Chapter 16

Chapter 16

In the East Courtyard Guest Room, a single lamp flickered like a bean.

Xia Ximo sat cross-legged on a chair, eyes closed as she rested her spirit.

Wuyou, the Lantern Spirit, floated nearby, propping up its chin as it studied her. “You are a truly strange human. Instead of sleeping in that soft bed, you prefer to sit bolt upright like this…”

“It really is a waste giving this physical body to you…”

The bedding on the bed was neat, without a single wrinkle. It was clear it hadn’t been used in days.

She wasn’t used to sleeping lying down.

In her blurred memories of the past, it seemed she had always been this way.

Now that she had briefly returned to the world of the living, she simply continued her old habits and had no desire to change them.

Wuyou was also accustomed to her being sparing with her words. Getting no response, the spirit drifted over to the bed and lay down, even pretending to stretch its soul body.

“The yang energy in your current body is too weak. You should avoid using too much soul power, or else it’ll be trouble if your soul scatters.”

Hearing this, Xia Ximo slowly opened her eyes.

Last night, she had used her soul power to drive a fragment of Zhuyan’s scattered soul into Ren Dongxing’s eyes, thereby sealing his five senses.

She had done this to draw out the mortal sorcerer backing him.

But she had indeed overestimated this shell where her soul and body were not yet fully integrated. If Ren Fengjue hadn’t unexpectedly appeared in the East Courtyard, she likely wouldn’t have recovered for quite some time.

At the thought, Xia Ximo’s brow furrowed slightly.

She had always disliked constraints and entanglements.

Now, the constraints of this body and the entanglements of mortals were her shackles in the world of the living.

They were no different from the chains that had bound her hands and feet in the Nine Serenities.

The Underworld’s regulations dictated that her lifespan for this return to the living world was only three years.

In those three years, besides ferrying thirty-two wisps of yin souls, she also had to fulfill three of the original owner’s unfulfilled wishes.

Otherwise, her soul would never fully merge with this body.

Currently, two of the three wishes were already settled.

The remaining one seemed simple, but in truth, it involved far too much. It might not be easy…

The tedious matters of the human world were, ironically, more complex than ghosts.

The doors and windows suddenly vibrated.

Following that, an unknown object pierced through the window with lightning speed, pinning itself directly into the wall.

Xia Ximo narrowed her eyes. Upon closer inspection, it was a cinnabar ritual brush, with a slip of paper covered in talismanic script attached to it.

Wuyou was startled by the commotion and was about to hide inside the lamp when she spoke.

“It is merely a bluff-an illusionary trick from a mortal sorcerer.”

“…”

She walked to the wall, glanced at the handwriting on the note, then picked up the Soul-Ferrying Lantern and turned to leave the room.

Not understanding why, Wuyou could only follow.

One person and one spirit quickly vanished into the thick night.

***

Inside the South Courtyard study.

After hearing the news Ren Cong brought back from the Clothing Manor, Ren Fengjue’s brow furrowed deeply as he realized the complexity of the situation.

Ren Dongxing’s sudden bout of madness was undoubtedly related to Xia Ximo.

However, no matter how he speculated, he couldn’t figure out the connections between it all.

It was simply too bizarre.

Perhaps he would have to make a trip there himself.

As soon as the thought arose, he was about to have Ren Cong arrange a carriage when a figure suddenly appeared outside the window.

“Young Master, an outsider has broken into the estate. They disappeared in the direction of the East Courtyard.”

It was the servant, A-Dong.

Ren Fengjue sensed something was wrong and immediately rushed toward the East Courtyard Guest Room.

When he arrived, the door was wide open. The lamp inside was still lit, but there was no sign of anyone.

Ren Cong stepped forward first, tapping lightly on the door. Once certain no one was there, he stepped inside.

“Young Master, she’s gone again…”

Ren Fengjue followed him into the room and looked around. His gaze suddenly stopped on one spot, his expression turning grave.

Following his line of sight, Ren Cong also discovered the object on the wall.

“There… why is there a brush there?”
Ren Fengjue remained silent. He stepped forward and removed the eerie cinnabar brush and talisman paper from the wall.

However, as soon as the handwriting on the paper became clear, the brush and paper instantly crumbled into a pile of black ash.

“Master! Be careful!”

Ren Cong was startled, assuming it was some form of sorcery, and moved to protect his master.

Ren Fengjue calmly brushed the ash from his hands. “It’s fine. It was just a sorcerer’s trick.”

Having spent years in the Ministry of Justice, he had handled many supernatural cases and possessed some understanding of folk sorcery.

Ren Cong breathed a small sigh of relief, but then a chill ran down his spine.

“That woman… how does she know sorcery!”

Ren Fengjue’s expression was grave. He offered no explanation, only commanding, “Go to the Brocade Garment Manor immediately.”

***

The gates of the Brocade Garment Manor remained tightly shut.

Unlike the previous night, however, the vermilion gates swung open from the inside before Xia Ximo could even step forward to knock.

There was no one there to receive her, leaving the air thick with a sense of mystery and dread.

Wuyou poked half of its head out from the lamp to look around, then twitched its nose and sniffed. “There’s danger. You need to be careful.”

Xia Ximo didn’t respond. She didn’t even pause her stride.

She rounded the spirit screen and entered the front courtyard. Under the bright moonlight, she saw a Gray-robed Taoist standing in the center of the yard.

From the looks of it, he had been waiting for her for quite some time.

Xia Ximo’s cold gaze swept over him as she got straight to the point. “Are you the sorcerer who scattered Zhuyan’s soul?”

The Gray-robed Taoist did not answer. Instead, he studied her intently, a trace of confusion flickering in his eyes.

He suddenly raised the hand holding his horsetail whisk and began pinching his fingers in a divining gesture, his brow furrowing deeper as he muttered to himself.

After a moment, he spoke with a counter-question: “Are you human or ghost?”

Xia Ximo’s expression remained indifferent as she took a few more steps forward. “I thought you had some level of cultivation. Can you not even calculate whether I am human or ghost?”

The Gray-robed Taoist gave a cold snort. He swept his whisk across his chest, drawing a talisman in the air while forming a hand seal with his other hand.

Instantly, the sound of bells rang out. The previously stable ground beneath them began to tremble violently.

Xia Ximo looked down to see a formation rising beneath her feet. It was composed of dozens of densely packed red ropes connected to form a giant talisman, trapping her within.

As the Taoist chanted his incantations, the bells chimed loudly and golden light surged. The ropes moved as nimbly as snakes, suddenly tightening and binding her hands and feet securely.

Seeing that she was restrained, Ren Shuo, who had been watching the scene from the shadows, finally showed himself.

“Miss Xia, forgive my offense.”

He wore a kind expression and a smile, his tone polite. Only his narrow eyes betrayed a hidden, icy glint.

“I sent people to the Young Marquis’s estate to invite you this afternoon, but you wouldn’t budge. I was forced to resort to this.”

“Speaking of which, we will be family sooner or later. There is no need for us to be so distant.”

“As long as you agree to let my son go and stop pursuing the matter of that painter, I will overlook this for the Young Marquis’s sake.”

He finished his speech, expecting the woman trapped in the formation to be moved. After all, she looked so frail and weak, as if she didn’t possess a shred of strength to fight back.

However, the look she gave him sent a jolt through his heart.

“No.”

Xia Ximo spoke, spitting out those two words coldly without giving him an inch of face.

Even though she was trapped in the formation with her limbs bound, there wasn’t a trace of fear on her face. On the contrary, she possessed a commanding, overbearing aura.

Ren Shuo had met countless people in his life, yet he had never seen such a gaze in any young woman.

He was speechless for a moment, waves of anger rising in his heart.

But just then, Shopkeeper Liu came rushing out from the inner courtyard, shouting frantically, “Master! It’s bad! The Young Master… he… he…”

“The Young Master… has breathed his last!”