The Ghost Insists on Giving Me a Beautiful and Powerful Wife! - Chapter 50.2

The last bloodline of the Painted Shamans.

Yu Ruoyin knew exactly who she was, and her gaze became inquisitive.

Kang Miaoxian’s appearance was beautiful but sickly. Her lips were extremely pale, showing a haggardness from blood loss. “Auntie.”

Kang Shuming ignored her. Kang Miaoxian wasn’t in a hurry; her eyes drifted to where Kang Shuming was clutching Yu Ruoyin’s hand, and a smile spread across her face.

She looked up at Yu Ruoyin and smiled—a smile that sent shivers down Yu Ruoyin’s spine.

Yu Ruoyin sensed something was wrong and began to struggle more violently to free her wrist.

Kang Shuming eventually let go of Yu Ruoyin and gave Kang Miaoxian a sharp, annoyed look. “Why are you scaring her? If she hadn’t persuaded me, I wasn’t planning on coming to find you at all.”

Kang Miaoxian’s expression darkened slightly. “Auntie, you’ll make me angry.”

The person she frightened, however, was not Kang Shuming, but Yu Ruoyin.

Yu Ruoyin instinctively stepped back to create some distance. Upon seeing Kang Miaoxian, Kang Shuming’s body began to repair itself at a supernatural speed. Not only did the tiny corpse spots vanish, but her skin lost its translucency. The alarming bruises faded away, replaced by cream-colored skin instead of deathly pallor. Her lips regained a healthy color, her breathing became steady and strong, and even her jet-black hair gained a lustrous sheen. The scent of funeral incense disappeared, replaced by a faint, fresh fragrance.

At this moment, Kang Shuming no longer looked like a zombie; she looked like a truly living person.

Yu Ruoyin found it miraculous. She grew even more curious about Kang Miaoxian’s abilities; even for a Painted Shaman, such powers weren’t recorded in any books.

As Kang Shuming grew healthier, Kang Miaoxian’s condition deteriorated. The color drained from her face, and Yu Ruoyin realized that the artifacts on Kang Shuming’s wrist were still glowing—intensely so. It was clear their owner was continuously fueling them with her own blood.

Confused, Yu Ruoyin wondered why Kang Miaoxian hadn’t deactivated the artifacts yet, until Kang Shuming finally burst out: “Kang Miaoxian, stop it!”

The light from the artifacts dimmed instantly, and the silver bracelet returned to its normal state.

Kang Miaoxian let out a soft laugh and took Kang Shuming’s hand with a sense of entitlement. “Auntie still cares for me after all.”

Yu Ruoyin understood then: she was intentionally acting pitiful. She really is much crazier than I am, Yu Ruoyin thought.

While Yu Ruoyin tended to lose her way whenever Jiang Huaining was involved, she hadn’t reached this level of obsession yet. Thinking of Jiang Huaining, she couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Kang, have you seen a very beautiful woman?”

If Kang Shuming hadn’t lied, then Jiang Huaining—as a living being—should be in the same space as the equally “living” Kang Miaoxian.

Yu Ruoyin was full of hope, but Kang Miaoxian suddenly yanked Kang Shuming toward her. Pressing one hand on her shoulder and cupping her chin with the other, she said, “Very beautiful.”

“…” Before Yu Ruoyin could speak, Kang Shuming rolled her eyes. “Speak properly.”

“Auntie,” Kang Miaoxian said with a hint of grievance. She pulled out a brush that looked like green bamboo and lightly flicked it. “There are many beautiful women here.”

As the tip of the brush moved, the scene before Yu Ruoyin’s eyes changed once again.

The Reenactment of Mianshan Village

The village was suddenly filled with women—young and old, toddlers and elders—but not a single man was in sight. Strangely, some of the women seemed to be playing the roles of men.

Yu Ruoyin overheard a woman saying, “Fengxian’s father, we should stay away from such wicked deeds. Ruolian grew up with us; how could she be a demon?”

Another woman, holding a child, replied: “Fengxian’s mother, if Ruolian isn’t a demon, how do you explain the fact that she doesn’t age?”

The child in her arms muttered, “Father, Mother, Huzi and I agreed to go catch fish in the river! If you’re going to kill a demon, don’t bring me along! Auntie Ruolian isn’t a demon; she’s nice, she even gives us candy!”

The woman covered the child’s mouth. “Keep your voice down! The new village chief doesn’t have a better temper than the old one. He notified every household this morning; the whole village has to go, or we won’t be allowed to stay. Ruolian is a demon—the Taoist priest said so himself. It can’t be false.”

“She wasn’t a demon before, but she is now…”

The group that appeared to be a family of three walked away. Based on their conversation, they were a husband, a wife, and a young son—yet what Yu Ruoyin saw with her eyes were two young women and a very small girl.

Yu Ruoyin was dazed and continued to listen. Many women were playing male roles, and they repeatedly mentioned “Ruolian” and “the Village Chief.” This reminded Yu Ruoyin of the story Jiang Huaining had told about the Mountain Demon and the girl named Ruolian. But that had happened four thousand years ago.

Kang Shuming was equally puzzled. “Miaoxian, this is…”

“This is a reenactment of the past,” Kang Miaoxian explained nonchalantly. “The array-maker is using the power of the Yin-Yang Twin Chess Array to recreate what happened in Mianshan Village. From the moment we entered, we became part of this ‘old scene.’ If we don’t escape in time, we will merge with it and experience everything the people in the scene did. Furthermore, we cannot leave too early; if we do, the characters in the scene will break from the storyline and turn into vengeful ghosts to hunt us down. I’m not afraid, but if those little Taoists die, Auntie will probably be sad. Those Underworld messengers are truly stupid—they didn’t even call for anyone powerful. What use are those little Taoists? They only pull us down.”

“Why are there only women?”

“It’s simple. The souls trapped by the array-maker are only women. As for the reason… maybe she didn’t kill any men, or maybe she just hates them. Perhaps looking at men annoys her so much she can’t control them to reenact the scene.”

Kang Miaoxian rested her hand on Kang Shuming’s shoulder, explaining their dire situation with a light smile.

The Alliances and the Array

Yu Ruoyin finally learned that Kang Miaoxian and her aunt had also come because they received Xing Ruoyuan’s distress signal. They had received it much earlier than Jiang Huaining. Since the Great Chaos, various human factions and the Underworld had maintained a cooperative relationship. Upon discovering the array in Mianshan Village, Xing Ruoyuan and the others immediately sought help from factions knowledgeable in arrays.

The Four Spirits Shop was not included in these factions. As Xing Ruoyuan had said before, only Qiu Luo was truly helpful; the rest, including Jiang Huaining, were somewhat indifferent to the affairs of the Underworld messengers.

The Underworld rarely approached Kang Miaoxian, so this request was unusual. Kang Miaoxian hadn’t wanted to come—she wasn’t that kind-hearted—but Kang Shuming insisted, so they entered the array with a group of other occultists.

They were separated immediately upon entry. Kang Miaoxian had planned to break the array by force to find Kang Shuming, but because the skill levels of the other occultists were so inconsistent—some little Taoists would be torn to shreds by even a minor malicious ghost—she had hesitated to act.

Of course, Kang Miaoxian’s patience was limited. If Yu Ruoyin hadn’t brought Kang Shuming to her, she would have destroyed the array regardless. The lives of the others meant nothing to her.

Kang Miaoxian’s bold statements made Kang Shuming’s brow knit into a tight knot. “Miaoxian, you aren’t supposed to be an evil occultist.”

“I could be,” she replied with a sincere smile.

Neither Kang Shuming nor Yu Ruoyin could find it funny. Kang Shuming worried about her niece’s mental state, while Yu Ruoyin worried about Jiang Huaining. If what Kang Miaoxian said was true, Jiang Huaining must also be playing a role in this village. Yu Ruoyin instinctively moved to look for her, but she found she couldn’t step out of the courtyard.

Looking down, the Red Jade Fruit on her chest flashed. She suddenly saw a thin thread of blood attached to her abdomen.

She reached out to pull it, but Kang Miaoxian caught her wrist. “Don’t. It’s not the right time. If you snap it, those little Taoists will lose their lives.”

Yu Ruoyin lowered her hand. “Can we not leave?”

“It isn’t time yet.”

Yu Ruoyin understood. By reaching Kang Miaoxian, their identities had been redefined. They had to follow their roles; until their characters were meant to move in the “old scene,” they were confined to this courtyard.

As Yu Ruoyin and Kang Shuming stood there with heavy expressions, Kang Miaoxian was the only one in high spirits. “Auntie, what roles do you think the three of us have been assigned? Do you think we’re a married couple?”

“It’s hard to say who is married to whom,” Kang Shuming replied.

Yu Ruoyin was nearly frightened to death by Kang Shuming’s words. Kang Miaoxian raised an eyebrow and suddenly grabbed Yu Ruoyin. “What should I do? I was going to thank you, but if you and Auntie are a couple in this scene, I won’t be happy. Otherwise…”

“Kang Miaoxian!” Kang Shuming’s reprimand came before she could finish.

This only added fuel to the fire. Kang Miaoxian’s gaze became much more dangerous.

Yu Ruoyin instinctively reached for her brush, but the Red Jade Fruit on her chest suddenly floated up. Tens of thousands of golden threads erupted from it, binding Kang Miaoxian instantly. Following the threads, a phantom figure emerged.

Jiang Huaining!

Kang Miaoxian recognized her by her aura immediately. She tugged at the golden threads, her expression smiling but her movements rough and annoyed. “To think the owner of the Four Spirits Shop would show up in a place like this.”

As she tugged, the golden threads transformed into needles, piercing through Kang Miaoxian’s skin and into her flesh. Tiny needle marks began to cover her body.

Seeing the marks, Kang Shuming knew she must be in pain. “Miaoxian!”

“Is Boss Jiang seeking revenge for her?” Kang Miaoxian pointed at Yu Ruoyin. Sensing a subtle change in her body, she smirked. “Oh, it seems it’s more like a repayment.”

While speaking, she pulled Kang Shuming closer. “Auntie, don’t worry. Boss Jiang is ‘replenishing’ my blood.”

It was indeed painful, but alongside the pain came a surge of vitality. Jiang Huaining was punishing her for threatening Yu Ruoyin, but also rewarding her for her power having saved Yu Ruoyin earlier.

This made Kang Miaoxian curious. She looked at Yu Ruoyin twice. “Hey, what exactly is the relationship between you two?”

Jiang Huaining’s phantom floated over to Kang Shuming, looked at her intently for a long moment, and then said:

“Ayin is my wife.”

She emphasized the word “my” heavily. Kang Miaoxian laughed out loud. “Look, Auntie, it’s not just me who’s unhappy because of what you said.”

Kang Shuming was surprised and glared at Kang Miaoxian. “Still laughing? Doesn’t it hurt?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Auntie. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

Kang Miaoxian truly loved to smile, but the smile never reached her eyes; it was cold and devoid of warmth. Sickly and chilling.

With her to compare to, I seem much more normal, Yu Ruoyin thought, silently defending her own sanity as she edged closer to Jiang Huaining’s phantom.

The phantom wasn’t enough to make her feel Jiang Huaining’s physical presence, and she felt a wave of disappointment. She couldn’t help but ask, “Beautiful wife, where are you?”

Yu Ruoyin was instinctively staking her claim. Kang Miaoxian tsked; the golden threads had dispersed, and her pallid face looked much better. Jiang Huaining’s spiritual power had repaired her lost blood, though moving still caused her to hiss through her teeth from the remaining needle-pricks.

It was her own bad luck—she shouldn’t have tried to trouble Yu Ruoyin.

Jiang Huaining’s phantom looked back with a complex expression. “Ayin, I am on the Yang side of the Yin-Yang Twin Chess Array.”

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