Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Xia Ximo narrowed her eyes.

It was true that she did not like helping people.

Nor had she ever cared to meddle in other people’s business.

But whether she helped or not was a matter of choice.

Whether she could help or not was a matter of ability.

No one had ever said such a thing to her before.

“If you don’t even let me try, how do you know I can’t help?”

Looking at the man’s back, Xia Ximo’s tone turned forceful, leaving no room for refusal. “Take me to see your wife.”

At that, Zhou Zigui slowly turned around and gave her another long, searching look.

She was young, but she certainly spoke boldly.

And yet those eyes of hers were steeped in coldness, carrying an oppressive force that did not match her appearance.

It made her impossible to underestimate.

A strange thought suddenly rose in his heart.

Perhaps she really could help him.

Under the sunlight, Zhou Zigui glanced at the shadow beneath his feet. For reasons even he did not understand, he nodded.

“If you’re not afraid, follow me.”

The Zhou family was not some wealthy household, but they had once run a pastry shop in the East Market. Because the location was good, business had always been quite decent.

After so many years in business, they had earned a fair amount of money.

Zhou Zigui was the only son of the family. His father had died when he was young, so he had started working in the shop with his mother early on.

Later, his mother passed away from illness as well. Before her death, she arranged a marriage for him. He married Liu Shi, a woman from a neighboring county, and they had a son and a daughter. Only then was he spared from being utterly alone.

But half a year ago, something happened to Liu Shi on the road while she was bringing their two children back from her maiden home.

They had originally been expected to arrive home around dusk, but even after night fell, there was still no sign of them.

Zhou Zigui grew anxious. He left the shop in the care of an assistant, hired a carriage, and planned to go meet them along the road.

Since Liu Shi’s maiden family lived in Yan County, several dozen li from the capital, he had repeatedly instructed his own coachman to take the main road for safety’s sake.

But as he traveled along that route all the way to Liu Shi’s maiden home in Yan County, he saw no trace of them.

His father-in-law said his daughter had set off with the children after eating the midday meal. Logically, they should have made it home before dusk.

The moment Zhou Zigui heard that, it was as though he had fallen into an ice cellar. A chill shot up his back.

He reported the case to the authorities in Yan County at once.

After the authorities searched through the night, they found the bodies of his wife, Liu Shi, and their two children beneath a broken cliff at daybreak.

But the carriage and the coachman were nowhere to be found.

Thus, the authorities identified the coachman, Ah Da, as the prime suspect. After spending another day searching, they arrested him.

Ah Da confessed fully to the deaths of Liu Shi and the children.

He admitted that he had taken evil intentions toward Liu Shi because of her beauty, deliberately brought her to a remote, deserted place, and assaulted her.

At the time, Liu Shi had struggled with all her might, while the two children cried and screamed nearby.

In a panic, Ah Da killed all three of them outright and threw their bodies beneath the cliff.

The authorities caught the murderer and brought him to justice, and the case was closed.

On the way, Zhou Zigui took the initiative to recount what had happened half a year ago. His expression, however, remained numb. Even when he spoke of his wife and children’s tragic deaths, his face was still as stagnant as dead water.

Xia Ximo listened quietly beside him and did not interrupt.

Wuyou, however, could not help asking in confusion, “Since the case was closed and the killer was punished, the ghosts of Liu Shi and the children should have entered the Underworld Administration and gone on to reincarnate.”

“If the true killer were someone else, Liu Shi’s ghost would certainly carry resentment. But on Zhou Zigui, aside from yin energy, there is no trace of a soul that died unjustly.”

“It really is rather strange.”

Xia Ximo still did not respond. Her gaze had fallen on a residence not far ahead, one shrouded in thick yin energy.

“We’re here.”

Zhou Zigui pushed open the gate, and a gust of cold, ghostly wind blew straight toward them, as if spirits were whispering in the air.

He stepped inside first and said, “My wife, I’m back.”
Xia Ximo glanced inside and was just about to follow when someone behind her spoke up. “Miss, that Zhou fellow is a madman. He spends every day at home spouting nonsense. You mustn’t believe a word he says!”

She turned back and saw a beggar standing at the mouth of the alley.

His words sounded as if he meant well, but his eyes kept darting into the house.

Who knew what he was really plotting?

“Not afraid of ghosts?”

Xia Ximo gave him a cold look.

The beggar saw that her gaze was as icy as a blade and knew at once that she was not someone to provoke. He promptly took to his heels and vanished.

Xia Ximo stepped through the gate.

The house was not large, with only a single courtyard. From the entrance, the entire place could be seen at a glance.

At that moment, the courtyard was overgrown with weeds. An osmanthus tree stood in the middle, yet somehow looked eerie and sinister.

The two side rooms on the left and right had clearly been uninhabited for a long time. Dust lay thick everywhere, and cobwebs stretched across every corner.

Overall, it looked no different from an abandoned house.

In the main room, Zhou Zigui groped his way inside. Though the room was dim, he did not light a lamp.

Facing the darkness, he began talking to himself again.

“My wife, why are you hiding there?”

“Don’t be afraid. She’s here to help us.”

“What? You don’t like her?”

“All right, then I’ll drive her away!”

As he spoke, Zhou Zigui walked straight out of the main room and said rudely to Xia Ximo in the courtyard, “My wife doesn’t welcome you. You… you should hurry up and leave!”

Xia Ximo ignored him and walked straight toward the room.

But before she could get close, a gust of cold wind blew over and slammed the door shut with force.

Clearly, she was indeed unwelcome here.

Shut out, Xia Ximo’s expression did not change. She merely said coldly, “Yin and yang have separate paths. Humans and ghosts walk different roads.”

“If you died with injustice, you should resolve your grievance as soon as possible, go to the Underworld Administration, and enter reincarnation again.”

“Forcing yourself to remain in the mortal world like this will only harm others and yourself.”

With that, she could not be bothered to meddle in this matter any further and turned to walk out.

Wuyou floated behind her and asked in confusion, “Leaving so quickly? You don’t want to earn the gold?”

Xia Ximo said calmly, “If the ghost doesn’t want revenge, then naturally she won’t say who the murderer is.”

“But how could she not want revenge?”

Wuyou was even more puzzled.

If Liu Shi had truly suffered every humiliation before her death, then her resentment would have been extremely heavy, and it was very likely she would have become a vengeful ghost filled with overwhelming malice.

Just like Zhuyan, the painter from Brocade Garment Manor. Even though her soul had been scattered, resentment could still be felt from her scattered soul.

But this Liu Shi had no resentment at all.

Of course, there was something else even more puzzling. Why was Zhou Zigui able to see ghosts?

And not only that, he had lived under the same roof as this ghost for half a year.

All of it was far too strange.

By the time she returned to the Ren Residence, the sky was completely dark.

Ren Fengjue was chatting idly with Yan Zhengchu in the hall.

Hearing movement outside the door, both of them looked over at the same time.

Yan Zhengchu was the first to greet her. “Miss Xia, the Young Marquis has already paid that ingot of gold for you.”

Ren Fengjue, however, immediately thought of what Xia Ximo had said when they parted ways in front of the Ministry of Justice Office.

He wondered, She came back so late… Surely she wasn’t actually thinking about ‘paying him back,’ was she?

He stood up and was just about to speak.

But Xia Ximo walked to the doorway and said to Yan Zhengchu, “Taoist, I have a question for you.”

Hearing this, Lord Ren could only swallow back the words on the tip of his tongue.

Yan Zhengchu was also rather surprised. Having accepted the gold, he was now clearly far less resistant to being called “Taoist.”

He even replied with a smiling face, “If Miss Xia has a question, please feel free to ask.”