Uncle Nine: Scattering beans to create soldiers? I'm using plants and trees to create soldiers.

"Mr. Zhang, what exactly has happened at your residence?"

Lin Xuan looked at Boss Zhang and asked.

"Master Lin, to be honest, there's a problem with a house I recently bought in Qingmu Town!" Boss Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said in a trembling voice, "Recently, every night around midnight, there are ghostly figures moving around near the well in the backyard of my house, along with gusts of cold wind and extremely shrill screams..."

Old Zhang swallowed hard, trembling as he continued, "Moreover, ever since we moved into that house, my family and I have been getting weaker day by day. We constantly feel a chill in our backs, our limbs are cold and weak, and we vomit everything we eat. We saw the doctor in town, who just said it was some kind of cold, but after taking more than ten doses of medicine, it didn't work. It's really frightening!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow and subtly circulated the pure Dao Qi within his body to his eyes.

At the same time, a subtle glint flashed in his eyes.

When Lin Xuan's gaze fell on Boss Zhang, he sensed a faint trace of Yin energy within him.

"Ghostly shadows in the middle of the night, and chilling winds that threaten to kill, not only harm the spirit but also damage one's yang energy." Lin Xuan nodded slightly, his tone reassuringly confident. "Judging from Boss Zhang's description, there must be a vengeful spirit lingering in this house, and its resentment is quite deep. As for what kind of vengeful spirit it is, I, Lin, will have to personally go to the site to investigate and find out."

Boss Zhang was overjoyed upon hearing this. "No problem, no problem! My carriage is parked outside. Daoist Lin, shall we set off now?"

Lin Xuan nodded and said, "Okay, please wait a moment, Boss Zhang, while I go and tell my junior brothers."

As for Master Ren, he did not accompany them because he had business to attend to in town.

But before leaving, he repeatedly assured Boss Zhang that with Lin Xuan, Uncle Nine's top disciple, on his side, there would be no problem.

With Mr. Ren's endorsement, Boss Zhang felt a little more at ease.

Lin Xuan took a carriage back to the mortuary and gave Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai a few brief instructions, telling them to take good care of the "spiritual field" and the precious plants in the water tank. Then he got into Boss Zhang's carriage.

The carriage bumped along the way.

Around noon, we finally arrived at the nearby town of Aoki.

Boss Zhang's new house is located at the east end of the town and occupies a large area.

The vermilion gate exudes grandeur, and the two white marble lions at the entrance are exquisitely carved.

The butler was waiting at the door early in the morning. When he saw that his master had invited back such a young Taoist priest, a look of surprise and suspicion flashed in his eyes.

"This is Master Lin, a highly accomplished disciple of Uncle Nine!"

Boss Zhang began to introduce the business.

"So you're Uncle Nine's esteemed disciple! My apologies for not recognizing you sooner! With Master Lin here, my master's house is surely saved!"

The butler, having heard of Uncle Nine's name, felt a chill run down his spine and quickly abandoned his contempt, bowing deeply.

"Let's go in and check the situation first."

Lin Xuan remained calm, his hands behind his back, and strode across the threshold.

As soon as you step into the Zhang family mansion, a rich sandalwood scent wafts over you.

While in the car, Lin Xuan had heard Boss Zhang mention that the Zhang family's ancestors made their fortune in the timber business.

The furniture in his house was mostly made of precious woods such as rosewood and huanghuali, exuding an air of wealth and luxury.

As Lin Xuan walked, he subtly surveyed his surroundings.

The first few courtyards were fairly normal, except for a slightly cold and unwelcoming atmosphere.

However, the moment the three of them passed through the moon gate and stepped into the backyard, the situation changed.

Even though the sun was blazing, a chill ran from the soles of my feet straight to my head as soon as I stepped into the backyard.

Boss Zhang and the butler exchanged a glance, their faces visibly paling, their eyes filled with fear.

Lin Xuan stopped and looked around.

Thanks to his [Plant Affinity] trait, Lin Xuan has become extremely sensitive to the vitality of plants.

He could tell at a glance that the soil in the backyard was dry and black, presenting a deathly gray color.

A large tree planted next to the well has now withered and died, its bark cracked and peeling off.

Even the vines on the courtyard wall had all lost their vitality.

"The life force of plants has been completely stripped away; this malevolent energy is considerable..."

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes and strode straight toward the well in the center of the courtyard.

The closer you get to the well, the more pungent the smell in the air becomes.

The smell was sticky and nauseating, making one want to vomit.

Lin Xuan had been in the mortuary for a long time, and he immediately recognized the smell as the stench of a corpse!

Walking to the edge of the well, Lin Xuan looked down.

The well water was dark and black, resembling a piece of dark blue stone.

He closed his eyes, and the pure Dao Qi within his body spread out like ripples.

He probed the well with his divine sense and clearly perceived that there was a faint, indistinct aura of resentment lingering at the bottom of the well.

However, what is strange is that,

The bottom of the well was empty; there was no physical ghost or trace of a corpse.

A moment later, Lin Xuan suppressed his aura, slowly opened his eyes, and turned back.

Boss Zhang hurriedly stepped forward, nervously swallowing hard: "Master Lin, is there something unclean in this well?"

Lin Xuan looked at him, his tone low and menacing, and dropped a bombshell: "This well is indeed very problematic! If I'm not mistaken, a corpse once submerged at the bottom of this well."

"What?!"

Boss Zhang and the butler exchanged a glance, their faces instantly draining of color and turning deathly pale.

Lin Xuan ignored their shock, his gaze sweeping over their bluish foreheads as he continued to deliver the final blow: "Boss Zhang, the coldness, discomfort, weakness, and nausea you felt earlier weren't simply due to the invasion of yin wind, but because... you drank the corpse water from this well."

"vomit--!!!"

As soon as Lin Xuan finished speaking, the butler next to him felt a buzzing in his brain and his stomach churned violently.

He could no longer control himself!

He scrambled to the corner of the wall, leaned against it, and began to vomit violently, as if he wanted to vomit up even his bile.

Boss Zhang's face instantly turned from white to green, and his whole body trembled violently as if he were being shaken.

His legs were so weak that he could barely stand.

But in the end, he covered his mouth tightly, forcing down the extreme nausea rising in his throat.

"Master Lin..." Boss Zhang swallowed hard, cold sweat streaming down his face. "But...but we've never used water directly from this abandoned well since we moved in! We drink water from the well in the front yard, how could we have drunk corpse water?"

Lin Xuan shook his head and patiently explained, "The water systems are connected. The water system under this house is connected to the same underground river. The corpse is submerged in the underground current. Even if you use the well in the front yard, the water you draw up will still flow through that corpse."

Upon hearing this explanation, Boss Zhang could no longer hold back. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with despair.

"Master Lin, you mean... there used to be a corpse in this well, but now it's gone?" Boss Zhang asked in a trembling voice. "Where could the corpse have gone? Could it have drifted with the water to one of the other wells in the courtyard?!"

"It's possible, but unlikely." Lin Xuan pondered for a moment and analyzed methodically, "This corpse must contain extremely strong resentment. It was most likely that it died unjustly by jumping into a well."

Because of the overwhelming resentment, the corpse neither sank nor decayed, but remained trapped in the water within this small area, constantly swirling around.

Therefore, the body might drift away with the undercurrent during the day, and at night, drawn by the resentment, it would be brought back to the well by the current.

Lin Xuan paused, his deep gaze fixed on Boss Zhang: "If this corpse hadn't only occasionally flowed through this area, you would have been drinking this highly concentrated corpse water every day, and you probably wouldn't have lasted more than three days before you died!"

"No wonder, no wonder this house is priced below market value..."

"So, this is a haunted house!!"

Boss Zhang clenched his fists, wishing he could find the person who sold his house immediately!

Then, they poured the water from the well into the man's mouth!

Well water...

Corpse, corpse fluid...

vomit--

Boss Zhang couldn't help but feel like vomiting.

At this moment, Lin Xuan asked, "Boss Zhang, did you only hear screams and see ghostly figures around the well in this backyard?"

Upon hearing this, Boss Zhang suppressed his nausea and nodded repeatedly, "Yes! It's been like this for three days in a row. She starts crying at midnight, and it's so loud it makes your scalp tingle..."

Lin Xuan nodded, already having made up his mind.

Since there's a pattern to it, it'll most likely show up again tonight.

"Let's go, forget about this well for now. Your house is quite large, let's take a look around the other courtyards and see if there are any other hidden dangers."

Lin Xuan pointed to the other courtyards and said to Boss Zhang.

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to Master Lin!"

Boss Zhang hurriedly stood up, his legs still trembling.

At this moment, the butler also vomited until he saw stars, and weakly walked back, leaning against the wall.

Afterwards, the three of them carefully explored each courtyard along the bluestone path.

One room,

Two rooms,

Three rooms

When Lin Xuan arrived at the fourth courtyard, his gaze swept across the room and landed on a potted plant.

"Um?"

Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly, and a sharp glint flashed in his normally calm eyes.

There's actually a white-quality spiritual plant in this boss's house?