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The new wife of the Yun Family was about to give birth, but just like the previous wife, she faced a difficult labor. After enduring a night of pain in bed without delivering, the midwife was extremely anxious. At that moment, the mother-to-be was already quite weak, and if this continued, both the mother and child might not survive. The midwife cautiously approached Old Lady Yun to ask whether they should prioritize saving the mother or the child.
Old Lady Yun chose without hesitation to save the child. With this confirmation, the midwife returned to the room and told those assisting nearby, "Old Lady Yun has decided, just like last time—save the child and not the mother. After all, this child's mother can be replaced."
Strangely enough, as soon as the midwife finished speaking, a chill swept through the room. The already weak mother-to-be suddenly sat up in bed, her face pale as death.
At that moment, the baby had descended into position but was stuck at a critical point. With her sitting up like that, it was highly likely that the baby would not survive. The midwife hurriedly reassured her, "It will be over soon; once the baby is born, you will feel much better!"
The mother-to-be let out a cold laugh and stared at the midwife with haunting eyes. "Is it really coming soon?"
The midwife nodded and tried to press her back down onto the bed.
However, the mother-to-be let out an eerie laugh and tilted her head to ask the midwife, "If I can't give birth, are you going to whip me?"
The midwife screamed and rushed out of the room, shouting, "It's a ghost! It's a ghost!"
By the time Old Lady Yun and Lord Yun's father burst into the room, there was blood everywhere. Lord Yun's stepmother hung lifelessly from a beam in the house, just like Yun Laoye's mother. The baby was still there, stuck in the mother's birth canal, creating a horrifying scene.
After Lord Yun's stepmother committed suicide due to complications during childbirth, both Old Lady Yun and Lord Yun followed suit by hanging themselves from that same beam.
"Lord Yun's biological mother, stepmother, half-brother, Old Lady Yun, and Lord Yun—counting them up makes five people! Yet there are seven knife marks on this beam," Xing Ruyi pointed out while indicating the last two marks on the beam. "Where did these two extra knife marks come from?"
"One of those remaining knife marks belongs to that midwife. It’s unclear if she was affected by what happened; on the night Madam Yun hanged herself, that midwife went mad. Later, after Old Lady Yun and Lord Yun's father also hanged themselves one after another, this midwife secretly infiltrated the Yun Family and hanged herself in the same place using the same method. The villagers believed it was Yun Laoye's mother returning for revenge and taking these people's lives. Eventually, when Lord Yun turned ten years old, he followed a relative from his family to do business outside and quickly became successful before moving away from here."
"Adding in the midwife makes it six paths!"
"The last matter, strictly speaking, cannot be considered personal," the Village Chief said, his expression becoming strange. "That was after Lord Yun moved away. At that time, although Lord Yun had already left, he would still come back during festivals to pay his respects in this house. The first year he returned, he brought a Black Cat with him. Once that Black Cat entered the yard, it started meowing incessantly. Later, it was hung from the main beam. They all believed that Lord Yun deliberately brought the Black Cat back to hang it up there to pacify his mother's ghost and dispel the resentment lingering in their Yun Family Old Residence."
"But I don't see any resentment in this yard!" Xing Ruyi said, using her Ghost Eye to scan the area. Although there was some yin energy present in the yard, it wouldn't have any adverse effects on the living. In fact, this level of yin energy is common in older villages or yards. Even in this supposedly ominous main house, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"I'm not so impatient that I can't wait anymore. If this yard were truly that cursed, I wouldn't dare to bring my family here to live," the Village Chief replied. "To be honest with you, ever since that Black Cat died, nothing unusual has happened in this house. Years ago, Lord Yun brought people back to stay here a couple of times, but as the Yun Family's business grew larger, Lord Yun abandoned the house."
"I think about those past events; even if they were caused by Lord Yun's mother's ghost, she wouldn't harm me. First of all, I have no grievances with her. Secondly, when she suffered back then, my mother helped her, and they had a bond of sisterhood during their lifetimes."
"As they say, grievances have their roots and debts have their owners. If Yun Laoye's Mother is indeed a person who distinguishes between love and hate, then such an outcome is possible. But Village Chief, living in such a house—especially choosing this particular room—don't you feel uneasy at all?"
"What do I have to fear? It's just a ghost! Who hasn't died and turned into a ghost? Look at my temperament; do I seem like someone who would be scared? Besides, at my age, I've already one foot in the grave; what else is there for me to fear?"
The Village Chief laughed heartily while patting his chest.
Xing Ruyi quite liked the Village Chief's personality and decided to set aside matters regarding the Yun Family Old Residence for now. She shifted the conversation to other topics and eventually excused herself under the pretext of having other matters to attend to.
As soon as she stepped outside, Xing Ruyi eagerly asked the fox, "Did you notice anything? Is there really no problem with this house?"
"If you're referring to those things, then I can tell you there are none!"
According to the fox's Daoist Practice, if it said there was nothing wrong, then there truly was none. Xing Ruyi let out a sigh of relief; she wasn't sure if she felt reassured or slightly disappointed.
At that moment, Chang Tai, who had been following behind them, remarked, "I think there's something strange about this Village Chief's home."
"What's strange about it?"
"The village chief has always been here. The reason he bought this house is that his grandson is about to come of age, and he also has a son and a daughter-in-law."
"That's right, he just mentioned that. Is it really strange to have a son, a daughter-in-law, and a grandson?"
"It's not strange, but what's odd is that while you were talking, I went to take a look in the yard. Perhaps it's the instinct of a Constable, but I felt something was off about that yard. After looking around, I finally understood what was strange about it."
"What?" Xing Ruyi furrowed her brows slightly. "Is there something in the yard that I didn't notice?"
"Mother, you're too focused on those details, so it's easy for you to overlook some obvious things," Yin Yuan said while yawning as she walked, her words sounding just like an adult's.
"Could it be that you've also noticed the so-called oddities?"
"No! Because to me, these things aren't worth paying attention to." Yin Yuan raised her chin proudly and then shot a glance at Li Mao. "I can't walk anymore; carry me!"
Li Mao complied and squatted down to carry Yin Yuan on his back. He then looked at Xing Ruyi and said, "Shopkeeper, you really have overlooked some things."
If Chang Tai noticed something unusual about the village chief's yard due to his instincts as a Constable, while the fox, Yin Yuan, and Li Mao observed it through their exceptional perception and abilities, then what does it mean that even Li Siniang could see the strangeness of the yard while Xing Ruyi could not?
"So you've noticed too?" Xing Ruyi looked at Li Siniang with frustration.
Li Siniang nodded while dragging her bell: "Yes, there are indeed some abnormal aspects to that yard. However, as a woman, what I see might differ from what Brother Chang and the others observe."
"Ugh, I'm so frustrated. What exactly did you all discover?" Xing Ruyi pouted her face in annoyance and looked at the fox with a mix of frustration and grievance. The fox smirked and pinched her cheek.
"Although the village chief has a son and daughter-in-law and a grandson, I've noticed that in reality, only the village chief lives in that yard," Chang Tai said. "I observed carefully; aside from the village chief's belongings, I didn't see anything belonging to other family members. However, the village chief mentioned that this house is newly built, so his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson's things are still at their old home and haven't been moved here."
"I saw a situation similar to Brother Chang's. I noticed that there were no signs of women having been active in the Village Chief's home. If the Village Chief really had a Daughter-in-law, this house would definitely have flowers and plants that women like, as well as sewing supplies, yet there wasn't even a single piece of clothing belonging to a woman or a child. Furthermore, just now in the main room, I saw a piece of clothing. Although it was styled for a Young Man, the stitching was very coarse, resembling what the Village Chief himself wore. I can't help but feel that it wasn't done by a woman's hand; it seemed more like something a man learned to do on his own, and it was quite clumsy." Li Siniang added, "Before marrying my brother Bell, he also did his own sewing. Men's sewing techniques are different from women's. Women pay attention to the stitching patterns and whether the clothes are comfortable and look good after being sewn. Men are much simpler; they just need to connect the torn parts together."
"I actually think my sister-in-law is mistaken about Uncle Chang. If there are no children in that household, why would there be so many dolls in the room? However, boys generally don't like dolls, so I believe there must be more than one Grandson in the Village Chief's family; there might also be a lovely granddaughter, just like Bell." After Li Siniang finished speaking, Bell immediately expressed her differing opinion and mentioned a new term: dolls.
"Dolls? What kind of dolls?"
Xing Ruyi asked in annoyance, realizing that her observational skills were not as sharp as Bell's.
"They're dolls that look like real people, both male and female, including children. But just like my sister-in-law's, they are somewhat crudely made." Bell continued, furrowing her brow. "Hmm, I noticed one doll that looked quite a bit like you, Aunt Ruyi, especially its eyes; they seemed almost alive. I wanted to sneak over and take a closer look, but the Village Chief shot me a fierce glance that scared me into pulling my hand back quickly."
"Where are those dolls you mentioned? Why didn't I see them!" Xing Ruyi grew increasingly frustrated.
"It's normal that you didn't see them, Aunt Ruyi. You were standing and talking with the Village Chief the whole time. Later when he invited you to sit down, he deliberately positioned you with your back to those dolls, so naturally you couldn't see them." Bell explained, pausing to draw a simple diagram on the ground. "Look, you were sitting here at that time, right? Behind you was an old wooden trunk, correct? Those kinds of trunks are usually used for storing clothes; we have several in our Tavern at Rouge Shop. But the trunk you were facing was half-opened; inside it were not only clothes but also those dolls—many of them! Some big and some small—all crammed inside. Because of my height, I could see those dolls perfectly. If it weren't for the fierce glare from the Village Chief at that moment, I almost took out the doll that looked so much like my aunt."
"Fortunately you didn't take it out; otherwise it would have caused big trouble." Yin Yuan said lazily while lying on Li Mao's back and then glanced at the fox again. "Oh no, not big trouble; it would have startled my Father Fox and disrupted his plans!"
"Hmm?" Upon hearing Yin Yuan's words, Xing Ruyi's gaze immediately returned to the fox's face with a questioning look.
The fox smiled slightly and held Xing Ruyi's wrist gently. "Don't listen to Yin Yuan; some things can only be seen clearly at night!"
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