Chapter 024: The Towering Building

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I had no idea what Shang Wuyong was so busy with on his end, that he didn’t even have time to explain the situation to me. This left me feeling utterly unmoored.

A haunted house where people kept dying, five or six within just a few days.

Normally, such things happened only when a vicious ghost was at work.

And dealing with malicious spirits was not exactly my area of expertise.

The Shang brothers were both Taoist priests, skilled in exorcising evil and capturing ghosts. By rights, they should have been able to handle this. So why call me?

My mind was filled with doubt; I couldn’t decide whether I should go or not.

But then again, I had nothing in particular to do at home, so there was no harm in going to take a look.

If I could handle it, I would; if not, I could just turn around and leave.

With that decided, I quickly packed my things and headed out.

I hailed a cab to the train station, then bought a high-speed rail ticket to Qianbei.

By the time I arrived in Qianbei, it was already past one in the afternoon.

After getting off the train, I called Shang Wuyong.

“I’m here!” I announced when he picked up.

“Where are you now?” he asked.

“At the train station,” I replied.

“All right, wait there. Someone will come to pick you up soon,” he said, and hung up.

I really didn’t know how busy he must be, not even sparing a moment for a proper conversation.

Since I was already here, I had no choice but to wait.

So I found a small restaurant outside the station and grabbed a bite to eat.

Just as I finished, my phone rang.

“Mr. Yu, I’m here to pick you up. Where are you now?” a deep male voice came through after I answered.

I told him my location, and within three or four minutes, a man in a black suit approached me.

“Are you Mr. Yu?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied, sizing him up.

He looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a square face, a buzz cut, and dark sunglasses. He had the aura of a bodyguard straight out of a TV drama.

“Please, come with me.” The man was serious but polite, gesturing for me to follow.

I was filled with confusion—what on earth was this situation?

I followed him out of the station and into the parking lot.

“Please, Mr. Yu,” he said, opening the back door of a car and shielding the doorframe with his hand.

I had never received such treatment before and felt quite unaccustomed to it.

And the car was a luxury one—not that I recognized the make, but it was clearly expensive.

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All I could think once inside was: expensive!

Yes, this car was definitely costly, and the seats were incredibly comfortable.

After gently closing my door, the man got into the driver’s seat.

“So... where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ll know when we get there,” he replied curtly.

After that, he focused on driving, showing no inclination to chat.

I tried making conversation a few times, but he answered only briefly, often with, “Sorry, I’m not sure.”

After a few attempts, I gave up and leaned back in the seat, figuring everything would be clear once I saw Shang Wuyong.

The seat was so comfortable, and the ride so smooth, that I soon drifted off to sleep.

When I woke, the car was parked.

The man opened his door and got out. Just as I reached for my own door, he opened it for me.

“We’re here, Mr. Yu,” he said, again shielding the doorframe with his hand.

A bit awkwardly, I smiled at him, grabbed my bag, and got out.

I surveyed the surroundings.

Not far away was a tall, unfinished building, with piles of construction materials scattered around.

Young trees had been planted all around the building. Artificial hills, pavilions, and covered walkways were already completed. In the distance stood a large statue, though I had no artistic sense to tell what it depicted.

From the look of it, this wasn’t a residential building—probably an office block.

It stood atop a modest hill, overlooking open, vibrant landscape on all sides.

The layout made it clear the builder had put considerable thought into the design.

“Xiaowei! Xiaowei, over here!” someone called, waving at me from nearby.

I picked up my bag and walked over. “And you are?” I asked.

Of course, I recognized him; I just couldn’t tell if he was Shang Wuwei or Shang Wuyong.

He understood perfectly and smiled, saying, “I’m your brother Wuyong!”

Brother Wuyong!

Good grief, did he have to be so affectionate? Brother Wuyong!

I grumbled inwardly but still called out, “Brother Wuyong!”

“Mm!” He nodded, then pointed to the building and asked, “Quick, take a look—any feng shui problems with this place?”

I didn’t answer directly, instead saying, “Why don’t you tell me what’s actually going on first?”

“The situation? Didn’t I tell you? A haunted house—damn place has already claimed several lives,” he replied.

I sighed and said, “Come on, can’t you be more specific? Who died? When did they die? How did they die? You need to tell me all that!”

“I’ll explain everything, but first check if there’s a feng shui problem with this building,” he insisted.

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“Ugh... you...” I was at a loss for words.

“Hurry up, we’ve tried all sorts of methods and nothing worked. I really think there’s a feng shui problem with this building. Take a look, quick!” Shang Wuyong pressed.

“You’re not just testing me, are you?” I eyed him suspiciously.

“It’s not about testing you. We know there’s something wrong with this building, but we just can’t pinpoint what it is. And before you arrived, other feng shui masters already checked it. They all said there’s no problem. But I don’t believe it, so I asked you to come!” he said.

“Come on, you already had people check it and you still want me to look?” I protested.

“Well, they’re not as good as you, are they? Please, just take a look! My brother and I made a bet. I believe all the problems with this building stem from feng shui!” he explained.

He paused for a moment, then added, “You have to find something wrong for me, or I’ll have to be his junior for a whole year. I can’t have that!”

At that, I was speechless. What did he mean, I had to find something wrong? If there wasn’t anything wrong, I couldn’t just make something up.

Under his urging, I took out my compass, set the orientation, and began circling the building, examining it closely.

He followed nervously, peppering me with questions: “Well? Any problems? There’s something wrong, right? Isn’t there?”

His buzzing in my ear was as annoying as a persistent fly.

“Can you be quiet? I’ll tell you when I’m done!” I finally snapped, unable to endure it any longer.

“All right, all right, just hurry! I refuse to believe it’s not a feng shui issue—how else could something so minor be beyond me?” he said.

I circled the building, then looked into the distance, studying the surrounding hills and terrain.

After repeatedly confirming, I said, “No, there’s nothing wrong. The feng shui of this building is fine. It’s not some great auspicious site, but there’s nothing harmful here. From a feng shui perspective, this is not a haunted house.”

“No problem? Not a haunted house?” Shang Wuyong frowned.

“Right. At least, it wouldn’t become haunted because of feng shui,” I replied.

“Impossible! That can’t be!” he protested, shaking his head.

I wasn’t lying; I’d been thorough, worried I might overlook something.

Just then, a man ran out of the building, panic-stricken, and shouted at Shang Wuyong, “Master! There’s been an incident! Another one! Someone’s dead again!”

“Damn!” Shang Wuyong cursed under his breath and hurried inside.

My heart sank as well. Seriously? Someone died just as I arrived?

Seeing Shang Wuyong rush into the building, I quickly packed away my compass and followed after him.