The Ghost Insists on Giving Me a Beautiful and Powerful Wife! - Chapter 35.2

A lifetime of exclusive possession is also a way of staying together.

She lowered her head, concealing the coldness in her eyes.

Nan He involuntarily let go of the sleeve she was pulling, looking at her with an unspoken expression that was different from the norm.

Zhuang Ciyue obviously did not notice Nan He’s unusual reaction. She looked at Yu Ruoyin curiously: “Is it Boss Jiang?”

“Yes.”

“Xiao Yu, who is more important: me or Boss Jiang?”

“Sister Yue, I don’t want to lie to you…” Yu Ruoyin raised her gaze slightly: “Aunt Ning is more important.”

“Xiao Yu!” Zhuang Ciyue was a bit disgusted: “You really are lovesick. How long have you known her, and how long have we known each other! Am I really that unimportant to you?”

Yu Ruoyin’s lips slowly trembled. After a struggle, she decided to speak: “I… Sister Yue, you are very important… You… I don’t know how to explain it to you. It’s not that you’re unimportant, it’s just… I, I feel Aunt Ning is more important than my grandmother right now.”

“?” Zhuang Ciyue asked with uncertainty: “You’re not just prioritizing love over friendship? You’re prioritizing love over family too?”

“I…”

Zhuang Ciyue’s words were harsh, but they were almost the truth.

Yu Ruoyin couldn’t refute it and simply conceded.

Zhuang Ciyue was both shocked and sad: “Xiao Yu, did Jiang Huaining give you some kind of love potion? You are not this kind of person in my heart. You… I have been looking for your Grandma Yu’s whereabouts all these years, and I… I feel that it’s okay for me to be less important, but that’s the grandmother who raised you! You… oh dear…”

Yu Ruoyin grabbed Zhuang Ciyue’s wrist: “Did you find anything?”

Yu Ruoyin was still concerned about her grandmother, which offered Zhuang Ciyue a little comfort.

She glanced at the coffin: “No.”

She paused for a moment before continuing: “Xiao Yu, I suspect your grandmother might no longer be in the mortal world. Not only did I look, but I also asked my Grand-aunt to look, but my Grand-aunt couldn’t find anything either. Saying she’s dead doesn’t seem quite right either, because we could still find her soul if she were dead, but we found nothing. Next time… next time, tell me your Grandma Yu’s date of birth and full name, and I’ll ask my Grand-aunt to try again!”

“I…” Yu Ruoyin’s expression darkened: “I don’t know my grandmother’s date of birth. Name… I don’t know her name either… I am truly unfilial. I… I have been looking for my grandmother all these years, how could I… how could I not know anything…”

She walked on absentmindedly, still carrying the coffin on her back, with Nan He following closely.

It was hard to believe that she was carrying the heavy coffin so steadily even when she was so distressed.

Zhuang Ciyue didn’t know how things had turned out this way. When Zhuang Huaishu motioned for her to hurry, she couldn’t move: “Grand-aunt, I’m sad.”

“What’s there to be sad about when you can’t compete with fate?”

“Fate? What fate? Grand-aunt, did you see something?”

“I didn’t see anything, but I firmly believe that the owner of the Four Spirits Shop wouldn’t casually choose an eighteen-year-old girl to be her wife.”

“Xiao Yu is charming,” Zhuang Ciyue muttered, weakly defending Yu Ruoyin.

“Is she richer than Jiang Huaining, or more beautiful than Jiang Huaining?”

Zhuang Ciyue was displeased: “Grand-aunt, you are too superficial.”

“There’s no reason for a heart to be moved, but there should be a trigger. Do you think the time they’ve known each other is enough for a person in a high position to be moved? Jiang Huaining has lived for at least five thousand years, possibly as long as ten thousand years. What kind of person hasn’t she seen? Do you think she would fall in love with a young girl at first sight, or be moved by a small gesture? Compared to ten thousand years, let alone seven days, even seven years is too short. Such a short time can’t even leave subtle traces, let alone love to the point of disregarding one’s own safety.”

“Grand-aunt, when you put it that way, I feel so sorry for Xiao Yu.”

Zhuang Huaishu didn’t understand Zhuang Ciyue’s thought process: “Huh?”

“Grand-aunt, look, you also said Jiang Huaining has a very long life. She has seen so many people and has had so many experiences, but our Xiao Yu has only lived for eighteen years and understands nothing. She hasn’t met many people and has been lacking love since she was a child. How many tricks does Jiang Huaining know? If she just hooks her finger, our Xiao Yu will be completely infatuated! Right! Look at the ghost market incident. She exhausted her spiritual power to attack the ghost market, spitting blood and being seriously injured. Xiao Yu must have been incredibly touched and felt very guilty. Maybe this is why she put her in such a high position. If you think about it carefully, the owner of the Four Spirits Shop was only surrounding a ghost market. How could she be so severely injured before the fight even started? Even if it was because she fought with that Xia Yu before, that Xia Yu, though a natural spirit and powerful, is her subordinate and under her command! It’s impossible for her to beat her! She might have done it to deceive Xiao Yu’s heart!”

Zhuang Ciyue didn’t know that Jiang Huaining only had half her spiritual energy when Yu Ruoyin wasn’t around and was making wild guesses based on her bias toward Yu Ruoyin.

“You… it’s fine if you just tell me, but don’t tell them. The one who benefits more from their friendship is you, although…” Zhuang Huaishu rubbed her forehead, distracted: “What you said also makes sense. It is indeed easy for the long-lived to bully the short-lived. The long-lived have seen many people and have many…”

Zhuang Ciyue no longer had the patience to listen to Zhuang Huaishu’s words. She pushed the wheelchair and started running.

Zhuang Huaishu’s thoughts were scattered by the hot wind, and she couldn’t help but curse: “Are you rushing to reincarnate?”

“I’m going to tell Xiao Yu that I forgive her for putting Jiang Huaining first. We’re still best friends for life! This is clearly not a problem with our Xiao Yu’s character, but Boss Jiang’s deep bag of tricks! Aside from Grandma Yu and Jiang Huaining, I can still rank in the top three!”

Watching the suddenly cheerful Zhuang Ciyue, Zhuang Huaishu rolled her eyes in exasperation.

She resisted the urge to jump off the wheelchair, letting Zhuang Ciyue drag her along in a frantic rush.

They quickly caught up to Yu Ruoyin. Zhuang Ciyue handed the wheelchair over to Nan He and joyfully pounced on Yu Ruoyin: “Xiao Yu, I’ve figured it out! We are still best friends for life!”

Yu Ruoyin didn’t know how Zhuang Ciyue had figured it out.

She was the one who was a little confused now.

She seemed to have fallen into a strange mindset again, where filial piety and her obsession with Jiang Huaining were almost fighting each other.

Yu Ruoyin, like Nan He, had encountered people who were equally important.

It was hard to choose, and impossible to choose.

Nan He would have a day when she could clearly distinguish her feelings, but no matter which side gained the upper hand for her, she seemed destined to become a bad girl.

If Jiang Huaining gained the upper hand, she would be unfilial.

If her grandmother won.

She fundamentally didn’t want her grandmother to win.

The hot wind scattered her breath. Yu Ruoyin could no longer remain calm. She was agitated everywhere, only able to walk forward numbly.

Wannanyuan was a row of small Western-style houses. The people living here had a certain level of wealth. Security guards were still faithfully manning their posts in the scorching heat.

Yu Ruoyin had just thought the people were dedicated when Zhuang Ciyue’s voice exploded beside her ear: “Paper! Paper effigies!”

Yu Ruoyin looked closely, only to see that the security guards at the entrance looked no different from ordinary people, but their faces were all paper-pale. They had not a single drop of sweat on their exposed skin in the dry, stuffy weather, and their clothes were clean and crisp, without a trace of moisture.

Looking more closely, they were wearing red under their security uniforms.

There was a subtle ‘double happiness’ character on their chests.

Yu Ruoyin’s heart suddenly clenched, and fear welled up.

Her breathing quickened. Zhuang Ciyue noticed this and took a step forward, holding a pen in one hand and shielding Yu Ruoyin with the other, pushing her back a little.

She was about to raise her hand to draw a ghost pattern when Zhuang Huaishu stopped her: “Don’t act rashly. If paper effigies are placed at the main gate, there must be something formidable inside.”

“Grand-aunt, what should we do now?”

Before Zhuang Huaishu could give her opinion, Nan He suddenly tugged on Yu Ruoyin’s sleeve again.

Yu Ruoyin turned back, perplexed: “What is it?”

“Blood, the smell of blood.” Nan He was a spirit, naturally more sensitive to scents. Her fingers were white from gripping, and the veins on the back of her hand bulged: “The smell of blood is very strong. There… there must be quite a few dead people inside.”

Dead people?

Yu Ruoyin was a little sensitive to the word “dead” now.

She stroked the coffin on her back. The distance, which was within easy reach, reassured her. She began to calculate the weapons she could use. She still had six ‘Borrowing Yin’ talismans: one with a two-section chain and five with a one-section chain. They should work against paper effigies, and she could try them on ordinary spirits as well.

There were also ‘Moonlight Paper’ and ‘Cloud Zither Sand’ in her pouch. Lu Qingzhen’s blood was in it, so she could draw ‘Town Yin’ talismans.

However, drawing them now was risky. Not much time had passed, and her mental strength hadn’t fully recovered.

Yu Ruoyin and the other two were tense, but Zhuang Huaishu was the only one with a casual attitude: “No wonder Wen Xianfeng said Yin City was in turmoil. Ghosts are causing trouble here. The Yin Messengers in Yin City are truly useless.”

Now was not the time for wordplay or sarcasm.

Yu Ruoyin and the others hid behind the trees of the green belt, watching the entrance of Wannanyuan from a distance, straining their ears to hear any movement.

They suddenly saw two red-robed ghosts float by. Their faces were unclear. They stretched out their hands and placed a stack of things in the paper effigies’ palms. Suddenly, they heard the paper effigy shout loudly: “Two guests from the Underworld, welcome!”

Immediately afterward, the sound of a suona (Chinese horn) erupted. The festive tune brought no joy, instead making Yu Ruoyin even more nervous.

After the paper effigy’s voice fell silent, a paper sedan chair floated out of Wannanyuan, followed by an old woman.

The old woman’s gray hair was tied high, and she slightly bent over to lift the sedan curtain: “Please, guests, into the sedan!”

She raised her head a little, baring her mouth in a bizarre smile.

Only then did Yu Ruoyin notice that she had no teeth and no tongue. She was clearly a paper effigy too!

The two red-robed ghosts entered the sedan. The paper sedan chair floated back into Wannanyuan, leaving only fine, shimmering ripples at the entrance.

Yu Ruoyin had seen a thing or two. She looked at the shimmering ripples and quietly exclaimed: “A barrier.”

No wonder Nan He said there were many dead people inside. She was looking at Wannanyuan from here but couldn’t even see a person. It turned out there was a barrier covering it. She touched the coffin with one hand and her satchel with the other, asking Zhuang Huaishu, who had the most experience in yin-related matters among them: “Grandma Zhuang, should we go in?”

“Yes, saving the dead and helping the injured is an undeniable duty!”

The one who answered was Zhuang Ciyue. Zhuang Ciyue had an unusual enthusiasm for ghost-catching since childhood.

Zhuang Huaishu poured cold water on her enthusiasm: “You must act within your capabilities. Don’t forget that we are the old, weak, sick, and disabled team right now.”

“Grand-aunt!” Zhuang Ciyue was a little displeased: “Should we just watch? Nan He said there are many dead people inside. If you don’t go, I will. I…”

Zhuang Huaishu: “You want to seek death?”

“I…” Zhuang Ciyue was indignant: “Grand-aunt, where is your sense of justice?”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go in.”

The softly floating voice made even Yu Ruoyin feel surprised: “Then you… you just said…”

“Oh.” Zhuang Huaishu looked at Yu Ruoyin with a very cold gaze, but her tone was still casual: “I just wanted to scold someone. It’s not too much to find an excuse to scold my apprentice a couple of times, is it?”

“This…”

Yu Ruoyin didn’t quite know what to say. Zhuang Ciyue was full of resentment: “Grand-aunt, you are too much!”

Yu Ruoyin’s sensitive nerves told her that Zhuang Huaishu was definitely not targeting Zhuang Ciyue: “Grandma Zhuang, do you really dislike me?”

Zhuang Huaishu hadn’t expected her to ask that, but she was not the type to deny it.

She smiled openly: “Indeed.”

Yu Ruoyin hadn’t reacted much, but Zhuang Ciyue blew up first: “Grand-aunt, how can you be just like my mom!”

Zhuang Huaishu raised her hand, signaling Zhuang Ciyue to be quiet: “My helping your mother manage you doesn’t mean I share her views. I have no opinion on your friend’s fate. Fate is set by heaven, and one doesn’t choose whether their fate is good or bad. Even if she really curses you to death, it’s your own fault. You insisted on being friends with her, so you can’t blame her.”

“I just don’t like Draw-Witches. If another Draw-Witch were standing here, I would dislike them just the same.”

Yu Ruoyin suddenly recalled that the first time she and Zhuang Huaishu met, Zhuang Huaishu hadn’t shown any dissatisfaction with Zhuang Ciyue associating with her.

The coldness only appeared after seeing the ‘Borrowing Yin’ talisman.

Hating Draw-Witches?

“Why?”

“Too many reasons, don’t want to say.” After giving Yu Ruoyin a perfunctory answer, Zhuang Huaishu gently waved her arm. Two wisps of black qi shot out from her sleeves, wrapping around Yu Ruoyin’s and Nan He’s wrists: “With this ghostly qi following you, you are temporarily ghosts in the eyes of ghosts. But be careful. If the ghostly qi dissipates, your auras will be exposed.”

After instructing the two, she specifically looked at Yu Ruoyin: “The situation inside is unclear. If you unfortunately get separated, your abilities are the weakest, and you have no means of self-preservation. If you’re afraid, hide in the coffin.”

“Aunt Ning needs rest. I will not disturb her!”

“Xiao Ci was right, you are a bit lovesick.” Zhuang Huaishu lightly tapped the armrest of the wheelchair: “I didn’t tell you to wake her up. This century-old sinking wood coffin has absorbed a lot of spiritual energy over the years in the Four Spirits Shop. This treasure that gathers yin energy has been tempered for so long that ordinary ghosts will be overloaded and explode if they get close. You will be safer staying inside. Even if I dislike you, I have to give face to the Four Spirits Shop and Xiao Ci. I won’t harm you.”

Zhuang Huaishu’s gaze swept over the coffin: “As for harming her, I don’t have the capability.”

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