The Ghost Insists on Giving Me a Beautiful and Powerful Wife! - Chapter 47.2

Even though her eyes could see the truth, she needed to hear it from her own lips to feel at peace.

The way Jiang Huaining looked at Yu Ruoyin naturally softened—a stark contrast to the coldness she showed Xia Yu. “A-Yin, I’m fine. Did you get burned?”

“No…” Ruoyin had barely uttered the word when a fierce heat suddenly bloomed in her chest.

Chapter 47: The Darkness within Ruoyin and the Secrets of Ming-Shan Village

She instinctively wanted to flee from the spot, her hand uncontrollably reaching out and pressing against the heat source. Her palm was nearly burnt through, causing her to quickly pull it back. Staring at the new red mark on her palm, she remained dazed for a long time, having discovered that the heat came from the Red Jade Fruit hanging around her neck.

The last time this had happened was with Lu Qichun.

The same searing heat, the same urge to escape.

Ruoyin subconsciously touched her forehead, where the green mist stripped from Sang Qian and Lu Qichun resided. She had concluded that the green mist was the spiritual power her body craved.

That meant the spiritual power she desired had appeared in the Four Spirits Shop. She looked toward the mother-daughter spirits, but the feeling didn’t arise there. This made sense; based on the previous two instances, that specific power only appeared in ordinary living humans. The spirits who actively sought her out, like He Meijie or Nan He, only served as guides.

There were no extra people in the shop.

Suppressing the heat, Ruoyin’s gaze wandered through the shop. Suddenly, a force compelled her to look at Xia Yu.

Fear, panic. She wanted to run.

She had just taken a step when Jiang Huaining grabbed her arm: “Ruoyin, what’s wrong?”

Xia Yu… Xia Yu gave her the same feeling as Lu Qichun and the others. This meant Xia Yu might possess the power she needed.

Ruoyin’s heart skipped a beat. She knew all too well how powerful Xia Yu was. If she could obtain Xia Yu’s power, would she finally be worthy of protecting Jiang Huaining?

No, no, no—that was Xia Yu. No matter how unpleasant her personality, she was a Natural Guardian Spirit with responsibilities. She couldn’t come to harm, and her power couldn’t be given to anyone.

Ruoyin quickly stifled the thought, unable to answer Jiang Huaining as she swallowed her lowly, filthy ideas.

Perhaps… perhaps Xia Yu’s power had simply affected the Red Jade Fruit. After all, she hadn’t met Xia Yu just today. If Xia Yu truly had the power she needed, why hadn’t there been a reaction before?

Because… because Xia Yu’s power had gone out of control today.

The answer that drifted into her heart made her panic; she didn’t dare think further. Xia Yu was different from Lu Qichun—she wasn’t human, she was a spirit, a guardian of nature following Jiang Huaining. Jiang Huaining would pay any price to help Sang Qian and Lu Qichun for Ruoyin’s sake, but what about Xia Yu? Would she still be so determined to help Ruoyin get that power?

Ruoyin tried her best to restrain herself, but the thought kept entangling her. She couldn’t help but wonder: if both she and Xia Yu were in danger, who would Jiang Huaining choose to save first? Perhaps she could create a dangerous situation…

The hypothesis was cut short as she frightened herself with her own darkness. She rushed outside, feeling that if she stayed near Xia Yu any longer, she would either be destroyed by Xia Yu or consumed by the thought of destroying her. The former was far more likely, as Xia Yu’s combat ability far exceeded hers.

Jiang Huaining chased her out: “Xiao Yu, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.” Now that she was away from Xia Yu, the temperature of the Red Jade Fruit dropped significantly. She sighed in relief. “Auntie Ning, are we going to Ming-Shan Village now?”

Jiang Huaining dazed for a moment, her voice carrying a hint of entreaty when she spoke: “Ruoyin, can you wait for me at home?”

Since meeting her, Jiang Huaining had wanted to be inseparable, even getting angry once when she woke up and couldn’t find Ruoyin. Now, she was suggesting they move separately. There was only one explanation: Ming-Shan Village was dangerous—so dangerous that even Jiang Huaining wasn’t sure she could return unscathed.

A place where the owner of the Four Spirits Shop wasn’t confident.

Ruoyin admitted she was selfish. She grabbed Jiang Huaining: “Auntie Ning, why don’t you stay behind too?”

“I can’t.” Jiang Huaining’s brow furrowed. “Ruoyi and A-Zhen are still there. If something goes wrong in Ming-Shan Village, things will turn disastrous.”

Ruoyin didn’t see disappointment in Jiang Huaining’s eyes, yet she felt that Jiang Huaining was utterly disappointed in her at that moment. She understood that while Jiang Huaining seemed cold, she possessed a great love for the world—the exact opposite of a cowardly, narrow-minded “stinking rat” like herself. They weren’t truly in love; the one Jiang Huaining loved wasn’t her, but the lively girl who shared her face.

To receive more love, she had to act like that girl.

Ruoyin forced a smile, pretending to be anxious: “Sister Xing and Sister Lu are my friends too. Can’t we go together?”

“Ruoyin,” Jiang Huaining gently touched her cheek. “You don’t need to force yourself. I’ll be back soon.”

“I’m… not…” The word “forcing” stuck in her throat.

Ruoyin thought her acting was decent, but it strangely failed her now. It was as if Jiang Huaining could suddenly see right through her selfishness. No, it couldn’t be like this. She wouldn’t look like that person then.

Ruoyin’s smile brightened: “Auntie Ning, I want to help you. Half of your spiritual energy is in me. Sister Lu said that the closer I am to you, the easier it is for you to use that energy. I can tell Ming-Shan Village is dangerous; I’ll try my best not to be a burden.”

Jiang Huaining remained silent for a while, still undecided on whether to take Ruoyin.

Zhuang Huaishu came out with the mother-daughter spirit shells, followed by Nan He and Zhuang Ciyue.

“Let’s go together.” Having reverted to her elderly appearance, Zhuang Huaishu seemed much more stable and reliable. She pointed at the spirits: “They just mentioned Ming-Shan Village too. I suspect they are from there.”

The shop door opened again, and Xia Yu floated out. She glanced at the group and vanished instantly. Though she hadn’t said a word, Ruoyin knew she wasn’t going to travel with them and had headed to the village first.

Watching Xia Yu disappear within seconds, Ruoyin was once again reminded of her immense power. Once greed is sparked, it is hard to extinguish. Ruoyin unconsciously licked her lips. If only I could have Xia Yu’s power…

Terrified, she suppressed the thought, leaning toward Zhuang Ciyue to hide herself. She was afraid Jiang Huaining would see her hypocrisy and baseness. She… she hadn’t been like this before.

Jiang Huaining’s gaze darkened as she watched Ruoyin hide, feeling that the girl was relying on Zhuang Ciyue more than her.

Oblivious, Zhuang Ciyue stepped forward to shield Ruoyin: “Xiao Yu, you were scared by Xia Yu too, right? She’s terrifying, not like a guardian at all—more like a devil! Did you hear how she questioned Boss Jiang? You’d think she killed those people herself! A guardian spirit with such a temper and a thirst for blood… she definitely hurt my great-aunt on purpose last time.”

Nan He stood on the other side, staring straight at Ruoyin.

Ruoyin didn’t hear a word Ciyue said. She suddenly remembered that Nan He was extremely sensitive to inner emotions. She was afraid—afraid Nan He would read her ugliness. And there was nowhere to hide.

Suddenly, Jiang Huaining pulled her by the wrist to her side.

Jiang Huaining finally relented: “In that case, let’s go together. But I’ll say this first: if there truly are ten thousand corpses in Ming-Shan Village, the situation will be very bad. You guys…”

“I will protect Xiao Ci.”

The weakest among them was Ruoyin, followed by Zhuang Ciyue. Since Jiang Huaining would protect Ruoyin, Zhuang Huaishu took responsibility for Ciyue.

“You alone might not be enough.” Jiang Huaining’s gaze shifted to Nan He, seemingly waiting for her to volunteer to stay with Ciyue.

Zhuang Huaishu shook her bone pen: “Boss Jiang forgets, I have backup.”

Jiang Huaining was surprised: “I thought you hated her and never wanted to see her again.”

“Of course I hate her.” Zhuang Huaishu smiled, the wrinkles on her face deepening. “A place even Boss Jiang finds dangerous might actually be able to kill an Underworld Deity.”

High-ranking Underworld officials were called Deities, a testament to their power. If such a place could kill a Deity, would the rest of them even survive?

Strangely, Jiang Huaining didn’t stop Zhuang Huaishu’s unrealistic fantasy. She looked at her for a long time before asking: “Do you know what happened in Ming-Shan Village?”

Having kept the secret of her acquaintance with Yingzhu for so many years, Zhuang Huaishu seemed like a different person now that it was out. She usually didn’t smile, but now a cold, mocking smile was almost constant. “The root cause of the chaos four thousand years ago—that is all I know.”

Jiang Huaining: “It sounds like she loved you a lot to tell you that.”

“Love?” Zhuang Huaishu laughed harder, her skin trembling. “Boss Jiang, you’ve known Yingzhu for many years; don’t you know what kind of person she is? ‘Love’ is too heavy a word; she doesn’t deserve it. I was just a toy for her games in the mortal realm.”

“Yingzhu just has a playful nature.”

Zhuang Huaishu stopped laughing and put away her pen. “Now I see why Xia Yu is so biased, irritable, and unreasonable. As the Master of the Four Spirits, Boss Jiang doesn’t seem very fair either.”

“You!” Ruoyin couldn’t help but get angry. Anything involving Jiang Huaining could drive her to the brink.

Zhuang Ciyue nervously stood in front of her great-aunt: “Xiao Yu, she’s my great-aunt.”

Ruoyin forced herself to stay rational, though she still defended Jiang Huaining: “Grandma Zhuang, the Wheel Turning King reports to the Underworld King, not Auntie Ning.”

“Right, right, the Underworld King!” Ciyue soothed Ruoyin before turning to her great-aunt: “Great-aunt, if that Wheel Turning King did you wrong, we can go complain to the Underworld King! Xing Ruoyi always says how fair their King is!”

Zhuang Huaishu adjusted her collar and signaled for Ciyue to push her forward. “Xiao Ci, do you really think a Deity could secretly reincarnate into the mortal realm without the Underworld King noticing at all?”

They left first.

Jiang Huaining and Ruoyin didn’t move. Nan He, entrusted to Jiang Huaining by Lu Qichun, also stayed. Jiang Huaining seemed frozen, not taking a single step even as the others vanished from sight.

It was Nan He who finally asked: “Boss Jiang, what’s wrong?”

“I…” Jiang Huaining snapped out of it, her lashes trembling as a flash of suspicion crossed her eyes. “I feel as though I haven’t seen Shan Rong for many, many years.”

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