Chapter 238
Chapter 238
As soon as Yu Lang spoke, the lantern beside them swayed.
Yan Zhengchu frowned slightly. “Changsheng in the story is a ghost. If he is still in this villa, why can my ritual implements not reveal him?”
Hearing the displeasure in his voice, Ren Fengjue smoothly replied, “It is precisely because even Daoist Yan’s implements cannot reveal the ghosts that I say something is very wrong with this villa.”
“…”
Having recovered a little dignity, Yan Zhengchu said no more.
But Axia suddenly spoke. “Young master, could the man in the story be the Marquis of Zhenbei? What exactly is his relationship with the young lady?”
“And at the end, he said that whoever entered Mingyue Villa would never leave. He must have something to do with what happened here!”
“Does that mean our only chance of leaving is for the young lady in the story to return?”
He asked several questions at once, analyzing the matter thoroughly. Clearly, he had listened to the story with great care.
Ren Fengjue gave him an approving look. “You have a point.”
“But in our present situation, we certainly cannot wait for her to return.”
Just then, Xia Ximo, who had remained silent, suddenly said, “It is not difficult to make Changsheng come out of his own accord.”
Everyone turned to her at once.
Without another word, Xia Ximo headed toward the forecourt.
On their way in, she had noticed an empty patch in the middle of the courtyard. It was probably the flower bed mentioned in the story.
Xia Ximo decided to take a chance. “There should be something hidden beneath this flower bed. Let us dig it up and see.”
At her words, everyone thought of the white flowers in the story.
They could not guess what might be buried there, but they were certainly curious.
Ren Fengjue told Axia, “Look around. Are there any hoes or shovels in the villa?”
Axia answered and, before long, found two garden hoes in a corner.
Yu Lang volunteered, stepping forward to take one, and immediately began digging with Axia.
The snow was deep. Their first few strokes brought up nothing but clumps of it.
Seeing this, Yan Zhengchu found a shovel and joined them.
Yet several minutes later, they were still digging into seemingly bottomless snow.
Yu Lang had trained in martial arts, but had never done farm work. He set down the hoe and shook out his arms. Looking back at the small snow mound behind him, he exclaimed, “Surely it cannot all be snow down there?”
Could flowers grow in snow?
Xia Ximo glanced at Wuyou, who was still dozing in the snow beside her. “Are you going into hibernation?”
Wuyou forced their eyes open and yawned again. “So sleepy. Standing in this snow makes it even worse…”
Xia Ximo held out her hand, catching large snowflakes in her palm, and asked Wuyou, “Has it ever snowed in the Underworld Administration?”
The question made Wuyou pause. They thought carefully, and their mind suddenly cleared.
“Mogu, I think I have some idea who this ‘young lady’ is.”
Yu Lang had not quite caught it. His ears pricked up. “Mushroom?”[^mogu-mushroom]
He cast a puzzled look toward Xia Ximo.
Ren Fengjue also looked up at her, something stirring faintly in his thoughts.
Suddenly realizing they had used the wrong name, Wuyou was about to cover their mouth. But Xia Ximo asked as though nothing had happened, “Who is she?”
[^mogu-mushroom]: Mogu sounds similar to the Chinese word for “mushroom.”
They began, “She is the snow…”
Before they could finish, a fierce gust swept the snow from the eaves and hurled it at Wuyou.
Hearing it, Wuyou fled into the Soul-Ferrying Lantern in fright.
The flying snow seemed to have eyes. It changed course and targeted Xia Ximo instead.
Ren Fengjue was about to step forward when Yan Zhengchu raised his shovel and struck at it, then swiftly formed a hand seal and chanted a spell.
The spell knocked the snow to the ground, where it dissolved into nothing.
Yan Zhengchu gave a cold smile. “Now that you have shown yourself, why run?”
He sent a Transformation Talisman toward the southeast. Golden light flashed, and a shadow fell to the ground, unable to move.
The others immediately gathered around.
The shadow slowly took the form of a delicate-featured boy. After struggling in the snow for a moment, he managed to sit up.
Yu Lang hurriedly asked, “Are you Changsheng?”
The boy’s gaze passed over each of them before he slowly nodded.
Seeing that he had been subdued, Wuyou emerged from the lantern. “You stopped me from revealing your young lady’s identity just now. It seems you already know what she is.”
The boy lowered his lashes, thick as raven feathers, before saying, “She does not want others to know.”
Wuyou paused. Though curious eyes surrounded them, they were in no hurry to reveal the truth.
“She has already committed a grave wrong. What good will hiding it for her do?”
The boy was silent for a moment. Then he suddenly knelt before Xia Ximo. “Please, miss, save my young lady!”
Xia Ximo was taken aback. She frowned in puzzlement. “Save her?”
She glanced at Wuyou again.
Wuyou leaned close to her ear and whispered, “He can sense the Netherworld Ghost King Qi on you. He probably thinks the Earth Lord sent you to make trouble for his young lady.”
Behind them, a flicker of something passed through Ren Fengjue’s eyes as he watched Wuyou, in human form, whispering so intimately with Xia Ximo right before him.
Even knowing that the other party was not human, he felt a faint surge of jealousy…
After hearing Wuyou out, Xia Ximo said, “You still have not told me who she is.”
Wuyou glanced at Changsheng, their eyes shifting thoughtfully. “This lady can indeed help you. But you must explain the whole matter yourself.”
Changsheng understood their meaning. After a brief hesitation, he said, “You more or less understand the villa’s situation now.”
Yu Lang spoke up. “Your stories were so vague that we only half understand. For instance, what finally happened to the two thieves in the first story?”
Changsheng explained, “They died in the villa. They killed each other.”
“After repeating the cycle again and again, all that remained between them was suspicion and mistrust. In the end, neither spared the other.”
“After they died, their souls merged with the villa. That is why this Daoist Master could not reveal any ghosts.”
Yan Zhengchu looked him up and down. “Then how did you evade my implements?”
Changsheng shook his head. “After the young lady disappeared, my soul seems to have become part of the villa too. Even the Uncle Zhong who came after me has dispersed, yet I remain.”
“I do not know what I am now. But there is nothing I can do except wait here for the young lady to return.”