Chapter Twenty-Three: The Wang Family Residence

There was something uncanny about the whole affair, so much so that the night watchman had been frightened into a grave illness.

Wen Meng and Zhou Bai stood together in the rear courtyard of the Wang residence. They still had no idea what might be happening inside, but had resolved to investigate for themselves.

"Young Zhou, what do you make of this place? Anything unusual?" Wen Meng asked as Zhou Bai finished his inspection.

Zhou Bai shook his head, his brow furrowed. "From the outside, it's nothing more than an ordinary residence. I can’t detect the slightest trace of ghostly energy. Still, there is something off about it—it’s too quiet inside."

"This Clear River fiend is anything but ordinary. I've been in the Office of Underworld Records for decades and never encountered such a specter," Wen Meng replied.

Though Wen Meng, the eldest of the group, had served in the Office for decades, he was cautious by nature and had few notable achievements, remaining a mere flagbearer even now. Yet his experience was vast, and even he was at a loss.

If this ghost were not so troublesome, they wouldn’t have sent Wang Zhen, the Suppressor of Spirits, after it.

"What sets this specter apart?" Zhou Bai asked, curious about a ghost elusive enough to evade even someone of Wang Zhen’s caliber.

"It’s almost human—not simply clever, but meticulous, leaving no trace, as if it had plotted for years, waiting to exact its revenge," Wen Meng explained.

"So you think something is being plotted in secret?"

"It’s possible..."

A thought crossed Zhou Bai’s mind and he asked, "I’ve heard that those targeted by the Clear River ghost are all grain merchants. Does it have to do with the famine in Xuzhou, or perhaps these merchants did something terrible?"

Wen Meng dismissed the idea at once. "It’s not that simple. Don’t listen to market rumors. These merchants were officially appointed to sell grain in Xuzhou; they wouldn’t dare take lives so lightly."

Lin Dayan thought so as well. He was accustomed to confronting demons and monsters head-on, but this time their target was a creature of cunning and subterfuge, which unsettled him.

"Zhou Bai, when a person dies with a grievance, it’s easy for them to become a ghost. Back then, thousands starved to death daily in Xuzhou. If these grain merchants had done such things, I guarantee they wouldn’t have made it ten miles without being haunted by ghosts."

Wen Meng was inclined to err on the side of caution, but with the Suppressor of Spirits ready to lend aid at