"Three or four months ago, Senior Brother Li found a secret letter from home. My senior sister, junior brother, and I all read it, and it mentioned this mansion."
Under duress, the stern-faced man did not feign ignorance this time. With a wry smile, he recounted the entire story.
The family Li Mufeng hailed from was somewhat renowned in Tianhe County, considered a scholarly lineage in the mortal realm. It was said their ancestors had moved from Luoxia County.
Months prior, he had discovered a long-neglected secret letter in his family's library. It vaguely mentioned that the Li family's ancestral home was located at Luohun Slope, outside Qianyu City.
However, due to certain circumstances, the Li family had been forced to relocate centuries ago, abandoning the ancestral land where they had resided for generations.
Despite their departure, they had been a prominent family, and had left behind certain opportunities in their ancestral grounds. These were provisions for future descendants in case of a decline in fortune, a means to rise again.
"Senior Brother Li was not the legitimate heir of the family, so he wanted to hoard it all for himself. Thus, he enlisted us, using the excuse of traveling down the mountain to journey here."
The stern-faced man continued, "But upon arriving in Qianyu City, we inquired and discovered that Luohun Slope was already occupied by a cultivation sect. This sect, besides practicing Yin-attuned techniques, was also said to be skilled in ghost manipulation."
This explained why they had prepared corresponding talismans in advance, fearing the ghost manipulation techniques of the Mingyue Sect, which occupied Luohun Slope and were dreaded by outsiders.
However, Ji Yuan did not entirely believe this account, as there were too many inconsistencies.
Firstly, how could a son of lower status obtain a long-neglected secret letter?
Secondly, why would Li Mufeng, without any prior investigation or knowledge of the area, promise his fellow disciples to share the known opportunities?
Thirdly, if they had only heard beforehand that a cultivation sect occupied the area, without knowing of the changes at Luohun Slope, why would he want to use Ji Yuan as a pawn to probe?
This last point clearly indicated that he knew of the changes at Luohun Slope and the presence of spirits.
"Whether you believe it or not, the secret letter did indeed record that this place was Senior Brother Li's ancestral residence."
The stern-faced man sighed. He knew his words lacked credibility.
In fact, had it not been for the considerable benefits Li Mufeng had offered beforehand, and the promise of dividing the opportunities found equally, he himself would have found the story hard to believe.
Ji Yuan frowned, pondering. The stern-faced man before him might be telling the truth, but Ji Yuan sensed that the matter was far from simple.
It wasn't just the content of Li Mufeng's secret letter, but also the unnatural behavior of the spirits in this area.
"What do you think?"
After a long period of thought, he suddenly turned to look at the young Daoist behind him.
Song He, hearing this, immediately put on a bewildered expression. He stated that having grown up in the Mingyue Sect, he had never heard of Luohun Slope being the ancestral home of any renowned powerful clan.
It made sense, he thought. The feng shui of this place was not conducive to long-term habitation for ordinary people. Only those who practiced Yin-attuned techniques, like the Mingyue Sect, could establish their sect and reside here year-round.
For normal individuals, it could lead to minor illnesses and misfortunes, or worse, an imbalance of Yin and Yang, prematurely shortening their lifespan.
However, Song He was certain of one thing: there had been a mansion here hundreds of years ago, likely built by a cultivator who also practiced Yin-attuned arts.
The Mingyue Sect had ultimately rebuilt their sect upon the foundation of this mansion.
There were clear discrepancies between their accounts. The stern-faced man's story was more detailed but riddled with errors and inconsistencies upon closer examination, while Song He's was brief but faultless.
This presented Ji Yuan with a dilemma. With the current information, they could not ascertain the origins of the spirits here, nor fathom their current intentions, making it impossible to escape this mansion.
"The white mist on the hillside seems to have dissipated."
Song He suddenly murmured.
Upon hearing this, they instinctively looked, and indeed, the white mist on the other side of the small hill had thinned to a mere wisp. After a few breaths, it vanished completely, revealing a stone path that had been concealed.
Ji Yuan's brows furrowed. He couldn't fathom the spirits' true motives.
"Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate, I shall see what it is you truly wish to do."
He muttered to himself, then beckoned Song He, and together they descended the small hill where the ancestral hall was located.
After a moment of hesitation, the stern-faced man chose to silently follow the two. As for the young woman from his sect, she was hanging her head, appearing somewhat lost and dejected.
Before long, the four of them arrived at the foot of the hill and stepped onto the stone path that had been obscured by the white mist.
From the hillside, it appeared the ancestral hall was located in the backyard of the mansion. The stone path beneath their feet not only led towards the main residence but also extended into a side courtyard.
Judging by its layout, that courtyard seemed to be where a library would be.
Upon reaching the fork in the path, Ji Yuan had intended to proceed directly to the main residence to understand the spirits' intentions. However, a sudden impulse struck him, and he inexplicably took the other path.
Such spontaneous premonitions were exceptionally important for cultivators, often pertaining to their path and acting as a form of instinct for avoiding misfortune.
As he walked down the path leading to the side courtyard, Ji Yuan suddenly felt a lightness in his body. He quickly covered himself with his sleeve and, after a brief calculation, realized he had narrowly escaped a great calamity.
"What's wrong?"
Sensing the anomaly in the person beside him, Song He stepped forward and inquired.
Ji Yuan shook his head, choosing not to divulge the matter. Although he had evaded a significant danger, revealing it now as if all was well might cause the receding danger to return.
This was the essence of the saying, "disaster comes from the mouth." Worldly people often could not control their speech, inadvertently revealing heavenly secrets and thus attracting all sorts of calamities.
It was not uncommon for situations that might have led to good fortune, or even averted disaster, to result in financial ruin or complete devastation due to an unintended remark.
In silence, the four of them traversed through several courtyards, arriving in a garden.
The space was vast, with rockeries and flowerbeds. In the center was a pond, from which wisps of gray-white Yin energy rose under the moonlight.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a beautiful scene. But now, the rockeries were covered in black mud, the flowerbeds that should have been in bloom had all withered, and even the curtains hanging from the pavilion were tattered and worn.
"Is that... the Library?"
Ji Yuan's expression turned serious. His gaze passed over the rockeries and flowerbeds, finally resting on a wooden building.
Seen in the moonlight, the plaque on the wooden building indeed bore the inscription 'Library' in three large characters. Furthermore, the entire three-story building emanated a soft glow.
"It's Haoran Qi!"
Upon approaching, Ji Yuan immediately recognized the nature of the halo clinging to the building.
At the same time, he was somewhat surprised. In this place, where Yin energy was dense and many spirits lurked, there was a library that had somehow nurtured Haoran Qi, a force that repelled ghosts and demons.