Chapter 1 The Haunted House of Minxiong

Page 1 of 3

Bay Island, Chiayi City, Minxiong Township.

A waning moon and sparse stars hung in the sky, casting bluish-gray light over an old Baroque-style Western house. On the walls of the third and first floors, stone plaques were embedded—one above, inscribed with “Brotherly Harmony,” and one below, engraved with “Ying Jiang’s Family Virtue.”

Though the wooden door and window frames were rotting and the courtyard overgrown with wild grass, the exquisitely carved East-West motifs stubbornly proclaimed the house’s former glory. The night wind blew against the cracked perimeter wall, weaving through the mansion’s outer corridors, which still bore traces of shell holes, making a wailing sound as if countless unseen, wandering spirits were repeating their unfinished whispers from life.

Two hundred meters away, a young man in a white shirt and jeans curled up in the crooked branches of a tree in the mixed woodland. In his left hand, he held a black leather notebook; in his right, a monocular telescope. The cold glint of the lens quietly merged with the moonlit silhouette of the distant house.

His name was Li Xuan, a university graduate who, after inheriting three guesthouses from his family, opened a gardening shop out of personal interest, researching exotic plants and living a retired life ahead of schedule.

By chance, he picked up a small, green-glowing seed that had fallen from the sky. He meant to plant it, only for it to grow madly the instant it touched soil; its tender sprout twined around his wrist like a snake.

He fainted.

When he woke again, he found himself in this world.

Li Xuan walked the streets, taking in the unfamiliar, distinctly old-fashioned surroundings. After some inquiries, he realized he had crossed over from 2025 to Minxiong Township on Bay Island in 2004.

Not only had he transmigrated, but he’d also gained a black-covered notebook, an ID card, and a bank card.

Li Xuan verified the ID locally and, to his astonishment, the information was valid—and there were five hundred thousand dollars in the bank account! A native mainlander, he had become an original resident of Bay Island.

The notebook’s first page bore only one sentence: “Please thoroughly resolve the haunting of the Minxiong Ghost House.”

Both the ID and the bank card had confirmed the existence of ‘supernatural forces.’

Gazing at the character ‘ghost’ in the black notebook, Li Xuan felt a chill down his spine.

He had crossed into a world with ghosts?

Li Xuan immediately began his investigation, using his bank card to smooth the way, going from street to street, ruling out possibilities until all clues to “Minxiong Ghost House” converged on this Republic-era mansion—the He Family Western House.

According to elderly locals, the mansion belonged to the distinguished He family, established in the Republican era, though no one could say what they had provoked.

First, a servant drowned herself in the river. Then the young master shot himself in the middle of the night. A decade later, the lady of the house’s three children (two daughters and one son) met tragedy—the son, it was said, drowned trying to fetch a shoe for his little sister. Six years after that, the youngest daughter, often nervous and unsettled, disappeared; soon after, the elder daughter disappeared as well, leaving only a baby girl (the elder daughter's child) and the lady of the house, who still live there.

Li Xuan confirmed the story with several elderly neighbors. His heart sank.

Counting heads: the young master, the servant, the son, the elder daughter, the younger daughter—five deaths in all, meaning there were at least five ghosts in the He Family Mansion.

That was why, even after gathering information, Li Xuan still hid two hundred meters away in a tree, spying with his telescope—not out of cowardice, but caution.

The mansion was still inhabited by the old lady and her granddaughter. The old lady was now over seventy; the granddaughter, eighteen.

At that moment, the slightly open front door swung wider, and an elderly woman came out, inserted an incense stick by the door, pressed her palms together in prayer, and then went back inside.

This old woman was the lady of the house.

Various thoughts collided in Li Xuan’s mind. The Minxiong Ghost House was clearly this mansion, but the old lady didn’t look like someone living on borrowed time.

Should he approach her directly to ask, or explore the mansion on his own?

Either way, he risked alerting whatever lurked within…

Page 2 of 3

Just then, the door opened again, and an eighteen-year-old girl with shoulder-length hair emerged, carrying a bag of trash. She walked lightly, brimming with youthful energy.

Suddenly…

The girl’s brow furrowed, and she instinctively glanced in Li Xuan’s direction.

Damn!

Li Xuan’s heart skipped a beat! In the pitch-black night, he was certain she couldn’t see him, but his sixth sense screamed that something was coming his way!

Better safe than sorry.

He hastily tossed the telescope into the distant grass, rested his head on his arms, and quickly shut his eyes.

The branches swayed; leaves rustled against each other.

Li Xuan felt the temperature around him plummet, as if something was drawing near—so close that he could feel icy “breath” on his face.

Whatever it was seemed to be observing him.

He remained absolutely still, perfectly imitating a bored youth napping in a tree—he even let out a faint snore.

This state lasted ten minutes before the chill slowly faded.

Li Xuan dared not move. He waited.

After two more minutes, the cold returned—another sudden probe, as if testing whether he was really asleep.

Then, the chill receded again.

By the time dawn broke, Li Xuan’s forehead was beaded with sweat and his back was soaked. He hadn’t moved all night.

With dawn came a few dried leaves falling from his body. He was chilled to the bone, his clothes damp—probably from the night’s dew.

Li Xuan was certain something had sensed his presence last night.

Still on alert, he stretched deliberately and said, “Turns out sleeping in a tree isn’t as relaxing as it is in martial arts novels. I’m never doing this again.”

Leaving the woods, he headed straight for a busy area and took a cab, telling the driver only to take him to the most efficacious local temple.

The driver drove more than twenty kilometers to a Fude Temple and explained, “Here they worship the God of Earth, the Goddess of Fertility, and the God of Literature. Locals say it’s very effective. If you have any concerns, come inside and try your luck.”

Li Xuan thanked him and entered the temple.

The building’s ancient charm and exquisite craftsmanship were evident—even the wooden roof tiles showed exceptional care. Many worshipers came and went. Several middle-aged men in gray robes attended to those seeking help, bustling about busily. The air was thick with incense.

Inside, Li Xuan felt an inexplicable peace.

He queued behind other petitioners, found a seat, and took out the black notebook.

On the first day, he had already experimented with it—no one else could see or touch it, water couldn’t soak it, fire couldn’t burn it, it was impossible to tear, and if lost, it would return automatically.

The notebook was more like his personal information interface.

Page 3 of 3

Li Xuan opened the notebook; his pupils contracted. Beneath the original line—“Please thoroughly resolve the haunting of the Minxiong Ghost House”—new content had appeared.

“Contact relevant characters to trigger the quest introduction.

The Minxiong Ghost House is based on a Bay Island film set in the Republican era. The story: Young Master He, a notorious philanderer, has an affair with a family maid. Madam He discovers them and, in fury, throws the maid down a well. The maid survives, seeks help from the young master, but is abandoned. In despair, she drowns herself in the river.

Soon after, the young master dies, haunted to death by the maid’s ghost.

Years later, his son drowns in the river. A few years on, the younger daughter, He Dexin, is violated by a wicked sorcerer, and, filled with shame, throws herself down the well.

The sorcerer, fearing the vengeful spirit, claims a disaster star has been reborn and must be buried in pieces. Madam He believes him, personally dismembers her daughter, burying the head and body separately, sealing them with talismans.

Not long after, the elder daughter, He Shengxin, arguing with her mother about the truth of her sister’s death, slips on mud at the well’s edge and falls in to her death.

Madam He and her granddaughter, Xiao Qi (He Shengxin’s daughter), live together, seeking a protective talisman for her. Years later, Xiao Qi loses the talisman, becomes possessed, breaks the seal, and releases He Dexin’s vengeful spirit.

He Dexin possesses Madam He to kill the sorcerer, resulting in her imprisonment for murder.

With the mansion abandoned, the maid’s ghost returns…”

Over two hundred words, concisely summarizing the backstory of “The Minxiong Ghost House.”

Yet, as Li Xuan read, countless images flashed through his mind, as if he’d watched an uncut, hour-long movie in two minutes.

He exhaled a long, heavy breath.

Every murder in the story had its cause and effect, except the sorcerer Wu Tiancai, who was evil for evil’s sake.

Still, the deaths of the young master’s three children—one son, two daughters—held mysteries.

First, the son, He Yiming, drowned, and when his body was recovered, his back was covered in mud that couldn’t be washed off.

Second, before her death, the younger daughter, He Dexin, often saw patches of mud on her face in the mirror.

Third, the elder daughter, He Shengxin, while arguing with Madam He by the well about her sister’s death, inexplicably slipped on a patch of mud and fell in.

In the final scene of the movie, the maid’s ghost appears, swaying with resentment as she approaches the mansion, her body covered in black mud—the same motif as the three deaths.

The maid, hidden deepest, was the true villain all along.

Li Xuan closed the notebook and tucked it into his pocket, rubbing his temples hard.

So far, there were three ghosts in the story: the maid, the younger daughter He Dexin, and the elder daughter He Shengxin.

Threat ranking: Maid > He Dexin > He Shengxin.

He Shengxin, after dying in the well, believed she was still alive and stayed with Xiao Qi. Even after learning the truth, she never rampaged.

He Dexin had two goals: to retrieve her body and head and be buried whole with her sister, and to kill her mother and the sorcerer Wu Tiancai. Yet after killing the sorcerer, when she tried to kill her mother, she couldn’t bring herself to do it, unwilling to leave her sister’s daughter Xiao Qi alone in the world.

And finally, the maid.

She was the most terrifying—drowned herself decades ago, and the very next day haunted the young master and drove him to suicide. Her resentment enveloped his descendants, lying dormant for years before killing again, as if purposefully tormenting Madam He, forcing her to watch her children die one by one…