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Yun Pianpian committed suicide in prison, and Young Master Ma dreamt of a ghostly face. When he woke up, he heard the sound of water splashing outside in the courtyard. He got up, lit a candle, and ordered his servant to check it out.
The servant, still bleary-eyed, opened the bedroom door and rubbed his eyes as he looked into the courtyard. In the moonlight, he saw a woman's silhouette standing naked under the Crabapple Tree. Confused, he let out a soft "hmm" and was about to report back to his master when the woman suddenly turned around and gave him a strange smile.
The servant was frozen in fear; he had never seen such a terrifying smile or face before and had an ominous feeling that he might have encountered a ghost.
By the time he regained his composure and let out a terrified scream, the woman had vanished. Young Master Ma heard the commotion and rushed out of the bedroom, only to find the servant standing there stiffly, staring blankly at the Crabapple Tree.
Before Young Master Ma could ask what happened, another servant came running in with news that Eldest Sister Yun Yun Pianpian had hanged herself in prison.
First, there was the sighting of a ghost in the courtyard, followed by the news of Yun Pianpian's death, compounded by the earlier wrongful death of his beloved. This left Young Master Ma feeling suffocated with anger. He gathered several servants and stormed over to the Yun Family. Upon learning that the Yun Family was at the County Office to collect Yun Pianpian's body, he led his men to block the entrance of the County Office, even causing a ruckus all the way back to the Yun Family.
Whether Yun Pianpian was truly dead or just pretending was something Young Master Ma questioned deeply. He ordered his servants to investigate. The chosen servant was someone from a martial arts background—brave yet lecherous. Seeing that Yun Pianpian was beautiful, he took advantage of his position to sneak some touches while checking on her. That night, this offending servant murmured incoherently before jumping into the well in the Ma Family Backyard.
“How do you know all this?”
Xing Ruyi asked the young woman.
“Oh, what kind of relationship do you think there is between the Yun Family and the Ma Family? When something bad happens to one, the other naturally comes to gloat. And when something happens to the Ma Family, it certainly won't escape the ears of those from the Yun Family. It wasn't long before everyone in the household knew.”
“And what about that servant? I mean the one who jumped into the well—what happened to him?”
“Of course he died—completely dead.” The young woman said with an unsettling expression: “Actually, it's not just that servant who's unlucky; it's also Young Master Ma.”
“He saw a ghost too?”
“We don't know if he saw a ghost or not, but given what he's done, if my sister were to become a ghost, it would be strange if she let him off easy.” The young woman snorted coldly: “I heard from others that after that servant died, Young Master Ma was so frightened that he started having nightmares. In his dreams, either that maid was being chopped into meat paste by my sister and made into dumplings for him to eat or he saw that servant who jumped into the well carrying an indistinct female ghost on his back. He developed a high fever and became delirious. Even after many doctors were called in by Master Ma with no effect, they eventually had to seek help from a Taoist priest.”
“Oh right. Since Sister Yun wasn't married yet, she couldn't be buried in the Ma Family's Ancestral Tomb. But according to Yun Family customs, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to be buried in their tomb either. So Lord Yun and Yun Madam chose another place for her burial. However, on the night of her funeral preparations, something happened within the Yun Family, leading Lord Yun to suddenly decide to bury her elsewhere. As for where exactly? We don't know; we only know it was done mysteriously without any formal mourning rituals—probably out of embarrassment.”
Xing Ruyi nodded and instructed Li Mao to give some loose silver coins to that woman. Naturally pleased, she dressed up and went home with her man. The Village Chief, looking at the two corpses on the ground, felt uncertain about how to handle them until Chang Tai suggested sending two groups out from the village—one group to report to the County Office, since besides Eldest Sister Yun, another person named Old Wei also died in that well; they couldn't neglect reporting it to the government office. The other group would go inform the Yun Family, asking them to come forward and take care of their unfortunate sister. For now, they could only find a place to store both corpses while waiting for officials from both the government office and the Yun Family.
After some thought, the Village Chief pointed towards the west side of the village: “There’s an old temple over there; it would be best to move these two people there for now.”
Chang Tai had no objections, nor did Xing Ruyi. Seeing that there were no disagreements from them either, the Village Chief arranged for everything accordingly and then invited Chang Tai and Xing Ruyi back to his home for a brief rest.
On their way back, Li Mao cautiously asked Xing Ruyi: “Shopkeeper, did you find that sister Yun looked somewhat familiar?”
"Familiar! Why does it feel familiar?" Xing Ruyi walked while observing the direction of the village, feeling that something was off.
"Does the shopkeeper really not feel it's familiar?" Li Mao pressed further.
"Am I supposed to know that Miss Yun?" Xing Ruyi stopped and looked at Li Mao with some confusion. Usually, although Li Mao liked to talk, this was the first time he had made such a nonsensical remark.
Li Mao sighed and took out a mirror from his bag, handing it to Xing Ruyi.
"My bronze mirror, which that guy gave me for no reason. What? Do you find it heavy and don’t want to hold it?"
Li Mao shook his head, held the mirror upright, and placed it in front of Xing Ruyi's face. "Does the shopkeeper really not think that Miss Yun looks familiar?"
Xing Ruyi looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head in confusion.
"Doesn't Mother think that Miss Yun resembles you a bit?" Yin Yuan couldn't hold back any longer and reminded her.
"Really?" Xing Ruyi examined her features. To be honest, if her features were taken apart, they weren't exquisite enough; even when put together, they were barely acceptable. If Si Niang had an eight out of ten in beauty, she could barely manage a three, relying on her temperament to make up for the rest. But Miss Yun... Xing Ruyi carefully recalled Miss Yun's appearance; honestly, she hadn't focused on the other person's features earlier, so her memory wasn't vivid.
"Yin Chensi, do I look much like that Miss Yun?"
"Not at all!" The fox spirit replied succinctly.
"Brother Chang? You looked closely at the time; see if that Miss Yun really resembles me."
Chang Tai examined Xing Ruyi's features carefully. "In terms of temperament, there is no resemblance at all, but if we just look at the eyes and brows, there is indeed a slight shadow."
"Father Fox Demon and Uncle Chang are really protective; it's not just a little resemblance but almost five or six points similar. However, Uncle Chang was right about one thing: in terms of temperament, that Miss Yun has no resemblance to you at all, Mother."
"So you and Li Mao didn't return to the Su family but secretly came to this village because you discovered someone in that well who looks very much like me?"
Li Mao nodded eagerly, and Yin Yuan followed with a soft "mm."
"But don't you find it strange?" Xing Ruyi looked at herself in the mirror and asked those beside her. "If I truly resemble that Miss Yun, why did no one mention it when we were at the scene? A corpse dead in a well and a living person standing right in front of them— even if everyone knows these two are not the same person, wouldn't they be curious enough to take a second look?"
"It is indeed a bit strange!" Chang Tai also fell into thought. "Common people would unconsciously look twice if they encountered two similar-looking individuals on the street, yet the villagers here seem unfazed."
"Actually, there's nothing strange about it," the village chief turned back after hearing their discussion and smiled. "It's perfectly normal for trees to have similarities and people to resemble each other. Moreover, everyone's attention was focused on the dead person just now; very few dared to look at a corpse's face. If they didn't dare to look at her face, how could they know whether that Miss Yun resembled this young lady before us?"
"Well, that person has been dead for so long and has been soaking in the well for half that time. Their face must have lost all shape, so how could anyone tell if they resemble someone else? As for that daughter-in-law of the Liu Family, her words can't be fully trusted either. That daughter-in-law cares a lot about appearances; nine and a half out of ten things she says are just for show. Given her temporary maid status at the Yun Family, she may not have really seen Sister Yun, the living one. So it's normal that she wouldn't recognize her."
"I see!" Xing Ruyi exclaimed and asked Yin Yuan, "Does Mother really look a lot like her?"
Yin Yuan extended a hand, "At most, they are about forty to fifty percent similar. But just like the Village Chief and Grandfather, people can often resemble each other; it’s just a matter of eyebrows and eyes."
"That's true. My appearance is quite ordinary; I'm not some stunning beauty, so it's not surprising to encounter someone who looks somewhat like me."
"You don't look ordinary at all!" The fox's protective nature was evident as he looked seriously into Xing Ruyi's eyes. "You are one of a kind! As for Eldest Sister Yun, you will naturally find out why she resembles you in some ways."
"Why? Do you know something but aren't telling me?" Xing Ruyi grabbed the fox's clothing and pressed for answers.
The fox gently shushed her, signaling her to stop asking.
Pouting in frustration, Xing Ruyi turned around and then realized they had arrived at a new courtyard. Inside the yard were five newly tiled houses, surrounded by a fence made of intertwined branches. The Village Chief stood at the entrance and said to everyone, "This is my humble home; please come in!"
Once inside the courtyard, Xing Ruyi noticed that while the houses looked new from the outside, they were actually renovated rather than brand new. A lively stove was burning in the middle of the house, making it feel very warm. As Xing Ruyi scanned the room, her gaze landed on the main beam.
On the main beam were seven distinct knife marks!
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