Yin and Yang - Chapter 7

Yin Zheng glanced at Shen Qingwei but remained silent. Hu Shengsheng, oblivious to the tension, stood up and announced, “It’s dawn.”

Sunlight streamed into the room, revealing a scene starkly different from the night before. The homeowner had stubbornly insisted on staying here after the tragedy, declaring it his home. Even after his wife and child were gone, he vowed to never leave as long as he lived. Later, rumors of the haunted house forced him out, but he always returned whenever a Heavenly Master came to investigate.

Yin Zheng broke eye contact with Shen Qingwei and said, “Let’s rest for a while. We’ll wait for the homeowner to arrive.”

Hu Shengsheng eagerly agreed and turned to Shen Qingwei. “Qingwei, why don’t we go downstairs and grab some breakfast?”

“What kind of breakfast?” Shen Qingwei asked. “Are you really that hungry?”

Hu Shengsheng, desperate for some alone time with her, nodded. Shen Qingwei glanced sideways. “Have her cook for you, then.”

Hu Shengsheng followed her gaze and nearly died of fright. Have a ghost cook breakfast for him?!

“I’m not hungry,” he stammered.

Shen Qingwei smiled sweetly. “I am.”

With that, she turned to the Malevolent Spirit, her eyes radiating warmth. Under her gaze, the spirit drifted into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast of its own accord.

Hu Shengsheng: ……

Yin Zheng glanced at Shen Qingwei and shook her head with a hint of helplessness. Shen Qingwei was five years younger than her. Due to her frail constitution, Yin Zheng had been plagued by constant illnesses, both major and minor, throughout her childhood. Eventually, her master sought out her parents and persuaded them to let her join him. Reluctantly, they agreed. But Yin Zheng had known the warmth of family; Shen Qingwei had not. Qingwei’s mother had been unmarried when she conceived her after being taken advantage of. She died during childbirth, leaving Qingwei to be brought to the Yin-Yang Sect immediately after birth. She had never seen the outside world nor experienced familial love.

Having spent her entire life within the Yin-Yang Sect, Qingwei had limited contact with others. Naturally mischievous and willful, she underwent a dramatic change in temperament after accompanying her Martial Aunt on an expedition. Her Martial Aunt explained that Qingwei had learned the truth about her origins, which fueled her intense aversion to frivolous men and her readiness to punish them.

Yin Zheng’s silence only irritated Shen Qingwei further. She dragged a chair to the kitchen doorway and periodically called out, “Hurry up! It’s just noodles! What’s taking so long? Don’t you ever cook at home?”

Female Ghost: ……

Hu Shengsheng: ……

As the group opened the door and entered the room, they immediately heard Shen Qingwei’s impatient voice: “Hurry up! Are you trying to starve me to death? It’s just breakfast, not a full-course banquet!”

Luo Ying was the first to look over, her expression shifting dramatically. The others followed suit, freezing in place.

They had been curious when they didn’t find Shen Qingwei’s body at the entrance. Now, seeing her speaking commandingly to the Female Ghost left them utterly bewildered. What was even more astonishing was that the ghost seemed to understand Shen Qingwei’s words, obediently preparing breakfast!

How is this possible?!

Luo Ying stared at Shen Qingwei in disbelief. Just then, a figure emerged from the bathroom. Hu Shengsheng cried out, “Master!”

He nearly clung to Luo Ying’s leg, desperate to recount the night’s ordeal. When Luo Ying hadn’t found him in his room, she had assumed he was out gallivanting. She never imagined he was also trapped in the Haunted House.

“What’s going on here?” After a moment of silence, Luo Ying finally voiced the group’s collective confusion. As soon as she spoke, a slender figure emerged from the room, wearing a pale white cardigan over a short robe with long sleeves. Her black hair was pinned up with a hairpin behind her ear, a few strands cascading down her slender neck. The stark contrast of black and white should have exuded sensuality, but her inherent aura of heroism, upright posture, and solemn composure radiated dignity and gravitas.

“Are you Immortal Master Luo?” Yin Zheng greeted her. “My master has mentioned you.”

Luo Ying’s attitude toward them had softened considerably. She asked, “Who is your master?”

“She is from the Yin-Yang Sect,” Yin Zheng replied. “My name is Yin Zheng, and this is my junior sister, Shen Qingwei.”

Hiss—

A collective gasp rose from behind them. Holy shit! They’re from the Yin-Yang Sect! No wonder they weren’t afraid of the Malevolent Spirit or the Haunted House. But they were too damn impressive—they’d subdued the Malevolent Spirit just like that?

Their faces stung, especially Luo Ying’s. Just yesterday, she’d declared the Malevolent Spirit too formidable, and now here it was, meekly preparing breakfast. Was Shen Qingwei doing this on purpose?

“So you’re Sect Master He’s disciples. A pleasure to meet you,” Luo Ying said, quickly composing her expression. “However, your junior sister is rather immature.”

“My junior sister is still young and mischievous, indeed immature. Immortal Master Luo, please forgive her.”

Yin Zheng’s words were smooth and pleasing to the ear. Luo Ying naturally wouldn’t antagonize the Yin-Yang Sect, but Shen Qingwei remained an eyesore. She simply bypassed Shen Qingwei and approached the Malevolent Spirit.

“Have you subdued it?”

Yin Zheng stood beside her. “No, I’ve only temporarily sealed it.”

Luo Ying walked closer to the Malevolent Spirit, looking around. She noticed a silver needle protruding from its forehead and frowned. “Ghost refinement?”

Yin Zheng nodded. “It was indeed created through cultivation. That’s why I want to find out who’s behind this before performing the exorcism.”

“Whether it was cultivated or naturally formed, a ghost is a ghost and should be dealt with!” A young woman stepped forward from the crowd. Shen Qingwei glanced at her—it was the girl who had been holding the compass yesterday. “Besides,” the girl continued, “this ghost has harmed countless people! It deserves to be utterly annihilated!”

Her voice trembled with righteous anger, her eyes burning with hatred as she glared at the Malevolent Spirit.

“No!” The homeowner stepped forward, tears streaming down his face, the corners of his eyes red and swollen. He rushed to Yin Zheng and knelt before her with a thud. “Please, I beg you, don’t let her soul be scattered. Don’t let her soul be scattered.”

“Please rise, sir,” Yin Zheng said, quickly helping him up. “Are you her husband?”

The homeowner nodded. “It’s my fault. I didn’t take good care of her. If I had noticed her strange behavior sooner, perhaps…”

He choked on his words, wiping away tears with the back of his hand, leaving streaks of wetness on his face. Yin Zheng asked, “How long has she been ill?”

“Almost four years,” the homeowner replied, taking a deep breath. “At first, she said her colleagues at work were treating her badly and that she didn’t want to work anymore. So I let her stay home. Later, she suddenly tried to cut her wrists, and that’s when I realized she was sick.”

After a hospital checkup revealed severe depression, he made countless foolish mistakes, both big and small. He was torn between his demanding job and his daughter’s studies, and sometimes he couldn’t give her the care she needed. As a result, she was often left bruised and battered. The landlord said, “She seemed perfectly normal that day. Nothing unusual happened. Who could have known what would happen that night…”

Luo Ying said, “Mr. Zhao, everyone has their fate. Don’t grieve too deeply.”

Besides, this Malevolent Spirit had originally sought to take his life. He had only narrowly escaped that calamity. Otherwise, he would now be eternally bound to the Female Ghost. Despite such a devastating blow, he harbored no resentment toward his wife and even insisted on returning to live here. He was truly a man of deep affection.

The landlord nodded. “No matter what, she was still my wife. If she can be freed, I hope her soul won’t be scattered into nothingness.”

“I beg you all.”

Yin Zheng and Shen Qingwei exchanged glances. Luo Ying suggested, “Let’s go out for breakfast first and discuss this further?”

The others agreed and followed Luo Ying out, except for the girl holding the compass. Before leaving, she cast a sharp, piercing glance at the Malevolent Spirit. Then, with a twist of her head, she joined the others in the elevator.

“Ah, the rain has cleared up.”

“The Yin-Yang Sect is truly formidable. With their intervention, there’s nothing left for us to do.”

Luo Ying’s expression darkened, her face turning slightly green.

“This young lady is called Yin…”

“My name is Yin Zheng.”

“Miss Yin Zheng is not only beautiful but also possesses remarkable spiritual cultivation.”

Does the Heavenly Master Sect always flatter so shamelessly? Shen Qingwei picked at her ear, boredly counting the elevator floors. She suddenly missed that severed head from last night!

Soon, the group reached the ground floor. As they exited the residential complex, several people greeted Mr. Zhao. Hu Shengsheng remarked, “Mr. Zhao, you’re quite popular.”

Everyone had initially assumed the residents would resent him. After all, their once-peaceful neighborhood had been transformed into a haunted house, making it uninhabitable and unsellable. They should have been full of grievances, yet some were still greeting him warmly.

The mystery was resolved when the shop owner explained:

“Mr. Zhao? He’s a real good-hearted man. He always helps out whenever anyone’s in trouble. Everyone knows about his family situation, but whenever there’s an issue in the complex, he goes out of his way to assist.”

“What happened to his wife was a tragedy, of course. How could anyone hate him? He’s a pitiful man himself.”

“And his daughter… she was in the prime of her youth, gone just like that.”

“He woke up in the hospital and tried to kill himself, saying he’d rather join them. So pitiful, so much suffering.”

The crowd nodded slightly, their sympathy deepening for the man paying at the counter.

Just as he finished speaking, a customer from another table called out, “Old Han, are you selling your house?”

The owner glanced over. “We’ll see. My wife doesn’t want to sell.”

“Everyone else has sold! If you don’t sell soon, they’ll drive the price down even further!” the customer grumbled. “If I’d known, I would’ve sold to Old Zhao!”

The owner sighed and turned to leave, but Yin Zheng stopped him. “Old Zhao… is that Mr. Zhao?”

“Ah, yes,” the owner replied. “Houses around here are hard to sell now. Mr. Zhao’s incident has everyone on edge. He feels guilty and has promised to buy back the properties at the original purchase price.”

For those who bought recently, the loss wouldn’t be too bad. But for those who bought early, when prices had already multiplied several times over, selling now would be unthinkable. Even so, over a dozen units on Mr. Zhao’s floor had already been sold. Shen Qingwei asked curiously, “Does he have that much money?”

“Sigh,” the owner said. “Even when we sold to him, we didn’t overcharge much. After all, Old Zhao took these houses because he was worried we wouldn’t be able to sell them. We all made a symbolic gesture, so the prices were definitely lower than market value. Plus, after the incident, there were a lot of social donations, and Old Zhao used all of it to take over these houses.”

“We’re all grateful to him and willing to sell at a loss.”

So that’s how it is, Yin Zheng thought, nodding slightly. She thanked the owner, who waved her off and went to another table. Old Zhao came over carrying two baskets of steaming buns, his smile warm and sincere. “There’s not much for breakfast. Everyone, have some buns first. I’ll go out and buy more.”

“Don’t bother,” Luo Ying said. “The buns are perfect. Sit down and eat with us.”

Old Zhao nodded with a smile and sat down. Just as he settled, a girl rushed over, asking, “Has Zhao Xiaoyuan come back yet?”

Shen Qingwei glanced around the group and noticed the girl with the compass was missing. She casually lowered her head, then suddenly remembered Zhao Xiaoyuan’s attitude toward the Malevolent Spirit. She froze for a moment before quickly looking up. Her gaze met Yin Zheng’s.

Their eyes locked, and their expressions shifted slightly. Zhao Xiaoyuan must have gone to forcibly collect the houses! Forcing the collection would break the seal!

Zhao Xiaoyuan—in danger!

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