Chapter 48: Old Grudges Part 1

Shan Rong was the Nether King that Lu Qingzhen and the others often mentioned.

The Four Spirits Shop and the Netherworld maintained a cooperative relationship, and with the shop’s location on the boundary between yin and yang, Shan Rong occasionally dropped by the Four Spirits Shop, using it as a gateway to check on the demons and humans in the yang realm.

Jiang Huaining and Shan Rong could be considered friends. With their long lifespans, they often overlooked the passage of time.

If Zhuang Huaisu had not reminded her, Jiang Huaining might not have realized that the Nether King had no reason to be unaware of a yin god entering the yang realm, and thus she had not yet thought of the fact that Shan Rong had never shown her face.

There was no reason for Shan Rong not to come.

Whether it was the commotion she had caused at the Ghost Market last time or the fact that Ying Zhu had been summoned to the yang realm this time, Shan Rong should have come.

To question her about the Ghost Market incident, or to demand an explanation regarding Ying Zhu.

It absolutely could not be this silent.

Jiang Huaining had carefully calculated and only then realized that it had already been eighteen years since she last saw Shan Rong. This forced Jiang Huaining to speculate on Shan Rong’s attitude toward the Ying Zhu matter—Ying Zhu had said that soul was taken by a little ghost from the Kang Family…

Jiang Huaining felt that the information she had was a bit chaotic, but she had no way to find someone to analyze it with her yet.

They boarded the car heading to Ming Shan Village. Jiang Huaining drove, Yu Ruoyin sat in the passenger seat, and Zhuang Huaisu, Nan He, and the others squeezed into the back seat—that mother-daughter pair had already been taken back into Yu Ruoyin’s Red Jade Fruit.

Zhuang Huaisu happened to sit between the two of them, and the rearview mirror gave Jiang Huaining a clear view of her aged and weathered face. This involuntarily reminded her of that overly young and glamorous visage: “Zhuang Huaisu, when did you meet Ying Zhu?”

The former Zhuang Huaisu had regarded Jiang Huaining with reverence, but now that she knew she was Ying Zhu’s friend, disgust crept uncontrollably into her attitude.

She closed her eyes, unwilling to say a word.

Zhuang Ciyue felt that this would definitely become awkward if it continued, so she gently nudged Zhuang Huaisu’s arm: “Great-aunt, I want to know too. Just tell us.”

Coaxing would be useless.

Zhuang Huaisu was just about to scold her for turning her elbow outward when something suddenly occurred to her.

She abruptly opened her eyes and looked at Jiang Huaining, who was focused on driving: “I’ll tell you about Ying Zhu if you tell me about Ming Shan Village.”

Jiang Huaining did not agree, and Zhuang Huaisu had guessed as much.

If it were something that could be so easily spoken, she would have pried it out of Ying Zhu’s mouth years ago.

“Boss Jiang, something has happened in Ming Shan Village now. What if it’s a repeat of the tragedy?”

Jiang Huaining tapped the brakes, her gaze sharpening slightly: “Impossible.”

She had the right to deny it, and Zhuang Huaisu had the right to continue speculating.

Zhuang Huaisu wanted to keep talking when Yu Ruoyin suddenly said: “Auntie Ning, if Ming Shan Village is very dangerous, wouldn’t knowing more help us assist better?”

The word “no” caught in her throat. What if… She had a thousand reasons to convince herself that burying the truth did not help strengthen her power, yet she harbored a faint hope—what if they could grasp some information from that incident that she had not considered? Then would not Yu Ruoyin’s path to survival be broader?

Jiang Huaining still nodded: “Zhuang Huaisu, you first.”

Zhuang Huaisu did not look at Jiang Huaining again.

She pulled out the bone brush belonging to Ying Zhu and twirled her fingertip around the deep red stain on it: “I met her when I was eighteen. She was called Kang Shuying back then, two years older than me. At that time, she was not the Wheel-Turning King but someone from the Painting Witch Clan. I had never seen a ghost before, so you could say she changed my fate.”

“I met her while traveling in Feng City. I’m sure Boss Jiang knows that the Kang Family’s foundations are mainly in Feng City. That night, I got separated from my friends and ended up at a crossroads, where I ran into her catching a ghost. Her spell happened to land on me—that was the first time I saw a ghost. Actually, Little Ciyue and I have the same fate pattern; we both have innate Fortune Star Fate. It’s hard to see ghosts in a lifetime. If it were not for her, I probably could have lived out my days peacefully.”

“…”

Jiang Huaining fell silent. Although she had never met Kang Shuying, a yin god’s reincarnation talent could not be too poor. The methods of painting yin or painting witches against ghosts and humans differed greatly. If it were not deliberate, Zhuang Huaisu could not have been hit by the spell and seen a ghost.

She realized it, and so did Yu Ruoyin.

Yu Ruoyin had not expected the reincarnated Kang Shuying to be so bored. She turned her head to look at Zhuang Huaisu, only to find that the expression on that face held more nostalgia than hatred.

Zhuang Huaisu’s story continued. She did not hate Kang Shuying for making her see ghosts—for a fearless girl in that era, seeing ghosts was fun, not a disaster. Moreover, Kang Shuying apologized sincerely and said she would take responsibility for Zhuang Huaisu, so Zhuang Huaisu forgave her.

After seeing a malevolent ghost, Zhuang Huaisu’s ghost eye opened. Prolonged exposure to ghosts weakened her body more and more. Sealing the ghost eye could have solved the problem, but the person who kept saying she would take responsibility botched the sealing ritual time and again. Not only did the ghost eye fail to seal, it grew stronger.

A person completely untainted by yin-yang matters now had eyes that pierced through all ghostly things. Not only did her body deteriorate, but she also became coveted by ghosts and people alike.

The eighteen-year-old girl had stumbled into a completely unfamiliar world, constantly hunted and hurt, her body growing weaker. At such a time, there was someone willing to protect her, to confront fellow practitioners and ghosts for her sake, even getting injured repeatedly in the process. It was hard for Zhuang Huaisu not to fall in love with Kang Shuying.

She nearly made Kang Shuying her entire world, willingly offering herself up.

If Kang Shuying’s malice had ended there, given how much Zhuang Huaisu loved her back then, even if the truth came out one day, she might not have blamed her.

Unfortunately, Kang Shuying’s malice knew no bounds.

Zhuang Huaisu’s body showed no improvement, and her progress in yin-yang arts stalled. Kang Shuying scoured the Painting Witch Clan’s books and finally found a method: make her a Painting Yin Master. Then, even without talent for spells, she could rely on ghostly power to cultivate. As long as the ghost was strong enough, all problems would resolve themselves.

But finding a ghost strong enough to suppress a top-tier ghost eye was not easy. She watched Kang Shuying bustle about for her sake every day, getting injured repeatedly, and it tore at her heart.

She desperately wished to be of some use. That was when Wheel-Turning King Ying Zhu appeared.

Ying Zhu was willing to lend her power, on the condition that she become her ghost wife.

Of course Zhuang Huaisu refused. She would rather endure the bone-chilling cold of yin energy, let her bones shatter inch by inch in death, than betray her feelings for Kang Shuying.

But Kang Shuying begged her to agree to Ying Zhu: “Huaisu, I just want you alive.”

At the time, she only felt her deep affection and devotion, with no way to repay it.

Not to mention enduring the agony for her—even carving out flesh and bone would have been fine.

Zhuang Huaisu still did not agree to Ying Zhu, but Ying Zhu did not let her go. She harassed her relentlessly, tempting her to sign the contract.

She was tempted because the pain was too much.

Without yin-yang power to suppress it, the ghost eye’s yin energy seeped into her bones and every organ. Even exhaling brought white frost, and any bump to her limbs shattered them completely. That pain and torment were unimaginable in a normal lifetime—Ying Zhu had the power to suppress it for her.

She went from loathing Ying Zhu’s appearances to longing for them.

Zhuang Huaisu considered suicide, but she could not bear to part with Kang Shuying’s whispers in her ear, her eyes full of tenderness, or her repeated pleas: “Huaisu, you have to stay alive.”

She endured like this for three years.

That was the fourth year since she met Kang Shuying.

Kang Shuying had a little niece named Kang Shuming—the name was chosen by Kang Shuying herself, who said the character “Shu” sounded nice and looked good.

It was hard for Zhuang Huaisu not to like Kang Shuming.