The moon had been half-devoured by dark clouds. In the backyard of Liu Garden, an abandoned well stared blankly up at the sky like an unseeing eye.
The rope in Old Man Yang’s hands felt unnervingly heavy. The downward pull was so intense it felt as if he were dragging up the very bolt to the gates of hell.
He was a well-known old bachelor from the south of the city, usually scraping by a living emptying night soil for wealthy households. Tonight, he had heard that the "Wealth-Scattering Child," County Princess Anguo, was feeling charitable. It didn't matter where you came from; as long as you had the strength to work, there was money to be made. Bolstered by that promise, he had plucked up the courage to enter this rumored ghost house.
"Is there... a dead body stuffed down there?"
Old Man Yang muttered to himself, the veins on the back of his hands bulging. The wooden bucket was incredibly heavy, emitting a piercing grinding sound with every inch it rose, a noise that made one’s scalp tingle.
Click.
The bucket finally caught on the edge of the well.
There was no sudden stench of rot, nor the expected foul mud.
Using the flickering light of a torch wedged into a crevice in the rockery, Old Man Yang squinted his cloudy eyes to peer into the bucket.
Clang!
The rope slipped from his hands, and the bucket slammed heavily onto the well platform. A dark object rolled out, knocking off a layer of century-old silt. Under the cold moonlight, it flashed with a sharp, seductive golden light.
The radiance was so piercing it felt like a red-hot needle stabbing directly into Old Man Yang’s pupils, instantly igniting the greed that had simmered through decades of poverty.
It was gold.
A gold brick the size of a human head!
"Mother of God..."
Old Man Yang’s legs gave way, and he slumped onto the ground, his breath coming in ragged gasps like a bellows.
A few laborers who hadn't left yet heard the commotion and turned their heads.
"Old Man Yang, what’d you dig up? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!"
"Could it be silver coins buried by the previous owner?"
That was the way of the world: when people were poor, they feared ghosts; but when they saw money, a ghost became their own father.
A few of the bolder ones dropped their brooms, their eyes gleaming with a predatory green light as they crowded toward the well. It was the look of hungry wolves scenting blood, a look capable of tearing all reason to shreds.
Just as the greed was about to spiral out of control, a dark figure emerged silently from behind the rockery.
"Everyone, stay back!"
Li Sheng’s voice was flat, yet it made the air around them turn several degrees colder.
He was the Xu family’s steward. He had followed Xu Youde across the country for twenty years; there was nothing he hadn't seen. Even so, his eyelids twitched uncontrollably at the sight of the gold brick, but his mind remained sharp.
If these coolies realized there was gold at the bottom of the well, Liu Garden would turn into a slaughterhouse before the night was out.
"Old Man Yang, cover that up."
Li Sheng strode over in a few steps, planting a foot firmly on the gold brick and concealing it with his wide sleeves. With his other hand behind his back, he signaled frantically to his confidants.
"Go fetch the Master and the Young Lady! Tell them... we’ve dug up 'that thing' at the bottom of the well!"
...
In the water pavilion.
Xu Qinghuan had just taken a sip of tea and hadn't even swallowed when she choked at the news Li Sheng brought.
"Cough, cough... You mean, a gold brick?"
Xu Youde’s reaction was even more explosive. He jumped straight out of his armchair, and the red sandalwood commode lid he had been cradling hit his foot with a loud thud. He winced in pain but didn't even bother to rub it.
"How big? What’s the purity? Is there a whole chest of them?"
Xu Youde grabbed Li Sheng by the collar, spraying spit all over his face, his eyes nearly glowing green. "Take me there! My ancestors be praised, this isn't a haunted house—it’s a gold mine! This is the year-end bonus Heaven sent to us!"
"Dad, stay calm. Think about the big picture. Maintain your dignity."
Xu Qinghuan set down her teacup, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.
The balance on her system panel had hit rock bottom after her "city-wide rewards" and the "forty thousand taels for the house." This windfall had come at the perfect time.
But this money was hot to the touch.
"Uncle Li, has the area been cleared?" Xu Qinghuan stood up and straightened her robes.
"Not yet. Those laborers have sharp eyes; they saw the light," Li Sheng said anxiously. "They’re huddling around and refusing to leave, saying that whoever sees it gets a share."
"A share for whoever sees it?"
Xu Qinghuan let out a cold laugh. That was the funniest joke a capitalist could ever hear. "Fine, then I’ll give them a big share."
She picked up a plain folding fan from the table and tapped it against her palm, a playful expression crossing her face.
"Let’s go take a look. Remember, don’t say a word. Just follow my lead. Tonight, this County Princess is going to perform a little magic trick for you all."
...
The atmosphere in the backyard was eerie.
Seven or eight laborers stood in a circle. Though they were being held back by the Xu family guards, their eyes remained glued to the well, and they muttered under their breath.
"Why can't we see? We're the ones who dug it up!"
"Exactly! This house has been abandoned for decades. Anything underground is unclaimed; finders keepers!"
Some were already rolling up their sleeves, preparing to force their way through.
Snap!
A sharp sound rang out—the sound of a folding fan being slammed hard against a stone table.
Everyone startled and turned around.
County Princess Anguo, who had just been sipping tea in the pavilion, was now standing beneath the moon gate. She didn't look at anyone. Instead, she stared at the mud-covered gold brick on the ground. Her expression wasn't one of joy, but of... horror.
Absolute, sheer terror.
There was even a hint of nauseated disgust.
"Who told you to dig that up?!"
Xu Qinghuan’s voice was shrill and trembling as she pointed at Old Man Yang. "Do you want to die? If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"
The scene fell into a deathly silence.
This reaction... was wrong.
Shouldn't she be ecstatic? Shouldn't she be trying to hide it? Why was she acting like she’d seen the plague?
Xu Qinghuan pulled a silk handkerchief from her sleeve and pressed it tightly over her nose and mouth, as if fearing the gold brick carried some potent virus.
"Li Sheng! Quick! Get some black dog's blood! And glutinous rice! As much as you can find!"
She backed away, shouting at the stunned laborers, "What are you all standing there for? Get away from that thing! That’s 'Warding Gold'! It’s used to suppress the vengeful spirits at the bottom of this well!"
"Warding... Warding Gold?"
Old Man Yang shuddered. The term sounded ominous.
"Of course! Why do you think this place is called a haunted house? Why did the last three owners die?"
Xu Qinghuan’s eyes turned red—an Oscar-worthy performance. "At the bottom of this well lie the souls of those executed when the previous dynasty fell! That gold was used by Daoist priests to buy off the dead! Anyone who touches it becomes a scapegoat for the ghosts!"
She pointed at the gold brick, her voice so chilling it seemed to seep up from the frozen earth: "Look closely! Are there red spots on the gold? That’s blood that has seeped inside! Those are the eyes of the vengeful ghosts!"
