The folk-custom boss didn't have a shred of ghostly or demonic aura about him.

At least, not that Wei Yuan could detect with his current level of Daoist cultivation. But something was definitely off. Wei Yuan glanced at the broom in his hand and said calmly, "Please sweep the floor clean. It's good for sleeping at night."

The boss stared blankly at Wei Yuan, then slowly nodded.

As he brushed past Wei Yuan, the boss's lips moved almost imperceptibly: "The shop has food that's clean and food that isn't. If the chopsticks point east, it's safe to eat. It's best not to touch anything in any other direction."

"The rice with chopsticks pointing west isn't for you, guest."

The taciturn man walked into the room, sweeping away the invisible blood of demons and ghosts on the floor, stroke by stroke.

Wei Yuan glanced thoughtfully at the boss, said thank you, and as he walked out of the door, he bumped into Shen Jifeng from next door, wearing large glasses. She clearly hadn't slept well, sporting dark circles under her eyes. Seeing the energetic Wei Yuan, she was stunned for a moment, opened her mouth, and finally couldn't help but ask:

"How did you sleep last night?"

Wei Yuan said frankly, "Very well, quite comfortably."

Shen Jifeng stared strangely at Wei Yuan, and finally bit her lip, adjusting her glasses.

She fanned the tip of her nose with her hand, as if there was some unbearable smell.

...

The couple was taking pictures everywhere, while the driver who brought Wei Yuan was planning to explore the village.

He became familiar with the other guests who had arrived before them and together they found a local guide. The guide was quite eloquent, telling the history of the small village in a captivating way, and then enthusiastically invited the group to his home.

He said with a smile: "When you travel, you have to eat at restaurants, but if you really want to eat authentic local food, you have to go to a family's home, right? Each family has its own flavor, you can't get that in a restaurant."

These words made the group quite tempted.

The guide then pressed his advantage: "It's rare for you all to come here, consider it my way of thanking you for choosing me as your guide. Anyway, it's just my wife's cooking, it's not worth much, consider it my treat."

This put the minds of those who were worried about being ripped off at ease.

After a few more words, they followed him.

They chatted along the way, relaxed and happy. After crossing the river that ran through the village, they arrived at the guide's house.

However, the place was secluded, and the door was narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through, but tall. The door was painted black. Most ordinary homes had double doors that opened outwards, but this door was like a security door in the city, with only one panel.

One of the men couldn't help but laugh:

"Hey, brother, not that I'm criticizing, but your door isn't very well made, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom."

The guide said apologetically: "This place is remote, and my family is poor, this is just an 'old house', so the door is a bit narrow. You can only go through one at a time. My wife and children are at home now, you all go in and wait a bit, I'll go buy some wine and dishes."

The others didn't suspect anything and nodded in agreement. After the guide walked away, the driver, hidden among the group, looked at the narrow black door and suddenly felt uneasy. He planned to call Wei Yuan, but his body stiffened, unable to move. The slightly fat man knocked on the door, cleared his throat, and said:

"Hello, is anyone home?"

"Is anyone home?"

There was no answer.

The man knocked a third time, raising his voice a little, and said:

"Please open the door, there are guests outside."

Creak—

This time, the door opened.

The group took one look and their hearts skipped a beat.

The inside of the door was pitch black.

In the shadows, they saw the face of a woman, who didn't come out.

She just opened the door from inside.

And the door didn't pull inward, but pushed outward. Through the door, they could see that it was dark inside, vaguely seeing pine and cypress trees, and large clumps of white flowers. A woman in a long black dress stretched out a pale hand, standing behind the dark door, beckoning them inward, and said faintly:

"Oh, guests."

"Please come in..."

...

After leaving the folk-custom inn, Wei Yuan, carrying the bag with his sword, went straight to the west.

Along the way, he seemed to be enjoying the scenery, but in reality, he was secretly looking for the shop that Yi Mu Wu had mentioned. Unfortunately, he found nothing. The villagers along the way, no matter what they were doing before, would stop when Wei Yuan passed by, staring at him silently with strange expressions.

When Wei Yuan's gaze swept over them, they would chat with each other, as if nothing had happened.

In this ghost realm, a mortal carried a sword and walked with a calm and composed expression.

Instead, the ghosts seemed to be panicking.

The place wasn't big, and Wei Yuan quickly reached the westernmost edge of the village.

But he didn't see any restaurant.

There were only mountains ahead, and a turbulent waterway rushed past in front of the mountains, the water surging.

Legend has it that there is a Weak Water, where even a feather would sink. Not to mention flesh and blood, even the soul would not be able to cross the river. This river was naturally not the legendary Weak Water, but it was filled with death and resentment, and it would not be good to touch it.

Moreover, if Wei Yuan remembered correctly, this river should be a branch of the Luo River.

The Luo River is a water system that bypasses Quan City, its tributary should not be so wide.

Wei Yuan looked curiously at the water, and vaguely heard a light laugh. He frowned slightly, but was not afraid. He pressed his hand on his sword, went to the source of the sound, and saw a delicate girl by the water, barefooted, treading water and laughing softly. Perhaps Wei Yuan's footsteps were too loud, startling the girl. She exclaimed softly, covered her lips with her hands, and waved at Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan smiled and shook his head.

Seeing that he didn't come over, the girl walked a few steps into the river, looking back at Wei Yuan, her eyes sparkling, vaguely containing affection. Her clothes were thin, and faintly transparent in the water, making people moved. And even if not for her beauty, anyone with a little conscience would dissuade someone from playing in the waterway.

The girl waved at Wei Yuan again, her posture graceful and charming.

Wei Yuan shook his head helplessly, and said with a smile, "I'm not going over."

He paused, and said, "It's because you were so naive that you ended up like this."

The girl's face was stunned, and then flushed red, seemingly extremely ashamed and embarrassed. Wei Yuan saw only a faint ghostly aura on her, but no resentment or hostility of a fierce ghost, and he had no intention of drawing his sword to kill her. He asked with interest:

"Excuse me, have you seen a woman in yellow in this tributary of the Luo River, with a boy and a girl, the two children are about this tall."

Wei Yuan stretched out his hand and gestured, then moved it up a bit.

"This tall."

The girl seemed surprised that someone was asking her. She thought for a while, and shook her head.

Wei Yuan said regretfully, "I see..."

He stood up, nodded to the girl, and said, "Thank you."

The girl's soul bowed, her face red, and disappeared.

Wei Yuan couldn't help but smile. People have good and bad, and the spirits and monsters seem to have their own personalities. Just like the girl just now, she seemed to have died in the water, but she didn't become a fierce ghost. Instead, she seemed to have some of the charm of a water spirit. He withdrew his thoughts and wondered what the yellow-clothed woman meant by asking him to save her.

Why did she say he could save her?

A spirit living in the Luo River...

Wei Yuan pondered for a long time, and suddenly caught sight of two large fish swimming in the river.

His heart skipped a beat, and an absurd but possible thought appeared in his mind.

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