“Why is it you? I want to know why it’s you too!”

The dark undercurrent in his eyes seemed like it would swallow me whole.

“Mu Xiao Qiao, since you can’t escape this fate, just endure it. If not for my mercy, you would’ve died two years ago. If you don’t want to die, stop asking questions you shouldn’t.”

I closed my eyes, feeling his cold breath linger around my nose and lips.

“…Fine, I understand. I won’t ask.” I bit down on my lips, forcing the tears back.

He didn’t explain, nor did he want to tell me anything. With detached words and a cold gaze, he warned me against any hopeful delusions, yet there was always a hint of pity that stirred a faint glimmer of hope in me.

This was pure torment…

I raised my hand, covering my eyes with the back of it. Outside, the moon hung low, casting a soft light, but I felt like I was lying in the dark cellar back home.

Our bodies intertwined, yet it seemed we could never truly connect.

I felt my nightgown being lifted high, the hem of the white cotton veil covering my head. His cold nose brushed over my chest, sending chills across my skin. Then, his cool lips and tongue began biting and sucking at the tender flesh, rough and repetitive, without skill or warmth, until my body finally surrendered.

So, is this his idea of mercy? I smirked bitterly, clutching the white veil over my face, waiting for his next move.

As he slowly took control of my body, I had a faint feeling that surrendering everything might be the smartest choice.

No emotions, no attachments.

Just like the beliefs of my family: life and death are fated, wealth and honor are bestowed by the heavens.

And for me, life and death, desire and passion, are all in his hands.

He could choose to destroy me or spare me, while I could only lie here, exposed, seeing and asking nothing.

Under his rare “foreplay,” my body felt little pain, and I slowly started to seek the faint pleasure that arose. He seemed pleased with my response, even deliberately leaving damp spots on the sheets.

When dawn filtered through the heavy curtains, I was drifting into sleep, yet he hadn’t finished indulging himself.

His hand moved over my chest, tracing wavy, twisting lines. Was he drawing symbols on me? I drowsily raised my hand, trying to grab his wrist, but in the end, my fingers barely twitched, grasping nothing.

I woke up to find it was nearly noon. The blanket was neatly wrapped around me, but the sheets… I’d better just get up and change them.

After getting myself together, the first thing I did was toss the sheets in the washing machine.

My brother, with his hair looking like a bird’s nest, stumbled down, giving me a drowsy grin and teasing, “Still wetting the bed at your age?”

I…

My face turned bright red.

He laughed heartily as he went to wash his face and brush his teeth, reminding me as he left, “Make some extra dishes; Little Uncle’s coming over for lunch.”

I didn’t expect Little Uncle to actually make it in time to save us yesterday. He hadn’t been home or seen us in two years after falling out with Grandpa.

“Xiao Qiao, Yun Fan, I brought you some treats!” Little Uncle came in, still in his uniform, carrying two boxes of crispy duck from the street vendor.

This lunch dragged on for two hours, and I learned a lot from him.

It turned out that the black cat I saw yesterday was the spirit of Old Lady Wu’s cat. That day, the cat spirit brought back a woman’s finger, found right here.

When Old Lady Wu heard we were trapped, she immediately called my uncle.

“Little Uncle, with you guys constantly dealing with the dead, aren’t your junior officers afraid?” my brother asked.

“Haven’t you heard that ‘righteousness suppresses evil’? Wearing this uniform can ward off a lot of bad energy… though nothing’s as effective as what’s in Xiao Qiao’s belly; that’s what really keeps all evil at bay.” Little Uncle squinted his eyes, staring at me intently.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I changed the subject, “Little Uncle, how’s my dad doing?”

“I think there’s hope… it seems your dad’s intentionally keeping himself in a half-dead state. That way, that blood-red ghost face can’t control him completely, or at least can’t harm you.” Little Uncle chuckled. “I didn’t expect you to have grown so bold, even daring to use a compass to find a corpse site.”

“If I had known it was a corpse site, I wouldn’t have gone.” I looked at the crispy duck and suddenly lost my appetite.

“It’s good you two are learning to fend for yourselves; after all, you can’t always rely on others. Just remember, never mess with dark paths or objects. That girl Zhao Xiaoru’s family, for example, was brainwashed by evil practices.” Little Uncle clicked his tongue. “She lied to you; all that domestic violence stuff was made up. She and her dad were already in that kind of relationship, calling it ‘cultivation’…”

“…I saw marks around her neck, which is why I believed her.” I felt pretty annoyed. Can I ever trust people’s words again? And to think someone under the influence of evil practices was right by my side.

Little Uncle gave a mysterious smile. “Those marks were real… but they weren’t from domestic violence. They were from that depraved thing they did, using a rope to strangle her to the brink of death to heighten their twisted pleasure—”

My brother and I immediately cringed in disgust, and Little Uncle rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen worse. Some people have even died playing that game.”

“Ugh… why would anyone do that?” My brother couldn’t understand. Dark practitioners doing this was one thing, but ordinary people risking their lives?

Little Uncle shot him a look. “Aren’t you studying medicine? Don’t you know that when a person is suffocating or afraid, certain, um, places, you know… tighten?”

“Oh… ohhh!”

I couldn’t take any more. Eating with a forensic expert was pure torture.

“Uh, let’s drop it before Xiao Qiao flips out,” my brother said, glancing at me and shutting up.

Little Uncle chuckled twice, then suddenly asked, “Yun Fan, didn’t you tell Xiao Qiao about you and your dad’s trip to Huangdao Village?”

My brother’s expression froze for a moment, and he stammered, “Dad didn’t want me to say anything.”

I knew they were hiding something from me. Just a month ago, on the night my ghost husband appeared, both my dad and brother had rushed back home with injuries, and the blood-red ghost face had shown up on my dad’s back around that time.

“Xiao Qiao has the right to know. Besides, I think she’s strong enough now; it’s good for her to understand some things.” Little Uncle looked at me intently.

“Bro.” I looked at him, issuing a command. “Go wash the dishes.”

He gave Little Uncle a conflicted look. Little Uncle smiled, “Go on.”

As soon as he left, I asked, “What exactly did my dad go there for?”

Little Uncle pulled out a cigarette, holding it between his fingers without lighting it. “Let’s put it this way, Xiao Qiao. The family’s karmic burdens actually started with the cellar at our ancestral home.”

No surprise there—I was offered as a sacrifice there myself.

Our family must’ve intended for me to die down there.

Seeing my displeased expression, Little Uncle chuckled, “Don’t be mad. Just treat it like a story.”