Chapter 61: Chapter Sixty-One: The Tea House

Facts prove that the amount of malevolent qi has no necessary connection to the level of cultivation.

To date, among the people Gu Zhao has killed, Ren Tian possesses the highest cultivation, yet the malevolent qi he contributed was less than one-third of that contributed by this butcher, Chu Da, whose cultivation was not even one-third of Ren Tian's.

Gu Zhao did not look into the situation in the back room; instead, he directly ordered Daoist Yan Song to set a fire, burning all the evil here along with Chu Da's unrecognizable corpse completely clean.

When Chu Da brought the three of them in, he had specifically avoided drawing others' attention, so after setting and extinguishing the fire, the three left quietly without any lingering worries.

"I thought Chu Da was a monster; I never expected him to be a sorcerer."

"Practicing Evil Arts, bloodthirsty and man-eating, he has already become a demon."

"Exactly how many people has he killed?"

"Hard to say, but I saw that butcher shop; it could be called an old establishment."

"My heavens!"

"Perhaps he restrained himself somewhat before, but recently the imperial court has declined, demons run rampant, and the Golden Wind Sect no longer controls him, so he has become arrogant."

"Where to next, the tea house?"

"Good!"

The three arrived at the second tea house and saw people coming and going; many were drinking tea and listening to stories inside. This place was actually a rare bustling spot in Xiuyue County.

The three entered the tea house, asked the waiter for a pot of tea and two portions of pastries, and found a relatively secluded corner to sit.

Inside the tea house, the storyteller spoke with great passion, the audience below was boiling with excitement, and the atmosphere was incredibly lively.

The He Xiuniang looked left and right, saying incredulously, "How could there be a problem here?"

Bai Ke carefully sensed from the backpack behind the He Xiuniang and said softly, "Indeed, there is a scent of blood, but it is very faint; perhaps it will dissipate in a few more days."

"It seems he is more restrained than that Chu Da." Daoist Yan Song sighed, first picked up a pastry to smell, took a small bite, then lifted the teacup to sniff and took a sip, "The pastries and tea are fine."

Gu Zhao's gaze swept around, finally looking at the stage, "If the tea house has no problem, then the tea house owner has a problem."

"There are too many people; let's come back tonight." Daoist Yan Song said softly.

Gu Zhao nodded, picked up a pastry and handed it to the He Xiuniang, "It's just afternoon tea time; let's have a snack first, then find an inn to stay at."

The He Xiuniang happily took the pastry, looked left and right, saw no one paying attention to her, and quietly put the pastry into her backpack.

"Crunch crunch—"

Gu Zhao and Daoist Yan Song drank tea while listening to the storyteller's tale on stage.

The storyteller was performing "The Record of the Golden Hairpin," telling of an official's daughter and a poor scholar eloping and supporting each other, with a fragrant and alluring fox demon interwoven; after a series of misunderstandings, the two women finally served one husband, helping him succeed in the imperial exams and become an official.

"Cliché." Daoist Yan Song shook his head.

"Toxic." Gu Zhao offered his critique.

But the audience around them listened with rapt fascination.

"Excellent!"

"If only an official's daughter would take a fancy to me."

"Dream on; even if there were one, it would be a fox demon coming to suck your essence."

"No need for a fox demon; Old Zhao's essence has already been sucked dry by the women in the Lingxiang Pavilion."

"Hahaha!"

"This storyteller is much better than the ones from the past few days."

"That storyteller was actually quite good too; it's just that he spoke for several days in a row, his spirit was flagging, and we got tired of listening."

"We haven't seen him these past few days; has he left?"

"Probably; storytellers travel everywhere, they only have that few stories in their bellies; once they finish and no one listens, they have to go to a new place, don't they?"

After drinking tea and eating pastries, this storyteller concluded his segment and left the stage; after everyone rested for a moment, two opera singers came up to perform a singing duel.

However, Gu Zhao and the others did not continue listening; instead, they left the tea house together.

"There is still some time before nightfall." Daoist Yan Song looked at the sky, "Shall we go to the next place first?"

"Sure." Gu Zhao nodded.

They came to Xiuyue County this time to subdue demons and monsters and earn malevolent qi; the sooner they finish the work, the sooner they can return to Cuishan Village to rest.

"That courtyard is two streets back; last time I just passed the alley entrance and didn't go deep." Gu Zhao said while walking, "But that alley looks quite dilapidated, and there aren't many people inside."

Daoist Yan Song smiled, "Of course there aren't many people who can share a room with ghosts."

The three quickly arrived at the alley Gu Zhao mentioned, and then...

Weeds grew thick in the cracks of the steps, withered leaves scattered on the ground before the door, the copper rings on the tightly closed gate had rusted, and the red lanterns hanging on either side of the door frame were reduced to bamboo frames and a few scraps of paper.

"Uh... is it an abandoned house?"

Following Gu Zhao's sense to the entrance, everyone then realized this courtyard had long fallen into decline; even the courtyards on both sides had their gates tightly closed, and there weren't many households living in the alley.

Gu Zhao rubbed his chin, "I told you so; if yin qi can seep out even during the day, how can the people in the courtyard survive?"

"This is a true haunted house!" Daoist Yan Song exclaimed with wonder, "It has the vibe; filming a ghost house exploration episode here would definitely go viral, much more real than that 'going to the back mountain to stock up' nonsense."

The He Xiuniang and Bai Ke looked curiously at Daoist Yan Song; they often heard strange words from this old Daoist Priest, where every character was recognizable, but combined they were often not fully understood.

Gu Zhao chimed in, "Then you'd have to pull the ghosts out of this courtyard to act as NPCs."

Daoist Yan Song chuckled and asked Gu Zhao, "Shall we go in and take a look?"

Gu Zhao patted the pouch at his waist, "Let's go in and look; if everyone in this courtyard was killed by him, we'll act as knights-errant and carry out justice for heaven; if he has done no evil, we'll ask for a cup of water and stay for a while."

The Five Thunder Talisman and the Thunder Seed require malevolent qi; those spirits and demons who mind their own business are not on the menu.

The He Xiuniang clenched her fists, mustering courage, "I'll open the door!"

None of Gu Zhao's group stopped her; at this moment, the He Xiuniang not only possessed the Celestial Fox Nail and the Green Feather Fan, but also carried the eighteen Great Heavenly Talismans that Gu Zhao had asked her to keep close to her body; even if Xu Kongting, transformed into a corpse ghost, wanted to kill the He Xiuniang, it would require some trouble.

"Creak—"

The tightly closed gate was pushed open; the He Xiuniang stepped over the threshold cautiously, turned around the screen wall, and upon just glancing into the courtyard, she was startled and stepped back two paces.

The crowd followed the embroiderer inside, also showing a hint of surprise.

Compared to the outside, where wild grass grew, withered branches and fallen leaves lay, cobwebs and dust hung, and copper and iron rusted, the area behind the screen wall was surprisingly clean and tidy.

The bluestone path seemed to have just been sprinkled with water, the surrounding grass appeared to have been carefully tended, and the walls, corridors, main hall, and so on of the front courtyard had all been swept spotless.

Looking out, the main door of the central hall stood wide open; one could even see the tables, chairs, paintings, calligraphy, vases, incense burners, and so on inside, all dust-free, as if someone had been living there all along.