My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

"That's precisely the strange thing," Doctor Chen said in a low voice. "If it were just ordinary excessive indulgence and the harm caused by wine and women, it wouldn't have deteriorated so quickly."

Your son's symptoms seem to indicate that... something has forcibly drained his vital energy.

"Drain it?" Lin Zhenyuan's voice trembled. "What do you mean, sir..."

After a moment's hesitation, Doctor Chen finally spoke: "Chief Escort Lin has been a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) for many years, have you ever heard of the concept of 'sexual cultivation'?"

Lin Zhenyuan's pupils contracted.

There are indeed unorthodox methods in the martial arts world that involve cultivating oneself by absorbing the vital essence of others.

But those were all legendary things; he had lived half his life and had never seen them with his own eyes.

"Sir, are you saying... Feng'er has been cursed?"

"It might not be a person," Doctor Chen stroked his beard. "It could be... something else entirely."

The words were spoken subtly, but Lin Zhenyuan understood them.

If it's not human, then what is it?

He felt a chill creep up from the soles of his feet, instantly chilling his entire body.

"Sir, what... what should we do?" Lin Zhenyuan's voice trembled.

Doctor Chen picked up his pen and wrote a prescription: "I will first prescribe a medicine to strengthen the body and nourish the vital energy. Take it twice a day, morning and evening, to temporarily prevent the vital energy from dissipating."

But this is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause—if it truly is the work of evil spirits, no amount of medicine will help unless the source is eliminated.

He handed the prescription to Lin Zhenyuan and added, "Your son's energy is almost completely depleted; he can only hold on for another half month at most."

If the cause of the illness cannot be eradicated within half a month, even Hua Tuo reborn would be powerless to save it.

Half a month...

Lin Zhenyuan's knuckles turned white as he gripped the prescription.

After seeing off Physician Chen, he returned to the east wing.

Lin Yunfeng had fallen asleep again, his breathing weak, his brows furrowed, as if he were having a nightmare.

Lin Zhenyuan sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his son's pale and thin face. He remembered how his son had been sick as a child and had also slept curled up like this, with him staying by his bedside all night long.

His wife had just passed away, and he held the tiny baby in his arms, vowing to God that he would protect him for the rest of his life.

But now...

"Father is useless..." Lin Zhenyuan muttered to himself, his eyes reddening.

The autumn wind outside the window grew stronger, making the windowpanes whistle and rattle, as if someone were crying.

At the beginning of the Xu hour, the sky was completely dark.

Lin Zhenyuan stood in the courtyard, looking in the direction of his son's room.

The windows were dark, and Lin Yunfeng was sleeping soundly.

But he knew that in a little while, his son would sneak out again—just like every night for the past two weeks.

"This can't go on," Lin Zhenyuan muttered to himself.

He summoned his steward Lin Fu and his three most trusted old bodyguards—all of whom had been his brothers for over twenty years.

"Master, what are your orders?" The four men stood at attention.

Lin Zhenyuan lowered his voice: "Yunfeng will definitely go out tonight. Follow me, and we'll sneak behind him. I want to see who's behind this!"

"Master, should we wait for Chief Escort Zhao and the others to return?" one of the escorts asked. "They're on their mission to the southwest; they should be arriving soon."

Zhao Damang was the second-in-command of the escort agency. He was experienced, bold, and meticulous.

With him around, there is definitely more certainty.

But Lin Zhenyuan couldn't wait any longer.

Every time my son goes out every night, he loses a bit of his vital energy.

If we let things continue tonight, who knows what tomorrow will bring?

"We can't wait any longer." Lin Zhenyuan shook his head. "Da Mang and the others might have been delayed on the way. Let's follow them and see. If it really is someone causing trouble, we'll take them down on the spot!"

The three veteran bodyguards exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

They were all people who had lived by the sword, they didn't believe in ghosts or gods, they only believed in the sword in their hands.

If someone is really trying to harm the young master by playing tricks, we must make them know how powerful the Weiyuan Escort Agency is!

"Get ready, wear dark clothes, and bring weapons," Lin Zhenyuan ordered. "Remember, you're just following them. Don't attack without my orders."

"yes!"

It's almost midnight.

Lin Yunfeng's room door quietly opened a crack.

A slender figure flashed out and crept along the wall toward the back door of the security agency.

In the shadows, Lin Zhenyuan made a hand gesture, and the five men followed silently.

The night was dark, and there was no moon.

Lin Yunfeng walked quickly, his steps unsteady but his goal clear, passing through quiet streets and heading straight for the west of the city.

Lin Zhenyuan's heart sank little by little.

It was indeed heading in the direction of Willow Flower Lane.

Just as they were about to enter Willow Flower Lane, Lin Yunfeng suddenly turned a corner and took a small road leading out of the city.

"This..." one of the bodyguards whispered, "Master, this road leads to the mass grave!"

Lin Zhenyuan's face turned ashen.

The mass grave was located five miles west of the city, where Jingyang Prefecture buried unidentified corpses and death row inmates.

Ordinary people don't want to go near it during the day, and at night it's even more haunted by ghosts.

How did my son end up there?!

"Keep up!" Lin Zhenyuan gritted his teeth.

The five men continued to follow. Once outside the city, the roads were deserted, save for the howling night wind that rustled the withered grass along the roadside.

In the distance, a few phosphorescent lights could be faintly seen in the direction of the mass grave, drifting eerily.

Lin Yunfeng, however, felt as if he were returning home, and his steps became lighter.

After walking for another mile or so, a wasteland appeared ahead.

On the barren land, a mansion stood out!

Lin Zhenyuan and the others stood there, stunned.

They had passed through this place more than once, and they clearly remembered it as a chaotic graveyard. When did such a large house appear here?

The courtyard occupies a considerable area, with blue bricks and gray tiles, a vermilion gate, and two red lanterns hanging in front of the gate.

The light emanating from the lanterns wasn't a warm yellow, but a dim green, making the words on the door plaque illegible.

Even more bizarrely, there was no other house around the courtyard; it stood alone on the edge of a mass grave.

"Master...this house..." Lin Fu's voice trembled, "I passed by here during the day, and there was clearly nothing here..."

A chill ran down Lin Zhenyuan's spine.

He had traveled all over the country for many years and had heard of all sorts of bizarre scenes, but this was the first time he had ever seen a house appear out of thin air.

This isn't someone playing tricks.

This really is... an evil spirit!

Just then, the vermilion gate creaked open.

A man dressed in a blue cloth robe, resembling a steward, stepped forward and bowed to Lin Yunfeng.

"Young Master Lin, Miss has been waiting for quite some time."

His voice was dry and hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.

Lin Yunfeng smiled and nodded, then strode through the gate.

The butler followed closely behind, and the door slowly closed again.

The green light of the lanterns flickered, illuminating two large, indistinct characters on the plaque above the door:

婉宅

......

Lin Zhenyuan lay prone behind a sloping earthen bank at the edge of the mass grave, his fingernails digging deep into the cold soil.

He watched as his son, Lin Yunfeng, walked towards the house that had appeared out of nowhere, like a sleepwalker.

Watching the vermilion gate open automatically, watching the butler in his blue robe bow to greet him, watching his son step across the threshold—

Then the door creaked shut.

The warm yellow light of the lanterns was blocked by the door panel, leaving only two hazy halos of light reflected on the porch.

The entire courtyard fell into an eerie silence once more, with only the night wind making soft "popping" sounds as it blew through the paper lanterns.

"Master..." Butler Lin Fu lowered his voice, his tone filled with terror, "Young Master... he really went in..."

The three veteran bodyguards—Zhang Kui, Li Tie, and Wang Biao—all turned pale.