Chapter 23: The Kind-Hearted Nan Batian

After a bumpy journey, the carriage finally returned to the town. Before even reaching the Feng Mansion, they ran into Kuang Hongyi and Su Tingting at a roadside stall.

Seeing Yang Xiao, Kuang Hongyi's tense expression finally relaxed, and he immediately probed with a double meaning: "Brother Chu, was the journey smooth?"

"It was fine, thanks to the care of Xu Sujie," Yang Xiao smiled.

The group returned to the Feng Mansion through a side gate in the alley. No sooner had they entered than a servant came rushing over in a panic, reporting that one of the Lucky Guests staying in the mansion had met with an accident.

They hurried to the backyard where they were staying. Pushing open the door, they saw Shi Dali and Ke Long sitting around a table, while Shi Guanming lay motionless on the bed, eyes tightly shut, with a wet cloth draped over his forehead.

A wooden stool stood by the bed, holding an empty bowl with some brown liquid remaining at the bottom. The entire room was filled with a thick, medicinal scent.

"What happened?"

Ke Long sighed heavily, his expression grim. "Don't ask. This Shi Guanming was possessed by a ghost; he actually went to move the millstone pressing down on that well. By the time we found him, he had already fainted."

Through Ke Long's account, Yang Xiao immediately realized he was talking about the same well he had noticed before. That well was also strange in the real world, with a "Bodhisattva Head" pressing down on it.

"But there's no need to worry too much. The mansion's doctor just came to look; it's nothing serious, and he's already been fed the medicinal soup," Shi Dali reassured the group. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he stood up and walked outside. "Right, we found some clues in the mansion. Come and see."

The group left Shi Dali's room and came to the outside of Yang Xiao's room. They circled to the bushes behind the house, where a very clear yet strange trail was left on the ground. The trail wound and twisted, extending all the way to the window at the back of the room.

Kuang Hongyi measured the trail on the ground with his footsteps, his face darkening. "It's a fish-bone pattern left by the bottom of a boat."

This instantly reminded everyone of the bloated figure that had appeared outside the window last night. That fellow had truly come by boat.

Even more chilling was that this Ghost Ship had actually sailed right onto the shore!

The group returned to the room. Since Shi Guanming was still unconscious, they sat down, and Shi Dali readily shared the clues his team had investigated within the mansion. "The Feng family has truly been devastated this time. Half a year ago, the Feng Eldest Young Master passed the imperial examinations, but while returning home with friends and crossing the river by boat, he accidentally slipped and fell into the water. The current was swift at the time, and in the end, they couldn't even find his body."

Seeming to know what everyone wanted to ask, Shi Dali added, "It has nothing to do with the Laoniuwan Ferry. I asked; it wasn't that river."

"That was just the beginning. Next was the Feng Third Young Master. He was bathing perfectly fine when he suddenly went mad, insisting there was something in the tub grabbing his feet. They invited many famous doctors, but it was useless. They said it was hysteria caused by extreme fright, and it's feared he won't recover."

"Except for the Feng Third Young Master who is not yet married, the Eldest Young Master and the Second Young Master both had wives, and both wives were pregnant. But after the Eldest Young Master died, his wife suffered from excessive grief and miscarried not long after."

"After that, her health deteriorated day by day, and she often had hallucinations, telling everyone she saw her unborn child sitting by the well calling to her."

"Eventually, one day while the maid went to fetch medicine, the Eldest Young Mistress actually struggled to stand up, crawled to the well, and threw herself in."

"By the time the maid returned, it was already too late to save her."

At this point, Shi Dali sighed and looked at Yang Xiao and the others with a complex expression. "It's that well pressed down by the millstone. Not long after the Eldest Young Mistress died, it's said that the maid, out of self-reproach, also chose to throw herself into the well one night. Ever since then, the well has been sealed, and no one is allowed near it."

"The Feng family's misfortunes continued. Not long ago, it was the Feng Second Young Master's turn. He had been very careful—not taking boats, not using large tubs to bathe—but while riding a horse across a shallow creek, the horse slipped. He fell off, and the back of his head hit a sharp stone just right. He died on the way back to the Feng Mansion."

"Hiss—" Su Tingting gasped. It was truly miserable. A whole family, and now, counting everyone, only a sickly Master Feng, a mad Third Young Master, and a heavily pregnant Second Young Mistress remained.

"These deaths are all related to water. I think it's definitely the revenge of that female ghost," Kuang Hongyi said in a deep voice. "We also heard some news in town. The Feng family's reputation is indeed good now, but that's only in recent years. In the generation of Feng Laotaiye, it wasn't like that. Back then, there wasn't a soul in the surrounding ten miles who didn't fear Feng Laotaiye. If you dared to be short even a single grain of grain, he'd break your legs; even if you had to sell your children, you had to scrape that grain together."

"By the way, Feng Laotaiye also had a nickname back then: Nan Batian."

"We also heard that Feng Laotaiye's grave is at Xie Ma Ridge, not far outside the city. We originally wanted to go take a look, but we were worried there wouldn't be enough time for a round trip," Kuang Hongyi shook his head with some regret.

Next, it was Yang Xiao and Xu Su's turn. The two recounted what they had seen and heard at the Laoniuwan Wharf, as well as the Soul Suppressing Pagoda they encountered on the road.

"Did the people from the White Family Gatehouse also die in a water disaster?" This news was truly too important; it completely overturned everyone's previous speculations.

Ke Long frowned. "Is the news reliable? Could it be that the Feng family bribed the boatman and intentionally created this..."

"Impossible," Xu Su interrupted. "First of all, those who died in the accident weren't just people from the White Family Gatehouse; there were also officials from the nearby military camp. The Feng family is, at the end of the day, just a wealthy household; they don't hold official rank. I doubt they would dare to kill government soldiers. Also, how do you explain that sudden rain and the thick fog? So many people on the wharf that night saw it."

The room fell into silence. After a moment, Kuang Hongyi spoke: "So the nature of this matter has changed. The fact that Xi Yao would strike at the people from the White Family Gatehouse shows that they have problems too. I suspect the people from the White Family Gatehouse sold Xi Yao to the Feng family."

"It should be that she was betrothed to the Feng family," Yang Xiao realized now. "No wonder they chose the day of Feng Laotaiye's first seven-day memorial; it turns out it was to arrange a marriage."

This made sense. The Feng family spent a large sum of money to buy Xi Yao, the star performer of the White Family Gatehouse, and sent her down to Feng Laotaiye, who had loved listening to opera while alive, under the guise of performing a Ghost Opera. Of course, the White Family Gatehouse and the White troupe leader knew all about this—after all, they had taken the silver and had to cooperate with the Feng family to play the part—but Xi Yao, as the person involved, certainly didn't know.

Once Su Tingting understood, she was so angry her teeth itched. "What a 'kind-hearted' Master Feng! His heart is truly cruel! And the White troupe leader—Xi Yao is his daughter, and he could actually bear to do that?"

Shi Dali smiled. "What's there to be unable to bear? That bit of family affection is nothing compared to cold, hard silver."