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After exchanging greetings, Xiaorou and her mother walked into the adjacent kitchen to start preparing the meal. The four elders continued discussing Xiaorou's situation while we each found a place to sit, ready to listen attentively. The sofa in Xiaorou's House was spacious enough for seven people, yet it didn't feel crowded at all.
"Master X, what do you think? Where do you believe the spirit attached to Xiaorou came from?" To my surprise, it was Master Li who asked this question.
Master Xiao shot me a somewhat sarcastic glance and rolled his eyes at Master Li, as if to say, "Look at this old man, pretending not to know." It wasn't surprising; although we hadn't explicitly communicated, we had all formed a consensus in our minds that the spirit possessing Xiaorou was likely the result of something orchestrated by Master Li. Not just Master Xiao, even I had come to a conclusion that this possession was too coincidental and must have been a tactic employed by Master Li since he knew we had gone to Tsuchiya.
My master smiled at Master Li and said, "This spirit has completely lost its consciousness and cannot communicate anything. Moreover, it has been tampered with; this matter is most likely man-made."
After my master finished speaking, Master Pan nodded in agreement and added, "It's not just likely; it's a certainty. Someone deliberately controlled this spirit to attach itself to Xiaorou. As for the purpose behind it, I won't elaborate further. Everyone knows what’s going on. It's just like how Xiao Liu almost fell victim to Poison again. The intention is probably to buy us some time." Master Pan pointed at me as he spoke.
Master Pan was indeed straightforward.
Everyone understood the implication of his words except for Master Zhang and Brother Zhou, who looked utterly confused.
Master Zhang said, "Are you saying this was intentional? And didn't Old Li resolve Xiao Liu's Poison? How did it become more complicated? I brought Master X here to help find my client!"
Brother Zhou looked at me with puzzled eyes, seemingly full of questions but unable to speak up in front of the elders.
My master chuckled softly and said, "It's fine, Old Zhang. We're looking for a client; it's just that this matter isn't so simple. There are those among us with ulterior motives." He spoke without suspicion but rather with a tone of certainty.
At this point, even Master Xiao should have understood the situation. Not to mention Master Li, who had lived for half a lifetime; his expression darkened immediately as he coldly snorted, "So you two masters are suspecting me of having ulterior motives? How petty." After saying that, he stood up and left the living room in a huff.
Generally speaking, elders have their pride and possess a strong sense of self-respect. Being accused of having ulterior motives in public would naturally make anyone uncomfortable—this was entirely understandable.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became awkward. Master Zhang hurried after Master Li, calling out as he went, "Old Li! Old Li! There must be some misunderstanding; please don't leave!" Brother Zhou also followed suit without hesitation.
My master exchanged glances with Master Pan and said, "Let's go." Master Pan nodded in agreement. Both stood up simultaneously and headed out the door while calling out together, "Master Li! Master Li! Don't be angry; we were just speculating; we never said it was you!"
My master took a couple of steps outside before turning back to me and whispering, "Go tell Xiaorou that we're going after Master Li to apologize." This left both me and Master Xiao bewildered. I glanced out the window and saw that Master Li had already ridden off on his motorcycle.
Master Xiao hurriedly followed him outside. I walked to the kitchen door and saw Xiaorou sitting on a small stool by the door peeling garlic. I said, "Xiaorou, your master got angry because my master and the others offended him with their words. We're going to explain things."
Xiaorou's face was filled with concern as she said, "You really shouldn't say that. You have helped me, but there are many things that shouldn't be taken lightly. Hurry, my Master has a peculiar temper." It was clear that Xiaorou had overheard our entire conversation.
I nodded and turned to run outside.
Master Li had already left on his bike, while Master Zhang and Brother Zhou stood helplessly at the entrance of the courtyard, looking somewhat lost. From their expressions, it seemed they were completely unaware of the situation.
Master Pan walked up to Brother Zhou's van and said loudly, "Xiao Zhou, lend us your vehicle for a moment. We need to go apologize to Master Li." His voice was strong and carried well.
Brother Zhou glanced at Master Zhang, unsure of what to do. Master Zhang quickly urged, "Come on, what are you waiting for? Let's go to Master Li's place."
Once the two of them reached the van and unlocked it, all six of us climbed inside.
As soon as we were in the vehicle, Brother Zhou didn't wait for instructions and started the engine, speeding off in the direction Master Li had gone. After a while, we left the village where Xiaorou lived. The Master said, "Xiao Zhou, don't go to Master Li's house; head straight for Alliance Village, Tsuchiya. Something has happened there."
Master Xiao and I were both confused, not understanding what was going on. The direction Master Li had taken was clearly not towards Alliance Village. Did he have another route to get there?
Brother Zhou was eager to know what was happening but didn't ask any questions; he just turned the steering wheel and took another road. Most people in the van were puzzled except for the Master and Master Pan.
Master Zhang couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked, "Old Xu, Old Pan, what's going on? I'm completely lost here. Old Li has a bad temper; offending him like this could lead to trouble later."
The Master chuckled and replied, "Old Li will be fine. Once we reach Tsuchiya, you'll understand; it's not a good time to explain now."
With that statement from the Master, everyone fell silent. I had many questions but held them back as well. The Master's and Master Pan's faces were calm as if they were deep in thought.
The journey was uneventful until we reached the foot of the mountain. As soon as the car door opened, the Master and Master Pan jumped out and ran towards Tsuchiya with remarkable speed—like teenagers of fifteen or sixteen years old. We quickly followed suit, racing up the mountain.
Master Xiao asked while running, "Brother Liu, what's going on? You're so clever; can you tell me?"
"I don't know either; we'll find out when we get there," I replied as I ran alongside him, feeling just as puzzled about what these two old men were up to.
Although the masters were quick, they couldn't match my speed. Before long, we caught up with them. The master said, "You two run ahead and stop anyone from digging up the things you buried at the corners of that house." Master Xiao and I listened and quickened our pace, sprinting towards the house.
We were the first to reach Tsuchiya's place, but there was no one around. The door on the right side of Tsuchiya was slightly ajar, while the left door remained locked with a copper lock. Without hesitation, Master Xiao kicked open the ajar door.
With a loud bang, Master Xiao rushed inside. At the same time, an angry roar came from within the locked room: "Who is it?"
The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Upon reflection, wasn't that the voice of Brother Zhou's Uncle Xiaorou's father? Hadn't he gone out for business? How could he be here?
Master Xiao was the first to burst through the door and found no one inside. The copper lock on the door of the adjacent room was gone. When Master Xiao pushed against that door, it didn't budge; it was clearly locked from the inside.
"Step aside," I said, and Master Xiao quickly moved aside. I took a small run-up and charged at the door, delivering a powerful kick. With a thud, it seemed that the bolt inside was quite weak; it wasn't as sturdy as I had imagined, and the door flew open with my kick. My urgency in kicking down the door wasn't due to any deep-seated hatred for the person inside but rather because Master Xiao had kicked down so many doors in such a short time, and I hadn't kicked even one. This opportunity couldn't be given to him again. The thrill of kicking down a door could only be understood by those who had experienced it.
The door swung open, and I steadied myself for a moment. As I stood there, Master Xiao swiftly slipped inside. However, he suddenly stopped at the doorway and exclaimed a curse: "Damn!"
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