Chapter 53: Zhao Yu, Who Sees Through Everything

"Two years ago, my young master went out for a spring outing and accidentally crossed paths with a peasant girl."

"At that single glance, my young master fell deeply in love, his heart entirely captivated. Although our master was initially reluctant, he ultimately yielded to the young master and agreed to let him take the girl home as his wife."

At this point, the steward shrank his neck, a look of terror creeping onto his face: "This should have been a joyous occasion of the highest order, but for reasons unknown, on the night of the wedding, the girl suddenly died. Ever since then, strange hauntings have plagued the Liu estate..."

The woman with the red mole could not help but sneer: "Sounds like the girl was unwilling, and your people forced the marriage or concubinage, doesn't it? You probably even threatened and beat her parents to death, didn't you?"

"No, no, absolutely not," the steward hurriedly waved his hands.

Master Liu hurriedly smoothed things over: "Four esteemed masters, let us dine. Let us eat first."

The woman with the red mole flashed another look of disdain, but said nothing more.

Meanwhile, Master Liu could not help casting a glance at Zhao Yu, who was burying his head in his food... Is this fellow a fraud? Do scam artists these days not even bother with basic preparation? There's no need to be so blatant about freeloading a free meal and some cash, is there?

With someone like this around, things were going to be very difficult for him!

Subconsciously, he glanced at the steward.

The steward forced a smile, then shot a vicious glare at Zhao Yu... As it turned out, Zhao Yu didn't even notice him; he was too busy happily enjoying his meal.

Although the food at the Liu household lacked nutritional value, it tasted decent enough to barely fill an empty stomach.

And he happened to be quite hungry.

Having eaten his fill, Zhao Yu wiped his mouth and paused.

He looked up... Oh my, Master Liu, the steward, Master Nanshan, and the other three were all staring straight at him.

Zhao Yu looked back in unconscious puzzlement: "Is there something dirty on my face?"

Why were they all looking at him?

Master Liu maintained as calm a demeanor as possible: "Has the master finished eating? If you are done, let us proceed to the inner courtyard to vanquish the evil."

Zhao Yu first glanced at Master Nanshan, making sure this formidable Master Nanshan was still present, before nodding: "Alright, alright."

"Please follow me, the four esteemed masters." Master Liu rose and strode away.

Zhao Yu thought for a moment and, with great tactical wisdom, walked at the very back... Since he was just here to freeload some money, he could just coast along without sticking his neck out at the front.

The kitchen knife also piped up in the depths of Zhao Yu's mind: "Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu, something feels a bit off about this."

Making sure the people in front weren't paying attention to him, Zhao Yu picked up the kitchen knife and whispered quietly: "Of course something's off, because that Master Liu is lying to us."

"How do you know?" the kitchen knife asked, startled.

Zhao Yu couldn't help feeling a surge of smugness: "Let me tell you, there are only two possibilities for the truth."

"Either Master Liu's son forced the girl into marriage, so she committed suicide on her wedding night and turned into a ghost seeking revenge."

"Or, someone is secretly raising a ghost to blackmail the Liu family. If that's truly the case, it's odds-on that this Master Nanshan is the one behind it, because that guy looks the most like a good person, which surely makes him the ultimate villain."

The more he spoke, the more pleased Zhao Yu became with himself.

He was truly a genius of the highest order.

"How on earth did you figure that out?" The kitchen knife was even more astonished.

Zhao Yu couldn't help offering a lecture: "I knew you didn't read your books carefully. Every single storybook describing this kind of situation always boils down to these two scenarios."

The kitchen knife lost itself in thought for a moment, then agreed: "That makes sense. And I'm guessing it has to be the second one."

Just as Master Nanshan said, the hauntings had been going on for two whole years, yet the Liu family hadn't been completely wiped out—there definitely had to be something fishy going on.

Zhao Yu immediately objected: "No way, no way! I'm calling the second scenario, so you have to pick the first one."

Just as the kitchen knife was about to reply, it snapped shut.

Master Liu looked back over his shoulder: "Esteemed master?"

What was Zhao Yu muttering about all by himself at the back of the line?

"It's nothing," Zhao Yu immediately shook his head with a completely harmless expression.

He was only here for easy money; he had no desire to pick a fight with Master Liu.

Master Liu cast several suspicious glances his way before continuing to lead the way.

After winding through numerous corridors, they stopped at a small courtyard in the inner quarters surrounded by a bamboo grove.

Master Liu pointed toward the courtyard: "The ghost is right inside."

The steward chimed in with a timely explanation: "Fortunately, the ghost rarely leaves this place easily, otherwise my Liu estate would probably..."

"With this master present, I should like to see if that ghost still dares to show its face!" Accompanied by these arrogant words, Master Nanshan flicked his horsetail whisk and slowly stepped into the courtyard.

The woman with the red mole and the fierce-looking brute exchanged glances and followed him inside.

Master Liu stared at Zhao Yu for a moment, looking curious: "Master, why aren't you going in?"

Intent solely on cashing in his easy money, Zhao Yu could only nod: "I'm going in right now."

Originally, he had planned to wait until Master Nanshan finished dealing with the ghost so he could collect his money and leave... Still, since Master Nanshan was right inside, even if the ghost were sitting right by the well, things shouldn't be too problematic.

Once all four of them had entered.

Master Liu spoke with lightning speed: "Four masters, I shall return to unlock the gates tomorrow, or the moment you vanquish the ghost, I will open them immediately."

"Creak..."

Before the four of them could react, the people outside promptly locked the courtyard gates shut.

The fierce-looking brute sneered: "They clearly don't trust us."

Master Nanshan glanced at Zhao Yu: "To be precise, they don't trust him."

Seeing this, Zhao Yu appeared utterly sincere: "You guys go ahead and fight the ghost, I won't get in your way."

After all, these three were genuine experts.

He smoothly scurried over to the corner of the wall.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Yu brought over a wooden stool and began tugging at a stone table.

Master Nanshan and the other two couldn't help but narrow their eyes... That waist-high stone table had been hauled directly to the corner by Zhao Yu alone?

That kind of raw strength didn't look like something an ordinary person possessed.

Zhao Yu draped himself over the table and said earnestly: "You guys go ahead and fight the ghost, don't mind me."

He was just here to pick up some quick cash, and he had even made arrangements with the steward beforehand.

Master Nanshan and the other two wanted to say something, but the words stuck in their throats... With that kind of physical strength, even if he couldn't beat a ghost, beating living people probably wouldn't be too hard.

Ultimately, the fierce-looking brute changed the subject: "Do you guys think there really is a ghost?"

The woman with the red mole shook her head without a second thought: "Of course not. Otherwise, the Liu family would have been wiped out long ago. Besides, do you take the town's deity for a mere decoration?"

She then added, with profound implication: "If ghosts were real, the three of us wouldn't have gathered together here. Am I right?"

Every human settlement of any size was bound to enshrine a deity, and that deity would suppress all evil spirits and lingering grudges to protect the peace of the common folk!

No deity? A settlement without a deity would be devoured by evil entities in an extremely short span of time!

Master Nanshan flicked his horsetail whisk once more: "A ghost is likely non-existent, but human malice is undoubtedly abundant. The three of us would still do well to exercise caution tonight."

"Let's find a place to rest," the fierce-looking brute said as he surveyed the rooms.

The three of them completely ignored Zhao Yu, each choosing a room of their own to retire to.

Zhao Yu was startled.

He couldn't help running over to the vicinity of the well: "The thing they're supposed to be fighting... wasn't you after all?"

By the well stood a disheveled woman with her eyes closed, black miasma billowing from her entire body.

Zhao Yu also noticed that several crimson threads were attached to the woman's body; one end of these threads was connected to her limbs and bones while the other vanished into midair, leading to an unknown destination.

In response to Zhao Yu's inquiry, the woman remained silent.

"Fine, keep your secrets," a disgruntled Zhao Yu muttered as he quietly retreated back to the corner.

At the same time, he shrank his neck defensively.

As expected of a powerful monster formidable enough to require Master Nanshan's personal intervention... He couldn't even figure out who they were supposed to be fighting.

He had better be careful and keep his back against the wall to avoid being ambushed.

After thinking it over, Zhao Yu chanted quietly: "Whether you're human malice or a ghost of untold proportions, I'm just here for the money. I'm not fighting you, so please don't come looking for me..."