Chapter 62

Lin Qingyue followed along for a lap, then suddenly raised her hand and pointed: "That one!"

That grave stood apart from the others, hidden all alone in a small mountain hollow. The soil on the mound was still fresh, yet there were no incense or offerings. The tombstone was shaped like a stone nail, with a line of small characters carved into it: "Grave of a Nameless Person."

Gu Huai took one look and shook his head: "Nameless Person? This... how could this possibly be Nianxue? How could Nianxue be a nameless person?"

Lin Qingyue said: "Whether it is or not, won't we know once we exhume the grave and take a look?"

"We still have to exhume the grave?" Gu Huai was clearly somewhat resistant—regardless of whether his daughter was inside, she had been dead for many days, and he had no idea what she might have become inside.

"Correct, the grave must be exhumed! Of course, if you as family members are unwilling to cooperate, I won't force you, but the Xuanjing Division will no longer intervene in your estate's affairs."

"No, no, we'll cooperate! We'll cooperate!"

Gu Huai had no choice but to order his men to proceed with the exhumation.

A moment later, a large pit had been dug into the new grave, revealing a red-lacquered coffin.

Following this, a thick, dense Yin Qi also wafted out. Although ordinary people like Gu Huai could not see the Yin Qi, they could feel goosebumps rising all over their bodies, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Open the coffin!" Lin Qingyue commanded with a sunken face.

The moment the coffin lid was pushed open, a stench of rot mixed with the smell of rust rushed toward them.

They saw that the corpse's hands and feet inside the coffin had been pierced by silver awls and nailed to the coffin walls, with dark red blood scabs congealing along the silver awls.

The entire corpse was soaked through with blood, the snow-white gauze dress sticking to the purplish skin, trembling slightly with the Yin wind inside the coffin.

Most terrifying was that twisted face, the eyeballs bulging as if to pop out, with dried blood-tears still congealed in the hollow pupils.

Gruesome as it was, one could still tell that it was Gu Nianxue.

"What a vicious method! Even after death, they still had to use Soul-Suppressing Nails to pin her limbs and suppress her soul, making her suffer endless torment even as a ghost, never to be reincarnated!"

"This, what on earth is going on! Who is so vicious toward my daughter?" Gu Huai, shocked and horrified, wept in sorrow.

"Nianxue, it's Daddy's fault, Daddy should have returned sooner. Nianxue, my poor daughter..."

Lin Qingyue sneered: "The master you brought in, who even specifically drove away our Xuanjing Division personnel—it turns out their goal was to suppress Miss Gu's ghost."

The Xuanjing Division's method of handling things is always to resolve first, then transcend. Only when encountering souls that have committed heinous crimes and cannot be transcended do they suppress or eliminate them.

Only evil sorcerers would act according to the employer's needs for the sake of money and profit, regardless of the consequences.

"Such a vicious method will naturally foster resentment; it would be strange if disasters didn't arise!"

Gu Huai said angrily: "It's the Guo woman... that poisonous woman is actually this vicious! No matter what, Nianxue is this Marquis's eldest legitimate daughter; how could she, how dare she!"

"The Guo woman? Your wife?" Lin Qingyue asked.

Gu Huai said: "After Nianxue's mother, my first wife, passed away, this Marquis took the Guo woman as a successor wife. The Guo woman and Nianxue were always at odds, and even had several conflicts. This Marquis originally thought these were just minor matters and rarely intervened. Only today do I realize their enmity was actually this deep."

"After Nianxue passed away, her funeral arrangements were handed over to the Guo woman. I never expected the Guo woman would actually find someone to drive Soul-Suppressing Nails into Nianxue, preventing her from being transcended! It was a waste of this Marquis's trust in her, handing over the management of the household to her."

Lin Qingyue said: "Before Gu Nianxue was buried, she had already become a fierce spirit; if we don't resolve this tonight, she might even turn into an Evil Fiend. And there are only two ways to resolve this: 1. Send her off after resolving her obsession, which might be a bit troublesome. 2. Directly disperse her. Marquis Gu..."

She looked at Gu Huai with heavy eyes: "... which one do you choose?"

Gu Huai's gaze fell upon the coffin, and he wiped away his tears: "I must trouble Deputy Envoy Lin to find a way to transcend her. Regardless of the past, we were father and daughter after all; I truly do not want her to end up with her soul scattered."

Lin Qingyue raised an eyebrow: "Fine."

She said: "First, remove the Soul-Suppressing Nails so she doesn't suffer and increase her resentment in vain. She should be able to come out tonight; at that time, I will find a way to transcend her departed soul. After the transcendence, you can rebury her."

Gu Huai hurriedly ordered his servants: "Did you all hear that? Quickly remove the things from the young lady's coffin; do not disturb the young lady's peace!"

Seeing that she had understood enough of the situation, Lin Qingyue took her leave.

Gu Huai was about to follow her down the mountain, but heard Lin Qingyue say: "Marquis Gu, you don't need to go down the mountain; staying before the grave is just right for you to keep vigil for your daughter. I will come over when it reaches the Hour of the Rat."

"What, this Marquis has to stay here until after the Hour of the Rat?" Gu Huai felt inexplicably afraid, "Is it feasible to let the servants keep vigil on my behalf?"

"No, you must be present. Otherwise, wherever you go, she will follow. Because you are the root of her resentment!"

After Lin Qingyue finished giving these instructions, she left Chang Qing Shan.

Gu Huai stood before the Nameless Person's grave; with a "whoosh" of wind, in a trance, it was as if someone had called out: "Daddy—"

Gu Huai felt goosebumps all over his body; although he dared not look back, the miserable scene of his daughter in the coffin kept circling in his mind.

No, he couldn't stay here. Even if Gu Nianxue was his own biological daughter, once she had become an evil ghost, it was terrifying!

But now he had to beg for help; if he didn't do as the other party requested, what if they threw in the towel and stopped caring about his family's affairs?

But staying here was truly... chilling!

Just as he was in a dilemma, he suddenly heard a heavy bell toll.

Looking up, on the opposite mountain peak, a patch of bright yellow architecture was vaguely visible—Yunyin Si!

Right, go to the temple!

The temple has the Buddha guarding it; even the most ferocious ghost cannot enter. After the Hour of the Rat, when the Xuanjing Division people arrive, it won't be too late to go to the grave!

Thus, Gu Huai ordered his men to guard the grave, while he himself went to the temple to seek shelter.

The masters in the temple were easy to talk to; after adding some incense oil money, he obtained a clean guest room. The abbot even personally chanted scriptures and mantras to help eliminate the turbid Qi on his body.

By evening, the monks served exquisite vegetarian meals for him to enjoy.

Gu Huai picked up his chopsticks, thought of the family matters, and then recalled his daughter's miserable state in the coffin; his heart was unsettled, and he put down his chopsticks.

As night gradually fell, the temple remained in a state of peace and tranquility.

The sandalwood incense drifted leisurely, calming the mind.

He leaned on the Arhat couch and, without realizing it, gradually fell asleep.

In his dream, he vaguely heard the crying of an infant.

Who, who is crying?

Oh, he remembered. The wife had given birth!

In the dream, Gu Huai looked at the child in the swaddling clothes and then looked at the heavy snow outside the window, smiling involuntarily: "Let's call her Nianxue. Nianxue, Nianxue, may you be as pure and beautiful as snow in this life."

Then the next moment, the warm scene suddenly vanished, and a woman with blood flowing from her seven orifices stood before him, screaming shrilly: "Daddy, Daughter has come to find you! Daddy, where are you?"

Gu Huai woke up with a start, cold sweat soaking his expensive silk undergarments.

So it was a dream... fortunately, it was a dream.

He was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he suddenly heard a "wailing" sound from outside the window, as if someone were sobbing lowly outside.

He was startled, but in an instant, he remembered that this was a temple, and no demons or monsters dared to enter. Nianxue... she shouldn't come, right?