Chapter 23: The Mansion of Shadows

  "Another one who's not afraid to die!" The shopkeeper thought to himself, but he had already fulfilled his duty of explanation. If the customer insisted, then as a businessman, he had no reason to refuse anymore. Whatever happened afterwards was none of his concern. The shopkeeper comforted himself with this thought.

  After a while, Pan Hao handed over the deposit. The shopkeeper had already prepared a rickshaw and called a young servant in green clothes to take Pan Hao to see the courtyard.

  "Please, young master!" The green-clad servant invited Pan Hao to get on the carriage, while Xi Wen pulled on his sleeve and followed closely. There was a small stool under the carriage for stepping up, and Pan Hao stepped on it to get into the carriage, then turned around and gently pulled Xi Wen up.

  As he entered the carriage, Pan Hao looked around with slight curiosity. The space inside could accommodate three or four people, and the seats had thick cushions, which were quite comfortable.

  "Can you go now, young master?" The servant asked from outside.

  "Hmm, okay!" Pan Hao responded with a voice, opening the small window on the carriage. The outside environment was clear at a glance.

  "Hao Ge, the courtyard has ghosts, why do we still want to go and see?" Xi Wen little girl heard the boss's words after, towards the unfamiliar courtyard already had a bit of fear in her heart.

  "With you, Brother Hao, what is there to fear!" Pan Hao said with a faint smile.

  "Uh-huh, Brother Hao is going to protect me!" The little girl's pretty face lit up, and she said in a sweet and innocent tone.

  "Don't you still trust me? You're still saying it's mine!" Pan Hao pinched Xiaoyao's delicate nose, teasing her.

  "Hum, bad egg!" The little girl's face turned away, and she buried her head in the wide sleeve of Pan Hao's left hand, fiercely poking her small head into it.

  It wasn't until half a time later that they finally arrived at their destination. The carriage slowly came to a stop, and Pan Hao turned his head to look out the window. A courtyard with high walls on all sides came into view.

  "Master, we've arrived!" The servant shouted from outside. Pan Hao led Xiwen down from the carriage.

  Squeak...

  The vermilion gate was opened by the little servant, who made a gesture of invitation to Pan Hao. Pan Hao led Xiwen into the house with big strides.

  A three-meter-wide stone path paved with bluestone bricks leads into the eye. The side of the bluestone road is full of peach trees. Now the peaches are already full of flower buds, and as soon as the spring rain returns in February, it will be time for the peaches to bloom.

  In the distance, there was a pool of water, with clear and green water, sparkling waves. There were many carp swimming leisurely in the pool, and an ancient stone spring. The building was filled with a classical atmosphere, which suddenly made Pan Hao very satisfied.

  As he entered the backyard, Pan Hao's heart skipped a beat. He felt that there was a faintly eerie aura swirling around here. Pan Hao raised his eyes, and a pale red lotus slowly appeared in front of him.

  Pan Hao looked towards the backyard. Originally, the environment was elegant and full of life, but a thin layer of gloomy air hovered above the backyard, and an endless stream of gloomy air emanated from an ancient well, with an increasingly intense smell.

  "The weather has turned cold again!" The little servant rubbed his hands and muttered to himself in front. Even Xiwen's body beside Pan Hao shrank, her small hand grasping Pan Hao's tightened a lot.

  "Hao Ge, I'm a bit cold!" Xi Wen said with big eyes blinking.

  "Hmm!" Pan Hao responded lightly, his large hand grasping Xiao Yao's delicate and pale small hand. A faint red divine power was transmitted over, and in Pan Hao's eyes, he saw threads of dark energy drilling into the bodies of the three people. However, with a flow of Pan Hao's divine power, the dark energy was instantly dispersed to a distance of three feet away from the two people.

  Because the young servant in green was far away, there were still threads of yin energy entering his body. These small amounts of yin energy wouldn't cause much harm to the human body, at most just a cold or flu. However, if one lived here for years on end, these energies would slowly accumulate. Once they reached a certain level, they would affect people's sensory perception, causing confusion and hallucinations. This was probably why this place was haunted, thought Pan Hao to himself.

  Moreover, the yin energy here is constantly flowing out of the wellhead, and people living here will slowly be corroded by the yin energy, making their physical constitution extremely poor. Even a young and strong man, after living here for a long time, will become a sickly person. The harm to the elderly and children is even more self-evident.

  "This young fellow, I wonder what's the origin of this well?" Pan Hao stopped and asked the little servant who was leading the way.

  "This well? Oh! It's been here for a long time. We've had it since our family took over the business!" The young servant stopped and glanced at the old well, answering Pan Hao's inquiry.

  "Ah!" Then Pan Hao and the other two people strolled around again. This mansion is indeed elegant and classical, it seems that the original owner of this place has put a lot of thought into it.

  "It's here!" Pan Hao said as he went out the door to a young servant. "Go back and tell the boss, I've taken this place!"

  "Alright, young master!" The servant was also pleased, as he had sold the house and would get a significant increase in his monthly pay. As for other matters, they were not within his control as just a runner.

  It was already noon when they returned to the county town. After completing the formalities at the牙行, Pan and Hao left for their inn. The land transactions in the Song Dynasty were active, but the transfer of house deeds still had to go through the official review and approval. Finally, they received a red contract, and they also had to pay taxes. The formalities took at least two or three days.

  However, some people will privately trade houses to avoid paying taxes. Then the contracts that have not been reviewed and stamped by the government are called white contracts. They are not protected by the government, and if there is a dispute in the future, the government will not accept the lawsuit, and may even heavily punish both parties involved in the transaction.

  Pan Hao naturally didn't want to bother, so he gave the pawnshop some money and handed over the whole thing for them to handle. This also spent eight or nine out of ten silver tickets that Pan Hao had obtained from Yang's father's room. However, Pan Hao didn't have any reluctance, because for the current Pan Hao, wanting silver was simply too easy.

  After dinner, Pan Hao took Xiwen to visit various places in Qu County. Until the sun's afterglow fell, the two reluctantly returned to the inn.

  At night, Xi Wen's little girl no longer sneaked into Pan Hao's room like last night, but instead walked in openly and slept on Pan Hao's bed. The little girl snuggled under the covers, her small white hands reaching out to Pan Hao's hand. Her big black eyes looked pitifully at Pan Hao.

  Pan Hao looked at her with a smile. A faint red divine power was still flowing into Xi Wen's body through his palm in the Zifu. The little girl hummed contentedly, like a lazy kitten hugging Pan Hao's arm.

  "Hmm~" Pan Haodong waved his hand, extinguishing the candles on the table. A pale red lotus quietly rose, steadily lifting the two of them up. Thin strands of spiritual energy gathered over. In the Purple Mansion, the red lotus bloomed, with a long river flowing peacefully behind the divine soul. The aura of the Long River grew stronger bit by bit as the divine path expanded.