Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Li Siniang felt her heart "thump" wildly for a moment, a sensation that was both strange and oddly familiar.
She looked at the darkness in front of her, with faint moonlight filtering through it, and suddenly remembered the night her husband returned for seven days. Her heart had raced just like this once before.
On the day of his return, no one was allowed to stay at home, fearing that the deceased would see the living and become reluctant to leave, thus delaying their reincarnation. Li Siniang naturally did not want her husband to miss his chance to be reborn, but she also thought this was her only opportunity to see him again. So, she hid in the kitchen, poked a hole in the window paper, and quietly watched outside.
At first, the night was very quiet! Gradually, a light wind began to blow; it was gentle but carried a noticeable chill. Li Siniang instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, and her heart raced even more fiercely in her chest, thumping loudly as she felt a mix of nervousness and fear.
Just as she began to feel slightly flustered, she heard a faint sound of chains. It sounded like they were being dragged across the ground, one clink after another. She strained her eyes to see better and finally noticed a shadow swirling in the wind, blurry and indistinct.
She watched as the shadow moved toward her bedroom and lingered there for a few moments. The light in the bedroom flickered on briefly before quickly going out again. She pressed her hand against her chest, feeling warm tears streaming down her cheeks. She fought hard to hold back her sobs, not wanting to disturb her husband’s journey to reincarnation with her lingering feelings. Yet, soft cries escaped through her fingers.
The shadow seemed ready to leave but perhaps paused upon hearing her weeping. Uncertain if it sensed her heartfelt emotions, moonlight suddenly illuminated the shadow, allowing her to make out her husband's face.
He was smiling; he knew she was hiding in the kitchen and understood all of her feelings. That smile was meant to reassure her.
Li Siniang smiled back through her tears; she didn't know if he could truly see her, but she hoped he would depart peacefully. She wanted him to know that she would continue to live well in the days without him.
That experience was the only time Li Siniang had ever encountered a ghost in her life and it remained a long-hidden secret in her heart—one she had never even told the bell.
Now, her heart raced again with a similar yet different feeling because she sensed an unease within herself—a slight fear mixed with anxiety. So, she looked up toward the door.
The entrance was quiet; Li Siniang sighed in relief and began to search for a fire starter by moonlight. Just as she found it and intended to relight the candle, she felt as if the chair across from her had shifted slightly, as if someone had sat down.
The candle flickered back to life. She looked up at where she thought someone might be sitting but saw nothing there. Li Siniang patted her chest and exhaled heavily. However, when she bent down to pick up some thread and needle for adjustments, a large face suddenly appeared before her.
"Are you looking for me?"
The face belonged to an old woman; wrinkles piled upon each other obscured most of it except for a pair of eyes that were mostly white. Her hair was mostly black with some gray strands mixed in; one lock fell over her face slightly covering part of one eye.
Li Siniang caught a whiff of that foul odor only found on corpses and slowly... slowly widened her eyes before fainting away.
When Li Siniang woke up, it was already the next morning. Lingzhang was anxiously watching her from the bedside, while Xing Ruyi, the Fox, and Su Jingliang, the second son of the Su family, stood behind Lingzhang.
"Sister-in-law, what happened to you? How could you faint out of nowhere?" Seeing Li Siniang awake, Lingzhang's previously tense face instantly turned into one of tears as she leaned on Li Siniang and cried, "It's all my fault; I slept so soundly last night that I didn't even know you fainted!"
Li Siniang looked at Lingzhang, wanting to comfort her, but her gaze unconsciously fell on the stool beside the table, causing her body to shiver involuntarily.
"Fox Demon! I think I saw a ghost last night!"
"What kind of ghost?"
In fact, without Li Siniang saying anything, Xing Ruyi and the Fox had already sensed the unusual aura lingering in the room. This aura was initially faint, and since there were some new pieces of furniture in the room, they had overlooked this strange presence when they first entered Li Siniang's room.
After all, in a private residence's guest room, the chances of a murder occurring were much lower than in an inn, and there wouldn't be any vengeful spirits lingering around. However, everything in the Su residence seemed to be an exception.
"It was an old woman, but she looked very strange. Her face was oddly deformed as if something had pressed against it. So I couldn't accurately describe her appearance to you." Li Siniang took a few deep breaths while Lingzhang helped her sit up slowly. She glanced at the stool again. "Last night, she was sitting right there, looking terrifying. Even though I kept telling myself not to be afraid—maybe she came to ask me for help—I still felt scared and fainted."
"From your description, she doesn't seem like she intended to harm you; otherwise, she would have left something on you after you fainted," Xing Ruyi said as he approached the bed to check Li Siniang's pulse. "Lingzhang notified me and the Fox immediately after discovering you had fainted. I checked your condition then; there was nothing seriously wrong with you—just a scare that left your spirit slightly scattered. After drinking some calming herbal soup, you should be fine now. I just rechecked you and confirmed that whatever it was didn't harm you."
"Does dreaming count?" Li Siniang asked. "Actually, I'm not sure if that counts as a dream. But I think I had a very long dream where I saw a girl arguing with a young man about something. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see their faces clearly. I only remember that their argument grew more intense until suddenly the young man grabbed the girl's sleeve, and she struggled for a moment before collapsing to the ground—she seemed unhurt. The girl didn't say anything afterward; she just stared at him while he turned to leave. At that moment, the girl who had fallen suddenly stood up and quickly ran towards him, pulling something from her bosom and stabbing it into his body. After that, everything turned into a fog—a gray mist where no one could be seen."
"But what you saw just now was an old woman!"
"Yes, it was an old woman, but in my dream, there were two young people—especially that girl who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen. Her clothes were also quite new, so I suspect she wasn't just an old woman's younger self." Li Siniang rubbed her aching temples. "I often heard my mother say that if someone who has passed away has unfulfilled wishes, they might send dreams to those still living to tell them what they want to do. Unfortunately, after all these years waiting for my husband to send me a dream, he never did; I think he must have left this world feeling at peace. Now that I've finally had a dream, it's such a strange one that I'm not sure if it counts as a message."
"There are many reasons for dreaming; not every dream needs an explanation. You should sleep a bit more; I'll have Lingzhang watch over you," Xing Ruyi said as he took out an incense stick from his sleeve, lit it, and handed it to Lingzhang. "This is soul-soothing incense; let your sister-in-law have a good sleep. When she wakes up, everything will be fine."
"I'm already fine!" Li Siniang insisted as she tried to get up but was firmly pushed back down by Xing Ruyi. "Not yet! I've heard from Lingzhang that you've been working hard on embroidery these days without getting proper sleep. Poor sleep makes it easy for evil spirits to invade; it's no wonder you've seen those strange things. Trust me; get some good rest first; there's no rush with those embroidery pieces."
"Okay, I'll listen to you!" Knowing Xing Ruyi's temperament well enough not to argue, Li Siniang obediently lay back down and quickly closed her eyes to sleep.
Xing Ruyi exchanged glances with Lingzhang to ensure she would take good care of Li Siniang before he and the Fox took Su Jingliang outside. In the courtyard, the sunlight was just right; it warmed their bodies pleasantly.
Su Jingliang hesitated several times, appearing anxious and restless.
"Brother Su, if you have something to say, just ask directly. Your demeanor is making Fox Demon feel uncomfortable."
"Since that's the case, I'll speak plainly. My father had married another woman before my mother, who was his cousin. According to my mother's instructions, we referred to her as mother. It is said that our mother had a bad temper and, after having some quarrels with my father, hanged herself in her room. The place where she hanged herself happens to be the courtyard where Sister Su Qianqian currently resides, and Qianqian's Nursemaid claimed to have seen our mother's ghost before she went missing."
"What exactly does Brother Su want?"
"What I mean is, based on our mother's age, if she were still alive, she would be an old woman by now. So could it be that Madam Li saw the ghost of our mother last night?"
"It's not impossible! I've heard Qianqian mention some things about that lady. Although not very detailed, I know that she was only in her early twenties when she passed away. Generally speaking, when someone dies, they tend to maintain their appearance from life. So if you died at seventeen or eighteen, your ghost would likely appear at that age.
However, there are exceptions. That lady hanged herself, which is what we commonly refer to as a Hanging Ghost. Such ghosts cannot reincarnate unless they find a new host. Therefore, she might change her appearance to lure others into hanging themselves or to intimidate and scare others into doing so."
"So, is it really our mother causing trouble in the mansion?" Su Jingliang's expression changed.
"Fox Demon just mentioned it's a possibility but not a certainty. Brother Su, haven't you ever wondered why your mother has not appeared for so many years? Why did she choose this particular time to show up right after your elder brother married your Sister-in-law?"
"This..." Su Jingliang felt as if something was stuck in his throat. He cleared it forcefully and looked at Xing Ruyi with a hint of despair as he said, "Could it be that this ghost was brought here by my Sister-in-law?"
Comment 0 Comment Count