Chapter 194: Sudoku
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The consequences of ignoring Yu Zhi Yi’s warnings were dire—they encountered a ghost.
And not just any ghost—a ghost with a peculiar obsession.
What kind of ghost from a good family would force people to solve math problems?!
Yes, math problems!
And not the regular kind, but fill-in-the-blank puzzles.
The female ghost floated mid-air, drawing a frame that split into 81 equal squares, arranged in rows and columns. She demanded they fill each square with numbers from one to nine, ensuring that every 3×3 grid, every horizontal row, and every vertical column contained no duplicate numbers.
The most infuriating part? The 81 squares had been pre-filled with only two or three numbers in each small 3×3 grid—sometimes fewer.
Who in the world could solve this kind of puzzle?!
Failure to complete it led to punishment. The ghost wielded a whip, striking people randomly—sometimes on their hands, other times on their backsides, or even across their backs.
Getting hit on the backside was relatively bearable. the buttocks meat of the bum had enough padding there; though painful, it’s enduring it.
But strikes to the hands or back? Those were unbearable, especially the back. Each lash left a wound so severe it spurted blood.
The most grievously injured was Young Master Zhang, who fancied himself a genius. Having passed the provincial exams and narrowly missing the highest imperial honors, he thought himself more than capable of handling a mere ghost’s puzzle.
The result was catastrophic. Among the ten or so people present, he bled the most.
Even Young Duke wasn’t spared, though his injuries were milder compared to Young Master Zhang. His misfortune lay in being whipped mostly on his backside.
Miss Su, however, suffered the worst injuries to her hands.
Looking at her bloodied hands, Miss Su broke down completely. “You might as well kill me! This cursed puzzle is impossible! You’re just toying with us! I don’t believe you ever intended to let us go!”
“It’s bad enough to torment them, but why pick on me? I’m a woman! How could I possibly solve this sort of puzzle?”
“Silence!”
A shrill, rough voice rang out, filled with fury. The next moment, Miss Su was lifted into the air.
An unnaturally long hand, defying all logic, gripped her throat. Everyone could see her choking and rolling her eyes, but they couldn’t discern who the hand belonged to.
The ghost’s voice was livid. “You’re a woman, yet you demean women?!”
“A woman like you, who looks down on her own kind, is more detestable than any man!”
“Urk…urk…”
Miss Su felt her neck on the verge of snapping. She wanted to plead but could only gurgle, her voice lost. Despair flooded her as she prepared for death.
Regret consumed her. If she had known Yu Zhi Yi’s warnings were so accurate, she would never have opposed her. Leaving Young Duke earlier would have spared her this absurd ordeal.
But the world offered no medicine for regret.
Just as she thought death was imminent, a melodic female voice filled the air, chanting words she couldn’t understand. Though foreign and obscure, the voice felt like celestial music, restoring clarity to her fading consciousness.
In an instant, the ghost’s hand recoiled as if scalded and released Miss Su’s throat.
Miss Su crumpled to the ground.
The group of men, including Young Duke, didn’t rush to help her. Instead, they stared in shock at the source of the voice.
Yu Zhi Yi stepped out from the forest, her entrance catching everyone’s gaze.
“Young Madam Du!”
Young Master Zhang exclaimed. His arrogance from eight days ago was gone, replaced by a tearful expression of sheer terror.
Young Duke was less effusive but still let out a breath of relief. “You knew we’d end up like this. Why didn’t you come sooner?”
Not only did he fail to thank Yu Zhi Yi for her intervention, but he also had the audacity to complain about her tardiness.
Yu Zhi Yi: “…”
Before she could say anything, Red Luan couldn’t hold back anymore. “What brand of trash bin are you? How can you hold so much? She clearly warned you in advance, yet you chose not to believe her. Instead of asking her to exorcise the ghost or hurrying home to avoid disaster, you insisted on coming here to court death. Who’s to blame for that?”
When it came to verbal sparring, Yu Zhi Yi humbly admitted defeat to Red Luan.
At the time when Yu Zhi Yi accepted the Duke’s money to rescue people, Red Luan had coincidentally returned to check on the progress of the Graceful Phoenix Charity employees. Upon learning that Yu Zhi Yi was going to perform an exorcism, curiosity had led her to tag along.
The young duke had never been spoken to so bluntly before, especially not by a woman. His face immediately turned ashen. “How dare you! Do you know who I am? How dare you speak to me like this?”
Red Luan sneered. “I don’t care who you are. Since you need my sister’s help just to cling to life, you better adjust your attitude. Don’t act as if you’ve drunk horse urine and forgotten who you are. You’re so high and mighty—why don’t you use your status to suppress the ghost? Don’t want to?”
Silently, Yu Zhi Yi gave her a thumbs-up.
Red Luan raised her chin triumphantly.
The young duke and his entourage: “…”
Had this woman swallowed gunpowder?
Yu Zhi Yi looked calmly at the group, her voice as ethereal as ever but chilling enough to seep into their bones. “While I have taken payment to save you, I’m under no obligation to ensure you leave this place alive. At worst, I’ll just earn a little less.”
Her gaze swept over their faces, lingering just long enough to make them shiver. “If anyone here still fails to understand their situation, they can stay here forever and solve riddles with the ghost.”
The group: …
The young duke’s chest heaved violently with anger.
But under the roof, one must lower their head. Having heard that Yu Zhi Yi had even severed ties with the family that raised her, he feared she truly might abandon them. Reluctantly, he shut his mouth. However, while his lips were sealed, his discontent and fury blazed in his eyes.
Yu Zhi Yi had never minded being hated as long as they didn’t trouble her. They were free to loathe her as much as they liked.
She turned her head toward the house.
Above the forest, the sky was pitch black, the dense canopy of branches concealing the outside world. A peculiar design formed from black resentment hovered in midair—a grid of eighty-one squares, some of which contained numbers.
Seeing Yu Zhi Yi focused on the floating puzzle, the young duke couldn’t resist sneering. “Master Yu, just focus on catching ghosts. As for this puzzle, don’t waste your energy. If your husband were here, perhaps he could solve it.”
Yu Zhi Yi treated his words as no more than fleeting air.
Ever since Yu Zhi Yi had arrived, the female ghost had remained silent. Now, seeing her stare at the grid, the ghost finally spoke, explaining the puzzle’s rules.
Yu Zhi Yi appeared thoughtful. “This puzzle is quite interesting.”
Red Luan gasped in surprise. “Isn’t this Sudoku?”
Curious, Yu Zhi Yi asked, “You’ve studied this before?”
Red Luan rubbed her nose. “Kind of.” She elaborated, “Sudoku, as the name suggests, involves single digits. Each 3×3 grid, row, and column must contain the numbers one through nine without repetition.”
“It’s not exactly easy, but it’s not impossible either. If it were a Sudoku game on a phone, it would be simpler since fewer numbers are given to start.”
In mobile Sudoku games, players can tap on a number to highlight all its instances, making it easier to use elimination to deduce other placements. But relying solely on the human brain to mark and track every number? Exhausting.
Yu Zhi Yi listened attentively.