Chapter 6: Why Weren't You The Ones Who Died!

Aunt Zheng’s reaction sent a chill through the three adults present. It was clear that this was far from a situation devoid of grudges.

"Aunt, please, stop hiding things from me," Zheng Feiyu said with a grimace. "They’ve already come knocking at our door!"

Upon hearing the phrase "come knocking," Aunt Zheng’s face turned deathly pale. She gripped Zheng Feiyu’s arm with sudden, sharp force, her voice shrill: "What did you say? Zhou Ying came to the house? Didn't she already..." Die?

How could someone who was dead come knocking on the door?

It was only then that Aunt Zheng noticed the chaotic state of the mourning hall and the body of Old Master Zheng lying at the foot of the stairs.

Jiang Lixuan observed her expression, his brow furrowed as he said coldly, "Zhou Ying has turned into a vengeful spirit and come to claim your family’s lives, saying it’s all because you owe her."

"If you want to keep hiding things and wait for death, then by all means, continue. But I won’t stay here to die with you."

Aunt Zheng’s expression darkened further. She took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the terror in her heart, but when she spoke, it was still a denial: "What death? I’ve told you, our Zheng family owes Zhou Ying nothing!"

"We have no grievances with her!"

Nan Yuanman blinked, staring at Aunt Zheng, and said, "You’re lying."

"I am not!" Aunt Zheng’s voice rose, her gaze turning toward Nan Yuanman with irritation. "Yuanman! You’re talking nonsense again!"

"Ah, I know!" She stood up abruptly, a bit of color returning to her pale face, and pointed at her with hands on her hips. "Did you come here to make trouble again? You were like this before! Where is that old man Nan? I’m going to go ask him how he’s been raising a child!"

Nan Yuanman’s eyes widened: "I didn't! Don't you dare frame me!"

Zheng Feiyu said helplessly, "Aunt, this has nothing to do with Yuanman, you..."

Before Zheng Feiyu could finish, Aunt Zheng cut him off: "That’s enough. Don’t try to scare me. There’s no such thing as ghosts in this world. Even if there were, if Zhou Ying came to the door, I wouldn't be afraid of her!"

"Feiyu, I’m not just saying this to be mean, but you’ve been to university—how can you be so superstitious?"

"It’s getting late, all of you, go home and get some sleep!"

Aunt Zheng rattled on, leaving no room for them to interject, and began shooing them away.

Nan Yuanman puffed up, clutching her little straw doll as she turned to leave: "You can't save a ghost determined to die! If I ever come back to save you again, I’m a pig!"

"Hey! Yuanman!" Zheng Feiyu called out, then turned to his aunt with a reproachful look: "Aunt, Yuanman is just a child, how could you say that to her?"

Seeing Aunt Zheng’s state, Zheng Feiyu knew he wouldn't get any more answers out of her. He sighed helplessly and said, "Fine. I’ll go see her off. Aunt, think this over carefully."

He caught up with her, carrying the small coffin Nan Yuanman had lent him. Jiang Lixuan followed suit, saying, "Wait for me."

Zhang Shimian cast a meaningful glance at Aunt Zheng before turning to follow them as well.

Once they were gone, Aunt Zheng let out a heavy breath, her legs giving way as she sank to the floor. She looked around with a fearful expression, pressed her palms together, and whispered: "It really isn't our fault. If you want to blame someone, blame the Liu family for their act. They are the ones who truly killed you. You should go find them, don't look for me, don't look for me..."

...

Zheng Feiyu hadn't expected that despite her small size, Nan Yuanman moved quite quickly.

By the time he chased after her, she was already ten meters ahead.

"Yuanman! Yuanman! Wait up! I’ll see you home!" After Zheng Feiyu called out several times, Nan Yuanman finally stopped.

Jiang Lixuan couldn't help but needle her: "Not very tall, but you sure run fast."

Nan Yuanman retorted without hesitation: "Not like you, with those long legs that go to waste. In my grandfather's words, guys like you are always late to the feast."

Jiang Lixuan laughed in irritation, grinding his teeth: "Nan Yuanman, can’t you talk to me properly? I am your uncle, after all!"

Nan Yuanman’s face remained tight: "You were the one who started it!"

Looking at the stubborn girl in front of him, who stood like a little hedgehog, he felt a flicker of déjà vu, as if he were seeing that same defiant face of Bai Wenyin before she left the Jiang family.

He felt conflicted, muttering to himself: "Your temper is exactly like your mother’s."

Both were equally stubborn, both equally unwilling to be at a disadvantage.

Zhang Shimian looked between Jiang Lixuan and Nan Yuanman, then scratched his head. He felt like... he had forgotten something.

Escorted by the three adults, Nan Yuanman returned home.

As Zhang Shimian entered the courtyard, he saw coffins placed in every corner, and some smaller ones being carved on the ground. He looked surprised: "Yuanman, does your family sell coffins?"

"Yeah, my grandpa is a coffin maker." Nan Yuanman yawned, rubbing her eyes.

Zhang Shimian was thoughtful: "No wonder..." As soon as he entered the courtyard, he had felt a faint trace of yin energy.

"Alright, make yourselves at home. I’m going to sleep." Nan Yuanman said, retreating to her small room.

After a long, exhausting night, she was incredibly sleepy.

The three men were mentally drained but felt no desire to sleep. Zheng Feiyu felt immensely grateful that his parents had left early due to company business; otherwise, there would have been two more victims for the female ghost tonight.

Zheng Feiyu didn't dare return to the Zheng house. He found a small stool in the yard and sat by the door to rest.

Jiang Lixuan looked at the dilapidated house and yard, his emotions complex. It looked fine from the outside, but he hadn't expected it to be this run-down inside—the kitchen was built of mud bricks. At a glance, it looked like a house from the 80s.

Had Nan Yuanman... lived in this environment since she was little?

Zhang Shimian didn't wander around either; he took a small stool, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.

The shabby little courtyard grew quiet. None of them noticed that in a corner not far away, a pitch-black shadow was crouching, staring at them without a single blink...

The night passed.

When Nan Yuanman woke up, Zheng Feiyu and the others were gone. The small coffin she had lent him the night before was placed beside her pillow.

She didn't pay it much mind. After washing up, she ate the leftovers from the previous night to satisfy her hunger before going to check on her grandfather.

After opening the coffin and dampening a cloth to wipe her grandfather’s face, she finished her routine and felt hungry again.

As she rubbed her rumbling stomach, wondering whose house she should go to for food today, a cacophony of noise erupted outside the courtyard, as if people were arguing.

Nan Yuanman hopped off her stool, intending to open the gate and join the commotion, but she bumped straight into a long leg.

"Yo, you're awake?" A voice she found annoying came from above. Nan Yuanman looked up, her face instantly souring.

"Why haven't you left yet?"

Jiang Lixuan chuckled, reached out to pinch her cheek, and said maliciously: "You come back with me, and I’ll leave right now. Otherwise, I’ll keep pestering you."

A child's skin is delicate, and Jiang Lixuan hadn't been gentle. Nan Yuanman hissed, drawing in a sharp breath, and slapped his hand away.

She raised her hands to rub her face, equally vicious: "Then keep pestering me for a lifetime! I’d rather die than go back with you!"

The two stared each other down.

The arguing in the distance grew more intense.

Zhou Ying’s mother, Ye Hong, was lunging at a slim, tall man in a suit who looked gentle and refined: "Liu Hanfei! You tell me clearly, why did my daughter, who was perfectly healthy, die less than half a month after marrying you! Did you kill her? And where is her body? Why won't you let me see her! Why!!"

"Is it because you have a guilty conscience? Say something!!"

Nan Yuanman and Jiang Lixuan turned to look simultaneously.

Jiang Lixuan could only see the Liu and Zhou families arguing, but Nan Yuanman saw the vengeful spirit of Zhou Ying, who had vanished last night. She was looking ferocious, repeatedly lunging at Liu Hanfei, only to be repelled each time by a golden light emanating from his body.

Every time she was repelled, her spirit dimmed a little more.

Nan Yuanman frowned. Just as she was about to open her little coffin to trap Zhou Ying, Zheng Feiyu and Zhang Shimian, who had also been drawn by the noise, ran over.

Sensing Zhang Shimian’s aura, Zhou Ying glared at Liu Hanfei with hatred and vanished instantly.

Liu Hanfei was completely unaware of this. He supported the frantic Ye Hong, his face full of pain: "Mom, I am also heartbroken by Ying'er's passing, but her departure was truly an accident."

"Zhou Ying once said before she died that if anything ever happened to her, she wanted me to cremate her and scatter her ashes at sea because she loved freedom. That is why there is no body."

Nan Yuanman looked at the man, whose very soul emitted a foul stench. A look of disgust crossed her face—this man was lying.

Zhang Shimian and Zheng Feiyu arrived. Zhang Shimian felt the lingering yin energy in the air, his expression darkening. She had slipped away again.

Hearing Liu Hanfei mention Zhou Ying, Zheng Feiyu looked at him scrutinizingly and asked, "What is your relationship with Zhou Ying?"

Before Liu Hanfei could speak, an emotionally broken Ye Hong rushed forward, red-eyed, and began striking Zheng Feiyu, screaming: "You Zheng family members still dare to show your faces! It’s all your fault! If it weren't for you, my daughter wouldn't have died! You heartless, rotten-lunged dogs! Why aren't you dead! Why wasn't it you who died!"