Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Doubts

It was truly difficult for Mei Yinghan. Upon hearing such a shocking remark, the swordsman still managed to smile slightly and said, "What did I say? Turns out, it's about the same age as Yu Han and the others."

Ping Ge showed a bit of longing on his face. "The younger martial brothers and sisters of Master Mei must also be just as charming and heroic as him. How could I ever compare?"

Mei Yinghan showed a helpless expression. "If they could have even half of your steadiness, I’d be satisfied."

After exchanging a few more words, Ping Ge reminded the group not to approach Master Chang's residence again. Only then did they part ways.

It wasn’t until they reached a place where Ping Ge was no longer in sight that Gu Miao finally let his legs give out. He covered his mouth and made a retching noise.

It was no mistake! Ping Ge was born in the second year of Shunning, so how could he still have the face of a young man now? There could only be one explanation: the ghosts in the house weren’t just Liu Shi, but all the other people they had encountered as well!

If that was the case, then—

Gu Miao, who had previously been dismissive of Wang Shi’s comment about "the food being a trick created by the Fox Immortal," now felt his stomach churn uncomfortably, as though everything in his body was turning upside down.

His discomfort mirrored that of Fu Ming. Though Fu Ming had spoken more harshly before, he was now bracing himself and still felt the need to tell Gu Miao, "Miao Miao, don’t overthink it. What’s going on with Liu Shi? What about An Bo and Ping Ge? I think we haven't stumbled into a haunted house, but instead have accidentally stepped into several decades ago."

Gu Miao froze for a moment, forgetting about his stomach troubles, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Fu Ming had initially spoken casually, but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

He said, "There are similar secret stories in the palace, like how, during storms, people saw former palace maids walking past the walls. At first, I thought it was just a made-up story to scare people, but now it seems there might be some truth to it."

Gu Miao furrowed his brows as he listened, his expression slowly changing. He finally felt a bit more at ease.

This seemed to explain the strange mist outside Chang residence as well. While the time and space might be distorted, the area around Chang residence itself seemed to be the only place affected. They had simply ended up there and accidentally entered the wrong time.

He murmured, "Brother Fu makes sense. Yeah, it must be like that."

Just as he was being comforted, Bai Zhengliu suddenly interjected, "That's not right."

Both Fu Ming and Gu Miao were startled.

One glared at Bai Zhengliu, while the other just stared at him blankly.

"Bai Shaoxia," Bai Zhengliu asked, "Earlier, you mentioned the porcelain in Miss Huang’s room. What was it again?"Gu Miao listened to these words, first feeling confused, then his face turned pale, and that overwhelming feeling of nausea surged up again!

"It’s the five-colored porcelain!" he exclaimed in shock. "That stuff was only made in recent years! If that young man was born in the second year of Shunning—ugh—"

Gu Miao finally couldn’t hold it in anymore, and bile rose up his esophagus.

He felt terribly uncomfortable, and Bai Zhengliu could only watch, equally frustrated.

If it weren’t for all these strange occurrences, he would have distanced himself from Fu Ming and Gu Miao long ago—those two were like mischievous lovebirds. But now, with all of them trapped together, dealing with the repulsive living people was much more reliable than dealing with the unknown wandering spirits. That was why Bai Zhengliu still acted alongside Fu Ming and Gu Miao.

Well, after wandering for most of the day, offering help now wasn’t such a big deal.

The swordsman acted quickly like the wind, tapping several points on Gu Miao’s waist and abdomen.

Gu Miao’s expression shifted from shock to a daze. When Bai Zhengliu’s hand left, the nauseous feeling had subsided quite a bit, and he felt refreshed.

At that moment, Bai Zhengliu turned to Fu Ming and asked with a glance, “Do you need help?”

Fu Ming’s face was pale, but he still tried to hold on. He said, "No..." His response was cut off after just one word, as Mei Yinghan stepped forward and, using a different method, tapped a few acupoints on Fu Ming's body in the same area.

Fu Ming closed his mouth. The word "thank you" was stuck in his throat. He felt like saying it would be admitting defeat, but if he didn’t say anything, he felt guilty.

Caught in this internal struggle, Mei Yinghan was already speaking to Bai Zhengliu. "It seems that Miss Huang’s room wasn’t in its original state, but rather intentionally arranged by someone else."

Bai Zhengliu nodded in agreement. "Yes. The porcelain, the gold and silver... Oh, and the embroidery."

Wang Shi, who had just regained her composure after the shock from Ping Ge's words, was barely keeping up with the swordsman and the swordsman's thoughts. She said, “That peony embroidery might not necessarily be fake.”

Everyone turned to look at her.

Wang Shi continued, "I don’t understand those delicate decorations. Earlier, in Miss Huang’s room, I specifically looked at her purse, handkerchief, and such small items. They were all made with the same embroidery technique. If it were a forgery, there would be no need to make it so convincing. But many of her clothes... they didn’t look like they had been worn.” She let out a dry smile. "I just don’t know if women from wealthy families always behave this way."

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan exchanged glances and then turned to look at Fu Ming and Gu Miao.

The two "wealthy family" types knew the importance of keeping calm, and despite their minds being in chaos, they instinctively answered, “Every season, new clothes are made, but not everything is new."“Brother Fu is right. Who doesn’t have a few favorite clothes? As long as they’re made of good material, it’s fine to wear them a few more times.”

“Alright,” Bai Zhengliu summarized, “The small items in the deeper corners are real, but the things on display, which can be seen at a glance, are mostly fake. Sister, do you remember what those small items were like?”

Wang Shi thought for a moment, “Mostly flower embroidery. Lotuses, orchids, peonies, red plums. There were also some pine trees and rabbits.”

Bai Zhengliu mumbled, “I don’t understand these things, but…”

But are these the kinds of patterns that a proud and hot-tempered woman would like?

Bai Zhengliu took a deep breath. No, just like the handkerchief left by Madame Liu, as outsiders, there’s no need to overthink.

What they need to focus on is this: the items in Madam Huang’s room that were meant to prove she was raised in luxury and indulged, showing a preference for extravagance and wealth, are fake!

The real Madam Huang does not have this kind of temperament. So, how credible is the earlier claim by An Bo and Ping Ge, that “the new wife was spoiled by Master Huang to the point of lawlessness, not knowing propriety, and out of jealousy, she tortured Madame Liu to death”?

Gu Miao trembled all over, unable to believe it, and said, “Could it be that what they told us was also all lies?”

He felt a chill running through his body, while Wang Shi had already started chanting prayers to “Heavenly Emperor” and “Guanyin Bodhisattva,” the kinds of things she would usually say when burning incense and praying.

“It’s hard to say…” Bai Zhengliu murmured. Then, a cold light flashed in his eyes.

“Going to personally see the ‘gravely ill’ Master Chang,” which had seemed like something they should do, had now become something they had to do.

But how exactly to proceed still required some calculation.

The swordsman’s gaze slowly swept over the group. Wang Shi and Fu Ming—one had no martial skills, and the other was unlikely to protect himself—had to stay behind. As for Gu Miao, since the other two were staying, it made sense to have him stay too, as a guard.

Bai Zhengliu didn’t know that Gu Miao had once let go of Fu Ming when the female ghost had pulled him into the water. He still thought that these two, despite being entangled in their own love affairs, were deeply attached to each other. Furthermore, Gu Miao’s character aside, Bai Zhengliu was still somewhat reassured by his martial skills. It was better to leave him guarding Fu Ming and Wang Shi while Bai Zhengliu went to investigate the main courtyard of Chang Mansion.

Finally, he looked toward Mei Yinghan.

Without Bai Zhengliu needing to speak, Mei Yinghan took the initiative and said, “Brother Bai, I’ll go with you.”

Gu Miao’s face changed slightly, and he instinctively called out, “Senior Brother!”

Bai Zhengliu also spoke, “Mei Brother, are you sure about this?”Mei Yinghan said calmly: "Just by how anxious An Bo and Ping Ge are about the main courtyard, we know there must be important clues inside. If that's the case, it won't be enough for Brother Bai to go alone."

After all, "important" also means "dangerous." It was not the style of the Tianshan Sect's eldest senior brother to let others face danger while hiding behind and reaping the benefits.

Bai Zhengliu listened and simply said, "Alright."

Gu Miao closed his eyes and didn't speak again.

"However," Mei Yinghan continued, "what does Brother Bai think? When do you think we should go?"

As he spoke, Bai Zhengliu and he both turned to look in the direction of the main courtyard.

"At night," the swordsman said. "We've already noticed the strange behavior of the people in the house during the day. We were careful, but we kept running into them. But at night, after we’ve walked for so long, we haven't seen them at all. It seems like..."

Mei Yinghan's lips curled into a slight smile, "It seems like they’re avoiding Madam Liu."

The two exchanged a glance and smiled. Behind them, Fu Ming twitched his face, and Gu Miao didn't understand why his senior brother could mention the female ghost so casually. Wang Shi muttered another "Amitabha Buddha," hoping that the heavens and gods could protect the two young men.

Now that they had a plan, they returned to the main hall.

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan had not slept well the night before, so they closed their eyes to rest. The others were anxious but didn’t want to disturb the swordsman and the swordsman, so they had no choice but to endure.

Before they knew it, it was dusk, and An Bo reappeared, still wearing his anxious expression, asking if they had made any progress in the afternoon.

The group had already been wary of him, so they simply said, "We have some ideas, but we're not sure if they’ll work."

An Bo sighed deeply and said, "I hope everyone can make it through tonight safely." He paused for a moment before inviting them to the side hall for dinner.

The group remained silent.

Their purpose in staying in the main hall was to observe the situation when the food was brought to them. After all, Fu Ming and Gu Miao were still very concerned about what they had eaten.

But now, An Bo had suddenly suggested changing the location?

Fu Ming and Gu Miao both had unpleasant expressions. An Bo, however, looked concerned and explained that he had glanced at the situation in the main hall earlier, knowing that the heroes were resting, so he had made sure not to disturb them.

With this explanation, Fu Ming and Gu Miao couldn’t say much. However, after entering the side hall and seeing the lavish banquet laid out before them, they lost their appetite. They chewed a few dry pieces of bread and, like the others, randomly stirred their chopsticks in the bowls, pretending they had eaten.