When the manager heard that someone was willing to buy Number Seventeen at its original asking price, she initially thought Song Yuqing was joking.
It was only after Song Yuqing confirmed it twice that the manager finally took the matter seriously.
After several transfers, the call was eventually connected to the investment company that held the title to Number Seventeen.
The investment company had originally demanded full payment upfront. The property had fallen through several times in the past, and they were unwilling to waste any more time on buyers who might change their minds.
Song Yuqing relayed their conditions to Chen Xuan.
“They’re worried you won’t be able to pay the balance in three days, so they want the full amount paid today.”
“Tell them I won’t bargain, and I won’t be taking out a loan. I’ll pay three million yuan today, and I only need three days to pay the rest,” Chen Xuan said. “The contract can specify the penalties for late payment. In return, the purchase price must not change during those three days, and the seller must not accept any other offers.”
Song Yuqing contacted the company manager again.
Number Seventeen had been vacant for years, yet the property maintenance fees continued to accumulate every month. Its price had already been reduced several times, but no one was interested. Now that a buyer who genuinely seemed to want the house had finally appeared, the investment company naturally wasn’t willing to let him slip away simply because he needed three extra days.
A little over ten minutes later, the manager gave them an answer.
“Mr. Chen, the seller has agreed. However, they require the title to be verified and the formal contract signed today, and the three million yuan must be transferred into a supervised escrow account.” Song Yuqing’s face lit up with delight.
That was only natural. This cursed house was practically impossible to sell. No one was even willing to come and look at it.
And even when someone did come, it was usually just a wasted trip. They might as well spend that time finding more promising clients.
She was the only agent who had continued handling the property, simply because the commission for selling it was considerably higher than that for an ordinary house.
Now that a deal finally seemed within reach, she was naturally delighted.
“That’s fine.”
“There’s one more condition. The house will be delivered as-is. The furniture, renovations, and other fixtures will not be valued separately. Once the sale is completed, you will be responsible for all subsequent cleaning and repair costs.”
“That can be included in the contract as well.”
Chen Xuan glanced back at the courtyard gate.
“From the time the contract is signed until the handover is complete, the property must remain exactly as it is. The seller, the agency, and the property management company are all forbidden from entering without authorization. They must not move or remove anything inside, either.”
Song Yuqing was somewhat puzzled.
The house had been empty for two years. Apart from the furniture covered with dust sheets, there was hardly anything worth taking away.
Still, the request wasn’t unreasonable.
“I’ll have it added as a supplementary clause.”
She called the patrol car back and prepared to take Chen Xuan away.
The security guard behind the wheel visibly relaxed when he saw that the two of them had come out safely.
But during the drive, he learned through casual conversation that Chen Xuan had not only entered the basement, but was also planning to buy Number Seventeen. The way he looked at Chen Xuan immediately changed. He stole several glances at him through the rearview mirror, but in the end, he still didn’t dare ask any questions.
At half past one that afternoon, Chen Xuan arrived at the real estate agency.
The investment company had sent a representative responsible for asset disposal, accompanied by one of the company’s legal officers.
The two sides first verified the ownership status of Number Seventeen.
The property had a clear title, with no mortgage, seizure order, or outstanding debts.
After confirming that there were no problems with the documents, the agency began preparing the contract.
Chen Xuan carefully read through the main body of the contract and all the supplementary clauses, page by page.
He was required to transfer the remaining 5.88 million yuan into the escrow account before five o’clock in the afternoon three days later. Once the balance arrived, both parties would immediately complete the title transfer and handover of the property.
The contract also clearly stated that the buyer was aware that an accident had previously occurred at the property and was voluntarily purchasing it in its current condition. The seller, meanwhile, was forbidden from raising the price, selling it to someone else, or altering the property without authorization during the agreed period.
Chen Xuan also asked the agency to add the original architectural plans, existing renovation records, and all past repair records to the handover checklist.
These materials might not be enough to directly reveal the identity of the person who had set up the formation, but they could help narrow down the scope of his investigation.
After all, once he moved into the house, word of it would inevitably spread.
Although he had no idea what the person who set up the formation was trying to do, once that person learned that the surroundings of the house had changed, he would surely realize that the formation had been broken.
At that point, the fellow might return and cause trouble.
Investigating him in advance was simply a precaution.
In fact, among the inheritance of the Immortal King, Chen Xuan had received a divination technique that complemented the Primordial Creation Art. It was called the Heaven-Peering Art of Creation, and when cultivated to its utmost limit, it could see through everything in the past and future.
However, using it consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power.
With his current cultivation, he did not possess enough spiritual power to trace the past from nothing.
At the very least, he needed sufficient clues. By combining enough clues with the Heaven-Peering Art of Creation, he could greatly reduce the spiritual power required.
That was why, in the cultivation world where Chen Xuan had once lived, many divination masters who genuinely possessed great skill would still ask the person seeking a reading for detailed information.
Even if they were capable of calculating everything about someone from thin air, doing so consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual power.
Sometimes, even seemingly simple information casually provided by the person being read—such as their name or age—would already require a considerable amount of spiritual power to calculate.
Chen Xuan certainly did not have such abundant spiritual power to waste on reckless divinations.
The investment company’s representative read through the newly added clauses and raised no objections.
As far as they were concerned, as long as they could sell Number Seventeen, those old records—which had long since lost most of their value—could be handed over to Chen Xuan without a second thought.
Once the contract had been signed, Chen Xuan went to a nearby bank and transferred three million yuan into the escrow account.
When she saw the payment receipt, the last trace of doubt in Song Yuqing’s heart disappeared completely.
The ordinary-looking young man standing before her had really paid three million yuan to secure the haunted house that no one in Jiangzhou dared to buy.
After leaving the bank, Song Yuqing handed Chen Xuan a copy of the contract.
“Mr. Chen, the property has been removed from all sales listings. By tomorrow afternoon, we’ll have organized the title verification report and all the property records we can locate.”
“When will I receive the property deed?”
“After the balance is paid, when you complete the title transfer.”
Song Yuqing paused for a moment.
“If you change your mind during these three days, you’d better contact us as soon as possible. Under the terms of the contract, the buyer will have to pay a substantial penalty for withdrawing unilaterally.”
“I won’t change my mind.”
Chen Xuan put away the contract and took a car home alone.
When he opened the door to the rented apartment, Chen Yan was sitting in the living room, waiting for news. The moment she saw the document bag in Chen Xuan’s hand, she immediately stood up.
“How’s the house?”
“It’s excellent. It’s not a haunted house at all. It’s actually a blessed place. I’ve already bought it.”
Chen Yan froze.
“What? That fast?”
“The title hasn’t been transferred yet. I only signed the contract for now.” Chen Xuan handed the document bag to his sister.
Chen Yan pulled out the contract and flipped straight to the sections detailing the price and payment schedule. When she saw that three million yuan had already been paid and that the balance was due in three days, she was speechless for a long time.
“Brother, you went to look at a house. How did you actually end up buying it?”
“The house is suitable, and the price is suitable too. Why wouldn’t we buy it? A blessed place like this is impossible to find even with a lantern. Since no one else recognizes its value, we have to hurry and seize the opportunity,” Chen Xuan said with a beaming smile.
Zhou Lan came out of the kitchen, still wearing her apron. She had not even had time to untie it when she heard their conversation.
“Little Xuan, you’ve already paid?”
“Three million.”
“What about the rest?”
“I’ll pay it in three days.”
“What if you can’t come up with it? You’ll have to hand over half of that three million as compensation for breach of contract. How could you agree to terms like that, big brother?” Chen Yan was stunned after carefully reading through the contract.
Her exclamation immediately drew Zhou Lan over as well.
“Are you sure the Qin family will pay you another 5.88 million in three days?” The joy on Zhou Lan’s face instantly turned into worry.
If he breached the contract, they would lose 1.5 million in one stroke!
For a family that had struggled through the past ten years, that was an astronomical sum.
Chen Jianguo took the contract and read it for a long time.
“How much exactly did the Qin family promise to pay you for the remaining medical treatment?”
“We didn’t discuss that.”
“You didn’t discuss it, yet you dared to sign a contract with a 1.5-million penalty for breach?”
Chen Jianguo’s tone was not harsh, but his brows remained tightly furrowed.
“Dad, since I dared to sign it, I have a way to gather the money before the deadline. You can rest assured.”
Chen Jianguo studied his son for a while before lowering his head to look over the contract again.
“This is money you earned yourself. You can spend it however you want; your father won’t interfere. I just want to know how confident you really are.”
“Ten out of ten.”
Chen Xuan answered without the slightest hesitation.
“As long as you know what you’re doing.”
Chen Jianguo handed the contract back to him.
Chen Yan was still staring at the document.
“Big brother, everyone online says this house is haunted. You called it a blessed place—what exactly did you mean?”
“I went inside and took a look. The feng shui beneath the house is excellent. Someone simply altered it using the wrong method.”
“What about the people who died there?”
“That has nothing to do with the house itself.”
Chen Xuan did not elaborate.
The Three-Yin Vein-Stealing Formation involved the souls of a mother and her two children. Telling his family about it would only frighten them further. Until he completely broke the formation, he would not allow any of them to set foot inside Number Seventeen.
Seeing that Chen Xuan had not bought the house on impulse, Zhou Lan’s worries eased somewhat.
After the family enjoyed a harmonious dinner together, Chen Xuan spent the night in the cramped second bedroom, circulating the Primordial Creation Art several times.
The spiritual energy around the rental apartment was practically negligible. He could only rely on the food he had consumed at dinner, converting its energy through the miraculous power of the Primordial Creation Art.
The vortex of energy in his dantian recovered extremely slowly. The spiritual power he had expended while detoxifying Zhao Qingya had not yet been fully replenished. Fortunately, the second acupuncture treatment would not require him to extract large amounts of poison from her internal organs, so his current cultivation was already sufficient.
What truly concerned him was the earth vein beneath Number Seventeen.
That subsidiary formation had been operating for years, and most of the earth-vein energy it siphoned away had already been transmitted elsewhere. But as long as he severed the hidden vein and set up a Spirit-Gathering Formation of his own, the spiritual energy in the area would converge with the earth-vein energy. His cultivation efficiency would then far exceed what it was now.
However, setting up the formation required him to prepare the materials in advance.
The materials for a Spirit-Gathering Formation were easy to obtain in the cultivation world. In this ordinary mortal world, however, he would have to search for them.
The next morning, after breakfast, Chen Xuan prepared to make a trip to Jiangzhou’s antique market.
To set up the most basic Spirit-Gathering Formation, he needed jade with good spiritual conductivity to serve as the formation’s foundation stones. If he could not find suitable spirit jade, naturally formed jade with relatively few impurities would serve as a barely adequate substitute. It simply could not withstand as much spiritual energy, and would have to be replaced after being used for a period of time.
In addition, he needed an old piece of wood with enough age to serve as the formation’s core, as well as cinnabar, copper plates, and other auxiliary materials.
He had already asked Zhao Tianxiong to keep an eye out for gemstones and ancient wood. Those were for his long-term plans. The Spirit-Gathering Formation did not require anything too fine or expensive.
He could find these minor items himself.
Just after Chen Xuan stepped outside and took out his phone to call a rideshare, it suddenly rang.
It was Qin Zhenghai calling.
Seeing the number, Chen Xuan suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Boss Qin, why are you calling so early? Is something wrong?”
As soon as the call connected, Qin Zhenghai’s voice came through. He was clearly anxious and forcing down his anger.
“Mr. Chen, where are you right now?”
He did not even have time for pleasantries and went straight to the point.
“At home.”
“Are you free at the moment?”
“I don’t have anything particularly urgent to do.”
“Could you send me your address? I’ll send someone to pick you up right away.”
“What happened?”
Qin Zhenghai did not hide anything.
“Yufei was kidnapped by Xu Wenshan. After you sent me that message yesterday, I immediately sent people to investigate. But I don’t know how he realized what was happening. Before we could determine the truth, he kidnapped Yufei and demanded a ransom of one hundred million.
“The money isn’t the problem. Her safety is. I had no other options. Since you were able to see at a glance that something was wrong with Xu Wenshan, I thought you might have a way to deal with this. I’m afraid I have no choice but to trouble you.”
“All right. We’ll discuss the details when I get there. I’m on my way. I’ll send you the address.”
Chen Xuan’s gaze sharpened slightly.
He had noticed the thick resentment surrounding Xu Wenshan and had warned Qin Zhenghai to investigate him in secret. He had not expected Xu Wenshan to be so perceptive. Not only had he detected the Qin family’s movements, he had also kidnapped Qin Yufei and taken her hostage.
Chen Xuan did not continue asking questions over the phone.
He returned to the living room and said to his parents, “The Qin family has run into a bit of trouble and asked me to go over.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“It’s nothing major. You don’t need to worry about it.”
His parents had taken quite a liking to Miss Qin. If they learned that she had gone missing, they would certainly become anxious as well. Chen Xuan could only keep it from them.
“Will you be back for lunch?” Zhou Lan asked.
“I’m not sure yet. Don’t wait for me.”
Chen Xuan hurried out and sent his address to Qin Zhenghai. Less than ten minutes later, a black SUV came speeding over and stopped outside the residential complex.
The driver was one of Qin Zhenghai’s bodyguards.
The vehicle sped out of the western district and eventually entered the Qin family’s ancestral residence in eastern Jiangzhou.
Several cars were parked in the courtyard. Nearly all the bodyguards normally responsible for protecting the Qin family had returned. Several men in plain clothes were examining traffic-monitoring footage and vehicle records in the living room. A map of Jiangzhou and several computers that continuously relayed updates were spread across the table.
Qin Zhenghai stood before the floor-to-ceiling window. In the space of a single morning, his eyes had already become bloodshot. The moment he saw Chen Xuan enter, he hurried forward to meet him.