The Ghost Insists on Giving Me a Beautiful and Powerful Wife! - Chapter 47.1

The truth was often cruel, and Yu Ruoyin had dealt a blow to Zhuang Ciyue’s confidence.

Zhuang Ciyue clutched her head and let out a low wail: “Are there really no other employees at the Four Spirits Shop?”

Yu Ruoyin pulled out her phone and pointed to the calendar for Zhuang Ciyue: “It’s already early August. I expect Qiu Luo will arrive by the middle of the month.”

Zhuang Ciyue had heard rumors, but that didn’t mean she truly understood the inner workings of the shop.

“Is Qiu Luo a nice person?”

“Auntie Ning and the others say she’s very easy to get along with.”

Zhuang Ciyue crossed her hands over her chest, her dissatisfaction with Xia Yu fueling her anticipation for Qiu Luo: “I hope they aren’t lying to you.”

“They wouldn’t,” Yu Ruoyin stated, affirming Jiang Huaining’s honesty. “Auntie Ning wouldn’t lie to me.”

Jiang Huaining had told her plenty of lies, but Ruoyin had long since mastered the art of deciphering them—a secret she couldn’t share with Zhuang Ciyue.

Zhuang Ciyue was the only person who felt Ruoyin was getting the short end of the stick by staying with Jiang Huaining. Hearing Ruoyin’s firm tone, she grew worried: “Xiao Yu, you must have heard what my great-aunt said. Those who live for a very long time might just be bored. Don’t fall too deep; I’m afraid you’ll get hurt.”

“Sister Yue,” Yu Ruoyin said, disagreeing. “Auntie Ning said she is different from Yingzhu.”

A strange look crossed Zhuang Ciyue’s eyes. “And you believe her?”

Yu Ruoyin nodded firmly. “I do.”

Zhuang Ciyue wanted to persuade her further, but a sudden pat on her shoulder stopped her.

She turned around to see Jiang Huaining smiling at her—a smile so gentle it made her break out in a cold sweat. There was nothing more awkward than being caught red-handed trying to talk someone into a breakup.

Zhuang Ciyue rubbed her palms nervously: “Uh… well…”

Unable to conjure an excuse, she forced a smile and lunged toward Zhuang Huaishu: “Great-aunt, I missed you!”

Zhuang Ciyue’s attempt to change the subject was abysmal. Zhuang Huaishu, who was still busy examining the child’s body, was baffled. Since they hadn’t been apart for a single moment, she couldn’t fathom where this sudden longing came from. After a long pause, she couldn’t help but ask, “Are you having some kind of episode?”

Zhuang Ciyue suffered in silence, unable to explain.

Despite her words of affection, she kept nudging Zhuang Huaishu toward the mother and daughter. “Great-aunt, what do we do next?”

“Find out where they came from.”

It wasn’t Zhuang Huaishu who answered, but Jiang Huaining.

Zhuang Ciyue stole a quick glance at Jiang Huaining, her heart fluttering with sudden fear.

She decided right then and there never to try to break them up again. If she did, she’d be a dog—though “secretly” persuading her didn’t count. It wasn’t that Jiang Huaining had done anything wrong; she just feared Yu Ruoyin would end up wounded.

Even though Zhuang Huaishu hadn’t said it explicitly, Ciyue had pieced together a tragic backstory through her own imagination.

As her great-aunt had lamented before, it was easy for those with long lives to bully those with short ones. Over tens of thousands of years, the people they met were numerous and varied; their experiences and capacities for pain were on entirely different levels.

Of course, if Jiang Huaining continued to treat Yu Ruoyin well, she would stop interfering.

It was difficult to extract the information they needed from thousands of blurred consciousnesses. Fortunately, Yu Ruoyin remembered the names they had first mentioned: the mother, Kou Yingyun, and the daughter, Kou Tongtong. This allowed them to filter through the records of the Underworld.

While they were contacting the Soul Reapers to check the mother and daughter’s backgrounds, a distress signal from Xing Ruoyi and her team reached them first.

Upon receiving Xing Ruoyi’s signal, Jiang Huaining’s expression turned unusually grim.

Yu Ruoyin, having spent considerable time with her, rarely saw Jiang Huaining lose her composure. She asked immediately, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Huaining didn’t answer right away. She glanced at Xia Yu, who was sprawled back behind the counter. “Over ten thousand new corpses have been discovered in Ming-Shan Village. Ruoyi and A-Zhen can’t handle it; they need us to help.”

“Ming-Shan Village?”

Neither Zhuang Ciyue nor Yu Ruoyin had ever heard of the place.

Xia Yu’s ears twitched. She suddenly pulled a bottle of liquor from behind the counter and bit off the top. Glass shards mixed with liquid as it spilled down.

She took a massive gulp. Strangely, Jiang Huaining—who had strictly forbidden her from touching alcohol recently—did not stop her. Instead, she quietly moved Yu Ruoyin behind her, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on Xia Yu.

It was as if Jiang Huaining was guarding against her.

Guarding against what?

Xia Yu soon provided the answer. She suddenly smashed the bottle against her own head. The bottle was imbued with crimson flames; spiritual power merged with the “weapon,” causing her head to break open. Blood mixed with the liquor and spilled down, while two plumes of fire erupted from her shoulders. The falling liquid evaporated from the intense heat before it could even wet her clothes, leaving only fine red dust scattered across her shoulders.

The injury looked severe, yet it healed at an incredible speed.

The flames licked upward along the liquid, instantly setting her head ablaze.

Just as Yu Ruoyin was worrying whether Xia Yu would end up bald, the wound vanished without a trace. Not a single strand of hair was missing.

The flames on Xia Yu grew brighter and fiercer. She suddenly lunged at Jiang Huaining, grabbing her arm: “Weren’t the people of Ming-Shan Village all dead? How can there be new corpses? Did someone survive back then? Why? Why did they get to live? Tell me, why?!”

Her emotions were volatile, and the fire spread from her hands toward Jiang Huaining.

“Auntie Ning!”

Yu Ruoyin was terrified by the flames. Fearing Jiang Huaining would be burned, she instinctively tried to rush forward.

Zhuang Ciyue was quick to grab her: “Are you crazy?!”

The flames swallowed Jiang Huaining. A powerful surge of spiritual energy erupted, and a wave of scalding heat rushed toward them. Yu Ruoyin and Zhuang Ciyue were both blown back several steps. Nan He rushed forward to support them; only when a cool stream of spiritual energy entered their bodies did they escape the suffocating heat.

Noticing their situation, Jiang Huaining’s expression turned cold. “Xia Yu.”

Xia Yu was deaf to her words. She stared straight into Jiang Huaining’s eyes, her pupils turning a vivid crimson. “I’m asking you, why were there survivors?”

The air in the Four Spirits Shop grew even more scorching. Nan He, frowning, led the girls toward a corner, eventually retreating to where Zhuang Huaishu stood.

Zhuang Huaishu had already hidden her overly youthful and beautiful face. She pulled out a bone pen and made a few strokes; two clouds of black mist emerged from her palm, growing until they formed a barrier in front of them.

Yu Ruoyin watched Jiang Huaining through the barrier, her heart filled with anxiety.

She wanted to rush out, but before she could move, Zhuang Ciyue gripped her arm tightly.

“Sister Yue.”

Yu Ruoyin signaled for her to let go, but Ciyue only held on tighter.

Zhuang Huaishu shot her a glance: “Xia Yu’s power can’t hurt Boss Jiang. If you go out there, you’ll just be a liability.”

“Exactly.” Zhuang Ciyue held onto Ruoyin, watching the scene. “Xiao Yu, do you think this ‘Natural Guardian Spirit’ is a fake? I think this spirit has zero empathy. Not only is her temper terrible, but her personality is downright malicious. She doesn’t look like a guardian; she looks like a villain. Look how kind Nan He is by comparison.”

Yu Ruoyin wanted to ask the same thing. Since she’d met Xia Yu, the woman had always acted on whim and constantly targeted Jiang Huaining.

She and Zhuang Ciyue shared the same view of Guardian Spirits: they should be kind-hearted like Nan He. Especially a Natural Guardian Spirit—if they couldn’t even manage their emotions, how could they maintain the seasons?

Yu Ruoyin used to think it was strange how summer temperatures were so erratic. With a guardian like this, it would be weirder if the weather stayed stable.

Xia Yu was still in a standoff with Jiang Huaining—or more accurately, she was unilaterally venting her rage.

The raging fire was her way of threatening Jiang Huaining: “Jiang Huaining, answer me!”

The well-composed Jiang Huaining showed no injuries even though she was engulfed in flames. A faint golden glow on her skin blocked the fire’s intrusion. Her expression remained calm, her words cold: “Xia Yu, your agitation makes me think the deaths in Ming-Shan Village have something to do with you.”

Xia Yu had only taken one sip of alcohol, yet she acted as if she were drunk. Her behavior was bizarre, and her words were incomprehensible to the onlookers.

She screamed at Jiang Huaining: “So what if I killed them? They deserved to die! Not just them—you deserve to die too! We all do! Everyone in the world deserves to die!”

Zhuang Huaishu couldn’t help but frown. “Is she really a Guardian Spirit?”

Nan He shook her head, looking utterly lost.

She tugged at Yu Ruoyin’s sleeve.

Nan He wanted an answer from the person who knew Xia Yu best, but Ruoyin couldn’t give her one. She was equally confused. She had always thought Xia Yu was strange, but now she realized Xia Yu might be world-weary. A misanthropic Natural Guardian Spirit? Could the world even survive that?

The only one unfazed by Xia Yu’s outburst was Jiang Huaining. Her eyes remained calm. “There were four hundred and twenty-one people in Ming-Shan Village. Yet, four thousand, two hundred and ten people died there back then. You’re saying they all deserved it?”

“I…” Xia Yu suddenly went silent, looking somewhat guilty.

She let go of Jiang Huaining and stumbled back toward the counter, pulling out more new bottles of liquor.

She cracked them open and began chugging.

The flames surrounding her grew even more intense as she regained her defiance: “And how do you know they were all innocent?”

“Xia Yu, people have died in Ming-Shan Village again.” Jiang Huaining gave her one last look. “Whether you want to help or not is your decision.”

Jiang Huaining’s last shred of patience was gone. She stopped paying attention to Xia Yu.

She picked up a porcelain cup from the table, filled it with water, swirled it, and tossed it toward Xia Yu.

The cup exploded over Xia Yu’s head. The water within, mixed with golden light, fell like a light drizzle. The flames on Xia Yu were extinguished, and the temperature in the shop returned to normal. Zhuang Huaishu released the barrier, and without a second thought, Yu Ruoyin rushed toward Jiang Huaining, who happened to be walking toward her.

Yu Ruoyin easily pulled Jiang Huaining into a full embrace: “Auntie Ning, are you okay?”

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