"Are you here to cause trouble?"
I was a bit surprised. How could she tell I was here to cause trouble? But after a moment's thought, I understood why she asked.
Huang San had said that this hall was guarded by a fox spirit, whose power was not inferior to his own. If Huang San could sense the fox spirit's presence, then naturally the fox spirit could sense Huang San's presence as well. Thus, the Sun Divine Woman before me must have mistaken me for a spirit medium.
In the north, there's a saying about "ti tang," which is also known as "ti guan" or challenging a venue. The purpose is naturally to make a name for oneself, and it's a common method to publicize one's strength.
Before I could speak, the man who had been knocked unconscious earlier woke up. Seeing Sun Divine Woman confronting me, he urgently said, "Grandma Sun, this guy is here to cause trouble. He chased away several clients who came for consultations. When I tried to stop him, he actually knocked me out." He spoke so pitifully, it was enough to make one sad and weep. I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe, thinking it would be a shame if this fellow didn't pursue comedy.
Facing the man's complaints, Sun Divine Woman didn't get angry. Instead, she asked me again if I was here to challenge the venue. This time, her voice was different, because I felt another aura emanating from her, and her voice had become much colder.
"Sun Divine Woman, is it! I'm not here to cause trouble, nor am I here to challenge the venue. I'm here to see your household's guardian fox spirit. Please ask it to come out and speak a few words, and I'll leave immediately."
"How can our fox spirit be seen whenever you wish? For the sake of us being in the same profession, I won't pursue your disruptive actions. Now, you must leave immediately. Our fox spirit does not welcome you." Sun Divine Woman's voice rose another notch, becoming sharp. It was clearly a different person from the gruff voice she used earlier.
Is this spirit possession? I frowned, looking at her. It seemed this fox spirit felt threatened, believing I was here to steal its territory. There were many ordinary people around, and if a commotion broke out, it would easily cause panic. It seemed I could only come back tonight.
Having figured this out, I cleared my throat and said, "Since Sun Divine Woman does not welcome me, I shall take my leave." With that, I turned to go.
"Stop! Kid, you hit me, and now you think you can just leave? I tell you, there's no way. If you don't compensate me a hundred thousand or eighty thousand, don't even think about taking a step from here." Seeing me about to leave, the man who had fallen to the ground quickly scrambled up and blocked my path.
Facing his extortion, I merely smiled and then looked at Sun Divine Woman, waiting to see what she would say.
"You little brat, get out of the way quickly, or you won't be working for me anymore."
"Auntie, I..."
"Shut up."
Sun Divine Woman's imposing presence was not something an ordinary man could withstand. He mumbled a few words, glared at me again, and then moved aside.
After this commotion, half of the people in line had dispersed. Sun Divine Woman directly announced that she would not be seeing any more clients today and told everyone to come back early tomorrow. This naturally angered many people, but they could only cast resentful glances at me, curse softly, and then leave. Southern Sudan Novel Network.
I didn't leave by car immediately, as I planned to return tonight. So, I wandered around the vicinity and found a small inn. Upon entering and seeing the owner, I realized I knew him – it was the man who had spoken up for me earlier.
"Young man, I'm not open for business today. You should look for another place!" The owner frowned, likely recognizing me, and directly refused.
I frowned. "You have your door open for business, and now you're turning away customers? Do you believe I'll report you?"
I had a good impression of him earlier when he spoke up for me, thinking he was a simple, honest man. But now, I realized my previous judgment might have been wrong.
"Report me if you want, I'm not afraid of you. I don't welcome you staying here. Leave quickly, or I'll call the police." Seeing his firm attitude, it seemed he would call the police to arrest me if I said anything more.
At this moment, Huang San, from my backpack, whispered into my ear, "Young Master Song, there's a wild immortal's scent here."
Seeing me standing at the counter and refusing to leave, the owner took out his phone and started dialing. It was undoubtedly to call the police. To avoid further trouble, I had no choice but to turn and leave. After I left, he put down the phone.
I walked out but didn't go far. Instead, I stopped not far from the entrance.
"Huang San, what did you mean by saying his inn had the scent of a wild immortal? Could it be that a wild immortal is causing trouble in his inn?"
Sensing that there was no one else around, Huang San poked his head out of my backpack. He took a breath and then said, "I don't know about that. The scent wasn't very strong, so it should have come and gone. I felt... I felt the scent was somewhat similar to the wild immortal's scent at Sun Divine Woman's place."
"It seems necessary to learn more about this Sun Divine Woman."
While we were talking, two more groups of people arrived wanting to check in, but they were all turned away by the owner, just like me. However, their treatment was much better than mine. It seemed the owner was a decent person, not allowing guests to stay when the inn was haunted.
Since he helped me once before, I would help him once in return, settling the karmic debt I owed him.
Pushing the door open again, before I could even speak, the owner's impatient voice came through.
"I told you, the inn is not open for business today. If you want to stay, take a taxi to the city. Can't you see the 'Temporarily Closed' sign on the door?"
"Boss, it's me."
Seeing me return, the owner was clearly surprised, but he still said coldly, "The inn cannot accommodate you, young man. You should go to the city to stay. A taxi ride isn't much money."
"Boss, is your place haunted? I can help you solve it." I got straight to the point.
My words clearly startled him. He instinctively asked, "How do you know?" As soon as he finished speaking, he realized he had said too much and quickly added, "What haunting? Don't talk nonsense. We have family matters today and are not open for business. Don't you understand?"
I smiled and said with certainty, "Your inn has the aura of wild immortals. They cause trouble here every night, which is why you had to suspend business, isn't that right?"
"You... how did you figure that out?" The owner was somewhat surprised, but his tone was no longer as firm.
"Because I am also a spirit medium." I lied to him. Since I wasn't sure if he believed me, I had to first use the title of spirit medium to resolve the situation before explaining my profession to him.
"You're also a spirit medium?" He clearly looked skeptical, as I appeared too young. Some people would believe I was still in high school, so how could I be a spirit medium?
To prove that I was indeed a spirit medium, I directly opened my backpack and called out Huang San, who was resting inside.
Seeing Huang San appear, the owner was startled, his voice trembling, "Huang... Great Immortal Huang?"
This was something Huang San and I had discussed outside. So, after Huang San came out, he directly said, "Boss, we'll rest here today. As payment, we'll help you solve the inn's problem. What do you say?"
Huang San's words carried much more weight than mine. The owner quickly nodded and took out the key to a room facing the sun, carefully leading the way and escorting me to the room. He repeatedly emphasized that if I needed anything, I should tell him.
After seeing the owner off, Huang San jumped out of my bag.
"I almost suffocated. But, Young Master Song, why were you so impulsive? How dare you confront a fox spirit head-on? Aren't you afraid of angering it and having it attack you?"
"With you here, what do I have to fear?"
"Don't you know that fox spirits are the heads of the five immortals? The other four of us cannot defeat fox spirits unless our cultivation is higher. With the same strength, we are almost completely suppressed." Through Huang San's explanation, I finally understood that there was such a hierarchy among the five immortals.
"Then why isn't Bai Ling'er suppressed by bloodline?"
This time, Huang San rolled his eyes and completely ignored me. Instead, he dove onto the bed, burying his head under his tail like an ostrich.
Shrugging, I lay down on the other bed, waiting for nightfall.