The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 59 A house without virtue cannot ward off evil spirits.

“I’m so hungry!”

"I'm so hungry, why am I so thirsty?"

"Eat something! Hurry up and find something to eat!"

"No, it's people! We want to eat people! People are the best!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I want to eat human flesh and drink human blood!"

They chattered amongst themselves.

Finally, they all looked toward the tall gate by the roadside.

"Such a large household, there must be at least one or two hundred people inside who could feed us!"

"Hehe, good, good, good!"

"We're in for a treat tonight!"

But after taking only a few steps, before even touching the steps of the mansion gate, all the evil spirits suddenly froze in place—they saw a gilded plaque with the words "Residence of a High-Ranking Official" hanging on the vermilion gate.

Each character seemed to be tempered by sunlight, and the dragon's aura flowed out like water along the edge of the plaque, terrifying the souls of the evil spirits.

"This place is run by officials and shouldn't be messed with. Let's go to another one!"

Just as they were about to turn around and rush towards another family behind them, their expressions suddenly changed.

This made his already pale and unattractive face appear even uglier and more frightening.

Because there are two stone lions with 'auspicious cloud patterns' carved on their heads squatting at the entrance of this house, although they are not royal gifts with flame patterns and dragon claws carved on them.

Yet it remained majestic and fierce.

Especially those two pairs of lifelike lion eyes, which seemed to be staring straight at them, as if they would jump down from the stone pillar at any moment and bite them all to death.

"This place has a protective stone statue, so it's not to be trifled with. Let's go!"

The evil spirits looked grim, their hearts trembling. They hurriedly lowered their heads and squeezed into the middle of the road, rolling backward.

They were just a bunch of insignificant evil spirits, so naturally they didn't dare to mess with any of these items specifically designed to ward off evil and protect the home.

"And this family? They don't look like officials, and they don't have any stone statues to protect their homes."

After walking several dozen feet, the yin creatures spotted a new place that seemed feasible. Coupled with their growing hunger and thirst, they swarmed towards it.

But as soon as they reached the steps, they were startled and stopped in their tracks by the two door god paintings on the gate, which, although faded, were still bright and spirited.

"Yes, it's a house protected by the door gods, we can't mess with it, we can't mess with it!"

Before the images of the door gods, the evil spirits all cowered and huddled together in fear.

They were afraid of meeting the eyes of the door gods.

The evil spirits dared not look at the other house anymore and hurriedly fled to the next place.

But the experience was still not pleasant.

For example, they found a house that had neither door gods nor national blessings, nor any stone statues to ward off evil spirits.

But as soon as I arrived at their door, I suddenly felt unwell all over.

Upon closer inspection, one could sense a refreshing aura swirling around the gate of the mansion, and upon listening more closely...

I even vaguely heard Confucius say something, and some sages said something.

The several grotesque figures, their faces growing increasingly grim, cursed:
"This family has a learned scholar who's quite influential; they're not to be trifled with. Let's go!"

After walking several dozen feet further, they still couldn't find a new, seemingly suitable mansion.

But they saw a horse-drawn carriage.

"There's one person outside the car, and at least one more person inside. Let's have a bite first!"

The evil spirits were about to charge forward, but after only a few steps, they suddenly saw an aura of merit emanating from the carriage.

After just a few glances from afar, the light was so bright it almost blinded them.

"Oh no, he's a virtuous person who has done good deeds. Run! We can't afford to offend him!"

Before the carriage owner, protected by merit, the evil spirits were terrified and scattered.

When they regrouped, several of their companions lamented:

"I ran to Xiaomin's place, but it didn't work. There were either door gods or 'Fu' characters pasted on the door. The door gods scared me so much that my heart trembled, and the 'Fu' characters were so hot that my hands turned red." "I met a night watchman, but the gong in his hand sounded like a rooster crowing. Every time it rang, it made my ears throb with pain."

"Hey, that's not all! I saw that night watchman too. He had talismans stuck to his body, five-emperor coins hidden in his waistband, and even the mallet he used to strike the gong was made of peach wood. I really don't know why someone so afraid of death would become a night watchman!"

They thought they were already in a terrible state, but unexpectedly, another sinister entity brought even more horrifying news:

"That's not the most troublesome thing. The most troublesome thing is that I just went to the city wall and found that the city wall that we could cross when we came has suddenly become so high and so thick that we can't get out at all!"

"What?! How did we get here?"

"Um, it seems, it seems, how were we allowed in?"

The evil beings were completely unaware that they had long been pawns of others.

But unable to figure it out, all they can do is sigh and lament their situation.

Why is it so difficult to commit a sin like eating someone?

As they were sighing to each other, they suddenly noticed that one of their companions was staring intently at the gate in front of them.

"What's wrong? Stop looking, it won't do anything, it'll only make you feel bad."

"No, this one seems okay?!"

Many grotesque creatures followed the gaze.

Then everyone's eyes lit up.

Although there is a plaque at the entrance of this house, of the four gilded characters "filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty and trustworthiness", only the character "brotherly love" still has some luster!
Upon closer inspection, there were no door gods or stone statues.

Suppressing his joy, the leader cautiously stepped forward, extended his hand, and listened intently.

To my surprise, I discovered that this family not only lacked virtue and the noble spirit of scholars, but I could also faintly hear an old voice cursing my filial impiety from afar!

"Oh, this is the place!"

Upon hearing that it was feasible, all the evil spirits were overjoyed.

I couldn't find it anywhere ahead, but now I've stumbled upon it!

"Alright, alright, we'll eat this family's remains, that would be doing justice to God!"

But as they reached the gate, they still found the final character for "filial piety" somewhat jarring. The two lanterns in front of the gate also felt a bit too hot.

After discussing it for a few minutes...

They immediately understood and all crept towards the back door.

Sure enough, there were no evil spirits or warding-off spirits here, and they even heard a man wailing inside:

"Five thousand taels! A full five thousand taels of silver!"

"You unfilial son! How could my Qian family produce such a rebellious son!"

The curses and wails made the eyes of the many evil creatures shine even brighter.

After passing straight through the tightly closed mansion gate, they followed the sound and found their way to Master Qian Dafu's house.

The other person was sitting in a chair, leaning on the table, sighing and lamenting that the Qian family had produced a spendthrift and unfilial son.

They wanted to approach, but because they lacked any real power, they instinctively feared the bright lamp in front of Qian Dafu.

They could tell at a glance that this person was an unscrupulous and stingy miser, and most importantly, he had been scolded by his ancestors for being unfilial, which had left him without protection, making him the perfect target.

However, the lights beside him exuded a masculine and righteous aura.

The evil creatures, of course, couldn't let go of this easy prey.

A sharp eye darted around, and someone asked:
"That unfilial son squandered five thousand taels of silver, that's really a lot!"

Seeing that someone agreed with him, Qian Dafu slammed his hand on the table and said:
"That's right, that's a full five thousand taels of silver, enough to fill an entire carriage with copper coins!"

But as soon as the words left his mouth, his throat tightened suddenly, and his neck stiffened as if gripped by an invisible hand, turning him around to the back of his body:
Who is speaking?

In the dim candlelight, the room was empty in the shadows, and there wasn't even a footprint on the floor. Qian Dafu suddenly felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

Just as he was about to raise his hand to wipe the sweat, that voice seeped out close to his earlobe:

"A person? Why do you feel like a person is talking to you?"

(End of this chapter)