Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Deception

Although Fu and Gu had previously seen Liu's ghostly appearance, the situation had been so dire at the time, with tension in the air, that even their fear had somewhat faded. Now, seeing the butcher's body in such a rotten state, they were reminded of what true terror felt like. Stumbling, they said, “This... this is—”

Bai Zhengliu objectively analyzed, “He must have died when he entered the mist outside the house.”

Wang spoke, her mouth opening as she couldn’t help but say, “So, all day today, the person who’s been by our side, isn’t that a dead man?”

Bai Zhengliu replied, “Most likely.”

Wang was stunned, and for a long while, all she could do was groan in pain, “Oh, oh,” adding, “How could this happen?”

Everyone was immersed in immense shock. Only Mei Yinghan remembered to ask, “Brother Bai, was Liu’s appearance just now because of you?”

Because of him?

One pair of eyes after another finally moved away from the butcher’s body and turned to Bai Zhengliu.

More precisely, they fell on the talisman in Bai Zhengliu’s hand.

Fu Ming’s brow twitched sharply, and he asked, “Did you make Liu—Bai Zhengliu, are you trying to kill all of us?!”

Gu Miao, also in disbelief, said, “Brother Bai! We just fought with that vengeful ghost with all our strength to save you. Even if… But you can’t—”

Wang opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.

In her heart, she knew she was just a burden standing in the Chang house. It was Bai Zhengliu who had always been in front of everyone, saving and protecting her for so long.

The young swordsman was still kind and gentle toward her, so Wang didn’t want to think ill of him. Even if Bai Zhengliu had really done something harmful to everyone, he had saved her life for that much longer. Wang felt she didn’t have the right to complain.

She remained silent, and the five people in the yard now stood in a tense standoff. Fu Ming and Gu Miao naturally stood together, with Gu Miao not forgetting to call out, “Senior brother!”

He wanted Mei Yinghan to speak as well.

After this call, Mei Yinghan indeed spoke.

He walked to Bai Zhengliu’s side but didn’t directly address him. Instead, he stood sideways, looking at Fu and Gu, saying, “Don’t you find it strange that the butcher has ended up like this?”

Fu and Gu were taken aback.Mei Yinghan turned his head again to look at Bai Zhengliu and asked, “Brother Bai, did you find anything in the well?”

Hearing the swordsman's words, the young swordsman slowly exhaled.

He didn’t care about Fu Ming and Gu Miao’s attitudes or reactions toward him. In Bai Zhengliu’s view, as long as he had a chance to leave the Chang house, he would never have any further interaction with those two.

If it had been at another time, perhaps Bai Zhengliu would have been hurt by Fu Ming’s infidelity. But everything that had happened over the past few days had filled his mind, and he had clearly seen the cowardice and weakness of Fu and Gu, so he no longer felt any sorrow because of them.

Only Mei Yinghan.

Bai Zhengliu had always considered him a friend, but over the past two days, Mei Yinghan had taken on the additional role of “the unlucky guy who had also been betrayed like me.” The two of them had faced danger together, standing at the front to fight enemies side by side. Even though Bai Zhengliu knew that his appearance with the talisman had indeed caused some misunderstandings, if even Mei Yinghan looked at him with disappointment and suspicion, perhaps he really would...

Fortunately, that situation didn’t happen.

Bai Zhengliu’s gaze flickered slightly, and his tone remained calm and steady, showing no sign of what he had been thinking during the brief moment before.

“There is a female corpse below,” he said, “She had a child.”

“A female corpse...” Gu Miao shuddered. He looked at Bai Zhengliu, then at the well opening not far away, unable to imagine how Bai Zhengliu had faced a corpse in such a narrow well.

Wang caught the key point: “A child? That shouldn’t be! Liu’s child was taken by Madam Huang. Madam Huang surely didn’t have any children herself,” seeing others look at her, “There’s nothing for children in her yard.”

Bai Zhengliu nodded slightly, “Right.”

He had actually overlooked such an obvious clue when he was in the well.

Thankfully, it didn’t matter. Bai Zhengliu nodded again, then began explaining his analysis in detail: “I was thinking, if the corpse down there is Liu’s, and no one had told us she had a child before, then something must be wrong. Also, if she had a child to begin with, Madam Huang’s plot to poison her wouldn’t make sense.

“Lord Chang has been lying to us.”

Though there were still many unexplained parts, Bai Zhengliu was very clear about this point.

“Since he’s still lying to us at this point, we absolutely cannot do things the way he wants us to.

“He wants us to suppress Liu, so I’ll go against that...” He paused slightly, then raised his head, looking at Liu’s ghost, who had somehow drifted back to this place. “But I made this decision in a rush, and I’m not sure if I’ve made a mistake.”The others noticed his movements and all looked up in unison. They saw Liu’s ghost holding Lord Chang with one hand and holding An Bo with the other. Both men—both male ghosts—wore expressions of intense pain and agony, but Liu’s face seemed to carry a sense of relief, and no more blood tears fell from her eyes.

She looked at Bai Zhengliu and softly said, “Thank you, benefactor, for allowing me to avenge my children.”

With these words, the faces of Lord Chang and An Bo twisted even more. Their mouths opened wide, as if they were about to let out cries of pain. But under Liu’s control, they couldn’t even do that. They could only maintain expressions of agony as the green flames that began at their soles burned their bodies in front of everyone.

This brutal scene left the onlookers frozen. Even Bai Zhengliu felt a chill run down his spine.

But Liu’s face showed a smile, and she sighed, “Children, your mother has finally avenged you.” After a pause, she added, “Miss Huang, I didn’t understand your good intentions at first. By the time I realized, it was already too late.”

Bai Zhengliu looked at her, half sighing and half testing, and asked, “So, Liu, you really had children?”

Liu lifted her head to look at him. After a moment, the red in her eyes faded, revealing her black pupils.

This appearance clearly seemed to be growing further away from that of a “vengeful ghost.” If it weren’t for her pale and slightly greenish complexion, she almost looked like an ordinary woman.

She said, “The handkerchief you picked up, didn’t it have my child’s name embroidered on it?”

Bai Zhengliu froze.

—So that’s it! So that’s it!

From the very beginning, they had fallen into a thinking trap, assuming that the only man connected to Liu was Lord Chang! But compared to her cold and heartless husband, surely her own child, whom she had carried for ten months and painstakingly given birth to, would be much more dear to her.

The group had an epiphany. Looking at Liu’s current state, Fu Ming and Gu Miao slowly came to understand that Bai Zhengliu’s earlier decision had not been wrong.

But they still didn’t want to admit their own foolishness and couldn’t help but try to prove that it was Lord Chang who was sly. So they couldn’t resist asking, “But Lord Chang said he had an older brother…”

Liu sighed, “I don’t know anything about that.”

Five people, one ghost. Just moments ago, they were in a tense standoff, but now they were able to speak peacefully.

Fu Ming muttered that Lord Chang was cunning. Hearing their mention of “an older brother,” Lord Chang must have felt quite confused. But in no time, he had fabricated an explanation, admitting he had an older brother and shifting everyone’s attention away from the non-existent sibling.

Gu Miao then asked, “The handkerchief you wet, was it…”

Liu nodded, admitting, “Yes, it was to tell you that my enemy was sly and vicious, that he harmed my child, and then used Miss Huang to deceive all of you!”No need to say more. Hearing her call “sister” again and again, the others could also guess that there was no deep hatred between Liu and Madam Huang. In fact, it seemed they had a very good relationship.

This idea was quickly confirmed by Liu. She looked at the sky, sighed, and said, “When dawn breaks, I will go to be reincarnated.” Seeing the confused expressions on everyone’s faces, she straightforwardly added, “If you still want to know anything, come and see for yourselves.”

With that, she flicked her sleeve, and small lights began to scatter from her sleeve.

These lights, like fireflies in the night, quickly spread across the yard. However, they didn’t directly approach any of the people in the courtyard. It was clear that she was letting them choose for themselves.

The others hesitated, but Bai Zhengliu, who had once witnessed Liu’s memories, was the first to step forward.

Then, he confirmed something.

What he had seen before was indeed Liu’s true experience, but it had been cut short, leaving only the scene where she had fallen out with Madam Huang.

When Liu first arrived in the capital city, she wasn’t alone—she had brought two children with her.

Although she was just a peasant woman, without even a name of her own, her two children had received names from their father early on. One was named “Bo De,” the other “Zhong De.”

Every time Liu called her children’s names, a sense of pride would rise in her heart.

Unlike someone like herself, who had to toil in the dirt for a living, her children were going to study! When they grew up, they would take the imperial exams, become high-ranking officials, and give her a life of comfort.

In fact, even earlier than that, Liu’s dream had been placed on her husband. Unfortunately, he had fallen victim to river bandits and died in the great river, and his body was never found.

Thinking of this, Liu sighed deeply again, and then became more serious in urging her two children to be diligent.

Her Bo De was already ten, and Zhong De was eight. Previously, it had been her husband who had taught the children their basic knowledge. But now, she had to think about which academy to send them to, and which teacher to find…

Having already accepted the news of her husband's death, Liu’s mind was occupied with these things every day.

Until one day, news about her husband arrived again. He hadn’t died. Instead, he had become the young, favored son-in-law of a rich merchant in the capital.

Liu couldn’t believe it at all. But seeing that the messenger spoke so confidently, she was stirred and decided to go to Guang’an Prefecture to search for him.Originally, Liu had not planned to bring Bo De and Zhong De with her. But the two children, understanding that their mother was going to look for their father to settle things, volunteered to support her.

Liu was both pleased by her children's thoughtfulness and hesitant about whether she should really take them along. After thinking it over, she nodded and said, "Alright."

This was the thing that Liu would later regret the most when she thought back on it.

The author has something to say:

I forgot to mention in the last chapter, today's updates all have red envelopes. I'll send them tomorrow =v="