I never imagined that the only inheritance Grandpa left me would be a dilapidated old house on the verge of collapse.
The day I graduated from university, I received a letter stamped with an old-fashioned ink seal. The sender was an unfamiliar name: Yunjian Residence · Tenth Acting Keeper.
The letter was vague, only stating that I had been designated the "heir of the estate" and must come to take over the ancestral home within seven days—otherwise, the "residents of the residence" would handle it themselves.
I thought it was a scam until I actually arrived at that remote mountain town and pushed open the wooden door overgrown with vines.
The exterior was crumbling, but the inside was eerily clean—no dust, no cobwebs, just a faint scent of mugwort and charcoal lingering in the air. A row of slippers sat neatly at the entrance, as if… someone had just come and gone.
At the end of the hallway stood an old counter, behind which lay a heavy ledger. On its cover was written:
Yunjian Residence · A Century of Tenant Records
I couldn’t resist flipping it open, only to find a list of bizarre names—
"Left Eye of the Liuchuan Hot Spring"37Please respect copyright.PENANAzozoggq9Hf
"Second-Generation Shadow of the River God"37Please respect copyright.PENANALcHC92f3N7
"Paper-Crafted Cat, Type III · Crying Hour Limited Edition"
Beside each name were check-in dates and "Notes on Lingering Regrets":
No incense offerings for 108 years; fading presence, docile temperament.37Please respect copyright.PENANAKllKX6Ug1F
True name forgotten, unable to return; avoid mirrors.37Please respect copyright.PENANAEK8aAHhRVF
Only cries when the Ghost Gate opens; do not feed crackers.
I was still engrossed in the ledger when suddenly—
"Hey, new keeper?"
A young man in a suit with gold-rimmed glasses had appeared behind the counter without a sound. His fox-like grin showed sharp canines as he wiped the table with a cloth.
"You’re seven days late. The tenants are getting restless. Go help that local earth god find his incense burner—he keeps scolding me for disrespecting the divine."
I stood frozen. "Wait, who are you?"
He winked. "Me? I’m A-Jin, the temporary fox butler here. Welcome to… the last inn for monsters."
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