Chapter 9: Just Cut It

As the truth emerged, the halo of Liu Yuancai’s great benevolence shattered instantly.

In the old society, such sordid ethical entanglements were not uncommon.

Ji Yun had little interest in indulging in gossip. What concerned him more was this: could the ghosts haunting the ruined realm actually be Liu’s father and son?

But on second thought, something felt off.

The bride never claimed injustice—where would the father and son’s grudges come from to become ghosts?

What was supposed to be a wedding had turned into a funeral. The bright red double happiness character on the window and the red lanterns under the eaves hadn’t even been taken down before Liu Manor was already draped in mourning cloth and setting up the ancestral altar.

Family scandals were not to be aired publicly, and the guests gradually dispersed.

Ji Yun and the other outsiders were wealthy landlords and gentry invited from the county town. Since they had come from afar, they could only stay overnight in the manor.

...

In the side courtyard, a dozen guests from the county were arranged to rest, including Ji Yun and the old Taoist.

With the death of Master Liu, the Liu estate was thrown into chaos.

Yet the overnight guests were more interested in the family gossip.

Ji Yun joined the others leaning on the wall and windowsill, watching the farce unfolding in the manor.

Originally, with the death of the great benefactor Liu, the family should have been arranging the funeral.

But in reality, even before the body was cold, a chaotic battle over the inheritance broke out.

The Liu family were major landowners, owning thousands of acres of fertile fields, mansions, and various assets—a veritable local tycoon.

Now that Liu Yuancai and his son were both dead, there was no male heir.

By rights, the matriarch, Mrs. Shao, should control the estate, but the stakes were too high. The second concubine, Mrs. He, was clearly not content to be sidelined, and some of the branched relatives had their own schemes.

The manor was in uproar.

Moreover, with Master Liu’s death, the guests seemed to have foreseen the family’s decline, speaking with little restraint.

Only then did Ji Yun hear the dark, unknown side of the so-called great benefactor.

...

“Hmph! That scabby Liu went off to the army for a few years and somehow got rich quick. Coming back, he became ‘Master Liu’ and didn’t even regard us poor relatives.”

“Yeah. My grandfather had to call him great-uncle. Renting a few acres from him was just like any tenant, never a cent less. Wanted to chop firewood from the mountains, but that scabby Liu was afraid it’d ruin the family feng shui and said no... Now he’s getting his karma. Sleeping with a widow? Hmph, not afraid of disgracing our old Liu ancestors.”

“I grew up wearing open-crotch pants with that scabby Liu. Do you think I don’t know what kind of man he is? That guy’s done all sorts of scams and tricks. Used to climb walls to spy on widows bathing. Sleeping with widows is nothing new to him. And what money can you make in the army? I think he was up to something shady out there.”

“...”

Greed, selfishness, jealousy—these were human nature.

Even relatives could hardly watch calmly as a poor kin suddenly struck it rich.

Ji Yun was not surprised by the guests’ reactions.

Listening carefully, he seemed to catch key points.

Liu Yuancai’s sudden wealth was suspicious.

It turned out he had served under a northern warlord before?

Ji Yun recalled his earlier conversation with the old Taoist.

Liu Yuancai had done something evil, which was why he returned to his hometown to build bridges and roads.

Warlords divided the land; soldiers were bandits.

Getting rich fast meant taking crooked paths.

In those days, soldiers who got rich had only a few ways to do it.

If it was about evil deeds, bandits pillaged and robbed but rarely caused total family extinction.

Suddenly, Ji Yun thought of Cao Cao’s tomb raiders.

Could it be...

Could Liu Yuancai’s army days have involved grave robbing?

It was entirely possible.

Ruining a wedding, destroying temples, and digging graves were all top-tier evil deeds.

Warlords in the Republic era did plenty of such things.

Ji Yun looked again at the grand manor.

To make such a windfall, ordinary graves wouldn’t suffice.

Could it be that he once looted the tomb of some noble or prince?

That thought made everything seem to fall into place.

It wasn’t that Ji Yun was overthinking; rather, he hadn’t yet identified the source of the evil spirit.

To leave this ruinous realm, one had to find the origin.

Before long, a sudden change occurred.

“Ah! The bride has hanged herself!”

An old nanny’s terrified scream echoed through Liu Manor once more.

...

“The bride hanged herself?”

Upon hearing this, Ji Yun’s instincts screamed: the malevolent spirit had appeared!

The bride did nothing wrong from beginning to end.

Yet the Liu family blamed her for causing the deaths of father and son.

She wasn’t at fault for the widow’s affair; she was the victim.

In that era, a woman’s reputation was more precious than her life.

She had ‘cursed’ the husband’s family to death—how could she face living on?

The bride’s suicide on the wedding night created enormous resentment.

This was almost always how a vengeful spirit was born in folklore.

And right after the scream, an even stranger scene unfolded.

Ji Yun suddenly noticed that Liu Manor seemed to be shrouded in a cold, ghostly filter.

Everyone in the courtyard lost their color, even the large red lanterns glowed with an eerie, green spectral flame.

“Not good!”

Ji Yun’s heart sank.

Looking up, the once bright white moon suddenly transformed into a strange green moon.

The temperature around hadn’t changed, but an icy chill that made the soul tremble swept over him.

It felt as if he had left the world of the living and entered the realm of the dead.

Yet, amidst his fear, the chill felt oddly familiar.

It was like when he was a child, hiding in a coffin to escape the summer heat.

At that moment, a text message sounded again:

“Evil spirits have revived! Do not leave the manor. This is the source of resentment in the ruinous realm. To survive, you must resolve this. Escape now and death is certain.”

Seeing Shang Xiaoyu’s warning, Ji Yun gathered his thoughts, his expression grave.

He glanced at the green moon above, then at the crows perched on branches whose eyes glowed red.

He seemed to catch strands of red threads—anger and resentment emanating from the east wing.

It felt tangible.

The entire manor was enveloped in a suffocating oppression.

Like the air before a summer storm, it weighed heavily on the chest.

“Already turning into a vengeful spirit so quickly?”

Ji Yun stared at the wisps of red hatred, puzzled.

Though he had never seen a ghost before, elders had told him this:

When a bride first hangs herself, the corpse isn’t even cold yet—the soul hasn’t scattered—how could she become a vengeful spirit so fast?

He guessed there must be some special catalyst in this ruinous realm.

Seeing such a scene for the first time, Ji Yun found it novel.

Looking around, he felt he should do something.

But... what could he do?

Just as he was bewildered, another message arrived.

Shang Xiaoyu’s tone suddenly turned very serious:

“Not good, this is a rule-killing vengeful spirit!”

Ji Yun was confused and replied, “What do you mean?”

Shang Xiaoyu was concise, explaining the danger:

“The ruinous realm has various evil spirits with different killing methods—physical and magical attacks leave traces. But ‘rule’ killing is the most baffling. No matter how powerful, if you break the rules, you die! I suspect the bride’s killing rule is ‘lust.’ Anyone who succumbs will be killed by the rule. Be careful, if you get hit, I can’t save you.”

Supernaturals were indeed different.

She saw more than ordinary people like Ji Yun could.

Ji Yun sensed caution between the lines and asked, “Then what should I do?”

Shang Xiaoyu had a solution.

But when she revealed it, Ji Yun rolled his eyes in disbelief.

...

A reply soon popped up:

“My advice is... if you really can’t control your desires, just cut it off. That way, at least you’ll survive.”

Ji Yun froze, holding his phone.

“???”

It wasn’t that he had a problem typing question marks—it was that he thought she had a problem.

Theoretically, self-castration could suppress desire.

But Ji Yun was certain he was not the kind of person who would do that just to survive.

What use is survival without the birds?

Besides, she only guessed and already wanted him to cut it off?

What about the blood loss?

He stared at the screen, speechless.

It was clear Shang Xiaoyu was trying to find ways to keep him alive.

But Ji Yun felt something strange.

That kind of concern revealed a strong sense of pragmatism.

She didn’t want him to die, but that was all.

Whether he lived a good life afterward was another matter.

Thinking this, Ji Yun felt something was off and finally asked:

“Are you really Shang Xiaoyu?”

Without clarifying this, he felt the chain of events tonight wouldn’t make sense.

...

As expected, no reply came.

But that also meant she wasn’t.

Shang Xiaoyu was already dead.

This was someone inhabiting her corpse.

Ji Yun was not surprised and immediately asked:

“Then why are you using Shang Xiaoyu’s identity?”

If the messenger was sent by his parents, why use his ex-girlfriend’s body?

There must be some ulterior motive.

Apparently, the other side sensed his mistrust.

This time, a reply came:

“You’ve seen the Demon Widow lay her traps long ago. Before, she paraded through the city bringing the bride, just to make sure living witnesses saw the wedding... The truth doesn’t matter. As long as enough people witness it, the marriage bond is forged, forcibly binding the relationship. This is a very clever ‘life usurpation’ tactic. The purpose... you should guess. It’s for what your parents’ letter sent you.”

“Yin... marriage?”

Ji Yun’s skin prickled.

He understood this.

In other words, even without a marriage certificate, as long as a banquet was held and guests witnessed it, the marriage was considered done!

This was forced marriage.

He immediately thought of the post on the forum.

He had enjoyed the gossip before, but never imagined...

He was the protagonist.

Only now did he realize the “ghost bride” in that post was the Demon Widow—and she came for him.

No wonder the bridal procession appeared outside the Happy Community.

No wonder it had to be seen by passersby.

It was forcibly usurping his fate through marriage.

For a moment, Ji Yun felt the absurdity and outrageousness of it all.

At the same time, his curiosity grew about what in the letter from his parents required such a bond.

The message from “Shang Xiaoyu” replied again:

“When I discovered it, the Demon Widow’s plan was almost complete—just the wedding ceremony remained to fully steal your fate. To break this wicked yin marriage, only someone with a genuine karmic bond to you can intervene. So, I had no choice but to resort to this... The Demon Widow has also entered the manor; she will likely attack you. Of course, you must first survive the evil spirits here.”

...

Now Ji Yun fully understood.

Shang Xiaoyu was his ex-girlfriend.

Only she had the karmic connection strong enough to break the curse.

The solution, simply put, was to forcibly insert herself as a third party into the marriage and tear apart the bond.

Though borrowing a corpse was impolite, given the circumstances, it was understandable.