Chapter 7: Night, the Courtyard is Full of Ghosts

Seeing her take out money, the expressions of Grandma Xu and Aunt Zhang both changed.

Grandma Xu put on a stern face. "Yang Fan, what are you doing? We give you a few things, and you want to pay us? What do you take us for?"

Aunt Zhang added, "We didn't bring these things here to sell to you."

Yang Fan explained, "No... Grandma Xu..."

"No what? We gave these to you as a gift; we don't want your money." Grandma Xu placed the items on the table, grabbed Aunt Zhang, and walked outside.

"Yang Fan, don't bother cooking at home these next few days. Just come over to my place to eat."

The elderly woman’s legs were still quite nimble; by the time she finished that sentence, she had already reached the courtyard.

Yang Fan: "...Alright."

She couldn't refuse that last part—who else was going to cook for her, seeing as she truly didn't know how?

Putting the hundred-yuan bill back into her pocket, she looked down at the food in her arms and the daily necessities on the table.

Yang Fan thought to herself that catching the ghosts stealing the vegetables tonight would serve as payment enough.

In the evening, Grandpa Li came to call her for dinner. Yang Fan didn't stand on ceremony and went over to have another meal.

For dinner, Grandma Xu had made stir-fried pork, preserved vegetable steamed pork, stir-fried potatoes with chili, and a plate of braised eggplant.

It was delicious and went perfectly with rice; Yang Fan polished off two full bowls before finally putting her bowl down.

Seeing her eat so much, Grandma Xu couldn't have been happier.

After dinner, she wanted to help clean up and wash the dishes, but after breaking two bowls, she was ruthlessly kicked out of the kitchen by Grandpa Li.

When it was time to go home, Grandma Xu insisted on walking her back.

Outside, the sky was growing dark. On the way, Grandma Xu cautioned her, "Yang Fan, don't go wandering around at night, especially after 10 o'clock. Go to sleep early and don't go out."

Yang Fan’s eyes flickered. It seemed these elderly people had sensed something as well. She feigned innocence and asked, "Why is that, Grandma Xu?"

Grandma Xu replied, "You’re a young girl; it’s not safe to be out late at night. Listen to Grandma Xu and don't go out at night."

Yang Fan nodded. "Okay, I understand, Grandma Xu."

In just a few words, the two reached her gate. Watching her walk into the courtyard, Grandma Xu turned and left.

Standing in the courtyard and watching the old woman return home, Yang Fan turned and went back into the living room. She sat on the sofa and began to meditate. Slowly, the spiritual energy in the surroundings gathered toward her, entering her body bit by bit.

As time passed second by second, the once-quiet courtyard suddenly became noisy.

"Have the loquats on this tree all been picked? How come there are so few left?"

Several dark shadows gathered under the loquat tree, talking as they looked at the sparse fruit on the branches.

"The person in this house is back; she must have picked them."

"That greedy girl, picking so many."

"Heh heh... she must think the things we've eaten taste good," the shadow’s voice sounded incredibly lecherous.

"The person here is back—does that mean the post station is opening today!" one of the shadows realized the main point.

That’s right! The person here is back, so the post station must be opening! That meant they could finally pick up their packages!

Seeing everyone heading toward the post station, the shadows under the tree followed along.

At the entrance of the post station, countless dark shadows stood and discussed.

"Finally, a new station master has arrived. I wonder what this new one is like? I hope she’s capable and doesn't turn out useless like the last one."

"I heard it’s the last station master’s niece, that young girl named Yang Fan."

The shadow with the coarsest voice heard that the new station master was a young girl and immediately let out a mocking laugh. "Then this Yellow Springs Post Station is as good as ours to command."

"Hahaha, the packages inside will definitely be ours to pick and choose from."

Another shadow chimed in, "The boss is mighty!"

The shadows standing further back, hearing the words of those in front, looked at the people beside them and saw only despair in those pitch-black eyes.

"What time is it already? Why haven't they opened the door? Hurry up and go urge her!"

"Yes, boss."

Several shadows drifted toward the small building.

Sitting in the living room, the voices of the shadows outside reached Yang Fan’s ears without missing a word. She slowly opened her eyes, a flash of imperceptible killing intent crossing them, and exhaled a breath of stale air.

*Knock, knock, knock, knock.*

The knocking was incessant.

Yang Fan stood up, and as she turned, she saw many ghostly faces pressed against the window behind the sofa.

Those faces were twisted and distorted. Some had blood constantly seeping from their pale gray eyes, smearing their entire faces and the window glass. Others had their features scattered—mouths where eyes should be—their faces a bloody, fleshy mess.

Such a visually shocking scene would have scared an ordinary person half to death, but as Yang Fan looked at it, her calm face instantly fell.

These ghosts were dead! How dare they dirty her window!

Seeing her expression change, the ghosts outside thought they had scared her and gloated triumphantly.

"Hahaha... she’s scared of us."

Thinking Yang Fan was terrified, the ghosts twisted and deformed their faces even more horribly.

Yang Fan watched them court death coldly and raised her hand to draw a Soul-Suppressing Talisman. Golden runes appeared in the air.

The ghosts outside stared blankly at the golden talisman in the air.

"Hey... what is that thing?" one ghost asked naively.

"Run! This woman can draw talismans!" A sharp, piercing shriek rang out.

The ghosts scattered, trying to flee, but it was too late.

Yang Fan waved her hand, and the golden talisman expanded rapidly, covering the entire house and the courtyard outside. Every ghost in the courtyard was struck by the golden light.

Instantly, all the ghosts were frozen in place, unable to move.

"What's going on? Why can't I move?"

"I can't move either."

The ghosts who had been gloating just moments ago were now filled with terror.

The other ghosts were also bewildered; why couldn't they move?

Everything had been fine when they arrived.

Someone in the crowd of ghosts shouted, "Oh no! This woman can draw talismans!"

The person here could draw talismans—was she a Celestial Master?

Even a Celestial Master shouldn't just use talismans on ghosts; they were just good ghosts here to pick up their packages!

The noise in the courtyard grew even louder.

At that moment, the door of the small building opened. Yang Fan walked out, radiating murderous intent. The courtyard was pitch black, and as she stood in the doorway with the light behind her, she looked like a goddess descended from heaven, bathed in holy light.

The ghosts in the courtyard went silent instantly. The entire yard was deathly quiet as they stared at her in a daze.

The ghost who had been pushing to the front of the warehouse, the one who had claimed the Yellow Springs Post Station would be under his command, tried his best to minimize his presence the moment he saw Yang Fan. Unfortunately, pinned down by the Soul-Suppressing Talisman, he couldn't move.

A ghost's intuition told him that this woman was not to be trifled with.

Yang Fan stood in the doorway, looking at the courtyard packed full of ghosts, and spoke slowly, "You trespassed into my courtyard and stole the loquats from my tree. Tell me, what kind of death would you like?"

She casually drew a Five-Thunder Talisman, and the golden paper crackled with the sound of thunder.

(End of chapter)