Chapter 6: The Well Cover Engraved with Runes

The two little ghosts exchanged anxious glances, unsure of her intentions.

Seeing them huddled together looking somewhat pitiful, Qingli chuckled. “I’m just teasing you. Don’t be nervous; go sit on the stool.”

The two little ghosts nodded and floated over to the stool to sit down.

Qingli approached them with the rune mirror in her hand, positioning it towards the two. She began to recite incantations, and as she spoke more spells, the mirror gradually radiated a golden light. A beam of light then flew into the heads of the two little ghosts.

Qingli continued to chant spells until the two little ghosts closed their eyes. Only then did she stop, allowing the mirror to hover in the air as she sat down on the stool to wait.

At that moment, unfamiliar images flashed in the minds of the two little ghosts. After a moment, they opened their eyes, and seeing this, Qingli reached out to take the rune mirror back into her hands.

“That was quick! So, have you remembered who you are?”

The two little ghosts nodded, but their faces still showed confusion.

Qingli said, “Then I will send you to reincarnate now.”

Both little ghosts shook their heads simultaneously.

Big Bai said, “Master, I want to see my family.”

Xiao Bai added, “Me too, sister! I want to see my family. I’ve never seen them before.”

Qingli was puzzled. “Never seen them? How could that be?”

She nodded, “Alright, you can go!”

The two little ghosts looked at her blankly. “But we can’t go out. We can only stay in this inn and have no way to leave. Besides, we don’t even know where home is.”

Qingli frowned. “Can’t go out? Try it now and see if you can.”

There didn’t seem to be any restrictions in this inn! How could they not leave? Qingli found it strange.

The two little ghosts obediently nodded and then floated out. Qingli stood by the window, watching, her gaze landing on the well, where she felt something unusual within.

She jumped out of the window and walked toward the well. The closer she got to the well, the more she sensed an extraordinary aura emanating from it.

Just as she was about to approach the well, an angry shout interrupted her steps.

“Stop!”

A woman rushed out, scolding Qingli.

Qingli halted her steps and turned to see a woman in her thirties or forties running towards her with a lantern, her face clearly showing panic.

Breathing heavily, she reached Qingli and, recognizing her as an inn guest, seemed to relax slightly. She then said, “Miss, it’s dangerous by the well. It’s late at night; you should hurry back and rest!”

Qingli assessed the woman and replied, “It’s fine. I’m not afraid of danger. I noticed something odd about this well and wanted to take a look. Is it not allowed?”

Fear appeared on the woman’s face as she whispered, “You don’t know, but this well is strange. They say there are ghosts. I’m worried you’ll be frightened. Come on! Let me escort you back to rest.”

Seeing Qingli’s lack of intention to leave, the woman furrowed her brows.

Qingli smiled and said, “Ghosts? I know about them. Are they two little ghosts? I just saw them.”

The woman was taken aback by Qingli’s words, dropping her lantern in shock. She looked at Qingli in terror, her brows furrowing and her eyes filled with scrutiny.

“What… what do you mean? Don’t scare me.”

The woman was panicked for a moment but quickly regained her composure, feigning fear.

At that moment, the two little ghosts floated back, their faces downcast. They said to Qingli, “Master, we still can’t go out.”

Qingli reassured the little ghosts, “It’s alright. I’ll take you out soon.”

Qingli’s conversation with the air further frightened the woman. She couldn’t figure out whether Qingli was intentionally trying to scare her or what she was doing.

Qingli turned to the woman and asked, “Did you hire someone to seal this well?”

The woman looked at her in surprise, not understanding how Qingli knew.

She instinctively shook her head. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand. This well has been abandoned for many years and hasn’t been used. To prevent anyone from falling in, we covered the well with stones.”

Qingli scrutinized the woman’s face before speaking again. “The two little ghosts inside were killed by you, weren’t they?”

The two little ghosts looked at the woman. They saw her every day in the courtyard, but they didn’t know who had killed them, as they had been surrounded by darkness at the time of their death, obscuring their vision of everything.

The woman was frightened by Qingli’s words, her fleeting hope evaporating, replaced by a surge of panic.

“What are you talking about, miss? If you keep this up, I’ll report you to the authorities. You don’t seem like a normal person; are you crazy or something?”

With fear evident on her face, the woman turned to flee.

Qingli swiftly grabbed the collar at the back of her neck and said calmly, “Don’t go yet. You’ve committed murder, and since I’ve found out, you must face the consequences. Tell me why you killed these two little ghosts and who their parents are. If you don’t, I’ll throw you down this well to accompany them.”

The woman was in a frenzy but still tried to maintain her composure, struggling, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let me go, or I’ll call for help!”

Qingli nodded calmly. “Sure, go ahead and shout!”

But the woman fell silent. She didn’t dare call for help; things couldn’t escalate, or it would mean her end.

Qingli’s mocking tone rang out, “What’s wrong? Too scared to shout? Since you won’t, it’s better to have a proper conversation. Of course, if you refuse to speak, I have ways to make you.”

The woman remained silent, thinking that a little girl couldn’t do anything to her.

“Master, was it really her who killed me and Xiao Bai?”

The little ghost asked curiously.

Qingli nodded. “It seems so. She carries a heavy burden of sin. The guilt of killing children is different from that of killing adults. She seems very nervous when I mention you two, so it must be her who did it. But now that you both have your memories back, didn’t you see who killed you?”

Both little ghosts shook their heads. Big Bai said, “I think I was killed right after I was born. I was blindfolded and couldn’t see anything.”

Xiao Bai added, “I think I was placed in a basket with something covering me, so I couldn’t see anything either.”

Qingli was astonished. “You were killed right after you were born?”

Seeing the childlike forms of the two little ghosts, Qingli had assumed they looked like this at the time of their deaths. Now it made sense why Xiao Bai said he didn’t know where home was.

The conversation between Qingli and the little ghosts frightened the woman. She began to doubt whether Qingli could truly see ghosts. Their dialogue was chilling and instilled a deeper fear.

Qingli turned her gaze to the woman, her fierce expression resembling that of a heartless person, truly deserving of her fate.

She pulled out a rope and bound the woman before lifting the well cover with one hand.

The woman’s eyes widened in disbelief as she watched Qingli.

That well cover was so heavy that it had taken four strong men to lift it when it was sealed. Now, this seemingly delicate girl was flipping it open with ease!

As the well cover was overturned, a surge of energy was unleashed, and the two little ghosts felt a sudden lightness, their bodies becoming more buoyant.

Qingli crouched to examine the runes on the underside of the cover and quickly understood that the reason the two little ghosts couldn’t leave was because of these runes.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a delicate little knife, using it to scratch away the runes beneath the well cover.

The woman, seeing this, panicked and shouted, “No! You can’t scratch those away!”

Qingli ignored her, continuing to erase the runes.

As the runes were destroyed, the binding force suppressing the two little ghosts dissipated. Qingli told them to try and see if they could leave.

The two little ghosts floated out excitedly and returned moments later, beaming.

“Master, we can go out now!”

Big Bai was thrilled.

Qingli nodded. “Good. You two wait a moment; I’ll have this person take you home.”

Originally, she intended to let the little ghosts visit their families briefly before sending them off to reincarnate. But since they had been killed right after birth, they had no idea where their home was.

Now, she had no choice but to take the two little ghosts to find their families.

Qingli pressed the woman for information, but she remained stubbornly silent, gritting her teeth.

Frustrated, Qingli decided to take more drastic measures.

For someone like this woman, who had no virtue to protect her and bore heavy sins, a simple truth spell would make her confess.