Snuggling for Survival: A Quick Transmigration Tale - Chapter 12

This meal was eaten in a manner both eerie and harmonious.

Before their identities were known, the Butler, Laifu, and the little ghosts in the manor had been aggressive and overbearing. Now, for reasons unknown, the arrogance had vanished from their bloodless faces. Instead, they watched the protagonist’s party of four with utmost caution.

Yu Yu watched them with confusion. She remembered how incredibly brazen they were when the protagonists first arrived. Now, they were even packing takeout and serving the group with submissive respect.

Having no idea what had transpired, Yu Yu did not dare ask too much. As a minor cannon fodder character, how could she possibly know the plot points between the main leads?

She sat obediently beside Li Yuan, eating whatever Li Yuan placed in her bowl. To the protagonist group, her total lack of initiative and extreme docility suggested that Yu Yu might not actually understand the true identity of the person beside her.

Feeling their eyes flickering over her, Yu Yu’s eating movements became much more refined. Her round eyes darted around; she felt it might be rude not to speak, but her mind was a total blank.

Everyone here seemed to hold secrets she was not privy to. She felt like an outsider who had stumbled blindly into their complicated game.

A-Yuan’s gaze fell upon Yu Yu and Li Yuan’s intertwined hands. They even had to hold hands while eating. These two were certainly close.

A suspicion flashed through his mind. A-Yuan found it hard to believe, and while he had a theory, he did not dare be certain.

The subtle atmosphere lasted for a long time. Once the meal was finished, the Butler moved quickly to clear the table, leading the little ghosts away in a hurry to escape the suffocating pressure of the room.

“Are you two in a marital relationship?” A-Yuan finally voiced his doubt.

They had been here for two days. After meeting them, Li Yuan had disappeared for an entire day, only to return with this person in tow.

Although the ghostly aura on this person was very heavy, it was merely tainted on. A-Yuan was absolutely certain that this was a human. How could a human and a ghost be together?

“Yes, we have performed the wedding ceremony,” Yu Yu nodded, feeling a bit shy.

Even though they had met earlier, she still felt nervous when admitting to this relationship. The more Yu Yu acted this way, the more A-Yuan felt she was being kept in the dark.

His brows furrowed tightly. He did not want to destroy a marriage, but his Master had taught him that the paths of humans and ghosts must diverge. He did not want a human to develop feelings for a ghost under false pretenses. His tone sharpened as he asked, “Are you aware of your current situation and the true identity of the person beside you?”

Li Yuan’s grip on Yu Yu’s hand tightened slightly, but she remained silent.

She had brought Yu Yu here with a purpose. After so many years, she had forgotten many things; what she could recall were only the beautiful memories of her father and mother. The things she had selectively forgotten were exactly what she wanted Yu Yu to see.

She did not have the power to show her, but A-Yuan did.

“I,” Yu Yu began, feeling a flash of anger. Regardless of whether the man in front of her was the protagonist, she found his condescending attitude annoying. Li Yuan was so kind; why was he acting so superior and judgmental? “I certainly know. Otherwise, why would I be with her? I like staying with her. Do not worry about it.”

Li Yuan looked at her, deeply moved. However, she was also afraid. If Yu Yu found out what she was truly like, would she still say such things?

“You said we needed to wait two days because of this?” A-Yuan shifted his gaze to Li Yuan.

He truly could not believe that a ghost who had lived for hundreds of years would fixate her heart on a mere mortal.

Li Yuan nodded. Her expression actually became somewhat aggrieved, her pale face showing a hint of hesitation. Yet, the words she spoke revealed her current state of mind. “I just want to see.”

She wanted to see if Yu Yu’s heart was true, and if she would maintain those feelings after knowing the truth of who Li Yuan was.

Their conversation held too much hidden information and too many questions. Yu Yu looked blankly from Li Yuan to A-Yuan. Without a script in hand, she could not untangle the current situation.

The others in the party, excluding A-Yuan, did not dare make a sound; they had never imagined a powerful malicious spirit of several centuries could look so wronged.

Frowning, A-Yuan drew a blank yellow talisman from his robe. At the sight of the talisman, Yu Yu protectively hugged Li Yuan. She did not know much, but she remembered clearly that yellow talismans could hurt Li Yuan.

“Let us go,” Yu Yu said. Her heart was racing with fear. She was terrified the male lead was about to set up a formation to exorcise Li Yuan.

Li Yuan rubbed Yu Yu’s head and pulled her into her arms, smiling softly. “Do not be afraid. I am the one asking him for a favor.”

A-Yuan used his own blood to write strange runes on the blank talisman. Folding the paper in half, A-Yuan snapped his fingers. The previously dry talisman began to emit a steady stream of green smoke. The smoke from that single small slip of paper grew larger and larger.

Yu Yu hastily buried her head in Li Yuan’s chest, trying to hide from the thing that frightened her.

“Do you want our Li family line to end with you?” A woman’s voice boomed. The sound vibrated right against Yu Yu’s ear.

Before she could recover, the next sentence struck. “You useless thing that cannot even lay an egg! How did my son end up marrying a creature like you?”

Too frightened to open her eyes, Yu Yu realized her current state was wrong. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Her body felt controlled by something else, hovering as a detached observer before these people.

Before her was a vintage style hall. The people were dressed in traditional long robes. The woman shouting wore a dark red embroidered robe with her hair in an elegant bun. She looked dignified and wealthy, but the expression on her face was terrifying.

“Mother,” a woman knelt on the floor, weeping. Her left cheek was swollen and bruised, yet she did not dare look up.

“Do not call me Mother! My son was truly blind back then! He is my only son, and he married a useless thing like you who cannot produce an heir. It is a curse! I do not know what spell you cast on my son to make him only have eyes for you, refusing even to take a concubine!” Pointing at the kneeling woman, the old matriarch’s rage boiled over. “If my son does not wake up, you shall go to the grave with him!”

The kneeling woman buried her head even lower; her soft sobbing was heart-wrenching to hear.

“Mother!” A little girl with two braids ran across the threshold into the courtyard, rushing toward her mother. The two hugged each other, crying together in a heap.

Yu Yu’s heart twisted in sympathy. The noble looking woman raised her hand and struck the kneeling woman on the head again. “Bitch!”

“Grandmother, Grandmother, please do not!” the little girl screamed, her voice hoarse with grief. The suffocating atmosphere of pain made Yu Yu feel a surge of anger.

A moment later, when she finally saw the little girl’s face clearly, Yu Yu realized this girl was Li Yuan as a child. Scenes began to flash before Yu Yu like a revolving lantern, one after another.

The Li family of several hundred years ago was a family that should have flourished but had begun to decline after the passing of the old Master Li. The eldest young master of the Li family was not a businessman by nature. He yearned for a simple, happy life. As the family waned, he closed several shops and dismissed many servants, keeping only a couple of storefronts. Business was not bad, but compared to the Li family of the past, it was a shadow of its former glory.

The Matriarch, accustomed to a life of luxury, was dissatisfied with her son spending his days reading and writing poetry, only occasionally visiting the shops. She wanted her son to be like her husband, doing big business and making big money. Specifically, after her son married, he had only fathered one daughter. Now that this granddaughter was seven years old, there was still no sign of a second child.

Though the Li family had declined, they still had assets. Without a grandson, and with her son being so unambitious, who would carry the family legacy?

The Matriarch vented all her resentment onto her daughter-in-law, her temper worsening by the day. Her anger peaked after visiting a fortune teller who told her that without a grandson, the vast family estate would eventually fall into the hands of outsiders, leading to total ruin.

Obsessed with restoring the Li family’s prosperity and distraught over the lack of a grandson and her useless son and daughter-in-law, the Matriarch grew increasingly volatile. She could not understand what trickery her daughter-in-law had used to bewitch her son so thoroughly that he refused to even consider a concubine.

“Mother, Father only had you, and I only have Xiao Li. Stop trying to force women on me; I will not accept them. One child, Xiao Yuan, is enough for us.” The refined man once again rejected the woman his mother had sent.

“You are going to be the death of me! No matter what, I at least gave your father a son! Look at you!”

“Say no more. Xiao Li will be hurt if she hears this. I promised to take her and Xiao Yuan out to play today. It is about time; I am leaving. Mother, do not overthink things. We still have money; supporting the family is not a problem. Just stop worrying about these things.”

Not wanting to hear his mother’s nagging, the eldest young master waved his hand and left with his wife and child.

Yu Yu hovered near them for a while, sensing that things were not as simple as they seemed.

“Go! Go brew the medicine!” Tossing her fan to the ground, the Matriarch’s face darkened further. “With so many women available, I do not believe for a second he cannot father a grandson!”

Yu Yu’s heart skipped a beat. She sensed that something terrible was about to happen.