The flickering candlelight cast a faint glow in the room, offering a sliver of spiritual solace to me, who was in a state of feigned unconsciousness.
I had been pretending to be unconscious, but little did I know, I would overhear so many things I shouldn't have.
No matter what, I never would have imagined that the Fifth Gege before me was actually imprisoned here, and from her words, I learned that the person I saw in the painting was her, and yet, it wasn't her.
She didn't elaborate on this, merely calling it an accident. But I couldn't believe it was an accident. The her in the painting was gentle and lovely. If it weren't for her turning around at the end and me inadvertently "assaulting" her chest, causing her to slap me, I would have considered her the epitome of a virtuous wife and loving mother from ancient times.
This was also why, when I saw her again, my face held a look of surprise, and her violence left me feeling completely caught off guard. If I weren't lucky, I would have likely died at her feet by now.
"My Fourth Sister said you are not a good person. Do you think you are a good person?"
Initially, I had taken Fifth Gege's words as a story, but her tone shifted. "My Fourth Sister said you are not a good person. Do you think you are a good person?"
Having been listening to a "story," I was suddenly asked this question by her, and I almost jolted awake from my "coma."
Fourth Sister?
Who was she?
Had she seen me?
Although I wanted to ask her these questions, I was currently a person in a coma, unable to see, and though my ears could hear, I could only pretend not to.
What if she found out I was faking unconsciousness? Wouldn't she just slap me to death? I didn't want to die young.
So, I could only try to keep my fluctuating heartbeat steady, appearing no different from someone truly unconscious.
I knew she already knew I was alive, but since she hadn't killed me then, I figured she wouldn't act against me now, otherwise, she wouldn't have placed me on her bed.
Although I remained silent, I could still feel her gaze fixed upon me.
"Alas! It seems all this talking was for nothing. Fourth Sister is right, men are all useless. If they could be relied upon, pigs would be able to climb trees."
Although I wanted to jump up and yell at her that she was the useless one, and her whole family were pigs, considering her capabilities, I could only let it pass like the wind, as if I had heard nothing.
As soon as she finished speaking, I felt her hand touch my face. Her hand was cooler than a living person's, yet it still held a trace of warmth.
"How strange, how can a spirit's body carry warmth?"
Her slender fingers glided from my brow to my eyes, then to my lips. Wherever they passed, I felt a dryness in my throat. In all my years, I had never been so teased by a woman.
Regardless, I was a vigorous eighteen-year-old young man. If my master hadn't simulated this kind of scenario for me, I would have likely jumped up by now and pinned her down to cherish her properly.
This thought could only remain in my mind. If I were to jump up now, I would surely be flattened into the earth by her slap.
"Damn it, I'll endure it. To be molested by a female ghost who died who knows how many years ago, it's truly a case of wanting to cry but having no tears."
I had absolute confidence in my "unconsciousness." My master had told me that if I adjusted my heartbeat and breathing to a certain degree, coupled with a Yin charm, I could deceive most spirits.
Fifth Gege, though not an ordinary spirit, and I hadn't used the Yin charm, was currently faking unconsciousness. I believed she shouldn't be able to detect it.
Just as she placed her hand on the artery in my neck, my heart skipped a beat.
I hadn't yet reached my master's level of being able to control my arteries, so this was a major flaw.
Therefore, when I disguised myself, I always wore the Yin charm like a scarf around my neck, pretending to be dead. This way, neither spirits nor ghosts could detect it. But who would have thought this woman would specifically place her hand on my artery?
Now, I could only hope she didn't know I was awake. After all, she was a Gege from ancient times and likely wouldn't be aware of modern pulse detection techniques, unless she had been a coroner in her past life.
I tried to slow my breathing as much as possible. As I circulated the breathing techniques, my heartbeat also changed, becoming more than a beat slower than normal. A normal person's heart rate is around 60-100 beats per minute. My current heart rate was about fifty.
This was the limit of my control. My master told me he could control his heartbeat to ten beats per minute. I didn't believe him and wanted him to demonstrate, but after his "demonstration" with a rattan cane, I had to believe my master.
Her hand paused at the artery in my neck and began to caress it. The sensation was like stroking a cat's neck.
This made me curse inwardly, "You truly are a pervert, do you really think I'm your cat?" But this thought could only remain in my mind.
If I were to jump up or wake up now, I guessed she would kill me to silence me.
After all, no one would willingly reveal their deepest secrets, not even to their closest loved ones, let alone to an outsider like me, whom Fifth Gege saw as merely "unconscious."
Just when I thought my disguise was flawless, I felt a ticklish sensation on my face, as if she were deliberately brushing my face with her hair.
A cold fragrance wafted into my nostrils, a scent as cool and ethereal as plum blossoms in the depths of winter, yet unforgettable after a single whiff. It was the same scent as the bedding beneath me.
Just as I wondered what the smell was, she blew a puff of cold air into my ear. The sensation of air in my ear made me so ticklish that I almost jumped up. Immediately after, her voice reached my ears, "How long do you plan to pretend to be unconscious?"
Hearing her words, my heart truly skipped half a beat.
"Damn, I've been found out."
But then I felt something was wrong. My disguise shouldn't have been detected by her. My master had told me that spirits also had weaknesses.
Although they could see everything in the world with their eyes, they could only see the beating hearts of living people and the Yang fire energy emanating from them, much like how living people see thermal images.
At this moment, my entire body was cold. Although I was alive, the Yang fire on me had weakened to the point of being almost invisible. To ordinary spirits, I was practically dead. Even if Fifth Gege had profound cultivation, in her eyes, I should have been deeply unconscious, just one step away from death.
"She must be trying to trick me."
"Heh heh..." Fifth Gege let out a faint laugh. "How interesting."
Then she removed her hand from my neck and placed it on my heart. Immediately, a piercing pain shot through my chest.
"Damn it, how vicious! She wants to dig out my heart!" I cursed inwardly, and quickly opened my eyes, feigning a look of just waking up. "Cough cough... Where am I... cough cough..."
I put on a show of being weak and frail, as if I were on the verge of being placed in a coffin, to make Fifth Gege lower her guard.
A hint of a smile flickered in Fifth Gege's eyes, and then she looked at me with a cold voice, "You're awake? I thought you were dying and was about to help you."
I cursed inwardly, "Miss, how could I not wake up? I'm a living person, and if you were to 'help' me, would I still be alive? Besides, my heart is about to be dug out. If I didn't wake up now, I'd be truly dead."
Despite my fierce internal curses, my face maintained a look of weakness. "Thank you, Fifth Gege, for sparing my life." Facing my gratitude, Fifth Gege's expression remained unchanged, and her hand on my chest did not move. Instead, she began to draw circles on my chest, as if couples were flirting.
However, I didn't think of it as marital affection. What wife would threaten to dig out her husband's heart at the slightest provocation?
"Since you've just woken up, I presume you didn't hear anything I said earlier?"
I blinked in surprise and quickly replied, "What did you say? I just woke up and saw Fifth Gege giving me a massage. Did you say anything?"
Seeing the coldness in her eyes, I wasn't foolish enough to admit I had heard her. Although she had intended to convey some information to me, how could I dare to admit it?
As expected, as soon as I finished speaking, a hint of pleased surprise appeared in her eyes, but it quickly turned to coldness.
Without any visible movement of her body, an object appeared in her hand, which was on my chest.
"Where did you get this thing?"