Whenever they passed through a place, Xu Qi An would inquire about strange occurrences from well-informed locals… Besides Dragon Qi detection methods, he considered this quite effective.
Dragon Qi hosts were all attention-seeking troublemakers, compulsive show-offs in public. They would stir up trouble in their respective domains, always stealing the spotlight.
However, based on the Dragon Qi’s concentration, the disturbances they caused varied—some Dragon Qi could shake an entire city, while other hosts could only become the most dazzling figure in their street.
Moreover, in these chaotic times, no place was peaceful, and there were bound to be plenty of bizarre incidents.
Li Ling Su smiled and said: “Tell us, what interesting things have happened?”
Miao You Fang held his chopsticks in his mouth and casually added:
“In jianghu customs, demons and monsters causing trouble are called ‘strange occurrences’; bandits and thieves committing robbery are ‘disasters’; when gentry and officials ravish good women and oppress the common folk, that’s called ‘inhuman acts.’
“Senior, you’re asking about the first type…”
Xu Qi An asked in surprise: “There are such distinctions?”
He then glanced at Li Ling Su, who also looked surprised, indicating it was his first time hearing this.
Seeing this, Miao You Fang immediately perked up, finding a sense of superiority, and said while shaking his head:
“You’re both high-ranking figures, naturally unfamiliar with the sayings and customs of the lower jianghu.”
After he spoke, he saw Mu Nan Zhi shrink closer to Xu Qi An, her expression somewhat fearful.
Xu Qi An had just asked if there were any “strange occurrences.”
The waiter’s response: Yes!
This meant several incidents involving demons and monsters had occurred in this small county recently.
Mu Nan Zhi feared these supernatural things the most. Even with a Transcendent Realm martial artist beside her, she couldn’t feel secure.
Under the silent gaze of the guests, the waiter first glanced at the entrance, and seeing no new customers entering, sat down beside Miao You Fang and said:
“This started about a month ago. There was a man in the county named Li Gui whose wife died.
“Death is common enough, nothing unusual, but who would have thought, on the seventh night after her death, Li Gui heard someone knocking at night. Half-asleep, he asked who it was.
“The person outside said it was his wife, wanting to come home to sleep, and demanded to know why he’d locked the door.
“Li Gui wasn’t thinking clearly and got up to open the door, but when he reached it, he suddenly remembered his wife was dead—how could she return?
“He was terrified and fled back to bed, hiding under the covers, not daring to peek out.
“Li Gui’s wife kept knocking outside, demanding to know why he wouldn’t open the door, repeating just this one question over and over.
“It continued until dawn when the rooster crowed, only then did the knocking outside stop.”
Mu Nan Zhi slowly shuddered, imagining herself alone at night, then a man knocking, claiming to be Xu Qi An who had died seven days ago…
Her face immediately paled.
Xu Qi An, unaware he’d become a deceased husband in Mu Nan Zhi’s imagination, asked:
“What happened next?”
The waiter continued:
“The next day, Li Gui reported it to the authorities, but they thought he was lying and gave him a beating with the board before driving him away. The following night, Li Gui’s wife returned to knock again.
“This time, after knocking for a while with no response, she pressed against the window looking inside, staying there the entire night…”
Mu Nan Zhi was so frightened she froze, nearly suffocating the little white fox in her arms as it kicked its legs frantically.
Miao You Fang listened with great interest and questioned:
“How do you know she looked through the window all night? Why do you know such details?”
The waiter chuckled “Hehe” and said:
“The story’s not finished yet. After the rooster crowed, Li Gui’s wife left. After being scared for two days straight, Li Gui felt he couldn’t go on like this. Anger rose in his heart and courage grew from desperation, so…”
Miao You Fang interrupted: “So he reported to the authorities again?”
The waiter was suddenly speechless, licked his lips, and showed an awkward but polite smile:
“The guest jokes—reporting to authorities hardly requires desperate courage…”
After a pause, the waiter’s expression turned serious, his voice lowering: “He gathered friends and went to dig up the grave.”
Mu Nan Zhi lowered her voice: “Was the corpse missing?”
The waiter shook his head:
“Not at all. Li Gui and his relatives dug up his wife’s grave and found her lying properly in the coffin. The body had started to decompose slightly.
“Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, scolding Li Gui for speaking nonsense, saying the official beating wasn’t unjustified. After all, the corpse was still in the coffin—could she have lifted the coffin lid herself at night to scare people, then buried herself again before dawn?”
Hearing it wasn’t supernatural activity, Mu Nan Zhi lost her fear and threw a punch in the air:
“This Li Gui is unfilial, exploiting his deceased wife.” (Note 1)
The waiter’s expression grew solemn as he shook his head:
“Young lady, please be patient and let me finish.
“Faced with everyone’s doubts and what they saw before them, Li Gui began to wonder if his experiences these past two days were just his imagination.
“But being certain of what he’d seen and heard, he carefully examined his wife’s corpse. Guess what he discovered?”
This waiter had quite a talent for storytelling, knowing how to create suspense and intrigue. With his animated expressions and gestures, Xu Qi An thought that if he wasn’t so used to getting things for free, he might have tossed him some reward money by now.
“What did he discover?”
The little white fox’s childish voice came from within Mu Nan Zhi’s bosom.
The waiter looked around confused: “Who’s speaking?”
As his gaze was about to fall on the princess’s full, swelling chest, Xu Qi An pressed his palm against his face, turning it away, saying flatly:
“Continue your story.”
Meanwhile, Mu Nan Zhi took the opportunity to pinch the little white fox’s bottom, warning the little one not to interrupt.
Otherwise, the small county would have another “strange occurrence” today.
The waiter responded obsequiously and continued:
“Li Gui discovered his wife’s shoes were covered in mud.
“Think about it—how could a corpse lying in a coffin get mud on its shoes? Unless…”
He said eerily: “The corpse could walk by itself.”
Mu Nan Zhi lowered her head to drink tea, hiding her inner fear.
If I were to tell you “The Village Teacher” tonight, wouldn’t you be so scared you’d consummate our marriage today… Xu Qi’an thought to himself.
By this point, both Li Ling Su and Miao You Fang had concluded the waiter’s story contained exaggerations.
It wasn’t even half true—more like nine parts false and one part true.
Seeing the guests’ disbelieving expressions, the waiter confidently made a “heh” sound:
“Do the honored guests not believe?
“Many outsiders don’t believe at first, but later, they all do.”
The experienced jianghu wanderer Miao You Fang raised an eyebrow: “Oh? There’s more?”
The waiter tapped his finger on the table, like a storyteller with his ruler, and said:
“After Li Gui pointed out his suspicions, his relatives and friends became frightened too, hastily reburied the grave, and fled home. Soon, the story spread through the county.
“Then, an old woman claiming to be a spirit medium approached Li Gui, telling him his wife couldn’t rest in peace because she had offended the temple deity.
“The spirit medium said Li Gui’s wife had been disrespectful to the temple deity in life, which led to her misfortune, and even in death she must suffer, never achieving salvation. Moreover, the curse would affect her family.
“Hearing this, Li Gui suddenly remembered something his wife had done while alive.
“When she was still living, she once visited her maiden home, and on her return to the city, she encountered heavy rain and took shelter in the City God Temple.
“The temple had long been abandoned, and Li Gui’s wife, being wet from the rain, burned a ‘wooden ghost’ statue from the temple as firewood to keep warm.
“After that, Li Gui’s wife’s health deteriorated steadily. When bedridden, she would wake from nightmares every night, saying she saw little ghosts coming to take her soul. Li Gui dismissed it as delirious dreaming.”
The waiter continued eloquently:
“Only then did Li Gui realize his wife had offended the temple deity. Frightened, he asked the spirit medium what to do.
“The spirit medium told him to remake the statue and burn incense as offerings for three days to break the curse. Li Gui spent all his savings to recreate the statue and even renovated the City God Temple.
“After that, his wife never came to find him again.
“Now the City God Temple is quite lively, with people offering incense daily. They say it’s very effective—whatever you pray for, you receive. And those who disrespect the temple deity are all punished.”
Li Ling Su smiled: “How effective is it?”
The waiter looked around and lowered his voice:
“As it happens, I know of one case. Mr. Zheng, who runs a rouge shop on Guanghua Street, is a devout believer. When another rouge shop opened across from his and took away his business, he went to the City God Temple to offer incense and cursed the rival shop owner to die horribly.
“That very night, the rival shop owner hanged himself at home.”
Miao You Fang’s thick eyebrows immediately rose.
Li Ling Su maintained his composure and smiled: “How do you know this? Did Mr. Zheng tell you himself?”
“He did!”
The waiter’s voice grew even lower: “Mr. Zheng got drunk here a few days ago and let it slip while intoxicated.”
Li Ling Su frowned, his smile fading: “Then why didn’t you report it to the authorities?”
The waiter asked strangely: “Why should I report it? Never mind whether the authorities would care, what’s it to me? If I offend the temple deity, my little life wouldn’t be safe.”
At this point, Xu Qi An knocked on the table and said flatly:
“Alright, go serve the dishes.”
“Right away!”
The waiter, having satisfied his storytelling urge, left contentedly.
After his figure disappeared inside the hall, Xu Qi An pondered:
“This doesn’t sound like something a Dragon Qi host would do.”
It was very bizarre and fantastic.
Li Ling Su asked: “Should we get involved?”
Before Xu Qi An could express his opinion, Miao You Fang jumped in:
“Of course we should. Murder demands a life for a life. After we eat, let’s go check out the City God Temple. Besides, this great master wants to see just what kind of deity this temple god is.”
Xu Qi An nodded and looked at the Holy Son: “What do you think about Li Gui’s experience?”
Li Ling Su knew what he was asking:
“It couldn’t be a wronged soul causing trouble. Mortal souls are weak, confused before the seventh day, and dissipate after—unless someone skilled in Dao techniques has refined the soul.
“But the waiter just said it was the corpse causing trouble. I think it’s corpse-controlling techniques. Should we dig up the grave and examine the corpse?”
After speaking, Li Ling Su suddenly realized why Xu Qi An could make such a name for himself in the capital—because he liked to meddle in affairs.
Just like how Li Miao Zhen could become the Flying Swallow Heroine.
In comparison, Brother Yang wasn’t as persistent in this regard.
Xu Qi An smiled: “What’s the purpose? All this effort just to rebuild the City God Temple?”
Li Ling Su appeared thoughtful.
After finishing their meal, they asked the waiter for directions to the City God Temple, and Xu Qi An’s group left the small county.