Chapter 28 The Truth

The ghost in the painting was now indistinguishable from a real person. Undisguised malice floated in her eyes. Her hands possessed a tearing beauty, and one leg was extended, as if she could tear through the painting and emerge at any moment.

Chen Qiang knew very well that this was not an illusion.

Because he discovered with horror that the female ghost's eyes could now follow their movements.

The first time he came with Chen Xiaomeng, he clearly remembered that the female ghost's gaze was directed to the left.

But just now, when he came with Hao Shuai, the female ghost's gaze was fixed on the door, as if... she was waiting for them.

The female ghost knew they would come again!

Why... did that fatty appear in the painting?

And that sweet-looking maid, she seemed to have a good relationship with the fatty. Chen Qiang's expression gradually changed... he suddenly thought of the ragged little beggar.

He remembered clearly the state the fatty was in after the little beggar was beaten to death. He and Hao Shuai couldn't hold him back.

In the end, if they hadn't knocked him unconscious, something terrible would have happened.

And the fatty and that maid only appeared in the painting after that incident. Could it be... that there was something between that maid and the little beggar...?

Just when he felt he was about to grasp the key point.

The door opened.

A figure appeared outside the door.

Before the sky completely darkened, An Xuan finally returned.

His body was a little dirty, as if he had crawled somewhere. His wrists, cuffs, and elbows were all covered with dust.

But he didn't look disheveled. On the contrary, he was very calm.

"I've found a way to deal with the ghost." An Xuan's first words after entering the door gave everyone present a surprise.

Xia Meng immediately asked, "What is it?"

"At the third watch, a boat sails on the moonlit lake, half a su nang (plain sachet), can dispel sorrow." An Xuan's voice was full of an unquestionable feeling.

After all, he was considered Xia Meng's ally, so he naturally obtained the information from the clue newspaper from Xia Meng. Jiang Cheng was not surprised at all.

"Tonight at the third watch, a boat carrying a bride will appear on the lake. The boat will stop on the moon's reflection on the lake. This period of time is the opportunity to break the situation," he explained.

"I just went to Young Master Huang's阁楼阁楼, and found a book under the bed facing the bronze mirror. It records a kind of evil art." Speaking of this, he glanced at Jiang Cheng, which was obviously in line with the information Jiang Cheng gave earlier.

"It's soul summoning, right?" The fatty said with lingering fear, "We found one in Luogu Lane before, and it said..."

The fatty suddenly stopped, because he saw An Xuan looking at him, then shaking his head, "It's not soul summoning." He emphasized, "It's life-reaping."

"Life-reaping and soul-summoning don't conflict, right?" Chen Qiang recalled the clues he had obtained before, and the conclusions he had analyzed through the phenomena he had seen.

Obviously, this Steward Zhou was the female ghost Xuanji's father. After his daughter was killed, the opera troupe leader sneaked into the Huang mansion, using the resurrection of Young Master Huang as a cover to control Old Master Huang.

And he transformed into Steward Zhou, gaining actual control of the Huang mansion.

Finally, through an evil art recorded in a book, he used the sacrifice of living people as bait to summon his daughter's soul, with the purpose of resurrecting his daughter Xuanji.

This was all reasonable.

"Only life-reaping." An Xuan looked at him and said coldly, "No soul summoning."

"Then how does he resurrect his daughter?" After a long while, the fatty, who had finally come back to his senses, asked blankly.

"He didn't plan to resurrect Xuanji at all." Jiang Cheng looked at An Xuan and asked, "He's just using Xuanji's ghost to kill people, is that right?"

An Xuan stared at him calmly, then nodded after a moment, "That's right."

"Then what's his purpose? Just to avenge his daughter?" The fatty felt his head was getting bigger, and he seemed... to not quite understand what the doctor and An Xuan were saying.

"Because Xuanji isn't Steward Zhou's daughter at all. She's just a poor wretch being used by Steward Zhou and his group," Jiang Cheng said to him.

The fatty's eyes suddenly narrowed.

"That's right." An Xuan continued, "According to the ancient book I found, the preliminary preparations for this matter are very complicated and cannot be completed in the short term, so Steward Zhou and others started planning this matter a long time ago."

He also looked at the fatty and said calmly, "They started planning this matter when Xuanji was still alive, not after they learned of her death."

The fatty swallowed and said blankly, "Xuanji before she died..."

"To be more precise, Xuanji's death was also caused by Steward Zhou and his group, as was the death of Young Master Huang later, and even... Xuanji and Young Master Huang's acquaintance, love, and secret marriage into the Huang mansion." Jiang Cheng said, "They also planned it all, and then used Old Master Huang's dissatisfaction with Xuanji's humble status to instigate him to kill Xuanji. This was not difficult for them."

"Their ultimate goal was to have Xuanji die in the Huang mansion, and then use her resentment to turn her into a vengeful ghost and unleash slaughter on the people in the Huang mansion."

"And Xuanji, as the deceased, doesn't know any of this. She always thought that Old Master Huang was the one who killed her, so naturally she wouldn't blame Steward Zhou and the others."

Hearing Jiang Cheng say these things in a very calm tone, the unchanged look in An Xuan's eyes changed. He first glanced at Xia Meng, and then turned his gaze to Jiang Cheng's face.

Jiang Cheng ignored An Xuan and Xia Meng's expressions. He looked at the fatty, who was standing blankly in place, and continued, "Remember Xiaowan?"

"Re... remember," the fatty replied.

"If I'm not mistaken, she is Steward Zhou's daughter," Jiang Cheng said calmly, "Otherwise, I can't figure out why she can live until now."

That's right. According to the fatty's understanding of Steward Zhou and his group, they were all ruthless desperadoes. If it weren't for some special reason, they would never leave Xiaowan, who was useless and might expose them at any time.

Moreover, according to the timeline, this plan would take at least a few years, and Xiaowan... was the one hiding in the brothel, responsible for connecting Xuanji and Young Master Huang.

The acquaintance, knowledge, and love between the two, to the point that Young Master Huang was willing to risk breaking with his father to marry Xuanji into the Huang mansion.

In this, Xuanji's good sister Xiaowan probably contributed a lot.

Steward Zhou and his group spent years, even longer, weaving a huge net, firmly manipulating Xuanji, Old Master Huang, and Young Master Huang in the palm of their hands.

Until their deaths, they didn't know the truth.

Chen Qiang had gradually calmed down from the initial shock. To him, it didn't matter how unbelievable this matter sounded. He was more concerned with the rationality of it.