Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

The heavy snow fell for an entire day.

As dusk fell, snow piled up on the roads, and as far as the eye could see, the sky and earth were a vast expanse of white.

By this time, the group had reached the foot of the mountains in northern Vietnam, but the snowfall continued unabated and instead intensified.

Since it was difficult to travel in the snowy night, the group decided to find a place to stay for the time being.

However, the post station marked on the map has been completely abandoned and is no longer habitable.

After walking another two miles, they finally saw a mountain village.

Unfortunately, even the mountain villa had been abandoned for a long time.

By this time, it was completely dark, the snow was falling heavily, and there was not a soul in sight.

Under such circumstances, everyone could only choose to stay in the mountain villa to temporarily avoid the wind and snow.

A rickety signboard was covered with cobwebs.

Yu Lang held up the lantern to reflect the light, and then he could see that it read "Mingyue Villa".

It's not hard to guess that this place was most likely a wealthy family's mountain villa, but for some unknown reason it was abandoned and unused.

After pushing open the gate, there was a spacious front courtyard. Although the snow was thick, the layout was still very well done.

Upon moving into the hall, everyone was surprised once again.

The room was furnished with a complete set of furniture, but it was covered in dust because it hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

As an abandoned mountain retreat, this is clearly not quite right...

"This villa looks like it's been abandoned for at least six months, hasn't it? How come it hasn't been broken into by any thieves?"

Looking at those jade ornaments, Yu Lang couldn't help but feel curious.

In his opinion, a place like this would have been looted long ago if it were anywhere else.

Yan Zhengchu said, "Could it be... because this place is too remote?"

Yu Lang shook his head, frowned and pondered for a moment, then analyzed, "Since we were able to find them, how far could they have gone? You underestimate those bandits."

Ren Fengjue also looked at the furnishings in the hall. Although they were not particularly valuable, they were more than enough to exchange for some money at a pawnshop.

However, apart from looking a bit dilapidated, everything else in the hall was perfectly intact.

There was not a trace of outsiders.

He said, "Usually, in these mountain villas, the owners only stay occasionally at specific times, and on weekdays they are usually guarded by servants or guards..."

Yu Lang wholeheartedly agreed: "It certainly doesn't look like a permanent residence..."

He added, "But if the manor is abandoned because something happens to the master, even if the servants have a conscience and don't take these things, the news will eventually spread, and how could those robbers possibly remain indifferent?"

As I analyzed it, a bad feeling suddenly came to me…

"Could it be... that this manor is haunted?"

As Yu Lang spoke, he quickly moved closer to Yan Zhengchu and said to him, "Daoist Master, you should take a good look."

Yan Zhengchu replied, "I had my suspicions before I came in, and now that I see, there really is nothing fishy about it."

Yu Lang breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his doubts only deepened.

"If there are no ghosts, then what is the reason?"

Master Yan, however, did not want to delve into the matter: "Anyway, it's just for one night's stay. As long as there are no evil spirits and I can get a good night's sleep, everything is fine."

Ren Fengjue said, "We've been traveling all day, and everyone is indeed tired. However, this place does look a bit strange, so we must not let our guard down at night."

As he spoke, he glanced at Xia Ximo beside him, then turned to Xia and said, "Come with me to the back and see if there are any bedrooms that people can live in."

Yu Lang immediately said, "Lord Ren, I'll go with you."

After the three left the hall, Xia Ximo looked around.

Just as Yan Zhengchu said, there was not a trace of malevolent energy, nor any trace of ghosts.

She gently tapped the soul-ferrying lamp and whispered to Wuyou, "Did you notice?"

Inside the lamplight, Wuyou's voice sounded inexplicably drowsy: "No..."

Xia Ximo felt something was strange, but had no clue why.

Before long, Xia returned to the hall and told Xia Ximo and Yan Zhengchu that the bedroom in the back had been prepared and was ready for habitation.

Upon hearing this, the two left the hall and headed towards the inner courtyard.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the moment they left, all the footprints covering the dust vanished, and the tampered ornaments returned to their original positions on their own.

Everything has returned to how it was before…

That night, everyone remained somewhat vigilant, not daring to sleep too soundly, but nothing happened.

The next day at dawn, with the snow still falling, they had some breakfast at the mountain lodge before continuing their journey.

At this time, almost all the roads, big and small, at the foot of the mountains in northern Vietnam were buried in snow, making it difficult to discern directions.

Suddenly, a strange wind blew through the valley, and the carriage lurched.

The people inside the car were jolted and swayed by the bumps, and their minds became hazy.

I don't know how far we traveled, but it slowly got dark again.

A roadside inn suddenly appeared.

Ah Xia quickly got out of the carriage to check, and after a short while, she returned and said to Ren Fengjue, "Young Master, the post station has been abandoned and is no longer habitable."

Ren Fengjue paused slightly, and suddenly felt as if he had heard these words somewhere before.

But at this moment, it felt as if a snowstorm had swept through my hazy mind, and my memories began to become blurry and disordered.

The carriage continued for about two miles before a mountain village appeared amidst the wind and snow.

This time, Yu Lang got off the carriage first, and returned a short while later, saying, "Sir, there's no one at the manor, but it seems like we can stay here for a while. Why don't we stay here for the night?"

Ren Fengjue nodded, got up and got off the carriage, and then subconsciously helped Xia Ximo behind him.

Their eyes met, and they both seemed to be stunned for a moment.

"Mingyue Manor, this place is called Mingyue Manor."

Yu Lang held up the lantern, shone it on the plaque above the villa gate, and turned to say something to everyone.

The people behind him were slightly taken aback, and he himself was also inexplicably stunned for a moment.

In the silence, everyone had their doubts, but no one spoke up.

In the eerie atmosphere, A-Xia stepped forward and pushed open the door: "It's snowing heavily, let's go inside first."

The group then entered the courtyard and the hall, but what they saw there surprised them again.

Yu Lang blurted out, "This manor looks like it's been abandoned for at least half a year, hasn't it? How come it hasn't been burgled?"

Yan Zhengchu then said, "Could it be... because this place is too remote?"

The two exchanged a strange look. Just as Yu Lang was about to continue speaking, he swallowed the words back.

He changed the subject and said to the crowd, "Why do I feel like we've been here before? Even the things we just said are the same..."

Ren Fengjue reached out and gently stroked the jade ornaments on the table, then looked at the dust on his fingertips before saying, "I feel the same way."