Chapter Fifty-Six: Qingyang Arrives as Promised

Preserving the gruesome appearance of the dead, these ghosts were hardly aesthetically pleasing to begin with. Now, twisted by anger and fear, they appeared even more grotesque and terrifying. Each one had a pale face, venomous eyes, and swirling black energy around them. If you added two fangs to that, they would perfectly match all the descriptions of blue-faced, fanged demons in the folk tales.

Seeing the shocked and furious looks in Xue Mei and Qiu Ju's eyes—a mixture of dread and rage, a desire to pounce and devour them alive yet an inability to move—Jiu Ya felt a vein throbbing in her temple and her face darken. She rolled her eyes in exasperation: "Hey, can't you be reasonable? You were the ones who attacked first, weren't you? Why are you turning around and acting like we bullied you? Really… So what? What do you want now? Keep fighting? I'm so scared~"

Her words were filled with undisguised sarcasm and contempt. These few newly formed, resentful ghosts, barely clinging to life, would be a complete joke if they were to be taken seriously by her, the Demon Lord who ruled over all demons.

The undisguised contempt in Jiu Ya's eyes deeply stung the sensitive and fragile nerves of the female ghosts. Since becoming vengeful spirits, they had possessed power unimaginable in their previous lives, driving those who had once been high and mighty, controlling their destinies—Luo Qi, Yue Niang, Madam Luo, and even those bullying servants—into constant fear. This thrill of controlling the lives and deaths of others was addictive to them. Killing those servants and then devouring their newly born, weak souls to enhance their own power allowed them to experience the thrill of rapid growth.

It wasn't that they lacked the ability to kill Luo Qi, Yue Niang, and Madam Luo directly; rather, they deliberately slowed down the pace of their revenge, like cats catching mice, first clipping their wings step by step, tormenting their minds, wanting their enemies to slowly collapse in endless fear and despair, and ultimately die miserably—only in this way could they slightly quell the overwhelming hatred in their hearts.

The smooth sailing they'd experienced since becoming ghosts and the rapid expansion of their power had given them a blind confidence, even arrogance. Their initial display of weakness and complaints, while genuinely revealing their feelings, also served as a test of the two people before them. Seeing that Rong Jiang and Jiu Ya hadn't made a move yet, they gradually relaxed, even developing a degree of contempt.

However, Jiu Ya merely drew her strangely shaped short sword casually, without even actually wielding it. The terrifying pressure and scorching demonic energy emanating from it instantly extinguished their arrogance like a bucket of ice water, shattering their pitiful "confidence." It turned out that their pride and joy were utterly insignificant in the face of a true powerhouse.

"A-Jiu, stop teasing them." Rong Jiang gently raised her hand and pressed down on Jiu Ya's wrist, which was still casually playing with the Kunwu sword.

The moment their skin touched, Jiu Ya's heart started pounding uncontrollably—her daughter had taken the initiative to touch her hand! Ahhh! Could this count as physical contact? Could it be an increase in affection? Could it be that she'd successfully latched onto her boyfriend? Was a happy ending in sight? So sweet!

However, the next second, a subtle feeling arose in her heart. Rong Jiang's fingers were slender and jade-like, with distinct knuckles, extremely beautiful, but they felt as cold as jade to the touch, without any warmth that a living person should have.

"Ranran is just too kind-hearted!" Jiuya muttered to herself, and then sheathed her Kunwu Blade. The blade flashed with a ghostly light and disappeared into its sheath, and the suffocating demonic power subsided as well.

Rong Jiang turned her gaze to the group of female ghosts on the ground, still in shock. Her voice returned to its previous cold and calm tone, but carried an undeniable authority: "Considering your tragic pasts, your innocent deaths, and your deep resentment, I will temporarily forgive your earlier offense."

She paused slightly, her phoenix eyes, which seemed to see through everything, locked onto Xuemei and the other four maids: "Since you are unwilling to tell the truth, then there is no need to say anything more."

No need to say anything more? What does that mean?

The ghosts, including Xuemei and Qiuju, felt a chill run down their spines from that cold gaze. Although ghosts are usually incapable of feeling the warmth or coldness of the world, they felt as if they had been thrown into the depths of an icy cave in the dead of winter, and they couldn't help but tremble violently.

Rong Jiang believed that their initial descriptions of their grievances were largely true, but whether there were any concealments or lies on certain key details needed to be verified in the most direct way—soul searching.

The memory of the soul is the most unalterable testimony.

Rong Jiang's eyes flickered slightly, and a powerful divine sense enveloped all the female ghosts, led by Zhang Shi. Starting with Zhang Shi, they were followed by Tao Shi, Xue Mei, Qiu Ju, Dong Xiang, and finally Zhu Shu, who had been silent all along and whose back was stained with blood.

The soul-searching process seemed lengthy, but for Rong Jiang, it was merely a fleeting moment. After a brief pause, her icy gaze shifted slightly, revealing that she already knew everything.

The identities of these individuals were indeed correct, and their causes of death were largely consistent with what they had previously stated. The cruelty and evil deeds of Madam Luo and Yue Niang were undeniable. However, when her divine sense swept over the female ghost named Zhu Shu, who always kept her head down, she sensed a discordant fluctuation.

Zhu Shu was not entirely innocent. She was originally a maid personally chosen and assigned by Madam Luo to her son, Luo Qi, as a concubine. Luo Qi had also promised her, with sweet words, that he would make her a concubine after his wife married into the family. However, Yue Niang's domineering and jealous nature shattered her dreams. Seeing that the position of concubine was hopeless, Zhu Shu harbored resentment and poisoned Yue Niang's tea when she was newly pregnant, causing Yue Niang to miscarry. When the matter was exposed, the enraged Yue Niang naturally would not let her off the hook and ordered her to be beaten to death.

Yue Niang, already domineering, became even more suspicious after this ordeal, guarding against any maid who might approach Luo Qi with extreme caution and ruthlessness. It can be said that the tragedies of Xue Mei, Qiu Ju, Dong Xiang, and others are all inextricably linked to Luo Qi's promiscuity, Yue Niang's intense jealousy, and the evil seeds sown by Zhu Shu.

For a moment, it was difficult to simply judge who was more at fault between Yue Niang and Zhu Shu.

As for Zhang and Tao, the leaders among the female ghosts, did they truly not know that Zhu Shu was not entirely innocent? Perhaps not. However, as fellow wronged souls of the Luo family, both having died tragically, a sense of shared suffering led them to tacitly accept Zhu Shu's "innocence" and refrain from actively exposing the truth. The maids, such as Xue Mei, who served Yue Niang and Luo Qi later, were unaware of the inside story and were naturally kept in the dark as well.

In addition, Rong Jiang also "saw" how they dealt with the slain evil servants—the servants had just died, and their souls had not yet condensed into a physical form when these resentful female ghosts swarmed up on them, joined forces to tear them apart and devour them to enhance their own power, truly achieving "annihilation of both body and soul," leaving them no chance to even become ghosts.

As a long-time reader of "The Glory of the Underworld," Jiu Ya knew that Rong Jiang possessed the skill of "soul searching." It could be said that, if Rong Jiang wanted to, no ghost could hide the truth from her.

Seeing Rong Jiang's gaze linger meaningfully on Zhu Shu, who had been rather unnoticed, Jiu Ya's heart skipped a beat. She keenly sensed something was wrong: "Ranran, what's wrong? This Zhu Shu... is there something wrong with her?" She didn't seem to have said anything.

"Ah Jiu is quite perceptive." Rong Jiang withdrew her gaze and looked at Jiu Ya, a hint of admiration flashing in her eyes.

Jiuya immediately straightened her back proudly, her chin slightly raised, "That's right! My intuition is always very accurate!" She almost let slip that she referred to herself as "this one".

A faint smile flickered across Rong Jiang's eyes.

Just then, the setting sun finally sank completely beneath the distant mountains, leaving only a faint crimson glow on the horizon. Lanterns were lit inside and outside the Luo residence.

Almost simultaneously, Rong Jiang slightly turned her head, looking towards the direction of the Luo family's gate, and said in a calm tone, "That Daoist Qingyangzi has arrived."

"Wow! He's quite punctual!" Upon hearing this, Jiu Ya subconsciously gave the Taoist priest a thumbs up for arriving on time. However, she then thought about the current state of the group of female ghosts and Rong Jiang's presence, and realized that the anticipated lively scene of "human-ghost battle" was probably not going to happen.

However, with Rong Jiang present, it's impossible for a Taoist priest to actually exorcise ghosts. After all, with the Underworld Queen here, how could she stand by and watch a Taoist priest bully her "subjects"? Even if these are vengeful ghosts who have harmed people, it's not up to a human Taoist priest to judge and scatter their souls.

"Qingyangzi?" Upon hearing this name, Zhang and the other female ghosts exchanged glances, their faces showing little fear. Luo Qi had previously invited Taoist priests and monks to his mansion under various pretexts to "pray for blessings" and "exorcise evil," but most were just charlatans swindling money. They'd brandish peach wood swords for ages, but couldn't even touch them, posing no real threat. Over time, they'd lost all respect for these so-called "masters."

At the main gate of the Luo residence, Luo Qi had been anxiously waiting for a long time. Upon seeing Qingyangzi and his disciple, he immediately greeted them with a beaming smile and respectfully invited them into the residence.

This Daoist Qingyangzi was indeed quite skilled. As soon as he stepped into the Luo residence, his brows furrowed tightly, and his eyes quickly scanned the layout of the residence before finally settling on the west garden with a serious expression.

“Young Master Luo,” Qingyangzi said in a deep voice, “forgive my bluntness, but whose residence is to the west of your mansion? The air is thick with resentment and malevolent energy, a truly ominous sign!”

He stroked his beard. "This humble Taoist priest must immediately set up an altar in the west garden and perform a ritual there to suppress the evil spirits. I urge you, young master, to immediately order the evacuation of all personnel from the vicinity of the west garden. Under no circumstances should they approach!"

Upon entering the Luo residence and sensing the almost tangible, chilling ghostly aura, especially after sunset at the transition between yin and yang, Qingyangzi's expression grew even more grave. For someone like him with the ability to see spirits, the soaring black mist of resentment from the West Garden was utterly terrifying, far exceeding his initial expectations. These weren't just one or two wronged souls; they were clearly a whole horde of vengeful ghosts! And all of them were quite powerful!

"The west side? That's the garden in the mansion." Luo Qi followed Qingyangzi's gaze and his heart tightened. He quickly said, "I'll do whatever you command, Daoist! I'll give the order immediately, and no servant will be allowed to approach the garden! The cinnabar and black dog blood you need are also ready. Would you like to send them directly to the altar in the garden?"

Qingyangzi shook his head. "No! Have someone reliable in your household immediately sprinkle this black dog blood around the entire perimeter of the garden, making sure it's continuous and uninterrupted! Sprinkle cinnabar outside the thresholds of the rooms where the young master and his wife, as well as Madam Luo's room, forming a closed circle!"

He sensed that the ghostly aura in the mansion was even stronger and more dangerous than he had imagined. Feeling uneasy, he turned to the young Taoist priest Liu Yu who was following behind him and instructed him, "Liu Yu, bring five of the protective talismans that I drew and give them to Young Master Luo."

The young Taoist priest, Liu Yu, though young, was quite clever. As he took out five yellow talismans folded into a triangle from his bag, he wondered: What's wrong with Master? Young Master Luo isn't going to the exorcism site; he should be safe in the main house with the cinnabar circle and talismans protecting him. Why give him so many extra talismans? Could it be... that the situation is more serious than Master has made it out to be? He muttered to himself, but dared not be negligent, respectfully handing the talismans to Luo Qi.