Haunted house

The house in the northeast corner of Yongchangfang, which often changed owners, has a new owner. The neighbors secretly looked at the new owner, wondering how long this owner could stay.

"I heard the previous owner sold it for quite a bit," the woman told her husband late at night, lying in bed in a house. "They didn't take anything, they just ran away with the money. These two young men are from Dongdu and don't know anything."

The previous owner screamed so miserably at night that he was scared to death in just a few days. Within ten days, he ran away to live in an inn.

At this moment, a shadow was looking at Xiao Wan'er who was meditating, wanting to move but not daring to.

The sword carried by the man who had entered the house had intimidated it during the day, preventing it from troubling him. Who knew this woman could be so terrifying? It trembled as it looked at Xiao Wan'er, who exuded a terrifying aura even in her meditation, and felt that its future was bleak.

Xiao Wan'er's eyelids suddenly moved, and it immediately hid. Seeing that she did not open her eyes, it ran out of Xiao Wan'er's house as fast as it could.

Undeterred, it ran to Pei Yingguan's house, but was frightened by the sharp sword energy and fled. The new woman was certainly more powerful, but the new man was also a strong man that it could not contend with, which really made it sad.

After Chang'an became the capital of the Tang Dynasty again, housing prices skyrocketed, forcing officials with limited means to rent. Due to the turmoil and chaos that plagued the people, officials who had relocated to Chang'an could barely find housing, and some civilians were forced to return home.

After the emperor learned of the situation, he sent half a team of Shenlong Guards to escort the people back to Dongdu. This half team was from Team A1.

Xiao Wan'er was not in this half of the team, because the remaining half of the team led by her was sent to Qianling Mausoleum to protect the burial of the Empress Dowager and Emperor Gaozong.

Pei Yingguan was also sent to connect with Teams Renjiu and Guishi, and the newly purchased house became temporarily empty again.

The shadow hidden within the house took human form, gazing gloomily at the entire courtyard. It had been forced to carefully conceal its presence for days, fearing discovery by the two terrifying monks, let alone finding food. Unable to leave the house, it was now emaciated by hunger.

It opened its mouth and roared silently. After venting its anger, it headed straight for the kitchen. Soon, the sound of smashing and smashing could be heard from the kitchen. When the noise stopped, the shadowy figure emerged from the kitchen with a look of satisfaction on its face, its figure becoming slightly more solid.

That night, residents in the northeast area of ​​Yongchangfang heard loud noises of smashing and looting coming from the northeast corner.

"This evil ghost took advantage of the owner's absence to destroy my house!" The neighbors who were woken up cursed. Unfortunately, it was curfew, and as ordinary people who were afraid of ghosts, they could do nothing but curse.

By the time the shadow, which had transformed into a human form, stopped with satisfaction, the house was already in a mess.

After the Empress Dowager was buried in Qianling Mausoleum, Xiao Wan'er, who had been working as a supervisor for several days, was finally able to return home. Yawning, she walked into Yongchangfang when a neighbor's wife suddenly called out to her.

Xiao Wan'er looked over and saw the lady's face was conflicted again. She hesitated for a long time before making up her mind, "My dear, during the time you were away, there were always loud noises coming from your house every night."

"Oh?" Xiao Wan'er raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Girl, please be careful. There may be something unclean in your house."

Xiao Wan'er smiled and said, "Thank you, Madam, for telling me."

Pushing open the front door, Xiao Wan'er saw a messy courtyard. She walked into the kitchen, which was so chaotic it was impossible to cook. She returned to her room, where the paintings and calligraphy were torn to shreds, and the bedding was dirty and wrinkled.

Xiao Wan'er laughed angrily.

It was indeed quite capable to be able to hide itself right under her and Pei Yingguan's noses, but it was causing destruction in such a blatant manner. Did it really think they were trash?

Xiao Wan'er grinned and poured out all her transcendental spirit, leaving no corner of the house untouched. Finally, she found a trembling ghost in an empty room. She reached into the air and the ghost was pulled in front of her.

"You're still a little ghost who's embarked on the path of cultivation," Xiao Wan'er said as she leaned in and sniffed carefully. "There's no smell of blood, but there is the scent of incense. Do you, little ghost, usually eat incense?"

Then she saw the kid nodded.

Xiao Wan'er thrust her consciousness into the ghost, and within a split second, she understood the entire situation. This little ghost was a crafted and captive spirit, feeding on fear and incense. Its master instructed it to terrorize successive buyers within this house, and once they were frightened into leaving, he would send servants to the East and West Markets to spread the word, luring the terrified homeowners to his inn. For every person the inn managed to attract, the little ghost would receive a share of incense.

"Are there any other ghosts under your master's command?" Xiao Wan'er asked the little ghost.

The kid nodded.

"I want to know the addresses of the houses and inns where the other little ghosts are. Write down everything you know." Xiao Wan'er threw the pen, ink, paper and inkstone to the little ghost, and the little ghost honestly wrote down what he knew on the paper.

Xiao Wan'er took the paper and sighed, "This is really a big business."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and at the same time, the palace maid's cry came into the courtyard: "Master Xiao, Shangguan Zhaorong wants to see you!"

Xiao Wan'er responded and looked at the little ghost again: "You are destroying things so ostentatiously because you want to break free from control and enter the cycle of reincarnation, right?"

The kid's eyes suddenly lit up and he nodded to start pounding garlic.

"Then you must restore this house to its original state before you destroyed it. Do you understand?" Xiao Wan'er threatened. "If there's even a slight difference, you'll be shattered to pieces."

The kid quickly ran to the kitchen and started cleaning up the mess he had made.

Xiao Wan'er followed the palace maid to Shangguan Wan'er's residence in a good mood. When Shangguan Wan'er saw her coming, she pulled her into the room and closed the doors and windows.

"Wu Sansi reported Zhang Jianzhi and five other princes for falsely accusing the Empress. Your Majesty has ordered their exile to the frontier."

"But the five princes who planned the coup that day?"

Shangguan Wan'er nodded.

"That's not surprising," Xiao Wan'er said, not commenting on the divination. She immediately changed the subject, "Sister, could you please take me to the palace? I have something important to report to His Majesty."

As she spoke, she handed the little ghost's confession to Shangguan Wan'er.

After Shangguan Wan'er saw it, she took her into the palace without saying a word.

Upon meeting the emperor, Xiao Wan'er presented the ghost's confession directly to him: "Your Majesty, I have discovered a den where ghosts are used to scare buyers in the sale of houses, thereby defrauding them."

The emperor, who had just dealt with the five kings, was exhausted. Upon hearing the words "house sale", "ghost" and "fraud", he immediately perked up and asked Xiao Wan'er to explain the situation in detail.

After listening to Xiao Wan'er's story, he smiled and said, "So they tricked Xiao Aiqing?"

"Your Majesty, that's right."

The emperor wanted to laugh, but he tried hard to hold it in. Clearing his throat, he ordered, "Shangguan Zhaorong, draft an order. Captain Xiao will be fully authorized to investigate this matter. Other teams may be mobilized."

"I obey your command!"

After Shangguan Wan'er finished writing the imperial edict, she laughed and teased: "The devil is put on my sister's head. I think that liar is also very pitiful."

Xiao Wan'er rushed to the Shenlong Guard's office with the imperial edict, summoned several monks present and of suitable abilities, and ordered them to the location of the other ghosts. She then headed straight for the inn where the swindler often stayed. Arriving at the inn's door, she used her spirit to explore, confirming the swindler was inside, and immediately broke in.

"Sir, do you want to stay in the hotel?" The liar pretended to be the shopkeeper and asked Xiao Wan'er with a smile.

Then he was almost hit in the face by a token, and the irresistible pressure made him feel terrified.

"The Divine Dragon Guards are investigating," Xiao Wan'er's voice sounded like the King of Hell in his ears. "Boss, please come with me."

In the face of absolute strength, everything is a paper tiger. However, the shopkeeper, who had just entered the Dao Realm, could not even muster the heart to resist Xiao Wan'er, and obediently let her send him to the cell in the basement of the Shenlong Guard's office.

Inside the cell, he, whose cultivation had been crippled, was tied to a cold iron pillar with a rope. Xiao Wan'er was holding a whip, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Do you want to recruit them yourself, or do you want me to recruit them for you?"

"Please spare my life, sir. I'll confess everything!" The shopkeeper spilled the beans and said everything he could.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Wan'er took out two copper coins and tossed them three times.

"Very good, you won't be tortured for now."

Xiao Wan'er threw away the whip and hurried out of the cell. The shopkeeper felt like he had just walked through the gates of hell. After suddenly relaxing, he felt his pants were a little wet. It turned out that he had lost control of his bladder due to fear.

Xiao Wan'er selected a few more monks and sent them to other previously missed hideouts. At this time, the monks who had been sent earlier also returned one after another.

"How did the mission go?"

The returning monks immediately reported their results. All ghosts had been dealt with. Those who had caused death were executed on the spot, and those who had not were also released from control and sent into reincarnation. After about half an hour, the monks who had been sent out later also returned.

In this way, only the house bought by Xiao Wan'er was left.

Xiao Wan'er returned home, and the previously messy house had been restored to its original state. The little ghost floated in front of her upon hearing the sound, looking at her expectantly.

"Not bad." Xiao Wan'er made a simple comment, then released her spiritual energy, found the spell that controlled it, and broke it.

The little ghost felt that the control was gone, and tears streamed down his face. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times and nine times to Xiao Wan'er. Then his figure gradually faded and he stepped into reincarnation.

"It's finally over." Xiao Wan'er breathed a sigh of relief.

The ghosts were completely annihilated, but the work was not yet complete. Xiao Wan'er returned to the government office and sat in the cell holding the fraudster, writing a memorial. The fraudster, upon seeing the return of the evil spirit, trembled, fearing his own punishment while always ready to answer Xiao Wan'er's questions.

When it was dawn, Xiao Wan'er walked out of the cell with the memorial, and the swindler was already in tears.

"Sir, please give me a quick death, sir!"

Xiao Wan'er entered the Daming Palace and went straight to the emperor, presenting the memorial. The entire inn and mansion were laid out on the memorial, awaiting the emperor's decision.

"Do you have any opinion, my dear minister?" The emperor asked Xiao Wan'er after reading the memorial.

"Why not confiscate all the inns and ownerless houses? The houses could be used for rewards or sales, and the inns could be rented to officials who still have no place to live."

After hearing this, the emperor agreed and said, "Good."