Twin female zombies come to the door: My lord, please have mercy!

It was 11 p.m., midnight, on Linjiang Road.

This is an old street. Because it is backed by the river and is located in a low-lying area, it is often dark and rarely sees sunlight. Most of the buildings on both sides are old houses left over from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.

Lin Ye, carrying a black umbrella, got out of the taxi with Leng Yue and Shuang Xing.

As soon as I got off the bus, I saw Fatty Wang holding an umbrella, accompanying a pale-faced young man with sunken eyes, anxiously looking around under the streetlights.

The young man was none other than Qin Shao, a well-known rich second-generation in Jiangzhou.

He was wrapped in a thick down jacket, shivering in the autumn rain where the temperature was in the teens, and his lips were turning purple.

Beside Qin Shao stood a middle-aged Taoist priest wearing a yellow robe and sporting a mustache.

The Taoist priest held a whisk in his hand and carried a wooden sword on his back. He looked down at Lin Ye and his two companions as they approached.

"Ye Zi! You've finally arrived!" Fatty Wang quickly came to greet him.

Qin Shao, as if grasping at a straw, walked over tremblingly:

"Brother Lin, Master Lin! Fatty said you're really skilled. You absolutely have to save me tonight! Every time I close my eyes, I feel a wet woman crying on my back!"

Before Lin Ye could speak, the yellow-robed Taoist priest beside him suddenly let out a mocking sneer:

"Hehe, Young Master Qin, I've said it before: this kind of dangerous task of catching ghosts and exorcising demons is not something that just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can take on."

"If you had invited some enlightened master, that would be one thing, but look at this young man, so delicate and frail, with weak yang energy. He's out doing shady business, and he's even brought two young girls with him? What, does he think this is a comic convention, a place for cosplay?"

The Taoist's gaze swept over Leng Yue, who was wrapped tightly in a trench coat, and Shuang Xing, who was wearing a raincoat.

A hint of undisguised contempt and greed flashed in his eyes.

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, a chilling killing intent flashed in Leng Yue's eyes.

The raindrops within a ten-meter radius seemed to freeze instantly.

Lin Ye quickly squeezed Leng Yue's cold hand under his trench coat, signaling her not to act impulsively.

"May I ask your name, sir?"

Lin Ye looked at the yellow-robed Taoist with a half-smile.

The Taoist priest flicked his whisk, made a single-handed bow, raised his chin even higher, and uttered a series of professional martial arts slang terms:

"May you be blessed with boundless happiness. I am a Taoist priest of the Shangqing sect of Maoshan, number thirty-six in the altar, and my Taoist name is Xuanqing."

"May I ask, young fellow Daoist, on which mountain and under which incense burner did you receive your ordination?"

Xuan Qing used standard slang from the esoteric world of metaphysics when he spoke.

If a layperson were to hear this, they would only feel confused.

If you are knowledgeable, you must report your lineage according to the rules.

He was deliberately trying to find out Lin Ye's background and give him a warning.

Lin Ye's smile deepened. Although he was unaffiliated with any sect or faction, he still knew some slang under the old man's long-term influence.

He tilted the black umbrella in his hand slightly to shield himself from the falling rain, and retorted calmly and clearly:

"I don't worship the Three Pure Ones, nor do I respect any Buddhas. I have no sect or faction, and I run a small funeral parlor on Taiping Street. I cling to the feet of the Yin-Yang Immortal Master, and I eat the rice of the Yellow Springs. In my left hand I hold the Yin-Yang scales, and in my right hand I light the incense for guiding the way."

"Master, I'm afraid your Maoshan sect can't afford to offer you this incense burner."

Upon hearing this, Master Xuanqing's expression changed instantly.

The incision was perfectly placed, revealing not only his background as a "folk religious figure who makes a living off the dead."

That statement, "You can't afford the incense burner," was incredibly arrogant, directly putting him at a disadvantage in terms of seniority.

"You brat, how dare you be so arrogant! A mere folk funeral shop practitioner dares to spout nonsense in front of orthodox Maoshan magic!" Xuanqing was so angry that his beard trembled.

"Master, Brother Lin, please calm down!"

Seeing that things were going badly, Qin Shao quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"This old house is really eerie. I was just in case something went wrong, so I hired Master Xuanqing and Brother Lin as double insurance. If we can settle this tonight, each of us will get 500,000, not a penny less!"

Upon hearing the price of 500,000, Xuan Qing snorted coldly, ignored Lin Ye, and turned around to flick his sleeve.

"Very well, I will not stoop to the level of a junior. Young Master Qin, let's see how I break this evil spell."

As he spoke, Xuanqing strode toward the old house from the late Qing Dynasty, which had two tattered white lanterns hanging from it.

Lin Ye led Leng Yue and Shuang Xing by the hand, following behind.

Froststar, huddled inside her raincoat, whispered in Lin Ye's ear:

"My lord, that old Taoist priest is so disgusting. He has a strong body odor. I want to pull out his intestines and hang them on a street lamp."

"Good boy, you're not allowed to hang your intestines anywhere after the founding of the People's Republic of China. He'll get what's coming to him later."

Lin Ye gently comforted the sickly little girl.

As the group pushed open the heavy, rusty wooden door of the old house, a creaking sound that made their teeth ache came out, and a gust of cold wind carrying a strong musty and earthy smell rushed out.

The old house is a classic courtyard house with three entrances and three exits, but due to years of disrepair, the courtyard is overgrown with weeds that are half a person tall.

What's uncomfortable is the temperature in the yard.

Even though it was still over ten degrees Celsius outside, stepping into this courtyard felt like instantly falling into an ice cellar, with the breath turning into white mist.

Lin Ye took out the brass San Yuan Feng Shui compass from his bag, looked down at it, and immediately frowned.

In the center of the compass, within the celestial pool, the magnetic needle was spinning wildly and uncontrollably.

In Feng Shui, this is called "Tangzhen," a very ominous sign, indicating that the magnetic field of this place is completely disordered and there is a strong resentment at work.

Master Xuanqing also took out a compass, glanced at it, and said dismissively:

"It's just an ordinary 'gathering wind and energy' formation that has fallen into disrepair over the years and turned into a pool of yin energy. I will affix four talismans to suppress evil spirits here, and that will resolve the problem."

"A common Yin-gathering Pool?"

Lin Ye couldn't stand it anymore, so he sneered, pointed to the surrounding architectural layout, and switched to "professional mode."

"Master Xuanqing, yours is a Sanhe compass, which focuses on the terrain and water features. My compass is a Sanyuan compass, which focuses on the principles of Qi."

"Look at the orientation of this house. The main entrance faces northwest, which is the Qian position, also known as the Heavenly Gate. But behind this house, the water vapor from the river forms a water dragon that rushes straight towards the back door."

Lin Ye traced a line in the air with his finger and began to speak eloquently:

"It's clearly written in the 'Eight Mansions Mirror' that this is called 'Black Tortoise entering water, Yin energy flowing backward'!"

"Look at the newly built high-rises around it, they sandwich this old house right in the middle, forming a narrow funnel! The Azure Dragon is crouching low, the White Tiger is raising its head, and the evil energy is pouring into the heart of the hole! This is a classic ominous formation of a White Tiger carrying a corpse!"

Lin Ye's string of professional metaphysical terms left both Fatty Wang and Young Master Qin completely bewildered.

Even Master Xuanqing's expression turned extremely ugly.

Because he knew in his heart that Lin Ye's words were absolutely true, and the terrain was indeed extremely dangerous.

"Nonsense!"

Xuan Qing forced himself to maintain his dignity; he wouldn't allow a folk religious sect to ride roughshod over him.

"Since you're talking so fiercely, then tell me, where is the evil spirit?"

Lin Ye ignored him and fixed his gaze on the center of the second courtyard.

There, there is an ancient well made of blue bricks, half of which has been covered by withered grass.

The soil around the well had been turned over, and it was clear that the bloodstained piece of rotten wood that Qin Shao's construction team had dug out came from this well.

"The evil spirit is right there," Lin Ye said, pointing to the ancient well.