Yin and Yang - Chapter 15

Yin Zheng tended to Shen Qingwei’s wound with a cold expression, her movements precise and calm. Shen Qingwei, however, felt deeply guilty. Her recklessness was nothing new, but this time, to uncover the truth, she had deliberately invited a malevolent spirit to possess her—a truly audacious act. No wonder her Senior Sister was angry. If the malevolent spirit had trapped her soul within her body, or if she had been injured while possessed, her life would have been in grave danger.

This was because she had sealed her Heavenly Spirit.

Shen Qingwei glanced sideways at Yin Zheng and called out softly, “Senior Sister.”

Yin Zheng merely glanced back, her gaze clear and calm like a pool of water, yet tinged with a chilling coolness. Shen Qingwei pouted. Yin Zheng rarely lost her temper. Though she always wore a stern expression and exuded an air of meticulous seriousness, she wasn’t prone to anger unless pushed beyond her limits.

Like now.

Shen Qingwei pressed her slightly sore neck and leaned closer to Yin Zheng, her wide, teary eyes pleading for sympathy. She took Yin Zheng’s hand and placed it on her wound, whispering, “Senior Sister, it doesn’t hurt.”

Yin Zheng’s fingertips twitched. She withdrew her hand with feigned nonchalance and lowered her head to organize her medical kit. Shen Qingwei’s attempt to smooth things over had failed. Her shoulders slumped, and she abruptly stood up and walked to the window, pulling back the curtain to gaze outside.

Outside, the night was pitch-black. Inside the living room, only the flickering candlelight danced across the walls. Shen Qingwei suddenly felt a strange unease. After regaining her senses, she realized that the two malevolent spirits hadn’t moved at all while Yin Zheng was treating her wounds.

Puzzled, she asked Yin Zheng, “Where are the malevolent spirits?”

Yin Zheng glanced at her indifferently, then waved her hand. The candlelight flared briefly, revealing a ghostly figure embedded in the wall, its claws bared as if trying to claw its way out.

It was the red-robed malevolent spirit, the mistress of this house. Beside her floated a slender white figure, unbound yet too afraid to approach either of them.

Shen Qingwei recognized the Soul-Binding Lock restraining the red-robed spirit. “What’s wrong with this little ghost?” she asked.

“Nothing much,” Yin Zheng replied, her voice unusually clear in the silent room, as if speaking directly to the little ghost. “I simply told her that if she dared trap your soul again, I would immediately obliterate her mother.”

Obliterate her mother’s soul.

Shen Qingwei: ……

The white-robed little ghost huddled beside the malevolent spirit: ……

After a moment of silence, Shen Qingwei, remembering the little ghost’s and the malevolent spirit’s plight, said, “Senior Sister, I understand what happened that night now.”

Her voice still carried a hint of anger. “Mr. Zhao is a monster! He must have done this before! I bet the mistress’s illness was caused by him too!”

Pervert! Disgusting! Murderer!

Yin Zheng nodded. “What happened?”

Shen Qingwei’s eyes blazed with fury. “Mr. Zhao did it,” she declared.

But one thing still baffled her, even after returning: Why dismember his own daughter? She understood the self-defense aspect. The physical disparity between men and women had always existed. If the mistress hadn’t struck a fatal blow, self-defense was plausible. But why dismember the body afterward? Dismemberment required immense physical exertion. Mr. Zhao had sustained six or seven knife wounds, none fatal, but the blood loss would have drained his strength. Where did he find the energy to dismember a body?

Yin Zheng nodded slightly. “To destroy evidence?”

Evidence Mr. Zhao or others might have left on Xiaoqian’s body. Shen Qingwei seemed to have an epiphany. Still standing by the window, she fidgeted with the curtains, folding and unfolding them repeatedly before finally crouching down and tapping the floor with her hand.

Yin Zheng watched her busy herself without comment.

Shen Qingwei recalled Xiaoqian’s glance in their direction after hearing about the guarantee letter. It must have meant something. If Mr. Zhao hadn’t taken it, the letter should still be here.

The floor was solid wood, with no hollow spaces beneath. After tapping around for a while, Shen Qingwei found nothing. She tugged on the curtain, which creaked and made the pillar above sway. Her gaze fixed on the pillar, she gave it another tug, but it continued to sway.

“Senior Sister,” Shen Qingwei suddenly called out, “please hand me a chair.”

Yin Zheng walked over and tilted her head to examine the pillar for a few seconds. Abruptly, she drew her soft sword and thrust the tip into the pillar. The solid wood proved no match for her strike, splitting open from the middle. With a twist of her wrist, she shattered the pillar completely, and a folded white paper floated out. Shen Qingwei reached out and caught it.

She looked at Yin Zheng.

“Have Mr. Zhao come here,” Yin Zheng instructed.

Mr. Zhao had barely slept all night. He was plagued by nightmares: Xiaoqian suddenly going mad and clinging to him, immobilizing him; his wife squatting beside him, carving off pieces of his flesh with a long fruit knife, eating them while asking, “Do you want some?”

Mr. Zhao jolted awake, drenched in sweat.

His phone buzzed incessantly. He glanced at the screen, seeing Shen Qingwei’s name flashing. Irritation flared within him. How utterly useless are these Yin-Yang Sect people? They promised to subdue the Malevolent Spirit upon arrival, yet they’ve only just discovered it’s attached to his daughter. When will they finally exorcise it?

This is nothing like the rumors! They’re completely incompetent!

Mr. Zhao sat up and answered the call. Hearing that the little ghost had been subdued, he sprang up and rushed to put on his shoes, grabbing his briefcase before leaving.

Arriving at Ping’an Community, he found the surroundings eerily silent. He felt no apprehension about what awaited him upstairs. Even if Xiaoqian hadn’t been subdued, what could she possibly do to him? Mr. Zhao chuckled, patting the briefcase under his arm as he stepped into the elevator.

The 24th floor seemed unusually distant today. He kept checking his watch, his heart pounding as the elevator neared his destination. After months of torment, he was finally about to end this nightmare and start anew. Countless riches awaited him!

Though his heart brimmed with joy, Mr. Zhao maintained a facade of simple honesty. As he approached the apartment door, his expression turned sorrowful, as if he lacked the courage to push it open.

From inside, Yin Zheng called out, “He’s here.”

Shen Qingwei strode to the door in a few quick steps and opened it. Mr. Zhao was speechless for a long moment before finally managing to say, “Miss Shen.”

“Come in,” Shen Qingwei said. “The Malevolent Spirit has been subdued.”

Mr. Zhao asked nervously, “You didn’t harm her, did you?”

Shen Qingwei gritted her teeth, hating his pretense of innocence. She clenched her fist and forced a smile. “Of course not. We’re not barbarians.”

Mr. Zhao’s eyes darted around the room. “Then how did you subdue it? I thought it required some kind of vital essence?”

“Indeed,” Shen Qingwei sneered. “And you’re here, aren’t you?”

Mr. Zhao’s face paled slightly. He turned to Shen Qingwei, his eyes flickering ominously in the firelight, his voice dropping to a low growl. “What do you mean by that, Miss Shen?”

Shen Qingwei seized his wrist. As Mr. Zhao tried to pull away, Yin Zheng’s soft sword flicked open his suit sleeve, revealing a still-healing scar stretching along the inner side of his arm, from elbow to wrist. “Mr. Zhao, care to explain this?” Shen Qingwei demanded.

“My wife cut me last time,” Mr. Zhao said, forcing composure. “What’s the problem?”

Despite his feigned calm, beads of sweat trickled down his temples. The hand clutching his briefcase tightened. Shen Qingwei remained unconvinced. She casually picked up a fruit knife from the coffee table. “We’ll know soon enough if it was a cut,” she said, her voice cold.

Mr. Zhao was startled. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“This is illegal! I’m telling you!” Mr. Zhao struggled. “Miss Shen!”

“Miss Shen has gone mad! She’s gone mad!”

He fought fiercely as Shen Qingwei lowered her head to cut her wrist, using her free hand to lift her bag and prepare to smash it down. A flash of sword light pierced the darkness, tearing open the bag. Yellow talismans scattered across the floor. Shen Qingwei bent down to pick one up. Behind her, the red-robed malevolent spirit trapped in the wall trembled uncontrollably, a mournful wail rising from its depths. Suddenly, a violent gale swept through the living room!

Mr. Zhao, shivering, frantically knelt to gather the talismans, but Yin Zheng moved faster. With a flick of her soft sword, she snatched the talismans and slashed open the long scar running from his wrist to his elbow. Shen Qingwei swiftly caught the dripping blood with another yellow talisman. As the blood soaked the paper, she hurled it at the wall. Carried by the gale, the talisman vanished into the wall with a flash of crimson light! The entire living room fell silent.

An eerie stillness descended, the silence so profound it felt like they had entered another world. Mr. Zhao’s heart pounded in his throat. Blinded by fear, he dared not move. His feet sank into a sticky liquid, its coldness seeping through his shoes, intensifying the room’s chilling atmosphere.

“Miss Shen?” Mr. Zhao couldn’t help but call out. A white shadow flickered behind him, and he whirled around, finding nothing. When he turned back, a blood-smeared face loomed inches from his own. Mr. Zhao’s heart seemed to crack with a thud, his eyes widening in terror. The scream caught in his throat, unable to escape!

Shen Qingwei watched from the shadows, relishing Mr. Zhao’s transformation. She observed as his face slowly turned liver-colored from lack of oxygen. She saw the malevolent spirit’s hand pierce his shoulder, preparing to lift him. Suddenly, a soft sword flashed, separating the two spirits from Mr. Zhao. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, gasping for air.

Yin Zheng’s expression remained calm as she glanced at the spirits. She retrieved a Soul-Binding Bag from her bag. Shen Qingwei grabbed her hand. “Senior Sister!”

“Please, save me!” Mr. Zhao sobbed, completely terrified. Regaining his senses, he frantically clung to Yin Zheng’s leg. “Please, Master, save me!”

Yin Zheng glanced down at him, her gaze cold as the night, a chill seeping from her. Mr. Zhao swallowed hard and slowly released his grip.

Shen Qingwei asked, puzzled, “Why are you capturing them?”

“Qingwei, they’re spirits. We’re here to help them find peace.”

“But not now!” Shen Qingwei had entered Xiaoqian’s body and witnessed Mr. Zhao’s repulsive side. If it were her, she’d want to tear him limb from limb! Yet now, these two female ghosts were about to be exorcised without having done anything!

How could this be? How could she accept it?

Shen Qingwei grabbed Yin Zheng’s hand. “Senior Sister, can’t we wait a little longer?”

Yin Zheng glanced at her indifferently, brushed off Shen Qingwei’s hand, and opened the Soul-Binding Bag. “Qingwei, you know the consequences of the Yin-Yang Sect allowing malevolent spirits to seek revenge.”

The Yin-Yang Sect’s ancient rule stipulated that allowing malevolent spirits to seek revenge would result in seven days of agonizing heart-piercing torment. Without hesitation, Shen Qingwei declared, “Senior Sister, let me take the punishment! I’m not afraid!”

Yin Zheng turned her head away and, before Shen Qingwei could speak again, opened the Soul-Binding Bag. The two malevolent spirits let out piercing screams as they were sucked into the bag. Shen Qingwei’s face turned ashen. “Senior Sister!” she cried.

“I’ve already called the police. The rest will be handled by them.”

Hearing her reply, Shen Qingwei curled her hands into fists. This woman was always like this—always so calm, no matter the situation. Shen Qingwei hated her composure. Glaring at Yin Zheng, she snapped, “Senior Sister, you truly understand nothing!”

Yin Zheng turned her head as Shen Qingwei slammed the door and stormed out.