“Yes, I am the famous courtesan Yi Pin Hong from Zui Xian Lou! This morning, a girl dressed in men’s clothing came to find me, saying that Meng Jun Wang Ye wanted to make a deal with me,” she explained, handing a document to Dong Fang Yu.
“She made me sign and said to wait for notification. Until tonight, she came again and said Wang Ye had something to invite me for, so I carefully dressed and came to the Wang Fu!”
“What? That despicable girl!” Dong Fang Yu slammed his hand on the table, shattering the teacup. “How dare a famous courtesan listen to a stranger?”
“This!” She pulled out a jade pendant, trembling in fear. “She said this was your personal belonging! I believed her immediately!”
“Damn woman!” He grabbed the pendant and slammed his hand on the table again. No wonder she had acted so intimate with him today; she was just trying to steal his pendant. That girl better not let him catch her, or he would cut her into a thousand pieces.
“Wang Ye, this servant deserves to die! Please calm your anger!” Yi Pin Hong was almost in tears, kneeling on the ground.
“Get up! Tonight’s matter is known only to you and me. If I find out a third person knows, I will make you lose your beautiful appearance forever!” he threatened.
“Yes, this servant understands!” Her legs went weak, barely able to stand, and she slowly supported herself against the doorframe as she walked out.
The narrative continues with Dong Fang Yu ordering his subordinate Li Yuan to find the mysterious girl named Ling Er, who escapes with a group of children to a quiet village and seeks refuge with a kind-hearted farmer’s wife.
“Come on! Quickly come inside with Auntie!” The woman, seeing the children, was especially happy as she hurriedly welcomed them.
“Auntie, I’m sorry to trouble you so late!” Lan Lingling said apologetically.
“What are you talking about, girl? I understand the meaning of repaying kindness! You saved our family from tragedy. If it weren’t for you, Yun’er might have been sold by human traffickers!” The woman became emotional, her eyes welling with tears.
“Auntie, don’t be sad. Yun’er is back now! Do these children have a place to stay?” she asked, glancing around the simple house, hesitant to disturb their lives.
“Yes, yes! Yun’er, quickly take these little brothers and sisters to rest inside!” the woman called.
“Coming! Elder Sister Lingling, you’re here!” A girl who appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen walked out.
She was dressed simply, with a red string in her hair, patches on her sleeves, and no makeup, but her innate beauty was undeniable.
“Mm! Yun’er, how have you been lately?” Lan Lingling stepped forward and held her hand.
“Mm, I’m fine! Elder Sister Lingling, chat with my mother. I’ll take them to sleep!” Yun’er replied.
“Okay!” Watching Yun’er’s back, she felt her nose tingling. Her back was so similar to hers, almost indistinguishable. Could this be Xiaoyue’s previous life?
The wind blew through the sorghum hanging outside, and raindrops hit the roof.
Several children slept peacefully, occasionally turning over. Small hands scratched their noses and then gently settled back down.
Were they dreaming? Would their dreams be as beautiful as they imagined?
Lan Lingling sat beside them, murmuring softly.
“Miss, aren’t you going to sleep?” a woman entered and softly spoke to the absent-minded Lan Lingling.
“Auntie, can Lingling ask you for one thing?” She looked at the woman’s kind face, suddenly reminded of the late dean’s mother, tears welling in her eyes.
This finally allows me to die! Oh, how touching!
She tightly closed her eyes, slowly waiting for death. When she rolled halfway down the mountain, it seemed her head hit something hard, and she passed out.
Oh my!
Ling’er is dead!
“Have you found the whereabouts of that woman?” Dongfang Yu sat in the study, having scarcely slept all night, waiting for news from Li Yuan.
“Your Highness, this subordinate is incompetent and could not find the girl’s location!” Li Yuan had searched diligently but found no trace of her. Within hundreds of miles, no one knew her whereabouts. Returning empty-handed was not an option.
“Have they disappeared from this world? Keep searching. I give you seven days to find them; otherwise, I will kill you all without mercy!” His explosive temper made everyone silent, and they complied.
“Yes!” Li Yuan quickly retreated, frustrated with Wang Yu for making him take the blame alone. What happened to facing difficulties together?
This woman! Playing with me and then leaving!
“Oh! My head! Why is the world so dark? Have I gone to the underworld again? At least I finally died today!” Lan Ling’er covered her head, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the pitch-black scene before her, feeling delighted.
Hmm, not bad. Heaven is quite good to me! Since I’m a new ghost, I’ll visit the neighbors and learn the rules of being a ghost! Becoming a ghost feels wonderful!
She crawled out of the mud pit, her body stiff and covered in mud, preventing her from seeing the road ahead. Being a ghost is difficult. She felt like a robot trying to walk and laughed foolishly, but then her face hurt. Lying down all day made her body numb, and she could barely stand. Since no one could see her, crawling seemed fine, though it was embarrassing.
There’s light ahead! She crawled over slowly, wondering if this was a thousand-year-old ghost’s house, given its wealth. It looked like a villa, definitely the richest in the ghost world. She felt she needed to curry favor to establish herself in this realm.
Guided by moonlight, she approached the mountain villa, looking more terrifying than a ghost.
“Knock knock!” She remained polite, learning from the ancient ghost to avoid being seen as uncultured.
“Oh my! A ghost!” The old man who opened the door was so scared he dropped his broom and fainted.
“Heavens, how strange! Even as a ghost, I scare someone to death!” Watching the fainted man, she walked in sideways.
Wow!
Just as she expected, this ghost house is wealthy—such a big, clean house! Even a modern fountain; how beautiful!
“Why? Why are there so many whys? You little brat, the account book lady hasn’t settled with you yet, and you’ve already run away! Hmph! I will definitely avenge this grudge!” Even in death, she sought revenge, having done many good deeds in life that Heaven supported.
“Stop right there! If you take one more step, don’t blame me for being unreasonable!” Luo Ran gripped his sword, pointing it at Lan Ling’er. She was not afraid and pressed forward.
“Brother, be careful! Ah Fu, go!” Yan Ran commanded the large wolf dog beside her. The dog immediately ran toward Lan Ling’er.
“What is this? So dark! Ah! A dog! Let me go!” Before she could react, the wolf dog pinned her down, staring at her with its dog eyes.
“Yan Ran, are you okay?” Luo Ran asked softly, wiping sweat from his face as he approached her.
“I’m fine! Brother, what should we do now? I heard that hot oil can eliminate ghosts completely. Should we ask Uncle Shen to boil a pot of hot oil?” Yan Ran pointed at the ghost, frightened.
“Okay! I’ll call Uncle Shen!”
Luo Ran picked up the sword from the ground and walked towards the kitchen.
What was Ah Fu doing? Yan Ran saw Ah Fu licking the ghost’s face. She was shocked to find the seemingly unconscious Lan Ling’er covered in dry, crumbling mud.
“Brother, come quickly!”
“What are you looking at?” Luo Ran shouted at Lan Ling’er, who had been staring at him for an hour. He couldn’t understand her fascination.
“Am I looking at you? I’m killing you with my eyes!” Lan Ling’er replied with a cold laugh, her hands clenched tightly.
