Cheng Xiaoxiao loved how observant Chu Yunshen was. She leaned against Chu Yunshen like a queen leaning against a chaise armchair as though he were her boy toy.

She looked so smug and annoying that even the baby bird could not stand looking at her and went back to its cage voluntarily without casting an eye.

Cheng Xiaoxiao recalled the vow she had made earlier and promptly spat three times in regret.

Ptooey ptooey ptooey!

Oh god! She didn’t mean it, she was never going to do it!

If she had to serve Chu Yunshen like a maid, she would rather never take human form again.

Cheng Xiaoxiao dozed off as she thought about the case and was very laid back.

In comparison, Xiaowu was unable to lead such a carefree life.

Xiaowu put on some worn-out garments and disguised himself before leaving Prince Jing’s residence.

His youthful round face was transformed into a square one. He also put on bushy eyebrows resembling caterpillars, a garlic-shaped nose, and thick lips.

However, his eyes remained bright and sharp.

If Cheng Xiaoxiao caught sight of his disguise, she would probably laugh about it for several days in a row.

Xiaowu wanted to visit the man in charge of the unmarked burial site. Since so many of his subordinates had gone missing, he must know what was going on.

“Madam, do you know where Li Genfa lives?”

Xiaowu even changed his voice and made it sound deep and husky.

“Li Genfa? I don’t know him. I need to go sell vegetables, so let me go!”

The middle-aged lady was startled when a coarse-looking man suddenly accosted her. She wrested herself free of Xiaowu as though she had seen a ghost.

Was he that scary?

Xiaowu touched his fake beard and felt at a loss.

“Excuse me, do you know where I can find Li Genfa?”

The people who reported the cases had given him the location. However, Xiaowu was unable to find the exact residence after reaching the alley. He could only stop and ask passersby.

“Why are you looking for Li Genfa? You shouldn’t go there. You will die… Hahahaha…”

He had asked a clean-looking young married woman about the location, but she talked funny and sounded insane.

Xiaowu was caught by surprise when the lady gave out a strange laugh. He stood where he was as he touched his nose and did not know what to do.

“Are you looking for Uncle Gen?” A voice suddenly came from under a worn-out blanket at the corner of the street.

“I’m talking to you. Are you looking for Uncle Gen?”

The man explained when he noticed Xiaowu didn’t answer him, “Uncle Gen is Li Genfa, but everyone calls him Uncle Gen.”

“I see. Yes, I’m looking for Uncle Gen. Do you know where I can find him?”

Xiaowu felt curious about the man who suddenly talked to him. He seemed to sense something amiss when he first walked over here.

First, the middle-aged lady did not want to talk about Uncle Gen. Then he encountered a crazy-looking married woman. Finally, he encountered a mysterious passerby who offered to help.

Something was off about the place.

“Uncle Gen lives on this street. Turn at the corner and walk all the way in. He lives right at the end. His entrance is plastered with talismans with a monster revealing mirror hanging at the door. You can’t miss it.”

It sounded pretty close to him.

“Thank you. About that lady earlier…” Xiaowu asked the man lying under the old blanket quizzically.

“Her husband went missing and she went mad ever since.”

“I suggest you mind your own business and stop asking if you want to live for as long as you can.”

After he told Xiaowu not to be nosey, he refused to speak further.

No matter how Xiaowu asked, there was complete silence from the blanket.

It was so quiet that it felt as though there were no one there. However, the faint sound of breathing coming from under the blanket was proof that the man was lying there.

There was undoubtedly something strange about the place.

Since Xiaowu was incapable of squeezing any more intel out of him, he headed into the alley like the man suggested.

Xiaowu could faintly hear the man sighing from under the blanket when Xiaowu walked past him.

The man was simply strange.

The closer Xiaowu got, the warier he became.

He quickly reached a brick wall at the end of the alley.

On the right side of the alley, there was an inconspicuous door.

The door seemed to have gotten a high-quality red paint job many years before. Since it happened a long time ago, the red paint had turned dark and resembled the color of dried blood from a distance.

An old eight trigrams mirror hung over the door just like the man said.

The mirror had been hanging there for years, so its pattern was so worn out that its markings were completely unintelligible.

The protruding part of the mirror was well polished. Even though there was no light shining on it, it was giving off a faint unusual glow.

The messy talismans stuck on the door seemed absolutely bizarre.

Even though they seemed to be in utter chaos, some manner of order was discernable.

Some of the talismans were so old that they were covered with creases. It seemed as though they would fall apart the moment a gentle breeze blew.

There were also recently placed talismans stuck neatly on the door.

Strangely, no matter how old the talismans were, the writing on them remained as good as new and was piercingly red.

He was unsure of the ink that was used on the talismans, but they seemed to last forever.

Just standing at the door, Xiaowu could sense an eerie supernatural aura coming from inside.

This place must be located in an unlit area.

Not a ray of sunlight could get into the place.

Xiaowu’s hand hovered in mid-air for a long time before he finally decided to avoid the talismans when he knocked on the door resoundingly.

KNOCK KNOCK! KNOCK KNOCK!

The dull sound of the doorhandle echoed throughout the alley and sent chills down his back.

Xiaowu waited for a long time, but no one answered the door.

Other than his even breathing, only the sound of the knocking could be heard.

Xiaowu was bored of waiting, so he instinctively reached out for a talisman on the door to pull it off and examined it.

The moment his hand nearly touched the talisman, the door swung open with a creak.

Since the door was old and unmaintained, it gave off a sharp creak when it opened. Xiaowu was so startled that he let go of the talisman.

A wizened old man appeared from behind the door. His face was etched with wrinkles, and the man seemed to have suffered a lot in life.

He looked at Xiaowu with his murky eyes intently.

His hook nose stood out a lot and made him look even more creepy.

“Erm… Are you Li Genfa?”

Xiaowu couldn’t help feeling awkward when Li Genfa caught him red-handed when he attempted to take a talisman.

Even though his martial arts couldn’t compare to Chu Yunshen, he was a master in comparison to commoners.

How could the old man walk up to the door undetected by Xiaowu when he came over to open it?

Were his martial arts better than Xiaowu’s?

Impossible!

Xiaowu couldn’t detect any sign of internal energy coming from this old man and even his breathing felt completely normal.

This could mean only one thing…

The man had been standing at the door all along!

What was he doing there? Was he observing Xiaowu?

Why was the man expecting him? How did he know what time Xiaowu would show up?

Without even entering the house to ask about Li Genfa, Xiaowu sensed something was up with the place.

Just looking at the place made his hair stand.

“That’s me. Come on in.”

Uncle Gen interrupted Xiaowu’s thoughts as he gave way for Xiaowu to enter the compound.

Xiaowu finally got a close look at the house’s interior. The inside of the compound was completely dark just like it was at the door. Also, talismans were plastered all over the wall densely.

There were even talismans stuck on the windows, but they were even messier than the ones at the door.

“I fell asleep earlier. What brings you here?”

Uncle Gen walked up to Xiaowu slowly with his back hunched. He led him into the yard and wanted to bring him into the completely residence.

“It’s okay. I just need to ask you something.”

Xiaowu looked at the half-open door and was unable to see inside.

The door seemed like some kind of demon ready to devour any unwelcome guest.

“If you want a job, come at midnight.”

Uncle Gen didn’t insist for Xiaowu to enter and they simply stood on the steps in front of the house as he spoke to Xiaowu.

Xiaowu was caught by surprise when Li Genfa seemed accustomed to people’s refusal to enter his home. “Are you severely understaffed?”

The moment Uncle Gen heard what Xiaowu said, he looked dead straight at Xiaowu and scrutinized him. “You aren’t here looking for a job.”

Xiaowu felt annoyed at giving himself away when he heard the certainty in Li Genfa’s voice. He didn’t expect his cover to be blown so quickly.

He had given himself away since news of the missing unmarked burial ground workers had yet to go public.

Xiaowu knew it was impossible to question Uncle Gen now, so he smiled and ingratiated himself to Uncle Gen.

“Sigh! I am desperate for a job and was worried you might not want to take me.”

Xiaowu retrieved a string of copper coins from his chest and handed it to Uncle Gen.

Uncle Gen held the copper coins before his eyes disbelievingly with his scrawny hands and counted them swiftly before he said slowly.

“Don’t be a busy body and just show up on time.”

Xiaowu watched as Uncle Gen put the coins away into his chest before Uncle Gen drove him away.

“Come at midnight and don’t be late!”

Uncle Gen reminded him one final time as he shoved Xiaowu out the door.

The door gave off a piercing screech as it swung shut quickly.

Xiaowu stood in a daze in the alley with the sun shining brightly overhead. He finally noticed something amiss.

There were no trees in the alley, so the rest of the place was brightly lit under the sun. Why could no light reach Li Genfa’s residence?

Xiaowu keenly remembered not seeing any trees in Uncle Gen’s residence. The more Xiaowu thought about it, the stranger his residence seemed.

Xiaowu did his utmost to recall how he came to meet Uncle Gen earlier and was worried he might miss any important detail.

No matter how he went through the events in his head, he was unable to figure it out.

Xiaowu knew he could not get anxious about it. He could only wait to find out more at midnight when he came.

After he left the alley, he saw the old blanket lying in the corner looking like exactly like how he left it.

“Did you manage to find Uncle Gen?” The man’s voice suddenly came.

“Uh huh. Thanks a lot.”

Since the man voluntarily spoke to Xiaowu, Xiaowu made small talk in the hope he could dig more out of him.

However, the man under the blanket refused to help and went quiet after asking Xiaowu about his trip.

Xiaowu half squatted beside the old blanket as a stench wafted from it and stopped asking, but he didn’t leave right away.

Since the man offered information, he must know something.

Xiaowu didn’t wait in vain and his voice finally came from under the blanket at sunset.