By the next day, the whole Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall incident had spread like wildfire across Peachvale County.
Peachvale’s number one wicked girl, May Wu, got beaten so badly she was unrecognizable, and that very night the Wu Family hustled her out of the county—no one knows where she went. The Wu Family slammed their mansion gates shut, and all their businesses outside basically ground to a halt.
Same deal for Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall, which had been the hottest spot in town: local law enforcement posted an official notice claiming it was busted for vice and prostitution, but everyone knew the real story—it was haunted now, and not by any ordinary ghosts, but by the nastiest kind. Even the gutsiest folks wouldn’t dare set foot inside.
What really made people cheer, though, was how May Wu’s infamous clique of rich socialites—all notorious for playing around with guys—got totally wrecked. After getting schooled by a gang of toughs and ghostly thugs, they disappeared off the map, and Peachvale’s social scene suddenly got a whole lot cleaner.
Meanwhile, over in Grand Bay Town, Lily’s Country Inn was absolutely slammed—customers poured in nonstop, and pretty much anyone with a bit of spare cash showed up, some dragging their whole families along, scared they’d miss out if they didn’t get a taste.
Lily Liu was run off her feet, but honestly loving it. The inn had never been this busy—business was up tenfold compared to normal, and with the staff stretched thin, everyone pitched in. Frank Qin butchered fish and meat, Warren Yuan handled the stove, Sophie Su greeted guests, Jason Lin and his Axe Club brothers waited tables, while Ryan Ling and Lily Liu manned the register.
Even though nobody got a break all day, everyone felt genuinely happy—the work was so satisfying, it beat going out on vacation.
At night, the whole crew would kick back, drink, and chat like family. Lily Liu’s years of bitterness just melted away—her face was all smiles, and she even kept egging Ryan and Sophie on to hurry up and give her a little nephew to spoil.
Sophie Su’s face went crimson, burying herself in Ryan Ling’s arms, while Ryan freaked out—if Lily kept this up, he’d lose his manhood for sure! He quickly changed the subject.
Warren Yuan, ever sharp, steered the talk over to Greencrest Garden—the haunted luxury apartment complex in Grand Bay Town. Ryan Ling was still half-distracted by Sophie, but he was also gearing up to investigate, though Warren seemed to have already scoped the place out.
“Greencrest Garden is seriously messed up. Even now, in the middle of summer, step into that haunted place and it’s freezing—at least ten degrees colder, and at dawn there’s actual frost on the flowers and grass, just a sheet of white!” Warren Yuan said, taking a swig of beer and glancing at Ryan Ling.
Ryan Ling blurted out, “That much yin energy? What kind of monster ghost could do that?”
Back at the Prosperity Tower Banquet Hall fight, Ryan Ling had seen Mark Ma and his crew let a fierce ghost loose, and Warren Yuan’s face literally frosted over from the yin energy.
But to cover a whole apartment complex in frost? That’s some next-level yin energy.
Just thinking about it made Ryan Ling and the others shiver.
Some of them didn’t know much about ghost arts, but after hanging out together, everyone had picked up a little.
“I just don’t think it’s a ghost. No matter how fierce, a ghost couldn’t make it that insanely cold.” Warren Yuan shook his head, looking serious.
“Not a ghost—so maybe another pain-in-the-ass zombie…?” Jason Lin blurted, glancing at Frank Qin.
But before he could finish saying 'zombie,' Frank Qin whipped around and stared him down.
“Sorry, you’re not a pain at all, you’re actually kinda cute!” Jason Lin said, facepalming with embarrassment.
“So if it’s not a ghost, what the heck is it?” Ryan Ling wondered, finding the whole thing pretty tricky after hearing Warren Yuan’s explanation.
“No clue. But Greencrest Garden is having some kind of exorcism fair tomorrow—let’s check it out first!” Warren Yuan said. Ryan Ling nodded right away; it made sense to test the waters. He was eager to set up the Hell Court, but if the risk was insane, there was no need to insist on this spot.
Jason Lin and Frank Qin were both curious, especially Jason, who wanted to see what all the fuss was about. But Sophie Su and Lily Liu just shook their heads—being girls, even hearing about it was scary enough, no way they’d actually go.
The next morning, Jason Lin drove, and the crew headed for Greencrest Garden. It’s right on the best spot by Clearwater Lake—scenic, gorgeous, basically Peachvale’s own paradise.
After about ten minutes, they hit a massive lake—Clearwater Lake. Lily Liu’s Country Inn is near a wild lake, but compared to this, it’s nothing. Ryan Ling rolled down the window, took a deep breath, and instantly felt recharged.
“This place is awesome—a feng-shui jackpot! Look at Clearwater Lake, doesn’t it look like a dragon’s head?” Warren Yuan exclaimed.
“It does! I’ve been here a bunch of times and never noticed.” Jason Lin stopped the car, and everyone got out to enjoy the view from a high ridge.
Ryan Ling was stunned—the lake’s dragon eyes, horns, and even whiskers were faintly visible, with a hint of dragon spirit in the air. No wonder the System rated it a third-class yin dwelling; even ancient emperors’ tombs were usually just fifth-class. Having a third-class site in a small county was wild.
“Now look at Greencrest Garden’s spot—what does it look like?” Warren Yuan pointed at the dragon’s mouth, where several villas sparkled gold in the morning sunlight.
“Looks like a ball—a golden ball!” Jason Lin replied, quick as ever.
“Exactly! In feng-shui terms, this is the classic ‘Golden Dragon Spitting a Pearl’—whoever lives here is bound to strike it rich. The developer must’ve hired a feng-shui master, but missed that the place would attract evil spirits.” As Warren Yuan spoke, the sound of a suona drifted over, then bells and chanting—the exorcism fair at Greencrest Garden was already underway.
“Enough talk—let’s go check it out!” Ryan Ling said, and everyone piled back into the car and headed for the haunted spot.
A couple minutes later, they arrived at Peachvale’s most notorious haunted zone.
There were a bunch of guys in wide Daoist robes spitting fire with gasoline, old women dressed as shamans dancing, and monks chanting around the sales office. It was a circus.
It was quite the scene, with villagers crowding in to watch. But even with all the commotion, the exorcism fair felt like a total mess—disjointed and pretty ridiculous.
A young woman bustled around, clearly the manager of Greencrest Garden. She must’ve been desperate—she’d called in every “expert” she could think of.
But to people in the know, it was obvious this was just a farce.
Ryan Ling glanced at the spectacle and had to agree with Warren Yuan—the temperature here was freakishly low. In his short sleeves, his hands and feet were already icy, and he couldn’t help but want to step closer.
“Don’t go any closer!” Warren Yuan grabbed him.
“Warren, what do you see?” Ryan Ling asked, noticing Warren Yuan’s weird expression.
“It’s already dangerous here, and their antics are making things worse. I can feel a strong hostile will.” Warren Yuan, as a senior Orthodox Unity Daoist, had seen plenty of supernatural messes before.
Just as he finished speaking, a few people releasing baskets of fish into Clearwater Lake suddenly screamed in panic…