They had consulted therapists, street fortune-tellers, ghostbusters, paranormal investigators, and every other avenue imaginable.
These individuals either couldn't pinpoint the root cause, or they fled upon entering. Some, intending to assess the situation further, were so terrified they wet themselves after spending just one night.
Masters, renowned or reclusive, under various guises—they had sought them all out.
Now, he held no expectations.
What use could a detective, tasked with apprehending criminals, possibly have, no matter what kind of master Jiao Xinlei brought today?
Jiang Yusheng knew that the problem in their home was definitely not human!
At least, not a living one…
Therefore, having a detective manage this affair would only lead to unforeseen trouble.
"Don't be so quick to refuse. You must have guest rooms, right? We'll be staying here tonight. Whether I can help will be evident by tomorrow morning."
"But..."
Before Jiang Yusheng could refuse, Wen Wen had already bypassed him and entered the center of the living room, crouching in front of a husky.
His primary objective was to capture something that piqued his interest, not to solve Jiang Yusheng's problems. Therefore, the Jiang family's attitude did not dictate Wen Wen's presence.
"Is this the legendary strange dog? It really does look quite peculiar. Can you speak human?"
The dog rolled its eyes, pursed its lips, and looked at Wen Wen with the expression of someone viewing an idiot. It was a dog, how could it possibly speak?
Jiao Xinlei, trailing behind Wen Wen, covered her mouth, almost letting out a scream. This dog was now completely different from the one in the photographs from a few days ago!
No, perhaps it couldn't even be considered a dog anymore.
The dog now sported a human head, with black hair like a lion's mane cascading down its back. Its face was covered in fine down, through which human facial features were clearly visible.
It resembled a human more than a dog!
Jiang's father's eyes, Jiang's mother's ears, Jiang Wenhu's nose, Jiang Wenyue's mouth… its appearance was like a composite of the four family members!
What kind of mindset did Wen Wen possess to be able to crouch before this dog and address it without flinching?
"Good dog, I'm staying here tonight. Behave!" Wen Wen said, petting the hair on the dog's head. As he stroked it, the dog comfortably exposed its belly.
"Oh, right, what's this dog's name?" Wen Wen asked Jiang Wenyue with a smile after a while, his demeanor resembling that of someone fond of animals.
Jiang Wenyue hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. The dog originally had a name, but since the mutation occurred, no one had called it by its name.
"Then let's call it 'Head-Dog'."
Wen Wen, to himself, christened the dog with a new name, causing it to roll its eyes.
"Damn, a dog's lips are actually a bit sexy. I almost had a bold thought."
After petting for a while, Wen Wen suddenly looked at the man-headed dog with a strange glint in his eyes and quickly stood up, moving far away from it.
"Are you really going to stay here tonight?" Jiao Xinlei asked nervously. After seeing the dog, she felt this place was like a demonic den. The people were abnormal, the dog was abnormal, and perhaps there were other abnormal things too.
How had she ever made the decision to come here?
"Not just me, you have to stay too," Wen Wen said softly.
Jiao Xinlei shrieked, "What!"
"There are two possibilities for the problem this family is facing. First, they themselves have committed some offense, and thus are being retaliated against by these entities."
"The second possibility is that they are innocent, and have been targeted by those entities because they have violated some taboo."
"If it's the second possibility, then you, by coming to this villa, might have also violated this taboo. Even if you leave now, you might, like Jiang Wenyue, encounter misfortune on the way."
"This possibility is very small, but are you sure you want to gamble? After all, while this is frightening, it's not life-threatening, is it?"
Wen Wen looked at Jiao Xinlei playfully. He was ninety percent sure that Jiao Xinlei would have no problems if she left, but he wanted Jiao Xinlei to stay.
The four people in this villa were strangers to Wen Wen. With Jiao Xinlei, a familiar acquaintance, present, things would be relatively easier. He didn't want to expend effort on building rapport with others.
In his opinion, each of the four family members might be problematic.
Apart from Jiang Wenyue, the rest of the Jiang family didn't trust Wen Wen much, but since Wen Wen insisted on staying, they couldn't do anything about it.
Wen Wen surveyed the scene and then said to Jiang Wenyue, "Miss Jiang, please give me a tour of the villa. I'll assess the situation and try to resolve it tonight."
Jiang Wenyue nodded. Having just had her life saved by Wen Wen, she was largely obedient to his requests.
Led by her, Wen Wen visited every corner of the villa. In the attic and basement, Wen Wen sensed a considerable amount of spiritual energy, the aura of the departed.
Compared to this spiritual energy, the little ghost Qin Shuang was like a chick just hatched from an egg, utterly feeble.
And this was even during the day!
However, what slightly reassured him was that these auras were not emanating from a single entity but were the result of a mixture of multiple ghostly presences.
It was likely that more than one ghost was residing in this villa now. One could only imagine what these spirits would do at night.
And in such an environment, this family had managed to live peacefully for several months, only experiencing some frights?
"Speaking of which, the closer I get to that dog, the stronger the spiritual energy becomes. Perhaps… heh." Wen Wen pursed his lips and smiled.
...
After Wen Wen had completed his inspection, the Jiang family arranged a bedroom for Wen Wen and Jiao Xinlei.
This was the only habitable bedroom they had. Since the haunting began after they moved in, they hadn't had the energy to tidy up other guest rooms.
In fact, it was still afternoon, and the family rarely did anything alone anymore.
However, Wen Wen had no intention of resting here. He was full of energy and could function perfectly fine without sleep.
In the bedroom, Wen Wen sat on a chair with his legs crossed, playing with the runic dagger in his hand, appearing unhurried.
Jiao Xinlei sat beside him. She glanced at the door and then whispered to Wen Wen, "Are you really confident? If not, we can leave now. I'm a bit scared…"
Except for Wen Wen and Jiang Wenyue, the other three members of the household frightened her. Especially the presence of that dog, which made Jiao Xinlei barely dare to leave Wen Wen's side.
"So spineless. What are you afraid of when I'm here? The inspiration is within you, such a waste." Wen Wen scoffed.
Jiao Xinlei scratched her head, "Inspiration, what inspiration?"
"I shouldn't really tell you, but since you're involved in this matter, I'll give you a brief explanation." Wen Wen put away the dagger and smiled.