Chapter 554
Therefore, the Heavenly Dao selects many explorers to enter these strange territories, letting them play games with them within the rules, which is both a suppression and a way to appease them.
According to the usual formula, the female lead should be an explorer in a supernatural, mythical, or infinite flow genre.
But the truth is quite the opposite. Shang Xin... her soul fragment is now the second young lady of the Shang family, one of the four major families in Chaoge City.
Her real name is Wen Xin. She has a difficult life. Her parents died when she was young, and she survived in the countryside by being taken care of by her neighbors.
When she was eight years old, the current head of the business family took his wife and daughter to the countryside to do charity work, but an accident happened unexpectedly.
The merchant's daughter and Wen Xin were kidnapped together.
Later, they were successfully rescued, and the merchant suddenly decided to adopt Wen Xin. He even claimed that she was the merchant's biological daughter and that she was the twin of the merchant's real daughter. However, she was weak and had been recuperating away from home, which was why her identity had not been made public.
From then on, Wen Xin became Shang Xin, the second young lady of the Shang family.
Wen Xin: Uh...
She had absolutely no idea how to criticize this name.
Does this fit her identity as a female protagonist in a tragic novel?
hehe!
Having lost her parents at a young age and living a life of hardship relying on others, the fragment of her soul was exceptionally insecure and timid. Even after becoming a wealthy heiress, she remained cautious and timid, trying to please every single person in the business.
However, Shang Ruru, the young lady of the Shang family, could not accept this unclear younger sister who came from the countryside.
Even though they had gone through thick and thin together, she still despised and loathed Wen Xin, and took pleasure in bullying her since childhood.
The merchants' parents only outwardly appeared loving towards Wen Xin; in reality, they treated her and Shang Ruru equally.
In private, they were colder than anyone else, strictly controlling her every word and action.
As long as Shang Ruru doesn't go too far, they won't pay any attention to how she bullies their cheap second daughter.
Shang Xin didn't even live as comfortably as a servant in a business.
She knew she had no right to choose, so she could only endure all the grievances and pain, hoping that she could leave the business and live independently after she grew up.
However, her wish ultimately became a pipe dream.
The business owners weren't some truly benevolent family who would take pity on her and adopt her just because she was an orphan.
The reason they kept her was simple: they wanted her to marry in place of Shang Ruru when she came of age.
Initially, the fragments of the soul had no idea who they wanted to marry her off to; they just thought it was absurd, utterly absurd.
She's only eighteen. Although she's an adult, she's not yet of legal marriage age. How can she get married?
Unfortunately, when she mustered the courage to resist, she was met with malicious ridicule and abuse from the merchant's parents, who called her an ingrate, saying that the merchant had raised her and she didn't even want to repay him.
Shang Xin was heartbroken. She had never intended not to repay the kindness, but it shouldn't be at the expense of her marriage and the rest of her life!
It's not that she's cold-blooded, but if she had a choice, she wouldn't want to be adopted by the business.
No matter how hard life was in the countryside, at least she had harmonious relationships with her neighbors, and no one ever bullied her.
The merchants were unmoved by her pleas, and on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, Shang Xin was forced to change into a wedding dress and sent to an old house.
For the first eighteen years, she had never experienced any supernatural events and initially did not know that the person she was marrying was not a living person.
Moreover, the "people" in the old house treated her with great courtesy and kindness.
She wasn't a strong person; her timid nature left her at a loss, and she didn't dare make any demands, so she could only live in the old house for the time being.
A month later, on the night of the full moon, the fragments of the soul sensed that something strange had happened in the old house.
But neither the steward nor Mo'er (the head maid) showed any unusual behavior, so she didn't dare to ask any more questions.
Several days later, someone suddenly barged into the courtyard where she lived.
This person is the male protagonist, Fang Xingyan.
Shang Xin knew him. He was the young master of the Fang family, one of the four great families of Chaoge. He was abstinent and handsome, with outstanding abilities. At a young age, he held great power and led the Fang family to new heights. He was the dream lover of countless noble ladies.
This also includes her and Shang Ruru.
The fragment of her soul secretly fell in love with him because Fang Xingyan had once saved her life. Even though it was a casual act, she never forgot it.
However, she also knew that their social statuses were worlds apart, so she never dared to have any unrealistic fantasies.
However, Shang Ruru still noticed her intentions, and as a result, the other party became even more disgusted with her and targeted her.
If she hadn't been forced into a marriage in place of another woman in the old mansion, Shang Ruru would have taken action against her sooner or later.
Shang Xin was overjoyed to see her beloved.
However, Fang Xingyan told her that this was a haunted house, and that none of the people inside were human. He had been hunted down to the point of no return.
Shang Xin was shocked and couldn't bear to see the person she loved die, so she helped him complete the mission and escape from the old house.
When Fang Xingyan left, he promised to come back and save her.
Shang Xin believed it. Even though she was terrified, she mustered up the courage to stay in the old house and pretend to befriend a group of inhuman, bizarre beings, hoping that the prince in her heart would come back to save her.
Three more months passed, and just when Shang Xin was almost in despair, Fang Xingyan entered the old house again.
He found her and made her his inside man, to help him solve various tasks for the explorers, and even this old house.
But the soul fragments were not cold-blooded monsters. She was very afraid of the non-human beings here, but she had never forgotten the care they had given her.
She just wanted to leave and didn't want to hurt anyone.
Fang Xingyan assured her that he would not harm the ghosts here. On the contrary, by eliminating the pollution, the ghosts trapped here could be freed from their cages and successfully enter the cycle of reincarnation, which would be the best thing for them.
Shang Xin believed her beloved's earnestness.
However, just as she helped him smash the statue in the shrine at the center of the old house, the entire old house did not receive salvation, but was instead met with a devastating blow.
Those ghosts who had previously retained their sanity all went berserk, their ghostly aura soaring to the heavens, as if it were the end of the world.
It wasn't until a knife was held to her neck that Shang Xin finally realized just how despicable and heartless the person she loved truly was.
She was nothing more than a tool and puppet used by him from beginning to end.
What disgusted her even more was that after Fang Xingyan used her life to coerce the ghosts and spirits of the old house and successfully escaped, he could still pretend to love her with a deep affection.
At that time, he was already engaged to Shang Ruru.
Shang Xin was on the verge of collapse. She wanted to return to the old house to atone for her sins, but Fang Xingyan imprisoned her and made her his mistress, where she was subjected to all kinds of humiliation and persecution by Shang Ruru.
Later, the seal on Nanshan was broken, and the ghostly aura of the ancient house ran rampant, directly invading the present world, causing strange occurrences and plunging ordinary people into misery.
…………
("He" is the third-person pronoun for God)
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