Chapter 33: Coffin Part 2

They were all exquisite crafts, making her hands seem dull by comparison.

Yu Ruoyin did not understand why she had so many strange thoughts. Her heart and mind seemed to have serious problems, ready to bury herself in the dust at any moment, only to become obsessive the next. For instance, she had just been doubting herself, but in the next instant, she had picked up the Cow Hair Brush.

Before the brush could touch down, Yu Ruoyin also took out a knife.

The book said that Painting Witches with insufficient talent, unable to mobilize their own spiritual power, could mix blood into Cloud Zither Sand to compensate.

Yu Ruoyin was not sure if her body, which relied on Jiang Huaining’s power to maintain a facade of vitality, could be used this way, but she had no better method. She simply cut open her palm, letting a large amount of blood surge into the Cloud Zither Sand. The moon-white Cloud Zither Sand, infused with her blood, did not turn red but slowly became pale green.

This reminded Yu Ruoyin of that mass of green mist. She had not even started drawing, yet she felt half successful already.

With her mindset settled, the brush strokes became much smoother.

The first sheet failed.

The second sheet failed.

The third still failed…

Yu Ruoyin grew more hasty the more she drew, and the more hasty she became, the more failures she had.

It was not until the seventh sheet that Yu Ruoyin could completely copy the pattern from the book in one go.

After finishing the tenth sheet, pale green chains appeared along the edge of the Moonlight Paper. Though only a small segment, this was the sign of a successful Borrow Yin Talisman.

The book said that Daoist talisman paper levels were determined by Daoist patterns—the more patterns, the stronger the talisman. For Painting Witches, chains appeared along the edges upon success; the longer the chains, the stronger the talisman power. Top Painting Witches’ chain marks would encircle the entire edge of the talisman paper. Yu Ruoyin did not hope to become that powerful all at once; as long as it succeeded and proved she could do Painting Witch arts, that was enough.

After all, she was a dead person now; learning Daoist arts was impossible.

Only Painting Witch arts, and she could only be a Painting Witch.

Yu Ruoyin breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly continued drawing talismans. When she completed the seventh Borrow Yin Talisman, the chains became two small segments.

She wanted to continue, but suddenly, shadows flickered before her eyes, making her nearly faint.

Her body had reached its limit.

Yu Ruoyin quickly packed away the unfinished Moonlight Paper and Cloud Zither Sand. Three hours had passed since she started drawing talismans; it was now six-thirty in the evening.

Yu Ruoyin walked to the bedside and lay down next to Jiang Huaining again.

Only after smelling the fragrance on her body did her mood improve a bit.

She very much wanted to just fall asleep leaning against Jiang Huaining like this, but reason told her she should go see Nan He now.

If she stayed still in the room too long, Zhuang Ciyue would worry too.

‘Pretty wife…’ Yu Ruoyin had many things she wanted to say to Jiang Huaining, but the words reached her lips and she held them back.

Yu Ruoyin was afraid.

Afraid that the comatose Jiang Huaining could still hear her speak.

Because she wanted Jiang Huaining to wait, wait until she grew a little stronger, until she became better than the girl from those suddenly appearing memories. Then perhaps she would have the courage to honestly tell her that she had indeed seen some of Jiang Huaining’s past at Lian Zhen’s.

It was contradictory.

The things she wanted to tell Jiang Huaining were precisely the ones she least wanted her to hear.

Yu Ruoyin found a black crossbody bag, packed the drawn talisman paper inside, and hung it on herself. Only then did she feel a bit of the reality of her own growth.

She sighed softly and prepared to go find Nan He. Before she could leave the room, she suddenly remembered what Jiang Huaining had said and turned back.

Yu Ruoyin sat on the edge of the bed and quietly gazed at Jiang Huaining’s sleeping face.

The room was so quiet that only faint breathing could be heard. She had already decided to go to Yin City before Jiang Huaining woke up, so she had to decide whether to bring her or not. She might not make it back before Jiang Huaining woke, and she did not want to leave the comatose Jiang Huaining here.

Xia Yu was not a reliable employee; she might take the chance to bully Jiang Huaining.

Yu Ruoyin thought haphazardly, but her body made the decision faster than her mind.

She lifted Jiang Huaining out from under the covers, dressed her neatly, and even specially rummaged out several sets of clothes to put into the Red Jade Fruit. Then she carried her downstairs on her back.

‘Pretty wife, you definitely wouldn’t want to be separated from me either.’

She muttered to herself as she went downstairs, carefully carrying Jiang Huaining on her back.

Yu Ruoyin appeared latest. Lu Qingzhen had already tidied the counter early and was preparing to open on time.

Xia Yu’s injuries were about as severe as Jiang Huaining’s, but she had not fallen unconscious. At this moment, she lay on the sofa drinking, with Nan He feeding her alcohol beside her. Opposite them was Zhuang Ciyue, who kept rolling her eyes, and next to Zhuang Ciyue was the already awake Zhuang Huaisu.

Lu Qingzhen was the first to notice her and the Jiang Huaining on her back.

She tossed aside the rag and floated in front of Yu Ruoyin, looking nervously at the still-sleeping Jiang Huaining, ‘Xiao Yu classmate, you… why did you carry Boss Jiang downstairs?’

‘To Yin City.’

‘What?’ Lu Qingzhen rubbed her ears hard before daring to confirm she had not misheard, ‘You’re going to carry Boss Jiang to Yin City? You… you’re such a coward? Tossing around a comatose person like this, how can you not feel sorry for Boss Jiang at all? I’ve really misjudged you. You’re such an ungrateful girl, you…’

She exploded like a firecracker, her nonstop chatter full of accusations against Yu Ruoyin, drawing everyone’s attention.

Zhuang Ciyue immediately ran over and stood in front of Yu Ruoyin, pointing at Lu Qingzhen, ‘Hey, can you speak politely? How is our Xiao Yu ungrateful?’

“Zhuang Ciyue.” Lu Qingzhen pointed at the unconscious Jiang Huaining. “Look at Boss Jiang and say it again.”

“Looking while saying is just looking while saying.” Zhuang Ciyue grumbled. She had just turned her gaze to Jiang Huaining when she suddenly changed her tune. “Xiao Yu, we can just go to Yin City. Boss Jiang… Boss Jiang is still unconscious. It won’t be convenient for you to take her along…”

She offered earnest persuasion, but Yu Ruoyin heard it clearly yet couldn’t take it in. “No.”

Yu Ruoyin refused resolutely. Nan He set down her wine bottle. “I’m not in a hurry. Otherwise, let’s not go first.”

Nan He was a good spirit and didn’t want to trouble those helping her.

But Lu Qingzhen and Yu Ruoyin were in perfect sync on this. They refused her in unison. “No!”

Neither wanted Jiang Huaining to worry about Nan He’s matter anymore. This timing was perfect.

Searching for someone wasn’t like fighting a jade puppet, after all.

Lu Qingzhen reached out her hand. “You leave Boss Jiang behind. You take Nan He by yourself!”

“No.”

Yu Ruoyin took a step back, dodging Lu Qingzhen’s outstretched hand.

Lu Qingzhen found it hard not to get angry. “You brat, you!”

Her temper hadn’t flared yet when Xia Yu’s weak voice drifted over. “Let her take Jiang Huaining along. Otherwise, when Jiang Huaining wakes up and doesn’t see anyone, she might go mad again. Who she hits next might not be me—it could be you… Heh.”

Xia Yu’s voice sounded feeble, but her nasty attitude was as vicious as ever.

Lu Qingzhen had already recovered. Her respect for Jiang Huaining had returned in full. Hearing Xia Yu mention Jiang Huaining, she unhesitatingly leaned over and jabbed hard at Xia Yu’s wound. “Boss Jiang hit you because you’re so wicked! Scheming, calculating against me, against Lian Zhen, and even against the little girl. I’m different from you. My heart is with Boss Jiang.”

“Heh.” Xia Yu broke out in cold sweat from the pain but didn’t yield on her tongue. “Too bad Boss Jiang’s heart is with that girl.”

Lu Qingzhen smacked Xia Yu hard. “You just reminded me. Boss Jiang really does have to go with the little girl. But I don’t want to go to Yin City at all. The Four Spirits Shop still needs someone watching… Yin City shouldn’t be too dangerous. That spirit is pretty strong, just looks a bit dumb. Even after the spirit contract was undone, she doesn’t seem much better…”

She analyzed seriously, then suddenly asked Zhuang Ciyue. “Hey, are you going too?”