Xia Xianning rubbed his forehead. This speculation sounded plausible, but something seemed off. Would Zhu Linya, who raised Cheng Guangchen, really be that kind-hearted?
Xia Changwei said beside him: “To be honest, if we hadn’t already done a paternity test, I wouldn’t have dared to let you into this home.”
Zhu Linya said: “I truly love you and want to live with you—”
Xia Changwei waved his hand: “No need to explain. We both know it’s fake, and there’s no point in saying more. I made it clear from the beginning that I was just playing with you, so it’s reasonable that you were playing with me too. As for your marriage this time…”
Xia Changwei smiled faintly and said: “It’s to give your son a legitimate identity, as compensation for the years you owed him. Anyway, whether I marry someone or not, life goes on. I won’t bring up the past again.”
But you, just be a good Xia Madam. Remember, you’re just the Xia Madam. Cause any more trouble, and I’ll send you to a mental hospital!
Xia Xianning stood up and saw two servants in their fifties, who had followed Xia Changwei from the old family mansion, chatting quietly by the window nearby. Xia Xianning knew them.
He walked out and asked, “Aunt An, Aunt Rong, what are you talking about?”
Aunt An’s face turned pale, and she suddenly covered her chest. After recognizing Xia Xianning, she let out a sigh of relief: “Young Master, you scared me to death.”
“Aunt An, I’m not trying to scare you, but your voice was too loud. I could hear you.”
Luo Mingbai climbed out the window and landed lightly on the grass outside, saying with a laugh, “What little secret has you two so scared? Tell us.”
With both of them asking, Aunt An couldn’t refuse and sighed, “It’s not a big secret. You’re too young to know. In the past, a bodyguard was stabbed to death in the family. The scene was terrifying, and it caused a huge commotion. They never found the murderer.”
Xia Xianning and Luo Mingbai were both surprised. The Xia family was extraordinary, and such an incident, even if it happened in Third Uncle’s house and not the old mansion, was still unthinkable.
Luo Mingbai said, “With such tight security, how could something like this happen?”
Aunt An lowered her voice, “Indeed. It was a young man. I still remember his name was Hu Weichao.”
He was stabbed directly in the heart and died. His body was found cold in the morning, with blood everywhere.”
Xia Xianning frowned and asked, “An inside job?”
Aunt An said, “They searched everyone in the house, but found nothing. Back then, there were no surveillance cameras or fingerprint evidence to help investigate.”
After Aunt An hurried off to work, Luo Mingbai remembered the name “Hu Weichao” and told Xia Xianning, “I just remembered something. Zhu Linya told me something you didn’t hear. Besides seeing the female ghost, at least half of what she said was a lie.”
Xia Xianning asked, “What did she say?”
Luo Mingbai explained, “First, Zhu Linya said she encountered the female ghost while following Third Uncle, but I believe she was actually following Xia Zheng. You heard Third Uncle earlier – they married so Xia Zheng could have a legitimate status. Zhu Linya enjoys the privileges of being Madam Xia but has no control over his actions. So she had no reason to do this.”
They exchanged a look, and Xia Xianning said, “So Lou Miao impersonated Zhao Meiki to contact Xia Zheng and was followed by Zhu Linya, but she was already dead. We just don’t have enough information to identify this ghost.”
Luo Mingbai said, “Let’s go check the place Zhu Linya mentioned.”
Xia Xianning said, “Let’s eat first.”
After the Xia family’s noon banquet and subsequent events, they drove to the old urban area Zhu Linya and Xia Zheng had visited, arriving in the evening.
Xia Xianning and Luo Yingbai turned their heads simultaneously, discovering a beautiful woman had appeared before them at some point. As she emerged, a cloud drifted by, partially obscuring the moon, and the dim moonlight fell across her face.
She had no shadow beneath her feet.
Luo Yingbai quickly slipped his hand into his pocket, pressing down on several talismans that were about to fly away, and laughed, asking, “Beautiful lady, who exactly are you calling ‘darling’?”
The woman’s gaze swept between the two, seemingly weighing her options. After a moment, she delicately pointed her slender finger at Xia Xianning and said, “Of course, I’m calling my boyfriend.”
Xia Xianning had just finished saying he “wouldn’t give anyone a second glance” when he was suddenly “claimed as a boyfriend,” instantly caught off guard, his expression freezing.
“…” He turned to Luo Yingbai, “I’m not.”
“Hehe,” Luo Yingbai naturally knew he wasn’t, but he was more interested in something else. “May I ask why you didn’t choose me as your boyfriend? Am I not as handsome as him, or is my smile not as sweet?”
The woman laughed, “Don’t be jealous, pretty boy. Your face is just too pale.”
As she spoke, she extended a hand with bright red nails, subtly trying to grab Xia Xianning’s sleeve.
Luo Yingbai laughed in exasperation, blurting out, “Want to test my kidney function?”
After saying this, he heard Xia Xianning cough awkwardly beside him, his survival instinct kicking in as he quickly added, “Even if I wanted to test, I wouldn’t want you to.”
The female ghost’s attention remained fixed on Xia Xianning. The more he remained silent, the more intrigued she became. She reached out to caress his cheek, while a pale pink mist began to envelop his entire body.
She chuckled, continuing Luo Yingbai’s thread, “Pretty boy, don’t be in a hurry. Let me try him first, and then I’ll play with you. Such strong yang energy, your blood must be delicious… Ah!”
Her words were abruptly cut short by a scream as Xia Xianning swept his hand, sending her flying into a large tree nearby.
Xia Xianning said coldly, “Looking to die.”
They walked into a straight and wide alley. Strangely, when they were at the entrance, the alley seemed to be a straight path, with only some ordinary and simple stalls around, nothing out of the ordinary. However, once they entered, they suddenly felt that the space was much larger than they had imagined.
The ghost market would only set up stalls after the sky was completely dark. The high walls on both sides hid the vendors behind the stalls in the shadows, making their appearances indiscernible. In the middle, only ordinary people wandered back and forth, thinking this was a normal night market, relaxed and chatting.
Luo Yingbai and Xia Xianning took a rough look and felt that everything seemed ordinary, but there were indeed quite a few customers coming and going.
Luo Yingbai said to Xia Xianning, “These ghosts are quite business-minded. It seems they’re doing well. But what’s the point of them working hard to come to the human world to make money?”
Before Xia Xianning could answer, he saw a child walking towards them, stumbling. The child was holding a large bouquet of roses, which was so big it blocked his eyes, making his walk a bit unsteady.
Xia Xianning saw him about to step on a stone and reached out to grab his arm, steadying the child who was about to fall.
He let go of his hand and nodded to Luo Yingbai – this child was also a ghost who died young and was quite clumsy.
Luo Yingbai said, “Little friend, you’ll fall walking like this. Hold the flowers lower and watch where you’re going.”
The little ghost steadied himself, looked up, and first saw Xia Xianning who had just helped him. His gaze shifted between the two, and his eyes lit up. He suddenly raised the bouquet and said to Xia Xianning, “Brother, look how handsome this brother is!”
Why don’t you buy him a rose?”
Luo Yingbai: “… Where did you learn that from?”
