Chapter 37: Targeting Cheng Xi

Cheng Xi stepped forward to open the door; in the pitch-black night, the area outside the door was empty and silent.

She lifted her foot and walked out, and a figure shrouded in black mist appeared before her eyes.

"Why are you here?"

The black shadow stood there blankly, showing no reaction to her words. The black mist slowly dissipated, and the dull face of Cheng Laotaitai gradually revealed itself.

"Baohua."

A *da-da-da* sound came over; Baohua trotted all the way over and looked up at Cheng Xi.

"Bring the Soul-Attracting Incense."

Baohua turned and ran back, returning quickly with a wooden box balanced on her head, her two small arms also clutching a fire starter.

Cheng Xi opened the box, took out a stick of incense, and lit it with the fire starter; a strange fragrance spread through the air.

When the incense had burned halfway, the dull face of Cheng Laotaitai slowly gained a glimmer of consciousness. Her vacant gaze gradually shifted, and when she saw Cheng Xi before her, her eyes froze once more.

"Why did you come here?" Cheng Xi asked again.

Even though her mind was not yet fully clear, Cheng Laotaitai still subconsciously disliked Cheng Xi. She replied stiffly, "I... don't know. Someone... made me... come."

As the Soul-Attracting Incense gradually burned to an end, Cheng Laotaitai's consciousness slowly awakened. Her expression grew increasingly hideous, and not knowing what she had thought of, a fierce, baleful energy surged through her entire being.

"You had better control yourself, or I will make your soul scatter."

"Cheng... Xi..." Cheng Laotaitai seemed to want to say something, but her expression suddenly turned pained, and she gripped her throat tightly with both hands.

"Someone placed a silence curse on you?" Cheng Xi thought to herself.

Cheng Laotaitai nodded forcefully, pointing *ya-ya* in the direction of the Cheng Family. Cheng Xi asked her, "You want to return to the Cheng Family?"

Cheng Laotaitai nodded forcefully.

Cheng Xi looked at her. "Don't you remember? You killed Cheng Zhouxing and Li Shi."

Cheng Laotaitai stiffened, clearly unwilling to believe it. "Non... nonsense. I would not kill my own son. Li Shi deserved to die."

Cheng Laotaitai recalled the circumstances of Li Shi tormenting her while she lay paralyzed on the bed, and the black mist shrouding her body grew increasingly thick.

Cheng Xi was lost in thought. Cheng Laotaitai said she did not kill her own son; she only wanted to kill Li Shi. "But your son did indeed die by your hands. Like Li Shi, he died without a complete corpse."

Cheng Laotaitai suddenly clutched her head, and a sharp, piercing scream grated against the eardrums.

She remembered; it was she who killed him.

Her good son had listened to Li Shi's words, used coffin nails to nail her into the coffin, and subjected her to day and night of torment, wanting her soul to scatter.

Cheng Xi watched as the black energy on Cheng Laotaitai grew more and more intense, the resentment filling her body almost impossible to suppress. Only then did she speak: "The person is already dead, and you have had your revenge. Why have you not left yet?"

Cheng Laotaitai was startled once more. That's right, she had already had her revenge; why hadn't she left?

Her mind was in a chaotic mess, and waves of sharp pain made her extremely miserable. She curled into a ball, clutching her head. "I... I cannot leave..."

"Since you cannot leave, go find whoever trapped you. It is useless to come looking for me," Cheng Xi said indifferently.

Cheng Laotaitai wore a blank expression, her face shrouded in black mist looking increasingly eerie. "Whoever trapped me, I shall find them. Whoever trapped me... I do not know who trapped me... How am I to find them..."

Cheng Xi sighed softly; what a nuisance. She had been recuperating for so long and had only just managed to gather some Spirit Essence. She focused her Qi, reached out, and tapped Cheng Laotaitai on the forehead, then said, "Go."

Cheng Laotaitai turned around in a daze, her hunched figure gradually disappearing into the night.

Cheng Xi watched as Cheng Laotaitai's body turned into black mist and vanished, feeling a fishy sweetness in her mouth and a trace of blood flowing from the corner of her lips. She indifferently took out a handkerchief and wiped it clean; tonight would be a lively night.

She was unhappy, and that hand behind the scenes would not have its way either.

Cheng Xi returned to the back courtyard with heavy steps, Baohua following her every step of the way.

Cheng Xi collapsed onto the bed, her whole body feeling heavy, and said to Baohua, "I am fine, I will be better after a sleep. You keep watch over me."

Baohua nodded forcefully, accidentally bumping her head against the headboard and making a crisp sound.

Cheng Xi smiled, reached out to rub Baohua's head, and then closed her eyes to sleep.

Baohua crouched on the head of the bed, not moving an inch.

Early the next morning, Zhao Kang got up and opened the door, finding dust scattered all over the ground outside. He hurriedly grabbed a broom to sweep it clean, then fetched a bucket of water to rinse the area outside the door, only then nodding with satisfaction.

Jinxiang and Zhao Mama also rose one after another; Zhao Mama went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, and Jinxiang went to relieve Mulan.

Mulan yawned and returned to her own room to sleep. Jinxiang stepped lightly into the inner chamber, wanting to see if the Eldest Miss was awake, but Baohua *whooshed* to block her path and shook her head at her.

Jinxiang pursed her lips and smiled, saying in a low voice, "Understood, I will go out right now."

Zhao Mama sent her son to the morning market to buy some fresh vegetables and fruit, and told him to cut two catties of meat and buy a chicken.

Zhao Kang finished tidying the front courtyard and went out, carrying a basket to the market.

It was over half an hour later when Zhao Kang returned. He put down the bamboo basket in the kitchen and said to his mother, "There were very few people at the market today. I heard something happened again last night; many people were too scared to go out. These Demons are truly becoming more and more ferocious. You should be careful when you go out in the future."

Zhao Mama took the items out of the basket and set them out one by one, then washed the meat and placed it on the chopping board. Today she was going to make meatballs for the Eldest Miss. While cutting the meat, she said, "Which family had an incident last night? This Jindu is becoming less and less peaceful. If this continues, we might as well follow the Eldest Miss to the countryside where it is safe."

"I heard it was the Dingguo Gongfu that had an incident. There was a ghost haunting it last night, and even the Demon Suppression Pavilion was dispatched. It was a mess for the whole night," Zhao Kang sighed. "The heir of the Dingguo Gongfu is the Pavilion Master of the Demon Suppression Pavilion; for a Demon to dare go to the Dingguo Gongfu to cause trouble, that is truly a case of a birthday star hanging himself—tired of living."

"There is such a thing?" Zhao Mama pressed her hands together in prayer. "Amitabha, it is truly evil meeting its own retribution. The people from the Demon Suppression Pavilion don't look like good people at all. That day they stormed into our mansion, looking fierce and malicious, wanting to take away the Eldest Miss. This Demon is a good one; it really knows where to go to cause trouble."

Zhao Kang laughed as he listened. "Mother, you are right."

Cheng Xi heard this and did not disturb the people in the kitchen; she turned back and walked away.

She had been woken up by hunger and wanted to find something to eat.

Cheng Laotaitai went to the Dingguo Gongfu... She did not think the Dingguo Gongfu was targeting her, but if it was Yan Yu who had made a move against her, she, as a ghost, would certainly not dare to go to a place like the Demon Suppression Pavilion. Going to the Dingguo Gongfu to wait was indeed a good method.

In that case, her guess was correct; it was indeed Yan Yu targeting her.

Just after breakfast, Jiang Boyu arrived. Cheng Xi invited him in, and seeing his subtle expression, she found it amusing in her heart, though she showed nothing on her face. She asked, "For what matter has Magistrate Jiang come today?"

Jiang Boyu met Cheng Xi's sincere and gentle smiling face, and the words on the tip of his tongue were forced back down. For a moment, he did not know how to speak.