Immortalis

Haunted Residence V

Even Yang Wujian hadn't expected Shen Qingshi to ultimately devise such an unreliable plan.

During the Datong era, the art of spirit writing once became quite popular among the common people. This was because rumors circulated that in the final years of Northern Xiang, Emperor Xianghui, deeply devoted to ghosts and deities, learned through spirit writing divination that heaven would destroy Northern Xiang. Consequently, without even putting up a fight, he abandoned the eighty-year foundation of Northern Xiang and fled back to the Northern Desert, even abandoning his own younger sister, Princess Rilie, in the process.

Later, when Datong was established, the Founding Emperor specifically took Princess Rilie into his harem, both to showcase Datong's enlightened nature and, naturally, to mock the Northern Xiang emperor's absurd act of abandoning his family and country.

Generally speaking, the art of spirit writing requires three talents: a spirit planchette for spirit communication, a chanter for interpretation, and one person responsible for recording the entire spirit writing process for future reference.

"I never expected this, Young Master Shen. You actually thought of this."

While Yang Wujian found it unbelievable, he couldn't help but admire the cleverness of this method.

The county magistrate's household was haunted by ghosts. At such a time, having a great immortal relieve an urgent need without knowing the outcome was one thing, but if they could additionally conduct spirit writing divination to consult the gods, that would naturally be even better.

The three quickly prepared a sand tray and planchette pen. Yet, even as they stood at the doorstep of County Magistrate Xue Mingchang's residence, Zhou Huai still felt somewhat uncertain: "Speaking of which, is this method really feasible? What if the county magistrate doesn't believe us?"

Yang Wujian smiled: "With all those exorcism objects you're carrying, people would be scared just looking at you. Besides, wasn't it accurate to say you're prone to possession? Weren't you acting crazy just last night?"

As the two were speaking, the steward of the Xue residence hurried out to greet them. Truly resorting to desperate measures, Xue Mingchang didn't even suspect their identities and immediately summoned them to perform rituals and consult the gods.

Upon entering the residence, the three saw that the path leading to the main hall was hung with items for exorcising evil spirits. Nearly every door they passed was covered with yellow talismans, the handwriting identical to what they had seen in the haunted residence.

"It seems the fellow Taoist the master invited earlier possessed considerable cultivation."

Yang Wujian thought to himself: Could this One-Eyed Immortal have visited that haunted residence before? Was he there to exorcise evil for the county magistrate, or was it...

The steward smiled bitterly: "The master had invited several others before, but none were effective. He still suffered nightly frights and incessant nightmares. It was only thanks to this Taoist priest that the master finally managed to sleep well at night after his arrival."

Following the steward into the inner courtyard, the three heard someone chanting spells from a distance. As they approached, they saw an altar set up in the center of the inner courtyard, where a white-robed scholar was performing rituals. Surrounding him knelt many youths, yet each was strangely deformed—some missing arms, others lacking legs.

Shen Qingshi almost immediately turned to look at Yang Wujian, only to find him staring intently at the white-robed scholar, not blinking, as if trying to bore a hole through the other's face with his gaze.

"What's wrong? Do you know him?"

Shen Qingshi immediately sensed something amiss.

"No, I was just noticing he's missing one eye on his face. No wonder he's called One-Eyed."

Yang Wujian quickly shook his head.

He had naturally seen those peculiarly shaped youths too, including those paralyzed from the knees down who couldn't stand, forced to crawl on the ground—exactly like the "evil spirits" they had encountered in the haunted residence the previous night.The white-robed scholar remained focused on his ritual, seemingly unaware of their presence. As the three entered the main hall, they saw a haggard-faced man seated in the host's chair. Just by looking at his appearance, one could tell he had been unable to sleep or eat properly for days—saying his glabella was darkened would be an understatement.

The three explained their purpose, stating they were merely passing through when they noticed rolling black clouds above the Xue residence from afar, suggesting an ominous sign. Not daring to delay, they immediately came to investigate.

Upon hearing this, Xue Mingchang weakly waved his hand, lacking even the strength to speak. The woman who had been accompanying him stood up and said, "Let me speak for the master."

This woman turned out to be Madam Xue, Xue Mingchang's primary wife. She sighed upon seeing them: "We are deeply grateful that you three are willing to help ease our master's troubles. But to our shame, strange occurrences have been frequent in this residence lately, and many servants have already left. We apologize for our poor hospitality."

"Madam, I've felt chills all over since entering this residence. It seems this place is indeed haunted by spirits," Zhou Huai said.

As the one responsible for spirit communication, Zhou Huai naturally had to lay the groundwork first. He then asked, "To consult the gods, we must understand the cause and effect of this matter. Please clarify for us."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xue told them about the legend of the Tongueless Ghost in the city, which had actually begun three years earlier.

It started when a farmer saw lights burning in a desolate house outside the city at night. Curious, he entered, only to witness two crimson figures conducting a wedding ceremony in the courtyard. Under the eerie candlelight, their faces were invisible, and their movements were so bizarre they couldn't possibly be human.

The farmer was frightened out of his wits and fainted on the spot. When he woke up, he found himself still in that house, though he had somehow been moved indoors.

In the dim moonlight, the farmer immediately saw one of the creatures sitting before a dilapidated dressing table, its bridal veil half-lifted. The skin beneath remained crimson, and when it opened its mouth, only a dark void was visible—it had no tongue.

Terrified once more, the farmer fainted again and didn't wake until the next morning. He scrambled out of the house in panic, and from then on, everyone in Jingyang City knew that the desolate house in the suburbs was haunted by the Tongueless Ghost.

Ever since the tragedy ten years ago, no one had dared approach that house, let alone tear it down. With the ghost stories circulating, nearby residents gradually moved away, eventually turning the area into dead land.

"So initially, the Tongueless Ghost didn't harm people?" Yang Wujian couldn't help but ask curiously after hearing the story.

The farmer had fainted twice yet managed to leave the house alive. However you looked at it, the Tongueless Ghost had been quite benevolent.

Madam Xue smiled bitterly: "At first, it was said that as long as you didn't enter that house, nothing would happen. So the city remained relatively peaceful—after all, anyone who heard about the Tongueless Ghost didn't dare go there. But no one expected the Tongueless Ghost would eventually come haunting within the city walls."

Half a year after the Tongueless Ghost stories spread, a butcher in the city suddenly suffered a sudden death. His mouth was wide open in death, tongue protruding, with such a horrific death appearance that it scared his own elderly mother to death.

When this incident occurred, not only were the people in a state of panic, but Xue Mingchang—who had served as county magistrate locally for twelve years—also grew extremely anxious.Everyone knew that the Northern Desert people firmly believed in the way of ghosts and gods. It was precisely for this reason that during the Northern Xiang era, their emperor dug those twelve Meat Wells, solely to glimpse the heavenly way. After the fall of Northern Xiang, Jingyang City still retained a large number of remnants from that period. Their beliefs differed from those of the Central Plains—unpredictable and strange. Thus, when something like the Tongueless Ghost suddenly began to haunt, it was inevitable for Xue Mingchang to make connections.

He was well aware that the current Son of Heaven’s attitude toward the Northern Desert was already subtle. Therefore, if this matter involved the remnants of Northern Xiang, it had to be investigated thoroughly.

Thus, after the butcher’s sudden death, Xue Mingchang immediately dispatched several people to investigate the case, but in the end, they found nothing.

The coroner examined the body and concluded that the man had no external injuries. Judging by his appearance, it seemed more like he had died from excessive fright.

The butcher’s wife said that a month before his sudden death, their butcher shop had shown signs of being haunted. Not only did their yellow dog often bark incessantly at empty corners, but there were also strange noises at night. The butcher even witnessed something entirely red crawling outside the window, only for it to vanish in the blink of an eye.

In short, all signs indicated that the butcher had not been killed by a "person" but had been frightened to death by the Tongueless Ghost.

Afterward, with no leads, the case became a cold case. Until a few months later, another member of the gentry died at home, also with a gruesome death and an undetermined cause of death...

"In the past three years, the Tongueless Ghost has killed four people in total, all with identical deaths. Moreover, before their deaths, their households would experience strange occurrences, making it impossible for people to eat or sleep."

Madam Xue sighed as she spoke, glancing at the weary Xue Mingchang beside her. "Just like my husband."

But if the Tongueless Ghost was Chang San the Heroine and her lover, why would they be connected to these unrelated people?

Could it truly be that they died so tragically and became vengeful spirits?

Yang Wujian frowned. "Did Magistrate Xue investigate whether there was any connection between the people previously targeted by the Tongueless Ghost?"

Madam Xue replied, "Of course, it was investigated. Jingyang City isn’t large, and all four deceased had lived here for many years. It’s impossible that they didn’t know each other at all, but they likely had no deep friendship."

"And the earlier suspicion about the Northern Desert people..."

"None of the four deceased were of Northern Desert origin. Only one, the second deceased gentleman, had married a Northern Desert woman in his youth, but she passed away many years ago."

"Then, was Magistrate Xue connected to these people?"

"My husband has served as the county magistrate of Jingyang for twelve years, always diligent and conscientious. He was mostly aware of these people but not closely acquainted. I don’t know why, this time, he would..."

An anxious expression involuntarily appeared on Madam Xue’s face.

Recently, the haunting in the residence had left people in a state of panic. At first, there were only strange noises late at night, but gradually, servants began to see something entirely red in the mansion, crawling very fast, with a red bridal veil covering its head.

Madam Xue said, "I’ve also seen that thing once. It was in the corridor, moving in a very bizarre manner. I knew it wasn’t human, so I immediately urged my husband to find a Taoist priest."

At that moment, a Taoist priest from the courtyard happened to enter the hall after performing the rituals. He had a lean and handsome appearance, with a long beard, but one of his eyes was blind, covered with a black cloth. As soon as he entered, his gaze fell upon Yang Wujian, who was dressed in red."One-Eyed Daoist, is today's..."

Madam Xue hurried forward, originally intending to ask whether today's rituals had driven the evil spirit out of their home. However, the Daoist's slender fingers twisted his beard as he wore a stern expression.

"For the next seven days, we must set up an altar for rituals daily. Otherwise, I dare say he won't survive past the You hour seven days from now."