Chapter 51

Chapter 51

"Just put on a mask and it turns people into animals—what kind of evil trick is that?"

Wei Yao rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, craning his neck and glancing around, with a feeling Huang Jian's ghost might still be in this room.

Xu Muchan closed the notebook and recalled, "I've read similar stories in *Liaozhai* (Strange Tales) before. This must be the livestock-making sorcery."

The story goes that a man once led five donkeys to an inn and specifically told the innkeeper not to give the donkeys water. The innkeeper thought something was off, so he secretly let the donkeys drink water, and after drinking, the donkeys rolled on the ground and turned into five women. When the man came back to the inn with five sheep, the innkeeper pulled the same trick, giving the sheep water, and this time the five sheep turned into five children.

The innkeeper finally realized this man was actually a sorcerer who used the livestock-making sorcery to turn kidnapped people into animals and sell them along the way. Panicked, the innkeeper immediately reported it to the authorities, and the sorcerer who practiced the livestock-making sorcery was captured and executed in public.

When Xu Muchan first read this story, he just thought it was bizarre, never imagining such a vicious evil sorcery actually existed in the world.

Wen Dajiang said, "According to that story, if we drink water, can we break the spell?"

Wei Yao hesitated, "But we've all been drinking water these past couple of days."

Xu Muchan guessed, "Maybe it's the wrong water."

The three discussed for a long while but had no idea how to break the livestock-making sorcery.

Xu Muchan suddenly remembered the dog-face mask used for the sorcery was tucked in his sleeve. He quickly took it out and asked, "How does one break the livestock-making sorcery?"

The dog head said fawningly, "As long as you, madam, wear me, you can break the livestock-making sorcery."

Xu Muchan looked at it suspiciously—he hadn't forgotten that Huang Jian's notebook mentioned that once the dog-face mask was worn for too long, it couldn't be taken off. Huang Wen's crazy and cruel actions, harming so many people, were partly due to his lack of upbringing in youth and his inherently evil nature, but Xu Muchan felt the dog-face mask was also partly to blame.

This dog-face mask was clearly trying to trick him.

Xu Muchan didn't fall for it. Without changing his expression, he squeezed the dog head out of shape, thinking that like master, like dog.

Wei Xilou was no good, and this dog-face mask was just as sly and treacherous.

He kneaded the dog head fiercely like it was Play-Doh, then said to Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang, "There's got to be another way. Let's first release those people and try giving them water. If that doesn't work... you go ask him."

Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang exchanged a look, neither daring to ask who "him" was.

The three went to the storeroom where the animals were locked up and let them all out.

These animals were indeed transformed humans, very human-like in their understanding. After hearing Xu Muchan say he'd find a way to save them, they all stayed put in the storeroom, not running around or making noise.

Meanwhile, Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang went outside, grabbed a random paper effigy, and had it draw a bucket of water from the well and bring it over.

"Quick! Let them try!"

Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang's fur was all wet, clearly having already tried it themselves with no luck. But they still held out some hope—maybe it wouldn't work on them, but it might work on these people.

The animals in the room came up to drink, and sure enough, nothing changed after drinking.

Xu Muchan frowned, the dog head in his hand already squeezed so much its features were unrecognizable.

Wei Yao carefully suggested, "Then I'll go... ask... him?"

Xu Muchan snapped out of it and nodded, "Mm."

Wei Yao quickly scampered off on his paws.

After running all over, he finally found the ancestor.

The ancestor was standing in the garden with his hands clasped behind his back, admiring the flowers. Wei Yao wagged his tail and trotted up cheerfully: "Ancestor, Xu Muchan sent me to ask you—how do you break the livestock-making sorcery?"

Wei Xilou didn't even turn around: "Why doesn't Achan come ask me himself?"

Wei Yao hesitated, then told the truth, "Because he seems to still be angry."

Wei Xilou finally turned around and gave Wei Yao a real look, but frowned in confusion: "Why angry? Who made him angry?"

"..."

This completely backwards question was beyond Wei Yao's understanding. He just stood there with his mouth hanging open, staring blankly at the confused Wei Xilou.

Wait—how could a dog sitting at home get blamed from above?

This was too heavy a pot for a little dog to carry.

Wei Yao was silent for a long moment, then said sincerely, "Wen Dajiang and I didn't provoke him. Ancestor, is there a possibility... that Xu Muchan is angry at you?"

"Impossible."

Wei Xilou said, "Why would Achan be angry at me."

"..."

Wei Yao was at his wit's end. He scratched his ear with his hind leg and suggested, "Then why don't you, Ancestor, go ask him yourself?"

Wei Xilou was clearly very confident in himself and actually agreed.

He stepped over Wei Yao with his long legs and said, "Let's go."

Wei Yao: "..."

He made a face behind the ancestor's back in frustration—if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't beat him, the ancestor's grave grass would be two meters tall by now.

The man and the dog arrived at the storeroom one after the other.

Why one after the other? Because little dog Wei Yao's legs were too short—his four stubby legs churned frantically but still couldn't outrun the ancestor's two long ones. Panting, he chased all the way there and collapsed at the door like a dead dog, tongue hanging out as he wheezed.

Wei Xilou entered and his first words were: "Achan, Wei Yao says you're angry at me."

"..." Xu Muchan turned his head expressionlessly to glance at Wei Yao.

Wei Yao, stupidly sticking out half his tongue, stared back at him for a long moment, then turned to look at the ancestor who had shamelessly thrown him under the bus. The whole dog was bewildered and shocked.

How could there be a person like this?!

Xu Muchan countered, "Why would I be angry at you?"

Wei Xilou also found it strange: "Why would Achan be angry at me for no reason."

So it must be the little mouse spreading rumors.

He turned his head and gave the little mouse a sinister look.

Wei Yao quickly retracted his tongue, his whole body trembling. Wen Dajiang beside him looked at him sympathetically, secretly glad he hadn't been the one to deliver the message.

Now Wei Yao was a dog caught in the middle, pleasing neither side.

Xu Muchan ignored the undercurrents and said directly, "Giving them water doesn't seem to break the livestock-making sorcery. Is it the wrong water?"

Wei Xilou let out an "mm" in acknowledgment, took the dog head that Xu Muchan had already mangled beyond recognition, and tossed it into the water bucket without a second thought.

As soon as the dog head hit the water, it expanded and turned back into the original Dog-face Mask.

It gave Wei Xilou a fawning smile, blew a few bubbles, then sank to the bottom of the bucket.

"That should do the trick."

Xu Muchan murmured, "So it was that simple. Can't believe I didn't think of it sooner."

The dog head had completely thrown him off. After all the animals had drunk the water, turned back into humans, and left, Xu Muchan grabbed a stick, fished the Dog-face Mask out of the bucket, and tossed it on the ground, saying, "This mask doesn't know how to behave. It even tried to trick me into putting it on earlier."

The Dog-face Mask's sycophantic smile froze, and it begged, "Madam, I know I was wrong. I was just trying to have a little fun with you."

"That wasn't funny." Xu Muchan said coldly, jabbing its mouth with the stick. "And stop calling me madam."

With the stick poking its mouth, the Dog-face Mask could only mumble, "Aren't you the master's wife? What else am I supposed to call you?"

Xu Muchan said, "You've been given to me. I'm your master now, got it?"

The Dog-face Mask knew which way the wind was blowing and quickly changed its tune: "Got it, Master."

Then it glanced at Wei Xilou beside it and tested the waters, "Madam?"

Wei Xilou's face was unreadable, giving nothing away.

Xu Muchan, on the other hand, was in a better mood now. He reluctantly fished the Dog-face Mask out with the stick and set it in the sun to dry. "From now on, you'd better stay this well-behaved. If you dare pull any tricks on me again, I'll burn you."

Then, realizing the Dog-face Mask might not be afraid of fire, he added, "...Or I'll soak you in exorcism talisman water. Either way, you're not gonna have a good time."

The Dog-face Mask was scared stiff. The whole mask trembled, and it said, even more grovelingly, "Got it, Master. I'll be a good boy, Master."

Wei Xilou studied Xu Muchan with a probing look. "Achan, are you sure you're not mad at me?"

He felt like Achan was a bit on edge today. And he'd said all that without once calling him "brother."

Xu Muchan turned around, repeating the same line as before: "Why would I be mad? Is there anything worth getting mad about?"

Wei Xilou thought about it and figured Achan had a point.

What was there to get mad about? Nothing.

So Wei Xilou said, "We should probably head back now."

Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang had already left after drinking the water and breaking the beast transformation spell. After all, this was the border between yin and yang, and living souls couldn't linger here for long.

Xu Muchan thought of the Huang family members still in the residence and asked, "What about them?"

Wei Xilou said, "This residence was originally built by the folks of Huangshi Town. Later, the whole town was swallowed up by the Black River and became part of the shoal. The walls they built ended up trapping them. Over the years, they've nursed their grudge but couldn't get into the residence to take revenge. Now that Young Master Huang has lost his mask and the Huang family's gate is open, let them sort out their own grievances."

As for Young Master Huang, he'd already been taken away by that monkey-faced old man as payment for the Moon Yin Water.

Xu Muchan thought about it and agreed. The events in Huangshi Town, even if judged by the most impartial Judge, might not have a clear verdict. Better to let them sort it out themselves.

"Then let's head out," Xu Muchan said.

Wei Xilou hummed in response and reached for Xu Muchan's hand, but Xu Muchan happened to be reaching for the dried Dog-face Mask at the same time. He squished the mask into a ball with both hands and looked at Wei Xilou. "Which way are we going?"

Wei Xilou had no choice but to grab his wrist. "Close your eyes."

Xu Muchan closed his eyes on instinct and blacked out.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was blazing through the window. He lay in bed in a daze for a while before snapping back to reality. He fumbled for his phone on the nightstand and saw it was already past two in the afternoon.

Man, he'd slept for a long time.

Xu Muchan put down his phone and got out of bed, but froze when a chill hit him. He couldn't believe it. He lifted the blanket to check, then rushed to the bathroom, face bright red.

After showering, changing into clean clothes, and scrubbing his pants by hand, Xu Muchan crept stealthily out to the balcony to hang them up.

As soon as he hung the pants and turned around, he found Wei Xilou sitting by the balcony off the dining area, drinking tea.

On the dining table nearby was a spread of hearty dishes, still steaming—clearly the auntie had just made them.

"Achan, you're awake?" Wei Xilou looked over when he heard the noise. "Come eat."

Xu Muchan wasn't about to fight his own stomach. He shot Wei Xilou a sneaky glare, sat down at the table in a huff, and started eating without inviting Wei Xilou to join.

Wei Xilou didn't really need to eat, but he liked the vibe of having meals with Achan. So he moved to the table, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite every now and then.

His eyes never left Xu Muchan the whole time.

This had actually been their usual dynamic, and Xu Muchan had gotten used to it a long time ago. But maybe because the memory of their dream wedding was still too fresh, Xu Muchan suddenly felt flustered and annoyed. His face burning red, he glared at Wei Xilou. "Why do you keep staring at me like that?"

Wei Xilou looked confused. "Is the food not to your liking today?"

Xu Muchan was speechless.

Realizing he might have overreacted a bit, Xu Muchan lowered his head, shoveled a big bite of rice into his mouth, and mumbled, "No, the auntie's cooking is great."

It was someone else who was getting on his nerves!

Luckily, right after the meal, Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang sent a group video call.

Xu Muchan was glad to avoid the awkward staring contest with Wei Xilou, so he slipped out to the garden to take the call.

"You two don't have any side effects, do you?"

Xu Muchan sat down on a rocking chair under a tree and looked Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang over on the screen.

These two were something else—call them brave, and they'd tremble and cower at the sight of any ghost. But call them cowards, and that wasn't quite right either. Judging by their state, being turned into dogs by the beast transformation spell and almost eaten by paper effigies hadn't left a single psychological scar on them.

Wei Yao was already plotting to go give the antique shop owner a piece of his mind.

"I think the reason the three of us got so unluckily snatched has to be connected to that wedding dress at the antique shop. That owner might be shady too! We need to go get some answers. If he keeps displaying that dress, who knows—maybe the female ghost will keep looking for someone to take her place in marriage."

Wen Dajiang was fired up by this speech, his sense of justice through the roof: "Old Wei's right. We're heading to the pedestrian street now. Xu Muchan, you in?"

Xu Muchan thought of the female ghost who had forced him to be a substitute bride and nodded.

If it weren't for that female ghost, he wouldn't have fallen into that trap and done so many stupid things. Thinking about how he'd called Wei Xilou "husband" over and over, his face flushed red again.

"Xu Muchan, why's your face suddenly so red?"

Wei Yao pressed his face up to the screen, his face filling the entire display. Xu Muchan leaned back to get some distance and said, "I'm outside. It's hot out here. It'll take me about half an hour to get there. Let's meet at the pedestrian street at four."

Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang agreed, and Xu Muchan hung up the video call without further ado.

Turning around, he found Wei Xilou standing behind him, who knows when: "Achan, heading to the antique shop?"

Xu Muchan gave a perfunctory "Mm," and afraid he might want to tag along, added, "I'll go alone. I might hang out with Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang after."

Luckily, Wei Xilou didn't push to come along this time. Xu Muchan let out a quiet sigh of relief, not wanting to be in the same room as him, and got up to go back to his room.

At 4 p.m.

The three of them met up in front of the antique shop.

Wei Yao led the charge, storming into the store, only to find the first-floor display had been rearranged—the red wedding dress was gone, swapped out for another fancy, elaborate hanfu on the mannequin.

Worried this hanfu might also be cursed, Wei Yao didn't dare get near it, telling Xu Muchan and Wen Dajiang, "Maybe the owner figured out something was up and stashed the red dress. Let's head straight upstairs and confront him."

The three went upstairs to see the owner.

The owner did remember Wei Yao as the sucker, eyeing the three students warily: "Students, all sales are final unless there's a defect."

Wei Yao sneered, "Relax, we're not here to return anything. Where's that red wedding dress from downstairs?"

The owner said, "Oh, that? A customer came in this morning, took a liking to it, and it's already sold."

"Sold?" Wei Yao's voice shot up. "That red dress is cursed—anyone who touches it will get haunted. And you still sold it? That's basically murder for money!"

"Hey, you can't say stuff like that!"

The owner got flustered: "Everything here is clean, nothing cursed!"

Wei Yao wasn't buying it: "Who'd you sell it to? That dress has a female ghost on it who drags people into being substitute brides. Selling it like that—aren't you screwing over the buyer?"

The owner chuckled: "Kids, you're still in school, and you're buying into this superstitious crap? There's no such thing as ghosts! Keep causing trouble, and I'll call security!"

The owner clearly wasn't buying it, and Wei Yao couldn't get through to him, rolling up his sleeves in frustration.

Seeing the owner's hand already on the call button, Wen Dajiang quickly grabbed Wei Yao, saying, "Don't pick a fight you can't win. We've got no proof anyway. Let's bail and figure something out!"

Wei Yao fumed, "So we just let him slide?"

Wen Dajiang said, "If worst comes to worst, we can report him to the business bureau, or tip off the fire inspectors!"

Wei Yao calmed down: "Good point."

The owner, who'd heard all of it: "..."

He forced a smile: "I run a legit business, not scared of reports."

Xu Muchan glanced at the owner, then added, "Isn't Taoist Master Yan He from the Laoshan Sect? I heard they've got some Religious Association with rules against selling haunted stuff illegally. We could tell Taoist Master Yan He and have them check for violations."

The owner was speechless: "..."

Seeing the owner's face go pale, Wei Yao felt a bit better and said, "Let's go grab a bite, then report him one by one after we're full."

After the three left, the owner opened the staff room door, forcing a smile: "Mr. Wei, I said exactly what you told me, but now those three kids want to report me. If an inspection finds problems and I have to fix things, my losses..."

"A lawyer will come by later to talk about the investment contract."

Wei Xilou cut him off impatiently, sitting in the office chair, with the "sold" red wedding dress hanging nearby.

Knowing Xu Muchan and the others were coming, Wei Xilou had already contacted the antique shop owner to beat them to it.

The owner's face lit up at the news—why wouldn't he take investment handed to him on a silver platter? Especially from someone dealing in such high-end goods, clearly no ordinary guy.

"So, how much is Mr. Wei planning to invest? If it's a lot... I might have to start calling you boss." The owner probed with a smile.

Wei Xilou said, "I happen to have a batch of old stuff to unload, which I'll put in the store to help build your rep early on. But the condition is that this store answers to me from now on. You'll still handle day-to-day operations, but I'll send someone else to help. Profits split by investment ratio. As for the exact amount, you can work it out with my assistant."

The owner's face lit up with joy. When he'd opened the store, he'd had a falling out with his partner, and running it solo was tight on cash, with limited stock forcing him to pad with junk. Just when he was at his wit's end, a moneybags showed up out of nowhere.

After all, running a store was about making money—as long as real cash was on the table, he didn't mind the other guy taking the biggest cut.

The owner happily looked at his sudden benefactor, poured him a cup of tea, and seeing no sign of him leaving, tactfully excused himself, closing the staff room door behind him.

Once the owner was gone, the red wedding dress hanging on the rack materialized, begging for mercy.

"I was blind not to see who you are. Please spare my life."

This female ghost knew how to read the room. Seeing Wei Xilou hadn't acted right away, she sobbed through her tragic backstory and helplessness: "If I hadn't been left with no choice, I wouldn't have looked for a substitute bride. I was from Huangshi Town in life, already engaged. But that Young Master Huang took a fancy to me and insisted on forcing me to be his concubine. When my parents and fiancé refused, he turned them into pigs and sheep, slaughtered them, and served them to the wedding guests. I was full of resentment but had no way to get revenge, so on my wedding day, I jumped into a well in my red wedding dress."

"I'd hoped to curse the Huang family to a bad end, but instead, my soul got stuck to the dress and drifted around. If that were all, fine, but somehow Young Master Huang found out where I was. Even as a ghost, he wouldn't leave me alone, sending betrothal gifts to force a marriage. And I'd finally been reunited with my fiancé..."

The ghost covered her face, sobbing her heart out, but Wei Xilou stayed cold. He said flatly, "You dared to scheme against Achan; you should've been wiped out long ago. But by luck, you did something useful, and you still have some use, so I'll spare you for now."

"You've seen Young Master Huang, so you should remember his energy. Follow that trail and look for any person or ghost with a similar vibe. If you find one, come back and tell me. In exchange, I'll set you free."

With that, Wei Xilou flicked his finger, sending a dark flash into the ghost's forehead.

The ghost stiffened, then bowed gracefully: "I understand. I won't let you down."