Chapter 49: Courage

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Red Mist, My Daughter:
Time slips away, never to return. Unconsciously, more than thirty years have passed. Back then, your father wandered far and wide, his heart wild like untamed grass, yearning only for freedom and ease. In doing so, he neglected you and your mother, fracturing the bonds between you, ultimately leading to separation.
Over all these years, your father has longed for you deeply. I still remember the day you were born—I was overjoyed beyond measure. You lay nestled in my arms, so small, with sparse hair atop your head. In that moment, I felt something I had never experienced before, like drinking ice water on a scorching summer day, a sensation spreading throughout my entire being...
Pausing here, Shen Siyuan set down his pen and looked toward Lu Guanchang, unsure how much sincerity lay behind his words.
Perhaps what he said was true, but why did it turn sour later? Why did he abandon them, mother and daughter, and remain silent for years afterward...
Only when one suffers does one truly understand regret.
If it weren’t for the desire to test whether helping someone like him would bring merit, Shen Siyuan would never have lent a hand.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Guanchang snapped back to attention upon seeing Shen Siyuan pause.
“Nothing. Please continue,” Shen Siyuan replied.
Lu Guanchang resumed organizing his words.
He began by reminiscing about many childhood anecdotes shared between father and daughter, then expressed deep remorse toward his daughter. Only at the end did he speak of himself—his lifelong efforts wasted, his heart unwilling to accept it. All of it rightfully belonged to her. He hoped she would come to Binhai to meet him.
Throughout, he never said he was dead—only that his days were numbered.
Lu Guanchang’s approach was understandable; if he were dead, many things would become inexplicable.
“That’s all. Thank you, Master,” Lu Guanchang said respectfully.
“I’ll send it by express tomorrow. Since Ci’en is nearby, she should receive it the day after...”
“All right, thank you, Master, thank you!” Lu Guanchang expressed his gratitude repeatedly, his face glowing with joy.
Shen Siyuan waved his hand. “You may leave now. I need to rest.”
“All right, Master. I’ll head to Ci’en first,” he said after a moment’s thought.
“That’s fine.” Shen Siyuan nodded.
This way, he would know in advance if his daughter came to Binhai.
Shortly after Lu Guanchang left, Yin Xingyue and Doudou arrived, riding on a gust of cold wind through the window.
“You two don’t need to stay here with me. Especially you, Doudou—go home and be with your parents.”
Shen Siyuan picked up his phone, which was filled with messages from Jiang Wenxin, seemingly discussing a blind date scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Between the lines, she was inquiring if Doudou was with him or if she had gotten lost.
“Oh? My parents miss me? I miss them a bit too,” Doudou said, having forgotten until Shen Siyuan’s reminder.

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“Goodbye, Sweet Potato, goodbye, Sister Xiaoyue...”
Waving her little hand to the two, she then whisked herself away through the window on a gust of cold wind.
“That little thing...”
Shen Siyuan shook his head helplessly, then turned to Yin Xingyue. “If you have nowhere to go, just stay here.”
Yin Xingyue shook her head. “I’m going to see if the police have found him...”
Shen Siyuan understood who “he” referred to and nodded in agreement.
Yin Xingyue then took to the cold wind and left. Checking the time, it was nearly half past ten.
He picked up his change of clothes, went to the bathroom, and decided to take a shower before bed.
But when he finished and stepped out, he found Yin Xingyue already returned, sitting quietly on the sofa as if waiting for him.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Siyuan asked in surprise.
“He’s dead,” Yin Xingyue said calmly.
Her sudden, blunt statement stunned Shen Siyuan, but then he realized what she meant.
“Are you saying your stepfather is dead?” he hurriedly asked.
“He’s not my father,” Yin Xingyue corrected seriously.
“Alright, I misspoke. Fang Yunlou is dead? How did he die?”
Yin Xingyue nodded, then shook her head, speaking timidly: “I saw him and then came back. I don’t know how he died.”
Shen Siyuan stepped forward and patted her head.
“Don’t be afraid. He should be afraid of you now. Didn’t you say that to Doudou yourself?”
Yin Xingyue’s fear of Fang Yunlou stemmed from his control and psychological intimidation while he was alive. She was just a little girl in elementary school, still bewildered by many things in the world. Her mother didn’t side with her, she was bullied at school, and the teachers weren’t kind...
Eventually, she completely broke down and chose to end her own life.
But her death didn’t mean the fear of Fang Yunlou disappeared.
This was something she had to overcome herself; Shen Siyuan could not help her.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here now. You’re my protector—I won’t let anyone harm you...”
Shen Siyuan’s words seemed to give Yin Xingyue great courage. A faint blue glow began to emanate around her body, the light of the netherfire she had gathered within.
Raising her head, she looked at Shen Siyuan softly and said, “Thank you, Brother.”

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Shen Siyuan smiled faintly and gently patted her small head. “Go, do what you wish.”
Yin Xingyue nodded, then transformed into a gust of cold wind and vanished within the room.
Fang Yunlou was dead—dead in a cruel and torturous way.
He died unwillingly; his career was about to reach a new height, he still had much money left to spend, and countless pleasures awaited him. How could he just die like this?
But dead is dead. No matter how furious he raged or how he roared at his killer, even trying to fight desperately, it was all in vain.
In the end, he could only return home gloomily. Home was the final refuge of the soul, even as a ghost, it still gave him enough security.
Along the way, he encountered various ghosts, few maintaining a complete human form; most were strange and distorted—he himself was no exception.
His upper body was human, but his lower half resembled an octopus, covered in slimy tentacles, short and disgusting.
As a new ghost who had seen the other side of the world, with his mind blank, he was extremely cautious and avoided contact with other ghosts as much as possible.
When he cautiously returned home, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. But upon seeing his still beautiful wife, resentment welled up inside him.
I’m dead—why is she still alive? And all my wealth is to be hers.
Just imagining her lying beneath some man with his fortune, he felt his eyes burn with rage, hate blossoming in his heart. Countless tentacles sprouted, spreading throughout the room, transforming him into a monstrous octopus creature.
He ensnared Yang Xuejiao in his tentacles, dragging her away with him.
Even as the three fires on her body crackled and burned, he refused to let go.
Through his relentless persistence, the three fires on Yang Xuejiao weakened, flickering like a candle in the wind.
But then, suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew into the room, and a small figure appeared before Fang Yunlou.
Seeing the newcomer, Fang Yunlou’s eyes gleamed with malevolence, a terrifying smile splitting his lips.
“I... I’m not afraid of you anymore.”
Blue flames surged upward.

P.S.: To explain, ghosts cannot physically harm people, but if possessed by a ghost, one will be plagued by bad luck, misfortune, declining fortune, and illnesses. This was already mentioned in Chapter Seven and remains unchanged.