An ominous presence enveloped No. 123, hinting at a trace of dark energy. There had to be an evil ghost there.

At least, that's how Xiao Mu saw it. Surely, there should at least be some evil spirits present?

Could it be that the young man simply failed to find them?

Very likely!

Looking up at the dark energy in the air, it swirled, barely visible.

Could it be that an evil spirit was hiding and using a method to mask its aura?

That would explain why no one else could find it.

With this guess in mind, Xiao Mu stepped into No. 123. A middle-aged man in his mid-forties approached and looked at Xiao Mu, a sincere look on his face.

"Friend, have you come here specifically to help exorcise ghosts? I am the owner of this building, Li Guangyou. Please come in."

"Hello!"

Xiao Mu nodded and returned the greeting.

"Hello! Friend, may I ask your name?"

Li Guangyou asked carefully. He knew that these transcendent individuals tended to be reluctant to disclose their names, so his question was subtle.

"My surname is Mu."

Xiao Mu gave a short answer.

"Mr. Mu, hello!"

Li Guangyou greeted him without overthinking, saying, "Please come with me."

And with that, he led Xiao Mu into the courtyard.

At that moment, Xiao Mu took an extra look at Li Guangyou, revealing a hint of wonder on his face.

His face harbored ill luck!

This was a sign of misfortune.

Was it all due to the evil ghost?

Could evil ghosts really bring bad luck to people?

Xiao Mu doubted this.

Evil ghosts eating away at a person's yang energy, ruining fortunes, and destroying businesses; suggesting that they could bring about bad luck didn't seem out of line.

Following closely, his gaze unintentionally landed on the shadow of Li Guangyou.

"Huh!"

Xiao Mu couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Under the sunlight, Li Guangyou's shadow was noticeably lighter than his own and others'.

Why was this?

A weaker shadow indicated a thinning bloodline, suggesting damage to the bloodline.

Could it be possible that something happened to Li Guangyou's ancestors?

Beyond this, Xiao Mu couldn't think of any other possibilities. A faint shadow cast by sunlight indicated a thinning bloodline. A thinning bloodline could only mean that there had been a problem with his ancestors, with no other possibilities, and it had to be a direct descendent.

"Mr. Mu, have you discovered anything?"

Li Guangyou, as if sensing something, turned around to ask Xiao Mu.

"Let's take a closer look."

Xiao Mu looked at Li Guangyou again, but didn't rush to speak.

Li Guangyou then ushered Xiao Mu in.

Before stepping into the courtyard, Xiao Mu's gaze fell upon the doorstep.

The doorstep of the Li family's courtyard was broken.

Xiao Mu's gaze froze, fixated on the damaged doorstep.

The doorstep emanated a faint aura of death and decay.

What could it be...

Could it be that the ghost had broken their doorstep?

In recent years, both city and rural houses don't have doorsteps anymore, mainly as it hinders vehicular access.

However, older houses, especially those from ancient times, usually have doorsteps.

Apart from keeping small animals from sneaking in under the door, doorsteps serve other important purposes.

The most important is to stop your fortune from rolling out of your house, and also to prevent things like ghosts from stealing from your home.

Evil ghosts wouldn't damage the doorstep without cause. So, did it break the doorstep to steal something from the Li family?

If the evil ghost did take something from the Li family, judging by the extent of the damage to the doorstep, the item it stole must have been quite large.

Xiao Mu kept this in mind, but did not rush to inquire.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Xiao Mu had to cover his nose.

"It stinks!"

It was a strong smell of rotten fish and decaying shrimp that went straight into his nostrils.

"Mr. Mu, what's the matter?"

Li Guangyou suddenly turned back and saw Xiao Mu covering his nose. He immediately asked in surprise.

"What's with this strong smell of rotten fish and shrimp, Mr. Li? What is your house doing?"

Xiao Mu asked.

"Rotten fish and shrimp smell?"

Li Guangyou wore a surprised expression, took a deep breath, sniffed, and then said, "I don't smell anything. Mr. Mu, are you perhaps too sensitive?"

"Nothing?"

Xiao Mu's heart shivered.

In an instant, he knew why.

Li Guangyou couldn't smell it, but he could. Could this thick smell of dead fish and rotten shrimp be coming from the evil ghost?

Xiao Mu quickly confirmed this suspicion. Li Guangyou had no reason to lie.

There was no other explanation.

As they entered the courtyard and looked at the buildings within,

The buildings in this courtyard were old. Judging by their style and the brick and tile structures, they had likely been built decades or even hundreds of years ago.

"What an old house, could this be considered a cultural relic?"

Xiao Mu exclaimed in admiration.

To be able to preserve an old house so well, the Li family must have been quite prestigious in the past.

Li Guangyou showed a hint of pride in his expression. "This house was left by my great-great-grandfather. We have always lived in it until my father's generation moved out. My grandparents lived in this courtyard all their lives and never moved out."

"Oh!"

Xiao Mu responded absently, not dwelling on it.

After thinking for a moment, he asked Li Guangyou, "Mr. Li, what exactly happened to your family? Did you discover something?"

Evil ghosts and sinister spirits are different from blood demons. The signs of blood demons appearing are too obvious, detectable even from a great distance.

Evil and sinister ghosts, however, are not as easy to detect.

If an evil ghost was causing trouble, it couldn't be helped, the aura would inevitably be released. If it was hiding, especially behind certain items with special effects, concealing its energy, normal people really wouldn't find it.

Li Guangyou sighed and explained, "It's mainly this courtyard. Somehow, it suddenly became haunted."

"Actually, we don't live in this courtyard anymore. We lent it to our relatives temporarily. Two nights ago, my relatives suddenly heard heavy footfalls inside the courtyard. Multiple people seemed to be shouting and exerting effort as if they were moving something. Thinking it was a thief, they quickly got up to check, but they found nothing, and the footfall noise disappeared."

"Oh!"

Xiao Mu's eyes flashed with realization.

Moving something?

Could it be that the evil ghost broke the doorstep and moved something out of the Li family's house that night?

"Mr. Li, think back, did your doorstep break on that night?"

"How... how did you know?"

Li Guangyou looked at Xiao Mu in shock, evidently baffled as to how Xiao Mu could guess what had happened that night.

Xiao Mu smiled but did not answer.

Li Guangyou glanced at Xiao Mu in astonishment. At that moment, Xiao Mu seemed to exude an air of mystery.

Continuing, he said, "The weird occurrences started from that night. My relatives turned on the lights, saw nothing in the courtyard, and went back to sleep. In the middle of the night, they were suddenly awoken. Opening their eyes, they saw a shadow on the ceiling and felt what seemed like a cold body lying under their bed."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.