Chapter 52: Way Too Hate-Inducing Part 2

Zhang Qingshui said, “My Little Aunt and Uncle Huang had a free love marriage. The Huang Family wasn’t well-off back then, and there was some unpleasantness when they came to propose, which made my Grandpa and Grandma strongly oppose the marriage. My Little Aunt had a fiery, stubborn temperament and always had the final say—she married herself off! It coincided with the reform and opening-up era, so she went south with Uncle Huang. In a rage, my grandfather expelled her from the family and struck her from the genealogy.” She cradled her water cup, took a slow sip, then continued, “My father stayed in touch with my Little Aunt. Over a dozen years ago, while handling business in the south, he brought Little Qi back home on his return. She was only eight then, clever and lively, playful and cute, like a porcelain doll. She smiled shyly at everyone, with a sweet mouth that won everyone over.” She rambled on about how adorable Huang Qi had been as a child.

Wang Ya’s summary was that little Huang Qi had been beloved by all people and flowers alike. She thought of her own miserable childhood—outwardly calm and unruffled, but inwardly shedding tears of sorrow for herself. Then, considering Huang Qi’s current blindness while her own eyesight was sharper than ever, she felt relieved. She asked Zhang Qingshui, “So how did you blind Huang Qi’s eyes? Jealous that she stole your spotlight?” She said this purely to needle Zhang Qingshui. From how Zhang Qingshui gushed about little Huang Qi’s likability, it was clear she adored her—enough that Wang Ya had mistaken them for close friends.

Zhang Qingshui’s autumn-water eyes slanted toward Wang Ya as she said, “Back then, Little Qi and I were inseparable; I liked taking her everywhere with me.”

Wang Ya thought, You two are still glued together all the time now.

Zhang Qingshui took several more sips of water, fell silent for a moment, then said, “I was twelve that year, the Legitimate Eldest Daughter and a key cultivation target in the family. I’d always excelled over the other children and smugly thought myself superior. One midnight during a full moon, I took Little Qi along to show off, but I accidentally released a sealed Ghost Fiend. I couldn’t subdue it, and Little Qi, Xiantian Spirit Medium and young, was possessed immediately. Seeing things go south, I abandoned her and ran. The Ghost Fiend possessed Little Qi and fled outside, where the night patrol spotted her, alerting the family elders. It took great effort to subdue the Yin Fiend and force it out of Little Qi. You know how dangerous possession by evil spirits is—they directly seize the host’s life essence. That Yin Fiend battled my father and grandfather inside Little Qi for over three hours, damaging her foundations. Little Qi lay in bed for three years before she could get up, and she was nearly ruined. She had great Xiantian potential, but…” Tears welled up as Zhang Qingshui bit her lip and shook her head gently. “That disaster… cut off her path to cultivation. Her eyes were damaged in that incident too—optic nerve injury. Within a few years, she was completely blind…”

Wang Ya listened quietly, saying nothing inwardly while tossing three words at Zhang Qingshui: Brat!

Zhang Qingshui sat in the rattan chair, sipping her water bit by bit until the cup was empty. Then, gripping the cup, she continued, “Over these years, we’ve tried every method to treat her.”

Wang Ya asked, “What do you mean by ‘save her life’? She was saved back then and has been raised for so many years now. Even with eye damage, there shouldn’t be a life threat anymore, right?” Huang Qi seemed full of energy, not like someone short-lived. But recalling how Zhang Qingshui and Old Tang had protected Wang Ya, she suddenly felt it wasn’t that simple.

Zhang Qingshui shook her head. “At first, we thought so too. But over time, we found that she extremely attracts yin evil. Any ghost zeroes in on her first. Yin evil things see her like a mortal enemy.”

Wang Ya’s eyes turned as she asked, “Either her constitution innately attracts yin evils, or that Yin Fiend cursed her.” Huang Qi’s innate Spirit Medium trait made her prone to such things, but ghosts wanting to kill her on sight was abnormal. Wang Ya asked, “Does Huang Qi have both?”

“My grandfather had an Expert examine her, saying that without removing the yin poison and dissolving the ghost curse in her body, she won’t live past thirty. That Expert provided a salvation method, and we’ve gathered nearly everything needed over the years, but we need one key medicine catalyst.”

Wang Ya said, “Ghost Pill?”

Zhang Qingshui said, “Corpse Dan would work too. But both are hard to find. Yin evil things forming inner dans means they’ve become demons or spirits, requiring at least a century of cultivation and great fortune. Encountering Ghost Granny was heaven-sent luck. But we failed. Now that Ghost Granny’s back with the Ghost Family under their protection, getting her Ghost Pill is even harder.”

Wang Ya drew out a long “Oh,” saying, “Zhang Qingshui, do you remember the Ink Jade Coffin at the center of the Myriad Coffins Array?”

Zhang Qingshui said, “I do. Why?”

Wang Ya said, “The thing that jumped out of the Ink Jade Coffin had a Corpse Dan formed in its body.”

Zhang Qingshui cried out in delight, “Really? You have it?” She excitedly grabbed Wang Ya’s hand, saying, “Wang Ya, name your price! How much money? Or any conditions—we can negotiate!” Her hand trembled with agitation.

Wang Ya calmly glanced at the hand gripped tightly by Zhang Qingshui and said, “I nearly got slapped to death by that thing. The Flower Demon couldn’t stand by, rushed out, slapped it to death, and swallowed the Corpse Dan along the way.”

Zhang Qingshui froze like a wooden statue, unmoving for at least a minute, not even blinking, as if acupointed. After a long while, she slowly uttered four words: “You’re teasing me?”