Chapter 11 This Neighborhood Isn’t Simple

Chapter 11 This Community Isn’t Ordinary

After wrestling with it all morning, Xue Ning finally brought up the matter while reporting to Huo Xingye.

They had to set the record straight, but the question was how—specifically, whether to publicly reveal the mother’s identity.

Huo Xingye thought it was ridiculous. After some deliberation, he decided against disclosure for now, just calling her a close blood relative.

They couldn’t keep Gu Qingyin’s identity secret forever, but she wasn’t just his mother—he also had two younger brothers. He wanted to wait until Xinghai and Xingchen returned so the whole family was together before making it public.

Huo Xingye was thoughtful. He didn’t want his brothers to learn about their mother’s return from others, nor did he want them to feel even the slightest discomfort.

Xue Ning understood and immediately used a secondary account to steer the conversation in the chat group. The rumors quickly died down.

By the time they left work in the evening, Gu Qingyin noticed that while people were still friendly, they weren’t as overbearing, which was much more comfortable.

“What do you normally do for dinner?”

Huo Xingye asked this in the car on their way back.

Gu Qingyin countered, “What do you usually do for dinner?”

“If I finish early, I go home to eat. If it’s late, I eat out.” Huo Xingye disliked having too many unrelated people in his home, so the cook only came at mealtimes and left afterward.

Gu Qingyin nodded, her eyes lighting up. “Then shall I go back with you to eat?”

The moment he finished speaking, Huo Xingye regretted it—not because he didn’t want to take Gu Qingyin to his place, but because it was a little awkward…

But after hesitating for two seconds, he still nodded, then took out his phone and sent two messages.

Twenty minutes later, the car entered a luxury gated community called *Tianfu Jinyuan*. Gu Qingyin’s relaxed demeanor vanished, replaced by seriousness.

“What’s wrong?” Huo Xingye had been watching her out of the corner of his eye and couldn’t help but ask.

Gu Qingyin was born with yin-yang eyes, a rare genius in the practice of mystic arts—otherwise, she wouldn’t have reached the top of the mystic arts world at such a young age.

Thus, the moment they entered the neighborhood, she noticed something was off. The yin energy here was abnormally heavy. In just two hundred meters, she had already spotted several apparitions.

“Stop the car.” Gu Qingyin’s voice was firm, and the driver instinctively hit the brakes.

She pushed the door open and stepped out, heading toward a nearby apparition. Something strange was clearly afoot, but investigating bit by bit would be too troublesome. It was better to ask directly.

Huo Xingye also got out of the car. Seeing her expression, he pressed his lips together and followed silently without speaking.

Without wasting words, Gu Qingyin snapped out a spirit-charm. A short scream echoed from the darkness, and then she calmly took out a glass bottle, waving its opening toward the shadows. Finally, she sealed the bottle with another charm.

Huo Xingye watched the entire process, but since he couldn’t see the yin energy, to him, Gu Qingyin looked like she was putting on a wordless, almost silly performance. Yet deep down, he knew she was probably bagging a spirit.

“Let’s go. Home first,” she added.

They left the car behind, walking all the way to the building entrance. Along the way, Gu Qingyin repeatedly opened the bottle.

The bottle was small, and she had captured quite a few spirits. Eventually, even Huo Xingye could just make out the bottle growing murky.

While waiting for the elevator, Huo Xingye couldn’t resist asking, “Are there way too many ghosts in this neighborhood?” The thought that he might have passed by one on his way home at night gave him the creeps.

Gu Qingyin didn’t hide it. “Yes, way too many,” she added.

Huo Xingye pressed his lips together, his expression tense.

Gu Qingyin chuckled lightly, "Scared? Don’t worry, as long as you wear the jade pendant I gave you, most ghosts will steer clear of you."

Huo Xingye touched the jade pendant on his chest, feeling a bit more at ease.

"Are ghosts... really that common?"

Once inside the elevator, Huo Xingye, having calmed down, asked curiously.

"Of course not," Gu Qingyin replied. "Under normal circumstances, most people enter the underworld for reincarnation after death. Those reluctant to leave the mortal world get hauled off by the Black and White Guards. Only ghosts clinging to grudges or unfinished business remain in the human world."

"They still have unfinished business in the living world, so the underworld won’t accept them. But even if they stay, most vengeful spirits will eventually lose their sanity over time, becoming lost spirits until they dissipate completely one day."

"Very few can truly become Vengeful Ghosts."

Huo Xingye nodded slowly. "Then what’s going on with this neighborhood?"

Gu Qingyin shrugged. "Not sure. We’ll find out soon enough."

Huo Xingye lived in a two-story penthouse on the top floor, spanning over 300 square meters. As the door opened, a chill of emptiness washed over them, as if the entire world had fallen silent.

"Where’s your study? I need to use it," Gu Qingyin’s voice, neither too loud nor too soft, broke the silence, suddenly bringing some life into the home.

Huo Xingye paused for a moment before instinctively pointing toward the second floor. As Gu Qingyin went upstairs, he came back to himself and let out a soft laugh. Having someone else in the house felt... oddly comforting.

Upstairs, all the doors were open, likely for ventilation, except for one at the end of the hallway, which was closed—its contents unknown.

Gu Qingyin glanced at it but paid no mind. She found the study, entered, and closed the door behind her. She then stuck talismans on the window and door before opening the bottle and releasing the ghosts she had captured earlier.

The ghosts, seemingly startled, went scattering everywhere the moment they were freed, attempting to flee through the walls. But with a loud "clang," they were repelled by a golden light. After several failed attempts, they all huddled together like scared quails, trembling as they stared at Gu Qingyin.

Gu Qingyin sat on the sofa, eyeing them coldly. "I’ll ask, you answer. If any of you dare to lie—"

"No, no, we wouldn’t dare!" they stammered.

She snorted. "Who gathered you here?"

The ghosts exchanged confused glances. "We came on our own. The yin energy here is strong, and the environment is good—perfect for living."

Gu Qingyin raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself: *Someone set up a Yin Gathering Array in this neighborhood?* Attracting wandering ghosts—what’s the purpose?

"When did you arrive? Have you noticed anything strange since coming here?"

"Oh, you wouldn’t believe!"

"There’s this bold businessman—his wife lives in the east building, his mistress in the south. Living the high life!"

"Then there’s this gold-digger husband in the next building—married up, killing it at work, treating his wife well, and his in-laws eat it up. But!"

"He’s got another wife back in his hometown, with a three-year-old son!"

Gu Qingyin’s eyes widened. "No way! Keep going!"

"Two buildings over, an old lady tried setting up a spirit wedding for her son who died young. Instead, she summoned a female ghost in red who’s been raising hell nonstop. Looks like she's on her last legs."

"That's what she gets," Gu Qingyin added.

"Yeah, the old lady even hired a Celestial Master, but he took one look and noped out."

"Celestial Master?" Gu Qingyin's expression turned serious. "When did that Celestial Master show up?"

"Just last month!"

With this neighborhood being so haunted, any real Celestial Master would have noticed something was off. But that Celestial Master let it slide for this long.

Either the Celestial Master was a fraud, or they knew what was really going on and either didn't dare to intervene or couldn't do anything about it.

Gu Qingyin narrowed her eyes, pulled out her phone, and sent Liu Ergou a message: "Do me a favor—dig up some info on this."