Chapter 36 Part 2

“You actually believe me.” Wu Yinyu’s smile instantly vanished. “You’ve heard so much from Mom, and you still dare to believe me? What if I’m not human?”

“You are,” Wu Wanying said, gazing at her. “I won’t tell anyone the other matters.”

“So be it.” Wu Yinyu turned her head toward the wall. The next room over, and the one beyond that, was Song Youzhi’s room. She said, “Mom finally came back. Let her live here with peace of mind. I’ll be gone for a while. Don’t worry.”

Having lived together for so many years, how could Wu Wanying not understand Wu Yinyu’s temperament? Once she made a decision, she would never take it back. He could only say, “Call if anything happens.”

Wu Yinyu finished packing her suitcase, left her room, and was just about to carry it downstairs when she suddenly heard a “click.” Following the sound, she turned her head and saw Song Youzhi walking out of her room.

Song Youzhi’s gaze fixed on the suitcase in her hand. After a long silence, she asked, “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah,” Wu Yinyu replied.

Song Youzhi’s pale lips opened and closed as she stammered, “You… wait a moment. Wanying, come here.”

Wu Wanying didn’t understand her intention but still walked over. Before turning, he shot a meaningful glance at Wu Yinyu, signaling her to wait a bit.

Wu Yinyu could only sit on her suitcase and wait. She waited five minutes but no one came. She desperately wanted to bite that agate cigarette holder, but the pipe had been packed into her suitcase. Her mouth feeling idle, she went downstairs and grabbed a mint candy instead.

After a while, footsteps finally echoed on the stairs, but only Wu Wanying came down.

Wu Wanying held a long box in his hands, its contents unknown.

Wu Yinyu sat on the sofa, propping up her chin, not looking very interested. “What’s this?”

“Unclear,” Wu Wanying handed it over, his expression full of shock and suspicion. “Mom said she took it from the Forbidden Chamber. She told me to give it to you. She said… it’s yours.”

Taken from the Forbidden Chamber? It must be… that thing that had been tugging at her heart so fiercely.

But regarding this long box, Wu Yinyu had absolutely no memory of it. She simply unwound the cord and opened the lid to take a look.

Lying inside the box was an antique hand-held Prayer Wheel, painted with ink-wash landscapes. The pendant and handle were both made of black gemstone, quite unlike ordinary prayer wheels.

Wu Yinyu flicked the black gemstone pendant, her tightly furrowed brow not easing. Puzzled, she asked, “Mine?”

“She said this was something you inexplicably played with one day while you were still in swaddling clothes. No one knows where it came from.” Wu Wanying held back, then, after gauging Wu Yinyu’s expression, continued, “She also said… this prayer wheel seems to be getting heavier and heavier. She doesn’t know if it…”

“Hmm?” Wu Yinyu picked it up and weighed it. It did have some heft.

“Swallowed something,” Wu Wanying’s expression was complex.

Wu Yinyu had been about to give it a couple of spins. Upon hearing this, she paused, quickly put the item back in the box, and stood up. “Nothing else?”

“Nothing else,” Wu Wanying said. He was upset and tugged at his tightened collar. Finally, he changed his mind and revealed everything. “Yes, there is. After you left, Mom wanted to tell the other four Gates about the events of twenty-three years ago. I’ll stop her. Otherwise, it’ll cause you a lot of trouble.”

“Let her tell them,” Wu Yinyu waved dismissively and walked out, dragging her suitcase. “The reason she didn’t speak before was probably because I hadn’t taken the initiative to leave. That woman from twenty-three years ago must have placed some curse on her as a threat.”

A thousand words were lodged in Wu Wanying’s throat, but he only managed to say, “Take care of yourself.”

Wu Yinyu looked back with a wry smile, “Of course I will.”

Leaving suddenly, it was hard to find a place to go on short notice. Wu Yinyu had no choice but to drive and find a hotel for a temporary stay.

It was only the moment she received the room card that she felt a twinge of sadness. Though she’d had a premonition that she wouldn’t stay long at the Wu family home, it was still a place she’d lived for twenty years. How could she let go that easily?

She had considered asking someone to find a new apartment, but decided against it. If Song Youzhi told the other four Gates what happened, the four Gates would surely act. She wasn’t suited to settle down in one place.

Fortunately, the hotel room was fairly spacious. The incense inside wasn’t her favorite, but it wasn’t unpleasant either.

Wu Yinyu opened her suitcase to air it out. She sat for a while before taking her clothes out to hang. After organizing her things, she was utterly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to lie on the bed, motionless.

The more she thought about it, the more restless she felt. She rummaged out her pipe and only then remembered she’d forgotten to bring her usual matches.

Frustrated, she set the pipe aside, unwilling to even touch it.

The Wu Family Old Residence was already large. Whenever Wu Yinyu was there before, she would either play some music or leave the television on. Now, with Song Youzhi staying in her room and Wu Qixing silent, only Wu Wanying sat alone in the living room, making the place seem exceptionally lonely.

Wu Wanying pulled open a drawer and saw the incense sticks, mirror, and some copper coins and paper money Wu Yinyu had left inside.

Since childhood, Wu Yinyu had the habit of leaving things lying around. She’d been scolded for it countless times but never listened. Later, when only the two siblings lived in the old residence, Wu Wanying just let her be.

When she opened the door, Aunt Dong was startled. Looking up, she saw talismans and red strings covering the ceiling, with copper coins scattered all over the floor. She wasn’t even sure if she should step inside.

She stood frozen outside the door for a long moment. Only after Wu Wanying called her did she dare enter the house.

Inside, Aunt Dong asked quietly, “Has the Young Miss gone out?”

Wu Wanying was silent for a moment before answering, “Yeah, went out.”

“Then how many portions should I prepare for dinner? Are the masters from the Lu and Feng families still eating here?” Aunt Dong carefully skirted the copper coins on the floor and carefully made her way into the kitchen, carrying her groceries.

“Three portions. Elder Lu and Elder Feng have both gone back,” Wu Wanying paused, then instructed, “Make it light. The Madam is here.”

Aunt Dong was new. Hearing the word “Madam,” she couldn’t react for a moment, wondering if Wu Wanying had brought his fiancée over. But then she thought about it, she’d never heard that Wu Wanying had a fiancée.

“It’s my mother,” Wu Wanying explained specifically.

Aunt Dong’s face lit up with understanding. She quickly asked, “What flavors does the Madam prefer?”

“Just keep it light,” Wu Wanying said.

Footsteps sounded from upstairs. Song Youzhi had come out of her room. She walked slowly, as if every step was a hesitation, afraid the house was unclean.

Only when she came downstairs and didn’t see Wu Yinyu did she let out a long sigh of relief, as if her soul had just returned, a glimmer of light finally appearing in her eyes.

Deciding to move back from Jadeite Garden had already pushed Song Youzhi to her limits. Everything she was doing now was like piling firewood on a lit pyre, terrified that the moment all the kindling caught fire, it wouldn’t just burn her to a skeleton, but would also doom the entire Wu family.

To her, that woman twenty-three years ago was a malevolent ghost, an evil devil. And Wu Yinyu, the child entrusted to them, was no less formidable than that woman.

Song Youzhi held the railing as she descended the stairs, then sank heavily onto the sofa. Turning her head, she forced a smile at Wu Wanying and said, “I’ve arranged to meet Elder Lu and Elder Feng tonight at eight. I’ve also contacted that new Family Head of the Yu family.”

Wu Wanying knew Song Youzhi wasn’t just talking, but he hadn’t expected her to be this eager. He picked up the small wastebasket from the table and held it out to her. “Mom, look.”

Song Youzhi glanced down and saw a crumpled ball of talisman paper inside the basket, still bearing teeth marks.

It had clearly been chewed into a ball. The biting had been particularly forceful to leave such imprints.

Song Youzhi’s heart lurched. The smile on her face faded as she quietly looked at Wu Wanying.

Wu Wanying put the basket down and pressed his hands to his knees. He suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, unable to draw a straight breath. “Yinyu chewed up your talisman and spat it into the wastebasket. She is not a malevolent ghost, nor is she possessed by an evil entity.”

Song Youzhi pursed her lips and looked at him for a long time. Neither angry nor discouraged, she merely said, “Your father and I tried these very methods on that woman back then. Not one worked. But you also know, cameras couldn’t even capture that woman’s image. She wasn’t human. The infant she brought… can’t be human either.”

“Want to see a photo of Yinyu?” Wu Wanying asked. “She’s different from that woman.”

Song Youzhi held her forehead, a headache making her brow furrow tightly. “You don’t understand. She is definitely not human. You’ve seen the genealogy book in the Forbidden Chamber too. Truth is, even if she’s an adopted daughter, there are methods to write the name onto it. It’s just… more troublesome.”

Her eyes were filled with fear as she spoke, “I know you want to ask why we didn’t write it. Was it because we just wouldn’t? No! It’s because the Yin-Yang Residence doesn’t allow her name!”

Wu Wanying was stunned.

It was just past eight in the evening. Lu Dongqing and Feng Pengqi arrived one after another. Even the current Liu family had sent someone, though it was only an old helper who had served the Liu family for decades.

Song Youzhi had prepared tea, fully ready to confess the matter of the “adopted daughter” to the other four Gates. Even now, she still believed the disappearances among the Five Gates were related to Wu Yinyu. She didn’t want the situation to escalate further. If things continued like this, even if she fled to the Two-World Sea, she’d have no peace of mind for her Rebirth.

Lu Dongqing, Feng Pengqi, and the old man named Ke Ruihua were all seated. Only the Yu Family Head had yet to arrive.

Song Youzhi had never met the new Yu Family Head. She specifically went outside to the gate to wait for them. No matter how Wu Wanying tried to persuade her to go back, she refused and insisted on standing outside in the wind.

Distant headlights approached. Song Youzhi assumed it was Boss Yu arriving and quickly pressed the remote to open the courtyard’s iron gate.

The car drove in. After parking and the engine fell silent, a woman in a long dress stepped out.

Song Youzhi had long heard of the Yu family’s young miss, but had never met her in all these years. Just as she was about to go greet her, her gaze suddenly fell on a piece of jade tied at the other woman’s waist.

A red as vivid as a cockscomb, redder than cinnabar.

Song Youzhi froze, unable to move.

Far away at the hotel, Wu Yinyu knew nothing of this meeting of the Five Gates. She had specially asked a hotel staff member to buy her a box of matches and was now lying idly on the bed, toying with the green agate cigarette holder in her mouth.

The pipe tobacco had already burned to ash, and she was too lazy to pack more. Of the book spread open on the bed, not a single word could actually enter her eyes.

Wu Yinyu lay there, feeling utterly listless. She decided to take the prayer wheel out of the long box again to examine it.

The script on it wasn’t Tibetan at all. She had specifically searched for Tibetan script and compared them; there wasn’t the slightest resemblance. Instead, it was somewhat similar to what she’d seen in the Wu Family Basement. She had even taken pictures with her phone that time, but unfortunately, the images captured had been altered.

For such a small hand-held prayer wheel, it was indeed absurdly heavy. The inside of the cylinder was clearly empty and could even produce a clinking sound when tapped. How could it be this heavy?

Unable to find a mechanism to open it anywhere, Wu Yinyu’s interest waned. Just as she was about to put the object away, a cry suddenly sounded in her ears!

“Save me!”

Wu Yinyu froze and stared fixedly at the prayer wheel in her hand.

If she hadn’t misheard, the sound had come from inside it.