Xu Qi An rode on horseback, while the old broker drove the carriage containing Madam Xu, Xu Lingyue, and an excited Xu Lingyin, who kept poking her head out the window. Since Big Brother was accompanying them, they didn’t bring any maids or servants, as too many people would be inconvenient.

Along the way, Xu Qi An bought some snacks for Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin. He called through the carriage window, “Aunt, would you like some?”

Madam Xu declined.

When they arrived at the mansion and got out of the carriage, Xu Qi An noticed his aunt wiping the corner of her mouth.

“The location is not bad, not far from the bustling areas, and there’s a river nearby…” Madam Xu commented approvingly as she stood at the entrance of the mansion. Then she frowned, “But it looks a bit run-down.”

Of course, it’s run-down, it’s a haunted house… Xu Qi An thought to himself as he gestured for the old broker to open the door.

Madam Xu led her two daughters into the mansion. They were greeted by a scene of desolation and decay, clearly abandoned for many years without maintenance.

She frowned, “Is this it?”

“This mansion has been uninhabited for many years, not even rented out. The real estate agency thought 4,000 taels would be a good selling price. It’s just that the owner refuses to sell…” the old broker explained.

4,000 taels? Madam Xu narrowed her eyes and asked casually, “How much is the asking price for this mansion?”

“5,000 taels,” the old broker replied.

Madam Xu said nothing and began touring the mansion with her daughters, finding fault with everything they saw. The experienced old broker maintained his composure, unfazed by their criticisms.

Seeing the beautiful mature woman and the ethereally lovely young girl heading towards the inner courtyard, the old broker was startled and quickly looked at Xu Qi An.

“It’s fine,” Xu Qi An said.

It should be okay during the daytime… the old broker thought, his gaze lingering on the swaying, enticing posterior of the mature beauty.

“Sir, do you want to buy this mansion?” he asked.

“Mm-hmm,” Xu Qi An affirmed.

You’re not afraid of death, are you? The old broker had done his duty to warn them and didn’t press further. He asked, “These two ladies are…?”

Xu Qi An teased, “What do you think?”

This question silenced the old broker, leaving him somewhat perplexed. Mother and sisters? No, she’s not that young. Besides, there’s no sign of maternal affection between them.

Husband and wife? Hmm, that young lady might be this gentleman’s wife, and the mature beauty could be his mother-in-law… But what about the yellow-dressed young lady from yesterday?

Despite his sharp eye, the old broker couldn’t figure out their relationship.

“The older one is my aunt, and the two younger ones are my sisters,” Xu Qi An explained. Seeing the surprised look on the old broker’s face, he smiled, “What’s wrong?”

The old broker shook his head, thinking to himself that he had never seen someone bring their aunt and sisters to buy a mansion.

Because an aunt would surely be the wife of an uncle, a clan member rather than immediate family. He had never seen anyone bring an aunt and cousin to view a house.

…

Although Madam Xu was verbally critical, disparaging the mansion as worthless, she was quite satisfied. While both were large residences with three courtyards, this one was considerably larger than their house in the outer city, with a vastly different layout.

The layout of the Xu family house was that of commoners, not comparable to the grandeur and sophistication of this place. If one had to differentiate, it would be like comparing a rural homestead to a high-end urban villa.

Although both were multi-story standalone buildings, they were in different leagues.

After a thorough hour-long inspection of the entire mansion, both Madam Xu and Xu Lingyue were excited, with the latter secretly deciding on her room.

Madam Xu probed, “For this location, 5,000 taels seems too cheap, doesn’t it?”

She had been nitpicking to negotiate the price down, but after the tour, she suddenly realized that 5,000 taels were suspiciously low. The clever Madam Xu sensed something was amiss.

Xu Qi An pointed to the well not far away: “There have been ghost sightings in that well. Yes, real ghosts. Miss Caiwei and I have verified it.”

Two screams rang out as Xu Lingyue and Madam Xu retreated behind Xu Qi An, with the former tightly grasping her big brother’s sleeve.

Ghosts?

Xu Lingyin was also scared. She ran on her short legs to hide between her big brother’s legs, then looked at the well, simultaneously afraid and swallowing hard.

Madam Xu’s beautiful face turned pale, not wanting to stay a moment longer: “We’re not buying it. Let’s go back.”

She took her daughters’ hands and hurried out of the mansion, her figure swaying due to her quick pace.

The old broker looked at Xu Qi An with a worried expression: “Are you toying with me, sir?”

Xu Qi An waved his hand: “Stop talking nonsense. Go to the agency and pay the deposit.”

He didn’t mention that he had already dealt with the female ghost, fearing the agency might raise the price. Until the property deed was in hand, this was still a haunted house.

The carriage stopped outside the agency, with Madam Xu and the two sisters inside. Hearing that Xu Qi An had gone to pay the deposit, Madam Xu became angry.

“I won’t live there. Let him live in the haunted house alone. The little rascal just doesn’t want us three to benefit,” Madam Xu said angrily.

“Big Brother isn’t that kind of person,” Xu Lingyue tugged at her mother’s arm.

Just then, Xu Qi An came out and jumped into the driver’s seat. He lifted the curtain and poked his head in: “It’s almost noon. Shall we go to Guiyue Tower for lunch?”

Madam Xu turned her face away.

Xu Qi An explained, “The female ghost in the mansion has already been dealt with. If you don’t believe me, surely you’ll believe the Imperial Observatory’s sorcerers?”

Xu Lingyue nodded with a smile.

Madam Xu looked at Xu Qi An, uncertain but curious: “Really?”

“Why would I lie to you, Aunt?”

They drove to Guiyue Tower and got a private room. Xu Qi An took out his jade mirror and sent a message: [Number Two, I remember you mentioned investigating the masterminds behind the bandit problem in Yun Province.]

After sending the message, he placed the mirror face down on the table and lowered his head to eat. After a moment, a notification came.

[Two: Yes, during the bandit suppression, I discovered that various strongholds had stockpiled a lot of military supplies. These aren’t things mountain bandits could obtain. I suspect there’s a force supporting them behind the scenes.]

Xu Qi An nodded slightly. The so-called military supplies included equipment, machinery, and other resources.

This topic piqued Number Four’s interest. As a former official of the Great Feng Dynasty, he was concerned about the country’s situation.

[Four: You could try investigating the local government in Yun Province. Oh, I remember there’s a prince in Yun Province.]

[Two: Prince Gui is just a figurehead without real power. I’ve investigated him, and there’s no problem.]

[Three: How did you investigate?]

[Two: By having people monitor the prince’s mansion, of course.]

…You call that an investigation? How crude. Xu Qi An inwardly criticized, then sent a message: [I know who’s behind the bandit problem in Yun Province.]

“???”

A series of question marks flashed through the minds of Numbers Two and Four.

How did Number Three get this information? Why does Number Three always have so much intel? News from the capital is one thing, as it’s his “territory,” but Yun Province has nothing to do with him.

I’ve been investigating for so long without any leads, how could he possibly know who’s supporting the bandits in Yun Province… Number Two knew Number Three’s character well and believed him to be a man of high moral standing. Without questioning, he sent a serious message:

[Two: What’s going on? Well, Number Three, if you tell me the inside information, I’ll owe you a favor.]

[Three: Heh, no need. I admire your character, so this information is free.]

When feelings aren’t deep, transactions are necessary to avoid freeloading. As relationships grow closer, feelings should be developed, reducing the need for transactions between parties.

Free information is the most expensive because what replaces the transaction is emotion. As the friendship deepens, freeloading naturally occurs… No, how can it be called freeloading between friends? It’s mutual assistance.

This time, Number Two is getting his information for free, so tomorrow he can get something from Number Two for free.

[Three: It’s the Witch Cult from the Northeast. The Witch Cult is the force behind the bandit problem in Yun Province. Well, this information might not be accurate, Number Two. Take it as a reference.]

Even if the Witch Cult wasn’t directly behind the Yun Province bandit problem, they were likely involved. Xu Qi An shared this information with Number Two intending for him to investigate further.

The Witch Cult is behind the Yun Province bandit problem? Number Two stared at the text message in the jade mirror for a long time before responding: [How do you know this? From what source? I’m not trying to test you, I just want to know how reliable the information is.]

[Three: No worries. Last night, the night watchmen discovered a Witch Cult base in the capital. They have close ties with the Minister of Works…]

He briefly explained the situation, not going into too much detail since his identity was that of a Cloud Deer Academy student, not a night watchman involved in the case. He emphasized that the Minister of Works was providing the Witch Cult with cannons, machinery, and other military supplies.

I see, I see… Number Two clenched his fist excitedly and sent a message: [This information is very important to me. It confirms a previous suspicion of mine. Thank you. I suddenly regret that Golden Lotus Taoist didn’t bring you into the Heaven and Earth Society earlier.]

[Nine: Let’s stick to business and not bring personal matters into this.]

After a pause, Golden Lotus Taoist sent another message: [Nine: But the Witch Cult secretly supporting the Yun Province bandits doesn’t make much sense to them, does it?]

[Four: Indeed. Yun Province is in the southeast, while the Witch Cult’s territory is in the northeast, thousands of miles apart.]

Whether for military alliance or trade, it doesn’t seem practical.

This is also my confusion… Xu Qi An sent a message: [Number Two, you could try investigating. I believe with your abilities, you’ll get to the bottom of this.]

At this point, Number One, who liked to lurk, chimed in [The matter of the Minister of Works reminds me of a detail from the Sangbo case.

[The gunpowder was secretly buried in the Yongzhen Mountain River Temple by the former Minister of Rites through Zhou, the Hundred-Household, taking advantage of his duty to arrange the ancestral worship ceremony. But who lit the fire?]

[Two: The Imperial Guard?]

[Three: Not the Imperial Guard. If it were them, the night watchmen would have found out by now. All those on patrol that night were sacrificed, and those not on patrol have alibis… Besides, the Minister of Rites couldn’t command the Imperial Guard.]

[Two: Why not?]

[One: That’s a state secret.]

What state secret? Isn’t it just that Emperor Yuanjing has the Imperial Observatory’s sorcerers perform a heart-probing on the Imperial Guard every month… Xu Qi An inwardly scoffed.

A thought struck him, and suddenly some clues connected, like unblocking energy meridians: [Is Number One suggesting that the Witch Cult’s people ignited the explosives in the Yongzhen Mountain River Temple?]

[One: Mm-hmm.]

[Nine: It must have been paper dolls.]

[One: Taoist, you seem quite certain?]

[Nine: Heh, the paper doll puppetry technique originated from Taoism, so of course I’m clear about it. Paper dolls have low abilities, are just slightly stronger than insects, and can evade detection by martial artists. Infiltrating the Yongzhen Mountain River Temple silently wouldn’t be difficult. But paper dolls can serve as a medium to ignite gunpowder.]

[One: So, in the Sangbo case, not only were demons involved, but also the Witch Cult. Then surely the Qi faction must know about this?]

[Three: That doesn’t seem right. The Qi faction and the Witch Cult are just cooperating, not in a hierarchical relationship. The Witch Cult wouldn’t tell the Qi faction everything.]

[One: But one thing can be confirmed: the Witch Cult has ties with the demon race.]

The demons destroyed Sangbo for the sealed object, so what was the Witch Cult’s purpose? It probably wasn’t for Monk Shenshu’s severed hand, otherwise, there would be a conflict of interest, and the two sides would have fought… As Xu Qi An was thinking, he reached out with his chopsticks to get some food but found the dishes empty.

The not-so-plentiful dishes had already been finished by the mother and daughters, with the little one eating with a rosy-cheeked satisfaction.

“…Just like Chu Caiwei,” Xu Qi An grumbled, calling the waiter to order more dishes.

After finishing their meal and leaving Guiyue Tower, Madam Xu, and Lingyue got into the carriage first. Xu Lingyin spotted a malt candy seller across the street and tugged at her big brother’s pants leg, pitifully asking him to buy her some.

Xu Qi An took her to buy the candy, his words harsh but his heart soft, warning her: “Malt candy is too hard. Be careful not to chip your teeth.”

The little one, an expert in the realm of food, was not intimidated: “It’s okay, I’ll eat it from hard to soft.”

Hearing this, Xu Qi An laughed: “If you’re so capable, try eating it from soft to hard.”

The little one conceded: “I don’t have that much ability… Can Big Brother do it?”

“Big Brother can’t do it either, but a mischievous little imp might be able to eat the malt candy from soft to hard, then from hard to soft again.”

“A mischievous imp? Can Sister and Mother do it?”

“I refuse to answer that question.”

“Why, Big Brother?” Xu Lingyin blinked her innocent big eyes.

“Don’t ask why. Lingyin, why do you always force your Big Brother to drive?”