Chapter 38: Shattered Glass

The next evening, after dinner, Yan Yu told his hosts he would be staying at a classmate’s place, and left the house with Dahei in tow. Zhou Lide still hadn’t returned, and it seemed unlikely he would come home at all that night. Xia Liu, always gentle, was uncharacteristically quiet.

Yan Yu could sense that something unpleasant must have happened between Xia Liu and Zhou Lide, but even if mediation was needed, it was best for Zhou Xiaowan to speak first. As an outsider, it would be inappropriate for Yan Yu to intervene too soon.

Chug-chug-chug—

Master Cao arrived at Jiangbin Road right on time. Since he was going to perform a ritual, he had donned his ethereal Daoist robe once again, a horsetail whisk poking out of his pocket. If Yan Yu didn’t already know Master Cao’s true nature, he might actually have been taken in by the act.

“Did you bring everything?” Yan Yu asked.

“Don’t worry, it’s all here!” Master Cao shook the canvas bag slung across his chest, then eyed the imposing Dahei and asked, “Master, what are you bringing this thing for?”

“And you call yourself a charlatan? Have some basic sense—dogs can see things people can’t. If that apartment really is haunted, Dahei will be our eyes,” Yan Yu replied with disdain.

Master Cao grinned. “With my years of… experience in rituals—yes, rituals—the chances of a real haunting are slim. Most of the time, people just scare themselves. We’ll go in, walk through the place, and those fifty grand will be in our pocket, easy.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Yan Yu hefted Dahei onto Master Cao’s little scooter, and the odd trio—two men and a dog—drew plenty of stares as they made their way through the city.

Under Yan Yu’s attentive care this past month, Dahei had grown even stronger, his coat glossier than ever. Zhou Xiaowan had asked more than once if Yan Yu was feeding him some kind of special dog food. In truth, Yan Yu merely bought Dahei a few skewers of grilled lamb kidneys from the street vendors during their evening walks.

Before long, the scooter stopped in front of a residential complex. It was called Xinghua Estate, one of the more upscale neighborhoods in Rong City. The grounds were lush and well-tended, and its residents were all well-educated and successful.

As usual, Master Cao parked outside and entered the complex on foot. They made their way to Building 2, and at the base of the building, Yan Yu spotted an old man waiting.

“That’s our benefactor, known as Old Ram,” Master Cao said with a grin.

Yan Yu sized him up—the old man looked to be about eighty, thin and stooped, leaning heavily on a cane. He really did resemble an old goat.

“Old Ram!” Master Cao called out.

Old Ram didn’t seem to mind the nickname and smiled at the two of them. “You’re finally here. The other one has been waiting upstairs for ages. Let’s hurry up.”

“Another one?” Yan Yu looked at Master Cao, puzzled.

Master Cao was a little embarrassed. “Old Ram, don’t you trust me? Why bring in someone else?”

Old Ram coughed. “I just want this matter settled quickly. My old bones can’t take much more. Whoever solves the problem in my apartment gets the money.”

Yan Yu waved his hand. “Let’s just go up and take a look.”

If there really was a problem with the place, he was confident he could handle it, so he wasn’t worried about any competitor.

Old Ram’s apartment was on the eleventh floor. The three of them, plus Dahei, took the elevator up. Old Ram began to explain, “Let me tell you my situation. I’m over eighty now. My wife passed away long ago. My only son bought me this apartment in the city but then left for abroad. I never got used to city living, so I decided to return to the countryside.

“But I couldn’t leave the apartment empty, so six months ago I rented it out to a family with a child. A week ago, they suddenly moved out, didn’t even ask for their deposit back.

“I found two other tenants, but after spending a single night, they were so frightened they wanted to leave, claiming the place was haunted. I had no choice but to call you in.

“My requirements are simple—I don’t care what methods you use, as long as you can restore peace to the apartment. Whoever does it gets the fifty thousand.”

As he finished, the elevator stopped at the eleventh floor. The third door to the left was the infamous haunted apartment.

Outside the door, a woman stood waiting—she wore a khaki trench coat, black stockings with high heels, and sunglasses. She leaned against the wall, waiting.

At the sight of her, Yan Yu felt a headache coming on. He couldn’t help but say, “Ms. Su?”

Hearing her name, Su Han looked up in surprise. “Yan Yu? And that old scoundrel from last time? What are you two doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing…” Yan Yu glanced at her pocket. No sign of the Hello Kitty plush toy—she hadn’t brought Zhao Qingqing this time.

Master Cao suddenly caught on. “Don’t tell me she’s our competitor?”

Su Han nodded silently.

Old Ram looked from one to the other, then laughed, “So you all know each other. That makes things easier—why not work together and split the reward?”

With a rival showing up unexpectedly, Master Cao was not pleased. He pulled Yan Yu aside and whispered, “Why is your teacher here, competing for our livelihood instead of doing her job?”

Yan Yu felt awkward. “Who knows… But actually, having her join us might not be a bad idea.”

“You’re serious?” Master Cao was shocked. “You’d let this delicate girl join us? What if she gets so scared she wets herself at the sight of a ghost?”

“Don’t worry. If anyone’s going to wet their pants, it’ll be you, not Ms. Su—because she has the Sight.”

“Really?” Master Cao still doubted.

Yan Yu only smiled, then stepped up to Su Han and extended his hand. “Shall we work together?”

“Agreed,” Su Han answered at once.

She’d only come to help after seeing Old Ram’s plea by chance. She hadn’t been confident—until she saw Yan Yu, and felt relieved.

“Have you found anything?” Yan Yu asked her.

Su Han frowned. “There’s not much resentment here, but the yin energy is thick. And there’s a strange aura I can’t identify.”

Master Cao edged closer. “Where? I don’t see anything.”

Yan Yu shot him a look and told him to keep hold of Dahei. Then he said, “That third aura you sense is murderous intent.”

“I’ll open the door for you,” Old Ram said, fetching his key.

The moment the door swung open, a piercing screech sounded, followed by a violent gust of wind that forced everyone to shut their eyes.

“Again… it’s shattered again,” Old Ram said, his face pale.

They looked inside to find the living room balcony’s floor-to-ceiling glass shattered across the floor.

“That’s the third time this week. I just had the property manager fix it this afternoon,” Old Ram sighed. “I’m afraid there really is something unclean in my apartment.”

Master Cao, who had been relaxed, couldn’t help but shiver, inching closer to Yan Yu and Su Han.