Chapter 943: Tearing Heart and Lung

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief when she agreed. "Then I'll leave it to you, Miss."

Nan Xun, standing nearby, also chuckled. "Young Master, Miss Kong never usually gets involved in these matters. This time, it's quite special for you."

"Nan Xun!" Kong Nanwu's voice came from within, stopping her. Nan Xun stuck out her tongue and said no more.

Zheng Dan was somewhat surprised. From the way they spoke, it sounded like the courtesan was acting more like a maid. But with Nan Xun's great reputation and refined demeanor, how could she possibly be someone's maid? Zheng Dan quickly dismissed the thought.

Zu An chuckled. "Miss Kong's kindness is immense, and I have no way to repay it. If you don't mind, I could offer myself in marriage." Given his shrewdness, he wouldn't be easily moved by a few simple words. Who knew if this "master and servant" duo were putting on a show to make him feel indebted?

Zheng Dan pursed her lips and smiled. Having spent so much time with Zu An, they knew each other inside and out—in every sense of the word. She caught the teasing in his tone and naturally didn't get jealous.

Hearing his roguish words, the woman behind the curtain scoffed, ignoring him. She then looked towards Zheng Dan. "I only know a little. If the other party is very powerful, I might not be able to help."

"Miss Kong is too humble. Just do your best; I'm not one to make unreasonable demands," Zu An said.

Kong Nanwu then relaxed. "In that case, let this young lady sleep here. When the evil spirit that's tormenting her comes, I'll see if I can seize the opportunity to help you catch it."

"That might be a bit difficult..." Zu An briefly explained how he had scared away the dark entity earlier. "It probably won't dare to come back anytime soon." This was what vexed Zu An the most. It's easy to be a thief for a thousand days, but impossible to guard against one for a thousand days. Moreover, he was about to leave for Yunzhong Commandery, and then he wouldn't be able to protect Zheng Dan. It would be troublesome if the evil spirit returned after some time.

"The Young Master actually knows how to exorcise evil?" Kong Nanwu looked shocked. Such practices were very uncommon, and human cultivators rarely encountered, let alone resolved, such issues.

"Just by chance. Besides, I didn't manage to catch it; it escaped," Zu An replied, not wanting to reveal anything about the Primordial Chaos Scripture.

"That does present a bit of a problem..." Kong Nanwu fell into contemplation, clearly thinking about how to proceed.

Hearing her say this, Zheng Dan's heart fluttered, and a look of disappointment immediately crossed her face.

Zu An gently held her hand to comfort her. Nan Xun, seeing this, pouted but said nothing.

"I have a solution." At this point, Kong Nanwu said no more. She casually found a piece of talisman paper, and her hands moved deftly, quickly weaving a small paper crane. Then she blew on it, and the paper crane seemed to come alive, floating lightly through the curtain and coming to rest in front of Zheng Dan.

"This is..." Zheng Dan was utterly shocked, having never seen such an incredible spell before.

"Just a little trinket," Kong Nanwu's voice came, clearly not wanting her demon identity to be known. "It can sense the aura left by the evil spirit. And since the entity shouldn't be very powerful, it should be able to lead you to the person behind it. However, I won't be able to get involved in what happens next, so I hope Young Master will understand."

Zu An naturally understood her predicament. "Thank you, Miss. I will certainly remember this kindness."

A light chuckle came from behind the beaded curtain. "This is much more sincere than offering yourself in marriage earlier."

Zu An's old face flushed. Even with his thick skin, he was at a loss for words for a moment.

Fortunately, at that moment, the flying paper crane moved. It circled Zheng Dan a few times, then flapped its wings and flew out the window in a certain direction.

"Follow it quickly; don't lose it. This aura is very faint and probably won't last for a second search," Kong Nanwu's voice reminded them from behind the beaded curtain.

"Thank you!" Zu An cupped his hands in a salute to her, then took Zheng Dan and flew out the window.

Sang Qian, who was waiting outside, heard the commotion and rushed over. Watching the two jump out the window, she even ignored that they were holding hands and pressed close together. "What happened?"

"I'll explain on the way. Just follow that paper crane for now," Zu An said, pointing to the paper crane ahead. In fact, he had now clearly seen that it wasn't a paper crane but a paper peacock. He wondered how skillful Kong Nanwu's hands were to weave such an intricate object in the blink of an eye.

Seeing the paper peacock flapping its wings, Sang Qian's beautiful eyes widened, and her red lips parted wide enough to fit an egg.

"Don't just stand there gaping," Zu An said, grabbing her hand and quickly following the paper peacock.

"You can let go of me now." After a moment, Sang Qian finally came to her senses. Feeling the warmth on her wrist, she felt uncomfortable. With him holding both her and her sister-in-law, one in each hand, she wondered what observant people might think.

Zu An, naturally not wanting to take advantage of her, recounted what had just happened inside.

"What's the background of this Miss Kong, to have such immense abilities?" Sang Qian was utterly shocked, and Zheng Dan also looked at him curiously.

"She doesn't want her background to be known, so please forgive me for not being able to tell you," Zu An stated frankly.

"Fine, don't tell," Sang Qian huffed. "But it seems you have quite a close relationship with her. She doesn't want her identity known, but she doesn't mind telling you, tsk, tsk, tsk." As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Zheng Dan. She didn't mind fanning the flames a bit to sow discord between them. After all, Zheng Dan was her sister-in-law, and although she generally knew her father's intentions, the thought of her sister-in-law getting involved with someone else so soon after her brother's death still bothered her.

Zheng Dan smiled faintly. "We owe a great deal to Miss Kong's help today. She'll have saved my life, and I must thank her properly afterward."

Seeing her attempt to sow discord fail, Sang Qian felt dejected and had nothing more to say.

Soon, the trio followed the paper peacock to the outer city, which was quite normal. After all, the inner city had many high-ranking officials and noble families, meaning many powerful cultivators. Naturally, things that couldn't bear the light would stay far away.

The paper peacock flew all the way to a secluded street, then circled a dilapidated courtyard for a while before finally landing on the ground, seemingly having run out of spiritual power.

"This house seems uninhabited," Sang Qian said, staring at the dilapidated gate.

Just then, an elderly woman passing by saw the three lingering at the gate and quickly whispered a warning. "Are you here to buy a house? I advise you not to buy this one; it's haunted." Sang Qian quickly inquired and learned from her that the previous owner's family members had all died unnatural deaths one after another. It was eventually inherited by a distant nephew who dared not live there and thus entrusted a brokerage to sell it. However, several owners since then had experienced various misfortunes and subsequently sold the house, leading to rumors among the local residents that the house was haunted.

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed that in every timeline, there were always such warm-hearted, gossipy elderly women.

Sang Qian wanted to ask more questions, but the woman, looking worried about getting into trouble, hurried away.

Zu An smiled. "Haunted? That's perfect. It seems we've found the right place after all."

"Are there really ghosts?" Sang Qian's face paled slightly. Initially, she had been a bit uncomfortable with Zu An's physical contact, but now she instinctively moved closer to him.

"You're a cultivator yourself, a capable one at that. Why are you afraid of these things?" Zu An found it amusing.

"It's different!" Sang Qian glared at him, annoyed. This guy was really annoying, still making fun of her at a time like this.

"We'll know once we go inside." The gate was locked, so Zu An simply took Zheng Dan and leaped over the wall.

Sang Qian stamped her foot, hesitated for a moment, then followed them.

Inside, it was extremely dilapidated, with dead branches and rotting leaves everywhere, along with some decayed furniture. There was only one main house and a few empty side rooms, indicating that the original owner of the residence was not very wealthy.

"There doesn't seem to be any trace of anyone," Sang Qian said after entering. She didn't dare to check personally but first scanned the surroundings with her aura. As a Fifth Grade cultivator, it would be difficult for anyone hidden inside to escape her senses unless their cultivation was significantly higher than hers. Feeling emboldened by this, and to save face after being startled, she went and opened the doors of several rooms. Indeed, there was nothing inside.

"Your friend isn't very reliable, is she? There's clearly nothing here," Sang Qian said, trying to regain her lost dignity with these words.

"Have you checked that well?" Zu An pointed to a dry well nearby.

"What could possibly be in a well? Is someone living at the bottom?" Sang Qian retorted, wanting to prove herself. As she spoke, she leaned over the well opening to look, but it was pitch black below, and she couldn't see anything. A chill ran down her spine, and just as she was about to pull back, countless long strands of hair suddenly shot out from the well, enveloping her head and face and pulling her downwards.

"Ah!" A heart-rending scream echoed through the courtyard.