A Twist of Fate

The next day, the medicine that was supposed to be delivered never arrived, and Yan Dan was free to wander around as she pleased. She had initially thought that Zhao Huanqin might also be kept in the dark, but after walking around the streets, she noticed that everyone was looking at her strangely. Just as she turned around, she heard whispers behind her: "Is this Madam Zhao? She doesn't look like she's lost her mind."

"That's right, you can't judge a book by its cover, who knows..."

"Besides, there are plenty of young ladies here who want to marry Mr. Zhao, but fate is cruel, sending someone like him..."

Yan Dan could only sulk in her heart.

Zhao Huanqin was often away from his own residence. Mang Gui said he was out teaching people to read and write. When he did return, he would mostly sit with her, but they didn't get along and would just sit facing each other. It was fortunate that Zhao Huanqin always wore such a affectionate expression; if it were Yan Dan, she knew she couldn't pretend not to see someone giving her a cold shoulder.

As night fell, Zhao Huanqin would tactfully leave.

As time went on, Yan Dan became quite confused. If Zhao Huanqin had ill intentions, why hadn't he laid a finger on her? Could it be that she had misunderstood? But if it was a misunderstanding, why had her appearance and identity suddenly changed?

Yan Dan no longer wanted to argue with Zhao Huanqin. After all this time, she had come to realize that no matter how hard she tried to reason with him, whether it was with his emotions or his reason, he would only say something like, "Madam, you must be tired. Please rest." This was like a bucket of cold water poured over her.

It wasn't easy to get information out of Mang Gui. Sometimes, if she said a few harsh words, the boy would look at her with tears in his eyes, making her unable to retaliate.

If this continues, she'll go crazy sooner or later.

Yan Dan couldn't help but think that she had been framed in Heaven and lost her celestial status, and now she was facing an unjust case. She truly had no way to express her suffering. She had been incredibly unlucky over the past few centuries.

Perhaps even Heaven couldn't bear to see this any longer, for things soon took a turn for the better. That night, just as she was about to go to sleep, she suddenly heard a heavy knocking on the door, and someone shouted loudly at the entrance, "I am a ghost messenger from the underworld, open the door quickly!"

Yan Dan assumed someone would open the door, so she ignored it. However, the ghost didn't come out to open it, and the ghost guard outside grew impatient. A flash of blue light appeared, and the gate of the large door jumped open, sliding out from its copper ring. Yan Dan pushed open the window and saw the ghost guard stride in, calling out, "Mr. Zhao, are you and your wife both home?"

Yan Dan stood by the window and said softly, "I'm here. As for..." Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Huanqin hurriedly came out of the study. It was already dark outside, and she couldn't see Zhao Huanqin's expression clearly, but she felt that he was slightly different from usual: no matter when, Zhao Huanqin was almost always neatly dressed and had an upright demeanor, like a gentleman. But now, for some reason, his clothes were a little disheveled, and his gait was also somewhat different from usual.

Gui Xia nodded and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Sorry to bother you."

Yan Dan's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "Lord Ghost Messenger, has something happened?"

"This... is nothing serious. It's just that a section of the barrier surrounding Ghost Town broke, so I came to see if anyone had accidentally wandered out. Now that everything is alright, I'll take my leave."

Throughout the entire process, Zhao Huanqin did not utter a single word, and finally returned to his study in silence.

Yan Dan leaned against the window, thinking to herself, "The barrier around Ghost Town is broken; someone must have sneaked away while the ghost guards weren't looking. That's why they're searching so diligently from house to house. Those in Ghost Town can't directly reincarnate, so what's their purpose in slipping away?"

Yan Dan tossed and turned all night, realizing that remaining inactive wasn't a solution. She decided to try a more indirect approach. When she left the room, she saw her reflection in the bronze mirror. It wasn't her original appearance, but she didn't find it particularly jarring. Perhaps she simply didn't like her face.

Yan Dan rushed to the study door and saw Zhao Huanqin leaning against the table, facing away from the door, holding two thick wooden sticks. Mang Gui stood to the side, head down, pouring tea. Suppressing the goosebumps that covered her skin, she called out softly, "Husband..."

Mang Gui's hand trembled, and the teacup crashed to the ground, spilling tea all over the table.

Yan Dan stepped across the threshold and continued gently, "Husband, the weather is so nice today, why don't we go for a walk?"

Zhao Huanqin held the two thick wooden sticks in his hand and looked out the window: "It's a cloudy day today."

"Cloudy days are cool and actually more comfortable than sunny days."

He pondered for a moment, then handed the wooden stick to Mang Gui, walked straight to Yan Dan's side, and nodded, saying, "Since Madam is in such high spirits, I naturally won't spoil the fun." As he approached, Yan Dan smelled a faint scent of blood. She reached out and took his right arm, then patted his shoulder heavily, saying, "Husband, it's been a long time since we went out for a walk together, hasn't it?"

Zhao Huanqin's brow twitched, but he managed a patient smile: "What you say is true, Madam."

Yan Dan took two quick steps, pulled his arm forward, and smiled slightly as she turned back, saying, "You know, when I have an attack, my mind isn't very clear..." The other person's face paled slightly, but he still smiled, "It's nothing serious." Yan Dan had initially smelled a faint scent of blood, and seeing his complexion now, she knew he was injured. She became even more forceful, shaking his arm left and right, "How many years have we been married?"

Zhao Huanqin tried to pull his hand away, but the other party held it tightly. His lips twitched: "Nearly twenty years."

Yan Dan gave an "oh," then suddenly pretended to fall, grabbing his right arm with one hand and wrapping her other arm around his shoulder, giving it a sharp tug. Zhao Huanqin's face turned pale, and he forced a smile that wasn't quite a smile: "Madam, be careful." Yan Dan put her hands behind her back, feeling a dampness in her palms, and said softly, "Husband, you look terrible. Why don't you come out with me again in a few days?"

Even a clay figure has its own temperament, and Yan Dan knows when to stop while she's ahead.

Moreover, Zhao Huanqin's injuries were quite severe, but fortunately he was wearing dark clothes today, so even if the wounds were bleeding, it wouldn't be noticeable. Yan Dan watched him hurry into the study, then took a stroll around the courtyard. She saw Mang Gui approaching with two thick wooden sticks, softly saying "Madam" before leaving.

Yan Dan was puzzled. What was so special about these two thick wooden sticks that she had seen them twice this morning?

As evening approached, many more ghost messengers began to move about the ghost town, knocking on doors and checking each house. Yan Dan pondered that it was very likely Zhao Huanqin who had broken through the barrier and escaped last night; otherwise, how could he have sustained such injuries? However, she had clearly seen Zhao Huanqin come out to answer the door last night. If she rushed back halfway and happened to run into the ghost messengers outside, the risk would be far too great.

As Yan Dan walked through the room for the tenth time, a sudden realization struck her: the two wooden sticks, the ghost, the events of last night… all these things connected, and she suddenly remembered something she had never been able to understand. Why was she trapped here? Why had she inexplicably become Madam Zhao? Why had her appearance changed? It was all the same thing as Zhao Huanqin from last night. The person who answered the door last night was very likely not Zhao Huanqin, but the ghost disguised as him. The wooden stick was probably also there to make her appear as tall as Zhao Huanqin.

Her current appearance is likely the result of a clever disguise.

These two were clearly plotting something in Ghost Town. She was just a lucky coincidence, a cover for them. If something went wrong—like last night—even if the ghost messengers came to check, they wouldn't notice anyone was missing. The Mang Ghost never went out with her; the way he tried to keep her at home before—was she perhaps the one who impersonated Madam Zhao before?

Yan Dan lay on the table, stacking teacups as she muttered to herself, "Almost there... Just a little longer, just a little longer and I'll be able to escape..."

Master once sighed, "You little brats can't even find one who can stand on their own. Without my support, you'll only starve to death." Yan Dan remembered that she was still young then. After finally climbing onto the stone bench and sitting down, she grinned and pleaded with her master, "What brat? I'm clearly a lotus brat. Master, please don't blame the rabbit..."

Looking back now, it's clear that no one is born knowing everything or doing everything well.

The experience Zhao Huanqin left her with was truly unforgettable; she would likely never forget it even after hundreds of years.

After being worn down by him for so many days, Yan Dan felt that her self-cultivation had improved more than just a little; it was as if she had been reborn. Especially when she saw him putting on a face full of deep affection while his lips twitched slightly, she was in a very good mood.

She hadn't thought about this before, often assuming she had misunderstood Zhao Huanqin. But now, she realized there were flaws in his behavior. She had asked him how many years they had been married, and he said twenty. If they had truly been married for twenty years, they would still be together in the underworld. Surely, he wouldn't be so indifferent as to not even have the habit of tucking her in.

Zhao Huanqin naturally had a cold and aloof appearance, and this pretense suggested he wasn't a good person. Yan Dan, however, found Mang Gui quite agreeable—well-behaved and shy. Why, then, did she end up with Zhao Huanqin?

Normally, with her abilities, it would have been extremely difficult for her to make any trouble in Zhao Huanqin's hands. But now, not only is he injured, but the ghost town has also increased its manpower to guard it, and the situation has actually become more favorable to her.

On the fifth night, a soft sound came from outside the door. Yan Dan rolled off the bed and immediately pushed open the door to see what was happening. She saw Zhao Huanqin, his face deathly pale, leaning against the flower bed outside, his body swaying precariously. A large amount of blood was seeping from his front, almost staining his clothes red.

Yan Dan looked at him in surprise and said, "Husband, how did you get like this? You've lost so much blood, who hurt you? I'll go find a doctor!" She took two steps and then turned back and said, "Look at my memory, this is a ghost town, where would I find a doctor? I'll go find the ghost officers to come and take a look."

Zhao Huanqin, leaning against the flower bed, practically spat out a few words through gritted teeth: "Have you finished pretending?"

Yan Dan circled around him and said softly, "Husband, what's wrong with you? You weren't always so fierce..." Ten years have passed, and it was rare for her to have the upper hand, so she had to tease him a bit: "Look at you, you look so pale. There's no doctor here, so I wanted to ask the ghost messenger for help. What's wrong with that?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a series of hurried footsteps approached. Mang Gui gently helped Zhao Huanqin up and asked repeatedly, "Sir, how did you get injured like this?"

Zhao Huanqin pushed her hand away and took off his outer robe: "Now is not the time to talk. Burn this robe immediately. I have already wiped the bloodstains at the door. Go and check on them later."

Clutching his blood-stained robe, as if about to cry, Mang Gui suddenly walked up to Yan Dan and knelt down: "Please, this time you must help Master!"

Yan Dan stepped aside, her brows furrowing slowly. "Why should I help you? When I asked you for help before, you didn't give me a single hint. Besides, even if I helped you, I wouldn't get any benefit from it. Why would I do something like that?"

Zhao Huanqin clutched his chest wound, coughed lightly twice, and suddenly said to Mang Gui, "Go and take care of things." Mang Gui hurriedly left with the blood-stained outer robe, and then he slowly turned to Yan Dan: "You must want to leave the Netherworld, right? I have a way."

Yan Dan coldly replied, "Do you think I would believe you?"

"Friends who share hardships may not be able to share happiness, while enemies may become allies," Zhao Huanqin said calmly and indifferently. "Even if you expose me, you will not gain anything. You will lose money and gain nothing. You might as well think about it yourself."

Yan Dan heard footsteps approaching from afar, and in this situation, she didn't have time to think it over: "Okay, whatever you say, I'll do it."

Zhao Huanqin staggered past her, saying, "Come inside, close the door, and bring the face powder from the dressing table." Yan Dan thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "So that's what you were thinking... You really are a despicable person."

Zhao Huanqin was badly injured and was only holding on by a thread. He really didn't have the strength to deal with her: "Alright, with you like this, I wouldn't even think of anything."

Yan Dan strode over and slapped him hard across the face, saying casually, "It's all my fault for having other thoughts about you. See, I just couldn't resist hitting you."