Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Lord Cao?
As expected, there was something fishy about the Cao Family!
Wu Qian opened his mouth, but before he could make a sound, Cao Yu-shi suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the throat. Her sharp nails sank into his flesh as she practically shrieked, “Lord Cao, why did you take my Commendation Document?! Why!”
“Do you even know what that was?”
“It was my life! My immunity! My… fig leaf!”
“Why did you take it? Why!”
“Lord Cao, you truly deserve to die!”
Cao Yu-shi grew more agitated as she spoke. With a sudden surge of strength, she lifted Wu Qian right off the ground.
The Little Ghosts on her shoulders flicked their scarlet tongues, licking their lips incessantly as if they were about to pounce and devour Wu Qian alive at any moment.
Just then, several ancient copper coins flew out from behind me, striking Cao Yu-shi’s hand with precision.
Black mist immediately billowed from her hand. She let go in pain, and Wu Qian hit the ground with a heavy thud.
It was Master Hui Quan who had intervened.
However, this strike completely enraged Cao Yu-shi.
She stared blankly at her hand, then looked up, her eyes streaming blood and tears as she swept her gaze toward us.
A moment later, she began to laugh again. “Children, go! Go find your father!”
The Little Ghosts instantly took flight, cackling with sinister laughter as they charged toward the men in the mansion.
The brothers Wu Chang and Wu Qian scrambled and crawled, hiding behind Master Hui Quan. At some point, a Ruler had appeared in Master Hui Quan’s hand, and he swung it down at the heads of the Little Ghosts.
The Little Ghosts were clearly wary of it. They turned away and launched an indiscriminate attack against the rest of us.
For a time, the mansion descended into chaos.
Li Qingying lashed out with her Long Whip, the snapping sounds echoing through the estate.
Whenever the Long Whip struck the Little Ghosts, black mist erupted from their bodies.
Suddenly, they turned and retreated, all of them merging back into Cao Yu-shi.
Instead of perching on her shoulders, they vanished into her body.
Immediately after, Cao Yu-shi’s already large belly began to swell rapidly, growing larger and larger…
With a loud pop, her stomach burst like an overinflated balloon. Countless balls of flesh shot out from within, hurtling toward us accompanied by a thick, rancid stench.
Li Qingying cried out, “What on earth is this stuff!”
She stood in front of me, swinging her whip relentlessly to block the projectiles.
But those balls of flesh seemed endless. When struck, they burst into a pool of bloody water, only to reform again almost instantly.
No matter how skilled Li Qingying was with her whip, she was outnumbered and gradually began to lose her momentum.
Master Hui Quan protected the Wu Family as they retreated into the house.
The entire mansion was enveloped in a thick black fog, heavy with resentment.
Cao Yu-shi lifted her feet, forcing us back into the Main Room step by step.
Li Qingying gritted her teeth and charged out again with her Long Whip.
But the mansion was now Cao Yu-shi’s domain; Li Qingying couldn’t hold out alone.
In the next moment, Master Hui Quan also rushed out, gripping his Ruler.
His tactics differed from Li Qingying’s; his only target was Cao Yu-shi.
Several times he sought the right moment to strike her over the head with the Ruler, but he failed to land a hit. Instead, his attempts only served to further provoke her.
As the Little Ghosts reappeared and tightly surrounded Li Qingying, Cao Yu-shi’s sharp claws lunged toward the top of Master Hui Quan’s head…
A sudden cock-crow rang out.
It was already past three in the morning. Dawn was approaching.
Almost instantly, the Little Ghosts retreated to Cao Yu-shi’s shoulders. She pressed her small feet together and hopped toward the West Courtyard, quickly vanishing from sight.
Li Qingying let out a long breath and muttered, “Thank goodness these ghosts are afraid of the rooster’s crow and the daylight. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have held out tonight.”
Master Hui Quan withdrew his Ruler, but his expression remained grim. “A ghost’s resentment grows stronger with every attack we launch. She may have feared the rooster’s crow today, but she might not tomorrow.”
This was likely the reason Master Hui Quan was so reluctant to engage in a direct confrontation with Cao Yu-shi.
Everyone sat huddled together in the Main Hall. Wu Meng kept asking Master Hui Quan and me what we should do.
Wu Chang and Wu Qian looked ashen-faced. In low voices, the brothers urged Mother Wu to simply give up on the mansion and move in with them.
But this massive estate had cost Wu Meng and his wife nearly all of their life savings. How could they just abandon it?
After agonizing over it, Wu Meng finally turned to me. “The crux of the matter still lies with that Commendation Document. Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, I’m willing to pay five hundred thousand to Redeem Pawn. Could you please show some mercy and save our Wu Family?”
I shook my head. “This situation can no longer be resolved by a Commendation Document alone, though it is indeed the key. It’s impossible to Redeem Pawn now, as the Pawn Period has long since expired. However, we can do an exchange.”
Wu Meng immediately asked, “What kind of exchange?”
“I can bring the Commendation Document here first,” I said. “Once the matter with Cao Yu-shi is settled, all items related to the Chastity Arch will belong to me.”
Wu Meng scratched his head, seeking clarification. “So, you’ll trade it for things like those two Pomegranate Carvings?”
I nodded.
Wu Meng slammed his hand on the table, excited. “No problem!”
I asked Master Hui Quan to serve as a witness, then had Li Qingying drive back to the Pawnshop to fetch the Commendation Document.
On the second night, I handed the Commendation Document to Wu Qian and told him to wait at the entrance of the West Courtyard holding it.
At around eleven o’clock that night, the West Courtyard stirred to life right on schedule.
It was the same scene as the night before: first, the sounds of sobbing and pleas for mercy from inside the room, and then Cao Yu-shi emerged from the Main Room and encountered Wu Qian.
Only this time, she spoke immediately. “Lord Cao, have you seen my Commendation Document?”
It wasn’t a question; she addressed him directly as ‘Lord Cao’.
Cao Yu-shi’s resentment had indeed been provoked.
Wu Qian held out the box containing the document. “Your… your Commendation Document.”
Cao Yu-shi’s blood-red eyes lit up. She flipped open the lid, took out the Commendation Document, and opened the first page. She began to read: “Cao Yu-shi of Jing City, aged sixteen, taken as a concubine of Lord Cao. Widowed on her wedding night, she maintained her chastity and filial piety for three years, bearing no offspring…”
When she reached the words “bearing no offspring,” she suddenly burst into laughter.
She laughed maniacally, blood and tears streaming from her eyes. “Maintained her chastity and filial piety for three years, bearing no offspring… Haha! Chastity and filial piety! No offspring!”
“Why me!”
“Why couldn’t you just let me go!”
“I have a sense of shame! I have a sense of shame too!”
She wailed and screamed.
She held the Commendation Document in both hands, cradling it as if it were a holy relic.
In the next instant, Cao Yu-shi vanished.
Two silhouettes appeared on the window of the Main Room in the West Courtyard.
One was Cao Yu-shi, and the other was a man.
The man’s breathing was ragged and heavy as he moved closer to her. “Little Madam, I’ve thought about you for so many years. Just give in to me tonight!”
Cao Yu-shi kept backing away while the man kept advancing, eventually pinning her into a corner.
Just as the man was about to pounce like a starving wolf, Cao Yu-shi’s voice rang out.
Holding the Commendation Document, her voice trembled as she read: “Cao Yu-shi of Jing City, aged…”
She read it over and over again until the man finally turned and left her room.
The scene shifted. Another, younger man appeared in the room. “Yu An, if you just come with me, I’ll take you away. I’ll take you overseas. We’ll fly far, far away…”
The moment the man tried to embrace her, Cao Yu-shi held up the Commendation Document, and her voice rang out once more: “Cao Yu-shi of Jing City…”