Chapter 33 Night Banquet ⑦ - My esteemed guest, I'll definitely treat you to a proper meal another day! ...
"What?!" Lan Shuyin exclaimed in alarm, "Why are you only telling me now?"
"Li Yang wouldn't let me tell her! I called her just now, and she was evasive, only telling me not to worry. Something didn't sound right. I'm going to the Fang family's place now!"
"Okay, see you there." Lan Shuyin hung up the phone and immediately turned to Wei Li, saying urgently, "I'm really sorry, my friend has some urgent business to attend to, and I have to go there now."
"I'll take you," Wei Li said, quickly catching up with her.
"No need, I'll just take a taxi." Accompanied by him, Lan Shuyin hurriedly crossed the garden corridor, hailing a taxi as she walked out.
As she stepped out the door, she raised the wooden box and waved to him, saying, "I'm leaving now, thank you!"
Kui Li stood quietly in the shadow of the porch, watching her back turn as she turned the corner and gradually melted into the warm golden light. He stood there, motionless for a long time, his expression indistinct in the deepening sunset.
Then the phone suddenly made a soft sound.
He looked down and saw a message from [Ayin] displayed on the screen:
Thank you so much for today! I have to go now, but I'll definitely treat you to a nice meal another day! [bows]
Kui Li stared at the message for two seconds, then chuckled softly and turned to walk in another direction.
Meanwhile, on several pedicabs parked nearby, seemingly waiting for passengers, the drivers who had been dozing quickly got up. Two of them jogged over and together slowly closed the heavy, vermilion-lacquered gate.
...
I've boarded the bus; it should take about twenty minutes to get there.
In the car, Lan Shuyin sent a message to Xuan Bingbing, and then opened the chat box with Li Yang.
The conversation was from two nights ago, when Li Yang asked her, "Did Bingbing force you to play murder mystery games?" She replied with "Mhm," and then Li Yang sent her a funny video of Xuan Bingbing being chased all over the house.
Lan Shuyin couldn't help but feel a little guilty. In the past few days, she had been too engrossed in her own mysteries and troubles, neglecting the people she should care about most, and hadn't even made a proper visit.
The phone vibrated at that moment, and a message from Xuan Bingbing popped up: [I'll be there in forty minutes! Remember to wait for me! Don't act rashly alone!]
Looking at these words, Lan Shuyin could almost picture Xuan Bingbing anxiously giving instructions on the other end of the screen, but...
This girl, she's telling her not to be impulsive?
She tapped her finger and replied with an "OK" emoji.
When the taxi came to a smooth stop at its destination, Lan Shuyin deftly bit her hair tie, quickly tied her long hair into a ponytail with both hands, and pushed open the door to get out of the car without the slightest hesitation.
The night breeze ruffled her tied-up hair as she walked briskly across the road toward the villa district on the other side.
The Fang family's residence, "Zijin Palace," is one of the most prestigious luxury villa districts in Beijing. Young security guards in sharp uniforms, their faces serious, rigorously verified the identities of every unfamiliar face.
As Lan Shuyin approached, a girl in sportswear, leading a corgi, swiped her key card to open the door. She pretended to bend down to tie her shoelaces, and as soon as the girl entered, she quickly followed.
"Hey..." The security guard caught sight of her and was about to speak up to stop her, but then he saw that she walked with composure, unlike any other random person. It was already dark, and he couldn't see Lan Shuyin's face clearly, nor could he be sure if she was a resident. If he rashly chased after her, he would be in big trouble if he got a complaint.
Just as he was hesitating, a food delivery rider drove up to the gate, catching his attention. "Electric bikes are not allowed inside! Register your information first, and someone will take you in later." When he looked up again, the woman's figure had already disappeared into the depths of the courtyard.
Lan Shuyin turned the corner, out of the security guard's sight, and immediately started running. Based on the building number she had noted down, she quickly found the Fang family's luxurious French-style villa.
She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
The heavy, ornate bronze door opened a crack, revealing half of the butler's cautious face behind it.
"Hello, I'm from the family behind you," Lan Shuyin said sweetly, a harmless smile on her face. "My young lady asked me to deliver something..." She made a gesture as if she was holding something heavy and couldn't show it.
The butler slightly loosened the door and glanced into her hand.
In that instant, Lan Shuyin seized the opportunity, pushed the door open forcefully, and nimbly squeezed in sideways!
"Hey! What are you doing! Stop right there!" The butler, realizing what was happening, was immediately filled with shock and anger, and quickly chased after him. "You're trespassing! I'm calling the police!"
Lan Shuyin ignored him, her only thought was to find Li Yang as soon as possible. Guided by her intuition, she rushed towards what looked like the main living room and abruptly pushed open a double door.
The next second, she paused slightly.
In the spacious living room, a middle-aged woman dressed in elegant attire was taking a nap on the sofa. Her hair was adorned with jewels, and she wore a magnificent brocade dress with gold embroidery, her dazzling brilliance almost blinding.
"Let's see where you run now!"
In that brief pause, the butler caught up, panting. Seeing Lan Shuyin stop, he assumed she was finally scared and said fiercely, "So young and dressed so properly, yet you dare to trespass on private property! I'll teach you a lesson..."
Lan Shuyin suddenly turned her head, interrupting him, "Where's Li Yang?"
The butler's angry expression froze. "Who?"
“Li Yang.” Lan Shuyin looked at him coldly. “Didn’t you want to call the police? Do you need me to make this call for you?” As she spoke, she took out her phone and pretended to press the number.
"Wait a minute!" The butler was both surprised and angry. He reached out to snatch the phone, but Lan Shuyin dodged it.
Seeing that forcibly taking it wouldn't work, the butler had no choice but to soften his tone, "Since she's Miss Li's friend, you could have just explained it to her properly. Why force your way in..."
Lan Shuyin nodded. "Now you know, take me to her."
The butler calmed down as well. "Come with me."
Lan Shuyin paid special attention and found that he seemed to have completely ignored the woman on the sofa. The woman also showed no reaction to their movements, continuing to feign sleep with her eyes closed.
A thought crossed her mind, but she followed the butler upstairs without making a sound.
As soon as I stepped onto the second floor, a strong smell, similar to the smell of burning mugwort, hit me and filled the corridor, lingering there.
The butler stopped in front of a half-open door, cautiously lowering his voice, "There's a master performing a ritual inside, you absolutely mustn't hit him..."
Before the word "disturb" could be uttered, Lan Shuyin had already pushed open the door and entered.
Well, why waste my breath? This girl is clearly a troublemaker. The butler slapped his mouth and quickly followed her inside.
The room was dimly lit, with half the curtains drawn. A young man dressed in a black Taoist robe and wearing a Zhuangzi turban was holding a peach wood sword, his feet treading on a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) formation. His movements were precise, moving between the trigram positions. The wooden sword whistled through the air as he swung it, his fingertips occasionally drawing incantations in the air, as if he were battling something unseen—
It was definitely invisible. Because Lan Shuyin didn't see anything.
Around the three incense sticks on the altar, some faint black specks of light swirled and lingered eerily, greedily absorbing the wisps of smoke.
She recalled the description in "The Strange Tales" that these specks of light were nascent earth spirits, requiring powerful incense offerings to coalesce. The thin wisp of smoke before her was probably far from sufficient.
In the room, Fang Xin leaned against the headboard, his face pale and ashen.
Fang Huan stood by the bed with a gloomy expression. Li Yang sat quietly beside her, her profile calm and expressionless, as if everything before her had nothing to do with her.
Hearing the noise, Li Yang turned around, a hint of surprise on her face. She glanced at the Taoist priest who was still practicing his swordplay, then quickly walked over and pulled Lan Shuyin to the window. "Yinyin? What brings you here?"
Her face showed neither grievance nor panic, and Lan Shuyin's heart finally settled down. "Bingbing said you were tricked by Fang Huan, so I came to see what happened."
Li Yang's eyes widened slightly. "Didn't I tell her I'd be back later and not to worry?"
“There might be some misunderstanding.” Lan Shuyin glanced in the direction of the bed. “She thought you had been kidnapped.”
"Kidnapping?" Li Yang said helplessly. "It seems I didn't explain myself clearly."
"What's going on now?" Lan Shuyin gestured towards the scene of the ritual. "Wasn't Fang Xin cured? What are they doing now?"
Upon hearing this, a hint of weariness flashed across Li Yang's face. "Who knows? Maybe his brother suspects that Fang Xin has been haunted by something unclean again."
"Then what's the point of contacting you?" Lan Shuyin suddenly became alert. "You don't need me to donate blood or organs or something, do you?"
"What are you thinking?" Li Yang said, both amused and exasperated. "Yesterday was Fang Xin's birthday, and his brother repeatedly begged me to come. Unexpectedly, halfway through the meal, Fang Xin suddenly vomited blood and has been in this state ever since."
At this point, a hint of confusion flashed in Li Yang's eyes. "It seems that his brother contacted the person who provided the Blood Orchid first, but the other party said that the Blood Orchid's mission had been completed, and the current problem was their own business, and they should take care of themselves. I originally wanted to leave, but given Fang Xin's situation... I was too embarrassed to speak up."
"You're not a doctor, what's there to be embarrassed about?"
Li Yang sighed softly, "After all, they helped me. Since we're already here, let's see how things go."
Lan Shuyin understood—Li Yang was just like that, too soft-hearted, always entangled by human relationships.
She was a little annoyed and couldn't help but say, "Then let's see how this charlatan saves people."
She didn't lower her voice deliberately. As soon as she uttered the words "charlatan," not only did the two Fang brothers look over, but even the Taoist priest who was dancing with a sword glanced at her.
Lan Shuyin remained calm and met their gaze directly.
The Taoist priest spat the last drop of water onto the peach wood sword, then stood up, his expression grave, and said to Fang Huan, "The evil spirits surrounding Young Master Fang are extremely powerful, their resentment deeply entangled, and cannot be resolved by ordinary rituals. My own cultivation is still shallow, and I'm afraid today's ritual alone will not be enough to eradicate them..."
Upon hearing this, Fang Huan's face immediately showed anxiety. "Then what should we do?"
The Taoist priest slowly raised three fingers. "Three rituals must be performed in succession to achieve the initial suppression with the auspicious power of the Three Yangs. To completely expel it..." He shook his head and sighed, "Unless you ask my master to come out of seclusion. Unfortunately, my master is currently in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain and I don't know when he will be able to break out of seclusion."
"puff……"
An untimely sneer rang out.
Lan Shuyin quickly covered her mouth and waved her hand, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself, please continue."
The Taoist priest glanced at her indifferently and said nothing. Fang Huan, however, suddenly became serious, his tone carrying a hint of warning, "Master Yin's master is Xuanji Zhenren. Miss Lan, do not offend such an important person."
If the Taoist priest had spoken, Lan Shuyin might have remained silent. But Fang Huan's words only made her scoff again, "A noble person? Are you referring to that jewel-adorned, ancient empress dowager of yours?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the air in the room seemed to freeze.
Fang Huan's pupils contracted slightly as he looked at her with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.
Just then, Fang Xin, lying on the bed, suddenly coughed and sat up. He rubbed his throbbing temples, his gaze towards Lan Shuyin somewhat dazed. "In my dreams… there's always a woman dressed in brocade with gold embroidery, wearing red satin shoes with horse-hoof soles, trying to kill me with a knife… I'm lying on an antique dragon bed…" he gasped, his voice weak but urgent, "She said I stole her most important thing, and she wants me to pay with my life…"
"How...how do you know what that woman looks like?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
