Chapter Fifty-Eight: Deception

Granny Li moved swiftly. After reaching my mother’s corpse, she pressed her hand firmly over her mouth and nose.

At the same time, Old Master Wang approached the blood bowl. In the blink of an eye, half the blood in the bowl had vanished, and a red mist drifted through the courtyard.

Old Master Wang’s face was ashen. He flicked a copper coin from his hand, and with a sharp clang, it landed in the bowl. A crisp sound rang out as the bowl shattered into several pieces, the remaining blood soaking into the earth.

The incense stick ceased burning, its smoke gone, lying on the ground.

With a grave expression, Old Master Wang strode towards the gate. After confirming my mother’s body was intact, I quickly followed him.

He stared intently at the threshold.

Only then did I notice that the copper coins he’d previously placed there had all fallen in disarray. The red strings were tangled messily; the ghost-warding formation had been destroyed right under our noses, and neither Old Master Wang nor Granny Li had sensed a thing.

“There’s another living person here,” Old Master Wang suddenly said.

My eyelid twitched. “But everyone in the village is already dead—how could that be possible?”

Old Master Wang exhaled and shook his head. “Ghosts can’t walk on solid ground; they only float. The strength at the threshold, the coins—someone stepped on them. We didn’t notice when that person arrived.”

“He wasn’t alone. There was definitely a ghost with him. After stepping on the coins, the ghost immediately shielded his presence, which is why we didn’t detect him. Then that ghost avoided everyone and set down the blood bowl.”

“Old Master, what use is that bowl of blood? My mother’s soul isn’t here—why target her body?”

Old Master Wang fell silent, his gaze complicated. I knew it was because I’d called him by that old familial title.

“That is a Soul-Summoning Blood Incense. It’s not for ghosts to feed on, nor meant to harm anyone. Only an ownerless corpse can absorb the blood incense’s mist. Once it does, a ghost can temporarily possess the body.”

“Of course, it only lasts a day.” Old Master Wang’s tone was heavy. “Unless someone has been following us and knows something about your mother, which is why they made this, to let a ghost inhabit her body. The other possibility is that someone overheard us. Was it White-Funeral Liu who came?”

My first instinct was also White-Funeral Liu. His initial probing attack hadn’t worked, so he’d tried something else in secret.

As we spoke, Old Master Wang picked up the copper coins and rearranged them, resetting the ghost-warding formation and adding a few more coins outside.

He chanted a spell softly.

In the blink of an eye, the coins vanished from my sight—I couldn’t see them at all.

“Ghosts can’t touch the coins, but people can see them. Now that people can’t see them either, they can’t be destroyed, and ghosts won’t get in,” Old Master Wang explained, then returned to the main room.

By now, the blood mist in the courtyard had dissipated. Granny Li covered my mother’s mouth and nose with a cloth.

Wang Erjun was trembling with terror, asking what we should do.

Granny Li said, “Chubby boy, is there a cellar or something like that? Let’s hide the body at home. It’s too troublesome to carry her out, and leaving her here could bring trouble.”

Old Master Wang spoke in a low voice, “After hiding the body in the cellar and setting up a concealment spell, she’ll be safe.”

Wang Erjun nodded, saying yes.

I didn’t know anything about such matters and could only follow Old Master Wang’s instructions.

I was about to carry my mother’s body on my back when Granny Li suddenly said, “Child, you and Old Master Wang go summon the soul. Let Erjun carry your mother’s body. I still have spells to perform. Your mother’s body is very important—and dangerous. Nothing can go wrong.”

Wang Erjun paled further, glanced quickly at me, then looked away. I could see his fear, but he forced himself to suppress it, bending down to lift my mother’s body onto his back.

He walked toward a side room off the main hall.

I’d grown up with Wang Erjun and naturally knew his house had a cellar—he’d once sneaked me in to play; even my father didn’t know about it.

Carpenter Wang never mentioned it either.

Most villagers were in the habit of keeping a cellar, storing food and valuables inside.

Granny Li followed Wang Erjun into the side room.

I took a deep breath, staring at the blood-stained garment in my hand, then glanced at Old Master Wang.

I was just about to speak when Old Master Wang suddenly urged, “Let’s begin. We’ll summon the soul outside—the courtyard can’t let in another ghost.”

Without waiting for a reply, he headed out.

I had the distinct feeling he’d interrupted me to stop me from calling him by that old title again.

Outside, the night air was no longer clear; wisps of fog drifted. The moon above was blurred, like an eye peering through a curtain, quietly watching us.

It was the ghost moon—more haunting than ever.

Old Master Wang tossed copper coins in several directions, encircling me in their midst.

“This formation connects Yin and Yang, the Eight Trigrams open to the gloom. This is a special method for summoning resentful souls—take the dead’s blood, and you’ll surely call her back.”

At the same time, Old Master Wang produced three sticks of incense, lighting them and holding them beside me.

The incense smoke curled in midair, not dispersing.

“This is soul-summoning tribute incense. With the blood-stained garment, no other ghost can take it—only she can. Once she draws in a breath, she won’t leave so easily.”

“You can start calling her. You don’t have to stand still.”

Old Master Wang took a deep breath, his voice grave.

My heart pounded. The blood-stained garment in my hand grew warm.

Holding my breath, I inhaled deeply and shouted into the darkness, “Aunt Hui, come home!”

The silent night echoed with my voice.

Instinctively, I stepped forward and called again, “Aunt Hui, come home!”

To my surprise, as I moved forward, the copper coins underfoot slid soundlessly with me, always circling my body.

Old Master Wang followed close behind, the tribute incense still burning, yet the smoke remained coiled and undispersed. Aunt Hui had not yet arrived.

I called again and stepped forward.

Suddenly, the blood-stained garment in my hand turned icy cold.

Where warmth had been, there was now only chill.

Was Aunt Hui here?

My heart thudded in my chest.

There was no fear, only a strange, indescribable feeling.

She hadn’t crossed over with the yin fetus, nor stayed by my father’s side—what would she look like now?

But on the dark road, I still saw no sign of Aunt Hui.

Old Master Wang’s incense began drifting in a certain direction.

“She’s over there.”

Suddenly, Old Master Wang turned toward my house.

I turned too. Sure enough, on the village road, a solitary woman stood, her toes barely touching the ground, body swaying ever so slightly.

It seemed a mere breeze would blow her away.

A pang of sorrow struck me—Aunt Hui was still watching our house.

Had she never returned before?

When my mother was there earlier, Aunt Hui was surely absent, or my mother would have sensed her.

Old Master Wang strode quickly toward Aunt Hui.

I hurried to catch up, and soon stood beside her.

I heard a soft, sobbing voice: “Xiaoyuan, Aunt wants to come home, but the mistress has returned—Aunt can’t go back.”

I froze.

Aunt Hui turned, her face streaked with tears.

“Aunt knows your father found me—not just because he liked me, but for some special reason. Now I finally understand. He was truly heartless, so cruel to Aunt.”

Her words confused me. Hadn’t my father left my mother after marrying her, even neglecting my mother’s grave? Ever since he learned my mother was a shaman, he’d grown distant.

“Xiaoyuan, Aunt knows why you’re looking for me.”

“But he’s still my father, and that evil ghost is my brother. I died with regrets—though I hated him, he raised me all my life.”

“Aunt felt sorry for your father and for you, but he deceived me for so many years. Now, even in death, I have no home to return to.”

“Compared to that, my own father may have killed me, but he raised me—I owe him that.”

“Your father lied to me for over a decade. Aunt owes him nothing now—he brought this upon himself.”

I understood. Aunt Hui hated White-Funeral Liu, but she was able to let go of her resentment.

And all because my father deceived her for years?

Now that my mother’s soul had returned, Aunt Hui was homeless.

What had my father lied to her about?

I was about to ask when Aunt Hui’s tears vanished, though her expression remained bleak.

She began to drift away.

She’d barely floated a meter when Old Master Wang sighed and said, “You’ve drawn in the tribute incense—you can’t leave. Even if you don’t cooperate, I have many ways to use you to find them.”

Aunt Hui’s face shifted to panic. She tried to flee, but the incense smoke wrapped eerily around her. She could not move more than three meters from Old Master Wang.

My face darkened—Old Master Wang had been prepared.

Yet seeing Aunt Hui like this, I felt miserable.

She’d only tried to help us, for my father and our family, sacrificing her own father.

Now she’d become like this, only to discover my father had deceived her…

Biting my lip, I asked softly, “Aunt, what did my father lie to you about?”

Aunt Hui’s face was desolate. “Xie Yuan, I beg you, for all the years I loved you as my own, please don’t force me anymore—just let Aunt go. None of this matters anymore.”