Chapter 8: The Background of Hatred

Old Man Bai was startled awake and, by the moonlight, saw the face of the person who had come.

"It's you? What are you doing? This is extremely disrespectful!"

Old Mrs. Xu's face was contorted, her hand gripping Hensheng's neck tightly. "I knew it, I knew it! No wonder that old devil came to the north, it turns out..."

Old Bai quickly tried to pull Old Madam Xu away, but the old woman was surprisingly strong, and he could only make "hoarse" sounds as she was being pinched.

Old Bai was truly at his wit's end. "Immortal! Immortal! Please save me! I'll tell you everything!"

Old Mrs. Xu sneered, "A god? Even if that old bastard surnamed Huo came back to life, he couldn't save him!"

However, as soon as she finished speaking, a bright light shone directly into her eyes, forcing her to raise her hand to shield herself.

Old Man Bai quickly helped Hensheng up.

Su Zhenzhen, holding a powerful flashlight, only moved the light away from Old Mrs. Xu's eyes after the father and son had distanced themselves from each other.

Old Mrs. Xu looked resentful, her kind and gentle expression completely gone from when they first met.

"And who are you?"

Su Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow; the word "again" was quite intriguing.

Do you want to see your son?

"What?"

Su Zhenzhen took Xu Hua's ghost directly out of the storage compartment.

Old Mrs. Xu's face immediately turned as dark as the wall.

Xu Hua was still a little dazed when he came out. When he saw his mother, he rushed over, but his soul passed directly through the old lady's body.

"mother."

Old Mrs. Xu, however, dared not look at him.

Su Zhenzhen pointed her flashlight at Xu Hua, then at Hen Sheng, "Which of you is lying? Xu Hua, do you really not know how you died?"

The cut on the neck was clean and showed no signs of struggle, indicating that the murderer must have been someone the victim trusted very much.

Xu Hua remained silent, while Hen Sheng looked conflicted.

Su Zhenzhen waved her flashlight. "I am a messenger of the underworld. Although I am supposed to help wronged souls, I believe that you are not the only one who died unjustly in this era. I don't have time to beat around the bush with you."

After saying that, Su Zhenzhen turned to leave.

Hensheng quickly stopped her, "I'll tell you everything I know."

Su Zhenzhen stopped and switched the flashlight to her other hand. "Speak."

"Actually, I...I'm a living dead!"

Su Zhenzhen turned around, "A living dead?"

Hensheng clenched his fists inwardly. Once some things were started, they would be much easier to say later.

“I’ve seen all sorts of ghosts since I was a child. Before you came, I couldn’t even leave that room. That day I saw Brother Xu’s ghost. I didn’t know him, but he knew me. He asked me why I was there, and I told him everything. He told me to go back and call you, and you’ll know what happened after that.”

Grandma Xu stared intently at Hensheng, "It really was you! You were already dead when you were born!"

Su Zhenzhen then looked at Xu Hua, "Do you have anything to say?"

"I really don't know who killed me." Xu Hua's expression didn't seem to be lying. "The only person I can think of is my cousin, and I can't just die like this."

Su Zhenzhen shone the flashlight on the old man again, "And you?"

Old Mrs. Xu spoke first, "I understand now. You're quite capable, and you'll find out about me sooner or later. In that case, this old woman also has something I'd like you, the immortal, to judge."

"Tell me about it?"

Grandma Xu took a deep breath. "If it's to repay the kindness shown to us, and countless members of our family have died or been injured, and there seems to be no one to carry on the family line, should we still continue to repay this kindness?"

Before Su Zhenzhen could speak, Xu Hua's ghost swayed and looked at Old Madam Xu in disbelief.

"Mother? Could it be... could it be you?"

Grandma Xu dared not look at him. "That's right, it was me. I can't let you send everyone to their deaths!"

Grandma Xu pointed at Hensheng, "Look at his face! If the higher-ups find out, no one will survive! And look at him, how dare you bet your life and fortune on him?"

Xu Hua looked pained. "Mother, have you forgotten Father's dying words?"

"Pah!" Old Mrs. Xu immediately cursed, "Don't mention him to me! My three brothers and two sons all lost their lives because of his loyalty, and now you want to kill off my Hu family line!"

Su Zhenzhen shone the flashlight again. "I'm telling you, stop playing games with me, what's going on?"

Just as Old Mrs. Xu was about to tell the whole story, Chunzhi's voice came from outside.

"Mother, what's wrong? Why are you in the east room?"

Grandma Xu immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, "Chunzhi, call for help! It was your Uncle Bai's family that killed Hua'er! Don't worry about me, call for help!"

Su Zhenzhen's expression changed drastically. She immediately put Xu Hua into her storage compartment, grabbed Hensheng and Old Man Bai, and ran outside.

Chunzhi, who was outside the door, was completely confused. When she saw Su Zhenzhen and the other two running out like their lives depended on it, she realized what was happening and quickly called for help from the neighbors.

Su Zhenzhen was so angry she wanted to curse. This old lady was determined to kill Hensheng.

"Immortal," the old man said cautiously, "why not let Xu Hua explain to the villagers?"

Su Zhenzhen rolled her eyes. "The person is dead. If that old woman offers him a large sum of money and insists that we killed his son, do you think the villagers will believe the words of a ghost?"

Human nature is the most vulnerable thing to test.

Fortunately, it was late at night and many people had already gone to sleep, which gave Su Zhenzhen and her two companions the opportunity to run up the mountain and hide.

Su Zhenzhen's hair was all disheveled, and she immediately released Xu Hua's ghost.

"Speak up, what does your mother mean? If you keep beating around the bush, I'm not going to get involved in your mess anymore."

This time, Xu Hua didn't mince words. "My father was a subordinate of General Huo."

He glanced at Hensheng and continued, “At the end of the previous dynasty, there was war in various places. My family was originally going to go to the south, but because General Huo was in the north, my father insisted on coming here. My three uncles and two brothers all died on the way due to the chaos of war.”

Su Zhenzhen wouldn't miss his micro-expressions, and pointed directly at Hensheng, "Who exactly is he? Or rather, whose face does he resemble? Why does your mother want to kill him so much?"

Old Bai rushed to Su Zhenzhen's feet, "Immortal, I beg you, please don't ask anymore. I promised General Huo that I would take this secret to the grave. He knows nothing about Hate-Sheng. General Huo only hopes that he will grow up safely."

Now it was Hensheng's turn to be confused. "Father, are you hiding something from me?"

Su Zhenzhen almost laughed in anger, pointing her flashlight at Xu Hua, "Grow up safely? Xu Hua, do you think what you did will allow him to grow up safely? Don't treat people like fools. Stealing cattle and sheep from the Hu people's pastures at the border, if you have such great abilities, why don't you just join the army and drive the Hu people away? Wouldn't that be a more permanent solution?"

"I'll say it one last time, if you hide even the slightest bit more, you can do whatever you want with your mess. Don't blame me for not warning you, Xu Hua, you're already dead."

Xu Hua's ghost visibly flinched. "If I tell you everything, can you grant me one request?"

Su Zhenzhen's face turned cold. "You have no right to negotiate with me."

Xu Hua had no choice. He dared not speak, but he was already dead and there were many things he could no longer do. If the deity in front of him abandoned him, his mother would definitely find a way to kill Hen Sheng.

"Actually... I hate that he was born... He was the crown prince of the previous dynasty!"