Chapter 37: Planting Happiness

"Just like that, Xi Yao was chosen from the Bai family's gatehouse. That troupe leader Bai is also a man with a human face but the heart of a beast; for one thousand taels of silver, he was truly willing to sell his own daughter."

Kuang Hongyi smiled, saying with a hidden meaning: "What else could he do if he wasn't willing? After all, Feng Laotaiye has a massive family business, and 'Southern Overlord' is not a title just anyone dares to call him."

Liu Guanjia grew a bit anxious, "Don't you dare speak nonsense. This kind of matter must have the consent of the woman's direct blood relatives, otherwise, it won't be effective. I dare stake my life on the guarantee that the Feng Family absolutely did not force troupe leader Bai. Out of a desire to compensate, my master even gave an extra 200 taels of silver as a thank-you gift at the end, which troupe leader Bai accepted in full; this can be checked in the account books."

"The Feng Family's accounting office still holds the written agreement signed by troupe leader Bai, as well as two receipts totaling 1,200 taels of silver. Troupe leader Bai even specifically emphasized that he did not want silver notes, only cash, and the old accountant at the manor can also testify to this."

After saying all this in one breath, Liu Guanjia seemed to deflate; he shook his head, his voice turning low, "But regardless, this matter was my Feng Family's fault from the start. I saw that girl Xi Yao; she was pretty, and her skills were impeccable. It's a pity for such a good girl."

Yang Xiao sneered inwardly. Liu Guanjia hadn't spoken like this before; he had called Xi Yao either an Evil Spirit or a vengeful ghost, his face full of resentment, wishing he could grind her to dust. Now that the third young master was dead and he had seen how formidable she was, he knew to call her a good girl.

While speaking, they had already arrived outside Master Feng's room. Before they even got close, they heard bursts of coughing and a man's low sobbing.

Pushing open the door, they saw Master Feng slumped in a grandmaster chair, his expression pained and dull, his eye sockets red and swollen, his eyes vacant—clearly suffering from excessive grief.

"Master!" Liu Guanjia hurried over, shouting with a sobbing tone: "Master, you cannot let anything happen to you!"

This cry seemed to finally bring Master Feng back to his senses. He looked at Yang Xiao and the others, and tears immediately welled up. The next second, a scene occurred that no one expected: Master Feng actually struggled to stand up, then fell to his knees on the ground with a thud.

"I beg you Lucky Guests to save my Feng Family! I know my father committed grave sins, but... but the descendants of my Feng Family are innocent!" Master Feng wailed, "I have already lost three sons, and now my Feng Family has only one seedling left. If there is any mishap with Zhitong's pregnancy, my Feng Family's incense will be cut off! How will I face the ancestors of the Feng Family after I die?"

This scene left Su Tingting stunned. Master Feng was full of emotion, his attitude of admitting fault was sincere, his kneeling was decisive, and the timing and atmosphere were handled perfectly. She had thought her own acting skills were already quite good, but compared to Master Feng, it was simply unwatchable.

But the next second, someone made a move. Yang Xiao walked quickly to the weeping Master Feng, knelt down with a thud, and firmly helped Master Feng up, "Master Feng, please get up quickly. You are going to bring misfortune upon us juniors!"

"Although Feng Laotaiye was at fault first, that was, after all, the old master. What does it have to do with you?"

"When we arrived, Liu Guanjia had already told us the truth. You were strongly opposed to it at the time, but the old master was headstrong. This is not your fault, so please do not blame yourself anymore."

"The current plan is to quickly ferry the soul of the girl Xi Yao so she can rest in peace as soon as possible, and also to return peace to the Feng Family."

At this moment, Yang Xiao empathized deeply with the Feng Family, his emotional nuance so fine that no one could find a single fault. He coordinated with Liu Guanjia to help Master Feng back into the grandmaster chair, "Master Feng, please tell us about the situation at that time now, the more detailed the better, so we can prescribe the right medicine for the illness."

"Good, good, I will tell you everything I know." Master Feng wiped his tears; at this moment, he looked more than ten years older.

"When my father was critically ill, he obtained an ancient fragment from somewhere. It recorded an evil recipe, saying that if one followed the methods on this recipe, it could protect the family to rise again in 10 years, and the descendants would enjoy endless glory and wealth."

"Simply put, it required finding an unmarried woman whose Birth Date and Time matched my father's, and to consummate a marriage with him on the seventh day after his death."

"You already roughly know the process: build a large boat, drape the whole boat in red, hang a large red Lantern with the character 'Double Happiness' on it, and place my father's corpse in the cabin."

"Troupe leader Bai used the excuse of performing a play to lure Xi Yao into the manor, letting her dress up and perform on the boat. Troupe leader Bai was worried about accidents occurring halfway, so he used ropes to tie Xi Yao to the boat."

"When setting sail, a hole was chiseled into the bottom of the boat. When the boat reached the center of the lake, it would slowly sink. Once the red Lantern hanging at the top of the mast also disappeared, the first step of this ritual was considered complete."

Hearing this, Shi Guanming asked in surprise: "This... this is only the first step?"

"Yes, according to that fragment, the ritual is divided into four steps. This first step is called... um... what was it called again?" Master Feng frowned.

"Planting Happiness," Yang Xiao said suddenly.

Master Feng's eyes lit up, and his look at Yang Xiao became formal, "Right, right, right, it is Planting Happiness. It seems this Lucky Guest is knowledgeable and has heard of this evil art."

Yang Xiao was silent for a moment, then explained to the others: "This evil art is divided into four steps: the first step is Planting Happiness, then Binding Happiness, Obtaining Happiness, and finally, the most important part, Sending Happiness."

"Correct. Planting Happiness can be seen as planting my father and the girl Xi Yao in the lake. Binding Happiness requires our Feng Family to come to the lake to pay respects every year, for a full 10 years. On every anniversary of the Planting Happiness, we must hold a grand sacrifice and hang red Lanterns in the manor."

"Obtaining Happiness is this year, 10 years later. According to the fragment, this year is my Feng Family's year of Obtaining Happiness. Everything should have gone smoothly, the family should have been harmonious and the business prosperous, but... but who knew..." Master Feng choked up at this point and could not continue.

Indeed, this year could be called a year of disaster for the Feng Family. Not only did everything go wrong, but people died one after another. Now the third young master was also dead, and the Feng Family had only a sickly Master Feng left, along with the second young mistress with a big belly; the rest were all dead.

"Then what about this final Sending Happiness?" Su Tingting asked curiously.

Master Feng took a deep breath, "There is much to the Sending Happiness. It requires my Feng Family to produce an heir within this year, and it must be a boy who can inherit the family business. As long as this boy is born successfully and survives, it means this evil art is completely ended."

Speaking of this, the light returned to Master Feng's dim eyes. He leaned forward, his two hands gripping the wooden armrests tightly, and said excitedly: "Therefore, I implore you all, you must help my Feng Family overcome this disaster. As long as... as long as Zhitong is protected and she gives birth successfully, then my Feng Family will have passed this hurdle. The benefits promised to you all will definitely be delivered in full."