The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 236 A Special Deal

The morning mist in Sanwu Town dampened the bluestone road. After driving all night, Qi Fei and Zhong Xiaoyu finally arrived at this long-awaited town.

But this time, Qi Fei couldn't hold the hand of the person next to him.

She took off her high heels and put on flat sneakers.

It was a strange feeling of things being different now, even though the person was right beside him.

At the end of the dimly lit alley, two gray shadows gradually appeared.

Further ahead, the outline of the shadow gradually became clearer, revealing Granny Meng's thin body and the large cat Rakshasa.

The two, a person and a cat, showed no joy at seeing their owner; instead, their four eyes stared intently at Zhong Xiaoyu, filled with hostility.

Rakshasa's amber eyes gleamed with a fierce light like a leopard's, its fur stood on end, and it hissed threateningly.

"This day has finally come," Granny Meng's aged voice came through the thin mist.

"Hmph~~" Zhong Xiaoyu said contemptuously, "He's just a brat raised by Zhong Kui, don't get in the way of our business."

Upon hearing this, Granny Meng was not angry at all. Instead, she grinned and reached into her slanted clothes with her dry, twig-like hand, pulling out a wind chime.

Qi Fei recognized it as the wind chime hanging in the wooden house in the mountains.

Then, a familiar "ding-a-ling" sound rang out.

Upon hearing this sound, Zhong Xiaoyu's expression changed, and she immediately covered her ears with both hands, shouting, "Stop!"

Grandma Meng wouldn't stop; with the movement of her hand, the wind chimes rang out again.

While Qi Fei was still wondering what was going on...

Zhong Xiaoyu suddenly lowered her hand that was covering her ears, straightened up, and glanced at her clothes with disdain: "Ha, what boring taste."

Then, looking at Qi Fei, she reached out and hooked her arm around his neck, kissing him on the cheek.

Qi Fei was overjoyed; Zhong Kui was back.

"You..." Qi Fei looked at the radiant Zhong Kui in front of him, then at the expressionless Granny Meng and Luo Sha, unsure how to sort out his thoughts. The image of the first time he met Zhong Kui began to surface in his mind, the wind chimes on the wooden gate, their soothing sound still echoing in his ears. "Could it be that you prepared this wind chime for yourself?"

"You're starting to get smarter, my silly handsome guy." Zhong Kui still had that flippant attitude.

"How did you do that? Why did you come back as soon as Granny Meng rang the wind chimes?"

“It’s very simple. I just did a little conditioning training on myself. Meditation and the sound of wind chimes have formed a directional conditioning. After years of repeated training, I can be awakened by the sound of wind chimes.” Zhong Kui’s eyes turned cold as he spoke. “From the very beginning, Zhong Xiaoyu has never been a trustworthy person. No one in this world knows her better than I do.”

"Did you also design the return to Sanwu Town?"

“You’re wrong. I couldn’t influence Zhong Xiaoyu back then. She knew what she was doing.” Zhong Kui’s words were loaded with meaning.

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing." Zhong Kui suddenly avoided Qi Fei's gaze. "I know what she brought you here to find. Come with me." With that, she turned and walked forward.

"Zhong Kui, you're hiding something from me." Qi Fei caught up in a few steps, pressing for an answer. "If you want to save your father, don't get caught up in these irrelevant details," Zhong Kui firmly refused.

Qi Fei was unwilling but knew that Zhong Kui was right, so he had no choice but to follow her on the bluestone path where the morning mist was gradually dissipating.

They crossed an old bridge and turned east into a small alley.

The townspeople were still asleep when the footsteps of several people could be clearly heard. Soon, a small archway appeared ahead, its black wooden door tightly shut.

A worn-out wooden board lay askew against the moss-covered white wall, with the words "Premium 500 yuan, Medium 300 yuan, Ordinary 100 yuan, No bargaining" written on it in black paint.

It looks like a place for doing business.

"No bargaining?" Qi Fei turned around and looked at the long alley he had come from. "What kind of business does this place do? So arrogant. It's true that good wine needs no bush."

Zhong Kui and Granny Meng simultaneously cast enigmatic glances at him, and then Zhong Kui raised his hand and knocked on the wooden door.

A short while later, the sound of a lock being opened came from inside, followed by a creak as the door opened. A head peeked out from the crack in the door; it was an old man with gray hair, wearing reading glasses, and sleepily looking at them.

The old man shuddered the moment he saw Zhong Kui, his sleepiness vanishing instantly. He flung open the door and exclaimed, "Great Immortal, what brings you here? Please, please come in!"

Having not returned to Sanwu Town for a long time, Qi Fei had almost forgotten the almost divine treatment Zhong Kui received in the town.

However, he remembered that most people in town knew Granny Meng, and Zhong Kui rarely showed up on her own.

But the old man in front of him recognized Zhong Kui immediately, which made Qi Fei feel strange.

Passing through this small archway, you enter a small, square courtyard that looks quite old.

Along the courtyard wall, there were stacks of jars of various shapes, some with lids and some without.

"They really do sell alcohol?" Qi Fei muttered.

The old man's eyesight was failing, but his hearing was still sharp. He immediately turned around and grinned at him, saying, "Everyone in this town knows what I, Old Feng, sell. I don't sell wine. Guess what I sell?"

"Are you keeping us in suspense?" Qi Fei looked around, unconvinced.

I noticed that there were also jars in the living room with the prices written on them: 100, 300, and 500. It seemed to be the price list that was posted at the entrance. However, some of them also had the date and the person's name written on them.

These people all had different names, but coincidentally, they were all born in the next three days.

Seeing Qi Fei's serious deduction, Zhong Kui mischievously gave the answer directly: "Don't guess, Lao Feng sells urns for ashes."

"It's rare to see something as purely handmade as ours on the market these days," Old Feng said with pride.

Qi Fei finally understood. It turned out that the names on the urns were all people who had died recently. The families had asked Lao Feng to order the urns, and the dates were the cremation dates. Normally, there isn't a long gap between death and cremation, so it's no wonder that they were all within the last three days.

“Our family has been in this business for generations, and I am the tenth generation,” Old Feng said, eagerly leading Zhong Kui to the guest room. He was about to boil water for tea, but Zhong Kui stopped him.

"Old Feng, stop busying yourself. You know what my appearance means." Zhong Kui's voice was so clear, each word resounding in the dimly lit living room.

Upon hearing this, Lao Feng dropped the tin kettle in his hand with a "clatter" to the ground, and froze on the spot.

At this moment, Qi Fei noticed Lao Feng's hands. His rough palms were not flat like normal people's, but slightly curved...