Chapter Fourteen
Baozhu knew that the crying was not caused by the ghost of Minister Ruan, but she did not want Li Zhi to get involved. She used a little trick to make Li Zhi fall asleep, and then got up and walked towards the source of the sound.
It's unclear how long Li Zhi will stay in this life, so it's best to get rid of some of the evil spirits as soon as possible.
After all, they had been husband and wife for a lifetime, so it wasn't that she was indecisive.
Baozhu comforted herself in her heart.
The fox demon tiptoed through the covered walkway and arrived at the garden. Hearing the crying getting closer, she guessed that the culprit was now gloating, thinking that she had scared the poor scholar away from Ruan Garden.
But they probably never imagined that their daily antics in Ruan Garden would one day attract demons and ghosts.
Baozhu silently stepped onto the thick layer of fallen leaves in the abandoned garden, approaching step by step two mortals who were masked and wailing in a high-pitched voice.
Slowly, she walked to a spot just a step away from the two of them.
Why are you crying?
Baozhu drew out her voice, sounding as if she were weeping, and her performance was much better than that of the two masked men.
Suddenly, they heard a woman sobbing, which startled them so much that they trembled violently as if struck by lightning.
Forget about putting on an act, the two of them screamed and scrambled out of the garden.
"Don't go, stay with me."
Baozhu chuckled softly as she chased after him.
"I'm so sorry!"
"We were wrong! Please, have mercy on us!"
The masked men used all their strength, running like lame wild dogs, and quickly scaled the low wall of Ruan Garden.
Baozhu stood in the courtyard, watching the two terrified thieves walk away, and laughed with a sense of joy.
These days have been incredibly stressful, requiring constant mental exertion, which has exhausted Baozhu. It's rare to have such a relaxing time.
Baozhu stood with her hands on her hips, gazing for a while in the direction the thieves had gone.
But perhaps she had used her brain too much; once it started spinning, she couldn't stop. In her previous life, she was satisfied after scaring away the thieves who were pretending to be gods and ghosts. In this life, she suddenly had an idea.
Why would they cause trouble in Ruan Garden and fabricate a ghost story about the abandoned garden?
The thought immediately sparked Baozhu's intense curiosity.
She touched her chin and spun around a few times before deciding to follow and take a look.
I'll just leave for a little while; Li Zhi should be fine, right?
The fox spirit, itching to act, scaled the low wall and chased after the thieves in the direction they had fled.
After chasing for a while, Baozhu stopped.
She looked up and surveyed the enormous garden in front of her; it was inside this garden that the petty thieves had sneaked in.
"Chen Garden?"
Baozhu tilted her head, trying to decipher the ancient characters on the plaque.
This is the garden of a family surnamed Chen.
Chen Garden and Ruan Garden are not far apart, and judging from the size of the gardens, they belong to extremely wealthy families.
Baozhu walked around the garden and even saw several exorcising formations on the courtyard wall.
What a grand gesture! They even specially hired a celestial master to draw up the formation!
The Chen family sent people to Ruan Garden to play tricks on people, yet they were also afraid that real ghosts would come knocking on their door. This truly broadened Baozhu's horizons.
However, these formations looked quite old and were no longer as powerful as when they were first created. After searching carefully, Baozhu still found a few flaws in the wall.
After much thought, Baozhu couldn't suppress her thirst for knowledge and was eager to climb over the wall into Chen Garden when her ears suddenly twitched.
A cry came from deep within Chen Garden.
It didn't sound like the fake crying of petty thieves; it sounded more like someone had been beaten and was crying out in pain.
Sure enough, Baozhu heard the sound of a whip being lashed out again.
The man who had been beaten cried even louder, shouting incoherently, "No one died, why punish me like this? I gave them a month's wages as soon as I got back, what more could they want!"
Before the words were finished, an enraged female voice roared, "You unfilial son! The Chen family's century-old legacy is likely to be ruined in your hands!"
After that, several more whips cracked.
It turns out to be the Chen family, the same young master who sent his servants into the water to retrieve the cat today!
This is their family's garden.
Young Master Chen in the garden cried so hard his voice cracked. Baozhu listened with great interest from outside the garden and was about to move closer to hear more clearly when a childish voice suddenly rang out from inside Chen's garden.
"Hey, who are you, and why are you loitering in front of my house!"
There's a monster!
Baozhu was terrified!
There's even a monster living in this Chen Garden!
As if caught doing something wrong, Baozhu instinctively took off running. The real monster ran even faster than the fake monsters from before!
Fearing that the monster might be chasing her, Baozhu circled Ruan Garden several times. Only after confirming that there was no tail behind her did she carefully slip back into Ruan Garden and return to the small courtyard where she and Li Zhi had rested.
Li Zhi was asleep just as she had when she left.
Baozhu, panting heavily, walked over to him and sat down next to him.
Her heart was still pounding wildly at this moment!
Baozhu clutched her chest, trying to calm herself, but before she knew it, she suddenly felt a little wronged.
While those around her were unaware, she rested her head on Li Zhi's shoulder and then reached out to hug one of his arms.
"It's all your fault," Baozhu complained, pouting. "I died before I could do anything evil in my previous life."
As a result, he had only overheard some of other people's private affairs in his life, and he felt extremely guilty, so he was chased away by that cat demon with just one sentence.
Looking back now, it's clear that a monster lived in Chen Garden, and Baozhu had clearly seen the white cat's appearance during the day.
"One must do evil often, so that one will not be afraid when doing evil."
Baozhu gave a summary.
After saying that, she rubbed her face against Li Zhi's arm and lingered inhaling his scent.
"I'm scared tonight. I promise, this is the last time. I'll go back in a few days once you've settled down."
Baozhu continued talking to herself.
Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and before she could let go of Li Zhi's arm, a fierce drowsiness swept over her, and Baozhu fell into a deep sleep.
Li Zhi opened his eyes.
He looked down at Baozhu's unguarded profile and sighed softly.
That night, Baozhu slept unusually soundly, only waking up slowly when the sun rose and sunlight shone into the room.
Li Zhi had disappeared again, but Baozhu knew that he had been by her side last night.
It felt like every morning in my past life, after Li Zhi's official rank rose higher and higher.
Baozhu blinked lazily, seemingly unaware of what year it was.
In such a large mansion, were her maids, Chunhua and Qiuyue, waiting outside the door, just waiting for her to wake up so they could help her dress up, bring out gorgeous jewelry to add color to her life, and continue the dull and boring day?
don't want.
Baozhu regained consciousness.
With a sigh, Baozhu was about to tidy herself up when she heard footsteps outside the door.
Li Zhi, carrying a water bag and covered in the smell of cooking oil, hurried in.
"I found a small kitchen and tried to boil some water. We've been eating and sleeping in the open along the way, Miss. Please wash up with some hot water."
As he spoke, he casually tidied up the straw mat he had used to sleep on the night before turning around and leaving the room.
"I'm right here in the courtyard, Miss, please feel free to do as you please."
Baozhu agreed and hastily washed herself with the water in the pouch.
Li Zhi, with his back to Baozhu in the courtyard, listened to the pattering water behind him, his throat bobbing slightly.
He stood in the courtyard, eyes downcast, until the commotion behind him ceased.
"Young Master Li must have many things to do in the city today. I don't know where my family is yet, so I won't accompany you."
Baozhu stood up and said to Li Zhi.
"I'm afraid I'll still be staying at Ruan Garden tonight, Miss?"
Li Zhi turned around, his beautiful eyes looking directly at Baozhu.
Baozhu turned her head away, hesitated for a moment, and stammered, "I will naturally stay at Ruan Garden as well."
"That's good then." Li Zhi smiled, his clenched fist loosening. "In that case, see you tonight."
See you tonight.
Having received the promise of the precious pearl, Li Zhi immediately set off for the city.
Baozhu stood there blankly, lost in thought for a while, then sighed, "How am I going to pass the day?"
"Why don't you play with me?"
A childish voice rang out above Baozhu's head.
If Baozhu were in fox form at this moment, all the fur on her body would surely stand on end in fright.
She suddenly looked up at the roof and angrily said, "Why do you walk without making a sound!"
A pure white cat gracefully jumped down from the roof. She had a pair of emerald green eyes, fluffy fur, and an elegant figure. It was clear at a glance that she was not a common cat raised in an ordinary household.
"What, do you feel ashamed that I saw you getting entangled with a mortal?"
Sai Xue gracefully walked to Bao Zhu, sat down dignifiedly, and her fluffy tail naturally covered her front paws.
Her emerald green eyes, like flawless emeralds, shone with an alluring light.
"What's shameful about me getting entangled with mortals? You're not even ashamed to be a cat to a mortal," Baozhu chuckled. "Mind your own business!"
Sai Xue was taken aback, her eyes widening in bewilderment: "You actually contradicted me."
"Do you still want me to play with you?"
“Yes…” Sai Xue stood up, her tail held high. “Do you want to know the secret of Chen Garden?”
Baozhu blinked, her curiosity, which she had finally managed to suppress, suddenly resurfaced.
"Tell me quickly!"
Here, Li Zhi found the Temple of Strange People in the Immortal Crossing Prefecture. After explaining his purpose to the servant, he met a Celestial Master with a furrowed brow.
He described to the Celestial Master the strange corpse he had found on Yonglian Mountain.
"Oh, I see." The Taoist priest hastily wrote down Li Zhi's testimony in the booklet. "We'll send someone up to take a look when we have time."
Li Zhi was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Is such a thing common in Xiandu Prefecture?"
Upon hearing this, the Celestial Master smiled wryly and said, "If you had come to me a few months ago, I would have immediately led my men up the mountain after hearing your words, but now..."
Before the Celestial Master could finish speaking, a robust servant hurried in from outside, leaned close to the Celestial Master, and whispered something to him.
The Celestial Master listened with a sigh, then gestured with his chin toward Li Zhi and said, "Here comes another one."
"The corpse was clean inside, and had a smile on its face."
After Li Zhi introduced himself, the Celestial Master saw that he was handsome and had an extraordinary appearance, and thought that he must be a government official sooner or later. Besides, the rumors in the Immortal Crossing Prefecture were spreading like wildfire, so how could they be kept secret?
He complained, "We don't have enough manpower. We've already temporarily transferred some celestial masters from below to come up and help us in the last two days. Your Qiling County has also sent a few people up, and they should be arriving soon."
Li Zhi did know two Celestial Masters from Qiling County, but his frequent involvement with strange events was ultimately not a good sign.
"I see. Then I wish the Yiren Temple a speedy resolution to the case."
After bidding farewell to the Celestial Master, Li Zhi turned and headed towards the Xiandu Prefecture's Education Office. Coincidentally, after walking only a few steps, he encountered several men dressed as scholars who called out to him.
"Li Zhi! What a coincidence, you've arrived at Xiandu Prefecture ahead of schedule!"
Li Zhi turned around and smiled.
These scholars were all Li Zhi's classmates. They had been classmates in the county school for several years until Li Zhi returned to his hometown to observe mourning for his grandmother.
"Long time no see! Let's not rush to do anything. It's lunchtime, and I absolutely have to treat you to a meal!"
This classmate, named Zhou Huan, grabbed Li Zhi's sleeve with an extremely happy smile.
Li Zhi glanced at the two other classmates following behind him, and a thought suddenly struck him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com