Chapter 50

49. The Two White Clans (Please Follow!)

“Father…”

Bai Xiue looked at the man before her—his face weathered and worn, barely thirty yet hunched and gaunt as an old man—and tears immediately streamed down her cheeks.

If this home had not held someone she truly cared for, how could anyone have persuaded her to return?

Her father was the only person she still cared for in the Bai Family Graveyard.

Bai Xiue’s father did not bear the Bai surname; he was a refugee who had entered the family as a son-in-law.

For all these years, it had been his hands that managed every household matter, raising Bai Xiue to adulthood.

“Go, go, go!”

The old father deliberately lowered his voice, shoving Bai Xiue toward the door while fearfully glancing back at their courtyard—his greatest fears always came true.

As the man pushed Bai Xiue forward, barely taking a few steps, a loud clang echoed behind them—the door had swung open.

Immediately after, a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped out from the main hall.

He wore only a white undergarment, standing on the hall’s threshold, unfastening his trousers to urinate onto the steps.

Spotting the old man shoving Bai Xiue outside, he immediately pulled up his pants and barked at him: “Old man, what are you doing?!”

“Who is this woman?!”

As he spoke, the young man—roughly Bai Xiue’s age—slipped on his cloth slippers, leapt down the steps, kicked open the wicker gate, and strode swiftly toward the father and daughter.

When he drew near and saw Bai Xiue’s face, his expression turned to utter horror—he staggered backward, nearly collapsing onto the ground.

“Y-you—you’re a ghost!”

“Oh my heavens!”

“Mother! Mother! A ghost’s here!”

“Bai Xiue has returned as a ghost to claim vengeance!”

The young man scrambled back into the main hall, screaming like a slaughtered pig. Soon after, a woman of considerable grace emerged, pulling her robe around her and pushing back her long hair.

The young man cowered behind her, stealing glances at Bai Xiue.

“She… Mother, they live in the same room?” Bai Xiue stared at the pair emerging from the hall, disbelief in her eyes as she looked to her father.

The old father’s expression darkened. He sighed: “The ancestral hall says your mother was his wet nurse—her nurturing grace equals that of a birth mother. They live together to avoid gossip…”

“The Jing Bai clan treats us cruelly…” Bai Xiue murmured, watching the approaching pair.

In Bai Family Graveyard, everyone except the men brought in as sons-in-law bore the Bai surname.

But this ‘Bai’ surname had two distinct origins.

Bai Xiue’s side—women born into the local Bai clan that had long resided around Qingyi Town—were called ‘Border Bai’ in Bai Family Graveyard, meaning the Bai of the frontier.

The other group, the ‘Jing Bai,’ originated from Yanjing.

These Jing Bai had once borne the illustrious Manchu surname Yehe Nara. Over a hundred years ago, they suddenly migrated from the capital to Bai Family Graveyard, settling beside the Border Bai.

Since their arrival, the Border Bai had dwindled—almost every household bore only daughters, with scarcely any sons born.

Even when sons were born, most died young.

With too few able-bodied men, the Border Bai became ever more dependent on the Jing Bai. Today, the two clans appear merged on the surface, but their inner divisions have never faded.

The Jing Bai’s ancestral records kept in the clan hall never listed a single Border Bai name.

Every time the Border Bai Mianqiang rebuilt their ancestral hall, it was destroyed by natural disasters or human malice. Now, they had no hall, no genealogy at all.

Every Border Bai woman, from birth to death, was a commodity the Jing Bai could sell at will.

And Border Bai men fared worse than the slaves of wealthy households.

“Mother, she’s a ghost!”

“I’ll call someone to burn her!” The young man, cowering behind the woman, whispered urgently.

The woman was Bai Xiue’s mother.

She gently patted the young man’s hand to soothe him. Her gaze toward Bai Xiue held uncertainty, but seeing the cowardly old man standing beside her, her fear lessened.

Bai’s mother stepped closer to Bai Xiue, studying her face carefully, then softly called: “Xiue…”

Seeing her mother’s gentle, kind expression, Bai Xiue’s hatred toward her suddenly softened.

Her mother was also a woman trapped by fate.

She sighed inwardly and whispered to the woman: “Mother.”

“Yes.”

Bai’s mother’s heart stirred; her eyes reddened. She grasped Bai Xiue’s cool small hand: “Xiue, it was wrong of me. I let you suffer…”

Beside them, Bai’s father opened his mouth, then slumped as if all strength had drained from him.

“She’s a ghost, Mother—call someone to burn her!” The young man still chattered, but Bai’s mother suddenly turned and shot him a glance—he froze like a rooster with its throat cut.

“How could Xiue be a ghost?”

“Can’t you see she’s alive and well?” Bai’s mother smiled, wiping her tears as she pulled Bai Xiue toward the house. “Your brother isn’t evil, Xiue. Don’t blame him. Even I was startled when I saw you just now. Once you get used to him, you’ll see—he’s truly kind…”

Bai Xiue said nothing, lips pressed tight.

This so-called brother of hers had no blood tie to her.

He was born into the Jing Bai clan; her mother was merely his wet nurse.

Was this Jing Bai man’s “kind heart” meant to imply he was skilled at climbing into his wet nurse’s bed?

Bai Xiue’s heart burned with fury, yet she dared not speak a word.

Bai’s mother led her into the western annex. She bustled about, cleaning the room, laying out the bedding—as if truly welcoming back her married daughter.

She said not a word of Bai Xiue’s past.

When the room was clean, Bai Xiue sat on a stool while her father stood at the door.

“Xiue…” The old father looked at his daughter with deep worry. “You can still leave…”

Before he finished, Bai’s mother called his name from behind.

He hesitated at the door, unwilling to answer his wife’s call.

Then Bai’s mother walked over herself and said to Bai Xiue: “Xiue, your father and I need to discuss something.”

She spoke, then led the father away.

As they left, she closed the door behind them.

Bai Xiue sat stunned in the annex—never before so clean and tidy—and heard the sound of chains being locked outside. She sighed softly.

“What are you planning to do?” Bai Ma asked.

Bai Xiue sat stunned in this chamber, never before so clean and tidy, listening to the sound of chains being fastened outside the door, and she let out a soft sigh.

“What are you planning to do?” Bai Ma asked her.

“They think I’m a ghost… burning me alive would suit me fine… but perhaps my mother still has a little pity for me?”

“Still dreaming?”

Hearing Bai Ma’s mocking tone, Bai Xiue lowered her eyes, her gaze timid: “If I can’t escape, I’ll trade myself… to let my father leave Bai Family Graveyard.”

Bai Ma fell silent, lips pressed tight.

Hearing Bai Ma’s mocking words, Bai Xiue lowered her eyelids, her gaze timid: “If it fails, I want to use myself… to exchange for my father’s release from the Bai family graveyard.”

Inside, Bai Xiue opened her small bundle. The animal and insect hides, stitched together with lotus-thread, lay neatly stacked within.

She lowered her head, her fingers weaving lotus-thread as she began piecing and sewing the hides together.

Bai Ma watched silently for a long while, then suddenly said: “He tricked you away—why are you still sewing him the Hundred Beasts Robe?”

“He’s a good man. He has his reasons,” Bai Xiue replied softly. “Master Zhou said the Hundred Beasts Robe wards off evil spirits. If I sew fast enough, I can finish it today. When it’s done, please take it to him.”

Bai Ma watched Bai Xiue’s movements in silence, then suddenly said, “He’s already tricked you into leaving—why are you still sewing the Hundred Beasts Robe for him?”

"He's a good man; he has his reasons," Bai Xiue replied softly. "Master Zhou said the Hundred Beasts Robe can suppress evil spirits; if I sew faster, I should finish it today."

"When it's done, you take it to him for me."