A debt-ridden tycoon inherits a luxury mansion, but the tenants are not human.

It was 6 a.m. on the 12th day of the seventh lunar month.

When Chen Mo returned to No. 17 Qing Shi Lane, it was already broad daylight.

The alleyway was filled with the damp smell of moss after the rain. A few sparrows hopped around on the eaves, chirping merrily. Everything seemed peaceful.

He pushed open the wooden door of the old house. In the main room, Liu Xiaoyu was asleep, lying on the octagonal table, a pen still clutched in her hand. Her notebook was open, filled with densely written information she had found yesterday about Liu Fengchun's opera troupe.

The earth spirit sensed Chen Mo's return, floated out from the crack in the blue bricks in the corner of the wall, circled Chen Mo twice, and suddenly stopped on his right, making a puzzled "eh" sound.

"Landlord, your hand..."

Chen Mo raised his right hand.

The theatrical makeup mark on the back of her hand was a pale pink, clearly visible in the morning light. It was an extremely delicate drawing, extending from the corner of her eye all the way to her cheekbone, with the color gradually changing from pale red, and tiny gold powder shimmering at the edges—a technique clearly characteristic of professional theatrical makeup.

Chen Mo sat down and poured himself a cup of cold tea.

"What Liu Fengchun left behind: before he vanished, he held my hand."

Liu Xiaoyu was startled awake by the voices. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. When she saw Chen Mo, she was stunned for a moment, and her gaze fell on the back of his hand. "This, this is..."

"It's nothing," Chen Mo changed the subject, "What did you find out?"

Liu Xiaoyu flipped through her notebook. "After the Qingyun Troupe, where Liu Fengchun was, disbanded in 1949, most of its members returned to their hometowns. Only a few people remained in the local area. Among them was an old master who played the erhu named He Sanxian. If he were still alive, he would be 97 years old this year. I found out that he lives in the Chengnan Nursing Home."

"Anything else?"

"And also..."

Liu Xiaoyu lowered her voice, "I found a security record from 1949 in the archives. It mentions that when the incident happened at Qingyun Theater that night, a witness saw a man in a long gown backstage, but the police investigation later said that there was no such person. There was also a photo in the record."

She pulled a yellowed photocopy from her notebook.

The photo is blurry due to its age, but you can still make out a corner of the theater backstage, with a figure standing with his back to the camera and his left hand on a pillar.

On the index finger of that hand was a thumb ring. Although it was blurry, Chen Min could tell that it was Zhou Huaiyuan's black jade thumb ring.

"Where did you get the photos?" he asked.

"It fell out when I flipped through an old collection of opera reviews," Liu Xiaoyu said. "The archives administrator said that the book was donated in the early 1990s, and the donor's surname was Su."

Su Jingwan's descendants.

The clues are gradually coming together.

Chen Mo took out the porcelain bottle given to him by Zhou Wenyuan from his pocket and poured out a neatly folded piece of paper.

The note was written in delicate calligraphy: "Building 17, Zone B, Chengnan Cultural and Creative Park, Yunxiang Clothing Ancient Style Studio, Su Wenjuan. Available at the shop from 3 PM to 5 PM daily."

On the back, there is an even smaller line of text: "Rouge absorbs blood; use yin energy to repel it when touched. Remember this."

"Let's go this afternoon," Chen Mo said, putting away the note and looking at Liu Xiaoyu. "You're coming with me. With your psychic abilities, you might be able to sense the residue left in the rouge."

"Okay," Liu Xiaoyu nodded, then hesitated for a moment, "Landlord, that mark on the back of your hand... is it really okay? I just dreamt about it..."

She paused, as if recalling the dream.

What did you dream about?

"I dreamt that you were standing on the stage, wearing a costume, singing The Peony Pavilion," Liu Xiaoyu said softly. "There were many people sitting in the audience, but none of them had faces. Only in the first row sat a little girl, about seven or eight years old, wearing a red cotton-padded jacket and with two pigtails, who kept crying."

Chen Mo's gaze sharpened. "A little girl? What does she look like?"

"I couldn't see her face clearly, but I remember she was wearing a silver bracelet on her left wrist, with something engraved on it... I think it was a lotus flower," Liu Xiaoyu tried to recall. "She was crying and saying, 'I didn't steal it, I didn't...'"

The spirit suddenly spoke up: "Red cotton-padded jacket, silver bracelet and lotus flower...that's a girl from the Zhao family."

Chen Mo and Liu Xiaoyu looked at it at the same time.

"Which Zhao family?" Chen Mo asked.

The spirit's voice was somewhat ethereal, "Zhao Shouyi's granddaughter, Zhao Xiaolian, died ten years ago at the age of seven. She died near the Jade Balance position—near the old waterworks in the north of the city. Zhao Shouyi almost went mad because of this. Later, he made a deal with the Longevity Society to try and resurrect his granddaughter, but..."

"What was the result?"

"It failed. His granddaughter's soul didn't return, and he even lost half his life," the spirit sighed. "From then on, Zhao Shouyi's personality changed. He became extreme, and his desire to seize the Heavenly Power position was also because of this. He needed the Yin energy of the old house to nourish the remaining wisp of his granddaughter's soul."

Chen Mo recalled the almost insane obsession in the eyes of the gaunt old man when he first met Zhao Shouyi at the local temple. He realized that this was the story behind it all.

"What does it mean that Liu Xiaoyu dreamed of Zhao Xiaolian?" Chen Mo frowned.

"It might be a side effect of empathy," the spirit analyzed. "Landlord, you have Liu Fengchun's mark on the back of your hand. Liu Fengchun's obsession energy is very special and will attract other restless souls to come and benefit from it. Miss Xiaoyu has a sensitive psychic constitution and has been affected."

"Is it disadvantageous to me?"

The earth spirit floated to Chen Mo's side and carefully examined the mark.

"Not for now, but it's hard to say in the long run. Liu Fengchun is a Qingyi (female role in Peking Opera), and she sings about Du Liniang. Du Liniang is a girl who died in love. The imprint of this kind of role can easily attract the souls of women with similar deep obsessions. Zhao Xiaolian is the beginning."

Chen Mo was silent for a moment, then asked, "How do we solve this?"

"Finish Liu Fengchun's three things as soon as possible to completely stabilize the mark, or..." Di Ling hesitated for a moment, "or go see Grandma Wang, she knows some ways to resolve karmic debts."

"Let's get the rouge first," Chen Mo stood up. "We'll talk about the rest later."

He needs to gather three things as soon as possible to complete the task in the Book of Obsessions. Although Liu Fengchun has disappeared, the records in the Book of Obsessions have not been updated, which means that the task is not truly over yet.

There are only three days left until July 15th.

2:30 p.m., Chengnan Cultural and Creative Park.

This place was originally an old textile factory from the 1980s, which was later transformed into a cultural and creative park. The red brick factory buildings were preserved, with ivy climbing all over the exterior walls, and the interiors were transformed into independent studios, galleries and small shops.

Building 17 in Zone B is located at the deepest part of the park. It is a standalone two-story building with a wooden sign hanging at the entrance. The sign reads "Yun Xiang Yi Chang" in running script, and below it in smaller characters, "Gu Feng Zhuang Zao · Clothing Customization".

Chen Mo pushed open the door and entered. The first floor was a studio and exhibition hall. The space had a high ceiling and was well-lit. More than a dozen sets of exquisite Hanfu and cheongsams were hanging on the wall, and various jewelry, hairpins and embroidered shoes were displayed in the glass display cases.

At the very back was a huge dressing table, covered with makeup boxes and jewelry cases. A woman in a beige linen dress was facing away from the door, adjusting a kingfisher feather headdress.

She turned around when she heard the doorbell.

Su Wenjuan looked to be in her early forties, with delicate features and a gentle temperament. She wore thin-rimmed glasses and her long hair was loosely tied back.

Seeing Chen Mo and Liu Xiaoyu, she smiled slightly, "Welcome, did you make a reservation?"

"We didn't make an appointment," Chen Mo said, taking a few steps closer. "We were introduced by Mr. Zhou Wenyuan."

Upon hearing the name Zhou Wenyuan, Su Wenjuan's smile faded slightly.

She removed her crown, took off her glasses to wipe them, and put them back on before saying, "Did he send you to pick up something?"

"Yes, a box of rouge."

Su Wenjuan didn't answer immediately, but carefully examined Chen Mo, her gaze finally landing on the back of his right hand, where the traces of theatrical makeup gleamed softly in the indoor light.

"Have you seen... anything unclean recently?" she suddenly asked.

Chen Mo didn't deny it, "You could say that."

"And that thing touched you."

Su Wenjuan took out a palm-sized sandalwood box from under the dressing table, opened it, and picked out a dark purple one from the various small porcelain jars inside, handing it to Chen Mo.

"Apply this to the mark once in the morning and once in the evening for seven consecutive days. This will temporarily prevent the leakage of yin energy and also prevent attracting more evil spirits."

Chen Mo took the small jar, opened it, and smelled it. It smelled of mint mixed with mugwort, with a very faint fishy smell mixed in.

"What is this?"

Su Wenjuan turned and walked towards the stairs.

"Cinnabar, mugwort ash, realgar powder, and some recipes passed down from my grandmother. The rouge is upstairs. Come with me."

The second floor served as her living area and storage room.