The family's troubles began as if to prove the rumors true.

One night, every small pet and insect in their household perished without exception—cats, dogs, birds in cages, horses kept in the backyard, even grasshoppers under glass jars. Not a single creature was left alive among them all.

Before anyone had time to recover from the shock, children under eight years old collapsed with high fevers. The illness spread next to those aged over eight and then into the adults. In the end, every member of the household fell ill except for the family patriarch himself. Reputed doctors were summoned in droves but proved powerless—only three weak souls among the patients actually died, while others remained bedridden due to persistent fevers.

Now the lone mobile figure in this house realized they had awakened something terrifying.

It seemed like a cruel punishment—the deaths began with children and gradually spread through the family, yet the patriarch remained perfectly healthy physically, as if condemned to watch each loved one perish slowly before his eyes.

Though many years had passed since he first assumed leadership of such a large household, the man maintained an impressive composure. After all, without certain abilities or authority, nobody would have made him head of this family in the first place.

At top speed he donated a large sum to hire an old Taoist priest and build the temple we now see. That peculiar room in the temple's back garden? It was originally constructed as a tomb for those two corpses.

When this Taoist arrived with his young apprentice—the very same elder still residing at the temple today—he performed rituals that exorcised the vengeful spirits haunting the family. According to the old man's investigation, these malignant spirits were none other than the servant and lady's resentful souls wandering together in their home.

Kuang Feifan couldn't help but express his surprise, "Have those Taoist masters been staying here all this time?"

Feng Tian nodded slowly before hesitating. "The original old master is long gone," he corrected himself, "so the current one took over to continue suppressing these two vengeful souls in the back garden. The most problematic thing? Because of that tomb's existence, the Taoist cannot leave the garden for too long—apparently half an hour is his absolute limit."

"Wow..." Kuang Feifan pursed his lips, then hesitated before asking another question: "If something ever happened to this current Taoist... what would they do?"

Feng Tian paused thoughtfully. "Theoretically it should be passed down to his apprentice," he admitted uncertainly, "but honestly I don't know the exact method. But whatever arrangements the old master made must be sufficient."

Kuang Feifan didn't press further, though in his heart he remained skeptical about those Taoist disciples he'd seen earlier—none seemed genuinely committed to spiritual cultivation.

As expected from Feng Tian's words, these were matters best left to the Taoist masters. After listening through their story, they had finished their meal and were ready to leave when stepping out of the private room revealed an alarming sight outside. Without windows in the dining area, they hadn't noticed the weather turning—now heavy black clouds roiled above. Though still afternoon, the sky appeared as dark as midnight.

Unfortunately, the restaurant was already closed for business, offering no shelter despite providing umbrellas at checkout. No sooner had they stepped into the rain than thunder cracked through a sky lit by lightning flashes.

Their umbrellas immediately flipped upside down in the wind. After struggling to no avail, both men simply abandoned their useless shields and ran under the deluge with Feng Tian leading the way after scanning for nearby shelter.

Lucky enough, there was a small inn just around the corner visible behind its damp signboard despite the storm. When they finally burst through the doors, they were drenched from head to toe, leaving long wet trails across the floor towards reception.

"What are we doing here?" Kuang Feifan wiped his face, asking with dripping hair.

"Checking in, of course," Feng Tian replied, shaking rain off his head as thunder rumbled again. "Call it 'the heavens providing shelter when men fail.'"

Business had suddenly picked up at the inn due to the weather crisis. By the time they reached reception, only a single room remained available among the crowded hall filled with both temporary storm-shelterers and those planning overnight stays.

Though disappointed by the limited options, they accepted their assigned room. Fortunately this small inn possessed surprisingly complete facilities where they managed to purchase T-shirts, swim trunks, and slippers for emergency changes from wet clothes.

After washing up and changing into dry clothing, they still watched rain lashing against windows as thunder continued its performance outside. No sign of let-up meant they'd be stuck here indefinitely.

"I'll go get some snacks," Feng Tian suggested, heading toward the lobby's convenience counter.

Kuang Feifan followed naturally since there was nothing else to do inside their room. As they approached near the front desk, a sudden gust blew open the heavy door again and two figures in raincoats entered with water pouring from them—police officers Kuang recognized immediately as familiar faces from his recent hospital stay.

The officers began speaking directly to the receptionist behind the counter. Kuang hesitated before edging closer to listen, but all he could catch were fragments like "woman" and "car" over the storm's roar and background chatter.

Feng Tian returned with a plastic bag just then, so Kuang motioned silently for him not to approach yet. They hid themselves carefully while watching the interaction unfold.

"What exactly is happening?" Feng Tian whispered as they crouched aside.

Kuang frowned slightly before answering in same hushed tone: "I think that receptionist might know details about the car accident."

Feng Tian rubbed his chin, discreetly observing their targets again. Then Kuang suddenly snatched the plastic bag from him and ordered softly: "You go ask her directly while I'll go upstairs to wait. The receptionist wears jade pendants and Buddhist prayer beads—clearly superstitious. You can easily start a conversation by reading palm lines for her."

With that, he slipped away upstairs to their room while Feng Tian groaned in protest.

Two hours later when Feng Tian finally returned with an unreadable expression, Kuang immediately knew something significant had been learned.

"The sister at the front desk truly knows what happened," Feng Tian announced right away. "She was even a partial eyewitness."

"How so?" Kuang asked curiously, leaning forward eagerly.