Chapter 24: The Young Master of the Yun Family

The morning mist of Qingshui Village was thick and hazy, with a layer of thin white frost covering the rooftops and the gates of the courtyard.

Though it hadn’t snowed the night before, the air still felt cold enough to numb a person’s insides.

A tall young man exhaled white mist, rubbing his hands together. He wore a light blue Daoist robe and his eyes were fixed on the dozens of white bones, which had been brought out and placed at the entrance of the estate by the Su family.

These were the remains of people who had once died in his family’s house?

But he had visited this house before with a Daoist priest from the Zijin Temple. There had been a powerful demon residing there, and anyone who entered would die. They had only been able to break through the northeast corner of the house, altering the feng shui to trap the malevolent energy that the demon emitted, ensuring it remained contained within the courtyard to prevent harm.

Could it be that the person who had bought his house yesterday had subdued the demon?

If that was the case, he definitely had to pay respects to this expert.

Yun Mingxuan’s fair, slender face showed a rare expression of seriousness and respect.

Suddenly, the main door opened, and an elderly woman, dressed plainly, came out, followed by a man and a young boy who appeared to be her son and grandson.

However, none of them carried the aura of cultivators. They were not the experts he had been seeking, the ones capable of subduing the demon.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Yun Mingxuan’s eyes, but he still maintained the respectful demeanor he had adopted upon arrival. His slender body stood straight, radiating elegance. He gave a slight bow to Su Laotai, “Greetings, Elder. I am the descendant of this house, the Young Master of the Yun Family, Yun Mingxuan.”

The Yun family no longer existed, with only him left as the last descendant.

He introduced himself like this simply to make it easier for others to recognize him.

Su Laotai smiled and returned the greeting, “Young Master Yun, it’s good to meet you. Have you come back to see your old house today?”

Yun Mingxuan nodded, “If it’s not too troublesome, may I trouble you to allow me to go inside and take a look? I’m sure the house deed and land deed have already been delivered to you. Please do not worry that I might change my mind and reclaim the house.”

Su Laotai understood and nodded, leading him into the house while explaining the situation regarding the bones. She mentioned that they had sent someone to report the matter to the authorities early this morning, and someone would come to properly deal with the remains.

Yun Mingxuan nodded absentmindedly, pausing at each spot to recite incantations, purifying the lingering yin energy in the courtyard.

When they reached the east wing of the house, as soon as he stepped inside, a blank, void space appeared around him at an observable speed.

On the floor, there was a pool of water, and lotus flowers bloomed all over the place. In the center, a small child sat holding a milk bottle.

Yun Mingxuan froze for a moment, instinctively looking around, then his gaze settled on the baby in front of him, “Did you do this?”

Having grown up in the Daoist temple, he was exceptionally gifted and seemed born to practice Taoism. Within three years, he became the highest-ranking Daoist in Zijin Temple, the most promising disciple to achieve immortality in a century.

But now, seeing the infant before him, he couldn’t discern what the child truly was.

Only through the pure, harmless aura in this immaculate world did he sense that the baby meant no harm.

Su Huan, seeing that he was still young, didn’t show her true form to frighten him. With two small dark circles under her eyes, she smiled at him, then took out the Soul Jade Spirit Box from her mustard seed space. She gently pushed the box toward him.

“Eeya, eeya~”

Yun Mingxuan hesitated, vaguely sensing that this box was unusual. Instead of opening it immediately, he carefully opened a small gap. In an instant, a fierce, two-headed red snake flew out of the box, baring its fangs and ready to bite him.

“Eeya!”

Su Huan’s gaze hardened, and with a single command, the two-headed red snake trembled, recalling the fear instilled by her and obediently crawled back into the box.

Yun Mingxuan was stunned, immediately recognizing the creature as the demon that had caused the death of over ten people in his family’s house!

This creature was no small threat, and it killed indiscriminately. Why was it in the hands of this infant?

Could it be that this baby had subdued the demon?

He quickly looked up, intending to ask Su Huan something, but the next second, the pure white space around him disappeared, and he found himself back outside the Su family estate.

The bones still lay there in the courtyard.

An elderly woman, dressed simply, came out with her son and grandson, as if this was their first meeting, and he hadn’t just entered their house to investigate the whereabouts of the demon.

However, the box he was tightly clutching in his hand told him that everything he had seen and experienced was not an illusion.

It was that baby who had delivered the demon he had been searching for into his hands.

Yun Mingxuan’s eyes were wide with shock, and his hand that held the box trembled slightly.

“Are you Yun Mingxuan, the Young Master?”

At that moment, Su Laotai spoke again, smiling kindly, “I’m the one who bought your house. Would you like to go inside and take a look?”

The young man in the blue robe didn’t speak. Instead, he suddenly bent his waist deeply in respect to Su Laotai, then walked toward the bones. After reciting a few sutras for the souls of the dead, he tightly hugged the box and turned to leave. His slender, fragile figure gradually disappeared into the white-frosted earth.

Su Laotai and Su Yanjia exchanged doubtful glances.

“Didn’t he say he was Yun Mingxuan?” Su Yanjia asked, confused, “Why didn’t he go inside after reaching the door?”

Su Laotai shook her head, “Let’s go back inside. No one is allowed to leave until I say so.”

Su Yanjia, coming to his senses, asked, “Grandmother, then aren’t we going to buy land? I heard from my uncle that land is cheaper in the winter.”

Su Laotai replied, “There’s no rush. There are still things that need to be dealt with.”

Before he could ask further, Su Laotai rubbed his head and said, “Don’t ask anymore. Just listen to your grandmother. I heard your sister woke up with dark circles under her eyes. Your fourth aunt is very worried. Don’t you want to go check on her?”

Upon hearing this, Su Yanjia immediately became concerned and rushed off to the east wing to check on his sister.

After Yun Mingxuan left, Su Huan finished her last sip of milk, smiling as she handed the bottle back to Liu Yingying.

Liu Yingying looked at her innocent expression, both amused and exasperated. “I really don’t know what your parents are always so busy with. They come to Qingshui Village and then disappear. Now look at you, your dark circles are as bad as they can get, and yet your mother doesn’t even come to check on you. It’s ridiculous.”

“Eeya~”

Little Su Huan rolled into her lap, trying to cheer up her fourth aunt.

But inside, she was curious about what her grandmother had made her parents do.

She knew that her grandmother had discussed something with them last night, so it wasn’t necessarily just about dealing with the Zhang family.

“Fourth aunt, I heard my sister has dark circles! Is her eyesight okay?”

At this moment, Su Yanjia hurried over. As soon as he saw her, Little Su Huan immediately forgot about where her parents had gone and clapped her hands, calling eagerly for her big brother to teach her how to walk.

At the Zhang family’s gate, Wu Chunhe and Li Sumei had arrived early in the morning, knocking on the door, their expressions frantic.

“Aunt! Something’s wrong! Our third and fourth uncles are in trouble! The house seems to be haunted. You must return the money to us, we want to cancel the contract!”

“Why are you shouting?”

Qian Cui Miao, hearing the noise, was delighted. She quickly ordered and helped Zhang Lishi open the door.

When they saw the contract and deed they had given them yesterday, as well as the house and courtyard keys that had been handed over to Su Laotai, Zhang Lishi and Qian Cui Miao exchanged knowing glances and smiled. They scolded the two women, “The deed has already been transferred to your family. How can you just decide to cancel the contract? I’ve managed that house for many years and have never heard of it being haunted. Are you trying to back out now just because you have the deed and then extort me for money?”

Afterward, she exchanged a glance with Qian Cui Miao, who immediately shouted, “Everyone, come and see! The family that came to our village to escape the famine is trying to scam us!”