Nanzhi returned to her initial room.
Only this time, Chen Jingui no longer restricted her freedom to go out.
“Our eldest daughter is blessed by the Bodhisattva and has immortal fate. She was senseless for eighteen years, and now that she has skills others don't, she must have been guided by an immortal!”
As Chen Jingui spoke, she was busy lighting incense and offering sacrifices to the family ancestors' tablets, muttering for the ancestors to protect their family from the afterlife.
Nan Dazhuang strongly agreed with her words.
“Exactly! A few years back, wasn't there a poor scholar in Nanqu County who slept at home for one night and woke up looking ten years older? They said he had been a guest at a celestial palace in the heavens!”
“Perhaps our eldest daughter's physical body remained at home for these eighteen years, but her soul went to the immortals to learn skills!”
The Nan family seemed to accept this quite well.
This wasn't surprising. After all, strange tales and mysteries were as common as ox hair in the streets, and there were even legends of immortals descending to earth in more distant places.
Furthermore, Nan Dazhuang and Chen Jingui had only conceived these two daughters and one son after receiving guidance from spirits and gods. Now that they saw Nanzhi was no longer senseless, the couple was overjoyed; why would they be afraid?
On the other hand, Nan Ye was extremely curious. When they went to sleep at night, she kept pestering Nanzhi with questions, insisting on seeing Nanzhi perform her magic tricks.
The Nan family had three tiled houses in total. The couple lived in the west room, Nan Yi lived in the east room, and the large room in the middle with the best light was given to the two girls.
Seeing the young girl so excited, Nanzhi performed the trick several times, storing the table, teapot, pillow, and clothes one by one until the other girl was finally satisfied.
Nanzhi was so sleepy her eyes could barely stay open, and she rolled over on the bed while holding the tablet.
The time flow in the game was the same as the outside world, which was quite hardcore.
“Big Sister... I know you understand what I'm saying, you just can't speak the common tongue, hee hee.”
“Did you really go to the immortals' residence to learn skills like Father said?”
Nan Ye leaned close to the game character's ear and whispered:
“Then can you catch ghosts? I heard there's a ghost at the Qiao house. Lady Qiao can hear someone coughing while crouching under her window every night.”
“These past few days, their tofu has been fishy and foul. No one wants it even if they give it away for free. Every day when I go to the well at the alley entrance to fetch water, I make sure to walk around it!”
【Triggered Quest: “Ghost in the City”】
【Exorcising demons and subduing monsters is the duty of a Cultivator. Please proceed to the Qiao family home, uncover the truth behind the events, slay the demon, and restore peace to the neighborhood of Lingbai Alley.】
【Quest Rewards: Paper Ingots × 20, Qi Replenishing Pill × 1, 《Little Huanzhen Art》 × 1】
Hmm?!
A quest finally refreshed!
Nanzhi felt a sudden jolt of energy and immediately wanted to pull Nan Ye to the Qiao house to investigate.
Of course, the two of them, tired as dogs, ultimately didn't end up going that night.
...
...
The Qiao family courtyard was at the entrance of Lingbai Alley. It had two doors: one facing the main street and a small door opening into the alley.
Usually, the Qiao family ground tofu in the backyard and then carried it to the front door to sell. Their tofu was made from good beans and was white, tender, and delicious, making it very famous in Lingbai Alley.
When Nanzhi arrived, Qiao Dalang was pouring a tray of tofu into a wooden bucket, his face filled with worry.
Rumors had been spreading for days that his house was haunted. Not only had the tofu turned foul and become unsellable, but even the neighbors were avoiding him.
“You want to catch a ghost for my family?”
Qiao Dalang was stunned. He looked Nanzhi and Nan Ye up and down before waving his hand impatiently.
“Don't joke with me. This ghost business is just nonsense from others. If there really were a ghost, why haven't I seen it?”
Nan Ye said indignantly:
“My Big Sister says your house has a ghost, so there's a ghost! She's kindly trying to help your family solve the disaster, so why are you being so ungrateful?”
Nanzhi ignored Qiao Dalang and crouched down to observe the spoiled tofu in the wooden bucket.
【Foul Smelling Tofu: It seems to be tainted with ghostly aura. It has spoiled and is inedible.】
Qiao Dalang also recognized the Nan family's eldest daughter. Seeing her remain silent and just stare at the bucket of spoiled tofu made him feel a bit uneasy.
“You... what did you see? Is there really... really a ghost? If there is, why would it harm my family's tofu for no reason?”
“This tofu has been touched by something unclean. It's not fit for humans to eat, and it can't even be used to feed pigs or chickens.”
Nanzhi nodded and then pointed at the ground.
“Whose black footprints are these?”
She had wanted to ask just now. There was a trail of pitch black footprints in front of the Qiao house, each about two feet long, yet not a single person could see them.
The footprints followed the main door, spread under the window, circled the stone mill several times, and finally disappeared at the base of the wall.
Qiao Dalang couldn't understand Nanzhi's words, but Lady Qiao could understand her gestures.
The couple followed the direction she pointed, and suddenly everything clicked.
Lady Qiao slapped her thigh and cried out:
“Oh my! Eldest Daughter, how did you know that's where I dry the tofu at night?”
“I'm telling you, that window is exactly where I heard someone coughing. Sometimes when Dalang and I are grinding tofu in the middle of the night, I always feel like someone is leaning under the window, blowing air into the room!”
Nan Ye was terrified. She wanted to pull Nanzhi home, but she saw that her Big Sister refused to leave.
Nanzhi walked around the Qiao family courtyard and finally stopped beside the woodpile.
“Come out!”
She knocked on the woodpile. Seeing no movement, she turned to the Qiao couple.
“Boil a pot of scalding hot water and pour it down into this woodpile—”
Lady Qiao didn't understand and looked to Nan Ye for help. Nan Ye also had to guess and piece things together before she understood Nanzhi's meaning. She said excitedly:
“The ghost must be hiding in your woodpile! My Big Sister said... um... you need to pour water in. That's it! You must need water to make the ghost reveal itself!”
Lady Qiao was overjoyed and repeatedly praised Nanzhi for her ability.
“That's easy! We have boiling water ready on the stove. Dalang, go get it quickly!”
At those words, the woodpile finally showed some movement. A series of rustling sounds came from deep within, and finally, the sound of an old person coughing emerged.
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
The sound was very close, as if a terminally ill old man was truly hiding in the woodpile, coughing breathlessly.
The other three people present were terrified by the sound and all took a step back together.
Qiao Dalang was even shivering with fright, pointing at the woodpile as he shuddered.
“That's it! That's the sound! That's what I heard while grinding tofu at night! Could it be that... this ghost is hiding in the woodpile?!”
Nanzhi didn't answer him. Instead, she picked up a piece of firewood and tapped on the pile.
“Did you hear that? If you don't come out, I'll have them douse you with boiling water!”
In her vision, a yellow named silhouette was squeezed into the corner of the woodpile, with three large characters floating above its head:
【Grey Rat Spirit】.
It was a yellow name, representing neutrality.
“Oh my, oh my! I'm coming out! Don't pour it, you can't pour it!”
The firewood shook for a while, and a grey rat crawled out from within.
This rat had truly become a spirit. It was as large as a puppy, its fur was sleek and shiny, and its black beady eyes looked just like a human's.
The giant rat actually spoke human words to Nanzhi:
“Spare me, young lady! Spare me! Don't douse me with boiling water! I still have my old mother and pups in the burrow! Please spare their lives!”
Of course, to the other three people, these words were just a chaotic mess of squeaking sounds.
“The one coughing under the Qiao family's window at night—was it you?”
Nanzhi didn't trust it easily just because the giant rat was pleading. Instead, she asked about the black footprints on the ground.
“What's the deal with those footprints? And the tofu turning sour—did you do that too?”
The giant rat's eyes darted around, clearly wanting to run, but Nanzhi stepped on its tail. It had no choice but to explain the situation piteously.
“Please listen, young lady. I've lived here for decades. I dug my burrow here before the Qiao family even moved in.”
“Technically, it's the Qiao family who occupied my family's territory first!”
“This Qiao family grinds and makes tofu day and night. The noise gives this rat a headache. That's why I thought of a way to scare them, just so they'd slow down for a few days.”
“At most, I usually only steal some bean dregs and tofu. I had no intention of harming anyone!”
Nanzhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
So this supernatural event was actually caused by a neighbor dispute?
Although she didn't know how this giant rat could understand her, Nanzhi still spoke quickly:
“This house was bought by the Qiao family with their own money. You're the one occupying their space to make a nest, and you're stealing their food. How can you turn around and cause trouble?”
Seeing that she was easy to talk to, the giant rat immediately began bowing and scraping, pleading for mercy.
“I won't dare do it again, I won't dare! Please let me go, young lady!”
“I have an eighty year old mother above and three year old rat pups below to raise. Please show mercy, show mercy!”
Nanzhi looked at the 【Rat Spirit】's full 150 HP, then at her own pitifully low HP, and couldn't help but want to curse the game developers again.
She couldn't even beat a giant rat. Was this setting even reasonable?!
After weighing her options, Nanzhi finally released the foot stepping on the grey rat's tail.
“I won't kill you. Go. Just don't disturb the people at night anymore. However, I suggest you move out quickly. I doubt the Qiao family will let you stay.”
“I'll move right away, right away! You are so kind, young lady, so kind!”
The rat was very clever. It bowed repeatedly to the Qiao couple before scurrying into the woodpile and vanishing.
The rat spirit was completely unaware that while this person seemed powerful, she actually couldn't even beat a single rat.
“So it was a rat spirit causing trouble in my house!”
Qiao Dalang suddenly understood and couldn't help but brandish his fist.
“This rat spirit is truly hateful. It made our tofu inedible. I should buy some rat poison and kill them all!”
Humans are like that. They are scared to death when they don't know what's causing the trouble, but once they realize the culprit is just a rat, they remember how much they hate it.
Lady Qiao was kindhearted and couldn't help but sigh.
“Forget it, forget it. After all, the rat didn't hurt anyone. Tomorrow we'll go out of town and hire a cat to come live with us.”
At that time, the custom of keeping cats was very popular, and there was even a tradition of hiring a cat. If a family wanted to keep a cat, they had to prepare a betrothal gift to welcome the cat home.
Some refined families would even write a formal hiring notice.
With that, Lady Qiao said gratefully to Nanzhi:
“The Nan family's eldest daughter is truly capable. She saw at a glance that it was a rat causing trouble. Tomorrow, after I grind some tofu, I'll send some to your house to thank you. I'll make sure you eat the most fragrant ground tofu!”
“My Big Sister is naturally capable! So many people have come to your house to look, and she's the only one who figured it out. If that's not capability, what is!”
Nan Ye was as proud as if she were the one being praised. She pulled Nanzhi, wanting to go home with her.
“Big Sister, let's go home and tell Father and Mother that it was just a big rat causing trouble at the Qiao house!”
Nanzhi felt like something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Seeing that the rat spirit had already disappeared, she could only give up.
...
...
It wasn't until just before she went to sleep that Nanzhi remembered what was wrong.
The quest didn't show as completed, which meant the Qiao family's problem hadn't been solved.
Where did things go wrong?
Or did she absolutely have to kill that rat to complete the quest?
Nanzhi yawned and fell asleep, planning to continue exploring once she woke up.
But when she woke up and logged back into the game, the screen only showed a hazy grey:
【You were killed by a “Painted Skin Ghost”.】
【Cultivator deceased.】
【Resurrecting...】
【Resurrection successful】
【Achievement Unlocked: “Back from the Dead”. Obtained Draw tickets × 10】
Rate on N.U.
