"Brother, what did I do wrong? Why did your ancestor suddenly turn hostile?"
In the woodshed, Yan Shouyi was pushed inside mercilessly. He turned around, annoyed, and asked the few evil spirits who were escorting him.
The evil spirits sneered, "How could we lowly servants fathom the thoughts of our ancestor? If he says to lock you up, we lock you up. When he's in a good mood and says to release you, we'll release you immediately."
Yan Shouyi gave a wry smile, "Aren't you just stating the obvious?"
Unexpectedly, the leading evil spirit heard Yan Shouyi dare to talk back. He picked up a piece of wood from the ground and lunged at Yan Shouyi, but Yan Shouyi dodged it.
The evil spirit said fiercely, "Brat, you trespassed into our Liu family's territory, so you must obey our Liu family's rules. If you dare to talk back again, do you believe I'll skin you alive and devour you?"
The other evil spirits also revealed sinister smiles, "We haven't seen a living person in a long time, and our mouths have gone bland. You'd better not think of escaping. We'll be guarding the door. If we catch you plotting anything, don't blame us for eating you!"
The evil spirits thought they had scared Yan Shouyi, and they walked out of the woodshed laughing heartily.
Afterwards, the woodshed door was closed.
"You want to eat me, with just the likes of you?" Yan Shouyi shook his head speechlessly. If he didn't want to provoke Liu Jingkang, these evil spirits wouldn't even be enough to pick his teeth.
If he were truly pushed to the limit, it would be uncertain who would end up eating whom.
Yan Shouyi looked around at the dilapidated surroundings, confirmed that the evil spirits wouldn't barge in, and then recited an incantation, easily unlocking the shackles on his hands and feet.
The evil spirits who escorted him were likely servants of the Liu family in their lives, and they continued to serve Liu Jingkang after death. They were not true members of the Liu family, merely the guard dogs kept by the Liu family.
Although they were a bit stronger than ordinary minor ghosts, that was all. If Yan Shouyi were truly determined to deal with them, these evil spirits would be no match.
Ultimately, it was Yan Shouyi's unwillingness to make more enemies.
However, he couldn't figure out why Liu Jingkang's attitude towards him had suddenly changed, even going so far as to imprison him.
How could this predicament, the "trapped" situation, be broken?
As he pondered, there was suddenly movement outside the door. Yan Shouyi showed a look of surprise, then frantically put the shackles back on his hands and feet in a perfunctory manner, and found a haystack to sit down honestly.
The woodshed door was pushed open, and the young lady who looked remarkably like Liu Yiren, who had stood behind the Liu family matriarch earlier, walked in holding a teacup.
She sized up Yan Shouyi from afar, then cautiously walked closer, stopping about two meters away from Yan Shouyi. After placing the teacup down, she took a few steps back:
"Are you thirsty? My Great-Grandmother sent me to bring you a cup of tea to quench your thirst."
Yan Shouyi was also sizing up the young lady. He raised his hand, openly revealing the unlocked shackles, and frankly picked up the teacup, drinking it all in one go.
This startled the young lady: "How did you unlock your shackles?"
Yan Shouyi smiled and said, "You're so jumpy. Are you the ghosts or am I?"
The young lady recovered and was a little angry, "I'll have someone re-bind you immediately."
"It's useless. I'm not even afraid of the shackles, so why would I be afraid of your flimsy ropes?" Yan Shouyi paused, put down the teacup, and greeted her, "Hello there, eldest young lady of the Liu family."
The young lady was stunned, "How did you know my identity?"
"I was wondering yesterday why Liu Yiren was the second young lady and where the eldest young lady of the Liu family was. Then I saw you behind the Old Master just now, and I understood," Yan Shouyi said with a smile.
Hearing Liu Yiren's name, the young lady quickly asked, "You know Yiyi? I haven't seen her in a long time. How is she doing now?"
"She's doing well," Yan Shouyi pointed to the pattern on the bandage on his arm, "and she always likes to draw this on people."
Upon seeing the pattern on Yan Shouyi's arm, the young lady revealed a hint of joy, "Yiyi is something else. When I was a child, I used this pattern to tease her. I didn't expect her to be so childish even after growing up."
Yan Shouyi suddenly realized that the poop emoji pattern had been given to Liu Yiren by the young lady in front of him.
It was likely that Liu Yiren and her sister had a very good relationship, otherwise, she wouldn't have been so fond of this vulgar pattern. Now that Liu Yiren was still so "childish," it might be related to her constantly missing her sister.
Thinking of this, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but ask, "How did you die?"
The young lady glared at Yan Shouyi, "Don't you know it's rude to ask that question?"
"But it has to be asked eventually, right? It's not like gender, which you can tell at a glance," Yan Shouyi was not afraid of this eldest young lady of the Liu family at all.
The young lady couldn't do anything about Yan Shouyi and could only say, "Cancer."
Yan Shouyi fell silent.
Such a fine young lady, but alas, fate was cruel and struck her with cancer.
Looking at her current appearance, it was likely that Liu Mingzhi had meticulously prepared her burial after her death and sent her to the ancestral home to serve the ancestor, and at the same time, to allow her to remain in the mortal world, so as not to leave forever.
The young lady generously introduced herself, "My name is Liu Jiaren."
Yan Shouyi extended his hand and shook Liu Jiaren's hand, "Yan Shouyi."
"I know your name. I heard it in the main hall just now," Liu Jiaren said.
"Then you must also know my purpose for coming, and you're surely going to tell me some news, right?" Yan Shouyi deduced.
Liu Jiaren nodded, "My Great-Grandmother sent me to find you. There is some news that you must know."
Yan Shouyi sat on the haystack, looking as if he were all ears. Liu Jiaren squatted opposite him, picked up a small grass root from the ground, and idly played with it.
"Although my Great-Grandfather is a ghost king, he has never consumed the souls of the living for so many years, nor has he allowed others in the clan to do so. He only permits everyone to absorb some offerings and incense. As a result, everyone is extremely weak. Especially my Great-Grandfather, he has lingered in the mortal world for too long, and his time is running out. If no solution is found, I fear he will soon be scattered into oblivion."
Yan Shouyi asked in confusion, "What does this have to do with you locking me up?"
"My Great-Grandfather knows you are a descendant of Lu Ban and wants you to help us rebuild the ancestral home and find a way to extend his lifespan. He also worried that you wouldn't agree, so he simply captured you, intending to lock you up for a few days before forcing you to act," Liu Jiaren replied.
Yan Shouyi said helplessly,
"Couldn't he just talk nicely? I haven't even refused yet…"
"My Great-Grandfather has a rather volatile temper and prefers straightforward and simple methods. To ensure success, he acted directly against you, but he is not a bad person," Liu Jiaren said. "The reason I came to find you is also at my Great-Grandmother's behest. If it weren't for my Great-Grandmother assisting him by his side all these years, my Great-Grandfather would have surely made many mistakes."
Thinking of the old woman who sat beside Liu Jingkang, her eyes always closed in meditation, Yan Shouyi's anger suddenly subsided.
This Liu family was not entirely made up of bad people, or rather, their badness had a reason.
Having traveled the martial world for many years, Yan Shouyi had always understood one principle: truly wicked people were rare in this world. If possible, he wanted to be a benevolent person who was beloved by all.
As the saying goes,
It's not because you are kind that you become rich, but because you are rich that you become kind. Only after satisfying their desires do people think about how to become kind.
Many bad people are more a product of life's helplessness.
Liu Jiaren's words also resolved some of the doubts in Yan Shouyi's mind.
No wonder the Liu family ghosts Yan Shouyi saw upon arriving at the ancestral home were so weak and thirsty.
Ghosts are ghosts, after all. They don't cultivate the Tao; they are not immortals. Merely absorbing offerings and incense is not enough. It can only sustain them for a while, but problems will eventually arise.
If it weren't for Liu Jingkang's ghost king strength, in over four hundred years, he would have been scattered into oblivion several times already.
"Since your Great-Grandmother knows about this situation, why didn't she advise your Great-Grandfather?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Liu Jiaren shook her head, "Both my Great-Grandfather and Great-Grandmother are people from ancient times, with a strong concept of male superiority and female inferiority. My Great-Grandmother could only offer private suggestions to my Great-Grandfather; she couldn't openly oppose his ideas, otherwise, my Great-Grandfather's status in our Liu family would be jeopardized."
"Alright…" Yan Shouyi completely understood Liu Jiaren's answer.
Liu Jiaren added, "My Great-Grandmother asked me to remind you that tomorrow, my Great-Grandfather will likely summon you again. If you wish to leave here as soon as possible, you must seize the opportunity tomorrow. Think of a way during tonight."
Being confined for a whole day, Yan Shouyi had to admit Liu Jingkang, a four-hundred-year-old monster, had a different perception of time compared to ordinary people.
Yan Shouyi's only thought now was that it was fortunate he had reminded Liu Yiren in advance to go back if she didn't see him by noon.
Facing his current predicament, Yan Shouyi did not show excessive worry.
As long as Liu Jingkang didn't intend to kill him, the problem wasn't too big.
For a descendant of Lu Ban, extending Liu Jingkang's lifespan was not difficult at all.
However, due to Liu Jingkang's actions today, Yan Shouyi had also secretly planned that he wouldn't easily grant his wish tomorrow.
After all, a descendant of Lu Ban was not a pushover to be kneaded at will!
Seeing Yan Shouyi lost in thought, Liu Jiaren didn't bother him further. She picked up the teacup and quietly retreated from the woodshed.
Yan Shouyi looked at the closed woodshed door, a pensive expression on his face.