At night, after Xiaocui fell asleep, I quietly approached the tabby cat, intending to subdue it. But the moment I got close, it became alert and let out a sharp screech.
It only calmed down after waking Xiaocui, keeping a wary eye on me.
Now I finally understood why Black Emperor and Huang Jiu called it a "thieving cat" — it truly was sneaky and cunning.
Seeing how carefully Xiaocui looked after it, I had no choice but to let it be. As long as it didn't hurt anyone or clash with Black Emperor and the others, it might as well stay and keep Xiaocui company.
After coaxing Xiaocui back to sleep with great effort, I sat in the living room to examine my internal condition.
After swallowing the Buddha bone relic, it seemed to remain undigested inside me. I could sense its presence slightly above my dantian, though I lacked the ability for true internal vision.
Aside from a vague sense of discomfort, it caused no adverse effects.
On the contrary, having it inside me made chanting the Nine Syllable Mantra smoother.
What troubled me was how I should tell Huang Jiu. If I brought it up now, she'd probably slice me open and dig the relic out of my body.
After thinking it over, I decided to wait a bit longer. Once she remembered it, I would confess everything.
Over the next two days, I stayed at home. Huang Jiu didn't go out either.
With the whole family around, Tingting gradually began to speak again.
However, the traumatic experience had left irreparable damage on her young heart.
Sometimes, I couldn't help but wonder—exposed to all this at such a young age, would she one day walk the same path we did?
But that wasn't something I dared to bring up with Aunt.
On the third day, Jin Youcai called to say he'd found a house and asked me to come check it out.
Yuwenrong drove Huang Jiu and me to the location.
The house was an old villa from the 70s or 80s—somewhat rundown, but only two streets away from the Void House. It would take just over ten minutes to walk there.
That alone was enough for me to make a decision. I paid 50,000 yuan to rent it for a year without hesitation.
That same afternoon, I hired cleaners and moved in by evening.
Once settled, I called Zhan Ling. Not long after, she and a five-person squad drove over.
Along with them came the Plague God. I assigned everyone a room.
With all the fuss, the villa's eight rooms were filled.
Maybe the crowd gave her a sense of security—Tingting even played in the courtyard that night.
Watching her, I felt somewhat relieved.
As night fell, Yuwenrong pulled Huang Jiu and me back to the store. We printed a notice and taped it to the door: Closed for seven days.
Song Laoque still hadn't returned. I entered the shop and brought the wooden man back to the villa.
That night, Huang Jiu and I worked until midnight, using Tang Quan's inheritance and the Four Sacred Beast statues to set up three defensive formations within the villa.
The core array was still the Four Symbols Trapping Heaven Formation.
In the early hours of the morning, I couldn't sleep. I called Huang Jiu and Yuwenrong over and explained my thoughts.
Now that the secret of the longevity technique residing in me had spread, thanks to Zhan Ling, both the Hidden World and the Three Yin Sect would be targeting me.
My plan was to use the Void House as the foundation for a geomantic trap and lure them in—to wipe them out in one go.
After hearing me out, Huang Jiu said, "We're not them. We can't use those kinds of methods to force them over. And from what I've heard, the ones who attacked that night weren't weak. Regular formations might not work."
I replied, "I have a way to draw them there. As for the formation, I plan to use Five Ghosts Slay the Gods."
At that, Huang Jiu shuddered. "You really don't value your life, do you?"
'Five Ghosts Slay the Gods' was the deadliest killing formation in Zuo Daoran's notebook.
With the Ghost Gate as the array's core and the five ghost positions forming its legs, the moment the formation was activated, ghostly energy would surge outwards, creating killing zones in all five directions and inviting the Five Ghosts to descend.
Zuo Daoran had made special notes warning that this formation was like summoning gods—unpredictable in what might appear, and once summoned, extremely hard to dismiss. If mishandled, the summoned entities could turn on the caster.
Huang Jiu had a habit of eavesdropping and peeking. Since I hadn't taken any special precautions, she'd read most of the notebook herself.
Seeing me silent and resolute, she warned, "If you can't send them away once they're here, they'll devour your soul. You'll become a walking corpse."
I knew the risks all too well.
Still, I didn't hesitate. "This is the plan for now. Tomorrow night, come with me to the Void House. I need to see if it can substitute for the Ghost Gate."
Huang Jiu replied, "If you're really doing this, make sure you kill more of them. And if you do get devoured, I'll send you off myself."
I glared at her. "We haven't even started yet. Can't you say something nice?"
Huang Jiu shrugged. "That was nice. Being a soulless husk is a terrible fate. Giving you a clean end is a mercy. You should be grateful."
I decided to stay quiet.
Feeling bored, she turned and headed off to sleep.
I called after her, "There aren't enough rooms. I made you a little nest on the balcony."
She stumbled, turning back to glare. "You've crossed the line!"
Back when we lived in the apartment, whenever Huang Xian'er left, she'd make a nest out of blankets and sleep in it. This wasn't intentional—it was just that we really were out of space.
I said, "Huang-ge, I'm serious. No more rooms. Please bear with it."
She grumbled, "Forget it. I won't sleep at all."
I smiled. "Great. Go to the Su family's graveyard and bring me some grave dirt. I need it."
She immediately exploded. "You don't need a whip to drive a donkey—just that damn mouth of yours…"
But even as she cursed, she left under the cover of night.
Grave dirt is yin in nature, but I still felt it wasn't strong enough.
After all, the Void House was no Ghost Gate. To make the Five Ghosts Slay the Gods formation reach its full power, the ghost vessels had to be of the utmost yin nature.
The next day, when making the mud figurines, I summoned Little Foot Girl.
Huang Jiu and I had a deal—if she didn't cry, we'd make her cry.
But Little Foot Girl was already sentimental. She just had to think about sad things, and the tears flowed.
Her tears were warm, but still ghostly in nature.
Mixing ghost tears with grave dirt, a heavy yin aura filled all three floors of the villa.
Even the Plague God was alarmed and rushed upstairs.
But I was prepared. I locked the door and didn't let him in.
Once I had enough tears, I dismissed Little Foot Girl and finally opened the door.
The Plague God looked anxious as he burst into the living room. Not seeing her around, his face darkened. "Li Yang, do you know what Hu Wenhui is trying to do?"
I shook my head.
He continued, "If he succeeds, many people will die. That female ghost—"
I interrupted, "Uncle Hu, that's your business. Little Foot Girl is my friend. I won't let anyone hurt her, not even Uncle Hu Wenhui."
He took a deep breath and stopped speaking, then snorted and walked downstairs.
After sending him off, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But just as I'd said—whatever Hu Wenhui was planning, whatever he hoped to obtain from Little Foot Girl—that was his problem.
As long as he didn't hurt her, I wouldn't interfere.
That night, under the cover of darkness, Huang Jiu and I set out for the Void House.