Chapter 53: Sir, Do You Want to Buy Your Life?

Clang!

Hearing Lang Jiuchuan casually drop the remark, "Would you consider buying your life?", Shen Qinghe was so startled that he failed to catch his teacup. With a sudden twitch of his hand, it slipped to the floor and shattered into pieces.

He looked at Lang Jiuchuan, who wore no expression of someone merely making a joke, but rather looked dead serious. A sudden tightness gripped Shen Qinghe’s chest, as if a ruthless hand had clamped down upon his heart, making even breathing difficult.

Buying his life—that meant his very life hung by a thread!

"Buy what life?" Madam Shen asked, waking up in a haze just in time to catch those spine-chilling words.

Shen Qinghe stiffened. He immediately shot a warning glance at Lang Jiuchuan to halt the conversation there, then hurried to Madam Shen's side to shower her with tender inquiries.

Jiang Qi drifted out from the spiritual altar, squatted down on her shoulder, and said, "Are you still thinking about going to eradicate the root cause of the Daughter Village?"

"The so-called karma and merit you speak of actually consist of keeping Shen Qinghe alive," Lang Jiuchuan said, watching the man speak gently to his wife. "He is a good official. If the world had more good officials like him, society would be a much clearer place."

"My, my, who knew you possessed such grand, universal benevolence to save the world?"

Lang Jiuchuan shot it a sideways glance. "Precisely because I don't, having more people like this—leaving the world with a little less filth and darkness—is a great blessing. Also, get away from me."

With a flick of her hand, she batted Jiang Qi far away. "You'll eat anything; you really must be starving!"

Jiang Qi did a somersault in the air. Hearing this, it froze for a moment, and upon realizing what she meant, its fur bristled. "Are you even human? You tear down the bridge the moment you cross it! I pulled my weight just now to get rid of that monstrosity, and now you're turning your nose up at me?"

"Contributing was the right thing to do. In this world, how can there be so many people who reap without sowing? You and I, two swords uniting as one, a win-win situation—what great virtue!"

Jiang Qi: "!"

Clearly, these were pleasant-sounding words, but coming from her mouth, why were they so infuriating?

Jiang Qi was so angry that its feline face puffed up into a perfect round ball, making it look just like an adorable white cat that someone would love to pet.

While Lang Jiuchuan was bickering with Jiang Qi, Shen Qinghe had already comforted Madam Shen and instructed the servants to tend to her. He then led Lang Jiuchuan out, seeking a separate side hall to talk.

***

Although the matter regarding Shen Peng was settled, his wife had also suffered greatly. Shen Qinghe certainly did not want her to grow even more anxious upon hearing that his own life was in jeopardy, as worry would impair her recovery.

The side hall also enshrined Buddha statues. Initially, Lang Jiuchuan had harbored some misgivings; after all, she was someone possessing a borrowed corpse, and she feared the Buddhas might regard her as a demonic entity and cast an immediate exorcism.

Upon second thought, however, after entering the temple, she had only felt a slight unnaturalness at the very beginning. Having stayed here for so long, she felt no other discomfort, and her soul had only grown more stable after acquiring Madam Shen's allotted lifespan. Thus, she stopped worrying.

To hell with fear! She wasn't forcibly seizing a vessel; she was sent to return to her mortal shell by the underworld's divine officials. That was equivalent to walking around with official credentials—she was sanctioned by heaven and earth!

Buoyed by this thought, Lang Jiuchuan stepped into the side hall.

Jiang Qi nearly laughed out loud. So high and mighty, yet why don't you let go of the imperial bell at your waist? You're gripping it so tightly—aren't you still feeling guilty?

As Lang Jiuchuan stepped one foot into the side hall and raised her head, she found several glare-furious Vajra statues baring their teeth and glaring down at her, causing her to pause and carefully sense her surroundings.

Heh, nothing wrong.

She walked in with a composed air and calmly met the gazes of those Bodhisattva statues, her heart relaxing slightly.

Standing firmly in the main hall, a young novice monk fetched incense, lit it, handed it to Shen Qinghe, and then withdrew to the side.

Shen Qinghe respectfully offered the incense. Seeing Lang Jiuchuan staring unblinkingly at the wrathful Vajras as if having a staring contest to see whose eyes were bigger, the young girl's childish innocence brought a smile to one's face, contrasting sharply with the solemn gravity she had displayed while performing rites earlier.

He simply could not figure out the young girl before him.

Shen Qinghe asked, "What you said just now—could it be related to the bizarre occurrences at the Daughter Village?"

Lang Jiuchuan collected her thoughts and said, "I told you, your son was targeted by an evil entity through a medium. That medium was brought back by you, Milord. That eighteen-bead prayer bracelet likely came into contact with your blood. Father and son share linked bloodlines, which served as the cause and effect for the erosion. It is as simple as that."

Shen Qinghe frowned. Upon careful recollection, he had lost that string of prayer beads precisely because he took a tumble near the mountain stronghold, scraping a bloody gash on his hand. No doubt he had inadvertently smeared his blood onto the ornament right then before losing it.

"Milord, you possess an aura of righteousness; your martial vigor and vital energy can suppress evil and protect your body, so it could not strike you directly. But as days pass, it is hard to say." Lang Jiuchuan looked toward the fierce Vajra statues and continued, "People often say that righteousness overcomes evil, but it is not necessarily true that all evil can be overcome by righteousness—just as some good officials are no match for treacherous sycophants."

Shen Qinghe's eyes narrowed. Thinking of certain disgraceful officials in the imperial court, his expression turned cold.

***

"No matter how much righteous energy protects Milord, you are still made of mere flesh and blood. If you are continuously affected by malevolent Qi, you will either be dead or plagued by sickness and injury. At that time, regardless of your grand ambitions, without a healthy body, how could you stretch your talents and seek justice for the common people?"

Shen Qinghe asked, "Then what on earth is that evil entity? Was it truly nurtured by the Daughter Village?"

"All misfortune unfailingly originates from that Daughter Village. If Milord does not investigate that place, I suppose you wouldn't give anyone reason to find you an obstacle. As for whether the evil entity is driven by human hands or something else, we can only know after seeing it."

"Human hands?" Shen Qinghe seemed to think of something and said, "You mean someone might be playing the ghost and scaring people?"

Lang Jiuchuan smiled. "It's not someone playing the ghost; it's someone manipulating evil entities. Milord, just as there are good and bad officials in the court, the Daoist arts also have orthodox and unorthodox paths. Those who practice these arts naturally fall into righteous and evil camps. Those who can manipulate malevolent entities or use malicious Daoist arts to harm people belong to the evil path."

Shen Qinghe shivered.

"I have never been to the Daughter Village regarding the missing persons cases you are investigating; I've only heard rumors, and I don't know the exact truth of the matter. But the malevolent Qi is real. Whether this evil is artificially driven or naturally formed, we must go and see to know for sure. However, regardless of whether it is human-driven or otherwise, it is a fact that you, Milord, are standing in the way and acting as an obstruction, which is why they have targeted you."

"Milord need only consider what your situation would be like if you were targeted by your political rivals, and you will understand your present plight."

Did he even need to think? It would undoubtedly be a fight to the death. He was upright, but precisely because of such a temperament, he had blocked many people's paths and often locked horns with political rivals in strategic battles. Civil struggles lacked the flash of swords and blades, yet they were fraught with peril.

If civil struggles were already like that, how was he supposed to fight an invisible evil entity with his mere mortal flesh and blood? Could he perform rituals or chant incantations?

Thinking of his son's possessed state and what he had witnessed during the exorcism earlier, Shen Qinghe—who had always loudly proclaimed that there were no gods in this world—felt a chilling draft at the back of his neck, as if his head were about to part ways with his shoulders.

Since Lang Jiuchuan had brought this up and had also helped his son, it meant she was confident she could save his life.

No, she was going to *buy* his life!

Thinking of the price his wife had paid for their son, Shen Qinghe looked at Lang Jiuchuan and asked, "What price must I pay to buy my life? What do you want?"

Under the glare of the wrathful Vajras, Lang Jiuchuan reached out with a mischievous, punch-me kind of grin, plucked a piece of malt candy from the offering table's plate, unwrapped it, popped it into her mouth, and chewed. She turned her head to look at him, flashing a rather terrifying smile. The deal was struck.