Two of the dozen or so spots remained empty, which was more or less what Bai Yu had expected.
An entire house full of Fierce Ghosts incapable of controlling their emotions—so who had prepared those offerings? Who cleaned and arranged the house?
True, these ghosts still retained their memories from life and even knew they were ghosts now, but expecting a group of ghosts to handle such tasks was simply unrealistic.
She had initially suspected the man named Zhao Yingcai, but he had already been killed by the Divine Mother of the Tongue. That meant the remaining living person was the key. To conduct the ritual and move with such ease among these Fierce Ghosts, controlling the situation—how could he possibly be simple?
And regarding this person’s identity, Bai Yu had her suspicions.
Barring any surprises, all those talismans in East Village came from his hand.
The idea to bring Zhao Mingyue back was also his. He wanted to use Zhao Mingyue and the Evil God to make some kind of deal.
And since this man could draw talismans and borrow the power of the Divine Mother of the Tongue, it also meant that, in a sense, he was the Divine Representative of the Front Village’s evil god.
Bai Yu had harbored this suspicion from the moment she confirmed that all the talismans in East Village were drawn by the same person.
In short, this person wouldn’t be easy to deal with. Bai Yu suspected that, alone, he could wield the powers of two separate Evil Gods.
“I will handle the longevity celebration,” Zhao Mingyue said after hearing Bai Yu’s analysis, her gaze sweeping over everyone present, trying her best to recall who exactly was missing from the seats.
“But before that, I have some questions for you.”
“Did you have anything to do with my parents’ deaths? The last time I saw them, they were speaking with you!”
“And where is my sister? Give my sister back to me!”
Zhao Mingyue was getting agitated, unable to hold back her words once she started.
“My sister and I never did anything to wrong you! If you wanted to curry favor with the Divine Mother, why not use your own children! Why bully us!”
“Yapping about it day and night, as if the Divine Mother can actually hear your words.”
“But when that old bastard really came asking for your loved ones, why were you afraid!”
“Don’t you call yourselves pious every single day? Hmph, what a load of pious crap!”
“You were just trying to use the power of the Divine Mother, to gain benefits for yourselves that never even existed!”
“If you’re truly that pious, then cut off your own children’s ears and mouths!”
“In my opinion, it’s because you weren’t pious enough that the Divine Mother punished you, turning you into the ghastly things you are now!”
“Since you still retain some sentience and memory, I refuse to believe you can’t see what you’ve become. I refuse to believe you’re truly satisfied with this so-called eternal life!”
“Speak up! Open your wax-sealed eyes wide and tell me: are you satisfied with your eternal life?!”
“In denial, are you? You want me to talk, right? Fine, let me tell you: you are nothing but a pack of loyal dogs! A pack of eternally living dogs who can’t even die, who can never be freed!”
“How would your grandsons and granddaughters, your sons and daughters, feel if they saw you now?”
“When your children call you ‘Grandpa’ or ‘Grandma’ in this state of yours, do you dare to utter a single sound in reply?!”
As it turned out, a foul mouth really could overcome fear. Once Zhao Mingyue started, she couldn’t stop, verbally abusing the old ghosts until they could only stew in their fury, making the light bulbs flicker faster and the chilling wind blow harder.
Truth be told, Zhao Mingyue’s tirade wouldn’t work on ordinary ghosts. But for the ghosts in this room, every word was a critical hit.
As she railed on, Zhao Mingyue felt her confidence growing.
Anyway, Sister Yu had her back. If her words provoked them into a fight, so be it. There was no way Sister Yu would lose to these things!
So even then, Zhao Mingyue wasn’t finished.
She had even communicated mentally with Bai Yu, asking what kind of words to use to provoke them, to make them crack, and then finally give them hope.
And so, guided by Bai Yu’s instruction and her own flair, she continued:
“What’s the matter? Did I hit a nerve?”
“Even as eternally living loyal dogs, you’re still just failures—trodden underfoot in life, and still trodden underfoot in death.”
“Yeah, that’s it. Keep glaring at me with those furious eyes.”
“You’re jealous. You envy me. You’re wondering why I, chosen as the Divine Maiden since childhood, am still a living person, while you have become eternal rotting flesh?”
“I suggest you use the last of your strength to hold onto your sanity… because I can save you!”
“Do you want to become living humans again?!”
Just a few simple words, and the Wax Corpses, the Fierce Ghosts on the verge of exploding, forcibly stopped themselves.
“I grew up here. I imagine you’ve studied me even more than my own parents have. So you can’t possibly not know that I’ve been timid since I was a child. I’m afraid of you.”
“I know your secrets, I’m afraid of you, I’m afraid of this place… So take a guess: why did I come back?”
“Since I dared to come back, and dared to speak to you like this, don’t you find that strange?”
“Let me tell you: I have found a very powerful Deity.”
“She can protect me at all times. With her power, destroying you would be effortless. That’s why I’m not afraid.”
“I came back for a reason. I know you turned into this, and I know it was the doing of a certain cousin of mine.”
“I’m right, aren’t I? He did it.”
“I’ll tell you something else: I have a way to save you.”
“Because you have something I want. As long as you tell me where my sister is, and then help me find her, I will help you find release.”
“No matter what, you’re still my elders, not outsiders.”
“How about this: I’ll save one of you first, to prove the ability of the Deity upon me and give you reason to believe.”
“Who shall it be? You choose among yourselves.”
Having said this, Zhao Mingyue fell silent. The light bulbs in the room no longer flickered as violently, a side-proof that her words had indeed been heard and considered.
Even Bai Yu couldn’t help but ask, “Where did you learn that?”
“Haha, from a novel. The protagonist was a villain; that’s the speech he used to fool people. But it wasn’t all me—you were the one pointing me in the right direction!”
Zhao Mingyue also felt her speech was a bit too outrageous and cringey; it was utterly embarrassing, no doubt about it.
But for the sake of her sister’s whereabouts, she endured it!
Her sister was her last remaining family… well, her last remaining family from before.
Now she had Bai Yu by her side. But that didn’t mean that having Bai Yu meant she stopped missing her sister.
After all, a sister and someone like Bai Yu were different.
The bonds between family and other relationships just weren’t the same, right?
Bai Yu was silent for a moment. “Your decision was correct. These ghosts are muddled and can’t distinguish truth from lies. This might actually work.”
