Chapter One: The Scholar's Nightly Reading

  "Slap slap slap~~ splash splash splash~~~"

  At midnight, there is wind, stirring the bamboo branches and leaves in the courtyard, slapping against the window paper, I don't know where it's broken, the wind stubbornly drills in, shaking the lamp flame, making the room bright and dark.

  "It's actually using bamboo paper instead of peach blossom paper, this store is really stingy."

  Ning Feng's buttocks were pressed against the bed frame, with two legs hanging down and soaking in a wooden basin. While soaking his feet, he was also savoring the book in his hands.

  He just criticized a sentence, and his mind immediately returned to the book, without even raising his head.

  "Tsk tsk tsk, the flathead fish's kiss is famous, but holding a swallow in one's hand is truly difficult, what a wonderful thing!"

  The young scholar Ning Feng was dressed up, and there was still a bookshelf standing by the bed. He read with great enthusiasm, which was normal, but the things he muttered to himself seemed somehow off...

  Alright, a single scholar travels thousands of miles, occasionally having some small indulgences, barely understanding.

  The bath had been going on for a while, and the water was getting cooler. Ning Feng reluctantly put down his book and was about to dry his feet before continuing to read.

  An unknown gust of wind blew through the pages, closing the open book and revealing its dull yellow cover with a distorted palace-style lady flirting on it, facing a monk... a monk...

  Just as Ning Feng had just lifted his wet feet onto the edge of the wooden basin, bent down and was about to wipe them clean, his movements suddenly came to a halt.

  Directly opposite him was the direction of the house door. The tightly closed house door creaked "creak, creak, creak" when he stared at it and returned to silence.

  "Waaaahhhh~~~~"

  The wind blowing into the room sounds like sobbing and complaining.

  Accompanied by an eerie and unsettling sound, a thin shadow as thin as paper crept in from the gap under the door.

  "Hmm"

  Ning Feng unconsciously sucked in a mouthful of air, looked up to find the calendar, but couldn't find it.

  In the time it took to take a few breaths, the shadow that had crept in from under the door had already made its way halfway into the room, taking on a human form as if someone had squeezed in through the gap at the bottom of the door.

  She is still a woman!

  Ning Feng watched the whole scene with unblinking eyes, without screaming or jumping up to kick over the wooden basin, and instead...and instead...just stared blankly.

  The dark shadow inflated rapidly and transformed into a woman's figure.

  She raised her head and glanced at the bold scholar.

  The four eyes met, and the woman suddenly moved.

  "Whoosh!"

  Hair scattered down, as if countless black fine snakes constantly twisted, lengthened and scattered on the ground.

  The tongue was stretched out very long, not like a small tongue of cloves, but rather as if someone had taken something and forcibly pinched the tongue, pulling it out to its limit.

  Bright red as if still dripping with blood.

  The candlelight in the room went out at some unknown time.

  "Hehe"

  Ning Feng smiled, he actually smiled.

  "Hair is still hair, yeah, just a bit messy; tongue is still tongue, too long."

  "You can't scare me."

  The bold scholar spoke while casually picking up a cloth beside him and began wiping his feet.

  The female ghost was stunned for a moment, disheveled in the wind, seemingly unsure of what to do next.

  Ning Feng wiped both feet clean and didn't rush to put on his shoes. He sat cross-legged on the bed, looking over with great interest.

  "Hmm!"

  The female ghost seemed to have been insulted, her movements swift and fierce. She raised both hands, and with a "whoosh" sound, she beheaded herself, placing her head on the table beside her.

  "Boom!"

  After a dull thud, the head on the table had hair scattered all over, tongue hanging out long, eyes bloodshot, staring dead at the scholar. The eyeballs bulged out like those of a dead fish, glaring over as if to say: Scared now?!

  "What's there to be afraid of if I have a head? What's there to be afraid of if I don't?"

  Ning Feng's face was twisted in a scowl as he glanced at the head on the table, his resentful gaze falling upon the headless female ghost.

  "Wooo... Wooo... Wooo..."

  The female ghost was greatly stimulated, heaven knows how she made a sound without a head, and now she's in a predicament, her two arms spread open, baring her teeth and claws, making a gesture to pounce.

  "Come on, come on."

  The gentle breeze stroked his palm and smiled, not forgetting to pick up the nearby unremarkable little book and toss it with great skill, ensuring that the female ghost could see the cover was incredibly lowbrow, guessing what kind of explosive content was inside.

  "The long night is endless, I'm too anxious to sleep, it's just right for us to keep each other company, lie down together and chat..."

  The woman ghost suddenly withdrew her action with lightning speed, put the head back on her neck, and "poof" disappeared without a trace.

  The wind suddenly rose, and the bookworm faintly heard a voice in the wind that seemed to be crying but not quite, which could barely be distinguished as: "...bad luck..."

  "Wow!"

  Ning Feng took a deep breath and relaxed.

  He put on his shoes and socks, glanced at the book that had been thrown out, felt a bit reluctant to part with it, got up to pick it up, and muttered in his mouth: "This house must be unlucky, the landlord is not honest, no wonder the single room A is so cheap..."

  The wind grew stronger and stronger, "Bang" a loud noise, the whole door was blown open, the small book on the ground rustled loudly, the poor quality pages scattered all over the floor.

  It's completely unbearable to watch.

  "Let's take a break and have a good rest. We'll discuss it with the boss again tomorrow."

  "What a pity about this good book."

  Ning Feng yawned and grumbled, then picked up the wooden basin for washing feet and walked out of the open door.

  He didn't even look at the door and "whoosh" poured out the foot washing water.

  Anyway, outside is the courtyard, and the orchids in the flower bed outside the door are cheap.

  Generally speaking, it is like this.

  Today is obviously not an ordinary day.

  "That scholar, I have respect..."

  "Ah-choo!"

  The sound of splashing water, the sound entering the ear, with little distinction between before and after.

  The bookworm was indeed a bookworm, and his reaction was quite ordinary. He couldn't take back his actions once they were done, so Ning Feng felt rather embarrassed as he held the wooden basin, looking at the old man in front of him who had been splashed with foot-washing water and now looked like a drowned chicken.

  He was a short and shabby old man with a rat-like head, beady eyes, and three or four thin whiskers hanging from his waxen chin.

  The poor old man's uniform was not only soaked but also gave off a strange smell, and it seemed that he couldn't wear it anymore.

  "You... you... you..."

  "I... I... I..."

  The old man's whole body was trembling, wanting to bow his head and smell again made him feel nauseous, wanting to scold loudly but had scruples, that stifling expression made Ning Feng look at it and feel unbearable.

  "Hehe"

  A soft laugh broke the awkwardness.

  Ning Feng only then noticed that behind Lao Yuanwai was a small girl, thirteen or fourteen years old, with a round face and wearing white clothes, covering her mouth with her hand as if she wanted to laugh but was afraid of making a sound.

  The bookish boy wanted to say to her: We all heard it...... Don't hold back, laugh heartily.

  For some reason, when Ning Feng saw this round-faced girl, he inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity and closeness.

  "It's as if I've seen it somewhere before."

  The old man turned his head and glared at the round-faced girl, finally knowing how to put his hands and feet together. He cupped his hands in a salute and said: "Scholar has manners, I am Su Mouzhai, an official from the Su family's estate outside the city."

  "This is the useless granddaughter of old man."

  "A midnight visit, how impolite."

  "Uh..." Ning Feng moved the foot basin behind him, opened the door and gestured to the room, "Old official, please speak inside."

  As they entered the house, neither Su Lao Mou nor his granddaughter, a round-faced girl, paid attention to the messy room, but instead showed interest in the scattered book pages in the corner and exchanged a glance.

  Ning Feng was relieved that the pages had scattered and the oil lamp had gone out, and he didn't have any other thoughts. He quickly swept the floor and sat down facing Old Employee and his grandson.

  After a few words, Lao Can had already expressed his intention.

  Su Lao had been working as an apprentice and servant for others since his youth, and when he grew old, he saved up enough money to return home and build a mansion.

  He's an old man who has seen the world, and he can't stand the ignorance of the younger generation at home, so he's thinking of finding a scholar to enlighten them.

  "I wonder what Mr. Ning thinks? It's better to say it clearly, just say it."

  Su Lao Mu gazed at Ning Feng with eager eyes, his sincerity evident as if written on his face.

  It's not just the old man, but also the round-faced girl who looks over with big eyes full of longing, her timid appearance making it hard for one to refuse.

  Although Ning Feng was still a bit shy, he didn't answer immediately. He hesitated for a moment and asked: "I don't know why Old Su chose you? You're just a newcomer..."

  "It doesn't matter, sir has a big heart, will definitely be able to handle it."

  Su Lao Mou laughed heartily and said with great confidence.

  Ning Feng's ears perked up immediately.

  "How dare you?"

  "Hmm..." Su Laomu blinked his eyes and added: "Sir, you travel alone, without companions or children, which shows that you have a rather large courage. And being able to travel all over the world, you must be well-read in poetry and books, not comparable to those bookworms."

  "If you agree, sir, we can set off immediately and see those fools at home by dawn tomorrow."

  The old man's words were somewhat incoherent and stuttered, but what he said did make sense.

  "Alright then."

  Ning Feng tilted his head in thought and then cupped his hands together, saying: "In that case, the student will have to rely on Dong Gong."

  Without mentioning Su Lao's scheme and the round-faced girl's smile, Ning Feng turned around, put away his book box, lowered his head for a moment, twitched the corner of his mouth, glanced at the ground to see if the old man and young boy still had any shadows left, and slightly let out a breath.

  "Can you really judge someone's courage just by that?"

  "Is it just enlightenment, does it need courage?"

  "Whether it's good luck or bad luck, let's just wait and see."

  Ning Feng muttered to himself as he packed up his books, then turned around with a smile on his face, saying brightly: "Master Dong, young lady, let's go."

  An old man and a young man were eager to seek out the virtuous one, and upon hearing this, they were overjoyed. They hastily led the way in front, heading towards the outside of the inn.

  "Sir, I've already paid the rent."

  "Zhuangzi is outside the city, it's hard to walk on the night road, sir must follow closely."

  "The little rascals are mischievous, sir, don't worry about it, just let the bamboo stick wait..."

  ……

  All the way chattering non-stop, Ning Feng really wanted to ask why he had to set out at midnight, this dark and windy night was eerie, but he didn't find an opportunity.

  Three people walked out of the inn, passed through the city gate, and left the ancient county town behind. The fierce wind grew stronger, eerily without lightning or thunder, only dark clouds pressing down heavily.

  Suddenly, the whole world was like a clear pond, and the dark clouds were like ink pouring into it. The turbulent waves overflowed and dyed the world, making everything pitch black.

  Can't see one's fingers when holding out one's hand.

  "Wah wah wah~~~ Wah wah wah~~~~"

  The girl in front held a lantern to guide the way, Ning Feng and Su Lao followed behind her. After walking for about half an hour, the sound of water grew louder and closer, as if they had arrived at the banks of that great river outside the ancient city.

  "Huh? I entered the city yesterday during the day and don't remember seeing any houses by the river?"

  Ning Feng was puzzled, the girl in front stopped, and further ahead, several lanterns were hung high, illuminating a village...