Chapter 18 (Corrections)
With a command from Wu Jiuding, several figures clad in dark, tight-fitting garments suddenly emerged from the shadows by the wall. Each moved with swift, agile precision.
One leapt forward, another pounced; soon, they identified the hidden spies who had been watching the Wu residence and swiftly dragged them back, tossing them like sacks into the open courtyard.
Wang Chan and her companions had been standing on the steps and were only roughly pulled a few times.
“I’ll handle it myself, I’ll handle it myself...” the matchmaker murmured, covering her face with her hand, her eyes peering through the floral veil.
These men wore knives at their waists and ghostly masks that seemed neither fully gold nor jade, exposing eyes behind that resembled empty skull sockets.
She was terrified, regretting her earlier lack of sharpness for not fleeing with the crowd.
One of the men in tight clothing glanced at Wang Boyuan with a frown, his expression impatient.
He paused before Wang Boyuan, weighing whether to grab the man and drag him into the Wu estate or simply kick him out more easily.
“You dare touch my father!” Wang Chan immediately stepped forward, glaring fiercely.
The man hesitated, whether it was the fire in the young girl’s eyes or reluctance to sever father-daughter ties, his phoenix-shaped eyes lingered on Wang Chan for a moment before he turned away.
The matchmaker exhaled in relief, edging closer to Wang Chan, still shaken.
“That man was truly fierce. I was afraid he’d kick our scholar and worsen his condition... Tsk tsk, such a fine young master, handsome and proper, yet always doing the dirty work for these lackeys.”
She quickly shifted to praise Wang Chan.
“You’re still the mightiest, Ah Chan.”
Wang Chan, emboldened by the numbers, snorted at their retreating backs.
“What’s there to fear? Besides Brother Qianjin and Brother Yinuo, we have plenty of people here. If we just rush forward and speak up, we could even bite him to death!”
Shi Qianjin and Shi Yinuo exchanged glances.
Them?
To count on them?
Looking at each other, then at the others, a faint unease crept into their hearts.
Why rely on them? Shouldn’t they be counting on Miss Wang?
Something about the current situation felt off.
Unaware that a single sentence from her had unsettled many, Wang Chan gazed at the men in tight clothing.
Once the gate was locked, the men stepped aside, standing in the shadows beneath trees and walls. Their masks flickered faintly with light; without close inspection, they were nearly invisible, their breaths shallow.
Wang Chan furrowed her brow.
[Shadow Stealth Concealment]
She sensed a faint but potent qi field, like turning stone to gold, a sealing spell drawn on the ground featuring the art of shadow stealth concealment.
In the wedding hall, Wu Jiuding descended with his hands behind his back.
He was tall and sturdy, his features rugged, sporting a bulbous nose and a round beard.
His black beard framed his slightly purplish lips, making them strikingly noticeable.
Wang Chan withdrew her gaze from the corner and looked at Wu Jiuding.
Sizing him up, she scoffed inwardly, nitpicking his appearance.
Garlic-shaped nose, triangular nostrils—wealthy yet stingy.
With all this wealth in the courtyard, who knows what methods he used to obtain it—this thick-headed, cunning man clearly wasn’t a good person!
Wu Jiuding was in good spirits. He stopped a step away from the coffin.
“Looks like even Heaven finds you evil spirit displeasing.”
“The ghostly qi is eerie, obstructing sight everywhere, causing ghostly illusions everywhere... I was worried my residence might have formed a Seven Luminaries Array, lacking the protection of immortals.”
“Just when I was troubled... turns out, instead of Heaven blessing you, it blesses me.” He laughed heartily, pointing at himself.
“With the Three Lights reunited, the ghostly qi dissipates. Seeing you in your imposing state, tsk tsk, I got to witness quite a spectacle—an audacious show of hanging and piercing.”
Wu Jiuding mocked.
Earlier, his attention had been fixed on the blue-faced ghost, oblivious to Wang Chan’s group and her manipulation of qi to manifest a bronze mirror midair, reflecting the celestial star array.
He had assumed the blue-faced ghost was bluffing, its ghostly qi weak, thus dissolving the ghostly maze.
Seven Luminaries Array?
Wang Chan pricked up her ears.
Looking at Wu Jiuding again, suspicion glimmered in her eyes.
He also knew of the celestial star array protecting this land? Even her uncle hadn’t mentioned this. Could he be a cultivator as well?
Moreover, those men in tight clothing who had seized people—those masks with shadow stealth concealment...
Even if they weren’t cultivators, he must have connections among them.
Wang Chan scrutinized Wu Jiuding but found nothing definitive. She suppressed her impatience, choosing to respond to the unpredictable with stillness, to observe what he was truly about.
Meanwhile, Wu Jiuding continued to taunt the defeated blue-faced ghost.
“Earlier, I was wondering, under so many watchful eyes, what I should do with you.”
“Know this: on the joyous day of my Wu family’s wedding, the guests are all prominent figures from Jianxing City. If one person goes missing, I might manage, but if tens or hundreds have accidents, when questioned above, even with my Wu family’s wealth and influence, I’d be stripped bare!”
He approached Zhu Wuzhen’s corpse, unfazed by the half-bound, half-devoured blue-faced ghost, his chest heaving with exhilaration.
“Good, truly good, looks delicious! Eating this, will I gain immortality? No, no, rejuvenation? Haha, whatever it is, it’s a supreme tonic.”
Wu Jiuding stopped, bent closer to inspect the mushroom growing on the crown of the skull, his eyes filled with obsession.
“Retribution, you will have retribution!”
The blue-faced ghost’s features blurred, its mouth a messy mass, eerie and overlapping ghostly voices emanating from the corpse, chilling and strange.
“Retribution? Haha.”
Wu Jiuding shook his head with a smile.
“You’re still too naive.”
“But then again, Zhu Wenqian only lived to his twenties, always pampered by Brother Zhu. What would a pampered young master like you know? Retribution is a word for the weak and angry. I, Wu Jiuding, have lived this long through so much—I believe least of all in retribution.”
After mocking the blue-faced ghost further, Wu Jiuding walked through the yard amidst fearful and bewildered stares.
“Alright, let me see who’s making a fuss at my Wu family’s event today.”
“Tsk, there really are quite a few.”
Seeing the people tossed into the yard wore simple clothes, Wu Jiuding relaxed somewhat.
They were mere commoners. Should their families come looking, he’d have an excuse to slip away, using today’s tremor as pretext.
After all, an earth tremor might cause a crack, a misstep, and someone falls in, no body left behind.
Whose fault? Only a sigh for bad luck.
As for his Wu family?
The wedding banquet was ruined by ghosts; the Wu family was also a victim. Matters of demons and spirits—he was just an ordinary citizen with some wealth, hardly knowledgeable about such affairs.
No matter, not a bit of it mattered!
...
The courtyard was lit with candlelight, bright enough to reveal not only faces but expressions. Some trembled visibly before Wu Jiuding.
Regaining their senses, many began kowtowing, begging for mercy.
They claimed hardship, elders above and children below, insisting they saw nothing, knew nothing!
In truth, they had barely witnessed the commotion before being seized in confusion.
How unjust!
“Why so afraid?” Wu Jiuding looked each over, grinning.
“You all know my nature—straightforward and generous. If you cover for me, I won’t shortchange you.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll have my steward find a reason to compensate your parents, wives, and children with some coins. Your families won’t suffer.”
“What? You’ll keep this secret? Haha, only the dead can keep secrets.”
“...”
...
“Beast! You beast!”
“Yes! What right do you have to seize us? We were just watching at the gate. We’ll report you to the authorities! The officials won’t spare you!”
Cries and curses rose, but Wu Jiuding remained indifferent.
Earlier, he had claimed to have dealt with Zhu Wuzhen himself. Whether or not anyone heard clearly, better to wrongly capture than to let him escape.
...
Wang Chan and her group were tossed at the gate, still some distance from Wu Jiuding. Hearing his heartless words, everyone’s eyes turned toward Wu Fugui.
Especially Wang Chan, whose gaze held faint reproach.
Wu Fugui was puzzled. “How is this my business?”
After realizing, he lamented bitterly.
“I’m just a minor steward, the steward the master mentions is his confidant! I... I can’t reach that far!”
At that moment, he wished he could rip out his own heart to prove he was just a lowly errand runner handling trivial chores.
He truly knew nothing of the secrets.
“How could it be otherwise?” Wang Chan retorted. “You were the one who secretly carried me away to bury.”
“Little madam!” Wu Fugui protested, “It’s over now, let’s not bring it up.”
Back then, the person was truly dead—he had seen it with his own eyes.
Seeing Wang Chan, Wu Fugui dared not speak further.
In just a day or two, the young lady’s head wound had healed; her head looked smoother and rounder than anyone’s. Though from Yan Zhi Town, she had inexplicably appeared at the Wu estate far away.
Her recent display of exorcism inspired awe and fear.
It seemed the blow from the young master to a man’s head, initially a disaster, might not have been entirely so.
...
Suddenly, a commotion ahead.
Wang Chan saw an old man in coarse cloth, white hair tied with a cloth band, suddenly rush forward and cling to Wu Jiuding’s leg, tears streaming.
“Master Wu, please spare my young master... For the sake of our master’s face, for the bond forged in life and death, brotherhood sworn... please spare him.”
“You promised, you told our master he was your son... you must treat my young master as your own child.”
“You old rascal,” Wu Jiuding kicked out, but the man was too quick, and after seeing his face, Wu Jiuding chuckled.
He gave up kicking and instead crouched slightly, patting the old man’s face.
“What’s wrong? Feeling sorry for your young master now?”
“Besides, I owe you some credit for the secret of Zhu Wuzhen. Having betrayed the master once, don’t try to show loyalty here.”
“I... I...” The old man’s face twisted bitterly, “I didn’t.”
...
Wang Chan’s eyes fixed on the man. She leaned toward Wu Fugui, whispering, “Steward Fugui, who is this elder? Do you know him?”
Wu Fugui narrowed his eyes. “I know him. He’s the young master’s old servant—we all call him Uncle Kun. When the Zhu family suffered calamity, he secretly brought the then three-year-old young master to seek refuge.”
Uncle Kun?
From the old man’s words, he was an insider.
Wang Chan was in no hurry to leave.
As the saying goes, you can run from the monk but not the temple. Seeing the mushroom growing on Zhu Wuzhen’s corpse and the blue-faced ghost powerless against Master Wu, Wang Chan wanted to uncover why Master Wu insisted on marrying her father as son-in-law.
True, her father was handsome!
But there were many handsome men.
Her father was too ill to stand—why force a rooster to be the groom? Why bind her father and the Wu family with a formal tie?
Such a marriage—who wouldn’t call it absurd?
Sure enough, next moment Uncle Kun’s eyes glazed over, murmuring.
“No, no, I never expected this. I didn’t mean to betray the master…”
Hearing the blue-faced ghost’s curses, he prostrated, crawling to Zhu Wuzhen’s corpse with hands and feet, bowing his head, weeping.
“Master, trust me. I owe the master’s grace and raised you with my own hands. Speaking boldly, in my eyes, you are my own grandson, my heart and soul. Even if it costs my own life, how could I betray you?”
Uncle Kun deeply regretted.
That summer, upon hearing Wu Jiuding intended to take Wang Boyuan as son-in-law, Zhu Wuzhen lost his appetite.
Others only knew him as Zhu Wuzhen, the younger brother of Wu Pingting’s former fiancé, but he and Uncle Kun knew the truth—he was not.
He was Zhu Wenqian, the one betrothed to Wu Pingting!
Originally, the marriage was arranged by elders of both families. To say Zhu Wenqian had deep feelings for Wu Pingting was nonsense.
A young man’s ambition lies elsewhere, not in love.
True love exists only in stories, written for the sake of royalties, for young ladies, or the wistful dreams of disappointed scholars.
Talented men and beautiful women—no matter how beautiful—must be daughters of wealthy households. They live and die for him, add fragrant sleeves, even a little maid...
The Zhu family disaster transformed Zhu Wenqian into Zhu Wuzhen.
Suddenly, he went from a young man to a three or four-year-old child, hiding his name and identity, residing at the Wu estate.
Wu Pingting pitied his youth and, following her father’s words, took care of his life and education.
Thus, she appeared gentle and kind, remained chaste for him, missed the season of blooming flowers…
Looking on with pity.
In time, she fell for him, losing her heart unwittingly.
Upon hearing she was to be betrothed, he was heartbroken and furious, wanting to bang his head against the wall.
Who would have thought the one he desired was oblivious to her blessings? Wang Boyuan, a mere scholar with a burdensome widowhood, had rejected the match.
Zhu Wuzhen was angry yet relieved.
Angry that Wang Boyuan was blind; relieved it was so.
His emotions soared and sank. For Wu Pingting, he felt the joy of a lost treasure regained, more precious than ever, wishing to lay bare his heart for her to see.
And he truly did lay his heart bare.
What was meant to be a secret was partially revealed to Wu Pingting.
...