Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 308 I'll Speak for You

An old fox with messy, rough fur and looking sickly emerged from the corner, weakly and wearily looking at Ran Qing and the other two.

The news it brought surprised all three of them.

"...Kawamasu Tōkichi is dead?"

Ran Qing's first reaction was that it was impossible.

The mysterious old man lived in an apartment building with an elevator. He was neighbors with a group of ghost keepers, and it seemed that they knew each other well, and might even have fought each other, otherwise they wouldn't be living peacefully together.

The unseen monster from the night before last was indeed troublesome; without precautions, it's easy to get caught.

Could it be that this mysterious old man, Masakichi Kawaki, could have fallen into the hands of an unseen monster?
Even without the Ghost Luo Ancient Coin, Ran Jianfei successfully drove away the invisible monster after receiving a hint from Mo Li.

The mysterious Kawamata Tōkichi is dead?

Ran Qing looked bewildered and asked, "How did he die? Did you see it with your own eyes, Madam?"

The morning sunlight streamed into the cement doorway, where a sickly fox lay listlessly in the shadows of the corner under the eaves.

It curled up wearily and said softly, "When I saw Mr. Kawasaki Tankichi last night, he was on his last breath. After chatting with his wife for a while, he passed away on the spot."

"At his request, I helped him with his funeral arrangements."

"The coffin in his house was prepared for himself, and I buried him in the coffin."

The old fox recounted the passing of Kawamasu Tōkichi.

According to this account, the mysterious old man had reached the end of his life and died of natural causes.

but……

"What are your plans next, Madam?"

Ran Qing remained noncommittal about Chuan Zeng Danji's death, instead asking the old fox, "Do you already know who killed Liu Zi?"

The old fox sighed softly and said, "Old Master Chuan Zeng Danji didn't tell me who my enemy was; he only advised me to give up revenge and return to Old Wang Mountain. Alas..."

The old fox looked at Ran Qing listlessly and said, "Master Ran, do you know the origins of that group of people?"

Ran Qing nodded calmly and said, "I know a little bit. The ghost in your house was put on Old Wang Mountain by this group of people."

Ran Qing's words were ambiguous, only scratching the surface.

The old fox chatted with Ran Qing for a few more minutes before leaving.

"I understand, thank you for your guidance, Master Ran."

The fox did not get any useful information from Ran Qing.

After the old fox had gone far away, the three of them went into the house. Long Zongshu asked curiously, "I feel something's off about that old fox."

Long Zongshu instinctively sensed something was wrong, but couldn't figure out what the problem was.

Ran Qing said, "Not only is the old fox strange, but that Chuan Zeng Danji is strange too."

Ran Qing organized her thoughts and said, "Since that Chuan Zeng Danji is already nearing the end of his life, why did he still gather a bunch of people before he died, wanting to join forces against the Ghost Gate... What was he after?"

"I suspect that the old lama is not dead, or at least not all of them are. There must be some kind of conspiracy waiting for us."

"As for that old fox, needless to say. His sickly appearance is three parts real and three parts fake, trying to play the victim to gain sympathy."

"It definitely wasn't telling us the truth, but it was trying to trick us into telling us..."

Ran Qing shook his head and said, "Given the vengeful nature of these mountain demons, they'll have a lot more to deal with than those ghost-raising people."

Long Zongshu nodded in agreement with the last sentence: "Yes, yes, these kinds of mountain demons are the most vengeful and petty."

"Moreover, when mountain demons come to seek revenge, they usually come out in full force, wishing to wipe out the entire family of their enemy. It's impossible that only one fox came."

Long Zongshu said, "Perhaps the entire den of foxes from Old Wang Mountain are all in Moonlit City right now." Although the old fox looked pitiful, the three of them, though young, were not overly compassionate saints and remained wary of the old fox.

With the ghost-catching operation imminent, Ran Qing neither wanted to provoke this den of foxes nor wanted to cause trouble for the ghost-raiser for the time being.

After a quick wash and rest, and a hearty breakfast, Long Zongshu went to bed.

Ran Qing also closed her eyes and slept for a while.

This time, as they fell asleep, none of those unseen monsters came to harm them.

Unlike the human-faced demon that comes every night, that monster seems to never come back after a failed attack.

Ran Qing woke up after sleeping for two hours and saw Mo Li sitting on a small stool at the door of the cement house.

Under the midday sun, the girl sat reading a comic book.

The sounds of traffic from Park Road below the mountain, the haggling among vendors at the secondhand market, and the blaring of advertisements from various loudspeakers...

The slightly noisy urban sounds danced in the wind.

The girl, sitting quietly in the sunlight, basking in the sun and flipping through comic books, seemed to exist in another world, unaffected by the surrounding noise.

Ran Qing glanced at Mo Li, then looked away and went to fetch water to wash her face.

But as Ran Qing brought the basin back and began washing her face, she suddenly noticed a burning gaze on her from the side.

He paused for a moment, then looked at Mo Li beside him in surprise: "What's wrong?"

Mo Li, who had been engrossed in reading just moments before, was now staring intently at him.

That intense, direct gaze made Ran Qing feel slightly uncomfortable.

Upon hearing Ran Qing's question, Mo Li closed the comic book and said, "Are you sure you want to go ghost hunting tonight?"

Ran Qing looked at her, puzzled, and nodded: "Yes, we're going ghost hunting tonight..."

Wasn't this already decided?
Did Mo Li want to persuade him again?

The thought had barely crossed Ran Qing's mind when she heard Mo Li's voice: "So after catching the ghost, should we go straight to the Ghost King's Coffin?"

To Ran Qing's surprise, Mo Li did not advise her to wait a few more days...

He looked at Mo Li with surprise, puzzled by her feigned ignorance: "Yes, after catching the ghost and completing the technique of refining the ghost in the vat, I will go to find the Ghost King's Coffin."

Isn't this just common sense...?

Mo Li's question was like asking if he wanted to eat tomorrow—pure nonsense.

Seeing Ran Qing's confusion, Mo Li continued to stare intently at her face and asked, "So, are we going to find the Ghost King's Coffin together?"

Mo Li's question caused Ran Qing's expression to freeze.

Under the midday sun, he opened his mouth, but couldn't answer the question.

Seeing Ran Qing's reaction, Mo Li chuckled and said, "As expected, you're planning to go alone... right?"

At this moment, Mo Li smiled smugly, having seen through Ran Qing's thoughts, which made her very happy.

Ran Qing, whose inner thoughts had been exposed, hesitated to speak.

Mo Li interrupted him, saying, "I'll explain it for you..."

“Finding the Ghost King’s Coffin is different from catching ghosts. When you caught ghosts before, you always carried your late master’s memorial tablet with you, so you agreed to let Zongshu help me.”

"Because you feel that even if we encounter real danger, you have the ancestral tablet of your late master, which can absolutely guarantee our safety."

(End of this chapter)