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Realizing this showed that he wasn't as foolish as I thought. I said, "With your character, you still want the Yin-Yang Eye? However, I do know someone who has the Yin-Yang Eye. I think I mentioned before that we could ask her for help. She's kind-hearted and has a good relationship with me, so she should accept this invitation. But she is at work right now, so you'll need to compensate her for all her losses and also offer a certain reward. Otherwise, I wouldn't feel comfortable asking. Now, where do you want to tell me about?"
Master Xiao quickly replied, "Haha, finally you said it! That was exactly what I meant, but I felt it was too presumptuous to say it myself. Now that you've brought it up, it's not my fault. You contact her; I'll cover all her losses, and the reward will be generous. The place is a bit far, in Wuxi. You can take a flight from Guangzhou to Sunan Shuo Fang Airport, and I'll arrange for a car to pick you up at the airport."
"Goodbye." After more than a month apart, this guy had surprisingly become quite clever, even setting two traps for me in one go. It seemed I had underestimated him. Although I thought this way, I felt quite pleased; at least he had shown some growth in his thinking, which would provide an extra layer of assurance in handling matters in the future. However, returning to the reality of this society filled with obstacles and challenges, who could remain unyielding? After hanging up the phone, I pulled out Sayo's number. Since it was Saturday, I didn't hesitate and dialed her directly. When Sayo answered the phone, I asked if she had time to talk because there was something lengthy to discuss. She responded cheerfully as always, "I'm at work right now, but I'll take your call even if it risks my job! Just wait a moment; I'll go to the break room since it's not convenient to talk in the office." Her tone and inflection were so pleasant that it made one feel comfortable; perhaps it was because I knew she had the Yin-Yang Eye.
I explained everything to her in detail and mentioned that it might not be resolved in just a day or two; I estimated it would take about three days. After considering for about a minute, she said, "Then let's go! Tomorrow is the weekend anyway; taking a couple of extra days off won't be an issue. Plus, there's a wealthy person covering the expenses over there. It's been a while since I've traveled far; let's treat this as a vacation."
Hearing her agree relieved me greatly. I said, "Thank you so much, Sayo! I'll book the tickets right away; please send me your ID number."
"No way, Brother Liu! How could I let you handle such trivial matters? I'll take care of booking the tickets; just send me your ID number and I'll let you know once it's done." With that, she hung up without giving me a chance to argue.
I shook my head and chuckled quietly to myself, thinking how this many people viewed as a charlatan still received such treatment from Sayo. My spirits lifted slightly as I felt grateful towards her. Just as I was typing out a message, Sayo called back: "Brother Liu! I can only leave around noon; I checked the tickets earlier and there are only flights at just after one and around five. We probably won't make it for the one after one; if five works for you, I'll book that one instead. We can meet at the airport afterward."
"That works; thank you so much, Sayo." "Not a problem; it's just a small matter."
After sending the message, I started packing my luggage, making sure to bring everything useful along. I even invited the Five Spirits to accompany us just in case. It's worth mentioning that inviting the Five Spirits means bringing their talisman along; it doesn't mean summoning them for travel together—summoning them requires other rituals.
At four in the afternoon, Sayo and I met at the airport. Our flight took off from Baiyun Airport around five and landed at Sunan Shuo Fang Airport shortly after seven. Upon exiting the airport and following the signs to the parking lot, Master Xiao was already waiting for us in a red SUV borrowed from a contractor—looking every bit like an awkwardly rich country bumpkin. When I introduced Sayo to him, his eyes widened in surprise. He looked like someone just released from prison—extremely respectful towards Sayo throughout our journey and flattering her with every word he could muster. It seemed like love at first sight; however, I knew Master Xiao's interest was likely more about Sayo's Yin-Yang Eye than anything else.
I turned my head to check the trunk and noticed an unopened tent inside. I quickly asked Master Xiao, "Are we going camping again?" He replied while driving, "It's pretty remote out there; there's a village nearby but I'm sure you wouldn't want to stay with them overnight since we usually work at night anyway. This is what I prepared for beautiful Sayo this afternoon—I set up tents for both myself and my apprentice."
"And what about me?"
"You? Vigil! Hahaha."
We didn't head straight to the construction site on the highway; instead, we first found a local restaurant to enjoy a good meal. By the time we returned to the area, it was already past ten o'clock. The members of the Construction Team were on a short break, but the construction facilities were still in place. Master Xiao suggested that they halt work for three days until we resolved the situation. After all, the fewer people who witnessed this kind of thing, the better.
Master Xiao parked the car in front of an ancient temple and then spoke up. Under the bright moonlight, I got out of the car to look around. This was an abandoned temple located about two hundred meters from the ongoing highway construction. Not far away, around five hundred meters, there was a small village with a few scattered lights; most of the residents had likely gone to sleep. The temple sat at the foot of a mountain, and beside it was a stone well. The temple wasn't large, roughly fifty square meters, built with mud bricks and wood. The doors and windows were sparsely adorned with colorful talismans, clearly put up not long ago by Master Xiao and his team. Inside, there was a dim light from a lamp that wasn't very powerful. A worn Eight Immortals Table and two stools occupied the space, with two tents set up nearby. Next to the tents were some folding basins and toothbrushes.
Master Xiao's apprentice emerged from inside; he also bore the surname Xiao and looked fair-skinned and refined in his mannerisms. He contrasted sharply with Master Xiao's dark complexion both in appearance and demeanor. He greeted us politely, calling me Liu Shixiong and addressing Sayo as Sister Night.
After exchanging pleasantries, I jokingly remarked to Master Xiao, "With the same master teaching you both, how come one looks like a pet while the other seems wild?" Master Xiao replied discontentedly, "Go away! You're the wild one! Apprentice, go fetch two basins of water and set up your Sister Night's tent. There are some daily necessities in the car; bring those down too. I need to discuss this place with Liu Shixiong." After saying that, he walked over to one of the stools by the Eight Immortals Table. I patted Xiao Xiao on the shoulder and said, "Looks like your senior brother brought you here just to do manual labor; it's tough having such a senior brother." Xiao Xiao laughed and replied, "Starting from the grassroots level! Haha." He then headed towards the car while Sayo followed suit, saying she would help.
I nodded and walked over to Master Xiao, who was sitting on a stool with his legs crossed and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking rather carefree.
I approached him and kicked his leg playfully while scolding him, "At your age already acting so old-fashioned! When you're really old, won't you be turning over in your grave? You dare stay in this dilapidated temple during Ghost Festival? You really have guts." He chuckled and offered me a cigarette after lighting one for himself. "Young people should experience more," he said casually. "By the way, you wouldn't believe it; this temple is indeed strange. When we moved in last night before sealing up the doors and windows with talismans, there was quite a heavy Yin Qi inside. But after my apprentice and I cleaned it up later on, it's all nice and tidy now." He glanced around at the shabby temple with pride.
"You've taken over someone else's nest; you're quite an unscrupulous Taoist," I teased him. "But tell me, do you think the Spirit God inside this ancient temple is affiliated with those outside?"
Master Xiao took a deep drag from his cigarette before exhaling smoke rings leisurely as he replied, "I can't say for sure. But you know that during Ghost Festival in an abandoned temple usually means it's just resting souls inside. Even if I didn't take over their space, they wouldn't stay long anyway; they will leave eventually. As for whether they are connected to those other spirits outside—that's not particularly important. If they are together, then we'll just deal with them all at once."
He preferred to say "deal with" or "eliminate," but we all knew how best to handle things—unless absolutely necessary, we wouldn't disperse any spirit at all. So I wasn't too concerned about his blunt phrasing.
I said, "Alright then; when Midnight arrives, let's head over to that dump truck together and have Sayo take a close look at how many there are. Once we confirm that, we can discuss what to do next."
"Sure."
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