9: Chapter 9 The Way

Late night, 11 PM, the Hour of the Rat, Linjiang Road.

This is an old street. Because it is backed against the river, the terrain is low-lying and it never sees sunlight; most of the buildings on both sides are old residences left over from the late Qing and early Republican era.

Lin Ye held a black umbrella, accompanied by Leng Yue and Frost Star, as they stepped out of a taxi.

As soon as they got off, they saw Fatty Wang holding an umbrella, anxiously peering under a streetlamp with a pale young man with sunken eye sockets.

That young man was the famous rich kid of Jiangzhou City, Young Master Qin.

He was wrapped in a thick down jacket, shivering uncontrollably in the autumn rain, which was in the low teens, his lips turning purple.

Beside Young Master Qin stood a middle-aged Daoist wearing yellow robes and sporting a handlebar mustache.

This Daoist held a whisk and carried a wooden sword on his back, looking down his nose at the three people approaching.

"Yezi! You finally arrived!" Fatty Wang hurried over to greet them.

Young Master Qin, as if grabbing a lifeline, walked over shivering:

"Brother Lin, Master Lin! Fatty said you have real skills. You must save me tonight, no matter what. Every time I close my eyes, I feel a wet woman crawling on my back, crying!"

Before Lin Ye could speak, the yellow-robed Daoist let out a mocking sneer:

"Heh, Young Master Qin, I told you long ago that this kind of dangerous ghost-catching business is not something just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can take on."

"If you had invited a true master, that would be one thing, but look at this little brother—delicate and weak, with floating Yang energy—and he even brought two young girls to handle underworld business? What, is this a comic con, here to play cosplay?"

The Daoist's gaze swept over Leng Yue, who was bundled tightly in a trench coat, and Frost Star, who was wearing a raincoat.

A hint of undisguised contempt and greed flashed in his eyes.

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow. Before he could speak, a sharp, murderous intent flashed in Leng Yue's eyes.

The raindrops within a ten-meter radius seemed to freeze instantly.

Lin Ye quickly squeezed Leng Yue's cold hand under his trench coat, signaling her not to act impulsively.

"May I ask, Daoist, how should I address you?"

Lin Ye looked at the yellow-robed Daoist with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

The Daoist flicked his whisk, performed a salute with one hand, raised his chin even higher, and spat out a string of professional underworld jargon:

"Immeasurable blessings. I am of the Maoshan Shangqing Sect, 36th in line, Daoist name Xuanqing."

"May I ask, little Daoist friend, which mountain and which incense burner did you receive your ordination from?"

Xuanqing used standard jargon from the metaphysical world to test Lin Ye.

If a layman heard it, they would only be confused.

If someone knew the trade, they would have to report their lineage according to the rules.

He was intentionally trying to probe Lin Ye's background and give him a warning.

The smile on Lin Ye's lips deepened. Although he had no sect, he had learned some of this jargon from the old man over the years.

He tilted his black umbrella slightly to block the falling rain, his tone unhurried and his words clear as he retorted:

"I worship no Three Pure Ones, I revere no Buddhas. No school, no sect, guarding a Funeral Shop on Taiping Street. I hold the feet of the Yin-Yang Master, I eat the food of the Yellow Springs. My left hand holds the Yin-Yang scale, my right hand lights the guiding incense."

"Daoist, I fear your Maoshan incense burner cannot afford what I offer."

As soon as these words were spoken, Daoist Xuanqing's expression changed instantly.

The response was flawless. Not only did it indicate his background as a 'folk practitioner who eats the food of the dead'.

That line about 'the incense burner you cannot afford' was incredibly arrogant, directly asserting seniority over him.

"You brat, how arrogant! A mere folk Funeral Shop trick, daring to spout nonsense in front of orthodox Maoshan arts!" Xuanqing was so angry his mustache trembled.

"Master, Brother Lin, both of you, please calm down!"

Young Master Qin, seeing the situation going south, quickly stepped in to mediate.

"This old house is evil. I was afraid of mishaps, so I invited both Daoist Xuanqing and Brother Lin as double insurance. As long as you can resolve this tonight, 500,000 for each of you, not a penny less!"

Upon hearing 500,000, Xuanqing snorted, ignored Lin Ye, and turned away with a flick of his sleeves:

"Fine, I won't lower myself to a junior. Young Master Qin, watch how I break this evil formation."

Saying this, Xuanqing strode toward the old house, which hung with two tattered white lanterns.

Lin Ye took Leng Yue and Frost Star and followed behind.

Frost Star hid inside her raincoat and whispered in Lin Ye's ear:

"Husband, that old Daoist is so annoying. He smells like body odor. I want to pull out his intestines and hang them on the streetlamp."

"Be good. No hanging intestines after the founding of the PRC. He'll get his punishment soon."

Lin Ye whispered, soothing the yandere loli.

Everyone pushed open the heavy and rusty wooden door of the old house. Accompanied by a teeth-grinding creak, a gust of Yin wind mixed with a strong smell of mold and damp earth rushed toward them.

The old house had a classic three-courtyard layout, but due to years of neglect, the yard was overgrown with waist-high weeds.

What made people feel uncomfortable was the temperature in the yard.

Even though it was over ten degrees outside, as soon as they entered this courtyard, they felt as if they had instantly fallen into an ice cellar, and their breath turned into white mist.

Lin Ye took the brass Sanyuan Feng Shui compass from his bag and looked down at it, his brow immediately furrowing.

The magnetic needle in the center of the compass was spinning wildly like crazy, completely unable to stop.

In Feng Shui, this is called 'tang needle,' a sign of great evil, indicating that the magnetic field here is completely chaotic and that an extremely strong resentment is at work.

Daoist Xuanqing also took out a compass, glanced at it, and said dismissively:

"It's just a regular 'gathering wind and qi' layout that fell into disrepair, becoming a pool of gathered Yin. I'll place four suppression talismans here, and it will be resolved."

"A regular pool of gathered Yin?"

Lin Ye couldn't listen anymore. He let out a cold laugh, pointed at the surrounding architectural layout, and entered professional mode.

"Daoist Xuanqing, that is a Sanhe compass, looking at mountain and water forms. Mine is a Sanyuan compass, which focuses on qi logic."

"Look at the orientation of this house. The front door opens to the northwest Qian position, which is the Heavenly Gate. But behind this house, the water vapor from that river forms a water dragon that rushes straight to the back door."

Lin Ye gestured through the air, speaking eloquently:

"The 'Eight Mansions Mirror' writes it clearly: this is 'Xuanwu enters water, Yin energy back-flows'!"

"Look at the newly built high-rises around, which just happen to sandwich this old house, forming a narrow funnel! The Azure Dragon is low, the White Tiger is raised, and evil energy flows back into the heart! This is a standard White Tiger Carrying Corpse, a deadly formation!"

Lin Ye's professional metaphysical terms stunned Fatty Wang and Young Master Qin.

Even Daoist Xuanqing's face became very ugly.

Because he knew in his heart that Lin Ye was absolutely right; the terrain was indeed extremely dangerous.

"Nonsense!"

Xuanqing maintained his facade. He would not allow a folk practitioner to ride over him.

"Since you say it's so dangerous, then tell me, where is the evil spirit?"

Lin Ye ignored him, his gaze locked on the center of the second courtyard.

There, there was an ancient blue brick well that had been half-covered by dead grass.

The soil around the wellhead had been turned over. Obviously, the bloody rotten wood that Young Master Qin's construction team dug up had come from beside this well.

"The evil spirit is right there." Lin Ye pointed to the ancient well.