"She... she's here..."
Wang Mazi's dark, pockmarked face instantly turned ashen white, as if layers of foundation had been applied.
At this moment, I couldn't care less about being fellow villagers. I directly grabbed Wang Mazi by the collar and roared, "Wang Mazi, tell me the truth, damn it! What did you do to Xiao Nuan? If you don't tell me the truth, I'll throw you out and let you face her directly."
My heart was burning with anger. I had initially intended to help Wang Mazi as a fellow villager and earn some money, a win-win situation. But now, it seemed like the money was a hot potato I couldn't hold onto!
My words scared Wang Mazi so much that his entire body turned white, making him look like a ghost. He said with a mournful face, "I really didn't do anything! I've told you everything that happened, from beginning to end. If I truly deserved to die and bring disaster upon my family, do you think I'd still have the face to ask for your help?"
Although I had my doubts, he had spoken to this extent, and I couldn't find any flaws in his words. I let him go and said fiercely, "I hope you're not lying to me, or even as a ghost, you'll have to go through eighteen levels of hell..."
After leaving Wang Mazi in the冥堂 (ming tang), I went straight out. With the Ancestor watching over him, it would be difficult for him to cause any trouble.
The two lanterns hanging at the courtyard gate had been obscured by Yin energy. From the house, they looked like two stars. The courtyard was in chaos. Bai Ling'er coiled in mid-air, its body growing from the length of a chopstick to over two meters long, as thick as a wrist.
The weasels that had been serving it earlier were all hiding under Master's recliner, their eyes, the size of soybeans, staring fearfully at the outside of the courtyard, emitting squeaking sounds filled with dread.
I couldn't help but think that Bai Ling'er was reliable in critical moments. But was it true that Xiao Nuan had become a ghost soldier?
"Ling'er, are you sure about your judgment? Has she really reached the strength of a ghost soldier?" I confirmed with Bai Ling'er again.
Bai Ling'er didn't answer immediately. Instead, it looked intently at the outside of the gate and said with dissatisfaction, "It's all that smelly old man's fault for sealing me for no reason. Otherwise, I could blow away a dozen of these minor ghosts with a single sneeze..."
Before I could interrupt its self-praise, Bai Ling'er continued, "She hasn't reached the strength of a ghost soldier yet. She's only absorbed a large amount of Yin energy. Her strength is only slightly stronger than an ordinary fierce ghost..."
Slightly stronger than a fierce ghost? You say that so casually! With my strength, even dealing with a fierce ghost is difficult!
This made me resent the Fifth Prince. He promised to find me a bodyguard, but he sealed her, leaving Bai Ling'er in an awkward state. Wasn't this like calling a pockmarked person a pitfall?
But complaining now wouldn't solve anything. I could only brace myself and face it. I refused to believe that Xiao Nuan could overturn the dojo that Master had established for so many years!
The Yin wind stopped, and the red and white lanterns at the gate lit up again. A figure appeared abruptly at the gate. In the dark night, she was dressed in white. As it was too dark, and she covered her face with her hair, her appearance was unclear. However, her demeanor was very demure, like a girl next door, standing at the gate, rubbing her hands together in front of her chest, appearing somewhat flustered.
"Can I come in?"
Can I come in?
I felt like spitting blood. After all that commotion, she now acted like a demure girl next door. What was this all about? Was she playing dress-up with me again?
"Xiao Nuan?"
I asked, a little uncertainly.
"Mm!"
Hearing the affirmative answer, I looked at Bai Ling'er and asked it in a low voice, "Can you handle her?"
Bai Ling'er first looked at Xiao Nuan outside the gate, then at me, and said, "Handle your own troubles. Don't bother me while I'm eating sheep."
"Kids, light the fire. I'm not full yet..." Then, to Xiao Nuan outside the courtyard, it said, "Don't disturb my eating and drinking. The rest, I... don't... care..."
Unexpectedly, Bai Ling'er's words made Xiao Nuan bow slightly and softly say two words: "Thank you."
Watching them, the snake and the ghost, putting on a show, I couldn't express my feelings even with spitting blood. I really wanted to ask Bai Ling'er loudly, whose pet are you? Are you still the bodyguard assigned to me by the Fifth Prince?
However, this thought could only remain in my mind. It was clear that the commotion Xiao Nuan had caused earlier was to compete with Bai Ling'er. Now it seemed Bai Ling'er had the upper hand, which was why Xiao Nuan had become so demure.
Seeing Bai Ling'er's indifferent attitude, I felt a little more confident. However, this protective charm of mine, which was sometimes effective and sometimes not, was quite frustrating. But for now, I had to swallow my anger and wait to settle the score with Old Qiu later.
"You're the one who asked me to come? Can I come in?" Xiao Nuan's voice seemed to be asking me, but her tone was not polite at all. She had one attitude towards Bai Ling'er and another towards me.
"Of course, guests are welcome. Come in!"
As she passed Bai Ling'er, Xiao Nuan subconsciously glanced at it. Seeing that Bai Ling'er wasn't making things difficult for her, she followed me into the冥堂.
"Wang Mazi, you finally showed yourself..."
As soon as she entered the冥堂, Xiao Nuan's furious voice rang in my ears. Before I could react, Wang Mazi was already under her foot, revealing his ghost form.
His once delicate face was gone. His eyeballs bulged outwards, his face was covered with scars, his flesh was rolling, and his stomach had a large hole, with blood gushing out like mineral water...
This made me stunned. What kind of suffering had he endured? This was clearly inconsistent with what Wang Mazi had said! He said he was harmed by his workers, but this wasn't harm, this was torture!
The冥堂 suddenly brightened. This was the Ancestor manifesting, repelling Xiao Nuan's ghost form. Although the Ancestor sympathized with the souls who had been wronged, he did not allow ghosts to reveal their ghost forms in the冥堂. The reason for this was unknown even to Master.
After being intimidated, Xiao Nuan released her foot from Wang Mazi's body, but her bright, lively eyes still glared at him fiercely, as if she wanted to gnaw his flesh and eat his bones.
Wang Mazi got up from the ground, looked at Xiao Nuan with some fear, and then looked at me, as if he wanted to say something.
I pretended not to see it. Although I wanted to make money, it had to be earned through clean means. If this money was tainted with karma, I would be the one to suffer misfortune later.
I coughed, interrupting Xiao Nuan's fierce gaze at Wang Mazi, and said, "Xiao Nuan, Wang Mazi has already explained your situation to me. However, there are some things I need to confirm with you."
"What's there to talk about? This beast is not human at all. Even if I killed his entire family, I wouldn't be satisfied..."
Then, from Xiao Nuan's mouth, I heard another version of the story. This story was similar to Wang Mazi's, except that as I listened to the end, my mouth opened wider and wider, and in the end, I almost dropped my jaw.
I looked at Wang Mazi in surprise, finding it hard to believe that such an honest and dull man could do such a thing. This completely overturned my worldview!