Mistress of the Underworld and Her Little Celestial Wife - Chapter 9

Hong Zhuang was stunned at first upon hearing this, then flew into a rage!

“What do you mean?!” Hong Zhuang demanded. “Are you saying your mistress knew from the start that this southern courtyard was haunted and people had died here, yet still arranged for us to stay?”

The steward, with a sword pressed against her neck, dared not speak a word. Pale-faced, she waved her hands frantically, signaling that this matter had nothing to do with her.

Mu Yin also frowned deeply. She had originally thought she simply didn’t belong in this family her siblings treated her coldly, her parents showed her no affection, and despite being the legitimate daughter, she wasn’t even given a generational name.

If it were just these things, Mu Yin could endure it. After all, she wouldn’t be returning to Nine Stars Gate in the future, so how her family treated her didn’t matter.

But she never expected Qin Shi would actually try to harm her.

And with such underhanded methods, no less.

Hong Zhuang was furious. She grabbed the steward by the collar and shouted, “Though the young mistress was once a daughter of your household, she is now the young mistress of our Five Skandha Sect! How dare your mistress use such despicable means against her? Do you really think our Five Skandha Sect is easy to bully?”

The steward sobbed, “Spare me, Immortal! I’m just a steward, I only do what the mistress orders! Please don’t take it out on a lowly servant like me!”

Hong Zhuang thought the steward had a point. Fuming, she released her collar and shoved her onto the floor, then turned to Mu Yin with a dark expression. “Young Mistress, I’ll go confront Qin Shi right now. If she dares to harm you, she’s clearly looking down on our Five Skandha Sect.”

Mu Yin remained seated in her spot. After a moment of thought, she nodded slightly. “Go ahead.”

Hong Zhuang bowed, then bent down to haul the steward out of the room.

The servants in the courtyard turned even paler when they saw the steward being dragged out like a chicken by the young woman. They huddled together, trembling in fear.

“You lot,” Hong Zhuang called from the doorway, glaring at the servants. “Stay right here. Answer whatever the young mistress asks you truthfully. If I catch even a single lie, I’ll skin you alive.”

The servants shuddered, on the verge of tears.

Hong Zhuang then summoned a few disciples from the sect and marched off with the steward in tow to find Qin Shi.

Only after Hong Zhuang left did Mu Yin pick up her teacup and take a sip. When she turned her head, she saw the little black cat lazily licking its paw. Noticing Mu Yin’s gaze, it lifted its head and twitched its small ears.

Mu Yin tilted her head and asked, “Do you know something?”

Si Lingqing didn’t answer, merely swaying her tail leisurely.

When Hong Zhuang kicked open the door while dragging the steward, Qin Shi and Mu Xuanzhu, who had been sitting inside drinking tea, were startled.

Upon realizing it was that ‘maidservant’ from Mu Yin’s side, their expressions turned disdainful. Qin Shi even slammed her cup down heavily, preemptively scolding, “How dare you, a lowly servant, act so unruly? Not only do you barge into your masters’ quarters without knocking, but you, you’re dragging my steward around?”

Only then did Qin Shi notice the steward in Hong Zhuang’s grip, her mouth falling open in shock.

Hong Zhuang glanced at the steward and casually let go. The steward’s legs had gone weak during the journey, so the moment she was released, she collapsed onto the floor.

Qin Shi was stunned for a moment before furrowing her brows and jumping up in anger. “How dare you, an ill-mannered servant! Has your master never taught you any propriety?”

Hong Zhuang crossed her arms and retorted, “Whether my master taught me manners or not is none of your business, you shrew. Don’t you dare make a scene here.”

A shrew?

Making a scene?

Qin Shi was furious. She had been born into a noble family and had always carried herself with grace and elegance since marrying into the Nine Stars Gate. When had she ever been called a ‘shrew’?

Before Qin Shi could vent her anger, Hong Zhuang pressed on, “Do you know anything about the hauntings in the south courtyard?”

Qin Shi froze, then quickly realized she was being confronted. Feeling somewhat more composed, she trotted out her prepared excuse. “That courtyard has excellent feng shui. I only gave it to Mu Yin because she’s an honored guest. As for the hauntings, those are just rumors. Has anyone in the Nine Stars Gate actually seen a ghost?”

What a masterful act of feigned ignorance.

Hong Zhuang’s expression darkened as she took a step forward. Qin Shi stumbled backward and collapsed into a chair, flustered as she snapped, “Don’t push your luck, you insolent servant! I’m letting you off easy because you’re young, but don’t overstep your bounds!”

Her words only fueled Hong Zhuang’s irritation. In one swift motion, she unsheathed her sword, and with a flash of cold steel, sliced off Qin Shi’s hairpin and topknot. Without the pin, Qin Shi’s hair tumbled down in disarray, making her look like a madwoman.

“Ah!” Qin Shi shrieked, never expecting this servant would dare lay hands on her!

Hong Zhuang sheathed her sword and glared at the pale, disheveled woman before her. “I don’t care about your family’s rules, but we of the immortal sects don’t stand by and watch our own suffer in silence. Speak! Why did you frame the young mistress?”

Qin Shi had never faced such a situation before. Terrified out of her wits, she blurted out the truth in a daze.

“Mu Yin is a monster!”

Her eyes wide with fear, Qin Shi hissed, “Even as a child, she attracted wandering spirits never acting like a normal person, just a walking bad omen. After she married and left, those ghosts and demons, unable to find her, started wreaking havoc in the courtyard, killing several people. So what if I made her stay in the south courtyard to reunite with those fiends? She deserved it!”

Hong Zhuang frowned. “What nonsense are you spouting? How can a person coexist with ghosts?”

“Hah.” Qin Shi sneered. “You still don’t know what kind of person your young mistress is, do you? She’s been abnormal since childhood, just stepping outside would draw monsters to her. Servants often saw her talking to something in her room, and whenever asked, she’d babble about spirits and ghosts. It was downright eerie.”

“Even if that’s true, it doesn’t justify framing her!”

Qin Shi rolled her eyes and scoffed. “I thought things would improve once she married away, but even after she left, the Nine Stars Gate never knew peace. It’s all because of the evil she summoned in the past. I’ve long advised the master to either kill her or send her away, but every attempt ended in disaster.”

Hong Zhuang narrowed her eyes. “What kind of disaster?”

“Deaths,” Qin Shi spat. “Anyone who tried to kill her or send her away from this family died mysteriously.”

Hong Zhuang’s frown deepened.

“Just wait and see,” Qin Shi laughed. “Now that this jinx has come to your Five Skandha Sect, your days of peace are over.”

Watching Qin Shi’s disheveled yet gloating expression, Hong Zhuang gritted her teeth in anger.

Mu Xuanzhu, who had been accompanying her mother all along, showed no surprise upon hearing this. It seemed Qin Shi often spoke of such matters, for Mu Xuanzhu’s eyes held the same cold hatred as her mother’s.

“That cursed thing,” Mu Xuanzhu said while embracing her mother, sneering at Hong Zhuang. “The dead young lady from your family is a perfect match for that filthy creature!”

Hong Zhuang was furious. She didn’t believe in such nonsense about curses, she was from an immortal sect, after all. Such things could easily be dispelled by finding a powerful sorcerer. Even if Mu Yin was prone to attracting unclean entities, the Five Skandha Sect had plenty of magical artifacts; surely one could counteract Mu Yin’s constitution.

Yet these people wanted to harm Mu Yin over such trivial matters, which Hong Zhuang simply couldn’t tolerate.

“Guards!” Hong Zhuang shouted to the disciples at the door. “Guard this room! No one is to let these people leave without my orders!”

The disciples immediately understood, forming an array that erected a barrier, trapping Qin Shi, Mu Xuanzhu, and the steward inside the room.

After dealing with this, Hong Zhuang turned and left, she still needed to investigate the matter thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Mu Yin was crouched by the bed, staring into Si Lingqing’s eyes.

The little cat wasn’t very big, with sleek black fur and two tufts of clever fur at the tips of its ears, looking utterly adorable.

“Si Lingqing?” Mu Yin hugged her knees, gazing curiously at the little black cat. “Can you talk? There’s no one else in the room now, can you respond to me?”

The little black cat flicked its tail and tilted its head at her.

Mu Yin thought for a moment, then leaned in and whispered, “How about this, if you talk to me, I’ll keep your secret, okay? I’m very tight-lipped; I’d never tell anyone about you.”

The little black cat hesitated briefly before slowly extending a tiny paw.

Mu Yin, puzzled, high-fived it and asked cheerfully, “Can you talk to me now?”

The little black cat twitched its ears and said slowly, “The contract has just been formed. Remember your promise.”

Mu Yin’s eyes widened this was the first time she’d ever seen a cat talk.

Animated ones didn’t count.

Mu Yin looked at her curiously. “So you really are Si Lingqing?”

The little black cat nodded.

“But didn’t you die? How can you still appear? And you can turn into a cat, have you become a monster?”

“I told you, I’m neither human, ghost, nor monster,” Si Lingqing said, sitting on the bed and sweeping her black tail across the sheets. Her bright cat eyes fixed on Mu Yin as she calmly added, “Just treat me like an ordinary little cat.”

Mu Yin thought for a while, then asked, “What about your parents? Can’t they know about you?”

Si Lingqing neither confirmed nor denied, lazily replying, “They’ll find out when the time is right.”

“Oh.” Mu Yin pressed on, “So from now on, you’ll just be a cat?”

Si Lingqing blinked but said nothing.

Mu Yin found her current situation quite extraordinary. She had thought marrying a dead person was strange enough, but never expected that this dead person could also turn into a cat. It sounded even more fascinating.

She reached out and poked Si Lingqing’s little head. Si Lingqing gave Mu Yin a faint glance, then affectionately or perhaps adoringly nuzzled her head into Mu Yin’s palm and rubbed against it.

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