“Auntie, I love Jingnian. He’s the only one I love,” Bai Ci said, tears streaming down her face.
She collapsed onto the bed, crying like a child.
Seeing her heartbroken, Li Feng also began to weep. “But Jingnian doesn’t feel that way about you. Once he’s set on someone, he’ll marry them someday.”
The word “marry” was too much for Bai Ci to bear.
She sprang up from the bed. “Why should he marry someone else? I’m the one who should be with him!”
“Oh, you silly child.”
Her feelings ran so deep, they were bound to wound her.
Outside, the rain began to ease.
He Lisheng hadn’t slept at all. In the darkness, he clutched a willow branch tightly.
Suddenly, the person lying on the bed trembled.
“Hehe…”
“Haha…”
“Darling, come on, let’s play Landlords together.”
He Lisheng shuddered from head to toe. Oh my god, a ghost…
It really was a ghost!
“He Lichuan!”
He rushed over, yanked the blanket off He Lichuan, and whipped him fiercely with the willow branch.
The roars coming from He Lichuan’s mouth terrified He Lisheng, making him strike even harder.
That voice didn’t belong to He Lichuan.
“Ah—!”
A piercing scream echoed through the room, and He Lichuan, who had been thrashing about, collapsed back onto the bed. He slowly regained consciousness, his body aching all over.
In that moment, He Lichuan realized with horror that he had truly encountered a ghost.
“Lisheng, there’s a ghost—a ghost! We need to find Miss Li.”
“It’s still raining. We’ll go tomorrow.”
Now that the ghost was gone, there was no need to be afraid.
Even so, neither of them managed to sleep for the rest of the night.
The next day dawned clear after the rain.
Li Shaoyu pulled Li Qiao aside and whispered, “Qiaoqiao, when are we leaving?”
“We’ll leave once this matter is settled.”
“Ah, won’t that take a while? Last night… I noticed He Jingnian seemed injured. Who would dare hurt him? I’m so curious.”
Li Qiao broke into a bright smile. “Fourth Brother, I don’t think you really want to know.”
“Why wouldn’t I? I—” He stopped abruptly, a realization dawning on him.
Could it be—?
His heart clenched when he saw the meaningful smile on Li Qiao’s face.
Just then, He Lichuan’s voice sounded from outside.
Both men looked exhausted, clearly having spent a sleepless night.
The moment Li Qiao appeared, He Lichuan dropped to his knees with a thud. “Master, please save me…”
“Get up first. Speak properly.”
He Lichuan scrambled to his feet. “Master, I… I really encountered a ghost. Please save me, Master. I don’t want to die yet.”
Li Qiao noticed that the fires on both his shoulders had been completely extinguished.
Her expression turned grave.
In just one night, he had taken on the appearance of a doomed man.
Li Qiao stepped forward and pressed a finger to the center of his forehead. He Lichuan felt a fleeting warmth and touched his forehead in confusion.
“What did you touch at the funeral?”
She was referring to the elder’s funeral.
He Lichuan thought carefully and suddenly remembered. “The paper effigy.”
“He couldn’t have been haunted by the paper effigy, could he?”
He Lisheng gulped nervously.
“Not haunted,” Li Qiao said.
The two men began to relax, but then she added, “It’s possessed him.”
“…”
Master, could you please not leave us hanging like that? He was truly terrified.
“Take me to your home.”
Li Qiao led the way, and the three of them set off.
When she arrived at He Lichuan’s house, she carefully examined the feng shui. The layout was highly favorable for descendants.
But as she entered the living room, Li Qiao noticed a pair of shoes placed by the shoe cabinet, caked with mud.
