He leaned close to the fat man's ear.

"But all of this has to wait until tonight, until the fog clears at three o'clock, then the real show will begin. This place truly is heaven on earth!"

Laughter, a mix of Cantonese and Mandarin, drifted from the next tent.

"Fei-zai, you're saying there's a 'Heaven on Earth' here? I've been to nightclubs for twenty years and I've never heard of a genuine place in some remote mountain village!"

"Mr. Li, words are not enough. You'll find out later."

As they spoke, their voices grew softer, but from time to time, bursts of laughter that only men could understand could be heard.

Judging from their conversation, the fat man must have been brought by the young man named Xiaofei.

Xiao Fei was doing a liquor business with this fat man, and he was trying to curry favor with the fat man in an attempt to build a relationship.

This kind of thing is quite common. When it comes to attracting customers, isn't it all about eating, drinking, and having fun?

However, I usually take them to clubs or foot massages; this is my first time here.

At this time, Dazhu had completely set up the tent and invited me to go in and rest.

"Master Chen, why don't you take a nap first?"

He tugged at the sleeping mat: "Wait until it gets dark..."

I noticed his excited demeanor, a stark contrast to his trembling, curled-up posture at the restaurant.

Although it looked frightened, it was like a wildcat that had caught a whiff of blood, constantly gazing into the depths of the thick fog.

When he heard the fat man's laughter mixed with Cantonese coming from the next tent, his shoulders suddenly tensed up.

"You seem really looking forward to it?"

I stubbed out my cigarette and looked at him with a half-smile.

He had been misled before, but now he truly missed it.

They're just like drug addicts.

Dazhu turned around abruptly, looking flustered: "N-nothing! It's just... this fog is creeping in."

He hurriedly pulled out his cigarette case, only to find that there was only half a cigarette butt inside.

"I have a feeling that something is watching me..."

Despite saying this, he couldn't help but stare into the depths of the thick fog, his Adam's apple bobbing uncontrollably.

The cry of an owl came from afar, startling him so much that he trembled, but quickly returned to his stiff, gazing posture.

Their gaze was drawn stubbornly toward the village, as if pulled by invisible threads.

Perhaps because he noticed me staring at him, Dazhu seemed a little embarrassed.

I said I was tired and lay down to rest.

Not long after, a snoring sound mixed with indistinct murmurs drifted over: "Don't go... Give me more..."

It seems that even in his dreams he hasn't let himself off the hook.

Dazhu's snoring was deafening, but I was wide awake.

It wasn't because he was thinking about the fox spirit in the village, but because he was thinking about the bronze cauldron that Dazhu had taken out, and the Xuanpin furnace in Sanjiapo.

What is the connection between these two?

If there is no connection, why would a miniature version of the Xuanpin Furnace appear?

Was it a coincidence, or did someone deliberately lead me here?

Dazhu's snoring echoed throughout the tent, so I crawled out, took out my cigarette case, and lit a cigarette.

The mountain path was quiet, with only the rustling sound of the mountain wind rustling through the grass.

As I gazed at the night sky, the questions in my heart grew stronger.

When I came out of the tent, I saw that the fat man was also standing and smoking outside the tent not far away next door.

When he saw me come out, he grinned at me.

I nodded in response, as a way of greeting.

I took out the compass from my canvas bag and used three pebbles to press down on the "Zhen", "Xun", and "Gen" palaces.

They also arranged cigarette butts into the shape of the Big Dipper, with red rope wrapped around them as a guiding light.

This is the simplest "Ghostly Detection Formation".

Using the power of starlight to penetrate the dark mist, although the whole picture cannot be seen, the location of evil spirits can be sensed.

Just as he was chanting "Heaven is clear and earth is spiritual" in a hand gesture, a broken Mandarin voice suddenly came from behind him: "Uncle, what are you doing here?"

Looking back, the fat man Li Jinrong walked over, swaying his gold chain. The LV logo on his floral shorts was particularly eye-catching in the moonlight.

I don't understand Cantonese very well, so I'm a bit confused.

Seeing my confusion, he asked again in broken Mandarin, "Uncle, what are you doing?"

He had a cigar in his mouth, squinting at the formation I had just set up, the cigarette butt flickering in and out.

"Judging from your gestures, are you a disciple of Maoshan?"

Before I could even speak, he looked me up and down, this old man with a full head of white hair, and suddenly gave me a knowing smile.

"Uncle is really vigorous for his age, daring to come to a place like this. Even young people might not be able to handle it! Hahaha!"

My face darkened, and I mumbled a "hmm," then used my sleeve to smudge the array on the ground.

"Brother, you're still shy? To be honest, I really admire you. If I were your age, I don't know if I could even walk!"

Li Jinrong squatted down and poked the pebbles with his thick fingers: "My grandfather used to set up a compass all day long, saying it could ward off evil spirits and protect the house... Uncle, what kind of formation is this?"

"Just playing around."

I moved to the side to avoid his body odor.

He mistook my modesty for reality and suddenly leaned closer mysteriously, the smell of cigars mixed with alcohol wafting towards me.

"Is this your first time here, sir? I've heard that this village only appears after the fog clears at night, and the women inside..."

He deliberately dragged out his words and winked at me, "She's even hotter than a celebrity! And she even gives me antiques afterwards, what a steal!"

He pulled out a cigar and handed it to me, but I waved my hand and said, "I've quit."

He didn't think much of it, lit it himself, and took a deep drag.

“My name is Li Jinrong. I run a nightclub in Tsim Sha Tsui. This Xiaofei is my godson. He said he brought his godfather here to broaden his horizons.”

As he spoke, he gave me a business card.

The business card reads "Li Jinrong, General Manager of Dihao International Entertainment Group".

In the bottom right corner, there was a picture of a bikini-clad woman, about the size of a fingernail.

"Don't you find it strange?"

I took the business card, my fingertips touching the embossed "VIP" lettering on the back, and asked, "Why must we enter the village in the middle of the night?"

Li Jinrong suddenly burst into laughter, patting his belly and unable to straighten up.

"Uncle, you're so old-fashioned! High-end places like this need to be discreet! Look at my nightclub, we play hide-and-seek with the police all the time, I even installed a hidden door in the restroom once..."

He suddenly lowered his voice: "I'm not afraid to tell you, they have a lot of tricks, but I have even more. There's a room in one of my establishments where you have to move the refrigerator to get in, and I've even tried using a lift to deliver drinks. These are all trade secrets!"

I stared at him speechlessly.

He advised, "Better safe than sorry."

I shoved the business card back into his hand: "This... is not your average brothel."

He misunderstood me, and patted my shoulder, laughing so hard he almost fell over.

"Don't worry, Uncle! If Xiao Fei dares to lie to me, I'll have my gang members tear down his bar!"

Xiao Fei's shout came from afar. He swayed as he got up, his gold chain flashing in an arc of light on his chest: "Uncle, let's go find some women to play with when the fog clears!"

Watching his swaying back, I stubbed out the cigarette butt that was about to go out at my feet.

He turned around and crawled into the tent, intending to take a nap.