Chapter 157: The Old House

I was slightly taken aback, then gave a wry smile and said, "What effort did you put in? If I hadn't run the errand, how could you have gotten your hands on that fifty thousand?"

Li Muyang looked at me, pondered for a moment, and said, "Fair enough. How about this: you take thirty thousand, and Yu Jie and I get ten thousand each. That sound good?"

I nodded and was just about to speak when Yu Jie's voice suddenly rang out from behind me. Startled, I turned my head and said, "Yu Jie, what are you doing? Why do you walk without making a sound?"

Yu Jie smiled, revealing her white teeth, and said, "I'm not even afraid of ghosts, why would I be afraid of this? What are you two talking about? Fifty thousand, thirty thousand, ten thousand of what?"

I explained the matter of the commission to Yu Jie, and upon understanding, she nodded and said, "Fine by me. I don't care how much money it is, as long as you two pay for our outings."

Li Muyang and I were stunned and spoke in unison, "Why?"

"Because I'm a girl, and you guys are—well, hehe." Yu Jie laughed and walked down to the lobby. Li Muyang and I exchanged a wry smile, then said together, "Alright."

Afterward, I waited for Li Muyang to change clothes and come downstairs, then transferred their respective shares into the accounts of Li Muyang and Yu Jie. To celebrate our first successful commission, we decided to go out for Chongqing's famous old hotpot that evening.

At dusk, we arrived at the Jiefangbei Old Hotpot Restaurant. It was very crowded, and the environment and service were excellent. We ordered various hotpot side dishes and a pot of mandarin duck soup. Once the dishes were served, we picked up our chopsticks and dug in, sweating while chatting and laughing. As we were finishing up, I paid the bill and was about to leave when the phone in my pocket rang. Puzzled, I picked up my phone and saw it was an unfamiliar number. Li Muyang, sitting next to me, peeked over and asked, "Who's this?"

I shook my head and answered the call. A middle-aged man's voice came through the receiver, asking, "Hello, are you someone who deals specifically with paranormal events?"

I was slightly startled. Upon hearing the words "paranormal events," I frowned slightly and replied, "I am. Is there something you need help with?"

"Something recently happened at my house. Around midnight when I go to sleep, I frequently hear the sound of opera singing. When I get up to check, there's nothing there, and there are no opera stages anywhere near my house. Moreover, my housekeepers and maids say they see an old woman wearing gray cloth wandering around the courtyard every night. They've all been scared and moved away, and I'm reaching my breaking point. Can you come take a look at what's going on? I'll pay whatever price you name."

The man spoke rapidly on the other end of the line, sounding somewhat anxious. Without overthinking, I nodded and said, "Alright. What is your address, and what is your name?"

"Oh, my name is Du Jiawei, and my house is near Chaotianmen. Once you arrive, I'll come pick you up."

I acknowledged, hung up the phone, and looked at Li Muyang, who stared at me inquisitively and asked, "What is it? Another commission?"

I nodded, and a look of delight crossed Li Muyang's face as he asked, "What kind of commission? Where is it?"

"Chaotianmen. Let's go take a look."

I stood up and walked toward the exit, with Li Muyang and Yu Jie following closely behind. I hailed a cab on the street and headed straight for Chaotianmen. Upon arrival, I called the client and gave him my exact location. After a short while, a man dressed in designer clothes walked over, wearing what looked like an expensive watch on his wrist. He exuded an air of elegance and walked with the demeanor of a major boss. He looked at me, but assuming I was just someone strolling down the street, he paid me no mind and continued walking past with his phone in hand.

Taken aback, I called out, "Du Jiawei?"

Hearing his name called, the man paused, stopped in his tracks, and looked at me suspiciously. I looked back at him and said, "Sir, are you Du Jiawei?"

Du Jiawei nodded and asked doubtfully, "And you are?"

I smiled and said, "The one who took the commission. You just called me, have you forgotten?"

Du Jiawei was stunned. "You're the one who deals with paranormal events? You're so young, no way."

I didn't mind his remarks. With my hands in my pockets, I smiled and said, "A lot of people say that, nothing I can do about it. Don't worry, since you sought me out, I'll help you sort it out properly."

"And if it's not sorted out, it's free of charge," Li Muyang chimed in.

Yu Jie smiled as well. Du Jiawei looked at the three of us with a trace of disbelief still on his face, and said, "How am I supposed to believe you guys? There are so many scam artists these days. If it doesn't get resolved in the end, I'll be the one suffering."

I nodded and said, "Understandable!"

With that, I took out a ghost-repelling talisman and gave it a slight wave. The talisman instantly radiated a golden glow. Upon seeing the golden light, Du Jiawei's skepticism turned to utter shock. He remained silent for a good while before finally saying, "Whoa!! Everything on TV is real! There really are demon hunters. I'm sorry, Master, I misjudged you earlier. My apologies."

Smiling, I tucked the ghost-repelling talisman back into my pocket and said, "It's fine, I'm used to it. Let's go then. Since you said your house is haunted, let's go check it out first."

With that, I walked forward with my hands behind my back. However, Du Jiawei remained rooted to the spot without moving a step. I turned around to look at him in puzzlement, and he put on an embarrassed expression, saying, "Um, are you sure you want to go to my house to take a look? I honestly don't dare to go back right now. I actually came out from a nearby hotel just to pick you up."

I was slightly surprised and said, "It's fine, with us here, you don't need to be afraid."

Du Jiawei thought about it for a moment before finally letting out an "alright" and walking ahead to lead the way with a furrowed brow. Ten minutes later, we arrived in front of a large mansion. It looked no different from an ancient courtyard. Staring at the grand estate, I asked Du Jiawei, "Is this your residence?"

Du Jiawei nodded and said, "I bought this from someone else. I'm from Hong Kong, and I came here to start a business. Perhaps heaven has blessed me, or perhaps this place is my lucky ground; my business here has been getting better day by day. My wife and I both love this style of architecture, so we bought it. Don't let the ancient-style outer walls fool you, I've had modern interior decorations installed inside."

I nodded, keeping my hands behind my back, and said, "Open the door then."

Du Jiawei didn't move; he hesitated a bit and said, "Well, little master, why don't we go somewhere else to talk? I really don't dare to step inside this place right now."

Seeing that he was truly too scared to enter, I didn't want to force him. Yu Jie crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed softly, "Hmph, a grown man scared of this and that. I really have no idea how you ever started a business."

Hearing this, Li Muyang stepped up beside Yu Jie, gently pulled her arm, and glanced at Du Jiawei. Du Jiawei seemed to have heard nothing, still wearing that fearful expression as he looked at me. Li Muyang leaned closer to Yu Jie and whispered, "Yu Jie, take it easy. This is a big client, let's not offend him. Let's just listen to Lin Xuan and see what he says."

Yu Jie rolled her eyes at Li Muyang and said, "What are you scared of, kid? Sis has got your back. Also, stop using formal pronouns with me—do I look that old?"

Li Muyang smiled awkwardly and waved his hands. I cleared my throat and said, "Alright, let's go somewhere else instead."

Seeing that I agreed, Du Jiawei finally smiled and welcomed us into a nearby café. The café was quiet, playing soothing music. A waiter walked over, and Du Jiawei immediately said without hesitation, "I'll take an iced Americano with half sugar."

The waiter acknowledged, and Du Jiawei turned to look at us, saying, "What would the three of you like? Order whatever you want, it's on me."

I nodded, and not knowing much about coffee varieties, I said, "I'll have an Americano as well."

"Me too," Li Muyang chimed in.

After that, we all looked at Yu Jie. Yu Jie waved her hand and said, "Cappuccino."

The waiter closed the coffee menu, smiled, nodded, and walked away. At that moment, Li Muyang curiously leaned in toward Yu Jie and whispered, "Yu Jie, what on earth is a cappuccino? Is it good?"

Yu Jie looked at Li Muyang and smiled. I cleared my throat and looked at Li Muyang, who promptly shifted his gaze back to me. Using silent lip movements, I muttered to him, "You kid, don't make a fool of yourself. If you don't understand, ask me when we get back."