Zhang Tian ignored the fatty's elaborate theories and brought Xie Yuchen straight in.
Upon entering the courtyard house, Hu Bayi and Zhang Qilin turned their attention towards them.
It was quite intriguing that Zhang Tian had brought a stranger home.
"Boss, this is..."
Hu Bayi walked over, his gaze fixed on the man in coarse cloth. 138 Reading Network
Zhang Qilin had also, unbeknownst to himself, moved to stand beside Hu Bayi, his eyes keenly fixed on the person before them.
He could tell this person was also disguised.
"He will be working with us temporarily. Young Master Xie, there's no need for disguise here."
As Zhang Tian spoke, Xie Yuchen removed his disguise.
Upon seeing the man clearly, Fatty nudged Zhang Qilin with his elbow.
"Brother Er, Boss keeps bringing home young men. You need to keep an eye on him, or what if his orientation is… abnormal?"
Fatty chuckled, but Zhang Qilin ignored him.
"You are the one we met at the auction, Young Master Xie?"
Hu Bayi had a good memory and recognized him instantly.
Xie Yuchen nodded.
"Yes, I will have to trouble you all in the future."
Hu Bayi smiled as he said this.
"No trouble at all. If Boss brought you, how could it be trouble? By the way, are you staying with us?"
Hu Bayi glanced around the courtyard. The house only had four rooms. Where would Xie Yuchen stay?
"Yes, I will temporarily trouble you all."
Xie Yuchen bowed politely. Coming from such a distinguished family, he couldn't forget his manners.
"Then how about this, you can just share with me for now."
Hu Bayi said directly, reasoning that sharing with him was better than sharing with Fatty.
"Hey, Old Hu, that's not a nice thing to say. Fatty wants to share too!"
Fatty stepped forward.
"You can just go wash up and go to sleep."
Zhang Tian directly rejected Fatty, then looked towards the small room.
Afterward, the group made space for Xie Yuchen to sleep for the night.
"Right, if you hear any strange noises tonight, or see anything, don't be surprised. Just close your eyes and sleep."
Zhang Tian said, and Xie Yuchen didn't pay it much mind. Zhang Tian didn't say much more and prepared to head back to his room.
Fatty observed Xie Yuchen closely.
"Hmm, he speaks so softly. No wonder the Boss brought him home."
Fatty murmured, then winked at Hu Bayi.
Hu Bayi didn't even look at Fatty. Fortunately, the previous Fatty hadn't come, otherwise with two Fattys, who knew what sparks might fly.
Hu Bayi took Xie Yuchen back to the room and sat down on a chair.
Xie Yuchen looked at Hu Bayi.
"Earlier, Young Master Zhang mentioned noises and things at night. Is there something special about that?"
Xie Yuchen was a bit confused.
He didn't understand why Zhang Tian had specifically mentioned it.
"Oh, it's nothing. At night, there are just more people around..."
Hu Bayi waved his hand, having grown accustomed to it.
Xie Yuchen became even more puzzled. What did he mean by "more people around"? Was he conjuring things out of thin air?
His face was full of confusion, but Xie Yuchen was not one to pry, so he didn't say anything further.
In Zhang Tian's room, Zhang Tian had already taken out the Qi Gathering Pills he had obtained from the tomb. He intended to attempt a breakthrough to the Grandmaster realm.
If he succeeded, his strength would undoubtedly increase.
If he failed, he would at least consolidate his foundation.
Either way, it was a win.
As for when he would go to Beidong, it would definitely be after Zhang Tian finished his cultivation.
Soon, Zhang Tian entered his cultivation state.
For the next few days, he probably wouldn't leave his room.
Time passed quickly.
In the evening, since Zhang Tian was in seclusion, the task of escorting the "temptation" home fell to Zhang Qilin.
Zhang Qilin returned to the antique shop as usual.
Upon returning home, Li Xueqin and his "cheap dad" greeted him.
"Qilin's back, hurry up and eat!"
"Right, right, we're having steak today!"
They both said, seemingly forgetting that Zhang Tian wasn't back yet.
"He has something to attend to, he won't be back for a while."
Zhang Qilin made an excuse for Zhang Tian.
"Who? Zhang Tian? It doesn't matter if he's here or not, come on Qilin, eat up, we'll play chess later!"
"Exactly, who is this Zhang Tian? We don't know him."
Li Xueqin even directly denied her "cheap son."
Zhang Tian: "????"
Faced with the warm invitation from the Zhang family, Zhang Qilin found it difficult to refuse, and thus, he spent another entire night playing chess at the Zhang family's home.
At night, the wind howled, bending the willow trees outside.
The branches of the willow trees rustled against each other, creating a sound like clapping hands.
The rustling sounds made Xie Yuchen unable to sleep.
Xie Yuchen looked at the bright moon outside, a sense of determination rising in his heart.
He clenched his fist. For his master, how could he possibly give up.
"Hmph hmph..."
Just as his heart was burning with resolve, he heard a woman's cold moan from outside.
The sound was chilling, as if it came from hell.
Xie Yuchen rubbed his ears, disbelieving. He wondered if he had misheard.
He listened carefully again.
"Hmph hmph hmph..."
The same sound.
Xie Yuchen shivered all over.
"Is this place haunted?"
Xie Yuchen swallowed. He had heard of ghosts in tombs, but were ghosts so blatant these days?
Daring to cause trouble in a place where so many people lived?
Xie Yuchen looked out the window. The willow trees seemed to have come alive, swaying in the wind.
His heart filled with confusion, he glanced at Hu Bayi beside him. Hu Bayi was sleeping soundly. The sounds seemed to act as a lullaby, making Hu Bayi very comfortable.
Seeing that Hu Bayi seemed not to hear anything, Xie Yuchen quietly got up on his own.
He decided to go out and investigate.
Meanwhile, in Fatty's room.
Wang Fei, dressed in a red gown, sat before a bronze mirror.
She held a wooden comb and hummed as she brushed her hair.
Fatty, on the other hand, was sprawled out on the bed like a starfish, sleeping soundly.
"This comb is not befitting of an Empress. Oh well, it's good enough to have this mirror."
Wang Fei thought to herself, glanced at Fatty, and then tossed the comb onto the table.
Just as she was about to get into bed, her gaze suddenly fell upon the window outside.
Hmm, outside the window, there was a figure wearing a loose-fitting, pale pink outfit.
"It's so late, and he's still not asleep?"
Wang Fei looked at the night sky. It was already past midnight.
Wang Fei had heard from Fatty that there was a new person in the team. She hadn't expected this newcomer to be up so late.
"Never mind, I should go remind him. It's the middle of the night, it wouldn't be good to touch the formation."
Wang Fei forgot that she herself was a ghost. Out of good intentions, Wang Fei decided to go out and remind Xie Yuchen.
At this moment, in Zhang Qilin's room.
Because "Little Brother" didn't come home all night, the little fox was quite displeased.
It looked at the moon outside.
"Hmph, not coming home in the middle of the night. I wonder what he's doing!"
The little fox thought to itself, deciding to go out and look for Zhang Qilin. This guy had been like this for several days. He couldn't be overworking himself.
With that thought, the little fox got up and walked towards the door.
It wanted to see what Zhang Qilin had been doing lately, and why he hadn't been coming home at night for so long.
Outside the door, Xie Yuchen looked at the scene, which resembled a ghost's lair, and felt utterly dreadful.
The willow trees swayed like people, and the stone statues outside the door were all ferocious-looking, like monsters.
Especially looking up at the sky from here, the moonlight was terrifyingly dim.
"Young Master Zhang's house has a very peculiar layout. There are several stone statues standing at each doorway, and why does this courtyard look so eerie?"
Xie Yuchen felt his entire being sinking.
Just as he was filled with confusion, suddenly, from a room not far away, a flash of red appeared and then disappeared, flickering faintly in the moonlight.
Xie Yuchen, who had been calm moments before, was stunned by this sight.
Recalling what Zhang Tian had said during the day, he felt his blood run cold.
"Could it be... they're raising ghosts?"