man's fault for failing to teach him properly, leading to this bold brat bragging to others about the High God residing in the shop. Please punish him, High God."
With that, the innkeeper kicked the waiter and said, "Why are you just kneeling there like a fool? Hurry up and beg the High God to forgive your sins!"
Coming to his senses, the waiter repeatedly kowtowed to Huang Huai and said, "Please forgive my sins, High God. This humble one just had a slip of the tongue and didn't mean to leak news of the High God..."
At this moment Huang Huai finally figured out what was going on with the two people before him. As it turned out, the waiter mistook him for a cultivator and bragged about it to others out of a desire to show off.
Though he did not know why the waiter mistook him for one of those High Gods, Huang Huai offered no explanation. He simply cast a faint glance at the waiter and said, "Since it was an unintentional mistake, I won't hold it against you."
Without caring how the two reacted, Huang Huai stepped past them and walked toward the back courtyard.
Anyway, he had already planned to move to that residence in Shun'an Ward. Since such a rift had opened up with Ping'an Inn, Huang Huai naturally had no reason to stay any longer.
Watching Huang Huai's figure disappear, the waiter breathed a sigh of relief and muttered like someone granted a great pardon, "High God have mercy, High God have mercy."
Glaring at the waiter, the proprietor rebuked, "Take this lesson to heart. You were lucky this time to meet someone so easygoing. If you don't break that loose-lipped habit of yours, there will always come a day when you suffer for it."
The proprietor certainly did not think that the waiter casually leaking information about a guest staying at the inn was a trivial matter. This was especially true since this nephew of his had lost his parents at a young age and been raised by him like his own son; otherwise, if it were anyone else, he would have driven him away long ago purely for failing to keep his mouth shut.
Returning to the courtyard, Huang Huai checked that the mark he left behind was undisturbed, pushed open the door into the hall, and turned into the bedroom to see that statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan sitting lifelike upon the desk.
The incense and candles in the burner before the statue had already burned down. Huang Huai stepped forward to bow before the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, then fetched a red cloth to take down the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan and wrap it up carefully.
After that, Huang Huai put the books he previously brought back to the real world back in their original places and tidied up the things he had brought over time. You wouldn't know until you looked, but it really was a bulging pile that stubbornly stuffed a full package.
Looking at the package before him, Huang Huai thought about carrying all these things to Shun'an Ward in a moment and generated the idea of sending the package back to the real world first.
Right after that, however, he dismissed the thought. He had already made up his mind that unless it was a matter of life and death or he was returning to the real world, he would not open that mysterious portal if he could avoid it.
On one hand, Huang Huai could not guarantee one hundred percent that no one would discover it; on the other hand, he was also afraid of developing the habit of opening that mysterious portal at every turn.
Casually slinging the package over his back, Huang Huai chuckled softly, "It's pretty good carried like this. Presumably even if I go to Shun'an Ward and see that petty official, the petty official will only think I'm impatient to move in."
Checking carefully once more to make sure nothing was left behind, Huang Huai left the small courtyard and went to the counter to settle his bill.
Seeing Huang Huai come out, the proprietor was startled for a moment, though not overly surprised. In his view, even though Huang Huai did not hold it against them, the other party certainly would not continue staying here; if it were him, he would have made the same choice as Huang Huai.
After offering apologies once more and helping Huang Huai settle the bill, the proprietor and the waiter respectfully saw Huang Huai out of the inn.
In Shun'an Ward, within a weed-grown residence, dead branches and withered leaves drifted upon the surface of the dry well beneath a small pavilion. Yet if someone descended to the bottom of the well, they would discover that there was clearly a hidden cave in the bluestone-built well wall.
Inside the hidden cave was a chamber clearly excavated recently. The chamber was small, candle flames flickered, and a figure sat cross-legged. The phantom of the Scarlet Body Ghost Face Yaksha God suspended above He Yuan's head merged with the two of them as they digested the power gained from devouring blood food overnight.
In Shun'an Ward, Huang Huai pushed open the door and walked into this courtyard together with the arriving petty official.
The courtyard gate opened, and waist-high weeds came into view. A dilapidated stone statue had collapsed onto the ground, and quite a few windows on that row of houses were noticeably damaged.
Seeing just this situation, Huang Huai's heart sank. This was fundamentally a dilapidated residence that had been abandoned goodness knows how long ago.
Earlier, the petty official had boasted about this small courtyard endlessly. He had originally held some expectations, but with it looking as dilapidated as it was right before his eyes, Huang Huai could not help casting his gaze toward the petty official beside him.
Clearly the petty official had not expected this courtyard to fall into such a state of disrepair after a year of standing vacant. Seeming to sense the strange, suspicious gaze Huang Huai cast his way, even the petty official grew somewhat embarrassed.
Giving a light cough, the petty official explained to Huang Huai quite awkwardly, "Young Master Huang, this courtyard looks a bit dilapidated, but the owner actually left only last year. When I came to collect the property back then, it wasn't nearly this run-down."
With that, the petty official pointed to the houses ahead and said, "Young Master Huang might as well take a closer look. As long as you clear away the weeds in the courtyard and slightly repair the doors and windows, it's completely a top-notch residence. To be honest, as the Peng Family's Third Young Master enters the Great River Sect, housing prices in Shun'an Ward will definitely rise. In a few days' time, Young Master Huang might not necessarily be able to secure this courtyard at the current price."
Huang Huai did not disdain the house for being dilapidated; rather, seeing this run-down house made him wonder if it was some sort of haunted house or the like.
Even the modern world held deep taboos regarding haunted houses, let alone an extraordinary world where Gods and Devils manifested.
If he happened to carefully select and buy a haunted house, wouldn't that mean he had hit the worst kind of bad luck?
Seeing Huang Huai wearing a hesitant expression as if he wanted to back out, the petty official hurriedly said, "Young Master Huang doesn't have any concerns, does he?"
Huang Huai looked at the petty official, handed a silver gourd seed to him, and said, "I must ask you to tell me, this residence doesn't have any taboos attached to it, does it!"
Accepting the silver gourd seed, the petty official couldn't help beaming with joy. Hearing this, he was startled at first, then reacted. Seeming to understand Huang Huai's meaning, he burst into loud laughter and said, "Young Master Huang really is joking. Putting aside the fact that this is just a completely ordinary vacant, desolate house, even if it were a haunted house, do you think the High Gods in the city would just let it be?"
Saying this, the petty official pointed again at the collapsed stone statue not far away and said, "Young Master Huang can go to the God and Devil Statue Pavilion under the Great River Sect at any time to invite back a Guardian Spirit or Guardian Deity, and I guarantee no evil specters will breed."
By this point Huang Huai had to admit that what the petty official said made a lot of sense. Moreover, looking at the petty official's reaction, this truly was not some haunted house. Besides, since he wasn't buying this property he would just buy one in another location anyway, and this wasn't the petty official's house—there were no conflicts of interest between him and the petty official, so there was no reason to swindle him.
The petty official remained unhurried. According to the requirements Huang Huai had given when choosing a house earlier, there was nothing more suitable than this place. He had said everything he needed to say, and it depended entirely on what choice Huang Huai made.
However, thinking of the silver gourd seed stuffed into his pocket and watching Huang Huai size up the courtyard before them, the petty official thought for a moment and spoke up, "Young Master Huang doesn't need to worry at all about any evil specters harming people here."
Seeing Huang Huai look toward him, the petty official wore a trace of a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, lowered his voice, and said pointedly, "For ordinary people like us, having a Guardian Spirit or Guardian Deity is already enough against ordinary, unranked evil specters. If you are truly unlucky enough to encounter powerful evil specters, it doesn't matter whether it's a dilapidated small courtyard or a grand estate—everyone ends up the same. As for things other than evil specters, heh, Guardian Spirits and Guardian Entities can guard against evil specters, but can they guard against cultivators!"
"Evil specters are easy to guard against, but people's hearts are hard to fathom. Among those whose families were ruined and lineages extinguished, how many were actually harmed by evil specters..."
Pausing with a sigh, the petty official seemed to realize he had said a bit too much, and immediately shut his mouth, saying nothing more. Saying this much today was already worthy of the silver Huang Huai had given him.
Before you continue