Chapter 29: On the Eve of Preparation

The next morning, Le Dong was awakened by the faint sound of a touchscreen.

Squinting toward the opposite bed, he saw Xiao Zhang typing rapidly on his phone. His fingertips tapped the screen in quick succession, followed by the notification sound of a successful message transmission.

"Hmm?"

The disorientation of just waking up left Le Dong dazed for a moment. The next second, something clicked, and he sat up with a start, scrambling to find his own phone.

As soon as he unlocked the screen, he watched helplessly as his full signal bars turned into a red "X," and the influx of countless ad notifications abruptly ceased.

He frantically scrolled through the hundred-plus unread messages from his wife amidst the sea of spam, then slammed his fist against the mattress.

"Damn it!"

The curse escaped his lips. Xiao Zhang, who had been watching quietly from the side, put his phone away as if nothing had happened and offered a pure, innocent smile. "Awake, Brother Le?"

Le Dong ignored him, raking his hair in frustration. The signal he had just seen must have been from Butler Ma communicating with the delivery man. He had missed that precious window of connectivity.

"Sigh..."

After the wave of vexation passed, Le Dong forced himself to calm down. Last time, his theft of the delivery man’s phone had caused Butler Ma’s plan to fail; this time, he had to find a way to stop it again. A strong intuition told him that Butler Ma’s scheme was absolutely malicious.

"Brother Le? Let's go, time to head downstairs for breakfast."

Xiao Zhang's shout helped him pull himself together.

By the time he had washed up and gone downstairs, the scent of congee was already drifting through the dining room. Master Ma Wenwen sat at the head of the table in deep thought, while Boss Hu attentively served him food.

"Eat more, Master Ma. This grave relocation depends entirely on you," Boss Hu said, wearing a fawning smile. "Rest assured, once it's done, I will immediately handle the aftermath for my son and daughter-in-law, my wife, and Daoist Zhao. I guarantee it won’t involve you in the slightest."

Le Dong’s hand, holding a spoon, faltered.

Only then did he realize there were five corpses currently lying in the villa—Madam Hu, Daoist Zhao, the Hu couple, and the recently exhumed Old Master Hu. The number of dead people in this place was almost catching up to the number of the living.

Le Dong gave a bitter, internal laugh. He could never have imagined he would spend four days in such a bizarre environment.

"Brother Le? You don't look so well."

Hou Kui, sitting opposite, suddenly spoke up, his triangular eyes giving Le Dong the illusion of being under surveillance.

"I'm fine." Le Dong avoided his gaze and finished the congee in a few gulps. Just as he set the bowl down, he heard Ma Wenwen say he needed to go outside to "survey the feng shui for tonight's ritual," and he casually pulled Le Dong and Cai Kun along with him.

The two exchanged a look; they knew full well that Ma Wenwen had something to discuss.

"Hey, Master, can I tag along to broaden my horizons?"

"Yeah, Master Ma, I want to go too."

Unexpectedly, Hou Kui and Xiao Zhang set down their bowls and chopsticks to follow.

"Impossible. Today is a metal-element day; your birth charts conflict with it, which will affect my judgment," Ma Wenwen said sternly.

Hearing this, Boss Hu immediately told the two to back off, then turned to Ma Wenwen with a smile, telling him to go ahead.

"What about me, Master? Can I come along to help out?" Butler Ma followed, asking with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"You?" Ma Wenwen intentionally pinched his fingers to calculate, sighing after a few seconds. "Sigh... it’s not that I don’t want to, but you are not only unsuitable, you are especially taboo!" Ma Wenwen said, looking troubled as he refused.

Butler Ma's old face flushed, and just as he was about to say something, Boss Hu stopped him. "That's enough, Old Ma. Don't get involved; it's more important to arrange the things needed for tonight."

"Heh heh, then please, Master Ma, survey carefully. Don't make any mistakes and invite evil spirits, only to end up trapped yourself." Butler Ma adjusted his cuffs, delivering a sinister threat.

"Tch..."

Ma Wenwen ignored the threat and led Le Dong and Cai Kun to the side of the garden. Once he confirmed no one was around, he lowered his voice. "Tonight, I will find an excuse to send one of you away."

Cai Kun’s chubby face leaned in immediately. "And then?"

"Whoever is sent away must circle around to the back of the villa and find a way to climb into Butler Ma’s room," Ma Wenwen’s voice was tight. "Once you find the source, retreat immediately. We’ll leave the next day."

Le Dong and Cai Kun looked at each other, seeing the excitement in each other's eyes.

"Wait, what about the evil spirits harming people inside? What do we do about them? Just ignore them?" Cai Kun asked naively, pointing at the villa.

Hearing the question, Le Dong remained silent. Ma Wenwen hung his head and sighed. "I can't handle it. Boss Hu is headstrong and stubborn, and Butler Ma is sabotaging everything from within."

He touched his own eye patch. "More importantly, the yin energy in this villa is too heavy. I don't know if it's Old Master Hu’s spirit or something else at work. With my current ability, protecting you two is the best I can do."

Le Dong interjected, "Master Ma is right. It’s already difficult enough for us to deal with our own source. At worst, we can call the police once we get out. When the police arrive, they can handle whatever demons or ghosts are in this villa."

Seeing the other two nod in agreement, Le Dong added, "However, regarding Master Ma’s plan to find the source, I suggest we leave the very night we find it. Butler Ma is in such a rush to perform these rituals twice; there is definitely something fishy going on."

"That can work!" Cai Kun rubbed his hands excitedly. "My car is parked halfway up the mountain. Once I step on the gas, no white ghost, black ghost, or flowery ghost will ever be able to catch us."

As the three were talking, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the garden. Looking up, they saw Hou Kui passing by dragging a trash bag, though his pace was deliberately slow.

Ma Wenwen, prodded by Le Dong, immediately raised his voice. "Today, the pure sun gathers energy, and by nightfall, the yin energy will be thin—it is the perfect day to set up the altar!" Le Dong and Cai Kun caught on and nodded in feigned agreement.

After this, the three didn't chat any further.

Back at the villa, Ma Wenwen and Cai Kun intentionally kept Butler Ma and the others busy setting up the altar. Le Dong, using his nicotine addiction as an excuse, slipped to the back of the villa to scout the terrain for tonight's operation.

After circling the area, he realized the villa was elegantly designed, with no easy paths for climbing. The only option was a thin drainage pipe.

At that moment, the midday sun made the purple-copper drainage pipe on the back of the villa shine. The metal pipe wound upward, passing by the room where Old Master Hu’s mourning hall was located, and finally reached the window of Butler Ma’s room, which was tightly shut.

Le Dong squinted to estimate the height and picked up half a brick from the corner of the wall to put in his pocket—if necessary, he didn't mind smashing that window.

But...

Le Dong’s gaze fell on the room of Old Master Hu, which the drainage pipe passed. The curtains were half-drawn; if he climbed up, he would definitely be able to see the situation inside.

This reminded him of the spirit of Old Master Hu he had seen the previous night, and he felt a sudden sense of unease.

*I hope... there's nothing there.*

Le Dong sighed to himself. After circling a few more times, he could only confirm this was the sole path.

By the time he returned to the villa, the group's preparations were nearing completion. Everyone gathered on the living room sofa, each harboring their own secrets, waiting for the night to fall...