Chapter 35 "This child is fine..."

“This child is fine,” Wenxuan said solemnly, “but he carries a sword and exudes a murderous aura, making him somewhat difficult to deal with.”

"Well, now that you've met Wenqing's wife, you can relax. Just try to avoid them for the next couple of days and don't appear in front of them again," Old Master Pei said thoughtfully.

Wenxuan remained silent at this moment.

Old Master Pei noticed immediately, "Wenxuan, what's wrong?"

“I wasn’t sure before.” Wenxuan slowly raised his head: “But just now when I went to Wei Yin’s room and talked to her, I sensed Jin Nian’s aura on her. Jin Nian’s aura hadn’t dissipated. She must be Jin Nian’s reincarnation…”

"How could that be?" Old Pei denied it outright. "If Jin Nian didn't become a ghost back then, then she must have disappeared from the world. Wen Xuan, don't be confused. There is no such thing as reincarnation in this world. Wen Qing's wife is definitely not Jin Nian!"

"Who said that? What if it really is?" The dark figure crouched down, its voice filled with pain: "If she isn't Jin Nian, how could I smell Jin Nian's scent on her?"

Old Master Pei paused for a moment, still feeling something was amiss, and quickly said, "Even if she is Jin Nian, Jin Nian is long dead. She is now called Wei Yin, the daughter-in-law of the He family, and has nothing to do with you anymore. Don't act recklessly!"

Wenxuan just shook his head, refusing to listen to a single word. Then, unwilling to hear Elder Pei continue, he turned and disappeared from the study.

Old Pei quickly leaned on his cane and went outside, but Wenxuan was nowhere to be seen.

The old man's eyebrows were furrowed, indicating a bad premonition.

At that moment, he looked up and saw a boy walking in from outside.

It was that young man in the black cloak named Lu Hun.

Old Master Pei looked at him and asked with a smile, "Young Master Lu, why aren't you asleep so late?"

"Elder Pei."

Lu Hun lowered his eyes and said, "I remembered something I forgot to ask you earlier."

Old Pei paused for a moment, then smiled, "Oh?"

"I heard Elder Pei mention the Wen family tonight," Lu Hun said. "Elder Pei seems quite familiar with the things in this house. In that case, I'd like to ask Elder Pei, is the ghost in this house the same one as Wen Xuan, the eldest son of the Wen family back then?"

Old Pei thought for a moment and nodded.

Lu Hun was stunned.

If it was Wenxuan, why would he let them see him having sex with other people before he died? Was it intentional?

Old Master Pei seemed to read his mind and chuckled to himself, "Young Master Lu, Wenxuan had a cousin named Jinnian back then. This Jinnian seems to bear some resemblance to Wenqing's wife..."

Lu Hun hesitated and looked at him.

Then, his expression hardened.

It turns out he did it on purpose for Wei Yin to see.

He suddenly turned around and walked back.

When Lu Hun returned to his and Wei Yin's residence, he saw that Wei Yin's room was shrouded in a black mist. At the same time, a powerful aura, much stronger than that of A Zhu, swept over them. This aura even showed signs of transforming into something else.

He took a step forward.

He forcefully thrust the Po Jun sword in.

As a result, Po Jun was directly shaken away as soon as he encountered the black mist.

Lu Hun looked inside, but the black mist filled the air, making it impossible to see anything.

Without further hesitation, Lu Hun extended his scarred hand and called out, "Po Jun."

Po Jun quickly understood what he wanted to do.

He used the blade to cut several bloody marks on the palm of his hand.

Lu Hun, however, seemed completely unconcerned about how much blood he had lost, remaining expressionless as Po Jun continued to cut him.

The moment the Po Jun Sword was stained with that black blood, a murderous aura suddenly erupted from its blade.

Old Pei, who followed along with a cane, was greatly alarmed when he saw Lu Hun's melancholy and sorrowful figure in the distance.

This young man, without even thinking, used his own vital energy to feed the sword.

A ghost's vital energy is related to its lifespan in the underworld.

Once his lifespan is exhausted, he will completely disappear from the world and cease to exist.

What exactly is the relationship between Wenqing's wife and this ghost boy?

Does Wenqing know?

Old Pei shook his head, ignored him, and turned to leave.

-

As the weather turned colder, dawn broke much later, and everything was still shrouded in darkness. Wei Yin, half asleep, suddenly sensed that something was amiss in the room.

She opened her eyes. Although the room was blurry, she could still see a figure sitting silently with his head down on the opposite couch.

At first, she subconsciously thought it was Lu Hun, but then she realized something was wrong. Although the person was just as tall and thin as Lu Hun, Lu Hun was younger and had a more slender build.

Besides, Lu Hun wouldn't sit here in the middle of the night to scare her.

Thinking about this, she got goosebumps all over her body.

Wei Yin dared not make a move for a moment.

After a long while, the figure sitting on the opposite couch finally moved. He got off the couch and went to the candlestick.

The tinderbox lit up.

Then, the candlestick lit up.

Wei Yin finally got a clearer look at the man opposite her. He was wearing an old-fashioned robe with patterns that clearly dated back many, many years. He didn't turn around, but instead spoke to Wei Yin while holding up the lamp oil.

"I bought some jujube cake that you like. It's right here on the table next to you. Try it."

Wei Yin listened, completely bewildered.

Turning my head, I saw a plate of brick-red, date-shaped food on a high table beside the bed.

Wei Yin remembers that this kind of jujube cake was very sweet and was a favorite of her grandparents' generation.

"Do you still like this kind of dessert?" the man opposite asked again.

Wei Yin felt a sense of unease and terror. He appeared in her room in the middle of the night and asked her if she liked jujube cake.

Seeing that she remained silent, the man opposite her paused for a moment before saying in a hoarse voice, "Don't be afraid, I won't do anything to you."

Wei Yin couldn't stand this man who had appeared out of nowhere any longer, so she quickly called out Lu Hun's name.

“You don’t need to shout,” the man on the other end said again. “I’ve set up a barrier; the child can’t hear me.”

Wei Yin was startled.

Who exactly are you?

The man opposite stared at the candlelight silently for a while, and finally, turned his body slowly toward Wei Yin.

Wenxuan's handsome face appeared before Wei Yin's eyes. He was the same Wen family's eldest son she had seen at night. However, the Wenxuan in front of her looked older, probably around thirty years old. He had lost some of his youthful naiveté and gained a more profound look.

This man named Wenxuan is the last generation of the Wen family.

They all died eighty or ninety years ago.

So……

The young Wenxuan standing before her could definitely not be human...

Wenxuan approached Wei Yin. Seeing her shrink back without saying a word, he picked up the jujube cake on the table, took a piece with his fingers, and gently brought it to her lips. "This was bought from your favorite shop. I didn't expect that shop to still be open. But now, it's being made by his great-grandson. I wonder if the taste has changed. Why don't you try it?"

Wei Yin watched as he fed her jujube cake, feeling inexplicably strange and uneasy.

"I don't like it! Take it away, I don't like this jujube cake at all."

Wenxuan was stunned.

Outside the room, a loud crashing sound of something breaking rang out.

A rusty sword, its surface black and bluish-black, suddenly pierced towards Wenxuan with murderous intent.

Wenxuan swiftly raised his hand, and a cloud of black mist barely managed to entangle the Po Jun Sword.

It halted its offensive.

Entering at the same time as the Broken Army Sword was Lu Hun, whose hand was covered in black blood.

Wei Yin didn't notice Lu Hun's bleeding hand. After seeing him, she quickly staggered off the bed.

Lu Hun immediately caught her with his other clean hand.

“Lu Hun.” Wei Yin gripped his collar, pointed at Wen Xuan, her voice trembling, “He kept telling me to eat jujube cake, kept telling me to eat…”

"It's alright, don't be afraid." Looking at her pale face, Lu Hun didn't care about propriety at this moment. He hugged her trembling waist and coaxed her softly, "I'm here, don't be afraid of him."

Wei Yin closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart.

Lu Hun gently patted her back with his palm.

Wenxuan quietly watched the two of them.

Lu Hun looked up, his gaze cold and sharp.

Wenxuan looked down and saw his bleeding hand, and smiled instead, "Child, stop the bleeding first, don't let it all drain away."

Lu Hun ignored him. Wei Yin noticed that Lu Hun's hand was bleeding, so she immediately took out a handkerchief from her bosom and wrapped it around his hand.

Wenxuan watched quietly as Wei Yin bandaged Lu Hun's hand, and said silently, "I remember once, you bandaged my hand like this too."

Wei Yin paused, glancing at Lu Hun, "What exactly is he saying?"

Lu Hun frowned and said, "I heard from Elder Pei that you look similar to his cousin Jin Nian. He probably thinks you are Jin Nian."

Wei Yin then realized what was happening.

No wonder they kept making her eat jujube cake.

Wei Yin felt a little more at ease and said to Wen Xuan, "Young Master Wen, you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not that Jin Nian, and I don't like jujube cake."

“No.” Wenxuan shook his head stubbornly: “I recognize Jin Nian’s aura. You are Jin Nian. I will make you remember soon.”

Wei Yin looked at Lu Hun in surprise.

Lu Hun called out "Po Jun".

Po Jun abruptly returned to his hand, which was wrapped in a handkerchief.

Wei Yin frowned as she looked at him. "Switch to your other hand to hold the sword. The bleeding has just stopped; don't break it again."

Lu Hun ignored her words and insisted on holding Wei Yin's wrist tightly with his good hand.

Wenxuan smiled slightly, raised his hands forcefully, and clumps of floating black mist poured out from his body, spreading everywhere. Then, inch by inch, the entire house was shrouded in these countless black mists.

The man's phoenix eyes were fixed quietly on Wei Yin's face.

"Jin Nian, remember now."

Wei Yin inhaled a wisp of black mist that had suddenly appeared.

"Don't touch this black mist, or it will pull you in."

Lu Hun brandished the Po Jun sword in one hand and gripped Wei Yin's hand in the other, struggling to extinguish the ever-surging black mist.

Wei Yin forced himself to cheer up.

Lu Hun was covered in cold sweat.

The black fog continued to grow.

In the end, the two of them were still enveloped by the black mist.

The sword in Lu Hun's hand fell to the ground.

Just before he closed his eyes, he gritted his teeth and pulled her towards him.

-

When Wei Yin opened her eyes again, the black mist and Lu Hun beside her had all disappeared. Above her head was a row of red lanterns hanging high, and she was sitting under the corridor.

She glanced around. She was still in the Wen family's old house, but the difference was that the house was no longer old and dilapidated. Instead, it had whitewashed walls, various seasonal flowers and plants in full bloom, and was brightly lit by candlelight. She could faintly hear the sounds of servants walking around in the other courtyards.

In the distance, a maid wearing a light pink jacket hurried over and called out to her, "So this is Miss Cousin. It seems that the eldest mistress is about to give birth. Everyone has gone to the eldest young master's courtyard. Why don't you go and take a look too?"