Mortal Realm sold house to pay off debt 10
Between the end of the second act and the start of the third, some people were already planning to leave early to avoid the crowds on the road and to avoid seeing cheap portraits after the show, thinking that if others bought them, they would be tempted to open their own wallets.
Just then, the Xie family's servants split into several teams and distributed free masks to each guest watching the play, saying that wearing masks would make the experience more immersive.
Xie Guijin then ordered people to cover the canopy with a layer of indigo cloth curtains that hung down on all sides, enveloping the entire stage and audience seating area, making the whole space dark.
This piqued the interest of the onlookers, and the masks they received were not crudely made; in fact, they were better than those sold by ordinary street vendors. As a result, no one got up to leave, and they whispered among themselves as they waited for the third act.
The play, titled "Nuoyi Exorcising Ghosts," tells the story of a Nuo opera troupe in Chizhou City that was facing bankruptcy due to poor management. The troupe leader refused to accept this and thus violated ancestral teachings by performing with a sealed ghost mask, which drew cheers from the audience and attracted more and more viewers, much to the troupe leader's delight.
Gradually, the ghost mask stuck to the troupe leader's face and could not be removed, revealing that their ancestors had used living people as sacrifices to make the mask.
The ghost in the dream is resurrected by using a mask, and takes over the body of the troupe leader. When performing, it scatters the ghost mask and covers the faces of the audience, turning them into its puppets.
Soon after, Chizhou City became a ghost town, alarming Fang Xiangshi, who had already become an immortal. She personally led twelve divine beasts to tear off the masks and kill the ghosts.
In the dim light, the stage was eerily quiet, making everyone in the audience feel as if they were there, their hair standing on end.
With the echo still lingering, Xie Guijin ordered several people to work together and quickly tear down the cloth curtain.
As if waking from a dream, everyone unconsciously touched the masks they were wearing, hurriedly took them off, and repeatedly rubbed their faces to check if they were intact.
Those with relatives or friends present had to verify their identities with them, which left them feeling quite uneasy.
They returned to the city in twos and threes, and when they saw portraits of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the Thunder God, and Fang Xiangshi for one coin each, they bought them all. In particular, the portraits of Fang Xiangshi sold out.
The nobles didn't care about any of that. They just said to Xie Guijin, who was seeing them off, "Miss Xie, this play won't do you any good in getting the house unsealed. You'll probably have to pay a penalty for breach of contract."
Xie Guijin discovered that while many common people believed in ghosts and gods, none of these nobles actually believed in them.
“No wonder studying makes one wise,” Xie Guijin thought to herself. She addressed the nobles with neither servility nor arrogance, “His Majesty is wise and discerning, and will naturally investigate the truth and clear my father’s name. No need to worry, esteemed gentlemen, I will definitely send someone to present the red contract before curfew tonight.”
When Xie Guijin brought up the Empress, the nobles' minds stirred, and they all politely left without saying a word.
After everyone had left, everything was tidied up.
Xie Guijin led his men back to the city and went directly to the Ministry of Justice prison to wait for Master Xie.
Butler Hao advised, "Miss, even if a deity were to appear and prove the master's innocence, he probably wouldn't be released immediately. There would still be procedures to follow. Why don't we go home and wait for news?"
“No, it won’t,” Xie Guijin said, refusing to leave and insisting on waiting.
Butler Hao thought to himself, "Well, this is Miss's filial piety. She will have to go back soon when curfew is approaching." So he stopped trying to persuade her.
Soon, the sun set and night fell.
At the moment of transition, the sky above the east, west, south, and north was suddenly filled with brilliant light, and a huge phantom appeared. The phantom was a shrike standing on a mulberry tree branch. The bird spoke in human language: "I am Boqi. Ten days ago, a dream demon haunted this place, taking over the body of a maid and draining the yang energy of dozens of people who attended the banquet. Now I have slain the dream demon, and all evil has vanished."
Repeat three times, and the illusion will disappear.
Those who witnessed it knelt and kowtowed, praying endlessly for blessings.
As the planner, Xie Guijin naturally couldn't undermine her own efforts, so she knelt down to follow the crowd. While others dared not look up at the gods, she stared intently, trying to find a flaw in the manifestation.
Xie Guijin didn't know whether it was the Empress's doing or a divine intervention.
It looks more realistic than the special effects in modern blockbusters; it's something that can't be achieved in this day and age.
"Could there really be gods in this world?" Xie Guijin asked the system in disbelief.
"Are you stupid?" the system said with a sneer. "If there are dream ghosts, there must be gods. You can't believe half of it and not the other half, can you?"
“Oh right,” Xie Guijin said suddenly, “How could I be so stupid? Oh well, it’s not my fault. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, people were not allowed to become spirits. Of course, I couldn’t understand it for a while.”
The two were constantly bickering when the Empress's decree arrived, ordering the release of Master Xie and the lifting of the seal on the Xie family's property.
Logically, even if a deity manifested, the three judicial departments should verify the facts and submit a memorial to the Empress for approval before clearing Master Xie's name.
However, divine intervention is a rare occurrence, and the Empress naturally seized the opportunity to establish her authority.
Although Boqi did not say that he was driven by the Empress, and the Empress would not directly pat herself on the back, isn't Xie Guijin, the propaganda expert, there for her?
Spreading rumors and misinformation was a piece of cake for her, especially with the government's covert cooperation.
Xie Guijin immediately gave the order to proceed according to the original plan.
The servants of the Xie family and most of the opera troupes in the capital received instructions to use various methods to portray the incident as a testament to the Empress's ability to recognize and appoint capable people. The magistrate of the capital, Lord Xue, with keen insight, discovered the actions of the Dream Ghost, but unfortunately, without physical evidence, he could not close the case or bring the perpetrator to justice. Therefore, he reported to the Empress.
The Empress then ordered Boqi to kill the dream demon and reveal the truth to the world to prove the law.
These are stories for later. Xie Guijin, who had delegated the task to others, was simply waiting to bring Master Xie back to the mansion.
After leaving the Ministry of Justice, Master Xie was able to move freely as he had not been tortured, though he had lost a little weight. Xie Guijin helped him into the carriage.
Xie Guijin sat in the car and briefly recounted the events of the past few days.
Master Xie looked Xie Guijin over and over again, but his face showed no excitement at the reunion of father and daughter.
Xie Guijin thought he was still recovering from his imprisonment.
Upon arriving at the Xie residence, the two alighted from the carriage.
Master Xie stepped over the brazier and went back to his room to bathe and change.
Xie Guijin received the official deed for the sale of the house, which was delivered by a government official, and she immediately wanted to send someone to deliver it.
“Miss, now that Master has returned,” Butler Hao hurriedly stopped her, suggesting, “Why don’t we have Master personally escort you to the noble family’s residence tomorrow, as a sign of respect?”
"No need," Xie Guijin said. "I already promised to send the red contract tonight, how could I break my promise to you esteemed people? If it were to be sent tomorrow, why would I bother asking the government to handle it today?" Xie Guijin said, ordering the servants to hurry up.
She thought to herself, "I only have seven days. If I don't get the money before midnight to pay off my debts, I won't be able to survive. How can I expect to have a tomorrow?"
Then, Xie Guijin went to the dining room to wait.
As soon as Master Xie arrived, the maids immediately served the dishes.
The father and daughter ate a meal in silence.
After the meal, the servants returned with the silver notes for the nobles' purchase of the residence.
Xie Guijin accepted the money and insisted on personally visiting to repay the debt.
Butler Hao stopped her again, saying, "Miss, the master is back. I doubt they would dare to disobey the contract and pressure you. Even if you want to fulfill your promise, the servants can make the trip. There's no need for you to go in person."
Xie Guijin did not answer, but Master Xie said from the side, "Let her go."
Xie Guijin was taken aback upon hearing this. She looked at Master Xie and said, "Thank you, Father," before hurriedly leaving with her men. She had to return before curfew, and time was of the essence.
Master Xie watched Xie Guijin leave and then inquired in detail about Xie Guijin's words and actions over the past few days from Steward Hao.
Butler Hao thought that Master Xie cherished Xie Guijin, so he told her everything in detail and praised her, saying that it was all thanks to Xie Guijin that she was able to hold on, otherwise even if Master Xie was released from prison without incident, the Xie family would have fallen apart.
Hearing this, Master Xie felt a pang of sorrow in his heart.
After a long and arduous wait for Xie Guijin to return, Master Xie ordered everyone to leave.
Xie Guijin thought that Master Xie wanted to have a private chat with her, so she didn't pay much attention.
Unexpectedly, after the servants left, Master Xie suddenly bowed deeply to Xie Guijin.
Xie Guijin was startled and quickly supported Master Xie with both hands, saying, "Father, what are you doing?"
“Immortal, I do not know your origins,” Master Xie insisted on bowing, “You saved our Xie family, and I should thank you.”
Xie Guijin's mind went blank for a moment.
"But I beg you, Immortal Master, tell me where my Jinniang is now?" Master Xie couldn't help but shed tears.
Xie Guijin felt as if she had been burned, so she let go of her hand and took a small step back.
"System, get out here!" Xie Guijin gritted her teeth and said, "Is this what you meant by 'this place is all an illusion, I can do whatever I want, I don't need to care about the original owner's personality, and others will justify my words and actions'? You dare to lie to me!"
The system stammered, "Don't be angry, I didn't lie to you. Compared to our original worlds, this is one of the three thousand worlds, so it's an illusion. It's just that it's real to them."
"Is this so-called rationalization of words and actions just a smokescreen?" Xie Guijin asked, grinding her back teeth as she felt dizzy.
"Bad, about the same."
Xie Guijin wanted to strangle the system: "Where is the original owner now?"
“Deep within your divine sea.” The system spoke more and more fluently: “Actually, it was because the original owner had a strong desire to change her fate that I was able to control you to possess her body. Originally, Second Master Xie would have joined forces with debt-collecting merchants to seize the Xie family. By the time the truth came out and Master Xie came out, the Xie family had already been severely damaged. The original owner felt that it was caused by her incompetence, and she was too self-blaming. Her obsession was too deep, which is why I noticed it.”
"Why didn't you tell me about something this big?" Xie Guijin pressed.
The system said guiltily, "Wasn't it because I was afraid you'd have reservations and wouldn't complete the task properly?"
"Ha," Xie Guijin laughed angrily, "Aren't you afraid that in order to complete the mission, I'll leave behind a mess that the original owner won't be able to handle?"
"I... I didn't think that much about it," the system said with an apologetic smile.
"Alright, I'll settle the score with you later," Xie Guijin said sternly. "After I leave, the original owner will come back, right?"
"right."
"Swear that if you're lying to me, I'll format you." Xie Guijin tricked the system: "We're in a world with ghosts and gods now. There are gods watching over us. You'd better think carefully before you speak."
"I'm not lying to you, really," the system swore to the heavens.
Long ago, Xie Guijin suspected that the system was a seasoned veteran disguised as a rookie in the workplace, capable of some deceptive tricks and clumsy methods to harm people. Now she was certain.
But she wasn't sure if such a system posed any threat to her.
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