Chapter 915: Haunted

Ji Yingjie called Nianci over and whispered a few instructions in her ear.

Nianci agreed and went out.

It was another morning without results.

At noon, Shi Yucheng built a fire to cook in front of the thatched cottage; he had often done such things when he was young, and although he had not built a fire in the wild for many years, it was not difficult, and he soon ignited a roaring bonfire.

The flames licked the bottom of the pot, and the water inside made a "sizzling" sound; although the surroundings were desolate, one could catch fish and pick mushrooms.

Lao Qi was fishing not far away, and when the water was about to boil, he shouted: "Uncle, I caught a fish; do you think it's okay to make fish soup?"

Shi Yucheng looked back; a large fish, eight inches long, was struggling vigorously on the hook.

"Sure, this fish can make a big pot of fish soup, and with some mushrooms added, it's enough for the two of us to have a meal," Shi Yucheng said happily as he walked over.

Although there was enough food, most of it was convenience food, and having eaten it for over ten days, just smelling it was enough.

He took the large fish from Lao Qi's hands and deftly cleaned the innards, scraped the scales, and removed the gills.

In less than two minutes, he finished cleaning it, washed it in the water, and brought it back to put into the pot—he was dumbfounded.

The water in the pot had been about to boil just a moment ago, but now it looked cold, as if it had just been poured in.

"That's impossible, the water was clearly about to boil just now, how is it cold?" Shi Yucheng was very puzzled; he even suspected that he was getting old and couldn't remember correctly.

But then he thought again, that wasn't right; the bonfire was very strong, and even if his memory was bad due to age, the water had been poured in just before he went to clean the fish, so it should still be warm, not cold.

Although he had doubts, he still put the fish into the pot and covered it with the lid.

After Lao Qi caught the large fish, he went to pick mushrooms and soon returned with over a dozen plump, beautiful mushrooms.

He removed the stems, washed them by the river, brought them over, and said to Shi Yucheng: "Uncle, what do you think of these mushrooms I picked? If we put them in the pot to stew with the fish, it will definitely be very delicious."

"They are really good; if it weren't for important matters to attend to, living in seclusion in this place would be nice, like a paradise on earth."

The two chatted for a while, and Shi Yucheng estimated that the fish soup was about ready, so he lifted the lid to put the mushrooms in.

But when the lid was lifted, his eyeballs almost fell into the pot.

"Impossible, how could this be? Can I still see ghosts in broad daylight?"

Lao Qi hurriedly asked for the reason: "What's wrong? Is something amiss?"

"Look."

Shi Yucheng pointed at the pot; the water in the pot was clear, and the fish—it was gone!

Lao Qi was very confused: "You didn't put the fish in the pot?"

Shi Yucheng swore and vowed, so anxious he was almost jumping: "Of course I put the fish in the pot, of course I did! I even lifted the lid to taste it while you were picking mushrooms; the fish soup had already turned milky white and the fish was cooked, how could it have flown away? Did the cooked fish fly away?"

"Don't get excited, I believe what you said; this place is strange."

Lao Qi pointed this out, and the two immediately felt the surrounding atmosphere was somewhat eerie.

"You, are you saying, there are ghosts?"

Shi Yucheng did not believe in ghosts and gods, but what had just happened was too bizarre; apart from "seeing a ghost," he really couldn't think of any other way to explain it.

For the first time, he felt the urge to retreat: "Lao Qi, why don't we go back? We can go back, bring more people, and come back next time; next time we must bring a Taoist priest with profound cultivation."

"It's not a real ghost; someone is playing god and acting like a devil."

Lao Qi had been a son-in-law of the Ji Family, and while he couldn't say he knew the abilities of the Ji Family women like the back of his hand, he knew a thing or two.

He could basically determine that it was Ji Yingjie playing tricks!

"Someone playing god and acting like a devil? Who?"

Shi Yucheng turned around twice on the spot—he didn't find anyone!

Lao Qi sneered: "Since they are pretending to be ghosts, of course they won't show themselves. You don't need to look; the fish disappearing is a good thing, it means the women of the Ji Family have already set their sights on us. They have lost their patience and are eager to drive us away."

Ji Yingjie stared at the screen; Lao Qi's expressions and words did not escape her surveillance at all.

She regretted it; she regretted being too impatient to drive them away, which instead exposed her hand.

If she had done nothing, and they had persisted for a few more days, they probably would have given up when they couldn't go on.

But now that Lao Qi had seen through her intentions, ignoring them was no longer a good strategy.

She gave an order to Nianci.

There was no fish in the fish soup, but it could still be drunk once boiled; with compressed biscuits, the two filled their stomachs as best they could.

After the meal, Shi Yucheng was so sleepy he couldn't even keep his eyes open; he was drowsy and soon fell asleep.

When he woke up, he discovered he was not in the thatched cottage, but in a room with a very exotic style.

The room was furnished luxuriously and meticulously.

The antique vase on the curio shelf was Blue and White Porcelain from the Yuan Dynasty, the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall were authentic works by Tang Bohu, and the tables, chairs, and furniture were all made of rosewood; any single item taken out would be enough for an ordinary family to live on for several lifetimes.

Where is this?

Soon, he had the answer.

Ji Yingjie pushed the door open and entered: "You're awake?"

"Ji Yingjie? You came at the right time; I have been looking for you for over ten days, give my granddaughter back to me." He didn't even have any preamble; he came straight to the point and stated his purpose directly.

Ji Yingjie played dumb: "I don't understand what you are talking about."

He became anxious: "Don't try to deny it; even if you want to deny it, you can't. Back then, your daughter and my daughter gave birth at the same time in the same delivery room; your daughter gave birth to a boy, and my daughter gave birth to a girl. You used your boy to swap for my girl."

She continued to play dumb: "What kind of crazy talk is this? It sounds like a tongue twister. I'm not an idiot; why would I swap my child for yours? Shi Yucheng, if your brain is sick, go get it treated quickly. If you don't have money, for the sake of Xuanxuan, I can give you some, but if you go crazy outside the Ji Family, I won't be polite to you."

Shi Yucheng was furious, but he hadn't come this time with just his mouth.

He had evidence.

He took out the evidence: photos of Meiyin and photos of Shi Yuke when she was young, as well as the tester's testimony and surveillance proof, and most importantly, the paternity test!

The paternity test results for Lao Qi and Yulong, and the paternity test results for the couple Meiyin and Shi Yuke.

The evidence was as solid as a mountain, but it could still be denied!

Ji Yingjie picked up the paternity test, glanced at it, and then ripped it into shreds with a swish: "These are fake, I don't acknowledge them."

"Go ahead and rip it, it's just a copy anyway, I have as many as you want."

Shi Yucheng was very calm, and also very smug.

Bringing a copy of the paternity test was Xuanxuan's idea; this girl has so many ideas, and they are all very useful.

But he didn't expect that Ji Yingjie had even more ideas!

"Heh, don't try to scare me with these useless things, it's meaningless. Let's talk terms now; you name a price, and I absolutely won't haggle."

"What, you actually want to bribe me?"