A day and a night passed in the blink of an eye.
Yan Shouyi, aware of Liu Jingkang's intentions, was not at all anxious. He slept on the haystack for most of the day, meditated when he couldn't sleep, and watched ants move house when he grew tired of sitting.
Liu Jiaren visited twice more in the interim, bringing Yan Shouyi lunch and dinner. However, all she brought were steamed buns and old wine from the tributes; most of the chicken, duck, fish, and meat had been offered to Liu Jingkang.
Ghostly beings consumed qi and did not truly need to eat, hence their weak desires and vacant eyes.
Later, however, Liu Jiaren did not linger in the woodshed when she delivered food. Yan Shouyi also had no chance to find someone to chat with, as the guarding evil spirits were always watching them.
It wasn't until the latter half of the night that Yan Shouyi couldn't sleep. The evil spirits on guard outside were drowsy. Sensing this, Yan Shouyi deliberately called out:
"Brothers outside, what are your names?"
An evil spirit replied, "None of your damn business."
"Hey, you can't say that. I, Yan Shouyi, love making friends. If I can return this time, I can burn some good food for you, brothers!"
If things burned for the deceased were named, other ghosts couldn't snatch them away.
Currently, Liu Mingzhi was offering tributes to the Liu family's Old Ancestor, which naturally meant burning them for Liu Jingkang. These enslaved evil spirits did not enjoy such privileges. They used what Liu Jingkang had left and ate what he didn't eat; in short, their lives were not good.
Yet, even with Yan Shouyi's temptations, the evil spirits remained unmoved. "Brat, you still want to get out alive?"
Yan Shouyi laughed heartily, changing his tone. "At least I still have a chance. You may not!"
Upon hearing this, the evil spirits gnashed their teeth in anger. But what Yan Shouyi said was true, for Yan Shouyi was alive, while they were ghosts. Without Liu Jingkang's protection, they could not remain in the mortal world and could only serve the Liu family forever.
To prevent Yan Shouyi, this scoundrel, from having his way, the evil spirits ignored him. Who would have thought that the energetic Yan Shouyi would keep asking questions in the woodshed? A normally quiet person had turned into a chatterbox, asking question after question, endlessly.
What is your surname and given name?
How many people are in your family?
When did you die? ...
Yan Shouyi asked such questions tirelessly. If the evil spirits didn't answer, he would keep asking until they did.
As a result, Yan Shouyi managed to extract quite a bit of information.
For instance, the leader of the evil spirits was named Liu Yong. He was one of the earliest servants to follow Liu Jingkang. After his death, he was appointed to a position similar to a "security captain," overseeing these evil spirit "security guards" of the Liu family.
The one who had led the charge to eat Yan Shouyi earlier was this Liu Yong.
Interestingly, before Yan Shouyi entered the ancient well of the Liu family, he had tampered with a paper effigy on a coffin.
And judging by its appearance, this paper effigy was Liu Yong's.
Yan Shouyi continued asking until dawn. He remained full of energy, while the evil spirits on guard were exhausted to the point of near death. Their originally pale faces had developed dark circles under their eyes.
Ghosts did not need rest. However, these evil spirits had not absorbed Yang energy for too long, making them inherently weak and in need of rest to recover.
Yan Shouyi's disturbance had caused their souls to become somewhat scattered...
Around noon, Liu Jiaren came to fetch Yan Shouyi. Seeing the condition of the guarding evil spirits, she thought she was seeing *jì* (the restless spirit of a dead ghost).
As the saying goes, a dead person becomes a ghost, and a dead ghost becomes *jì*. Ghosts fear *jì* just as humans fear *jì*.
Liu Jiaren was startled, unable to comprehend how Yan Shouyi, through the wall, had driven these evil spirits to such a pathetic state overnight.
"Young Mistress, please take him away quickly. We truly cannot bear it anymore!" one evil spirit knelt on the ground, weeping profusely.
Another evil spirit leaned against the wall, their eyes vacant, appearing utterly resigned. "What joy in living, what suffering in death. To be or not to be, that is the question..."
Yan Shouyi's voice drifted from the woodshed: "Humans and spirits are all born of mothers. The difference is that humans are born from human mothers, and spirits are born from spirit mothers. Therefore, being a spirit is like being human; one must have a benevolent heart. With a benevolent heart, one is no longer a spirit, but a human-spirit."
Seeing the expressions of wanting to die a second time on the faces of the evil spirits, Liu Jiaren couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Fearing they might actually perish, she quickly entered the woodshed and led Yan Shouyi out.
Yan Shouyi was well-behaved and voluntarily put the shackles back on, which he had already unfastened.
As he left the woodshed, he didn't forget to turn back and ask, "Oh right, I still haven't asked you two, what is your mother's surname?"
"Scram!" the two ghosts cursed in unison.
Yan Shouyi grinned shamelessly, "You guys wait here. I'll be right back."
"SCRAM!!!"
The evil spirits racked their brains, unable to fathom what sins they had committed to be burdened with a malignant entity like Yan Shouyi even in death.
As Liu Jiaren led Yan Shouyi towards the main hall, she couldn't help but laugh, "I didn't realize you talked so much."
"It's just too boring," Yan Shouyi replied innocently.
"Hehehe, you were clearly doing it on purpose."
Only then did Yan Shouyi confess, "They said their boss wanted to eat me."
"You mean Liu Yong?" Liu Jiaren exclaimed, surprised. "He said that to you?"
"Mm-hmm."
Liu Jiaren's expression turned serious. "Great-grandfather strictly forbade anyone from absorbing the Yang energy of living people, let alone eating them. It seems our family's problems are becoming more severe. If we don't resolve them quickly, not only will Great-grandfather's soul be scattered, but the other elders in the clan will become increasingly difficult to control. If they can't resist and rush out of the ancestral home to harm living people..."
Hearing Liu Jiaren's words, Yan Shouyi also realized the gravity of the situation.
Although both the Bai family and the Liu family had Ghost Kings, the Bai family was clearly much more arrogant than the Liu family. Arrogance resulted in the Bai family being even more powerful.
The Liu family, constantly restrained, would only decline further. They had the name of a Ghost King but were outwardly strong and inwardly weak, on the verge of collapse.
However, Liu Jingkang was unwilling to indiscriminately harvest the Yang energy or even souls of living people like the Bai family. Changing the current situation was an extremely difficult task.
Yan Shouyi couldn't help but quicken his pace. "Let's hurry."
"Why are you suddenly in such a hurry?" Liu Jiaren asked.
"Let's go quickly!"
***
Outside the Liu family's ancestral home.
Liu Yiren rode her motorcycle and arrived at the same spot as yesterday, on time. Seeing the gate of the Liu residence still tightly shut, she couldn't help but show concern.
She took out the wooden bird Sanyuan from her bag and stroked its head. "Your brother hasn't come out yet. Is he in danger? Even if he's not in danger, a whole day and night have passed. What has he eaten and drunk?"
Sanyuan hopped along Liu Yiren's arm and then onto her shoulder, nudging her cheek with its little head.
"Are you comforting me?" Liu Yiren asked.
Sanyuan nodded.
But Liu Yiren's worry did not diminish. "How about I go in and take a look?"
As soon as she said this, Sanyuan immediately flapped its wings and bumped Liu Yiren's face, as if trying to push her away, afraid she would actually enter the Liu residence.
Liu Yiren retreated, saying, "Alright, alright, I won't go in. Is that okay?"
Sanyuan then ceased its actions.
Liu Yiren got back on her motorcycle and looked up at the sky, muttering, "Yan Shouyi told me to come when the sun was at its peak, but it's cloudy today... And it's about to rain..."