Chapter 768: Jinhua Cat Spirit

“Fox spirit?”

Kuai Dayou laughed, glancing at the little white fox Chuqi beside Lu San, and said, “We’ve got a real one here, Lu brother—why don’t you go fetch her back to keep little Chuqi company…”

“Uhh~”

Before he finished speaking, the little white fox lunged forward and tore at his clothes.

Yu Hailin saw this and his heart sank; he rose at once to take his leave.

He had paid heavily for information about the Twelve Zodiac Spirits, bringing substantial gold, yet these people still treated him with mockery and evasion—they clearly had no intention of taking the job.

Wang Daoxuan opened his mouth but said nothing.

They had other urgent matters and truly dared not accept it.

“Wait!”

At that moment, a voice came from outside the cabin—it was Li Yan, returning.

“Little Brother Li has returned?”

Everyone rose to their feet.

The wealthy merchant Yu Hailin’s heart stirred; he looked at Li Yan with hopeful eyes.

He had gathered thorough intelligence—he knew Li Yan was the leader.

The others said nothing; they knew Li Yan must have a reason.

“Mr. Yu, we’ll take the job.”

Li Yan looked at Yu Hailin and spoke gravely.

Yu Hailin was overjoyed, bowing repeatedly: “Thank you, Young Master Li! Thank you, all revered immortals! If you save my son, I, Yu, will sell every last possession…”

“Not so fast.”

Li Yan cut him off. “We’ll waive the fee, but we have one condition.”

“Within two days, you must obtain for us an official river exit permit issued by the government, ensuring our large ship can sail unimpeded to Jinling. Can you do it?”

Yu Hailin hesitated. Though wealthy beyond measure and connected to the canal transport and naval forces, Yangzhou was under strict lockdown; acquiring an official pass was no simple matter.

Yet his son’s life hung by a thread; after a moment of struggle, he gritted his teeth and declared, “I can! The naval commandant is my brother-in-law—he’s currently in the city discussing defense with the canal transport commander. I’ll beg on my old face, spend a fortune, and get the special permit by midnight! Rest assured, Young Master and all revered immortals!”

“Good!”

Li Yan nodded. “Since Mr. Yu is so straightforward, we won’t waste words.”

“Long Yan, Wu Ba, Sha Lifei, Kuai Dayou, Kong Shangzhao, and Lin Fatty stay aboard to guard the ship and Lin Yaozong, awaiting the permit. Master Wang Daoxuan, Brother Lu, come with me to the Yu residence.”

He looked at Wang Daoxuan and Lu San; both nodded in agreement.

They had long worked together in demon-slaying and exorcism, capable of handling most situations.

The cabin’s valuables also required guards.

Seeing their decisive, no-nonsense actions, Yu Hailin’s hope deepened; he hurriedly ordered servants to prepare a sedan chair and led Li Yan and the others swiftly away from the noisy dock toward the Yu residence in the city.

The sedan chair moved through the night streets of Yangzhou.

Without the clamor of the dock and riverbank, the city’s alleys felt colder under lockdown—only the footsteps of night patrol soldiers and distant, muffled dog barks broke the silence.

Inside the sedan, Yu Hailin seized the moment to recount his son’s ordeal in detail.

“My son, Qing’er, is seventeen, always honest, studying at An Ding Academy. A few days ago, he and several classmates visited a friend at the ‘Your Majesty Hermitage’ by Guangling Lake outside the city.”

“The hermitage, nestled near deep mountains, was a serene place for scholarly gatherings. But after spending the night there, he returned in a daze, speaking of meeting a white-robed fairy during his midnight stroll. The fairy claimed to be a mountain cultivator who, seeing Qing’er’s talent and beauty, fell in love with him…”

At this, Yu Hailin’s face filled with anxiety: “At first, we thought it was just a boy’s springtime fantasy. But since returning, Qing’er has lost his appetite, grown drastically thin, stared at mirrors with a vacant laugh, and often gazed out the window, muttering, ‘She’s waiting for me to keep our appointment.’”

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard thoughtfully and said, “Mr. Yu, forgive me, but we must be frank: in our years traveling the land, many cases that seem demonic are actually hidden truths. Has your son been involved with a woman, and have you opposed it?”

They had seen too many such cases.

True cultivators were rare across Shenzhou; ordinary folk rarely encountered them. Most people never met a malevolent spirit in their lives.

Many swore they were possessed, yet the truth was often different.

Some witch doctors and shamans exploited such fears to extort money, but they were no longer such people—they had no time to waste, so they asked directly.

“If that were the case, it would be better.”

Yu Hailin’s voice trembled. “My son speaks to shadows in the corner at night, behaving strangely, almost mad. We’ve summoned several physicians—all shook their heads, saying a spirit has entered his body, beyond medicine.”

“We’ve invited every notable Daoist in the city—Master Huijue from Tianning Temple, Daoist Zhou from the City God Temple—performed countless rituals, poured buckets of talisman water—all useless.”

“In the past two days, his condition worsened: his eyes grew dull, his face pale as paper, and now he vomits blood! He raves nonsense—talking of death, of following that fairy away…”

At this, tears welled in his eyes, his voice choked. “To be honest… my son… his body now emits… a faint, lingering fox stench!”

“Fox stench?” Lu San frowned slightly.

The little white fox Chuqi, quietly crouched on his shoulder, seemed to sense something; her tiny nose twitched, and a low, puzzled hum escaped her throat.

Wang Daoxuan pondered. “A nighttime encounter at the hermitage… a white-robed fairy… a bewitching illness… from your description, it sounds like he’s been ensnared by a succubus, drained of his vital essence.”

“Fox spirits are indeed the most commonly reported among such entities.”

Li Yan lifted the sedan curtain, gazing into the distance. “No rush—we’ll know once we arrive.”

Soon, the sedan stopped before a grand mansion in southern Yangzhou.

Above the gate hung the characters “Yu Fu,” its lanterns dim, radiating a suffocating atmosphere.

The Yu family, major grain merchants, had built an impressive residence: a vast Huizhou-style compound with three inner courtyards, blending Suzhou garden features.

Yet Li Yan and the others paid no heed to its beauty; they entered the inner quarters directly and arrived at Yu Qing’s room.

Before even stepping inside, a thick, indescribable, foul stench hit them.

The room was filled with expensive sandalwood incense—clearly meant to mask the odor.

Yu Qing lay on his bed, pinned down by several strong servants; his face was yellow and withered as dead wood, his sunken eyes blazing with unnatural excitement as he stared at the ceiling, lips moving as if speaking to invisible beings, his arms covered in self-inflicted scratch wounds.

The strange odor emanated from him.

Li Yan stood at the doorway, his nostrils flaring rapidly and lightly.

He frowned. “The smell is wrong.”

This odor… felt familiar.

It smelled like fox stench, yet more like the urine of some animal mixed with rotting fur!

Suddenly, his eyes lit up—he remembered what he’d seen on the way to Qionghua Pavilion.

“Not fox stench—it’s cat! A… stale wild cat stench!”

His sense of smell was far keener than any ordinary person’s.

At this, Wang Daoxuan and Lu San both grew alert.