He Jiaqing asked in astonishment, “Why did you leave it at the train station?”

Li Banfeng sighed. “It’s a long story.”

He Jiaqing ushered Li Banfeng inside and shut the front door behind him.

However, Li Banfeng lingered at the doorway, still hesitant about whether going inside was the right choice.

If he chose to leave now, he would fall out of favor with He Jiaqing. And if things got hostile, could he make it out alive?

“Let’s talk inside,” He Jiaqing said, leading Li Banfeng through the entrance hall.

Having spent the day trudging through the wilderness and walking around on dirt paths, Li Banfeng’s leather shoes were covered in mud. He took two steps into the entrance hall, leaving behind a pair of muddy shoeprints on the rug.

He Jiaqing stopped in his tracks and looked at the rug. Li Banfeng gave an awkward smile and quickly took off his shoes.

However, his socks weren’t much cleaner than his shoes. During his encounter with the black bear, muddy water had flooded into his shoes. They had dried on the way to the He Family’s old residence and stiffened with bits of mud.

Li Banfeng slipped on a pair of slippers and handed the feather duster to He Jiaqing.

He Jiaqing accepted it with a blank stare. He didn’t understand what Li Banfeng meant by it.

Li Banfeng said, “Just a little gift from me.”

He Jiaqing shook his head and sighed. “Banfeng, you never behave properly, do you?”

Li Banfeng replied sincerely, “Is it not proper behaviour to bring a gift when you visit someone’s home?”

He Jiaqing shook his head helplessly and placed the feather duster in a corner of the living room.

Seeing that reminded Li Banfeng of something Granny Wu used to say back at the orphanage.

“Respectable households never keep feather dusters in the living room. With chicken feathers around, the wind will blow in garlic skins. Petty troubles, but trouble all the same.[1]“

Nevertheless, this wasn’t the time for Li Banfeng to be thinking about the feather duster.

He Jiaqing led Li Banfeng into the living room, and Li Banfeng sat down on the sofa.

The house was lavishly furnished. However, just like everywhere else Li Banfeng had been to in Puluo, it had no electricity.

He Jiaqing reached for the candlestick on the coffee table and lit its candle. He then poured Li Banfeng a cup of tea and asked about his journey.

“Banfeng, I messaged you the whole way here. Why didn’t you reply at all?”

“When the train got to Girdle-Slipping Hollow, my phone died. The train broke down too, so I couldn’t charge it. I never even saw your messages,” said Li Banfeng as he raised the teacup to his lips.

Just as he was about to take a sip, his nose was hit with a fishy scent from the tea.

Li Banfeng frowned. “You didn’t use the water from your goldfish tank to make this tea, did you?”

“What nonsense are you saying? Water from my goldfish tank? I used premium tea leaves! I’ll have you know I don’t take these out for just anyone!”

“Oh, it’s premium tea.”

Li Banfeng brought the teacup back to his lips, tilting the teacup slightly to take a sip. However, the teacup still had as much tea as before, because he hadn’t actually drunk any of it.

He Jiaqing said, “I heard something happened to the train and was worried that you didn’t have anything to eat on board. I’ve been worried sick these past few days.”

Li Banfeng smiled. “Oh, I had food. What bothered me were the bizarre things I saw and heard on the way here. And Jiaqing, you still haven’t told me… What on earth is going on? What is this place? And the person lying in the hospital, who is that?”

He Jiaqing smiled back. “That’s a long story. I could talk for three days and nights and still wouldn’t have told you everything. But hey, I heard the train arrived yesterday. Why’d you wait until today to come find me?”

“I didn’t—”

Halfway through his sentence, Li Banfeng suddenly heard some noise coming from the entrance hall.

He Jiaqing heard it too and looked in the direction of the entrance hall. It was the sound of soft footsteps.

He Jiaqing and Li Banfeng went to the entrance hall cautiously, one taking the lead and the other covering the rear. They looked around but didn’t see anyone. Instead, they found a calico cat curled up under the shoe rack, clutching a cat food bowl and digging in.

Li Banfeng asked, “I saw a black cat earlier. Now there’s a calico?”

He Jiaqing smiled. “They’re strays that live in this neighborhood. They used to live in this house, but then I moved back in and took over their home. I felt bad about it, so now I leave food out for them every day. It’s a big house, and I live here alone anyway. It’s nice having them around to keep me company.”

Li Banfeng looked at the cat food bowl. It contained some unidentifiable mush. It didn’t look like fish, but it had an intensely fishy smell.

Why does everything I smell today reek of fish?

Is there something wrong with my nose?

Li Banfeng glanced around the entrance hall again and noticed the colorful feather duster he had given He Jiaqing.

He remembered that He Jiaqing had placed it in a corner of the living room, but now it was resting vertically beside the shoe rack.

As he was looking at the feather duster, the top of the shoe rack entered his line of sight. His mud-covered leather shoes were now very clean. All the mud was gone, and they had even been polished to a shine.

Then he looked down at the rug and found that it too was spotless, without even the tiniest bit of dirt.

The two muddy shoeprints he’d left when he entered were gone.

“Banfeng, what’s got you in a daze?”

Li Banfeng chuckled. “I’m just watching the cat.”

“What for? Oh, you must be hungry too!” He Jiaqing chuckled. “Sit tight. I’ll go make some soup for you.”

Li Banfeng returned to the sofa, picked up the teacup, and poured the tea onto the rug.

He wanted to see if any changes would occur to the rug.

Less than two minutes later, the tea stain on the rug had dried, and it disappeared without a trace.

Meanwhile, He Jiaqing was busy in the kitchen. A white cat lay fast asleep at the foot of one of the cabinets.

There was a skinned animal, about a third of a meter long, on the chopping board.

He Jiaqing sliced off a few thin pieces of meat from the animal and dropped them into the pot.

The slices were very thin. It seemed he was reluctant to share the meat with Li Banfeng.

However, after hesitating for a moment, He Jiaqing smiled.

He muttered inwardly, Tomorrow, I won’t need to eat this anymore.Tomorrow, I won’t need to stay here anymore.

The more he smiled, the happier he became. He sliced off most of the meat from the cat carcass on the board and tossed it into the pot.

***

He Jiaqing placed a bowl of cat soup in front of Li Banfeng. “Banfeng, have some soup.”

Li Banfeng looked at the soup and smiled. “It’s too hot. I’ll let it cool down a bit first.”

Seeing the empty teacup, He Jiaqing remarked, “I guess you must have been really thirsty. Do you want me to make you another cup of tea?”

Li Banfeng shook his head. “No need. I’m not used to drinking such fancy tea.”

After a bit of small talk, He Jiaqing finally brought up the thing he really wanted to talk about. “Why did you leave the item at the train station?”

Li Banfeng gave a bitter smile. “It’s me who should be asking the questions. What exactly is that thing? I kept getting chased! If I hadn’t left it at the train station, I wouldn’t have made it to your house at all!”

He Jiaqing was stunned. “Even after reaching Medicine King Gully, someone was still following you?”

“Yeah! The moment I got out of the train station, two guys approached me and said they were going to kill me. I panicked and ran around like a headless chicken. Eventually, I found a rickshaw driver who got me out of there. Guess how much he charged me?”

He Jiaqing thought for a moment and said, “Depends. Did the rickshaw have fire wheels?”

“You know about the fire wheels too?” Li Banfeng said in surprise. “He said his rickshaw had fire wheels. One ride costs five hundred yuan!”

He Jiaqing nodded. “Five hundred isn’t expensive. Rickshaw drivers with fire wheels are rare;
they’re quite extraordinary. That’s a fair price.”

“Fair?” Li Banfeng had a pained expression. “You have no idea how much my heart ached when I handed over that money.”

“Relax. Like I’d let you suffer a loss? I’ve got you covered.”

He Jiaqing pulled out three thousand Huan yuan on the spot and stuffed the money into Li Banfeng’s hand.

Li Banfeng didn’t stand on ceremony. He put the money into his wallet straight away.

“Jiaqing, if it’s urgent, we can go to the train station now and retrieve the item.”

Li Banfeng wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible.

He Jiaqing, on the other hand, didn’t seem the least bit anxious.

“It’s fine. Let’s talk about it tomorrow morning. Banfeng, drink your soup!”

Li Banfeng lifted the bowl to his lips, but his nose was once again hit with an intensely fishy smell.

The calico cat finished eating and walked to the living room window, where it let out a yawn.

Li Banfeng set the bowl down and yawned as well.

The calico cat curled up beneath the window and dozed off. Li Banfeng rubbed his eyes, seemingly about to fall asleep.

“Banfeng, are you tired?”

Li Banfeng rubbed his eyes again. “A little…”

He Jiaqing stood up. “I’ve tidied up a room for you. Come upstairs with me.”

Li Banfeng followed He Jiaqing upstairs. The second room on the left was the bedroom He Jiaqing had prepared for Li Banfeng.

The bedroom was spacious. Its window was shut. Vines drooped down from the roof and swayed in the night breeze just outside the window.

“It’s a bit stuffy in here. Mind if I open the window?” Li Banfeng asked casually.

“The hinges are rusted. You can’t open it. If you feel hot, take a shower. There’s a bathroom on this floor. It’s at the end of the corridor.”

“Not going to shower. Too tired.”

Without even changing, Li Banfeng dove headfirst into the big bed.

The bed was over two meters wide. Never before in his life had Li Banfeng ever slept in a bed this large.

He Jiaqing frowned. “I prepared pajamas for you. The clothes you’re wearing…”

Li Banfeng’s clothes were caked in mud. Seeing that He Jiaqing was displeased, Li Banfeng hurriedly took them off and put on the pajamas.

He Jiaqing took the dirty clothes from him. “I’ll wash these for you.”

“I feel bad making you do that.”

“We’re bros. What’s there to feel bad about?”

Li Banfeng thought, Crap, he took all my clothes.Good thing the key’s not with the clothes.

Li Banfeng yawned. “Jiaqing, so many things have happened, but you still haven’t explained anything to me.”

“Have a good rest tonight. I’ll explain everything in detail tomorrow.”

Lying in bed, Li Banfeng squinted at He Jiaqing and suddenly asked, “Ms. Song has a birthmark on her butt. Have you seen it?”

He Jiaqing laughed. “Of course. You want to see it too?”

Li Banfeng grinned. “Sure do. I’m just afraid Ms. Song won’t let me.”

“You pervert!”

Carrying Li Banfeng’s dirty clothes, He Jiaqing left the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Then he reached into Li Banfeng’s pants pocket and pulled out his wallet.

The wallet had Li Banfeng’s identification card. With it, He Jiaqing could retrieve the item that Li Banfeng had left at the train station.

He Jiaqing went downstairs to the kitchen and poured the untouched cat soup into a slop bucket.

He could not drink the soup. It had extra ingredients that should not be drunk.

He grabbed the remains of the cat from the chopping board and gnawed at the bones, eating the bits of meat still clinging to the bones. Drop after drop of blood trickled down the corners of his mouth.

I won’t have to eat this anymore.

Once morning comes, I won’t ever have to eat this again.

He had gotten caught off guard when Li Banfeng suddenly asked about Ms. Song’s birthmark. He had almost been stumped into silence.

That lecherous bastard. If I hadn’t reacted quickly, I would’ve been exposed right there.

However, the truth was that he had already given himself away. He just hadn’t realized it yet.

Li Banfeng had seen Ms. Song’s birthmark before. He had told He Jiaqing about it during the last meal they had together.

This was the final test Li Banfeng had set.

From the moment he stepped into the house, Li Banfeng saw right through the man who was living in the house.

He wasn’t He Jiaqing. He didn’t even recognize Li Banfeng’s backpack.

That backpack had been a gift from He Jiaqing. He had bought it at a street stall and given it to Li Banfeng.

Who is that guy? And where is the real He Jiaqing?

No, now’s not the time to think about that. I should be thinking about how I can make it out of here alive!

Li Banfeng opened his eyes and looked at the candlestick on the table.

His house doesn’t have electricity, so what does he use to charge his phone? And if his phone’s dead, how did he send me all those messages?

Li Banfeng sat up and looked at the slippers on the floor.

His filthy socks had left quite a bit of mud on the slippers earlier, but now the mud was all gone.

He recalled something Ma Wu had said.

“dwelling spirits love cleanliness. If they encounter anything dirty in their home, they’ll find a way to clean it up.”

There was a dwelling spirit in this house.

Then he recalled something the Peddler had said.

“If a dwelling spirit gets abandoned, it will turn into a vengeful spirit. It will lure someone new into the house. After spending one night in the house, that person will become the dwelling spirit’s prisoner. Unless someone else comes to replace them, the dwelling spirit will keep that person trapped in the house until they die.”

He had also mentioned that Spycraft Cultivators liked to use cell phones as bait.

Li Banfeng realized, That man is a Spycraft Cultivator.

He knew what was happening in my surroundings. He could keep sending me messages because he’s a Spycraft Cultivator, and he used Spycraft spells to track my phone. That was what the Peddler meant by clairaudient ears.

He tricked me, lured me all the way here to Puluo. The dwelling spirit of this house trapped him and turned him into its prisoner. He brought me here to take his place!

Li Banfeng got out of bed and reached for the window, testing it carefully.

The window wouldn’t budge.

Li Banfeng had already stepped into the paths of Homebound and Wanderlust Cultivators, so his strength was far greater than that of an ordinary person. Nonetheless, it was clear to him that he couldn’t open this window. The dwelling spirit’s power had sealed it shut.

If he couldn’t leave through the window, what about the front door?

That impostor pretending to be He Jiaqing certainly wouldn’t let Li Banfeng go. Even if he had to put his life on the line, he wouldn’t allow Li Banfeng to leave.

Could I beat him in a fight?

That’s hard to say. I probably can’t beat him, but he probably isn’t confident he can subdue me.

He’s a Dark Ability User, and his cultivation level is obviously above mine. But he’s trapped within the dwelling spirit’s control, so he’s likely restricted in some ways. Otherwise, he could’ve just tied me up and left me in the house until morning.

But even if I could defeat him, would I really be able to get out?

I can’t open the window. It’s likely I can’t open the door either.

And what if that impostor and the dwelling spirit gang up on me? I wouldn’t be able to fly out of this place even if I were given wings.

As he pondered this, Li Banfeng heard a familiar rustling, like something was crawling around.

He stepped out of the bedroom and found that the sound was coming from the bathroom.

Li Banfeng had heard it earlier when the calico cat was in the entrance hall. The sound was a cat’s footsteps.

There’s a way out.

He walked up to the bathroom, and the slightest smile appeared on his face, barely noticeable.

Right then, He Jiaqing appeared beside him.

“Banfeng, you haven’t gone to sleep yet?”

Li Banfeng smiled and replied, “I did, but I woke up. I need to use the toilet. Want to come in with me?”

1. I rephrased this so it sounds like an old wives’ tale, but in the raw, it’s the idiom “chicken feathers and garlic skins”, which means trivial/petty matters. According to legend, there were two neighboring families. One sold chickens and had chicken feathers everywhere. The other sold garlic and had garlic skins everywhere. The wind would often blow the feathers into the garlic family’s residence, and the garlic skins into the chicken family’s residence. They got into conflicts because of that and went to court. The county magistrate punished the families for going to court over such a trivial thing. ☜

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep