Chapter 146 There's a ghost standing at your door.

Of course, Madam Xue remembered that on this day last year, Ji Chan was waiting outside the gate like a stray dog. It was she who had the servants let her into the mansion, not out of pity, but to make her see clearly that she was nothing in the eyes of the Marquis.

Then……

Xue's hands clenched tightly. It was on that day that Ji Chan, who should have died, survived.

Achan squatted outside the cell, resting her chin on her hand, watching Xue's constantly changing expressions.

Her voice rang out from outside the dimly lit cell: "On the Lantern Festival, a day for family reunion, your family is all together, yet you ordered your brother to kill me."

"I didn't." Madam Xue was afraid that Achan was deliberately trying to trick her into revealing something, and that she simply didn't admit to what she had done.

"If you don't want to admit it, fine. Anyway... when Xue Mingtang died in front of me, my feud with him was over."

Madam Xue froze, staring intently at Achan, and said, word by word, "He died in front of you?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Achan feigned surprise. "When he died, I was just a few steps away from him watching."

As she spoke, she moved closer to Xue and whispered to her, "He almost released the distress arrow in his hand."

"It was you! You killed Mingtang!" Madam Xue screamed, clutching the prison door.

Achan admired her frenzied appearance and continued with a smile, "And Xue Zhao, you must be very curious as to why, by such a coincidence, that tiger demon targeted him, right?"

"What was my explanation back then?" Achan thought for a while. "Right, it was that the tiger demon took a fancy to Xue Zhao's archery skills and wanted to turn him into a cougar, but he resisted to the death. Is that it? It took me a lot of effort to come up with this excuse."

Madam Xue was panting heavily, and the way she looked at Achan was as if she wanted to tear her apart.

Unfortunately, she couldn't do it.

"You killed my Zhao'er."

"If he hadn't courted death and dragged me into it, how could he have died? Come to think of it, he and Xue Mingtang are really alike—incompetent and fond of courting death."

However, at this moment, Madam Xue could not hear anything. All she knew was that Ji Chan had personally confessed to killing her brother and her son.

And Yingying, and the child she was born with, are both Ji Chan!

While Achan and Xue were talking, Bai Xiuming appeared behind her at some point. He stood there quietly, his expression inscrutable.

When Xue saw Bai Xiuming, it was like seeing a lifeline. She pointed at Achan and said, "Did you hear that? It was her. She confessed. She killed my brother and my son!"

Achan didn't even turn her head. As she watched Xue Shi's expression slowly change from excitement to despair.

Madam Xue glared at Bai Xiuming and loudly questioned him, "You clearly heard it, so why didn't you arrest her? Are you trying to protect her?!"

Bai Xiuming did not give her any response.

"Why is Madam Xue so agitated? Do you feel the pain of being stabbed in the back?" Achan slowly interrupted Madam Xue. "When I was murdered, everyone could guess who the killer was, but there was no evidence, so you remained the high and mighty Lady Hou. It's the same on the other hand. You say I killed them, do you have any evidence?"

"You admitted it yourself."

"What does it mean that I merely admitted I witnessed their deaths?"

Achan turned her head, her voice soft and sweet: "Lord Bai, will you arrest me because of what I said?"

Bai Xiuming lowered his eyes, his gaze full of indulgence: "The evidence is insufficient; your words are not credible."

Seeing the two of them entangled in front of her, Madam Xue was furious. She shook the prison door frantically, making a loud clanging sound.

She kept repeating, "You will all die a horrible death! You will all die a horrible death!!"

Seeing that the stimulation had been enough, Ah Chan suddenly raised her voice: "From the day you killed my mother, you should have thought about this day."

"I didn't!" Madam Xue denied without hesitation. "I didn't kill Madam Lin."

Achan frowned slightly; Xue Shi didn't seem to be lying.

However, she did not give up. Instead, she said angrily, "You still want to lie to me? You two conspired to kill my mother for the position of the Marquis's wife. Do you think you can hide it from my eyes?"

The anger in Xue's heart had not yet dissipated, and she was unable to think rationally. She only felt that Achan was disgusting. The person who killed her family dared to slander her. She angrily retorted, "I had no idea that Lin would die. I truly love the Marquis. He had said long ago that he could give me anything, except the position of my wife. How could I bear to make things difficult for him!"

"So my mother was killed by the Marquis of Jinyang?"

Before her death, Ji Chan suspected that her mother was murdered by the Marquis of Jinyang and Lady Xue, just so that Lady Xue could become the Marquis's wife.

But now Lady Xue says that the Marquis of Jinyang had no such intention at first. So why did he change his mind later? Was it because Lady Xue was greedy, or was there some other reason?

Xue finally realized what was happening, and she gave a bitter laugh: "Hahaha, so all you did wasn't just because I wanted you dead, but you also suspect that I killed Lin Shi, and you want to avenge her?"

“Is there a problem with avenging my mother?” Achan slowly stood up, looking down at Xue Shi kneeling on the ground. “Since my mother married into the manor, she devoted herself to the Marquis of Jinyang, bearing him children and managing the household. And him? He was having an affair with a mistress behind my mother’s back.”

Madam Xue scrambled to her feet and lunged at the prison door, snarling, "What do you know? I met the Marquis when I was fourteen. I was the first one I met. I saved his life, and we even pledged our lives to each other. In terms of who came first, your mother was the one who came later!"

Xue's words surprised Achan. She didn't know that Xue and the Marquis of Jinyang had such a past.

No wonder Xue Shi ended up in this state; not only did the Marquis of Jinyang not want to abandon her, he also wanted to rescue her.

These two people are truly devoted to each other.

This conversation with Lady Xue cleared up some of Achan's doubts, but the remaining questions could probably only be answered by the Marquis of Jinyang.

She needed to think carefully about what kind of ending to give the Marquis of Jinyang would make Ji Chan happy.

Achan turned around, her goal achieved; she was no longer interested in the Xue family.

Seeing her about to leave, Madam Xue shouted after her, "Where are you going? Come back here and explain yourself!"

Achan's hand was wrapped around Bai Xiuming's arm. Hearing Xue's shouts, she turned her head, looked at her frantic appearance, and laughed: "Madam Xue, have you ever thought that if you hadn't become the Marquis's wife, your brother, son, and daughter might still be alive now?"

Madam Xue was stunned.

"It was your insatiable greed that killed them."

"I didn't! I didn't!!!"

Behind her, Xue screamed and cried in despair. Achan, holding Bai Xiuming's arm, walked briskly out.

"You came here just to tell her these things?"

"Yes, there has to be a beginning and an end. Last year I had a feud with the Xue family, but this year we've wiped the slate clean. Of course, I have to let her know."

"You mean by 'wiping it all off' means almost wiping out her entire family?"

"What else? They are dead, but I was wronged too." Achan stopped and turned to face Bai Xiuming. She stood on tiptoe and leaned closer to him, saying, "Besides, you have no evidence. Their deaths were all accidental and have nothing to do with me."

After saying that, she kissed Bai Xiuming on the chin.

Bai Xiuming's eyes darkened. Seeing her smug little expression, he knew he couldn't do anything about it.

The two left the town prison, but before they had gone far, it suddenly started snowing.

The snow came rather strangely. The weather was fine today, and there was no warning before it started snowing. The snowflakes were large, and many even clumped together as they fell, some as big as the palm of a hand.

Bai Xiuming's expression darkened slightly when he saw the falling snow. He pulled Achan into his arms, and his inner energy surged, causing the snow to melt before it could fall on them.

Just then, a voice rang out from not far away: "There's a demonic aura in this snow."

Achan turned her head and saw that the person speaking was actually Qin Heng.

Qin Heng stood not far away with his arms crossed, and the snow disappeared within a ten-foot radius of him.

Achan and Qin Heng met a few times on their way back to Xiling. When Qin Heng saw Achan looking over, he nodded slightly to her without asking why Bai Xiuming had brought her there.

His words were directed at Bai Xiuming.

Bai Xiuming raised his hand and caught a large snowflake. The snowflake did not melt in his hand. He rubbed it between his fingers, brought it to his nose and smelled it, and said, "This demonic aura is domineering, but not pure enough. It's more like a half-demon."

Achan leaned closer for a look, but of course, she couldn't discern anything. However, she knew that demonic energy could be mixed into celestial phenomena, and there was only one possibility: a demon had advanced to the fifth realm.

If what Bai Xiuming said is true, and the one who advances is still a half-demon, that would be quite an extraordinary thing.

The snow came and went quickly; it stopped in less than a quarter of an hour, and the layer of snow quickly melted into water and sank into the soil.

These snowmelts, imbued with demonic energy, are not particularly dangerous, but they will nourish some demons in their nascent stage, and the number of new demons in the Great Xia territory will likely increase this year.

After the snow stopped, Qin Heng yawned and said to Bai Xiuming, "Now that you're back, I'm leaving."

Neither of them mentioned the matter of the Five Realms Demon Clan.

Although there is only one level difference between the fourth and fifth realms, they are powerless to do anything about it before advancing to the fifth realm.

Bai Xiuming gave Qin Heng no chance to slack off. He put his arm around A Chan and walked out, leaving the other with only two words: "No time."

"Tsk, I didn't beat you enough back then," Qin Heng muttered, intending to go back inside to continue drinking.

When Achan followed Bai Xiuming out of the Mingjing Division, there were many pedestrians on the road, many of whom were carrying lanterns and had just left from Tianjie. They were also discussing the snow that had just fallen and complaining that it had melted too quickly.

For ordinary people, this may just be an unexpected surprise.

Achan took a few steps forward but didn't want to move anymore. She felt that her exercise level today had exceeded the normal range.

Bai Xiuming felt the person next to him suddenly stop, and when he turned around, he saw A Chan looking at him expectantly.

Every time she showed that expression, Bai Xiuming knew she wanted him to do something for her again.

"What do you want?" he asked directly.

"I'm so tired from walking, my legs are so sore."

Bai Xiuming leaned down with his back to her, and A Chan happily pounced on him.

Achan wrapped her arms around Bai Xiuming's neck as he carried her on his back. Her weight was nothing to Bai Xiuming; he walked quickly and steadily, radiating warmth. Before long, Achan became sleepy.

Feeling her breathing gradually become shallow and steady, Bai Xiuming suddenly asked, "Why is your nickname 'Chan' (缠)?"

Achan was still awake, and when she heard his words, she didn't even open her eyes: "Because Mother said I'm a little pest, she calls me Achan. Isn't that nice?"

"It sounds nice, and it's very fitting."

She's definitely a little pest.

Achan's lips curved into a smile, but in reality, it was just her imagination. She even doubted whether her mother knew that her name was Achan.

Bai Xiuming seemed to have asked casually, and after A Chan explained, he didn't pursue the matter further.

Achan closed her eyes, intending to continue sleeping, but she had been interrupted and her sleepiness had vanished, so she had no choice but to close her eyes and rest.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Bai Xiuming suddenly stopped.

"Are you home yet?" Achan asked lazily.

"We've arrived," Bai Xiuming said calmly. "There's a ghost standing at your door."

The ghost had very faint ghostly aura and no resentment, so he did not make a move immediately.

"What the hell?" Achan was initially confused, but when she opened her eyes and saw that it was Lü Ruhui, she quickly patted his shoulder, signaling him to put her down.

Bai Xiuming put the person down, but did not let her go.

He grabbed Achan's hand and asked slowly, "Are you planning to keep a ghost in your house?"

Seeing a ghost at someone else's doorstep might be an accident, but seeing a ghost at Achan's doorstep means there's only one possibility: the ghost must be related to her.

"No, that's Mr. Lü from the antique shop next door. He died of a serious illness, and he's been lingering because he's worried about me."

Lu Ruhui stood under the extinguished lantern. Although she was dead, her soul instinctively sensed danger.

She wanted to escape, but her intuition told her not to make any rash moves.

"What did you do?" Bai Xiuming asked.

"I just helped her stabilize her soul so that she could go back to see her family one last time, that's all."

"That simple?" Bai Xiuming was clearly skeptical.

"Of course, don't you believe me?" Achan retorted.

"Of course I believe you." Faced with the choice between the truth and the lie, Bai Xiuming chose to go against his conscience.

Ah Chan was finally satisfied. She nudged the person next to her and said, "Alright, it's getting late. You should go back now, or you'll scare Mr. Lü's spirit away."

"Okay, I'll come see you again in a couple of days."

He glanced at the spirit of Boss Lü, but wasn't worried about A-Chan's safety. Before leaving, however, he casually pinched her cheek: "Be careful."

"knew."

After finally getting rid of the person, Achan went up to talk to Lü Ruhui.

"Why did you come here today, Mr. Lü? Didn't you go to see your family?"

Lü Ruhui shook her head: "There's no need to see each other again. I've done everything I needed to do."

"Has your resentment subsided?"

"It will dissipate after tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Achan realized that something might happen tomorrow, but she didn't press for details, thinking that Boss Lü knew what he was doing.

"Miss Ji, thank you for your help."

Achan shook her head: "No need to thank me, Boss Lü, have a safe journey."

She knew that after today, Boss Lü would not appear again.

Lu Ruhui bowed to Achan, and her figure gradually faded away.

After tomorrow, her soul will enter the underworld. In fact, she can already feel the call from the underworld, but she cannot leave yet.

On her final day, her closest relatives will come to her funeral, and she must be present.