Chapter 23: Preparing to Fight Back

The north wind howled, and there were no lanterns in front of the mansion. The weathered red-painted door looked eerie in the dim light.

Qian Cuimiao, who had been tasked with delivering the house and land deeds, dared not enter. She stood far outside, calling out.

“Aunt, are you there? I’m your eldest nephew’s wife! My mother sent me to deliver the house and land deeds!”

Inside the house, Wu Chunhe, who had come out to fetch water, heard the noise and, wiping her hands, went to open the door. “Who’s there?”

Qian Cuimiao, startled upon seeing someone come out, didn’t even take a good look at who it was. She shoved the documents into Wu Chunhe’s hands, didn’t ask for a receipt, and fled as if she was running away.

Wu Chunhe, holding the booklet in her hands, was puzzled. She followed for a few steps and ran into Su Laowu, who was rushing back against the cold wind.

“Hey! Laowu, what are you doing coming back from outside?”

“Second sister-in-law.”

Su Laowu nodded at Wu Chunhe, his eyes landing on the object in her hands.

Seeing this, Wu Chunhe hurriedly explained, “I heard someone calling, and it seemed like it was your eldest sister-in-law. As soon as I came out, she shoved this into my hands. I didn’t even know what it was.”

Qian Cuimiao had run off quickly, not noticing Su Laowu returning. However, Su Laowu had clearly seen the guilty and fearful look on her face. He pursed his thin lips and said to Wu Chunhe, “It’s the house and land deeds that Aunt asked Eldest Sister-in-law to deliver to us.”

Wu Chunhe immediately understood. She spat in the direction Qian Cuimiao had run and said, “No wonder she came so late at night and didn’t dare enter. She must be guilty!”

With that, she happily went with Su Laowu to the east wing to find Su Laotai, where they handed over the deeds.

Su Laotai examined the two items carefully. After confirming everything was in order, she had Li Sumei write a receipt, which they would give to Zhang Lishi the next day.

She then asked Su Laowu, “Did you find out anything else?”

Suppressing his anger, Su Laowu recounted Zhang Lishi’s conspiracy in detail.

In the side room, even though they knew that Aunt had ill intentions, neither Wu Chunhe nor Li Sumei had expected her to sell them this haunted house, intending to put them in danger!

Wu Chunhe could no longer hold back. “Mother, they’re trying to kill our family! First, they bullied Uncle like that, and now they want to harm us! We can’t just let this go! I’m going to call Second, Third, and Fourth, and also the Yan family. We’ll smash their house!”

She then called for Su Laowu to follow her, grabbed a kitchen knife, and was about to rush out.

Su Laowu had been thinking the same thing when he returned. Just as he was about to follow Wu Chunhe, Su Laotai immediately signaled to Li Sumei. Li Sumei quickly grabbed him, shaking her head seriously, and then went forward to stop Wu Chunhe. She gently explained, “Second Sister-in-law, we’ve just arrived in Qing Shui Village and have already dealt with Aunt’s family. How will others view us?”

Wu Chunhe’s anger eased a little, but she replied, “It’s their own fault! Who told them to try to harm us?”

Li Sumei said, “Where’s the evidence?”

Wu Chunhe glared, “What evidence do we need? This is all something Old Fifth heard with his own ears!”

Li Sumei said as she took the knife from Wu Chunhe’s hand, “Because it’s from our own family, if we smash Aunt’s house and confront them, even if we expose their plot, they won’t admit it. They’ll say we’re ungrateful and accuse us of wanting their money, which is why we destroyed their house.”

She continued, “Also, we’ve just escaped the famine and come to Qing Shui Village. We’re still strangers to the villagers. Aunt’s family, on the other hand, has been living here for a long time. To the villagers, we are the outsiders. If they see us act first, they will think we’re ungrateful and oppressive. They might even grow to resent us and force us out of the village.”

Su Laowu frowned at this, and Wu Chunhe also looked at Su Laotai with dissatisfaction, unwilling to accept this. “Mother, are we really just going to let this go?”

Su Laotai gently placed her little granddaughter, who had just finished nursing, on the heated brick bed and lightly patted her to sleep. Her deeply wrinkled face, with eyes that had grown slightly sunken with age, flashed a hint of sharpness. “We don’t look for trouble, but we’re not afraid of it either. If someone wants to harm us, they must be prepared to pay the price.”

Suhuan yawned and tried to stay awake to hear what her grandmother, parents, and second aunt were talking about, but the drowsiness soon overwhelmed her, and she fell asleep sweetly.

The next morning, Suhwan rubbed her eyes, lingering in bed for a while. After twisting her chubby little body, she crawled to the edge of the bed to change her diaper. As she pulled out a new one, Liu Yingying came over and picked her up, gazing at her lovingly. “Oh, our Fifth girl is so good, she even crawled up to change her diaper herself! Shall Aunt Four help you change it?”

“Yi ya, yi ya~”

Little Suhwan grinned, rubbed her eyes, and let Aunt Four carry her while changing her diaper.

However, her eyes seemed to itch more and more.

Little Suhwan rubbed them vigorously.

When the itching finally stopped, and her eyes no longer bothered her, Liu Yingying had finished changing her diaper. She was about to wipe her face with a hot towel when the towel slipped from her hand, and she froze, staring in shock at the large dark circles around Suhwan’s eyes. She quickly grabbed a handkerchief, wet it with hot water, and wiped Suhwan’s face.

“Yi ya~”

It hurt a little as she rubbed so hard.

Suhwan, uncomfortable, pushed Aunt Four’s hand away.

Seeing that even with all her efforts, the dark circles around Suhwan’s eyes wouldn’t go away, Liu Yingying couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly. “Fifth girl, how did you become a panda?”

Worried that she might be sick, she quickly took Suhwan outside to find Su Laotai.

“A panda?”

Suhwan, being carried by Aunt Four, glanced at the copper mirror hanging on the rack, and when she saw her dark circles, she realized.

No wonder her eyes had itched when she woke up. It turned out to be the aftereffect of facing the ominous energy the previous night.

But it wasn’t a big problem; it would go away in a few days.

Su Laotai was discussing something with Su Laodao when she saw Liu Yingying coming in, saying that Suhwan wasn’t well. She quickly took Suhwan in her arms to check. Seeing the dark circles under Suhwan’s eyes, which looked like soot, Su Laotai suppressed a smile and frowned. “Did Fifth girl get bitten by insects last night?”

Liu Yingying quickly shook her head. “I checked. Fifth girl is clean all over, no insect bites. The dark circles didn’t seem to be caused by anything, and they appeared suddenly after Fifth girl rubbed her eyes.”

Su Laodao held Suhwan’s soft little hand, teased her a bit, and seeing that she seemed fine and even greeted him, recognizing her uncle, he relaxed. “I don’t think Fifth girl’s unwell. Maybe the dark circles aren’t a big issue. Don’t worry, Fourth Sister-in-law.”

“Yi ya, yi ya~”

Suhwan’s eyes shone brightly, and she tightly gripped her little fingers, nodding as if agreeing with her second uncle.

Liu Yingying, still anxious, said, “How can we just leave it? Sumei knows medicine; let’s have her check the child.”

Su Laotai firmly rejected, “No, Sumei is busy today.”

Little Suhwan, with her bright eyes, looked up at Aunt Four and gently patted her hand, signaling her not to worry.

Sumei’s busy?

She didn’t know that.

Liu Yingying was a bit confused and was about to ask more when, suddenly, Yan’s family rushed in and said to Su Laotai, “Grandmother, there’s a young Taoist outside who wants to see you. He says he’s from the Yun family, the original owner of this house.”