The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 378 Want merit points? Help me!

Guided by the incense, Lang Jiuchuan and A Piao followed the incense held by Qiao Yang to Qingchifang, an inner river that runs through the entire east and west city. Standing under a bridge, the incense stopped moving forward and instead circled around, spiraling upwards.

Ah Piao said with a stern face, "It will end here."

Lang Jiuchuan looked at this area. After crossing the bridge, he would reach the west side of the city, where most of the residents were ordinary people. Across the river, the area on the other side was much more bustling than the east side of the city.

To their right was a tall wall, its surface weathered and worn, as if it hadn't been maintained for a long time.

"What is this place?" Lang Jiuchuan looked at the wall. It was very long, and it was clear that there was a large mansion on the other side of the wall.

"This is the Ren family mansion, a notorious haunted house in Qingchifang. About fifteen years ago, the entire Ren family, all one hundred members, died suddenly in one night. Legend has it that they were haunted by vengeful spirits, and thus the house became a haunted house. There are also rumors that at midnight, the house is filled with ghostly energy, and that the hundred members of the Ren family are moving around as if they were alive." Qiao Yang explained, "So the house has been empty and abandoned ever since."

Lang Jiuchuan looked closely and saw that there was yin energy, but no ghostly energy.

Ah Piao said, "Rumors are not to be believed. I went in to investigate, and there wasn't a single ghost in sight. Not to mention the Ren family, even wandering ghosts don't go this way." He looked at Lang Jiuchuan and said, "He's not here. I've already looked."

Lang Jiuchuan, however, felt something was amiss and said, "You mean not even a ghost would come this way to this house?"

Ah Piao nodded, but then suddenly felt something was off.

"Such a large haunted house, it's one thing for people not to dare to approach, but even ghosts wouldn't dare to come and dwell here, interesting." Lang Jiuchuan looked deeply into the courtyard inside the wall, his burning gaze seemingly trying to penetrate the wall and explore the true face inside.

Ah Piao frowned. Compared to wandering the streets like a lost soul, having a place to stay would be better than just drifting around aimlessly. But there wasn't a single ghost in the Ren family. Strange.

"Master, what do we do now? The incense is about to go out." Qiao Yang's voice trembled.

Lang Jiuchuan looked at the Soul-Guiding Incense in his hand, which, though no longer extending, was still swirling around.

She made another hand seal and flicked the incense stick. The incense in Qiao Yang's hand trembled slightly, and the swirling smoke began to extend again, pointing directly at the haunted house.

The ghost said, "Impossible, I've led a search party."

“If someone deliberately conceals her presence, it will be very difficult to find her, especially with the help of formations.”

Ah Piao's face darkened; he hadn't considered that possibility.

Qiao Yang's body went weak: "My daughter is just an ordinary girl. Who kidnapped her and went to such lengths to imprison her with an array?"

Lang Jiuchuan and Apiao exchanged a glance but remained silent, clearly preoccupied with some unpleasant thoughts, especially given that it had only been less than three months since the disappearance of the girl with a purely Yin birth chart.

"There's a lake inside." The bone bell that Lang Jiuchuan had tied around his waist as an accessory, and the water sprite inside, who had been as quiet as a chicken, suddenly said, "How dirty!"

It is a water spirit, and it is most easily sensitive to water vapor in the air. In addition to the inner river next to it, there is also a lake in this haunted house. The two kinds of water vapor are different. One is mixed, and the other, how to say it, is a bit disgusting!
The ghost glanced at the water spirit and narrowed its eyes.

The water spirit wisely refrained from revealing the ghost's true form to Qiao Yang. It was a good water spirit and wouldn't frighten mortals, especially poor fathers who had lost their daughters!

Look at him, wiping his nose with his sleeve, so pathetic.

However, this is what she meant by not being limited to a single lake or pond, but being able to absorb water vapor for cultivation anywhere.
"We should also go and investigate this haunted house."

The incense has already shown the way; there's no reason not to go in.

The group turned into the alley and found the side gate, which was already locked and sealed off.

The unclaimed, haunted house, not yet sold, falls under the government's jurisdiction and is under its sealed-off management. Although it appears dilapidated after more than a decade of neglect, it is still a well-maintained mansion, located in the east of the city. In Wujing, where land is incredibly valuable, even a haunted house is worth a considerable sum. Therefore, the only way to enter is to climb over the wall.

Lang Jiuchuan and Apiao could flip freely, but the chubby Qiao Yang was in a dilemma. He looked at the two of them expectantly and said, "How about I find a dog hole?"

Since he was already here, he was determined to find Yao Yao.

Ah Piao's lips twitched. She grabbed him by the collar, lightly touched the ground with her toes, and floated him into the Ren family's residence.

Lang Jiuchuan followed closely behind.

Upon entering the courtyard, a stench of decay and ruin assaults the nostrils. Perhaps it is due to the rainy season, for even the soil carries an earthy smell, along with an indescribable stench, like blood, or something else entirely.

The Ren family's residence was a large mansion with five courtyards. The garden was divided into front and back courtyards, and there was a river and lake to the south. As far as the eye could see, the red paint on the gate was peeling off, and weeds were growing everywhere, showing signs of decay.

Lang Jiuchuan stood on the central axis of the Ren family mansion, her brows furrowed, and pressed her chest, feeling unwell.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Che noticed the change in her aura and jumped out to squat on her shoulder.

Lang Jiuchuan said, "I don't know, I feel a tightness in my chest."

She surveyed the Ren family mansion, her eyes growing deep. As Qiao Yang recounted the events with awe and fear, a horrific scene of bloodshed seemed to flash through her mind: from the elderly to the infants, all had perished overnight.

She looked down at the blue bricks under her feet. The cracks were dark red, as if a lot of blood had seeped in. More than ten years of washing had not been able to completely clean them. Instead, they had become one with the blue bricks.

After that night, this place became a forbidden haunted house in the eyes of the living.

But there are no ghosts in the haunted house!

In the blink of an eye, tears welled up in Lang Jiuchuan's eyes, startling him so much that he almost dropped the chariot: "What's wrong with you?"

The ghost looked over and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"It's awful!" Lang Jiuchuan took out a porcelain bottle, swallowed two pills, and then circulated his inner energy to suppress the gloom and resentment in his chest. He said, "Let's go."

Lang Jiuchuan pushed Qiao Yang to walk quickly. It was as if someone was fanning the incense, making it burn faster and faster, and the green smoke became thinner and thinner until the green smoke dissipated and the incense completely disappeared. The group stood by the lake at the Ren residence.

"Look to the south, towards the water, is that what you mean?" The ghost glanced at the location of the lake, then looked at the stagnant pool in the lake, and frowned.

Where did they come from?

He looked into the lake, and as if struck by a sudden thought, his expression turned cold, and he subconsciously glanced at Lang Jiuchuan.

A gust of cold wind swept through the hall, bringing with it a putrid stench.

Looking at the still, inky lake, Lang Jiuchuan took out another incense stick and lit it. The incense drifted towards the center of the lake, but it dispersed after traveling less than three zhang, as if something was preventing it from moving forward.

"Interesting!" She scoffed, shaking the water spirit inside the bone bell. "Want merit points? Then go down and help me find out what's going on?"

Shui Jing: "?"

Are we very familiar with each other?
(End of this chapter)