Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 495

Chapter 495: Chapter 495

"I heard Fanzi mention just now that you’re a police officer?"

Old Sir Shen didn’t seem to care about the investigation results Xiang Xue Ting had mentioned and instead followed up with a question.

Xiang Xue Ting hadn’t had the chance to inquire about Old Sir Shen and Liang Laoshi’s identities and involuntarily glanced at Yang Fan.

Yang Fan understood and said, "These are Mr. Shen and Mr. Liang. They are the real experts. I’ve just started in the field; I’m just a newbie. The situation in your neighborhood is overly complicated, I had no choice but to call for backup."

"Is that so?" Xiang Xue Ting smiled awkwardly, a bit embarrassed, "Old Shen, yes, I’m a police officer."

"I need you to find a way to evacuate the residents of this community, is that possible?" Old Sir Shen asked.

Xiang Xue Ting was about to make tea but stopped upon hearing this, speaking with some difficulty, "Old Shen, this matter is indeed quite difficult. I need to file a report with my superiors, and there must be a very legitimate reason."

"If it’s to remove these evil spirits or something of the sort, this reason obviously won’t hold up."

"Whether or not it holds up, I’m afraid this has to be done. If we can’t evacuate the residents and we rashly take action, it will be like poking a hole in a balloon; the mysterious will explode instantly, and by then, I suppose few would survive," Mr. Shen stated solemnly.

"Alternatively, you could try reporting the neighborhood’s situation, like whether there’s anything in common among the people who have died in the last few years, and give a detailed description. Someone should come to handle this matter then, and we won’t need to exhaust ourselves over it."

"Is it that serious?" Xiang Xue Ting asked in surprise.

Old Sir Shen nodded, "If possible, it would be best to entirely evacuate this area, but that is obviously much more difficult. Later, we’ll think of a way to isolate it, which should reduce some of the contamination."

"If the people in this community can’t be evacuated, then I’m also at a loss. I wouldn’t dare to gamble with the lives of hundreds. Since we need your cooperation, we actually should make some things clear to you, or, you can see for yourself. You can choose either way, to prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings."

Mr. Shen expressed his concerns transparently, fearing Xiang Xue Ting might misunderstand.

Xiang Xue Ting thought for a moment and asked, "I want to see for myself."

"Alright!"

Old Sir Shen nodded, quickly formed a hand seal, then dipped his fingers in some liquid that Yang Fan didn’t recognize and drew it gently across the space above Xiang Xue Ting’s eyes.

"Fanzi, take her around the community. Us old timers are getting on in years and will rest for now," Elder Liang said.

Yang Fan nodded.

Blinking her eyes, Xiang Xue Ting curiously looked around her room and said, "It doesn’t seem any different though."

Yang Fan chuckled lightly, "You’ll notice the difference. In this very room, we have already dealt with three ’differents.’ You’ll understand when you see them."

"Three ’differents’?" Xiang Xue Ting did not grasp Yang Fan’s jest and asked confusedly.

"Three ghosts!"

"What? That many?!" Xiang Xue Ting’s face immediately turned pale.

"Let’s go, I’ll take you out for a walk to see. In this community, I feel there are as many of those things as there are people," Yang Fan shook his head, "When I first came in, it gave me the creeps, it’s like a mix of humans and ghosts, a dance of demons and mortals."

Looking at Yang Fan with a mix of awe and uncertainty, Xiang Xue Ting asked, "Is it... is it really that scary?"

"Seeing is believing. Let’s go and see for ourselves first," Yang Fan gestured and led the way out.

"Okay... okay," Xiang Xue Ting, somewhat unnerved by Yang Fan’s words, quickly caught up with him.

Reaching the ground floor, Yang Fan glanced at the gust of wind whistling upward from the basement, "What’s down there?"

"A parking garage," Xiang Xue Ting replied.

"This shabby community even has an underground parking lot?" Yang Fan asked in surprise, "Well, let’s go visit it. I have a feeling there’s a feast waiting for us down there."

The chilling wind was so strong it made his knees ache—there must be something down there.

As they walked down the stairs, a strong stench of urine mixed with the cold breeze wafted up to them.

Yang Fan covered his mouth, "The people in this community are as lacking in manners as the mysterious, how can they just urinate and defecate on the stairs."

Holding tightly to Yang Fan’s clothes, Xiang Xue Ting replied, "No, that’s not right. I often walk here, and I’ve never seen anyone doing their business on these stairs. Our community might be run-down, but the residents generally have good manners."

"This place used to be inhabited by railway employees; later, most of the new residents were teachers from nearby schools. Actually, the quality [of the community] is pretty good, and everyone maintains cleanliness quite well,"

"Pretty good? Are you nose-blind? What’s with the stench and the smell of urine!" Yang Fan said.

This wasn’t telling white lies.

There was no need to defend his own neighborhood to this extent.

"Yes, I was wondering about that just now; it’s usually not like this," Xiang Xue Ting replied.

Yang Fan shook his head, "This smells like aged urine stains, the same as in dry latrines; fresh ones are definitely not this intense."

"But really, there aren’t any—I almost walk here every day," Xiang Xue Ting said.

"Forget it, no need to worry about these things anymore," Yang Fan shook his head. It wasn’t very important whether it was there or not.

The two of them walked down the stairs, entering the underground parking lot.

This parking lot was surprisingly large, as if it could accommodate around two or three hundred cars.

But the lighting was quite poor, and it was sound-activated.

In intervals of less than ten seconds, the lights would go out again.

Xiang Xue Ting stamped her foot heavily to bring the lights back on, then huddled close to Yang Fan’s side and whispered, "Mr. Yang, do you feel very cold? It’s the middle of summer, but why does it feel like a cold storage in here?"

"Your suspicions are right, thinking in that direction is appropriate," Yang Fan smiled.

He didn’t need to ask to know what Xiang Xue Ting was thinking at the moment.

"Ah? Really... is that so?" Xiang Xue Ting’s voice suddenly filled with a touch of anxiety.

The lights went out again.

She stamped her foot heavily once more and suddenly her expression drastically changed. Pointing at a car not far ahead, she yelled, "Mr. Yang, there, there was just someone... there was someone there?"

"Hmm, I saw it, and you have one behind you too!" Yang Fan turned his head, gazing directly at the Mysterious entity perched on Xiang Xue Ting’s shoulder.

He wanted to get used to that repulsive face.

"Ah..."

With a turn of her head, Xiang Xue Ting let out a shrill scream, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Yang Fan: ...

So much for taking a look.

With a swing of the wooden mace, he killed the dull-witted Mysterious entity. Yang Fan reached out and caught Xiang Xue Ting’s soft waist.

Seems like her mental fortitude was slightly inferior to his if she fainted upon the first encounter.

Yang Fan gave Xiang Xue Ting a princess carry, holding her in his arms, and slapped his hand to reactivate the sound-controlled lights.

The moment the lights came back on, the stairs in front of him disappeared, replaced by an ancient residence.

What the hell was this?

Yang Fan looked around suspiciously.

Upon seeing this, he suddenly felt like fainting too.

The pain he deliberately bit into his lip told him this was not an illusion.

But if it wasn’t an illusion, what was this before his eyes?

It seemed like the dim grey sky hanging overhead, the ancient street, the tall liquor banners, the shouting from somewhere unknown, plus the expressionless and dull-faced passersby...