Chapter 35: Stray Ghosts Must Be Exterminated

Jiang Che was furious. It had gone to such lengths to engage in these shady, underhanded dealings, yet that woman back home was not only failing to do her part but was actively sabotaging it. If she wanted to die, she shouldn't drag it down with her!

What on earth had she done to herself? Did she not realize that their fates were intertwined—that they would either prosper together or perish together?

Lang Jiuchuan grabbed her talisman brush and pressed it against her spiritual center: "Body imbued with golden light, shielding my form. Golden light appear with speed, guide the soul back to its residence, by imperial decree."

A pale golden light flashed from the brush. Lang Jiuchuan’s weak soul drifted back into her physical body. A moment later, she opened her hollow eyes; her chest rose and fell shallowly, her head swam, and her limbs trembled.

So weak!

She needed nourishment.

Lying motionless on the floor, Lang Jiuchuan didn't hesitate to snatch the power of vows from Jiang Che.

Jiang Che, who had just felt its spiritual senses stabilize and had not yet managed to catch its breath, was stunned: "!"

What a bandit.

"I advise you to stop while you can!" Jiang Che threatened sullenly from within the spiritual center.

Lang Jiuchuan replied weakly, "I am just borrowing a little. I will return it to you next time."

Jiang Che was so angry it laughed. As if there were such a thing as returning it!

Lang Jiuchuan stated, "I need to enter deep meditation to recover. You should hurry back."

Without waiting for a response, she ignored Jiang Che, crawled onto the bed, lay down, closed her eyes, and entered a meditative state.

Jiang Che: "..."

Why was this feeling of punching cotton so infuriating?

No one knew of the movements in Lang Jiuchuan’s small room, but over on Lady Cui’s side, the report she heard from Jianlan nearly triggered another heart ailment.

Nanny Cheng comforted her incessantly: "You were exhausted enough during labor, and you nearly gave your own life for it. It is only natural that you might have misidentified the child."

Lady Cui waved her hand, closed her eyes, and could not utter a single word. Seeing this, Nanny Cheng sighed deeply and said no more.

Those who have trapped themselves in a dead end must be the ones to walk out of it, even if others try to pull them. Now that all the facts were laid bare, it depended entirely on what Lady Cui chose to believe.

If she truly refused to let go, then the bond between mother and daughter would be at its end. After all, Lang Jiuchuan had already presented her choice; otherwise, she would not have let Jianlan report back so honestly.

Lady Cui turned away, pressing her fist to her lips as tears slid down the corners of her eyes.

The Lang family paid little attention to the turmoil between the mother and daughter of the second branch, but there were many outsiders covertly watching the Lang family’s funeral.

Five hundred miles from the capital of Wujing lay a manor overlooking the mountains and rivers, elegantly named "Seeker’s Dock." Covering a hundred acres, it was shaped in the form of a Taiji Yin-Yang Bagua, with vital energy flowing around the estate in a serene and quiet atmosphere.

Inside the main residence, carved with dragons and phoenixes, a noblewoman of elegant bearing, dressed in a floral-patterned silk gown, received news from Wujing. Her brows knitted together, and her expression turned grave. She hurried out of the main residence and arrived before a solitary, primitive Zen courtyard.

In the courtyard, a young attendant in black robes saw her, went inside to report, and then led her in.

"What is the matter that has startled you so?"

In the room, a middle-aged man wearing a purple robe embroidered with Bagua, his hair fastened with a purple jade hairpin, was reading a scroll of scriptures. Beside him lay turtle shells used for divination. He glanced at the woman with indifference.

The woman bowed respectfully before handing over the message. "Master, news has come from Wujing. The Lang family’s ninth daughter has returned to the manor for the funeral."

Lang Nine was clearly dead beyond any doubt; how could she possibly return for a funeral?

The middle-aged man paused. He took the note, glanced at it, and immediately tossed it into the jade bowl used for washing brushes on his desk. He said dismissively, "Just some nameless spirit that managed to borrow a corpse to return to life. Why the panic?"

The woman frowned and said, "But I feel uneasy. What if..."

"What 'what if'? Do you not know whether it is a wandering ghost possessing her?"

The woman lowered her head in silence, a flash of coldness in her eyes. When she looked up again, she wore her usual gentle, virtuous expression and smiled faintly. "It is my overthinking."

It must be a wandering ghost. After all, she had made sure to have the original soul captured; there was no possibility of escape.

"Master, does the matter regarding the Lang family need to be settled?" The woman feigned grief. "A mere wandering ghost seizing a body to remain in the world of the living is intolerable to heaven and earth. To prevent disaster among mortals, it should be purged to restore clarity."

The middle-aged man stared at her for a long time until beads of sweat formed on her forehead. He then withdrew his gaze and said nonchalantly, "Handle it as you see fit. Those who are meant to die have disrupted the cycle of reincarnation; their destruction is merely the fruit of their own sins."

The woman’s eyes flickered. "Yes."

"Do not inform Xuan’er of this; she is at a crucial moment," the middle-aged man added.

The woman hurriedly replied, "Please rest assured, such trivial matters will not reach her."

The middle-aged man said no more and waved his hand. The woman retreated. Once she was gone, he glanced at the turtle shells on the table and reached out to touch them, but seemingly thinking of something else, he shook his head.

In this world, there were not that many chosen ones. In their own clan of over two hundred blood descendants, only one possessed a pure Daoist root, allowing her to truly seek the Dao, slay demons, and reach the heavens.

It was merely a coincidence.

The middle-aged man picked up the scriptures again, pondering the profundity within.

As the noblewoman exited the Zen courtyard, her footsteps faltered slightly. She looked toward a lush mountain in the distance, her expression softening with pride.

Her daughter—who could compare to her?

The woman pulled her gaze away and looked toward the west. Her expression turned cold, and her nails dug deep into her palms.

Regardless of what kind of wandering ghost it was, wearing that face while walking in the mortal world was an eyesore. It could not remain.

No one could block her Xuan’er’s path, especially not that wretched creature.

The noblewoman returned to the main residence under the respectful gazes of the servants. As she sat down, her trusted nanny entered, carrying a precious long velvet box. The noblewoman glanced at it, accustomed to such things, and asked indifferently, "Who sent this?"

"It is the young mistress of the third branch, saying she happened to come across this fine ginseng and wanted to send it to the Young Mistress to nourish her health." As she spoke, the nanny opened the box, revealing a high-quality ginseng, complete with all its roots.

The noblewoman was satisfied. "She is much better at playing the part than the previous third sister-in-law."

The nanny smiled thinly. "In this whole clan, who does not respect our Young Mistress? Only those who are ignorant and arrogant end up suffering. And look what happened? Because their hearts were not righteous, they couldn't even give birth to children... Oh, this old servant speaks too much."

The noblewoman said, "Go and take the protective talisman that Xuan’er drew earlier and send it to her."

"The young mistress will be overjoyed." The nanny added a few sweet, flattering words with envy in her eyes.

The noblewoman was amused and beamed. "Enough, you old thing, only that mouth of yours knows how to speak. Go and summon Fang Quan; I have matters to entrust to him."

The nanny’s heart tightened. Not daring to ask, she nodded and retreated. Standing under the corridor for a moment, she wondered who the next unlucky soul would be.