Chapter 38: Summoning the Soul

The steady and prudent Kuang Hongyi sensed something strange and asked in a lowered voice, "Forgive my bluntness, but even if the Second Young Master's wife gives birth successfully, how can you guarantee it will be a boy?"

Upon hearing this, Master Feng froze for a moment, then coughed twice in embarrassment, "There is no need for you all to worry about that; we have found the best physicians in the city and had them prescribe many secret formulas for Zhitong. As long as the birth goes smoothly, it will certainly be a baby boy."

"Cough... cough cough..."

Perhaps because he had spoken too much, Master Feng began to cough violently, then waved his hand. Seeing this, Liu Guanjia stepped forward, hand turned outward, and made a gesture of invitation, "Honored Lucky Guests, the master needs quiet and rest. If you have any remaining questions, you may ask me."

The group departed, and on the way, Liu Guanjia's attitude was much more sincere than before, "Honored Lucky Guests, please rest assured. The master can still handle the death of the Third Young Master; what is most urgent now is to preserve the last bloodline of the Feng family—the child in the Second Young Master's wife's womb."

"I will tell you the truth: in fact, whether it is the First Young Master or the Third Young Master, neither was the one the master valued most. Only the Second Young Master was the apple of the master's eye."

At this point, Liu Guanjia pursed his lips, lost in memory: "The master protected the Second Young Master the best, which is why the Second Young Master was the last of the three children to meet with disaster. Back then, the master gave repeated, strict instructions to be sure to watch over the Second Young Master, but who would have thought... alas!"

"The Second Young Master was the heir to the family business in the master's heart. On the day of the incident, the master had originally arranged for the Second Young Master to follow the estate's Martial Master to practice swordplay, but the Second Young Master was playful and actually snuck out of the estate on horseback."

"The master regretted this so much that he even vomited blood several times, regretting countless times that he hadn't kept the Second Young Master by his side to watch over him."

Once these words were spoken, Yang Xiao and Kuang Hongyi's expressions shifted slightly; did this not correspond to the second line of that ancient saying: The second son stays by the knees.

"Does Master Feng only have three young masters?" Kuang Hongyi asked, feigning indifference, "Could it be there isn't a precious daughter?"

"No," Liu Guanjia shook his head, "The late mistress passed away early, leaving only the three young masters. The master was deeply devoted to the late mistress, always refusing to remarry, nor did he take any concubines."

"Perhaps Master Feng was a bit of a rake in his early years, only you, the steward, don't know about it," Yang Xiao and Kuang Hongyi chimed in together.

Hearing this, Liu Guanjia frowned, "Stop talking nonsense. My master's devotion is well-known. Furthermore, the old master was extremely strict in his discipline of my master; my master has never been to those places of ill repute. Everyone in the city can verify this."

Yang Xiao was not annoyed and bowed to Liu Guanjia, "Apologies, apologies. I was merely trying to lighten the tense atmosphere with a joke. Please, Liu Guanjia, do not take it to heart."

Yang Xiao's move left Liu Guanjia in a bit of an awkward position, as they still had need of these people, so he took the opportunity to step down, "No matter. In the future, I will have to trouble you all to put in more effort."

The first two lines of the ancient saying are "Tou Nu Bu Wai Jia" and "The second son stays by the knees," and the latter part should refer to the Feng Second Young Master.

Thinking along these lines, Yang Xiao and Kuang Hongyi judged that "Tou Nu Bu Wai Jia" was also very likely related to Master Feng. Could it be that he still had a daughter?

Of course, this phrase could also refer to Xi Yao, but Yang Xiao always felt things were not that simple.

At this moment, the time was at most around 10:00 AM, yet the sky was as gloomy as dusk, and a light rain was drifting down; the raindrops felt surprisingly icy when they hit one's body.

Returning to the backyard, the scene on the lake was even more ghastly. From afar, one could only see the Third Young Master's corpse floating on the blackened lake water, face down, motionless, with mist still lingering over the lake.

Shi Dali's expression was grave, "Such heavy baleful energy."

Seeing such a scene, Liu Guanjia could no longer keep his composure, turned around and said, "Everyone, you have seen it too. Tonight, Xi Yao will definitely move against the master or the Second Young Master's wife, so we must strike first. After night falls today, I must trouble you all to go to the lake once more."

"And bring back the Third Young Master's corpse?" Shi Guanming instinctively shrank his neck. There was no need to think about it; the current Third Young Master was a lure—whoever approached would die.

But Liu Guanjia shook his head, "You need not trouble yourselves with the Third Young Master's corpse. What you must do is go into the water and find Xi Yao's corpse."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked, and Su Tingting almost burst into tears, "Are you serious about this?"

"Rest assured, you aren't being asked to do anything to the corpse, just find it and close Xi Yao's eyes for her; after all, she died with her eyes wide open," Liu Guanjia explained, speeding up his speech, "And we have arrangements for tonight as well. Everyone just needs to act according to the plan, and with your skills, there will certainly be no mistakes."

"Come, tell us first what clever plan you have?" Yang Xiao did not indulge Liu Guanjia at this moment; in this situation, asking them to go into the water was clearly sending them to their deaths.

Liu Guanjia thought for a moment, reorganized his words, and said slowly, "It is like this: I have already made the arrangements. Tonight, we will set up a Soul Summoning Array in the main hall, and arrange many Incense, candles, and paper money, as well as the theatrical robes and jewelry Xi Yao wore during her lifetime. Using her Birth Date and Time, we will summon her soul!"

"Once her soul is summoned, the Xi Yao under the water will be nothing more than an ordinary corpse. What is difficult about closing the eyes of a dead body?"

Liu Guanjia spoke nicely, but everyone did not buy it. Shi Dali chuckled, "Since it is just an ordinary corpse, Liu Guanjia can just arrange for the estate's servants to do it; why the need to find us?"

"You are all famous Lucky Guests from the surrounding ten miles and eight villages; what great storms have you not seen? You have your own fortune protecting you. The servants in the estate have lowly lives; letting them go would likely invite unnecessary trouble, which would instead be disadvantageous to you," Liu Guanjia smiled, "Besides, you have all already received the silver."

After going back and forth several times, Liu Guanjia's attitude became increasingly firm, and everyone, feeling helpless, had no choice but to give up.

Kuang Hongyi's expression stiffened as he stared at Liu Guanjia, "Fine, then tell us first about the Soul Summoning Ritual tonight—how does it work? Is it reliable?"

With his hands held flat and tucked into his sleeves, Liu Guanjia looked very confident, "You can be absolutely assured of this. We bought the array at a high price from a cultivator on Qingzhe Shan."

"Xi Yao loved to perform opera during her life, so we have built a stage for her to sing to her heart's content, and we have brought many Paper People to serve as her audience. With the help of the array, we only need to trap her here for a short while, allowing another team to go into the water and close the corpse's eyes, and the task will be complete!"

Changing the subject, Liu Guanjia's gaze swept over the few people one by one, "However, this array has a requirement: it needs to borrow the body of one of you."

Liu Guanjia's gaze finally rested on Su Tingting's face, and after a moment, he smiled with a strange expression: "It is best if it is a woman."