Kuang Feifan stood up, reaching out as if to snatch the bottle containing the prayer beads from Feng Tian’s hand.

Feng Tian hastily shielded the bottle with one hand while using the other to stop Kuang Feifan’s lunge, forcing a smile onto his face as he explained, “Don’t worry, don’t worry, there won’t be any harm to the beads.”

Kuang Feifan glared, staring at him with almost gritted teeth.

Feng Tian continued to explain, “This is water steeped with hundred-year-old willow branches. After soaking the beads in it for a while, the water gains the ability to injure ghosts. Don't forget, you used up all the water in my bottle last night.”

“Uh…” Mentioning this, Kuang Feifan genuinely recalled that he had indeed used up the entire bottle of “ghost repellent” in one go.

But those prayer beads were a gift from Bai Ru; for that reason alone, he didn’t want Feng Tian handling them for any longer.

“Relax, really, this won’t damage your beads one bit, I swear…” Feng Tian raised one hand, stretching out three fingers in an oath.

Kuang Feifan glared at him for a long moment before finally giving up the pursuit, returning to his seat.

“Your… your… this meal is on me…” Feng Tian finally said something that slightly calmed Kuang Feifan’s anger.

Thinking of the ordeal awaiting them that evening, Kuang Feifan simply channeled his annoyance into his appetite, attacking the food and drink with gusto.

Full from eating and drinking, Feng Tian called the waiter over and told him to pack up an extra order of braised ribs, besides settling the bill.

“Late-night snack?” Kuang Feifan casually asked.

Feng Tian shook his head: “Certainly not. Buying a late-night snack before even having dinner is a bit early.”

Kuang Feifan looked at him curiously.

“Let’s go. We have plenty to do this afternoon, besides gathering tools for the evening, we actually have work. But it’s right on the way anyway.”

Saying this, Feng Tian stood up first, clearly preparing to leave the restaurant.

Perhaps because Feng Tian had used his prayer beads, the travel expenses for the rest of the journey were surprisingly all paid for by him. Kuang Feifan was too lazy to ask where exactly Feng Tian intended to go; after all, until Feng Tian returned with him, he had no choice but to obediently act as his ‘sidekick.’

The two took a taxi to a high-end residential complex that looked recently completed. After the car stopped, Feng Tian pointed inside and said to Kuang Feifan, “The person providing us with the tools is also a client, and lives right here.”

Kuang Feifan followed Feng Tian into the complex, walking along the small path paved with patterned tiles to the very end, arriving before a building situated in a corner of the complex. It was a corner spot, but looking behind, a stretch of new buildings was already under construction, and soon, the building before them would be swallowed up by the cluster of new structures.

Feng Tian led the way, taking the elevator straight to the top floor.

“The unit on the right,” Feng Tian said, stopping before a tightly shut security door and ringing the bell.

After a long pause, accompanied by a chaotic clatter from inside, the security door was pulled open. Upon seeing who opened it, Kuang Feifan’s eyes immediately lit up.

Naturally, what makes a man’s eyes light up is a beautiful woman, though Kuang Feifan genuinely felt a brief flash of brightness, mainly due to the relatively dark corridor contrasting with the brightly lit interior.

However, the person opening the door was indeed a woman. Large eyes flickered on her pretty face as she peered out at Feng Tian and Kuang Feifan. A small nose and rosy lips meant that calling her a beauty was by no means an overstatement.

Looking further down, her skin, white as snow, appeared smooth and delicate. Her figure was long and shapely, with a slender waist complementing an alluring rear and high bust, outlining a perfect curve that created an immediate, strong visual impact.

Seeing Feng Tian, the beauty raised a hand and gathered her long, raven hair, casually tying it into a ponytail. Instantly, her tight-fitting T-shirt lifted, revealing a swath of white that stung the eyes.

“Brother Feng, right?” the beauty asked in a crisp voice.

Feng Tian nodded, looking every bit the inscrutable master.

Just then, a sound of hurried paws echoed from inside, and a moment later, a small, sturdy-looking creature poked its head out near the beauty’s feet.

It was a small, stout puppy, entirely black, without a single strand of mixed color, panting with its little red tongue out, tilting its head to look at the two people outside.

“Please, come in,” the beauty said, bending down to pick up the little black dog and stepping aside.

Kuang Feifan followed Feng Tian inside.

The beauty ushered the two men to the living room sofa to sit down, then turned to the kitchen to pour them tea. The small black dog was placed on another sofa, where it lay still, staring intently at Feng Tian and Kuang Feifan.

“Did you feel anything?” Feng Tian whispered to Kuang Feifan.

“The owner is a beauty,” Kuang Feifan replied.

Feng Tian shot him a sidelong glance: “Who asked you to look at the beauty.”

Kuang Feifan smiled: “Just joking. Now that I’m seated, I do feel something. The room looks well-lit and bright, yet there’s a faint, cool sensation.”

Feng Tian nodded: “The Yin energy is a bit heavy; the Yang energy is clearly insufficient.”

As they spoke, the beauty returned to the living room carrying a tray with three cups of hot tea.

“I am Kou Yue,” the beauty said, introducing herself after placing the tea before Feng Tian and Kuang Feifan.

Feng Tian gave a slight nod: “You were the one I spoke to earlier, correct?”

Kou Yue gave a soft “Mm-hmm.”

Kuang Feifan was utterly confused, unable to interject, so he simply sat to the side and sipped his tea slowly.

At that moment, a clear, melodious chime sounded inside the apartment. Kuang Feifan looked toward the sound and saw a string of exquisite crystal wind chimes hanging on the balcony not far away.

Feng Tian also noticed, glancing at the balcony, his eyebrows furrowing almost imperceptibly before he turned back to Kou Yue and asked, “Tell us about your issue first.”

Hearing the matter turned serious, Kuang Feifan also shifted his attention from the wind chimes to Kou Yue.

Kou Yue reached out and picked up the little black dog, standing up from the sofa, signaling Feng Tian and Kuang Feifan to follow her as she led them into her bedroom.

“Because I write drafts every day, my computer is kept in the bedroom,” Kou Yue explained.

They looked around. The bedroom furnishings were simple: a single bed, a wardrobe, and by the window, a computer desk holding a tower unit, an LCD monitor, a color printer, and other equipment.

Kou Yue hugged the little black dog, gently stroking its head, and continued, “My Xiao Hei usually doesn’t bark much, but starting about a week ago, around midnight every night, he leaps onto my computer desk, rushes to the window, and barks incessantly. The sound is high-pitched and unnerving, and it continues for several minutes before gradually stopping. When he barks, I don’t dare go over and hold him.”

As she spoke, Kou Yue seemed to still be feeling the shock, gently nuzzling the little black dog with her head.

Feng Tian thought for a moment and asked, “Besides your Xiao Hei barking, have there been any other unusual occurrences?”

Kou Yue hesitated for a moment, hugging the little dog gently. “It started the day before yesterday… it got different…”

Previously, Kou Yue habitually worked on her writing on the computer late into the night. But ever since the dog started leaping onto the desk and barking wildly a week ago, she started going to bed before midnight.

One time, she locked the dog out of the bedroom, only for the dog to rush onto the balcony and howl half the night, leading to a complaint from a neighbor. Consequently, she didn’t dare lock the dog out again, resigning herself to letting Xiao Hei bark for a few minutes at the appointed time and then going to sleep.

She had also heard that small animals barking toward the window often meant they saw something frightening, which caused her to be afraid to turn off the lights at night.

Initially, she thought this was an occasional event, but the situation of Xiao Hei barking at a specific time showed no sign of stopping, compelling Kou Yue to find a solution.

She tried several remedies found online, but they had absolutely no effect; in fact, things had taken an even more incredible turn.

The night before last, as midnight approached, Kou Yue climbed into bed with a palpable sense of tension, Xiao Hei resting at her feet.

When twelve o’clock hit, Xiao Hei, who had been lying placidly, suddenly lifted his head, his small head swiveling cautiously, fixing his gaze intently in one direction. He leaped up and darted toward the computer desk.

As in previous days, Kou Yue covered her head with the quilt, leaving only her eyes exposed, secretly watching Xiao Hei, caught between the desire to look and fear. She expected him to jump onto the chair first, then leap onto the desk, bark wildly toward the outside of the window, and after four or five minutes, the barking would slowly cease, and the ordeal would be over.

Unexpectedly, this time Xiao Hei did not jump onto the chair in front of the desk. Instead, he stopped right in front of the desk area and began barking furiously toward the corner where the wall met the desk.

Kou Yue’s heart tightened as she listened. Xiao Hei was barking nearly hoarse, his body tensing and arching repeatedly, as if trying to lunge forward but hesitating. His fur, usually like black satin, now stood completely on end, making him look terrifying.

The fact that Xiao Hei hadn't rushed to the window to bark, as in the previous days, had already startled Kou Yue, but seeing his current state instilled an inexplicable dread. Instinctively, she glanced toward the wall corner.

Just then, the light in the room, which had been on, flickered once, then flickered again, before beginning to flash rapidly like blinking.

Simultaneously, her gaze had settled on the wall corner. In the intermittent light, she vaguely thought she saw something, causing her to cry out involuntarily.

But at that exact moment, the light returned to normal, and Xiao Hei abruptly stopped his frenzied barking, his cry changing to a whimper from his throat. Soon after, everything inside the room seemed to return to normal.

Seeing the look of alarm resurface on Kou Yue’s face, Kuang Feifan couldn't help but ask, “What did you see?”

“…White… a patch…” Kou Yue steadied herself, tilting her head in thought, saying uncertainly, “I don’t know if my eyes were playing tricks; I didn’t really get a clear look.”

Another case of tricks of the eye.

Kuang Feifan turned to look at Feng Tian; the story was finished, now he would see how Feng Tian planned to resolve it.

As expected, Feng Tian reached out and grabbed the ‘Hundred Treasures Bag’ that had been resting near the foot of the sofa. This was Kuang Feifan’s current impression of Feng Tian’s satchel; so, whenever Feng Tian picked up the bag, it was like watching ‘Doraemon’ pull things from his pocket in the old cartoons. He just wondered what kind of ‘magical artifact’ he would pull out this time.