Hearing this, Wangxian and Lan Sizhui exchanged glances, and Lan Sizhui became more spirited.

Wei WuXian said, “I’d like to hear the details.”

After thinking for a while, Master Qin slowly said, "I don't have many details, and I don't know much about this person. When I was young, I grew up in my grandmother's house in a mountain village in a distant province. This person was a servant in my grandmother's house. Because he was close to me in age, we played together when we were young."

Wei WuXian said, “We’re childhood friends, so how can I not know him well?”

Master Qin: "Because we have grown older, we have become distant."

Wei WuXian asked, “Think about it, have you ever done anything to offend this servant?”

Master Qin said, "There is one thing, but I don't know how serious the offense is."

Lan Wangji said, “Speak.”

Young Master Qin said, "This servant served my grandmother all year round and stayed by her side. Because he was nimble and close in age to my grandson, my grandmother liked him very much and often praised him for his intelligence. He became a little arrogant because of this and always followed the children of our clan, not understanding the difference between master and servant. Later, my grandmother even let him study with us.

"One day, the teacher left a difficult assignment. During the discussion, someone came up with an answer. The classmates were praising it, but the servant suddenly said it was wrong."

Young Master Qin said, "At that time, the servant had only been there for a month or two, but our family had already been studying for two or three years. It was needless to say who was right and who was wrong. Someone immediately refuted him. But he was very stubborn and kept saying that the previous person's answer was wrong and wanted to show us his solution. Finally, everyone in the classroom got annoyed and kicked him out together."

Hearing this, Lan Sizhui couldn't help but say, "Mr. Qin, even if he is annoying you, he hasn't done anything excessive... Why chase him away?"

Wei WuXian said, “Master Qin, it sounds like a group of you clan members have offended him. Do you have a special position among them? Otherwise, he would definitely not just look for you, but all of you.”

Young Master Qin said, "I was the first one to ask him to leave. I was just saying it, but everyone was already upset with him and it got out of control. This guy actually has a bad temper. He went back and told my grandmother that he would not go anymore, and he never went again."

Wei WuXian said, “I will ask two more questions. Master Qin, you must answer me truthfully.”

Young Master Qin said, "Ask."

“First question.” Wei WuXian’s eyes were bright as he asked, “You said earlier that ‘someone came up with the first answer’. Is this ‘someone’ you?”

After a pause, Master Qin asked, "Is this important?"

Wei WuXian said, “Then, the second question—who is right and who is wrong in solving the homework?”

Young Master Qin had a bad look on his face. He shook his sleeves and said calmly, "It's been a few years since then. I'm sorry I can't remember everything clearly. But to be fair, who hasn't done some inexplicable things and met some inexplicable people when they were young and impulsive? Please don't dwell on it. I just want to resolve this matter as soon as possible."

Wei WuXian smiled and said, “Okay. I understand. I understand.”

Lan Wangji asked, "When did this person die?"

Young Master Qin said, "About two years."

Wei WuXian asked, “Two years? Not bad, not considered a corpse, but not fresh either. How did he die? Did he commit suicide?”

"No. I heard that he was drunk and running around in the middle of the night, and he didn't pay attention to his step and fell to his death."

"If it's not suicide, then the situation is a little better. Mr. Qin, is there anything else?"

"Gone."

"Then please go back first. The talisman will be delivered to your house later. If you think of anything else, please remember to let us know at any time."

After returning to Xiaozhu Pavilion, Lan Sizhui closed the door, turned around and exhaled, saying: "This Mr. Qin... is really... really..."

Lan Wangji suddenly said, "Two years."

Wei WuXian said, “Yes, two years is a bit strange.”

Lan Sizhui asked, “Strange?”

Wei WuXian pulled out a blank talisman paper from his sleeve and said, “If the evil spirit is full of hatred and wants to take revenge, it will usually haunt you on the seventh night. For those that take longer, it is common to haunt you within a year. Since it has already turned into a vicious corpse, why did it take two years to come to me?”

Lan Sizhui guessed, "Could it be that we haven't been able to find Mr. Qin's address after he moved in the past two years?"

He imagined the scene of the corpse knocking on the doors of every household every night, looking to see if it was Master Qin inside, and he felt a slight chill in his spine.

Wei WuXian said, “No. This evil corpse has an old relationship with Young Master Qin. It shouldn’t be difficult to find him by following his scent. Moreover, if it is as you said, it will go to the wrong places in the process of searching for Young Master Qin. There should be more than one such incident of evil corpses knocking on doors. Lan Zhan, you have read more files than me and remember more than me. Have you seen similar records in the past two years?”

He entered the study, and Lan Wangji said, "It's not related."

Wei WuXian said, “That’s it… Lan Zhan, I can’t find the cinnabar.” He took out a pen and said, “I used it last night! Has anyone seen the cinnabar?”

Lan Wangji also entered the study and found the cinnabar. Wei Wuxian tapped the tip of his pen twice in the exquisite little cup, then poured a cup of tea and sat down at the table. He drank tea with his left hand and held the pen with his right hand. He drew furiously on the talisman paper without even looking at it, and said to Lan Wangji, "If you don't remember it, then it's definitely gone. So, there must be other reasons why it didn't touch Master Qin for two years. Okay, I'm done."

He took up the talisman on the table that was still wet with cinnabar and handed it to Lan Sizhui, saying, "Send it to him."

Lan Sizhui took it and looked at it from left to right, but he couldn't understand it at all. He had never seen such crazy, chaotic and eclectic runes in any book. He couldn't help but ask, "Senior Wei, this one... wasn't just a random drawing by you, was it?"

Wei WuXian said, “Of course.”

“…”

"I never use my eyes to draw talismans."

“…”

Wei WuXian smiled and said, “Don’t worry, it will definitely work. Speaking of which, SiZhui, do you dislike this Young Master Qin?”

Lan Sizhui thought for a moment and said, "I don't know either." He said truthfully, "He hasn't done anything terribly evil, but it might be difficult for me to get along with someone of this character. I don't really like the tone he uses when he mentions 'servants'..."

There was a pause. Wei WuXian was completely unaware and said, “It’s common. Most people in this world look down on servants. Sometimes even servants look down on themselves... Why do you look at me like this?”

Halfway through his words, he said with a smile: "Stop, what misunderstanding do you have? How can this be compared? Lotus Pier is not an ordinary family. When I was a child, I beat Jiang Cheng more times than he beat me!"

Lan Wangji didn't say anything, but hugged him silently. Wei Wuxian couldn't help laughing, and hugged him back, rubbing his back a few times. Lan Sizhui coughed, and was relieved to see that Wei Wuxian was calm and not sensitive to the word "servant".

Wei WuXian added: “However, I’m afraid he will come again.”

Lan Sizhui was startled and asked, "Can't it be resolved today?"

Lan Wangji said, “He didn’t finish his words.”

Wei WuXian said, “Yes. Anyway, it’s not the first time. There’s nothing you can do with this kind of person. You just have to let him speak little by little. Let’s see if he can finish it all at once tomorrow after tonight.”

As expected, the next day, when Lan Sizhui was practicing sword in the courtyard of Xiaozhuxuan early in the morning, Master Qin came again.

As soon as he arrived, he said bluntly: "I don't care!"

Lan Sizhui hurriedly said, “Young Master Qin, please stay! My two seniors are sleeping… they are practicing! They are at a critical juncture in their practice, so don’t disturb them!”

Hearing this, Master Qin did not force his way into the yard, but he still vented all his resentment on Lan Sizhui: "I don't want to hear about treating the symptoms or the root cause! I don't want this thing to come to me again!!!"

On the second night, Master Qin couldn't sleep as usual, so he read by lamplight in the lobby. Not long after, the murderous corpse - the servant - arrived as usual.

It still couldn't get into the house, so it jumped around outside the door, occasionally hitting the door, but it didn't break the wooden window and paper. Not long after, the noise faded away. Mr. Qin, who hadn't slept well for several days, couldn't hold on any longer. He was so sleepy that he fell asleep while sitting with his head tilted.

He was in a daze for an unknown period of time when he suddenly heard three crisp knocks on the door. His whole body tensed up, his spine straightened, and he woke up suddenly.

A woman outside the door said, "Husband."

Young Master Qin was sleeping so soundly that he didn't even recognize his father. When he heard Madam Qin's voice, he stood up and tried to open the door. But after a few steps, he suddenly remembered that Madam Qin had been crying and arguing with him for the past few days and couldn't live like this. She packed up her things and went back to her parents' home yesterday. Since she went home because she was afraid, how could she have the courage to come back alone in the middle of the night?

A woman's graceful figure was reflected on the paper window, and it really looked like his wife. But Master Qin did not dare to be careless, and quietly drew out his sword and asked, "Madam, why are you back? Are you not angry anymore?"

The woman outside the door said calmly: "I'm back, I'm not angry, please open the door."

Young Master Qin didn't dare to open the door rashly. He pointed his sword at the door and said, "Madam, it's safer for you to go back to your father-in-law's place. What if it hasn't left yet and is still lingering around this house? What should we do then?"

There was silence outside the door.

Young Master Qin's hand holding the sword broke out in cold sweat.

Suddenly, the woman raised her voice and screamed, "Why don't you open the door! There's a ghost! Let me in!"

The real or fake Madam Qin outside the door was clinging to the paper window and screaming. Young Master Qin's scalp was tingling, and he held the talisman that Wei Wuxian had sent over in his hand. Suddenly, a surge of blood rushed up, and he rushed out of the door with his sword in hand.

Young Master Qin said: "Then a bunch of things came crashing down on me and knocked me unconscious."

Wei WuXian asked, “What knocked you out?”

Young Master Qin pointed to the table. Wei WuXian looked at it and asked in great joy, "Why is it fruit?"

Young Master Qin was angry: "How should I know!"

Wei WuXian said, “Of course you know. No one knows except you. Evil spirits always bear grudges. Have you ever hit him with fruit before?”

Young Master Qin remained silent and gloomy. Wei Wuxian knew from his expression that his guess was almost correct, but he would definitely not admit it, so he did not ask any more questions. When Young Master Qin spoke again, he really changed the subject, "I sent someone to ask my father-in-law this morning, and my wife did not leave their house last night."

Wei WuXian said, “That is a thing that is specifically designed to break the protective barrier of a house. It is rarely seen in the notes and ancient books of the predecessors. In itself, it does no harm to people, but it can imitate the voice, color, and figure of the people close to the owner of the house. It often cooperates with the evil spirits that cannot enter the house, helping them and tricking you into opening the door. That evil corpse has found a good helper.”

Young Master Qin said, "Whatever it is, it's useless for me to know it. Young Master, the second door has been broken, and this thing has entered my lobby. May I ask if you are going to tell me again that there is nothing to do?"

“Master Qin,” Wei WuXian said, “Let’s be reasonable. You opened the second door yourself. If it weren’t for my talisman, I wouldn’t dare to tell you what shape you would be in now.”

Young Master Qin choked and said angrily, "If this continues, the next time I wake up, I will see that thing standing at the head of my bed!"

Wei WuXian said, “If you really want to sleep peacefully, Master Qin, you should quickly think about whether there is anything you forgot to say. Do not hold back this time. You must know that tonight, hahahaha, I am not trying to scare you, it will arrive at your bedroom door.”

Out of desperation, Master Qin had to say one more thing.

"The last time I saw this person was two years ago when I returned to my hometown to worship my parents and ancestors. At that time, I went back to the old family house to worship and wore a jade pendant."

Young Master Qin said, "He recognized it as something that belonged to my grandmother and asked me to borrow it to have a look. I thought he probably wanted to remember his grandmother, so I gave it to him. But he didn't look at it for long before he lost the jade pendant."

Wei WuXian asked, “What do you mean lost? Did he lose it or sell it?”

Master Qin hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't know. I originally thought he sold it and came back claiming it was lost. But..."

He didn’t respond, so Wei WuXian patiently asked, “But what?”

Lan Wangji had a cold expression from beginning to end, and said, "You can talk as you please."

Young Master Qin said, "But now that I think about it, he shouldn't sell my grandmother's things."

"Later I heard that this man loved drinking, and he probably drank too much at night and lost it, or it was stolen. Anyway, I was angry at the time, so I scolded him."

Wei WuXian said, “Wait a minute. Master Qin, when it comes to matters of life and death, there can be no ambiguity. The word ‘reprimand’ can be light or heavy, and the difference can be huge. What exactly is ‘reprimand’?”

Young Master Qin's eyebrows jumped, and he added: "I remember that I gave him a slight beating."

Wei WuXian blinked and said, “This…his lame leg, could it be that he was broken by you?”