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墨書 Inktalez
Returning home, it was already late at night.
Hui Niang took out the Brocade Box that Xing Ruyi had given her. She had thought that it contained medicinal powder or ointment, but to her surprise, it held a piece of clothing.
Hui Niang gazed at the garment inside the Brocade Box, somewhat entranced. She couldn't tell what kind of thread it was woven from; the fabric was light and thin, yet incredibly delicate to the touch, almost like... like touching an infant's skin. The garment was milky white, and under the glow of the candlelight, it shimmered with colorful hues, resembling the ethereal garments that only deities could wear.
Hui Niang felt a surge of excitement because she had never seen or worn such exquisite clothing before. With trembling hands, she took the garment out of the Brocade Box and carefully draped it over herself to compare. Then she anxiously glanced at the door and listened closely for any sounds from her in-laws' room. It seemed that her in-laws were still entertaining guests in the front yard and wouldn't return to the backyard until after midnight. She let out a sigh of relief, walked over to the warm stove, and, feeling the heat from the fire, began to peel off her layers of clothing. Finally, she gingerly put on the garment from the Brocade Box. To her astonishment, something incredible happened: the garment gradually merged with her skin, disappearing from sight at a visible speed.
Hui Niang was initially shocked, then frightened, and finally filled with joy. Through the Copper Mirror in the room, she clearly saw that all her scars had vanished. Not only that, but her skin had also become as delicate and smooth as an infant's. Blushing with shyness, she donned the fitted garment and glanced at the neatly made bed.
At this moment, Hui Niang found herself unexpectedly yearning for her husband to return home soon.
After sending Hui Niang away, Xing Ruyi pulled the fox into her room.
"Why did you want me to give that Brocade Box to Hui Niang? Do you know what is inside it?"
"Since I asked you to deliver it, I naturally know what is inside."
"You know! How could you possibly know?" Xing Ruyi circled around the fox. "The Brocade Box was just brought back by me; I haven't even opened it! How could you know? You don't have...! Look at me being so anxious; I almost forgot you're a fox spirit and a thousand-year-old Old Fox from Qingqiu. You can read minds and surely have some ability to see through things. Did you know it contained clothing at first glance?"
"I can read minds, but I cannot see through things. Even an Old Fox from Qingqiu doesn't possess every ability." The fox wrapped its arms around Xing Ruyi. "Can you please stop circling around me? I'm getting dizzy."
"If you can't see through things, how do you know what's inside?"
"By scent! I detected an unusual smell coming from that box." The fox pressed Xing Ruyi down onto a chair and poured her a cup of hot tea. "The garment in the Brocade Box came from Yun Manor, and this piece of clothing must be intricately connected to the disappearance of that lady from Yun Manor, right? You've been obedient; you didn't use your Ghost Technique all afternoon; otherwise, you could have figured out some of the mysteries in Yun Manor yourself. If you had figured it out, you wouldn't have brought this box back. Since you did bring it back, you must want me to help you take a look."
"Indeed, you're just an Old Fox; you've guessed everything." Xing Ruyi sighed in relief. "Not only has one lady gone missing from Yun Manor, but this afternoon, one of Yun Madam's personal maids named Red Willow also inexplicably disappeared from her room. When she went missing, all doors and windows were closed tight; apart from a puddle of water and some silk remnants inside, there were no other traces left. Therefore, I suspect it's related to that garment."
"Based on what?"
"Women's intuition, perhaps?" Xing Ruyi took a sip of water. "According to Hong Liu, Lady Yun's personal maid, Lady Yun has always been frugal, and her household purchases are well-planned, making her a model wife and supportive partner. However, ever since she bought that piece of clothing, her temperament has changed drastically, and her disappearance seems to be related to it. As for the maid Hong Liu, I saw her just this afternoon when she went to the Yun residence, but within just an hour, she vanished. The location of her disappearance was also Lady Yun's bedroom, and at the time she disappeared, the dress that was originally hanging on the screen had also undergone some subtle changes. Not only did the size of the dress change, but even its color did as well. Fox, could this dress also be enchanted?"
"Anything in this world can become enchanted if it possesses spirit," the fox smiled at Xing Ruyi. "Alright, I won't quiz you anymore; if I keep this up, you might not sleep well tonight."
"Can I take that to mean you know the secret hidden in the dress?" Xing Ruyi wrapped her arms around the fox's arm. "Please tell me! You have no idea how frustrating it is to stand in Lady Yun's bedroom without finding any clues or leads. People really shouldn't rely on shortcuts; once they do, they refuse to play by the rules and level up steadily."
Xing Ruyi's first half of the statement made sense to the fox, but the latter part confused him.
"What do you mean by shortcuts?"
"Ghost techniques! Back in the day when I didn't have these things, I was so diligent, always seriously studying and gaining knowledge. When faced with problems, I tackled them head-on using my own wits. But now, I find myself wanting to use ghost techniques at every turn or relying on you. I feel like I'm becoming more and more useless."
Xing Ruyi looked at the fox with a hint of grievance and rested her head on the table. "What should I do? Fox, I feel like I've become useless because you've spoiled me."
The fox widened his eyes and chuckled helplessly. "So after all this time, it's still my fault? Fine, it's my fault. Who told you to be the woman chosen by me, Yin Chensi? The only way to spoil you is so that when something happens, you instinctively think of me and realize you can only rely on me; then you won't entertain thoughts of leaving me. If we were to summarize this in your mortal terms, wouldn't this be called 'The Making of a Pampered Wife'?"
Xing Ruyi burst into laughter, and all her frustrations seemed to dissipate with that laugh.
"Alright, quickly tell me what’s going on with the dress in that brocade box! Could it really be like what the steward of Yun residence said—a piece of old clothing stripped from a corpse? If it is old clothing, that corpse must have been quite wealthy! A fabric like that surely wouldn’t be found in a common household."
"Do you still remember Mu Xi?"
"Of course I remember! We were just discussing Mu Xi this morning. What about it? Is this dress related to Mu Xi as well?"
"No! What I mean is, do you remember Mu Xi's face?"
"Of course I remember! Mu Xi had her original face destroyed by lightning during her tribulation. Under the hint of Mountain God Grandpa, she found the Tomb of General Li's fiancée, took her skin, and made a Human Skin mask. I was still worried about what to do with that female ghost. Who would have thought you quietly sent her back to the Underworld. However, the Centipede I saw in the Watchman's House, you still haven't given me a clear explanation."
"My Fox Demon has a good memory!" The fox rubbed its forehead. "Let me first answer your question about the Centipede. It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you before; I just thought it was unnecessary. Because General Li's fiancée has already been brought back to the Underworld by Cui Fujun, and the Centipede is already dead. To me, it doesn’t matter anymore. I didn’t expect you to still be thinking about it."
"It’s really easy for you. You are a thousand-year-old fox spirit, so naturally, you wouldn’t fear that Centipede. I'm different; I'm just an ordinary person. Without you protecting me by my side, whether it's a Centipede spirit or just a regular worm, I would still be anxious and take the long way around." Xing Ruyi made a very nervous expression: "However, I understood what you just said; that Centipede was brought by the female ghost?"
"It can't be said that she brought it. This matter is simple, but explaining it isn't something that can be done in just a few sentences. General Li's fiancée died a tragic death; after her death, she was nailed into her coffin with Seven-Inch Wooden Nails, buried in a place of evil winds and waters, and her soul was trapped, making it inevitable for her to become a vengeful spirit. Moreover, Mu Xi's hatred for taking skin only intensified this resentment. With resentment overflowing, it would be absorbed by surrounding spiritual entities, and that Centipede was one of them."
"I’ve only heard that cultivation requires absorbing earthly spiritual energy. Why does this Centipede not absorb spiritual energy but instead absorb this Eerie Aura?"
"You really read too many miscellaneous books and have overly simplistic views about many things in this world. It is true that cultivation requires absorbing earthly spiritual energy. However, the earth is vast, and places with spiritual energy are indeed few and far between; otherwise, everything here would become spirits or monsters.
The Centipede you saw is just like countless others; it simply stumbled into that Tomb. At the same time, when Mu Xi was fighting with the female ghost, it absorbed the demonic energy pouring out from them and thus began to take on a demonic form.
To borrow a phrase from what you just said, once a person has an advantage, they tend to slack off; the same goes for the Centipede. Once it began to take on a demonic form, its desires grew even more. Thus, it followed the traces of Mu Xi and the female ghost to the Yun Family Gathering. It couldn’t enter the Relay Station. Besides being relatively powerful itself, there were also many Taoist talismans posted inside that place. The Centipede isn’t stupid; it wouldn’t act recklessly against strong forces. So it followed the aura left by the female ghost and found the home of the Night Watchman."
"It’s not that it's not smart; it's just had a bit of bad luck!" Xing Ruyi gave a thumbs up: "This Centipede, no matter how much it calculated, never expected you to show up!"
The fox nodded: "Hearing you say this, it indeed had some bad luck."
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