Zhou Jiren was awakened by excruciating pain.

He was still half asleep when, as soon as he opened his eyes, a stench like that of an exploding latrine hit him.

It made him gag.

"Beauty...beauty! There's a cesspool here that's about to explode! Let's run!" Zhou Jiren struggled desperately to stand up, but his legs gave way and he couldn't get up.

In my dream, I seemed to smell an extremely foul odor, so strong it made me want to vomit.

When he opened his eyes, there was no stunning beauty in front of him.

Standing in front of him, pinching his philtrum with her hand, was only Old Lady Du, who looked utterly disgusted!

"Oh, he's awake!" Seeing him awake, Old Lady Du withdrew her hand dismissively, wiping it on her waist. "Alright, now that he's awake, we don't need to carry him back."

The other men had also gotten used to the awful smell and didn't react as strongly as Zhou Jiren, but none of them were willing to carry Zhou Jiren back.

At the crucial moment, it was Old Lady Du who stepped in and used her old method to pinch Zhou Jiren awake.

"Beauty, beauty..." Zhou Jiren was pulled up, still muttering "beauty" under his breath. He staggered forward a couple of steps before his legs gave way, and he rolled his eyes and fainted again.

"You, Zhou Jiren! You didn't feel weak in the knees when that beautiful female ghost was with you, but now that we're going back, your legs are suddenly weak!" someone shouted, thinking that Zhou Jiren was just faking it and trying to get him up.

They were all strong laborers in their families. After working all day, they still had to go out to look for people at night. They even vomited up their dinner and were starving.

How many people have the strength to carry someone back?

This time, even though Old Lady Du almost pinched Zhou Jiren's philtrum until it bled, Zhou Jiren lay on the ground motionless and refused to wake up.

At the crucial moment, it was Lin Wanyue who went over, placed her fingers on Zhou Jiren's wrist, and said, "His yang deficiency is too severe; he won't wake up today."

"..." Upon hearing Lin Wanyue's words, everyone's previous complaints disappeared.

Regardless of whether they believed the rumors about Lin Wanyue's abilities when they came, after seeing the female ghost, they were filled with lingering fear and were now convinced that this little girl from the Lin family was no ordinary girl, but a little fairy descended from heaven.

He naturally believed what she said.

"Then, let's carry it away."

"Dazhu, you lift your head, I'll lift my foot."

Knowing that Zhou Jiren wasn't faking his unconsciousness, the crowd's complaints lessened, and several people took turns carrying him back to the village head's house.

Zhou Jiren's father, the village head, and the women in the family all stood on tiptoe, eagerly anticipating his return. Only when they saw him being carried back did they finally relax.

Zhou Jiren's wife, in particular, threw herself on him and wailed, "You're finally back! You scared me to death!"

"Pfft..." Zhou Jiren exhaled a breath of turbid air as his wife pressed him down. He half-opened his eyes, his gaze hazy, and saw his wife's ordinary round face. Thinking he was still dreaming, he quickly pushed her away.

"Where is my beauty? Where is my beauty? I want my beauty... not you, you old hag!" Zhou Jiren said in a daze.

"..."

Zhou Jiren's wife stopped crying.

After wiping away her tears, she asked the person who brought it over what had happened.

"This..." The men hesitated, trying to cover up for their childhood friend.

But Old Lady Du had no such concerns. She gulped down the Zhou family's tea, wiped her mouth, and said, "Ji Ren's wife, you have no idea how dangerous things were today! If it weren't for Wanwan's skill in suppressing that female ghost, it's hard to say whether Ji Ren would have made it back. When we arrived, we happened to see Ji Ren lying on top of that female ghost, tsk tsk tsk..."

"But that female ghost was really quite beautiful at first, those legs, those breasts... so white! I really don't know how they raised her, we country folk work every day, we can't raise such white skin!" As Old Lady Du spoke, even the men who had seen the female ghost's true face couldn't help but start to recall.

The female ghost was truly beautiful at first glance.

That's why they say, "To die beneath the peony is to die a romantic death."

Some people, emboldened by lust, even envied Zhou Jiren's good fortune in finding such a beautiful female ghost.

Even if I die, it's worth it!

Besides, he's not dead, is he?

Unfortunately, Zhou Jiren was the one who encountered this good fortune.

Why don't they have such good luck?

He can encounter a beautiful female ghost and also be rescued by the Lin family's little girl.

Apart from losing a little bit of yang energy, that really doesn't count as a loss!

"You bastard Zhou Jiren!" Zhou Jiren's wife's face grew increasingly gloomy. She raised her hand and slapped Zhou Jiren's pale face twice.

"I was worried sick at home, and you shameless bastard got bewitched by a female ghost!" She cursed and hit him at the same time, truly furious. "You dog of a man!"

The crisp sound of the slaps made many men cover their faces and take their leave.

The village head and his wife didn't dare stop their daughter-in-law from disciplining their good-for-nothing son, so they could only quickly help see the guests off: "Thank you all so much for your help today."

After exchanging pleasantries and seeing everyone to the door, and finally waiting for the daughter-in-law to vent her anger, and listening nervously for a while, the group dared not go back.

Zhou Jiren was finally brought to his senses by his wife's slap, and he knelt on the washboard with his head down and eyes lowered.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!