Chapter 194

Chapter 194: Sudoku

They ignored Yu Zhi Yi’s warning, and the result was simple: they ran into a ghost.

Worse, this ghost was sick in the head.

What kind of decent ghost makes people do math problems?

Yes, math problems.

And not normal ones either. It made them fill in a puzzle.

The female ghost drew a frame in midair and split it into 81 equal squares: she ordered them to put the numbers 1 to 9 into every square so each 3-by-3 box, every row, and every column would hold the numbers 1 through 9 with no repeats.

The worst part was that out of the 81 blanks, each small 3-by-3 box had at most three given numbers, and some boxes only had two.

[Who could even fill this out?!]

If they failed, the ghost whipped them.

The spot she hit changed at random. Sometimes she lashed their hands, sometimes their butt, and sometimes their back.

Getting hit on the butt was a little better, since there was more flesh. It still hurt, but you could grit your teeth and bear it.

Hands and backs were much worse, especially the back.

Every strike on the back ended with a spray of blood.

The worst injury in the group belonged to Zhang young master. He thought he was clever, and as this year’s licentiate who had almost passed as a presented scholar, he felt very proud of himself. He believed a mere female ghost’s puzzle would be easy.

The result was tragic. Out of the ten-plus people present, he spat the most blood.

The young lord also spat blood, but he was better off than Zhang young master. Most of his lashes landed on his butt.

Miss Su suffered the worst on her hands.

Staring at her two hands, dripping blood, Miss Su broke down and shouted: “You might as well kill me! This cursed puzzle is so hard. Who could solve it? You never planned to let us go!”

She sobbed and yelled: “It is one thing to bully them, but why bully me? You know I am a woman. How could I possibly solve this kind of problem?”

“Shut up,” a sharp and rough voice barked.

Miss Su lifted into the air.

A hand that did not follow nature’s rules clamped around her neck. Everyone saw Miss Su’s eyes roll back, but they could not see the owner of the hand at all.

The female ghost was furious and snapped: “You are a woman too. How can you look down on women like that?”

She hissed again: “A woman who despises women is even more hateful than those men!”

“Err… err… err…” Miss Su felt like her neck would snap. She tried to talk, but no sound came out. She could only wait for death in despair.

In that moment, her regret reached its peak. [If I had known Yu Zhi Yi was so accurate, I would never have picked a fight with her today. If I had left the young lord early, I would not be in this ridiculous mess.]

But there is no medicine for regret.

Just when she thought she would die in the next second, an airy, lovely female voice sounded.

The woman chanted words Miss Su could not understand. They were obscure, yet when they flowed into Miss Su’s ears, they felt like heavenly music, and her dimmed mind became clear again.

An instant later, the ghost’s hand jerked away as if it had been burned, and Miss Su’s throat was freed.

Miss Su dropped to the ground.

The young lord and the other men did not rush to help her. They only stared, shocked, toward the direction of the voice.

Yu Zhi Yi stepped into the grove and found ten pairs of eyes staring straight at her.

Zhang young master cried out: “Young Madam Du!”

Gone was the defiant glare he had eight days ago. His long face now perfectly showed the fear in his heart.

The young lord was not warm, though he did let out a breath: “You already knew we would run into this, so why didn’t you come sooner?”

He did not thank Yu Zhi Yi for saving them. He complained that she was late.

Yu Zhi Yi paused.

Before she could speak, Red Luan could not hold back and snapped: “What brand of trash can are you, to hold so much garbage? She clearly warned you. You refused to believe her, refused to hire her to exorcise the ghost, and refused to hurry home to stay safe. You insisted on rushing here to die. Who are you blaming?”

Yu Zhi Yi knew Red Luan’s talent for mouthfire outmatched her own.

When Yu Zhi Yi accepted the Duke’s payment to save people, Red Luan happened to be checking the progress of the workers at Yiluan Charity. When she heard Yu Zhi Yi was going to deal with a ghost, she got curious and tagged along.

The young lord had never been scolded like this in his life, and by a woman no less. His face turned iron blue as he growled: “Insolent! Do you know who I am? How dare you speak to me like that?”

Red Luan gave a cold laugh and said: “I do not care who you are. If you need my sister’s help just to cling to life, then fix your attitude. Do not puff yourself up and forget who you are. If you are so impressive, why not crush the ghost with your status? Do you not want to?”

Yu Zhi Yi silently gave her a thumbs-up.

Red Luan lifted her chin in smug pride.

The young lord and the others traded looks. [Did this woman eat explosives?]

Yu Zhi Yi glanced at the people who had been whipped badly and said calmly: “I did take money to save you, but I have no duty to drag you out no matter what. At worst, I earn a little less.”

Her eyes slid over each face. Her voice was still airy and beautiful, yet it made everyone’s skin prickle: “If anyone still cannot see their situation clearly, then stay here forever and do puzzles with the ghost.”

The group fell silent.

The young lord’s chest heaved with anger.

But a person under a roof has to bow his head.

He had heard that this woman even cut ties with the Yu clan that raised her. Afraid Yu Zhi Yi would really ignore him, he shut his mouth.

His lips were closed, but his eyes burned with anger and displeasure.

Yu Zhi Yi never cared if people hated her. As long as they did not bother her, they could hate all they liked.

She turned her head toward the house.

The treetops above were pitch black. Thick leaves hid the sky, blocking the view of anything beyond the grove.

All they could see in midair was a shape formed from black resentment.

It looked strange: eighty-one squares.

Several squares already held numbers.

Seeing Yu Zhi Yi study the shape, the young lord could not hold back a laugh and said: “Master Yu, go catch your ghost. As for this puzzle, do not waste your effort. If your husband were here, he might be able to solve it.”

Yu Zhi Yi treated his words like a gust of air.

Since Yu Zhi Yi had appeared, the female ghost had kept quiet.

When she noticed Yu Zhi Yi staring at the blanks, she could not help herself. She spoke and laid out the rules.

Yu Zhi Yi nodded thoughtfully.

“This puzzle is interesting,” she said.

Red Luan blurted, surprised: “Sudoku?”

Yu Zhi Yi looked over with curiosity and asked: “You learned this before?”

Red Luan rubbed her nose and said: “Kind of.”

She explained: “Sudoku means single numbers. In each 3-by-3 box, each row, and each column, you need nine numbers, and none can repeat.”

She added, half teacher and half friend: “It sounds simple, but it is not always easy. If this were a phone game, it would be easier, because the game lets you highlight the same number across the grid when you select it.”

On a phone, when you tap a number, all the same numbers light up.

Then you can use elimination to find where the remaining ones should go.

If you rely only on your brain to keep track, you will get worn out.

Yu Zhi Yi asked for tips with an open mind.