Chapter 187

Chapter 187: You Are So Generous

Du Zi Heng never imagined things would turn out like this. He had invited Yu Zhi Yi to help heal You Bing Yue, yet as soon as Yu Zhi Yi arrived, he heard You Bing Yue slander her. He felt unhappy, but he still remembered their past ties and the strange coma. He held back everything else and said to Yu Zhi Yi: “Zhi Yi, please take a look at her. I promise your fee will be generous.”

For the sake of payment, Yu Zhi Yi did not refuse, and in truth she had planned to handle it anyway. Those two evil ghosts had left Cao South Village only because she had turned a blind eye.

Yes, evil ghosts. The reason You Bing Yue had fainted for days and suffered nightmare after nightmare was that two evil ghosts had latched onto her. They tortured her in her dreams, not for fun, but to drain her vital essence.

Du Zi Heng had been clever enough to use Yu Zhi Yi’s talisman paper to suppress a malevolent spirit. Because of her protective talisman, the two evil ghosts were pressed down for a while. But a protective talisman is for defense. It does not attack, and its spiritual energy is limited. Once the energy is spent, the talisman is useless. If Yu Zhi Yi had not come today, You Bing Yue would have fallen into a coma again tonight. Angered by being suppressed, the ghosts would have drained her even faster.

Yu Zhi Yi was no saint. After You Bing Yue stole her credit right in her face, she was not going to pretend to be broad-minded. So she let the evil ghosts keep clinging to You Bing Yue. But she would not allow them to kill. Even if such a thing did not stain her with karma, it would shake her dao heart. A Daoist cultivator must avoid growing a heart demon. If she got used to using evil ghosts to get what she wanted, it would mark her path later. One time would become two, then three. She would not gamble on anyone’s human nature, including her own.

Swallowing her hatred, You Bing Yue lowered her lashes and asked: “Why did I fall into a coma? In my dream, I became Cao Da Li’s daughter-in-law. I replaced Cao Zhao Di and became Cao Yao Zu’s stepmother.”

She felt annoyed that a noble modern person like her had to bow and ask this feudal woman anything, but she truly wanted answers.

Yu Zhi Yi answered calmly: “Because Cao Da Li and his wife latched onto you.”

“What?” You Bing Yue’s face changed. She had never expected that answer. The shock was so great that even the pain in her cheeks and forearm seemed to fade for a moment.

Du Zi Heng was also stunned: “Cao Da Li and his wife? Did they not go to reincarnate?”

Yu Zhi Yi’s lips curved slightly: “With Cao Zhao Di watching them, how could they reincarnate?”

“So there was more than one ghost in Cao South Village?” Du Zi Heng finally caught on.

Yu Zhi Yi nodded: “Yes. The people Cao Yao Zu harmed back then did not reincarnate. The ‘people’ you saw when you entered the village were actually those ghosts. The ones who hosted you were Cao Zhao Di’s parents. That Seventh Aunt was her mother.”

She continued in a level tone: “After Cao Zhao Di became a vengeful ghost, her resentment towered, but thanks to the merit light gifted by Sister Fan, she kept a bit of reason. Even though she wanted to swallow her enemies whole, she held back.”

“As for Cao Da Li and the others, they were evil ghosts, but they were no match for Cao Zhao Di. Even together, they could not touch a single finger of hers. After they died and turned into ghosts, Cao Zhao Di punished them harshly, then went to sleep at the bottom of the river.”

“At first they feared she would keep tormenting them. Later they found she seemed never to wake, so they began to wander the village. Whenever curious people entered, they came out to scare them. They even started thinking about hurting people, but as Cao South Village grew more and more deserted, and as the tale of the lady ghost spread, no one came anymore to tempt fate.”

“They disliked the empty village, but their bones were buried there, so they could not leave. Until a few days ago when we arrived.”

Du Zi Heng frowned: “If their bones cannot leave the village, then why did they cling to Bing Yue?”

Yu Zhi Yi gave You Bing Yue a knowing look: “Because she took something from the village. That gave them a medium.”

Du Zi Heng looked shocked. You Bing Yue denied it at once: “You are lying.”

She lifted her eyes and met Yu Zhi Yi’s half-smile. Yu Zhi Yi asked in a soft voice: “Are you sure you want to keep lying at a time like this?”

You Bing Yue’s breath hitched. She had forgotten she still needed this woman to catch the ghosts. She had thought about calling Ou Yang Shuo instead, but then she remembered how he behaved in the village. Not to mention, he had been injured by the lady ghost and who knew when he would recover. She did not want to spend even one more day being haunted.

She bit down hard and spoke with shame in her eyes: “I did take something.” Under Du Zi Heng’s disbelieving stare, she added quickly: “I only thought the things in the village had no owner. I did not want them to go to waste.”

Du Zi Heng pressed his lips together and stayed silent. That reason was not easy to judge. If you really chased it down, you could not say she had committed some unforgivable crime, because she had not taken anything from the living. If there were no ghosts, no one could accuse her at all. But there was no “if.” The ghosts were real. He rubbed his brow and stopped looking at her.

Vice Minister Fan smiled and said what Du Zi Heng would not: “Actually, Miss You’s action is not exactly wrong. Who would expect ghosts in an empty house? Not knowing there are ghosts, picking up ownerless things is normal. It is like finding something on the street. If no one comes to claim it, most people will keep it.”

Yu Zhi Yi tilted her head slightly and studied him: “So, Vice Minister Fan, you mean that the item should belong to Miss You?”

Vice Minister Fan nodded with an easy grin: “She found it. That is her luck and her skill. Others have no right to comment.”

Yu Zhi Yi clapped lightly and said with a bright smile: “Vice Minister Fan, you are so generous.”

He felt a hint of mockery in her tone, but he pretended not to notice. Then Yu Zhi Yi said: “The item Miss You took is a priceless jade pendant. Years ago, when your father served as an envoy to the Western Regions, a king gave it to him as a gift. It is worth a fortune. Your father then gave it to your brother, and later it was lost in Cao South Village.”

Vice Minister Fan’s big-hearted smile froze, and he blurted out in confusion: “Huh?”