Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 451 Ghost Catcher 12

Connection 3: Tang Wan, the daughter of a prominent family (the final heroine of the book, who was rescued by Lin Chao after being haunted by a ghost)

This is Lin Chao’s real “ladder to heaven”.

Yun Chu knew very well that he had to intervene in the Tang family before the evil spirit could haunt Tang Wan!

Yun Chu did not rashly visit a wealthy family like the Tang family.

Through Zhou Yazhi's network of connections and her secret observation of the trends in the upper class, she learned that the old man of the Tang family had been unwell recently, and that the treatment of many famous doctors had been ineffective, and the atmosphere within the family was tense.

Yun Chu changed into an indigo long gown (not a Taoist robe) of decent quality but extremely elegant and simple style.

Carrying a small rosewood box (containing a "Han Yu Cao" that she had cultivated with the spiritual energy of Qixia Residence and that could soothe the soul and invigorate the body), she visited a manager of the Tang family's side branch through the introduction of Sun Lei (the reporter's connections were used for this), posing as someone who "knows a little about health preservation and conditioning."

She did not directly mention catching ghosts, but when inadvertently "observing" the energy of the Tang residence, she pointed out several small "energy stagnation" areas caused by the garden layout and antique furnishings (not sneaky, but able to secretly affect peace of mind), and quietly made adjustments. Instantly, those areas made people feel that their breathing was a little smoother.

Then, she offered the Hanyu grass and said, "I heard that your old master is a little unwell. This grass grows in cold and austere places and has the effect of calming the mind and soothing the soul. You can place it on the desk in your bedroom. It should help you sleep better at night."

The cold jade grass carries a hint of cool and pure spiritual energy fluctuations, which really allowed the old man, who was a little dazed, to have a rare good sleep that night.

The steward was surprised and reported the situation. Soon, Yun Chu received a private inquiry from the head of the Tang family (Tang Wan's father).

Yun Chu didn't exaggerate, only alluding to it: "Your house has a strong foundation, a place of enduring blessings. However, 'qi' is divided into internal and external. Fine-tuning the external layout can relieve 'stagnation', but the internal 'yin cold entering the marrow' requires tracing its source."

"The coldness has entered the marrow?" Tang's father's eyes narrowed slightly.

"It's not an illness or a poison, but an external evil that's secretly possessed, originating from the mind and gradually devouring the essence of the soul." Yun Chu stopped there. She knew full well that the old man's "illness" was the very foreshadowing in the book that caused Tang Wan's mental fragility and vulnerability to the evil spirit!

Yun Chu's calm "Qi diagnosis" method, the miraculous effect of the herbs she sent, and her accurate assessment of the old man's true condition (not his illness) instantly made Tang's father look at her with admiration, and regard her as a "recluse master" with real skills, rather than a quack.

The Tang family's gate opened a crack for her at the right moment. As for Lin Chao, who had no name in the Tang family yet? Naturally, he had no chance to enter this gate.

At this time, Lin Chao's situation was getting worse and worse:

Revenue dropped sharply: orders from major customers were intercepted, and customers with minor problems were "dissuaded" by Yunchu's low-cost solutions.

Even those who usually ask for talismans to ensure safety have less business, because Yun Chu once said in public: "Don't force yourself to ask for talismans when there is no reason. It will disturb your peace and create suspicion. If your heart is upright, you will naturally be at peace."

His reputation was shattered: Yun Chu's technical prowess made his former "divine judgment" seem foolish and ridiculous. He began to be described as a "scam," "a gimmick," and "not even a finger better than Master Yun."

Noble people are not here: Zhou Yazhi, Sun Lei, and even the potential Tang family, who were supposed to appear, seem to have bypassed him, focusing their attention on the suddenly emerging young female celestial master. The "key node events" that made him famous were almost all taken over or rewritten by Yun Chu!

Personal crisis: *He was overwhelmed by the several difficult cases he took on in a hurry to restore his reputation.

If it weren't for his Yin-Yang vision and the few life-saving techniques his master had taught him, he would have almost fallen and been humiliated. This further eroded his confidence.

In the tranquil garden of Qixia Residence, Yun Chu quietly sipped tea. The Ghostly Bell hung beneath the pavilion eaves, its frost marks still visible, yet it seemed to be absorbing some kind of "luck."

In front of her was a clipping from the latest evening paper - it contained an article written by Sun Lei on "An Exploration of the Relationship between Pipeline Safety and 'Strange Phenomena' in Old Urban Areas". Although her name was not mentioned in the article, the shadow of her concept of "exorcising evil spirits with technology" was everywhere.

At a distant street corner, under the window of the small apartment rented by Lin Chao, several impatient thugs were knocking on the door to demand repayment - the high-interest loans he had borrowed to maintain his appearances were almost at the point where he could not repay the principal and interest.

Rise and fall, just like the alternation of the sun and the moon.

Lin Chao's "protagonist halo" is being peeled off and crushed bit by bit by Yun Chu in the most realistic and cruel way - cutting off his financial resources, severing his connections, and depriving him of his luck.

And a more deadly confrontation is quietly approaching with the move that was made in advance against the Tang family.

The "fuse" that Yun Chu buried in the Tang family was much deeper and started to explode earlier than Lin Chao had imagined.

Tang's father attached great importance to Yun Chu's obscure diagnosis of "yin cold entering the marrow and external evil secretly attaching".

After secretly inviting several top Western doctors and national masters for consultation but no clear cause of the disease was found, and the old man's condition was slightly alleviated by the nourishment of Hanyucao but could not be eradicated, Tang's father finally formally invited Yun Chu to "discuss in detail".

This time, Yun Chu didn't wear the blue tunic she used for camouflage. She changed into the frost-patterned Taoist robe—its texture was restrained, yet the patterns imbued it with a profound chill and murderous aura. She entered the Tang family's main residence, a study room filled with ancient simplicity and a subtly oppressive atmosphere, neither humble nor overbearing.

"Master Yun, what's the root cause of my father's 'illness'?" Tang's father asked directly, his gaze sharp. He didn't believe in ghosts and gods, but he couldn't ignore the facts.

Yun Chu did not answer directly, but closed his eyes slightly. After a moment, he opened his eyes and condensed a very light ice-blue breath at his fingertips, which quickly passed through several directions in the study.

In the air, several old and negative energies that had accumulated for many years and were imperceptible to ordinary people were precisely "erased" like ice and snow melting.

"Your house is blessed with great fortune, and the feng shui layout is fine." Yun Chu said in a cold voice, "The problem is not the house site, but the person who 'inherits the site'." She glanced meaningfully at the portrait of an ancestor of the Tang family in military uniform hanging on the wall of the study.

"Ancestor?" Tang's father frowned.

"No. It's an object that carries some 'cause and effect.'" Yun Chu's gaze fell on a nondescript paperweight stone covered in cracked, dark red veins on the corner of the desk. "This object, soaked with blood, stays with the living for a long time, attracting resentment. While it won't become a ghost, it's like a carbuncle attached to the bone, easily corroding a weak and failing body."

The paperweight was something the old man had found by chance when he was young, and he had always loved it, playing with it day and night. Yun Chu had revealed the key!

Tang's father's face suddenly changed. After she reminded him, he suddenly remembered that after his father fell ill, he had indeed often muttered about losing the stone and dreaming of seeing blood. But at the time, he just thought it was just delirium.

"Master Yun, do you have a solution?" Tang's father's attitude completely changed, with a hint of respect and eagerness.

Yun Chu didn't immediately take the paperweight. She looked at Tang's father with a gaze that seemed to penetrate a person's heart. "External objects are easy to remove. The true 'yin cold' stems from the backlash of 'karmic retribution' buried deep within the bloodline. This object is merely the trigger, triggering a 'hidden wound' already embedded in the Tang family's destiny. If we wish to remove the root of this ill, we must find its source and resolve the old grudge."

She quietly placed a heavier burden on Tang's father's heart. The source of this burden was closely related to the root cause of Tang Wan's haunting by evil spirits in the book: the Tang family's ancestors had a shameful history of killing and slaughter!

After Yun Chu left the Tang family, Tang's father immediately began to investigate the affairs of his ancestors.