Chapter 102

I don't want to have too much involvement with the Bai Family, and Bái Jīngmò isn't a good person either.

Ideally, we settle both the money and the goods.

Bái Jīngmò gave a bitter smile: "Xiao Jiu, are you still blaming me? Thinking I'm ineffectual, unable to take charge in the Bai Family?"

Me: '?'

What the hell is this?

'My grandmother is getting old, Xiao Jiu.' Bái Jīngmò suddenly said, 'If one day she passes away, then I will take charge of the Bai Family...'

I couldn't bear to listen anymore: 'That's your Bai Family's own business. We're here today to talk business. If you're not sincere about buying this kirin statue, then I'll take my leave.'

I do want the kirin statue, but it's still far from being able to control me.

I stood up to leave, and Bái Jīngmò hastily grabbed my arm: 'Xiao Jiu, perhaps you don't yet know the Bai Family's status among the Five Great Immortal Clans of Wufu Town; if I take the lead in standing up to support you, perhaps I can help you escape the Dang Pu's cage.'

Don't think you can rely on Liu Junyan now; the Wufu Town Pawnshop is a bottomless pit—Liu Junyan can't fill it, and you certainly can't.

I didn't want to hear his nonsense, shook off his hand, and headed for the door.

At the moment I pulled open the private room door, Bái Jīngmò suddenly said: 'Xiao Jiu, I actually pursued this—on the night of the first day of the eighth month, if you had chosen the white sedan chair, we would already be husband and wife; my heart for you, heaven and earth can attest.'

I didn't linger, hurriedly leaving the teahouse.

All the way to the Dang Pu, my steps grew slower and slower.

I only felt waves of chill run through my body; I haven't gone over in detail what happened that night on the first day of the eighth month for a long time.

But Bái Jīngmò's words forced me to confront that predicament once again.

My grandmother, on her deathbed, insisted I must choose the blue sedan chair.

The blue sedan chair belonged to Hu Yulin; choosing it back then wasn't wrong, but looking at the present, once the Phoenix Raccoon Maiden returns, I'm immediately out.

And behind the white sedan chair was Bái Jīngmò.

If I had chosen the white sedan chair back then, could I really have become husband and wife with Bái Jīngmò?

No!

If I had chosen the white sedan chair, I fear I would now be a wandering ghost in the Pearl Plate River.

Fortunately I ultimately chose the big red sedan chair—I chose correctly.

But now, everyone is telling me that Liu Junyan is the wrong answer, and they're sparing no effort to try to tear us apart.

First it was the Phoenix Raccoon Maiden, then the Fox Lord.

Now there's also Bái Jīngmò.

They keep telling me they're doing this for my own good, that it's to help me break free from the Wufu Town Pawnshop's shackles.

Perhaps even they themselves have forgotten that I originally walked out of the Ghost Gate Pass; to me, the Wufu Town Pawnshop is not an abyss but a salvation.

The more they try to tear me and Liu Junyan apart, the tighter we cling to each other in this endless abyss.

I thought this matter was over, but what I never expected was that two days later, the news of the Bai family matriarch's death spread like a gust of wind across the entire Wufu Town.

Even Tang Tang, far away in Huicheng, received the news immediately.

When Tang Tang was video-chatting with me, she was accompanying Song Ruoqing in the hospital.

Song Ruoqing had a deep scar on her right wrist; she had struck a killing blow, severing her tendons, so now even holding chopsticks is difficult with that hand.

Yet her whole person seemed like she had been reborn after death, her eyes now full of light.

With the Song family's downfall, she was the happiest of all.

She had regained her freedom.

Tang Tang peeled an apple while asking me, 'Did the Bai family matriarch really die? Just recently Bái Jīngmò was still siphoning others' vital energy to prolong her life—how could she just die?'

'I don't know.' I said, 'The news just came out, and Li Qingying has already gone to check the truth.'

But Tang Tang's words gave me a sudden jolt.

How could it be such a coincidence?

The Bai family matriarch should have died long ago; she had been relying on Bái Jīngmò outside, siphoning others' vital energy to prolong her life. That day in the teahouse, Bái Jīngmò had just said if the matriarch passed away... Could it be that he orchestrated this himself?

That Bái Jīngmò's ambition... is not to be underestimated!

'That old demoness dying is a good thing!' Tang Tang sighed, 'Once she's dead, half of the Bai Family's empire will collapse.'

Perhaps many people would think that way.

But I felt a creepy sensation.

If this really is Bái Jīngmò's doing, then he's an outright lunatic!

And this lunatic has never given up on me!

Not long after the video call ended, Li Qingying returned.

Her complexion was awful.

I hurriedly asked, 'Qingying sister, what's wrong?'

'The Bai family matriarch really is dead.' Li Qingying said, 'The Bai Family has invited a Daoist ritual to perform rites for her—guess who they invited?'

How could I possibly guess that?

So I asked, 'Who is it?'

'That evil monk.' Li Qingying said, 'It's the one who appeared at Xijiekou that night when you went to Huicheng.'

I also stared in shock: 'How could it be him?'

Li Qingying cleared her throat, obviously also nervous: 'I'm just wondering what the sequence of these two events is.'

Yeah, that's really important.

If the evil monk appeared first, and then the Bai family matriarch happened to die, and the Bai Family conveniently hired him to perform the rites, that would still be fine.

But if... if the evil monk's appearance in Wufu Town was originally arranged by the Bai Family, then... this is a complete setup!

And the target of this scheme is our Dang Pu!

Bái Jīngmò's target is me, and the evil monk's target is the disaster‑surviving sandalwood cat.

The two joined forces, and we couldn't defend against them.

I said in a deep voice: "No matter what the truth of the matter actually is, we have to be careful now, just in case."

Li Qingying said: "Seventh Lord never expected the Bai family to pull this."

"I'll tell him about this." I said, "Qingying sister, keep an eye on the Bai family."

Li Qingying nodded solemnly.

In the evening, the Bai family sent people to announce the death, and they also delivered a notice of mourning to the Dang Pu.

The notice of mourning wrote the cause of death of the elderly Bai lady: she spent her life saving the world with her medical skills, and passed away peacefully in old age.

The ritual altar is set up for only three days.

That is to say, the elderly Bai lady's corpse will be buried three days later.

Given the elderly Bai lady's status, a ground burial is chosen without a doubt.

The mourning hall was already set up in the evening, and people came one after another to pay their respects.

The Bai Family Medical Clinic is famous throughout the surrounding area, and it has made many acquaintances of talented and extraordinary people; the funeral of the elderly Bai lady is destined to attract attention.

In Wufu Town, the rule is that the deceased is paramount.

No matter how much grudge the deceased held against you in life, as long as their family comes to deliver a notice of mourning, you must at least bring a bundle of paper money to pay your respects.

A notice of mourning cannot be refused.

Fortunately, the Bai family didn't send someone from the Dang Pu to help with the funeral arrangements; otherwise, we wouldn't be able to refuse either.

And because of the elderly Bai lady's death, the funeral shop at the Dang Pu became exceptionally busy.

Li Qingying handled the business, while I was busy making paper effigies of people and horses.

After dinner, I had Li Qingying stay to guard the gate, while I myself carried a large basket of paper money, gold ingots, and such, and went to the Bai family.

Paying respects is a minor matter; I need to go personally see the evil monk who set up the ritual altar for the elderly Bai lady…