Chapter 52

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Tied up in the side courtyard, a large black dog strained against its rope, barking toward the light cast by the window, growling at the figure of an aged woman.

Plop plop…

Plop plop plop…

The sound of water continued, echoing through the warm yellow room. Madam Zhou carefully approached the door, clutching a silk handkerchief, and quietly called for the maid in the next room.

“Xiaohuan… Wake up quickly and go see what’s happening outside.”

The maid next door, who had been lightly dozing, was already awake. She had heard such sounds before and knew all too well what it was. Hearing her mistress’s command, her face turned ashen.

Trembling, she shuffled to the door and opened it a crack to peek outside.

Then… she slammed the door shut.

Her pale face pressed against the door, her voice tinged with sobs: “Madam… that old woman is back… she’s right outside.”

Madam Zhou was equally frightened and quickly opened the door to let the maid in, feeling safer with company.

“What should we do?”

The two of them racked their brains for a solution. On the bed, Zhou Rong appeared to be trapped in a nightmare, murmuring softly and covered in sweat.

“Did you see what the old woman looked like? Has she been in the manor before?”

The maid shook her head repeatedly, her voice faltering, unable to articulate her thoughts. Seeing her reaction, Madam Zhou stepped closer to the window, extending her finger to poke a small hole through the paper screen to look outside.

The lantern under the eaves swayed, its light flickering, revealing a short, hunchbacked old woman. She hurried along with a cane, moving slowly at first, then blinking around a corner, only to reappear from the other side moments later.

As she walked, water poured incessantly from her mouth and nose, as if it would never stop, leaving a clear wet trail behind her.

Madam Zhou’s face paled in fear, her voice trembling as she started to suggest: “We need to find a way to inform the Old Lord or the other servants…”

Suddenly, the old woman outside halted, and at that moment, the tied-up black dog barked even more furiously.

Woof woof woof…

In the stillness of the night, the dog’s barking echoed from the front courtyard. A servant holding a lantern glanced toward the noise, then turned back to the scholar following behind. He stepped aside and bowed, saying: “Young Master Lu, this is the place. This little one will wait for you outside.”

After saying this, he looked again toward the barking dog, muttering under his breath.

“…It’s barking again.”

“Does the dog in the estate usually bark this ferociously?”

Hearing the scholar’s question, the servant turned back, saying: “This dog wasn’t raised in the estate. We just bought it a month ago and placed it in the young lady’s courtyard…”

Suddenly, he fell silent. In the warm glow of the lantern, Young Master Lu had not gone to relieve himself as expected. Instead, he stood by the water tank, pulling out a brush from his wide sleeve.

The corner of the servant’s mouth twitched, did the scholar really need to be poetic even while using the restroom?

Unable to help himself, he asked: “Young Master Lu… what are you planning to do?”

“Shh!”

By the side of the water tank, Lu Liangsheng placed his index finger against his lips, then pulled out a small piece of ink from his other wide sleeve. With a flick of his hand, ripples spread across the surface of the water tank, and in the puzzled gaze of the servant, he drew a line of water that wrapped around the ink block, quickly forming ink.

“Whatever you see, don’t tell anyone else.”

Once the ink was evenly mixed, Lu Liangsheng dipped the tip of his brush into his palm, then, just like on any other day, casually began to paint on the wall, effortlessly drawing a horizontal line.

The servant, trembling while holding the lantern, had already been startled by the earlier scene and felt courageous just to remain. The scholar opposite of him was still the Old Lord’s distinguished guest, so he couldn’t help but stammer.

“Lu… Lu… Young Master Lu… what are you doing…?”

Lu Liangsheng paused, looking at the ink line he had just drawn.

“Of course, I’m here to save someone. Do you think I’d be drawing a picturesque scene beside the restroom?”

In the next moment.

The ink line on the wall began to writhe as if it were alive, much to the servant’s horrified gaze.

The night breeze swept through the courtyard.

With a flick of his sleeve, Lu Liangsheng turned and pointed in the direction of the barking dog.

“Go!”

The ink line shot out from the wall with a swift whoosh, passing the servant’s head and sending his hair fluttering in the wind, disappearing into the darkness of the courtyard.

In the side courtyard, the dog’s barking grew frantic.

Suddenly, a small water stain hit the paper window, startling Madam Zhou, who recoiled instinctively. The paper window opened slightly, revealing the old woman outside. She slowly turned her face toward the room, her hair as white as a crane’s and her features bloated and expressionless, staring intently at the woman inside.

At that moment, the black dog quieted, whimpering as it tucked its tail and retreated to its nest.

Plop plop plop…

Plop…

As Madam Zhou took two fearful steps back, the old woman outside sprayed more water from her mouth and nose, stepping forward with her cane. In the blink of an eye, she lunged at the window.

The master and servant in the boudoir rolled their eyes and fainted from fright.

A chilling wind whipped through the room, yanking the window open. Two waterlogged hands grasped the window frame as the old woman slowly pushed her upper body inside, opening her mouth toward the girl on the bed.

Clear water dripped from her mouth and chin onto the floor.

In the next moment.

As the bloated and old figure attempted to fully enter, a nearby tree rustled violently. A line of ink shot toward her, imbued with spiritual power, wrapping around the old woman’s body. Even the hands gripping the window frame were yanked back, pulling her into the courtyard.

“So much water, did you drown?”

From the other end of the ink line, a figure approached, their voice clear and resonant as they stepped into the glow of the lantern.

“Even if you have grievances, you can express them. Why come out to harm others and make it hard for yourself to be reincarnated?”

Yet the bound old woman didn’t even glance at the scholar, still pulled toward Miss Zhou’s boudoir.

Does this ghost lack spiritual consciousness?

Lu Liangsheng frowned. The ink thread coiling around his middle finger suddenly tightened as he approached the old woman beneath the eaves. The ink thread visibly constricted again, the dingy robe of the old woman showing deep indentations. It was as if her body was a sponge being wrung out, releasing a torrent of clear water.

“So much water…”

Not only were there water stains in multiple places, but there was also a faint, foul odor lingering in the air. Lu Liangsheng used a technique to draw the old woman closer, the ink line tightening as well, constricting her until she was surrounded by circles, her eyes bulging out.

In less than a moment, before Lu Liangsheng, the old woman’s flesh and bones rotted and turned soft, visibly transforming into a puddle of clear water, leaving only her clothing lying on the ground.

“Is that it?”

Lu Liangsheng withdrew the ink line, observing for a moment before quickly stepping into the room. Zhou Rong lay quietly asleep on the bed. After checking Madam Zhou and the maid on the ground and finding no serious issues, he left and returned to the front courtyard.

In the living room, Zhou Zhen saw him return and instructed a maid to pour more wine.

“Liangsheng was gone for so long, he must be punished with a cup of wine.”

“Indeed, a cup of punishment is due.” Lu Liangsheng walked around, noticing the servant who had seen him use a spell standing nearby, not daring to lift his face. With a smile, he drank the wine in his hand in one go and clasped his hands, saying: “Elder Zhou, the sky is darkening. I should return now.”

Perhaps a bit tipsy, the elder put his arms around the scholar, urging him to sit down and waving his sleeve to send a servant to the kitchen for more dishes.

“Since it’s late, just stay the night. No need to go back and forth.”

Lu Liangsheng waved his hand, stopping the servant from heading to the kitchen, and stepped back to the door, clasping his hands once more.

“Elder Zhou’s kindness is appreciated by Liangsheng, but staying suddenly isn’t proper. There is still an unmarried daughter at Elder Zhou’s home, and it wouldn’t be good for outsiders to know.”

This made the elder somewhat sober up, and he nodded: “Very well, I am also a bit drunk. I’ll send someone to escort you back to the inn.”

“That won’t be necessary, the inn isn’t far. I’ll walk back myself.”

After bidding farewell, Zhou Zhen still escorted the scholar to the door. Turning back to the living room, he had just begun to eat again when suddenly a few servants rushed in from the backyard, whispering urgently in his ear.

The elder’s drunkenness vanished in an instant. He lifted his robe and quickly followed the guards and servants to his daughter’s side courtyard, where several maids were already waiting. Someone held a lantern, illuminating a puddle of clear water and clothing on the ground.

“Old Lord, the madam and young miss are both fine, but the clothing on the ground, along with this puddle… Those who saw the old woman said that this clothing resembles what she was wearing…”

“Old Lord, Old Lord, the madam has awakened!”

Zhou Zhen temporarily set aside the clothing and water stains on the ground and entered his daughter’s boudoir. His old wife was already awake, half-leaning against a maid, her condition still somewhat dazed.

Seeing her husband enter, she became a bit more alert.

“Master… there was an old woman, spraying water around Rong’er’s room…”

“I saw no old woman, there were only extra clothes and a lot of water on the ground.”

Zhou Zhen comforted his wife for a moment, but as he considered what had happened in the side courtyard, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows, growing suspicious. He immediately summoned the few servants and guards in the household.

“Do you all know what happened? Speak the truth!”

Having earned his reputation over the years, the old man’s words carried a certain authority. The servants and maids bowed their heads, not daring to respond, which was, in a way, a form of answer.

Among the servants, one cowered particularly noticeably. Zhou Zhen turned to him and called him out.

“You, speak!”

The servant, who had led Lu Liangsheng to the restroom, reluctantly stepped forward, a worried expression on his face.

“Old Lord… I dare not say…”

“Speak!”

With a fierce shout from the elder, the servant trembled and quickly replied: “It was that Young Master Lu…”

“I saw him with a ‘whoosh’, sucking the water from the water tank into his palm!”

“…Then, he dipped the brush in ink and drew a line on the wall. That line came to life and flew out! This little one was so scared that my legs went weak, and I fell to the ground…”

“And then, that line flew over to the young miss… Young Master Lu followed after, and that’s all I know…”

He hurriedly spilled the details, and all the servants and guards in the courtyard fell silent. Zhou Zhen’s face was filled with shock as he looked at the puddle of water and the clothes on the ground.

“Is this true?”

The servant nodded repeatedly.

“Truly!”

Zhou Zhen lowered his voice: “What happened tonight must not be spoken of outside.”