"Really...really?" Madam Hu cautiously raised her head to look at Ye Xianya, then sniffed hard before lowering her head again, utterly terrified. "No...he didn't leave. He's still in the house. I can smell it, a rotten smell, a stench..."
"When did you first suspect that your husband had become a ghost, Madam Hu?" Ye Xianya asked softly.
Upon hearing this, Madam Hu looked up at Ye Xianya, paused for a moment, and then said, "Three months ago, you foresaw this, didn't you, young lady? I never told you that it was my husband who became a ghost. Since you foresaw it, you must have a way to help me get rid of him. Please, young lady, have mercy..."
After Hu Niangzi finished speaking, she took out a purse from her bosom, unfolded a crumpled silver note from the purse, and placed it in front of Ye Xianya: "This is...this is all my savings, ten taels of silver. Please help me, young lady."
“Ever since I entered the room where you were telling fortunes, he hasn’t dared to show up. It’s clear he’s terrified of you,” said Madam Hu, looking around and shrinking her neck.
"In the past three months, has he not gone out during the day and only went out at night, and often stayed out all night, not returning until almost dawn?" Ye Xianya glanced at her and asked softly.
“Yes!” Madam Hu nodded quickly: “Moreover, he smelled terrible, like the smell of rotting people… I was very scared and wanted to stay away from him, but he locked me in the room and wouldn’t let me leave even a step.”
Madam Hu said with a pained expression, "Last night, last night I climbed over the wall after he went out. I asked the villagers for help, and they said... said there was a powerful Miss Ye in the capital, so I came here."
"Before you came to the capital, did you visit Biyun Temple, one of the ten major Taoist sects, overnight?" Ye Xianya asked.
"Yes!" Madam Hu nodded quickly. "I didn't expect you to have even foreseen this. After I escaped from the village, I went to Biyun Temple first. Biyun Temple is not far from our Wuli Village, only about ten miles away. There are many female Taoist priests there, so it would be convenient for me, a woman, to go and ask for help. But... but when I finally arrived, I was turned away at the door."
As she spoke, Madam Hu gently wiped the corner of her eye, but there were no tears on her face.
"Biyun Temple is too eerie. After I arrived at the mountain gate, I was still several feet away from the gate when I was unable to get any closer," said Madam Hu with a wronged expression.
"Madam Hu, you feel that your husband has already followed you here, and you can even smell his scent in this room. You are very scared, but... you are not scared. Do you know why?" Ye Xianya asked with a smile.
If this woman was truly afraid, she wouldn't have said so much to her.
"Why...why?" Madam Hu was stunned.
"Because... the one who died wasn't him, but you. The smell you're smelling is your own body scent, only it's not noticeable to others. But this smell is amplified several times over for you because you've been drinking the corpse poison water that your husband specially concocted for you every day," Ye Xianya said calmly.
"This...this is impossible, I am clearly a human being." Madam Hu was extremely excited and stood up, shouting loudly.
"Do you know... why you can't enter Biyun Temple?" Ye Xianya asked.
Madam Hu was taken aback again upon hearing this.
"Because you are already dead, the Bagua diagram hanging outside the gate of Biyun Temple is just an ordinary magic weapon. You're lucky it didn't destroy your soul. How could you possibly get close?"
"I..." Madam Hu squeezed the handkerchief in her hand tightly.
"The tea you drink every night at night is actually corpse poison water. It was made by your husband using human corpses and several special poisons. It is extremely insidious. If an ordinary person gets in contact with it, they will quickly rot and die within a few days. But for you, it is a great tonic. It not only helps you preserve your body, but your soul can still control this body."
After Ye Xianya finished speaking, she felt a little thirsty. Just as she was about to pick up her cup and take a sip of tea, Zhengzheng stretched out her paw and lifted her teacup.
That little lackey!
Ye Xianya was delighted and gave it another Hundred Beast Pill.
Zhengzheng was overjoyed and quickly swallowed it with her mouth.
It smells so good!
"Even with the corpse poison nourishing your body, you're almost at your limit. Lately... have you noticed the smell of decay getting stronger? Especially your feet, haven't they rotted quite a bit?"
As soon as Ye Xianya finished speaking, Madam Hu subconsciously tugged at her skirt, afraid that others would see her feet.
“Your feet are rotting. Even though you changed into a new pair of cloth shoes before you came in, the shoes are almost soaked with rotting flesh.”
"No...no, I'm not dead, I'm not dead...my foot...my foot is just injured. It was crushed by a vat when I was cooking not long ago. I...I can't go out, so I can't get treatment, and that's why it's ulcerated..." Madam Hu trembled all over as she said this.
“Few people can face death calmly. It’s normal that you can’t accept it. These days, your husband has had a hard time finding corpses, and the money is almost gone. He can no longer buy those highly poisonous substances. The corpse poison water left at home can only last for three days at most. In addition, you didn’t drink it last night, so… your body is a little unstable.”
After Ye Xianya finished speaking, she drew a talisman and placed it on the table.
"I have a talisman here. After you consume it, it will ensure that your body does not decay for three days. Go, fulfill your unfinished wish, and then be reincarnated."
"I...I really didn't die." Madam Hu was heartbroken, but not a single tear fell.
How could she be dead? She was clearly still alive.
Ye Xianya was a little annoyed. She reached out and cast a spell, and after a moment, Hu Niangzi's soul left her body.
The body slowly collapsed to the ground, decaying at a visible rate.
Afraid of frightening the others in the room, Ye Xianya waved her hand, and Hu Niangzi's body instantly became blurry in the eyes of the onlookers, and could no longer be seen clearly.
"I originally thought you were a kind-hearted person, but you were tricked and ended up looking like a ghost. I wanted to help you fulfill your wish, but since you are unwilling, then so be it."
Upon hearing this, Hu Niangzi's spirit immediately knelt down: "Miss, it's me... I was too stupid and couldn't see reality. Please give me another chance, let me live for three more days. I... I just want to see my child, just one look at him, and then I can go in peace."
“Madam Hu, you were a very kind person when you were alive. You did a lot of good deeds and accumulated good karma. Three months ago, you had a difficult childbirth and the baby could not be delivered because the fetus was too big.”
“Your mother-in-law hired a sorceress for help, and in the end, she used a vicious method to save the child by sacrificing her own life, but you lost your life. This is because you had accumulated good karma in your life, and after death, your obsession was too deep. You wanted to see your child one last time, and your soul did not leave your body.”
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