Chapter 27 Part 2

The security guard hastily agreed, then muttered, “But if the Madam…”

“It’s fine, just deny it,” Wu Yinyu smiled, her eyes curving gently and affectionately.

Before leaving, Wu Yinyu fished out the two photos that had been kicked under the table by Song Youzhi, stuffed them back into the envelope, and took them with her.

Regarding her origins, Wu Yinyu had actually entertained many theories, but she had never imagined that she… was an orphan entrusted to the Wu family by a ghost.

How powerful must that female ghost have been to warrant suppression by an entire spirit hall—and even that hadn’t been enough? Wu Qiyu and Song Youzhi must have been terrified out of their wits, which was why they hadn’t dared to mistreat her all these years.

Arriving back at the Wu residence, Wu Yinyu found herself unwilling to get out of the car for a moment. The place she had lived for over twenty years wasn’t her home after all. The thought was somewhat laughable.

Her hands and feet suddenly started aching again, the pain so severe she could barely breathe. She hurriedly opened all the car windows and pinched a bit of tobacco into the bowl of her pipe.

Wu Yinyu leaned on the car window, gazing towards the Shrine Hall, wondering what had happened to the child Song Youzhi had been carrying back then. Surely it couldn’t have been miscarried because of her?

Yu Zezhi’s call came suddenly. The moment the ringtone sounded, she was startled into a violent coughing fit from the smoke.

Coughing, Wu Yinyu answered the phone. Hoarsely, she said, “Why is Boss Yu calling at this hour? Did you miss the sound of my voice?”

“Hm?”

“Tell me, is there a new discovery?” Wu Yinyu corrected herself.

“No new discovery, but Lu Beicheng has returned from the hospital.”

Wu Yinyu let out a cold laugh, the hairs on her body still standing on end, especially when thinking about being an orphan entrusted by a ghostly entity.

Before today, no matter how extraordinary her talent was, she had never doubted her own identity. But now, she couldn’t help but wonder—she couldn’t possibly be not human either, could she?

Now that would be truly laughable.

“Miss Wu, you’re spacing out again,” Yu Zezhi said.

“Sorry, I was thinking about you, so I’m a bit distracted.” Now that things were out in the open, Wu Yinyu was very direct. She laughed softly before asking slowly, “Lu Second’s eyes are better?”

“I heard they are,” Yu Zezhi said without much emotion. “I also heard he wants to perform the Fate Altering Spirit Writing for Elder Lu, but Elder Lu isn’t willing yet.”

“People die from it, how could Elder Lu agree? But this is something Lu Second excels at.” Wu Yinyu finally pulled her car into the garage.

The garage was dim. She had turned on her headlights when entering. The moment she turned them off and killed the engine, a large mass of black shadow seemed to stick to the wall in front of the car.

Wu Yinyu froze. She restarted the car and switched on the high beams with a click.

That wall was brightly illuminated by the headlights; there was no black shadow anywhere.

On the phone, Yu Zezhi asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just seeing things.” Wu Yinyu let out a breath of relief and turned the car off again.

“Will you go watch the Planchette Divination?” Yu Zezhi asked again.

Before this evening, Wu Yinyu felt she definitely would have gone. But now she wasn’t so sure. Forget about luring that thing out; if she truly weren’t human, and that ancient method caused her true form to emerge, she’d likely be captured on the spot by the Four Great Gates.

“Depends on the situation. My health hasn’t been good lately. When one is unwell, it’s best to avoid things if possible, don’t you think?” Wu Yinyu said.

“That’s true.”

Wu Yinyu didn’t enter the main building. She turned around and headed towards the Shrine Hall, her heart pounding with fear yet forcing herself to appear fearless. She asked, “Is Suhan alright? She wasn’t frightened at the Lu family’s, was she?”

“She’s fine.” Yu Zezhi paused briefly, then added, “But from what I see of Elder Lu’s intention, he seems to want you to initiate the ritual and preside over it.”

The Fate Altering Spirit Writing was a technique for summoning ghostly evils and evil spirits to possess a person. It required someone to preside over it, someone to handle any accidents and wrap things up if something went wrong during the ritual.

And the initiator of the ritual and the presiding overseer had to be the same person. Initiating the ritual was like building a bridge, making it easier for the spirit writer to communicate and connect their spirit with the summoned entity.

Wu Yinyu stopped outside the Shrine Hall, the corner of her lips curving up. “Is the Lu family so short on people now? They looked for me to chant scriptures, and now they want me to initiate the ritual.”

“His meaning is that this matter must have the Wu family preside over it,” Yu Zezhi said.

Wu Yinyu pushed open the Shrine Hall door, raising an eyebrow. “Elder Lu didn’t say that before. He was the very first to question the Wu family’s methods.”

By now, the respect in her tone was completely gone. The ending pitch of her words rose, even carrying a hint of contempt.

The person on the other end of the line didn’t speak.

Wu Yinyu laughed. “But that’s all old history. The Wu family has always tried its best to maintain the bonds among the Five Gates. I imagine Elder Lu has come to appreciate that, otherwise he wouldn’t place so much trust in me.”

“What is your answer?” Yu Zezhi seemed less interested in the secrets of the Five Gates and didn’t want to get involved.

Wu Yinyu countered, “Does Boss Yu want me to go?”

Having already heard the other express her feelings, Yu Zezhi actually said, “I do,” as if she really stood a chance.

Wu Yinyu deliberated for a long time, then feigned enthusiasm. “I’ll go then, since Boss Yu wants me to. And after all, it’s Elder Lu’s wish.”

She stepped into the Shrine Hall, tilting her head up to look at the beam. Her eyes immediately landed on that hemp rope.

The ladder hadn’t been moved away yet; it was just sitting there, as if beckoning her to climb.

A coldness pervaded Wu Yinyu’s entire body. She had never felt the Yin energy here so intensely. She turned and walked towards the spirit table, extending a finger to stir the ashes inside the incense burner a few times.

The call wasn’t hung up yet. She said, “Speaking of which, Boss Yu only returned to Wise City recently, yet you’ve already become so familiar with Elder Lu. Elder Lu didn’t discuss it with me himself; he sent you to be his advocate.”

“Not at all. It’s just that having recently taken over as Family Head, there are many things I’m still unfamiliar with. While I was asking Elder Lu about various matters, he happened to mention it in passing,” Yu Zezhi explained coolly.

“Elder Lu mentioned it, and you agreed just like that?” Wu Yinyu lifted her finger to her nose and sniffed. Just as expected, she smelled that foul odor again. “Boss Yu truly has a warm heart.”

“You’re the only one who says that,” Yu Zezhi said flatly.

Wu Yinyu drew out an “Oh,” rubbing the ashes from her fingertip. “It seems everyone else doesn’t understand you as well as I do.”

Yu Zezhi suddenly asked, “Are you busy?”

“Mm.” Wu Yinyu went out to get a cloth, intending to dampen it to wipe the spirit tablets. She replied, “Doing something important.”

She spoke vaguely, so Yu Zezhi simply said, “Then tomorrow evening, we’ll meet at the Lu family’s.”

After hanging up, Wu Yinyu stood quietly for a good while before picking up the rag to go wet it.

She had always felt that Yu Zezhi was that woman from twenty-three years ago. If she were that woman’s biological child… this matter would be absurdly ridiculous.

Probably not biological, right? Would a mother allow her child to flirt with her? Even TV dramas wouldn’t dare write such a script.

Wu Yinyu dampened the rag and returned to the Shrine Hall, meticulously wiping down every spirit tablet on the spirit table.

After wiping the spirit tablets, she went to close the door, even bolting the Shrine Hall’s door latch. She turned back and lit three sticks of incense and a pair of ritual candles.

With everything done, Wu Yinyu casually tossed the rag aside, climbed the ladder to the top, sat down, and gazed at the hemp rope.

According to Song Youzhi, the woman who came twenty-three years ago was already not human when she arrived. If she wasn’t human, then why seek death at the Wu family’s home?

It was said that after a person died, they became a ghost. A ghost that died became a jian. A jian that died became a xi. A xi that died became a yi. What exactly these “jian,” “xi,” and “yi” were was unknown.

[T/N: In Chinese folklore, jian, xi, and yi are the sequential stages of an entity after a ghost ‘dies’].

However, in ancient texts, a “jian” was something even more terrifying than a ghostly evil. No wonder Song Youzhi and Wu Qiyu had been so frightened.

Wu Yinyu slowly stood up and reached for that hemp rope. She tugged forcefully a few times but still couldn’t pull it loose.

In the darkness, she looped the hemp rope around her own neck. Her heart pounded wildly, out of control.

Dust from the rope clung to her hands and neck, but she paid it no mind.

She was consumed with the thought that all she needed was to move her legs off the ladder, and her neck would be tightly constricted, allowing her to experience the suffocation of near death.

Wu Yinyu closed her eyes. The world seemed to spin, and the scene before her eyes changed drastically.

It was the Shrine Hall of twenty-three years ago. The spirit table and ancestral tablets hadn’t yet been placed here. Under the ventilation grate sat a simple iron bed.

The bedding on the iron bed was laid out flat, as if it had never been used. The entire room lacked even a trace of living human presence.

The hemp rope, the rope before her eyes, was stretched very tight, as if someone was currently hanging from it right there.

But the person hanging didn’t struggle, because the hemp rope didn’t sway even once!

Wu Yinyu saw not a single figure, nor could she detect any ghostly evil.

Suddenly, her feet slipped. She fell from the ladder, her body suspended in mid-air. The scene before her shifted again, her divine sense pulled back to the present world.

Wu Yinyu’s blood and energy surged straight to her head. She frantically kicked her legs.

The ladder crashed to the ground with a bang. She had kicked it over!

Someone outside pounded heavily on the door. The housekeeper tried to push it open but couldn’t. She shouted, “Who’s in there? Is that Miss Wu?!”

Wu Yinyu couldn’t make a sound in response. Her vision was darkening, and she was on the verge of losing consciousness.