Bring it on if you've got the guts! Do you think I'm scared of you?

Old Woman Liu was soon brought out by two police officers.
Passing by their table, she shot the Xu family a gloomy, bone-chilling glare and gritted her teeth. "You people will have your retribution! You'll all have your retribution!"

Would A-Kui tolerate such insolence? She spat in her direction on the spot.
"You stubborn old hag, you were the one trying to harm my niece, and you still dare to spout harsh words here?"
"With our Master here, why should we fear your petty little tricks? If retribution is coming, it’s bound to hit you first, isn't it?"

With that, her eyes rolled around. "Oh, and once your grandson really gets cremated, I'll hire someone to secretly scatter his ashes to the winds!"
"You wouldn't dare?!"

A-Kui put her hands on her hips. "You dared to arrange a ghost marriage for my niece and almost scared her to death, so why wouldn't I dare?"
"Not only will I scatter your grandson's ashes, but I'll also dig up your ancestors eighteen generations deep and scatter all of them too!"

Watching Old Woman Liu practically swoon with rage, A-Kui felt deeply satisfied. "Hmph, old hag, trying to pick a fight with me!"

The two police officers showed Old Woman Liu no courtesy either, forcefully dragging her out.
A-Kui scoffed triumphantly. "Go rot in a cell!"

However, she knew well enough that these were just empty threats.
Going to prison wasn't guaranteed. Taking her away was likely just to make her explain the cause of her grandson's death and the reason she kept the corpse inside her house.
She had no intention of digging up eighteen generations of ancestors, nor of scattering anyone's ashes.
But...
Talking back like that felt intensely therapeutic!

The moment A-Kui turned around, she found several pairs of eyes fixed on her. She cleared her throat instantly. "Well, brother, what are you standing there frozen for? A-Ning is still weak, find a chair for her to sit on."
"Oh, oh, right, right."

At that moment, someone timidly asked, "A-Kui, what was that about a ghost marriage?"
"Yeah, what on earth is going on here?"

Seeing this, A-Kui made no attempt to hide it and recounted the whole story from beginning to end. Only then did she conclude, "Thank goodness we went to the city to find a Master. Otherwise, my A-Ning really would have been destroyed by that wretched old hag."
"Hmph, dead is dead, and wanting a wife for her grandson was one thing, but to set her sights on our A-Ning? It serves her right for getting arrested!"

Someone looked puzzled. "Didn't you say ghost marriages are only a thing among people from Xiangnan? Old Woman Liu was born and raised right here!"
"Old Woman Liu was, sure, but did you forget? Her husband wasn't! If I recall correctly, he was either from Xiangnan or Xiangbei, and I heard Old Woman Liu learned all these tricks from her man."
"Really? How come I never heard about this?"
"How old are you even? Old Woman Liu's husband died thirty or forty years ago, what the hell would you know!"

...

Shuitou Town was not large. News spread quickly that Old Woman Liu had arranged a living ghost marriage for her deceased grandson and almost caused the death of the Xu family's daughter.

Gradually, onlookers began to gather around Old Woman Liu's courtyard to watch the excitement.
Catching sight of unfamiliar faces like Su Chen and Honghong, they couldn't help bombarding them with questions.
Upon learning that this young man was a genuine, highly capable Master, everyone was struck with astonishment.

"Are you certain? He doesn't look the part at all!"
"Exactly, shouldn't a Master have white hair and be fifty or sixty years old?"
"Why are you so rigid in your thinking? That's just for ordinary Masters. Someone who is this formidable at such a young age is a genius Master, understand?"
"Is... is that even possible?"
"How is it not? Didn't you see it in the newspaper before? Some child prodigy entered university at eight years old, whereas what age do normal people go? Eighteen, right?"
"W-Well, I suppose that's true."
"So where is this Master from? If anything happens in the future, we'll know where to find him for help."
"Next door, Liangshan."
"So close? It's only about an hour's walk. That's wonderful, truly wonderful."

...

Su Chen absorbed all these conversations into his ears and shook his head slightly.
Seeing the sky gradually darkening, he checked the time and decided it was almost time.
He asked the onlookers to step back a little, used Zhao Dongsheng's lighter to burn the petition document, stepped on the Big Dipper pattern, and chanted incantations under his breath. Taoist seals flew rapidly from his fingertips, and within moments, a chilly gust of wind suddenly swept through the courtyard.

In an instant, dust swirled through the air, and the onlookers instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.
Su Chen's eyes widened, completely unaffected.
Within his field of vision, a mass of dark vapor gradually materialized amidst the ghostly wind.

"Who goes there?"

It was real!
This world truly possessed City Gods as recorded in ancient texts!
An orthodox deity!

Suppressing his surging emotions, Su Chen bowed respectfully. "Su Chen, a practitioner from Niwei in Liangshan, pays respects to the City God."
"Oh? You were the one who submitted the petition?"
"Yes. A spirit within this house was forcefully detained in the mortal realm for many days. Although its maternal grandmother arranged a ghost marriage with a living person, more than three months have passed, yet the living person still retains her breath—proof that her heart harbored reluctance, and this matter was not her fault. I humbly beseech the City God to ferry and properly settle this soul."
"Granted."

As those words fell, the dark vapor instantly dissipated. Simultaneously, the malevolent energy sealed inside the coffin in the right-hand room, along with the paper substitute figurine, was lifted and vanished without a trace.

The eerie wind in the courtyard slowly died down. Zhao Dongsheng and the others finally lowered their hands, only to see Su Chen narrowing his eyes and staring intently toward the room.
"Master, what is it?"

"Nothing, the child's soul has been taken away."

Su Chen said with a corner of his mouth curving upward as he looked at Lao Xu. "The matter is resolved, and it's getting late. We'll be heading back first."
Lao Xu and the others were overjoyed.
Only now did they belatedly realize that the earlier gust of wind had been quite peculiar, though they hadn't dared to ask.

Su Chen looked toward A-Yang and Lao Cui. "Are you two coming back with us?"
Lao Cui hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, yes. Thank you... Master."

Once the group had exited the courtyard, boarded the vehicle, and watched the taillights fade into the distance, Lao Xu suddenly slapped his own thigh.
"Aiyah, look at me! How could I have forgotten to give the Master his red packet? What a sieve for a brain!"

A-Kui cast a sideways glance at him. "Brother, what are you rushing for? Tomorrow we'll go over to deliver it in person and bring along a proper gift—isn't that much better? From what I've seen, this Master doesn't have such a narrow mind."
With that, she cheerfully fished out a peace talisman and handed it to A-Ning.
"A-Ning, keep this peace talisman close to your body. Let me tell you, it wards off disasters. If something like this ever happens again, you won't be tortured like this!"

A-Ning smiled as she accepted it and slipped it into her pocket.
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside. A dark-faced Old Woman Liu returned accompanied by several police officers.
The corpse inside the house had been taken away. Old Woman Liu wept for a long while before casting a vicious glare at the Xu family.
"You just wait."

A-Kui gave a light snort. "Come if you've got the guts, do you think I'm scared of you?"
Old Woman Liu shot them several sinister looks before aggressively grabbing a broom and sweeping them out of the courtyard.

When the car reached Liangshan Town, Su Chen remembered he hadn't bought candy yet. He pulled Honghong along to purchase various snacks in the town. When he turned around, A-Yang and Lao Cui were still following them.
Surprised, he asked, "What's wrong? Is there something else?"

A-Yang hesitated for a long moment before bowing deeply. "I'm sorry, Brother A-Chen. I misunderstood you earlier and thought you were just a fraud. I'm so sorry!"
Su Chen chuckled softly. "What's there to apologize for? You weren't foolish, you simply trusted what your own eyes saw. Being able to distinguish right from wrong afterward is a fine trait."
He then looked toward Lao Cui. "Lao Cui, don't forget to invite me to drink a cup of wedding wine when you hold the ceremony!"
Lao Cui beamed with joy. "Certainly, certainly."

The two of them eagerly escorted Su Chen and Honghong all the way to the foot of the mountain before Su Chen finally chased them off alongside Zhao Dongsheng.
The pair insisted on treating Zhao Dongsheng to a meal.
That meal naturally featured fine food and alcohol. Zhao Dongsheng happily shared tales of Su Chen's previous exploits at Dragon Mountain, leaving the other two gasping in continuous amazement.

Along the mountain path, Su Chen carried a bundle slung over a slender pole while holding Honghong's hand. Halfway up, he spotted two shadowy figures ahead. Shining his flashlight, he saw they were none other than Ah Hu and Ah Tang.
Turning around and recognizing him, the two ran over happily, seized his pole without a word to help carry it, and asked, "Uncle A-Chen, why are you coming back so late?"