Chapter 34

The group exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words. Cheng Hui’s mouth twitched; he felt like the waters of this manor ran deep… deep enough to drown someone if they weren’t careful.

“So… what do we do now?” Xin Erniang was a bit confused. After seeing this memory, they finally understood the truth of the manor from back then. But the problem was… what good did it do? They still didn’t know what was causing the current changes in the manor…

“Could it be that Meng Lang never left, or has returned?” Xin Erniang speculated.

Ye Qi shook his head, “Meng Lang’s cultivation was entirely entrusted to a woman. Since there’s no one here, Meng Lang shouldn’t be around.”

“Then… could it be that Miss Xie’s vengeful spirit is lingering, wanting us to help her get revenge?” Cheng Hui suddenly had a wild idea. But he quickly dismissed it himself. If she wanted revenge, there were plenty of people to choose from; there was no need to specifically find them just because of their special birthdates.

“Sigh…” A soft sigh echoed from outside the door.

“Who’s there!” Their expressions changed, and Ye Qi vanished from the room in a flash.

“Ah!” A woman’s scream came from outside. The three of them rushed out of the room and saw a woman standing beside the deep well in the courtyard. She wore a white dress, her figure graceful, but her height was normal, clearly not Miss Xie.

“Who are you?” Ye Qi warily held his sword in front of him; this woman gave him a very dangerous feeling.

“Forgive me, my husband’s family name is Xie,” the woman said softly.

“Lady Xie?” Xin Erniang blurted out.

The woman in white slowly turned around, and sure enough, it was Lady Xie, whom they had seen in the memory.

“Are you human or ghost?” Ye Qi asked sternly.

Logically, after Meng Lang committed the massacre back then, there shouldn’t have been any survivors. But Lady Xie’s figure was solid, and she didn’t have any ghostly aura, making it hard for him to distinguish whether she was human or ghost.

“I am, of course, human. It was I who went to great lengths to invite you all here,” Lady Xie said, bowing gracefully, showing great courtesy.

Unfortunately, none of them had any sympathy for her, all looking at her coldly.

“Amitabha, I wonder why Lady Xie had to hide her identity and deceive us into coming here.”

Yes, no matter how pitiful Lady Xie appeared, the fact remained that she had tricked them into coming here.

Whether or not they felt wronged was another matter, but her deceitful actions were enough to make them wary.

Lady Xie’s face showed sorrow, “Please don’t be angry, I had no choice.” With that, she began to recount her experiences over the years.

According to her, when the incident with Meng Lang happened, her daughter lost her life, and the servants in the house also perished. Even her husband, Master Xie, couldn’t escape the calamity.

At that time, a high-level cultivator happened to pass by and scared Meng Lang away, allowing Lady Xie to survive. However, she was greatly traumatized and fell ill, taking many years to recover.

She also learned from the cultivator that her daughter, who died at Meng Lang’s hands, hadn’t been completely consumed due to his timely intervention, leaving her vengeful spirit lingering in the manor. To allow her daughter to reincarnate, she needed to find four people born on the same day and month as her daughter to perform a transcendence ritual.

Unwilling to let her daughter suffer even after death, she went to great lengths to invite them here. Although her methods were questionable, she hoped they would consider her motherly love and not hold it against her. After helping her daughter, she was willing to give up her wealth as compensation.

The initial anger from being deceived gradually dissipated. Seeing a mother so earnest for her daughter’s afterlife, they didn’t press the issue further.

Xin Erniang seemed deeply moved, her eyes slightly red.

Cheng Hui found it a bit amusing… Really? So easy to believe her?

He took the opportunity to glance at Ye Qi and Master Xuan Tan. Good, those two, although one was expressionless and the other kind-looking, clearly weren’t the type to believe just anything.

Lady Xie’s sincerity was convincing, and if Cheng Hui didn’t know there was something wrong with the manor, he might have believed her.

“May I ask, where is my friend Li Ying?” Cheng Hui suddenly interrupted Lady Xie’s words.

Lady Xie paused, looking a bit embarrassed, “Young Master Li Ying is staying elsewhere. It’s thanks to his willingness to help that I was able to invite you all. I will surely reward him generously later.”

Cheng Hui nodded, not saying anything, just reopened the screen and checked the task.

His task was: Find out the hidden secrets of the manor and rescue your friend.

Key point: ‘Rescue’!

If it were as she said, that Li Ying was resting somewhere, there wouldn’t be any need for a rescue, would there?

Ha, you crafty old woman!

Ye Qi and Master Xuan Tan exchanged a look, both planning to go with the flow.

They had no leads at the moment, and since Lady Xie had appeared, they might as well see what she wanted.

Both Ye Qi and Master Xuan Tan were very confident in their abilities.

Master Xuan Tan glanced at the seemingly moved Xin Erniang and sighed silently. Indeed, young girls lacked experience.

Then he looked at Cheng Hui, this new demon hunter was performing well, promising for the future.

Ye Qi suddenly asked, “Why isn’t the master who saved you here?”

Lady Xie paused, looking a bit embarrassed, “That master has a peculiar appearance and feared causing misunderstandings if he appeared suddenly.”

“No problem, we wouldn’t misunderstand someone just because of their appearance.”

As soon as Ye Qi finished speaking, a person descended from the sky, landing beside Lady Xie.

This person wore a yellow daoist robe, exuding an aura of righteousness. But when he raised his head, everyone was taken aback.

The old daoist had a sharp, monkey-like face with triangular eyes, a large, hairy mole on his face, uneven yellow-black teeth, and a slightly crooked mouth.

Cheng Hui and the others: …

Xin Erniang gasped, muttering softly, “Goodness, what kind of karma did he have in his past life to be reborn like this…”

Ye Qi and Master Xuan Tan were speechless. They had seen a lot, but someone this ugly was a first.

“Boundless Heavenly Venerable! This old daoist greets you.” The old daoist was not only ugly but also had shifty eyes and a sneaky demeanor. Even though they prided themselves on not judging by appearances, it was hard to like this old daoist.

Fortunately, whether they liked him or not was another matter. They were all well-mannered. Since the old daoist greeted them first, they naturally returned the courtesy.

After the greetings, the old daoist didn’t speak much, mostly letting Lady Xie do the talking. According to her, the old daoist was often misunderstood because of his looks, so he spoke less over time.

Cheng Hui’s mouth twitched, not knowing what to say.

Well… humans are inherently superficial.

With the old daoist’s appearance, Lady Xie’s words gained some credibility.

Except for Cheng Hui, it was hard to say what Ye Qi and Master Xuan Tan thought, but they outwardly showed trust.

Lady Xie led them to a side room in the backyard, unlocked the door, and went inside. Soon, her mournful voice echoed, “Wan’er…”

The others exchanged glances and followed her in, finding a shadow curled up in a corner of the room.

Lady Xie, tears streaming down her face, hugged the shadow, sobbing uncontrollably. But the shadow seemed to have no consciousness, just curled up blankly.

Lady Xie wiped her tears and said to them, “Please, help my daughter transcend.”

“What do you think?” Cheng Hui quietly asked Ah Qiu.

“A weasel giving a chicken New Year’s greetings,” Ah Qiu said flatly.

Cheng Hui agreed wholeheartedly. No matter how convincing Lady Xie sounded, her own identity was unclear, and only a fool would help her.

Ye Qi and Master Xuan Tan seemed to think the same, but transcending a ghost didn’t take much effort, so Master Xuan Tan offered to help.

Lady Xie hesitated, then said with a sorrowful face, “I know you don’t believe me, and I wouldn’t either in your place. But… this is the truth. I just hope my child can have a good reincarnation.”

She silently stepped aside, seemingly giving up on persuading them, which surprised Cheng Hui and the others.

Master Xuan Tan stepped forward and began chanting the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s Original Vow Sutra. Golden lotuses flowed from his mouth, landing on the shadow without any effect.

After a while, Master Xuan Tan had to admit he couldn’t transcend the shadow.

Lady Xie said nothing, just silently bowed to them, making them feel a bit troubled.

“Wretched creature! You dare harm others!”

Suddenly, the old daoist’s angry shout came from outside. They rushed out to see the old daoist fighting a figure.

In a short time, they exchanged blows rapidly, and soon the old daoist was defeated, falling to the ground and spitting blood.

The attacker laughed wildly, “You meddling daoist! Years ago, you interfered, and I was too weak and got hurt by you. Let’s see who can save you today!”

Cheng Hui looked up and saw a handsome man with mesmerizing eyes, none other than Meng Lang, who had committed the massacre here!

He was about to strike the old daoist when Ye Qi drew his sword and engaged him in battle.

“Hey! Monster, stop harming others!” Master Xuan Tan’s eyes widened in anger, and a golden pearl appeared in his hand, which he threw at Meng Lang.

Xin Erniang was eager to join the fight, but Cheng Hui didn’t act immediately. Instead, he looked around.

Where was Lady Xie?

Why was she gone?