Xie Xun led Jiang Xiaoxiao and Chen Sixi downstairs.
Mr. Guo followed closely behind them.
Behind them were three or four tea guests.
These were the people who had been waiting since the daytime, eager to witness the skills of a renowned master.
Mr. Guo had been telling stories at Baihe Teahouse for years. Although he could not be considered widely famous, the mention of "Mr. Guo" was a name that almost everyone in the vicinity knew.
He himself was an affable person, but the "Celestial Master" from Yishui Mountain had caused him to lose face completely. Now all his hopes were pinned on Xie Xun.
Initially apprehensive during the day, at this moment he finally saw Xie Xun preparing to meet the master, he felt much more at ease.
However, upon seeing Xie Xun and the others heading directly towards the Nie Residence, without the "welcoming the master" ritual he had envisioned, Mr. Guo was dumbfounded.
He stood rooted in his spot, staring at Xie Xun's slender back, "Xie, Young Master Xie, didn't you say earlier that you knew a renowned master?"
Chen Sixi had been holding back all day, and now it was finally his turn to show off. With a smug expression, he pointed at Jiang Xiaoxiao and said, "There she is, the master!"
That little girl?
What a joke!
Mr. Guo nearly passed out from the shock, and was promptly supported by the tea guests behind him.
Mr. Guo was almost driven mad with anger, "Young Master Xie, this is a serious matter for me, how could you play such a big joke on me!"
His earlier civility and courtesy vanished in an instant, his brows furrowed with rage, clearly very upset.
Xie Xun stopped outside the Nie Residence's gate, turned around and looked at Mr. Guo, "Where did you see me joking?"
Mr. Guo pointed at Jiang Xiaoxiao, "She, she..."
"She is just a young girl," Xie Xun completed the sentence for him.
Then he countered, "Who made the rule that young girls cannot learn ghost-catching?"
Mr. Guo was left speechless, the words stuck in his chest, unable to come out or go down, causing him great discomfort.
"Mr. Guo, our master has been waiting for a long time, where is this renowned master you mentioned?"
A servant suddenly came out from inside the gate.
As soon as he finished speaking, he caught sight of Xie Xun and the others in his peripheral vision and immediately widened his eyes, "It's you guys again!"
Mr. Guo asked in a low voice, "You know them?"
The servant mocked coldly, "These three came here earlier today as well, but we turned them away at that time, and they left."
"What are you up to now, trying to sneak in under the cover of night? What do you take the Nie Residence for?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Guo's face alternated between pale and flushed.
He had been happily thinking that he had fortuitously encountered a true master, only to find out they were mere tricksters!
The few tea guests who had come to watch the spectacle also had various expressions.
One of them advised Mr. Guo in a low voice, "Why don't we just go back? The master has given you three days, right? As long as you can find a skilled exorcist within three days, he shouldn't blame you."
Mr. Guo closed his eyes and clenched his fists, feeling that he had lost all face accumulated over decades today.
How could he blame Xie Xun?
The other party had neither taken his money nor accepted his hospitality, only having two small dishes of snacks.
The fault lay solely with himself for being too easily trusting of others.
With this thought, Mr. Guo steeled his resolve and said to the servant, "Please trouble yourself to inform the master that I was rash today. I will give him an explanation within three days."
The servant seemed to understand something and eyed Mr. Guo suspiciously, "Don't tell me the master you hired is actually these people?"
Mr. Guo pursed his lips, unable to respond.
The servant was rendered speechless, "You really went too far! To actually try to deceive our master like this!"
"I didn't!" Mr. Guo protested vehemently, "I was just too hasty and..."
Before he could finish, a voice came from inside the gate.
"What is all this commotion?"
The one who appeared was Bai Xiao. He looked like he had just bathed, his dark hair loosely draped over his shoulders. In the dim lamplight, his tall figure and handsome features were accentuated.
"Master." The servant bowed, then pointed at Mr. Guo, "This old man is trying to deceive you by claiming these three tricksters are renowned masters."
He then proceeded to recount in detail how Xie Xun and the others had come to the Nie Residence earlier that day and were driven away.
Bai Xiao's anger flared upon hearing this, but in front of so many people, he could not lose his composure and had to maintain his image.
Suppressing his rage, Bai Xiao looked at Xie Xun, the corners of his lips slightly curved in a gentle smile.
"Young brother, if you have any difficulties, you can directly tell me. As for the matter of exorcists, our residence has indeed been unclean lately. This is no joke, so I hope you can understand and not treat it as child's play."
"Your residence is indeed quite unclean," Jiang Xiaoxiao chimed in, extending her hand to point behind Bai Xiao, "Look, she's right there."
Bai Xiao turned pale with fright upon hearing this. After a long while, he finally found his voice, "Who?"
"A woman covered in blood," Jiang Xiaoxiao said. "She's also carrying a newborn baby."
Bai Xiao's vision went dark.
A woman covered in blood, carrying a newborn baby... Could she be referring to...?
"Crazy girl, how dare you spout such nonsense!" Bai Xiao raged.
If earlier Bai Xiao had doubted Jiang Xiaoxiao's abilities and refused to let her enter, now he was afraid to let her in precisely because her abilities were too strong.
He knew the residence was haunted, as several servants had claimed to have seen the ghost, and he himself had often been woken up at night.
However, until now, no one had seen clearly what the ghost looked like.
Bai Xiao had always thought it was a problem with the feng shui, attracting impurities.
Now, upon hearing this crazy girl's words, he realized with dread that it was not a feng shui issue at all.
It was Nie SangSang, the woman who should have been long dead, she had returned!
This was something he absolutely could not let outsiders know about.
Taking a deep breath, Bai Xiao managed to regain his composure, his gaze towards Jiang Xiaoxiao turning icy cold, "If you don't leave, I'll report you to the authorities."
Chen Sixi had already been frightened to the point of wobbly legs, cowering behind Jiang Xiaoxiao as he asked her, "Master, is that ghost real or not?"
Although he loved stirring up excitement, once ghosts were mentioned, he had to admit his cowardice.
Jiang Xiaoxiao ignored Chen Sixi and instead carefully examined Bai Xiao's forehead before softly saying, "A vengeful spirit is demanding retribution. You won't survive past tonight."
Veins bulged on Bai Xiao's forehead.
Mr. Guo and the others sensed something was amiss, and all stepped forward. They saw the Nie Residence's master with an unsightly expression, while Jiang Xiaoxiao stood there with an impassive demeanor.
The young girl who had earlier been engrossed in her meal at the teahouse now exuded an otherworldly, transcendent aura.
Neither arrogant nor agitated, neither joyful nor angry.
Her eyes were devoid of any distracting thoughts.
This poise alone was enough to prove that this girl was unlike those who claimed to be "masters" yet were mere charlatans.
Mr. Guo, recalling his earlier rudeness and doubts, felt a burning shame on his face.
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