The Ghost Insists on Giving Me a Beautiful and Powerful Wife! - Chapter 12

Yu Ruoyin took a long time to digest it all before she finally convinced herself to accept the fact that her newlywed wife was a fraud.

She had made up her mind—she was going to ask Jiang Huaining which parts were true and which were lies.

But when she looked at Jiang Huaining’s utterly exhausted face, she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

While Yu Ruoyin was still torn, Jiang Huaining was already seeing her out:
“Ah Yin, you should stay in the same room you stayed in before.”

“Okay!” Yu Ruoyin immediately jumped up. She was just about to leave when her eyes suddenly fell on the redwood bookcase stacked against the wall. The lacquer was an unnaturally deep red, darker than blood, making her pause and look at it twice.

The books on the shelves looked old, many of them with frayed corners. But for some reason, just looking at them gave Yu Ruoyin a strange sense of calm.

She squinted at the spines, barely making out a few titles:

• The Complete Maoshan Talismans
• The Secret Techniques of Pinghu Mountain

…

That looked like the legendary arts of yin-yang masters—and not just from one lineage.

Yu Ruoyin’s heart stirred.
“Auntie Ning, can I learn them?”

Jiang Huaining opened her eyes only to see Yu Ruoyin staring fixedly at the bookcase. Her refusal came swiftly:
“No.”

Normally, Yu Ruoyin would have backed off immediately. She wasn’t the type to cling stubbornly.

But compared to pride, she feared ghosts more.

If she could learn even one of those books, she thought, she would be much safer.

“Auntie Ning, I should at least have some power to protect myself, shouldn’t I?”

“You don’t need it.”

Jiang Huaining’s tone left no room for argument. Yu Ruoyin felt a pang of disappointment.

She slowly retreated toward the door, when Jiang Huaining helplessly called after her:
“You have spiritual energy in your body. Pour it into any object, and it will become your weapon. If you run into a ghost, just hack at it.”

“…?” Jiang Huaining sounded far too casual about it.

Yu Ruoyin was about to argue when she suddenly remembered that chainsaw—how it had flown out of her hand on its own and injured those ghosts.

So maybe Jiang Huaining was telling the truth.
“What should I do then?”

“Just hold it.”

Was Jiang Huaining brushing her off?

Unwilling, Yu Ruoyin came back again.

She sat at the edge of the bed, her bright eyes fixed on Jiang Huaining without blinking.

The silence stretched until Jiang Huaining gave in first:
“What do you want to learn?”

…

That stumped Yu Ruoyin. She didn’t really know what was most effective for fighting ghosts. Then she remembered those old Chinese horror movies she had watched. Zhuang Ciyue once said that palm-thunder talismans looked cool, and Yu Ruoyin had corrected her, saying it was just special effects. But now, she found herself tempted.

“In the movies, they always use talismans to fight ghosts!”

“Not nec—” Jiang Huaining stopped mid-word when she saw the light in Yu Ruoyin’s eyes dimming. She swallowed the ‘essary’ and changed her answer:
“You really want to learn?”

“Yes!”

Jiang Huaining pressed down her rapidly nodding head.
“Fine. I’ll teach you tomorrow.”

She shifted her neck against the pillow, leaning back a little, her tone teasing:
“Now can you go to sleep?”

“Yes.” Yu Ruoyin agreed at once, grinning with satisfaction.

Jiang Huaining’s low chuckle reached her ears, and only then did Yu Ruoyin realize how childish she must have seemed—clinging to Jiang Huaining like a kid begging for candy.

No, that wasn’t right.

She wasn’t a child. Even if Jiang Huaining refused, she wouldn’t throw a tantrum or whine.

Probably.

It had been so long since anyone had humored her like this.

She couldn’t help but want to stay closer… closer still. She wanted to tell Jiang Huaining everything, to show her all her moods, even her petty little tempers.

Yu Ruoyin’s neck flushed red.

She bolted for the door, blurting out as she left:
“Pretty wife, good night!”

She took advantage of Jiang Huaining’s moment of surprise to sneak in the word wife before fleeing.

Once outside, she quickly shut the door behind her.

“Yo.”

A sudden voice startled her so badly that she pressed her back against the door for support before daring to look up.

Xia Yu—who had supposedly gone to bed long ago—was standing right there at Jiang Huaining’s door, staring at her intently.

Yu Ruoyin suddenly felt guilty. Before Xia Yu could say anything, she blurted out:
“Just now… Auntie Ning wasn’t feeling well, so I carried her up here to rest.”

Xia Yu clicked her tongue.
“Not calling her ‘pretty wife’ anymore?”

“I…”

Seeing her stammer, Xia Yu leaned closer, narrowing her eyes to study the blush spreading across her cheeks.
“Face so red? Did you sneak a kiss?”

…?

How did she jump to that?

Yu Ruoyin stumbled over her words.
“N-no!”

“Oh.” Xia Yu drawled mockingly, glancing at her with disdain.
“Coward.”

“…?” Did she really look like someone who would take advantage of Jiang Huaining? Or was Xia Yu only satisfied if she did?

Yu Ruoyin bit her tongue, finally managing to say, “Xia Yu, I’m not a pervert.”

“You look like one.” Xia Yu brushed her off, quickly switching topics:
“Hey, tomorrow get up early. I’ll take you to meet someone from the Underworld.”

“But Auntie Ning said tomorrow she would—”

Yu Ruoyin thought Xia Yu didn’t know about Jiang Huaining’s promise, but Xia Yu cut her off:
“With the state she’s in, the less you bother her, the better. Otherwise…”

Xia Yu’s gaze sharpened, pinning Yu Ruoyin as she enunciated:
“Otherwise I’ll have to suspect you’re plotting to kill me for my money.”

—

Of course Yu Ruoyin had no such intentions. It was Xia Yu who was scheming.

After a good night’s sleep, Yu Ruoyin suddenly realized what was going on.

Xia Yu had been against her and Jiang Huaining from the start—why would she suddenly be so helpful? She must have a plot.

Just as Yu Ruoyin stepped into the bathroom to wash up, heavy knocks rattled the door.
“Hey, you up yet? Get out here.”

Xia Yu’s voice came through the wood. Yu Ruoyin was so startled she swallowed some toothpaste foam.

She coughed hard, her throat aching, which instantly reminded her of Jiang Huaining.

Just coughing nonstop must have been awful, not to mention coughing blood. Yet last night Jiang Huaining had patiently explained everything to her and He Meijie.

Yu Ruoyin felt guilty for complaining, but Xia Yu kept hammering on the door.
“Hey! Hey, hey, hey!”

So noisy.

Noisy enough that Yu Ruoyin wanted to stitch Xia Yu’s mouth shut.

But of course she couldn’t challenge Xia Yu’s strength.

Resigned, she hurried out of the bathroom, changed clothes, and pulled the door open.
“You—”

But there was no Xia Yu outside.

Instead, there stood a redwood figure.

It bore some resemblance to Xia Yu—clearly carved after her likeness—but the craftsmanship was rough, especially the hair, only a few careless strokes.

As Yu Ruoyin examined it, the redwood figure also stared back. Suddenly, its mouth opened:
“Go downstairs!”

Xia Yu’s voice burst out of it, scaring Yu Ruoyin back into her room.

The redwood figure grew impatient, its limbs trembling violently.
“Downstairs! Downstairs, hurry downstairs!”

When Yu Ruoyin still didn’t move, it suddenly hoisted her up and carried her straight down.

Before she could react, she was already seated opposite Xia Yu.

The redwood figure then dissolved, dispersing into a swirl of red mist that vanished in seconds.

Yu Ruoyin finally understood.

That wasn’t a carved doll—it was a manifestation of Xia Yu’s spiritual energy.

So spiritual energy really was that amazing. Jiang Huaining had said last night that she herself had spiritual energy too. Subconsciously, Yu Ruoyin touched the red jade fruit hanging around her neck.

“You’re slow.” Xia Yu lazily lifted her eyelids when she heard the commotion.

The strong smell of alcohol on the table made Yu Ruoyin’s throat burn. She struggled for words before asking,
“How did you know I was awake?”

“I didn’t.”

“But that voice…”

“My avatar stood outside your door all night, making sure you’d hear me as soon as you woke up.” Xia Yu raised her wine bottle, grinning.
“No need to thank me.”

Yu Ruoyin didn’t want to thank her at all. Xia Yu was obviously just bored. Still, she couldn’t help wondering:
“If it was yelling all night, why didn’t I wake up?”

“Her voice doesn’t enter dreams.”

“Oh, I see.”

So Xia Yu had some decency—she hadn’t disturbed her sleep.

Wait.

No. It wasn’t her she was worried about disturbing. She didn’t want to wake Jiang Huaining, whose room was right next door.

Yu Ruoyin suddenly realized Xia Yu was afraid of Jiang Huaining.

Her eyes flicked toward the wine bottle.
“Auntie Ning said she doesn’t want to see you drinking for the next month.”

“She’s not awake yet, is she?”

Xia Yu smirked carelessly, shrugging.

Yu Ruoyin heard that and sensed an even deeper conspiracy.

She stood up to leave, but Xia Yu didn’t even lift her gaze. An invisible force shoved her back into her seat.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you, of course. Isn’t that what you want? To ask about the guardian soul?” Xia Yu got up, still holding her wine.

“Wait—!”

Yu Ruoyin tried to stop her, but Xia Yu never listened.

From her robes, she pulled out a black jade token identical to the one Jiang Huaining had used last night. She tossed it into the air.

The token hung suspended. Xia Yu took a swig of wine, then suddenly spat the alcohol at it:
“Come!”

At her command, the jade token burst into flames.

Scarlet fire engulfed it, burning hotter and hotter. Strangely, though, the nearby table and chairs remained untouched.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

A fit of harsh coughing sounded as a cloud of black mist rolled out of the jade.

As the mist appeared, the flames died away.

The black fog tumbled across the floor before finally coalescing into human form.

Yu Ruoyin stared for a long time before she could make out the figure: a beautiful woman with black hair and red eyes. But half her face was scorched black, and from her open mouth spewed endless streams of ash, making her look deranged.

The red-eyed beauty noticed this herself, clawing at her messy hair and shrieking hysterically:
“Xia Yu! I told you a million times, don’t summon me with spirit fire!”

“Oh, but my core element is fire.”

The woman grew more frantic.
“I hate summer!”

Not satisfied, she added:
“And I hate spring too!”

Her voice was strangely familiar.

Before Yu Ruoyin could place her, Xia Yu gave the answer:
“Lu Qingzhen, shut up.”

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