Chapter 20
Jiang Zhuochen pushed off with both legs and turned down the corridor to go upstairs.
The north-facing apartment building has every room door evenly bathed in sunlight, and even the dancing dust motes are identical, making the haunted room seem insignificant.
But as soon as he stepped into the room, the air quickly turned into a cloud of black mist and rushed towards him. Jiang Zhuochen didn't even have time to open his mouth before he had to dodge the attack.
He had just dodged two wisps of ghostly energy when he was met with the female ghost's furious expression. He took the blow and hurriedly said, "Listen to me first."
The female ghost ignored his voice and continued to attack him.
Jiang Zhuochen had used up most of his spiritual power yesterday, so he was clearly no match for the female ghost's relentless strength. "If you don't want my help, then give me a reason not to interfere."
Yesterday, the female ghost dragged innocent people into her revenge. Even if he weren't the spirit of his master, he would still go to save them.
"You ruined my plans!" The female ghost's hand veins bulged, and her voice was no longer as sweet and leisurely as when they first met. "You dare to come here!"
Jiang Zhuochen sighed helplessly. He had thought the other person was the kind who could reason with him, but it turned out he was just in no hurry. If he had just patiently talked to him for a bit, the situation might not have turned out this way.
He stepped back to the door, and suddenly heard footsteps coming from the corridor next door. He immediately tried to reach out and press the doorknob, but it was too late.
After the door was pushed open, Jiang Zhuochen set up a barrier, which was shattered. He staggered a few steps and was supported by Xu Xing behind him, while Xu Cheng beside him was stunned and stood there.
Jiang Zhuochen looked up, only managing to catch a fleeting glimpse of the female ghost's helplessness before the entire room returned to its original state.
Xu Cheng swallowed hard. "What, what is that?"
Xu Xing asked softly, "Are you injured?"
"It's nothing." Jiang Zhuochen turned his head back, then turned to face Xu Cheng, and joked, "This thing that's been sleeping with you guys every night lately."
Xu Cheng's voice trembled: "There really is something fishy going on."
"You just realized that?" Jiang Zhuochen chuckled. "Of course, if you're scared, just pretend you misread it."
"This should be a bit difficult."
Xu Cheng had lived an honest and hardworking life and didn't really believe in ghosts. He only sought out a Taoist priest to give himself some psychological comfort.
This sudden realization that the fake had become real was truly hard to accept, but it also made him completely believe in Jiang Zhuochen's abilities.
"Then you'll have to figure out a way yourself." The spell to erase memories was too advanced; Jiang Zhuochen hadn't had time to learn it yet. After saying that, he asked Xu Xing, "How did you two get together?"
“Go ask him about what you said before you went to sleep,” Xu Xing replied.
Jiang Zhuochen then remembered that he needed to see Xu Cheng, so the three of them went downstairs to Jiang Zhuochen's temporary residence. He gave Xu Cheng ample time to process what he had learned, intending to first hear what Xu Xing had found out.
“He couldn’t explain why his great-grandmother had a twin sister,” Xu Xing said.
Xu Cheng only knew that when he was very young, he went to his great-grandfather's house, where a crazy woman was kept locked up. No one told him who this woman was. Once, he bravely pushed open the door to take a look, but was so frightened by the woman's mad-like state that he ran away immediately. Apart from that, he didn't know who else lived in his great-grandfather's house.
So this crazy woman matches what Great-Grandma said last night.
Jiang Zhuochen then asked, "Has anyone else told you about that woman?"
“Grandma told me a little bit about it,” Xu Cheng pondered, slowing his tone. “She said this woman wanted to elope abroad with a man she secretly met, but she was dumped by him and then her family found out. They locked her up as punishment, and she probably went crazy because she couldn’t believe she was dumped by her boyfriend. That’s all I know.”
Hmm? Isn't this what my great-grandmother experienced before she passed away?
Are your grandparents still alive?
Xu Cheng replied dryly, "It's gone."
This feeling of helplessness—that every clue seemed to disappear only to vanish again—made Jiang Zhuochen gasp for breath. "Fine, I understand."
He told Xu Cheng to go back first, and then sat by the window, stroking the half of the jade pendant in his hand.
Xu walked over to him and said, "Don't rush, take your time."
As night fell, Jiang Zhuochen sensed the ghostly aura again, even more ferocious and intense than the day before. He stood in the center of the courtyard, looking up to meet the female ghost's reddened eyes. With such powerful abilities, why didn't she just come out and capture him instead of using her ghostly aura to force him out?
As Xu Xing stood beside him, the ghostly aura automatically dispersed away from them.
This couldn't go on, and Jiang Zhuochen wanted to go up and stop the female ghost. But even though he was mentally prepared, he was still rushed out by the ghostly energy when he pushed open the door. The female ghost, who came to attack him, was blocked inside the door, her screams sharp and desperate.
"Did you hide her?"
"I was just sending her to be reincarnated." Jiang Zhuochen's doubts deepened. Was he trapped?
The female ghost, her face full of resentment, retorted, "Reincarnation? She doesn't even deserve it! Someone as troublesome as you shouldn't have stayed!"
"Whether someone is worthy or not is up to the King of Hell," Jiang Zhuochen said. "You have no right to decide someone else's life and death."
"And what about me! She can decide my life and death?! Why should I enjoy my life in this world and be reincarnated after death? Why?! I've waited all these years, even if I'm reduced to ashes, I'll drag her down with me!"
Jiang Zhuochen paused. "What do you mean? You're Liu Hehuan?"
Upon hearing the name, the female ghost was momentarily dazed, and tears of blood streamed from her eyes. "My name is clearly Liu Hehuan, not Liu He'an! That's not my jade pendant, that's not me... I am Liu Hehuan!"
The ghostly aura in the air seemed to solidify. Jiang Zhuochen pursed his lips, his expression complex. "Then why did you turn into Liu He'an?"
Liu Hehuan was hysterical, "Because I'm soft-hearted! Because when she looked at me with such an innocent face and asked where I was going, I told her. Who would have thought that she could so readily lay a hand on her own sister, with whom she's spent over a decade!"
When she opened her eyes, she was ice-cold all over. She stared in disbelief at the jade pendant in her hand that had been switched. Her younger sister was using her identity to go abroad with her boyfriend. Meanwhile, she had to endure beatings from her parents after they found out the truth.
Perhaps because she was still young, and after her injuries healed, they immediately began searching for someone to marry her off to, hoping to find her a powerful backer. After two years, they finally found someone. But just then, Liu He'an returned, and because her true nature was revealed, she was dumped by her boyfriend.
Liu He'an dared not go home and was defiled by a drunkard. After learning she was to marry a wealthy man, her mind became twisted. She plotted to have the drunkard find and rape her the night before the wedding, then impersonate her and marry the wealthy man the next day. Meanwhile, the drunkard came to her door, she was beaten by her parents, and discovered she was pregnant. Her parents, feeling she was no longer of any use, started a business of arranging marriages for others to bear children.
She was locked in this room, giving birth to one child after another. The furthest she ever got was the dressing table. She was so angry that she tore the bed frame to pieces, and blood flowed all over the floor. Unexpectedly, Liu He'an couldn't have any more children in the end, and he took away the child she had borne for the man who deeply loved her, causing her to die with resentment.
"Even if I'm torn to pieces, it won't quell the hatred in my heart!" Liu Hehuan's fingernails grew longer, making him appear even more sinister and terrifying. "And you actually dared to let her go! You deserve to die too! I'll make you all die!"
"Calm down, calm down!" Jiang Zhuochen frantically fled. He suddenly remembered why Liu Hehuan had that expression when she saw the landlord that morning; it turned out that everyone here was her descendant.
While defending himself, he looked out the window, but the thick ghostly aura obscured everything, making it impossible to see anything. He said to Liu Hehuan, "Soon, Master's soul will leave her body and return. She will soon be taken away by the ghost messengers. I need to stop her."
These words are tantamount to adding fuel to the fire.
"You helped her retrieve that soul?!"
"I'm sorry," Jiang Zhuochen smiled sheepishly, "I trusted others too easily for a moment."
Liu Hehuan lowered her claws and sneered, "That wisp of soul was meant to suppress the vengeful ghost. You think she looks so pitiful? It's because her spiritual power was imprisoned, so she had to pretend, just to fool a fool like you. Once her soul leaves her body, you still think you're her match?"
"Then how about we cooperate?" Jiang Zhuochen raised both hands to show his sincerity. "You're not going to refuse me now, are you?"
Liu Hehuan had wanted to tear Jiang Zhuochen to pieces countless times, her anger exploding in her chest wave after wave. Perhaps due to the extreme emotional fluctuations, she miraculously calmed down.
"I can't get out," she said hoarsely. "My identity was stolen in life, and after death I was sealed here with a blood curse. If you want me to help you deal with her, then get my jade pendant to help me break the seal first."
Jiang Zhuochen's eyes lit up. "You can't get out, but your ghostly energy can help me."
Jiang Zhuochen then used the flames of the Longevity Lamp to refine the tracking talisman. The smoke from the ignited talisman mixed with ghostly energy and quickly spread outwards.
Sensing the location of the tracking talisman, he moved on to a restaurant street a few hundred meters away.
Night had fallen, all the shops were closed, and only a few dim streetlights remained.
The sound of footsteps was particularly noticeable in the empty streets. Jiang Zhuochen slowly walked across the main street, heading towards a secluded corner.
A gust of wind swept up fallen leaves in mid-air, causing them to spin around a few times before gradually revealing a blurry figure.
Liu He'an revealed his true form, still sporting a kind and smiling expression. "Young man, what brings you here?"
Jiang Zhuochen smiled and said, "I saw Great-Grandma's jade pendant yesterday and thought it was beautifully carved. I would like to borrow it to admire it a little more. I wonder if Great-Grandma would be willing?"
Liu He'an's expression remained unchanged. "That jade pendant has long been an integral part of this old woman, and I can't bear to give it to anyone else."
That's a real shame.
Jiang Zhuochen had only asked casually, so he wasn't surprised by the answer. He glanced at the sky and then launched his attack.
Time is running out.
Liu Hehuan's cloudy pupils contracted slightly. Before Jiang Zhuochen's aura could completely envelop her, she suddenly ducked down and slammed into the half-closed wooden door of the small shop next to her with all her might.
With a bang, she kicked open the old, dilapidated wooden door, and the ghostly figure quickly vanished, leaving only a cloud of dust and wood chips in its wake.
"Tsk." Jiang Zhuochen snorted lightly, his steps continuing.
He stood at the shop entrance, not rushing into the dark interior, but instead raised his arm and pressed down. The ghostly energy swirling behind him surged, silently and rolling towards the gaps in the shop door and windows.
Suppressed groans and violent coughs echoed from inside the shop. The ghostly energy, like countless icy tentacles, moved nimbly through the cluttered space. Ignoring all obstacles, it tightly coiled around Liu He'an's hands and feet, who was huddled in the corner of the counter, its chilling aura piercing to the bone.
Hearing the commotion, Jiang Zhuochen stepped into the shop. Before he even reached the counter, he heard a loud bang. He quickly dodged to the side, and the next moment the room returned to normal. Liu Hehuan had escaped.
He walked out of the convenience store and tried to determine where Liu He'an was hiding on the street.
On the quiet, dimly lit streets, wherever Jiang Zhuochen went, ghostly energy swept across the land, intertwining yet not interfering with each other, systematically plundering every corner.
If the elders of Wangxian Valley saw this demonic state, they would definitely break his legs.
Not long after, Liu Hehuan was thrown out, bound hand and foot by ghostly energy. Her aged face was contorted with pain, and her eyes were filled with a mixture of resentment and bitterness.
She finally revealed her true colors, radiating a crazed stubbornness. "I am Liu Hehuan! I've been Liu Hehuan my whole life, how can I not be her?!"
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