Spirit Reaper - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Reaping What They Sowed—”Don’t You Love Money Trees? Then…”

After a few more words of greeting, Qin An transformed into a streak of red light and dove back into Wuyi’s jade pendant. In that instant, Wuyi could feel a comforting warmth radiating from the pendant against her chest.

Actually, despite her sharp tongue, Qin An was truly quite reliable.

But there was no time for idle thoughts. Wuyi quickly wrung the water out of her soaked clothes and, dragging her heavy body, followed behind Xiao Tuan.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but with Xiao Tuan leading the way, the dense forest no longer felt like an impossible maze. Her mind felt sharper, and the surrounding scenery became clearer.

The path was unobstructed. No more ghosts appeared to hinder her, though Wuyi was certain she saw eyes peering from the darkness, watching her every move. They still craved her, but they seemed to be terrified of something.

Shadowy noises persisted, but they remained just that—noises. After a tense journey, she followed Xiao Tuan into a clearing.

Despite the darkness, she could clearly see a small wooden cabin standing before her. A cabin in the woods usually conjured images of wicked witches or mountain slashers, but to the girl standing before it, this was simply the home of her dreams.

However, this “home” was no longer the paradise Xu Li had described.

The cabin was shrouded in a thick black mist. Scattered across the open ground were scraps of cloth and tufts of cotton. As she drew closer, the metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air.

Xu Li was likely on the brink of losing her sanity entirely. She had ripped her beloved plush toys to shreds, and most likely, she had already shed blood.

If Xu Li truly killed those four people, then no matter how much Wuyi pitied her, she would have to follow the rules and subdue her—even if it meant making her soul dissipate forever.

“AHH!! MY FACE!!” A terrified shriek pierced through the wooden walls.

“Xu Li! Don’t do it!” Wuyi kicked the door open. Before her words could even land, she recoiled two steps, horrified by the scene.

The smell of decaying wood mixed with a pungent stench of corpses and expensive perfume—an olfactory bomb that left Wuyi’s senses reeling.

As described in the diary, the walls were a dreamlike pink. A princess bed large enough for two sat against the wall, and a rack nearby was filled with elegant dresses. It should have been a dream home.

If one ignored the bed frame smashed into pieces, the irregular shreds of clothing, the dried brownish-green liquid staining the floor, and the figure hanging high from the center of the room—the bloated, bruised body of the original Xu Li.

Directly beneath the hanging corpse, the four kidnapped captives were bound tightly by red silk. They were forced to stare into a mirror, their faces twisted in terror.

The one screaming was Mother Xu. Her entire face had been slashed into a bloody mess, making her barely recognizable. Strangely, the wounds did not bleed. Looking at her own monstrous reflection, her mind was snapping.

“Wuyi, you came after all.” Xu Li appeared slowly behind the four. A haunting smile curved her lips, and her long black tongue trailed on the floor. “Do you want to save them?”

“Xu Li, what they have done will be settled in the Underworld after they die. Why do this now?” Wuyi spread her hands, moving forward slowly in an attempt to reason with her.

“Stay back!” A red silk ribbon shot out at Xu Li’s command, blocking Wuyi’s path.

“They are allowed to insult me after my death, but I am not allowed to take revenge?” Xu Li’s voice was icy. “Is this the ‘officials can light fires while the people can’t light lamps’ logic?”

She grabbed Mother Xu’s face like she was admiring a masterpiece. “Look, maybe I should have been a painter. An abstract one. Dear Mother, didn’t you care most about this face? Do you like the ‘skincare’ I gave you? I think the abstract look suits you much better.”

Mother Xu was far past the point of being able to answer. Xu Li tossed her aside and used the red silk to hang Father Xu and Xu Yaozu upside down from the ceiling.

“One is my good father, and the other my good brother.”

“No! Don’t cut my face! Don’t kill me!” Xu Yaozu wailed, snot and tears streaming down his face. “Kill those two old farts! They’re the ones who pushed you! It has nothing to do with me!”

“You ungrateful brat! We fed you and clothed you, and now you want us dead?” Father Xu roared. “Lili, Daddy was wrong! I love you! I was just blinded by this boy. Forgive me! Let’s be father and daughter in the next life, I’ll make it up to you!”

Wuyi rolled her eyes. Keep acting, go on. Was her energy really being wasted on these people?

The shameless display enraged Xu Li. With a wave of her hand, the red silk turned into sharp blades, slicing across the lower bodies of the two men.

“AHHHH!” Their faces turned deathly pale as blood dripped onto the floor.

“One old parasite, one young parasite,” Xu Li sneered. “Just because you have that extra bit of flesh, you think you’re superior? Fine. Taste what it’s like to be a eunuch.”

“Finally, you, Xu Ming.” The Xu father and son were dropped to the floor like the torn plushies outside, unconscious and half-dead.

“Lili… think about it… I never mistreated you!” Xu Ming stammered, trying to crawl away like a silkworm in his bindings.

“Is that so? Tell me then, how did you treat me?”

Seeing her tone soften, Xu Ming exhaled. “If it weren’t for me signing you, you’d never have debuted! I came up with the strategies for your fame! I even got you this house! Isn’t that enough?”

“So, I should thank you?”

“Yes! Just let me go, and I’ll clear your name! I’ll give you back the reputation you always wanted!” Xu Ming spoke with such pride, he looked as if he expected a medal for his “generosity.”

“HAHAAHAHAHA!” Xu Li laughed toward the ceiling, and when she looked down, blood-tears were streaming. She lunged and grabbed Xu Ming by the throat, lifting him into the air. “You really know how to polish a turd. A 2:8 contract? Embezzling my earnings? Losing your humanity for clicks? You like money trees so much? Then become one!”

She shook him violently. When she finally threw him down, Xu Ming began to convulse.

“Xu Li, what did you do to him!”

“I told you. I’m making him a money tree.”

“Blegh—!” After a violent bout of vomiting, Xu Ming propped himself up. He was literally vomiting blood-stained gold coins. He clutched his own throat, eyes rolling back, making gurgling, zombie-like sounds.

“Enough! Stop this!” Wuyi summoned her Soul-Snaring Whip. “Don’t force me!”

“They forced me first!” Countless red silks rose behind Xu Li, blocking Wuyi’s strike. “Why do they get to live like nothing happened while I suffer? I don’t care if I dissipate—I’m taking them with me!”

Her resentment peaked, and her ghostly power surged. Wuyi was quickly overwhelmed by the endless silk. At this level, Wuyi’s paper charms were like mosquito bites. She summoned her Soul-Calling Banner to buy time, her mind racing for a solution.

She could call Qin An, but she immediately rejected the idea. She couldn’t depend on her forever.

Suddenly, the red silk broke through her defenses.

“Pffft—!” The silk struck Wuyi’s chest. Blood sprayed from her mouth, staining a white figure that suddenly appeared.

“Woof!” Xiao Tuan had rushed in, standing defiantly in front of Wuyi, baring its teeth and growling at Xu Li.

Seeing the dog, Xu Li froze. She staggered back, her voice trembling. “No… no… I…”

“Xiao Tuan…”