Chapter 59: He deserved to die

Without further hesitation, Jingwu scanned his surroundings and, following the aura of the soul, looked down into the well.

"Come out."

The only response she received was the sound of silent air.

Jingwu wasn't annoyed. He said, "I know you're in the well. I'm here to send you to be reincarnated. Come out!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a figure appeared by the well, a ghost standing before her.

Jing Wu was about to speak, but when he looked at his face, his brows furrowed deeply.

This isn't right.

She looked closely at his face; it was the face of someone destined for longevity. How could he possibly die young?

Jingwu frowned and asked, "Do you remember your birthday?"

The ghost Ren Bei looked at her golden light and nodded somewhat fearfully, whispering his birth date.

Upon hearing this, Jingwu immediately began to calculate.

Upon seeing the result, he frowned in confusion.

This person was destined for longevity and good fortune, a life of happiness in old age. How could they have died young?

Jingwu immediately thought of another possibility, stood up abruptly, reached out and touched his aura, and began to calculate.

She stopped after a long while.

As expected, his life was switched.

Jingwu looked at the boy in front of him and asked, "Does anyone know your birthday?"

Although Ren Bei didn't understand why he was being asked that, he still answered honestly: "My father and my stepmother both know."

Jingwu remained silent upon hearing this. The whole family lived together and knew his birth date; if they wanted his hair and nails, it would be incredibly easy.

She looked at the boy, who appeared to be seven or eight years old. He was dressed in thin clothes, his face was pale, his thin face was swollen, and strands of hair on his forehead were still dripping water.

This is what he looked like when he died.

Jingwu felt pity for him when he saw that he was about the same age as his two younger cousins.

"Your fate has been switched; you were not destined to die young."

Ren Bei looked at her, somewhat confused. He didn't understand what she meant, so he blinked and asked, "What does this mean, sister?"

Jingwu paused for a moment, realizing that the person in front of him was a seven or eight-year-old child. He then squatted down and explained, "Someone stole your destiny of longevity and replaced it with his own destiny of dying young. You died in his place."

Ren Bei understood now. A hint of surprise flashed across his face, but he quickly returned to calm.

He thought about the abuse, beatings, hunger, and cold he had suffered at the hands of his stepmother over the past few years, and then he forced a smile.

"It doesn't matter. I was never liked by my parents anyway. It doesn't matter whether I die sooner or later."

Jingwu frowned, about to speak, when he saw a house across the street open its door.

A woman wearing a bright red cotton coat and with disheveled hair walked out and started cursing before she could even see who it was.

"Who the hell is causing all this trouble? They wander around all day and only come out at night. Even the brothels aren't as busy as you."

Jingwu frowned slightly, displeased, upon hearing these harsh words.

The boy beside her immediately hid behind the girl upon seeing her figure.

Seeing her actions, Jingwu guessed what was going on; the person in front of him was probably his stepmother.

At this moment, the woman walked up to her and looked her up and down.

Seeing that she was a young girl dressed plainly and without any expensive accessories, they assumed she was the daughter of someone in the courtyard.

"Hey, whose family are you from? Didn't your parents teach you not to make noise in the yard in the middle of the night and disturb people's rest?"

Jingwu looked at her face and secretly did some calculations. Immediately, his face turned cold.

"Did you give away Ren Bei's birth date, nails, and hair?"

The woman was taken aback at first, then her expression changed: "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Don't you really understand?" Jing Wu said coldly, his eyes fixed on her like he was staring at prey, making her feel intimidated.

The woman's name was Zhou Yu, and she was only twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old. Even as a young girl, she had a fiery temper and offended everyone around her. Seven years ago, her father sold her to Ren Bei's father for five taels of silver to be his second wife.

The Ren family consisted only of the father and son; there were no in-laws, and no one could control her. Therefore, she vented all her resentment about being a second wife on Ren Bei.

Zhou Yu dared not look the girl in the eye, took a step back, and muttered under her breath, "I said I don't understand, and that's it. Are you trying to force me to admit it?"

As he spoke, he walked towards his room.

Jingwu didn't give her a chance to escape. He swung out a spirit rope, wrapped it around her waist, and pulled her back.

Zhou Yu suddenly felt a rope binding her waist, causing her to fall backward uncontrollably. She couldn't help but scream, "Ahhh!"

Her voice was sharp and loud, attracting several people to peek out from their homes.

The Ren family's door opened again, and a man rubbing his eyes and wearing an overcoat walked out with displeasure: "What are you yelling for?"

"Husband, save me! Please save me!" Zhou Yu cried out as soon as she saw her husband, "This wild girl from who-knows-where won't let me leave."

The person who came was Ren Bei's father, Ren Cheng. When the boy saw him, he only poked his head out, his eyes full of disappointment.

Jingwu noticed that emotion and looked up at the man. In just one glance, he knew that the man was not innocent either.

Her eyes were cold as she stared fixedly at the person in front of her.

"As expected, a stepmother leads to a stepfather; the two of you conspired to kill Ren Bei!"

Upon hearing this, Ren Cheng was wide awake and immediately stared intently at the girl in front of him: "Who are you? How do you know about this?"

"I also know that you personally handed your son's birth date and time, as well as his nails and hair, to the wealthy merchant for five taels of silver."

The couple were shocked to hear this. It was one thing for this person to know about this matter, but how could he know so many details?

Just then, Ren Bei's little head peeked out from behind the girl, his eyes wet as he looked at his father.

He knew his father didn't love him and let his stepmother bully him. But he never imagined that his father was also partly responsible for his death.

Zhou Yu felt a gaze fixed on her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

She steadied herself by leaning against the wall. Seeing that the girl in front of her was only fourteen or fifteen years old and dressed so simply, she assumed that the girl had overheard something somewhere and paid even less attention to her.

"So what if I gave him that? He ate for free for eight years, only to exchange his birth chart for five taels of silver. He died simply because he was careless. To fall into a well while fetching water, he was dumber than a pig or a dog, he deserved to drown!"

Zhou Yu spoke very loudly, and his words reached the ears of several other households in the courtyard, causing them to curse inwardly.

Hearing this, Jingwu became even angrier. Just as he was about to speak, he felt a force shooting out from behind him.

The black spirit flew straight toward the woman and gripped her neck tightly with both hands.