I Have Other Ways of Deliverance

"First Wife! It's the First Wife!"

Xue Yangshi, pale and distraught, clutched the arm of the handsome young Daoist priest before her like a lifeline, crying out miserably.

She was the concubine of Xue Dayong, the proprietor of the Satin Shop, and had only been married for three days. Though she wore no makeup and her hair was dishevelled, she could still be seen as a delicate beauty.

Li Chu soothed, "Madam Xue, there's no need to panic for now. Please recount the events of last night to me once more, from beginning to end."

As he spoke, he subtly withdrew his arm.

"That's right, little lady, you can rest assured. With this constable and Little Daoist Priest Li here, we guarantee to protect you all!"

Zhou Dafu patted his chest, simultaneously placing a large, furry hand on Xue Yangshi's fragrant shoulder and rubbing it twice.

Young, beautiful, and a widow! Soon to inherit the Xue family's vast fortune. Constable Zhou was eager to comfort her wholeheartedly.

However, Xue Yangshi lifted her tear-streaked face, glanced at Zhou Dafu, then at Li Chu, before giving Zhou Dafu a glare and twisting her body to shake off his lecherous hand.

She re-clutched Li Chu's other arm, weeping, "Then I'll tell it to the little Daoist priest. You must protect me!"

That slut! Scared out of her wits and still throwing herself at the good-looking man! Zhou Dafu cursed inwardly, indignant.

Of course, it was just impotent rage.

"It was the First Wife! I saw it clearly last night!" Xue Yangshi began to recount haltingly. "On the first day I married in, I was supposed to serve tea to the First Wife, but... but she wouldn't accept me. Master said to ignore her and had the First Wife moved to the side courtyard."

"Who knew that the next day, yesterday morning, everyone suddenly started shouting that the First Wife had an accident! When I asked Master about it at dinner, he said the First Wife had an accident and died. But... but I heard the servants all say the First Wife committed suicide."

"I was terrified then. I, I, I knew I was a concubine when I married in, but I never thought of competing for favor with her! What if she came back as a ghost for revenge?"

"Then last night, I needed to go to the privy. I slept on the outer side of the bed, and Master slept on the inner side. When I got up, I found someone on my left. I thought I'd get out of bed from the other side, then I discovered... I discovered... there was someone on the other side too!"

"I quickly rubbed my eyes to look, and found it was the First Wife lying on my left! Her face was all blue and her body was cold. My first thought was that someone had placed her corpse on the bed, and then... she suddenly opened her eyes!"

"And then... I was so scared I fainted."

Zhou Dafu nodded beside her, imagining the scene from her perspective. It was indeed a bit terrifying.

"When I woke up again, it was this morning. The maids woke me. I then discovered that Master, who was beside me, was no longer human. He was like a puddle of rotten flesh. I truly didn't see how the First Wife tortured him. The maids also said that all the men in the household were dead – the servants, the gardener, the coachman... only we women were left."

"It's the First Wife taking revenge on men!"

"She's definitely still here. She died with resentment, she won't go far. She didn't kill us this time, who knows if she'll kill us next time."

"Don't worry, there won't be a next time," Li Chu said with certainty. Finally hearing Xue Yangshi finish her story, he resolutely pulled his arm free and stepped back five paces, creating distance between them.

Xue Yangshi's arms felt empty, and she looked at Li Chu with disappointment.

Zhou Dafu quickly offered his strong arm.

Xue Yangshi blinked, turned and hugged the maidservant next to her, and started sobbing again.

Zhou Dafu got nowhere, and awkwardly walked over to Li Chu, asking in a low voice, "How is it?"

Li Chu paced into the bedroom. The first thing that met his eyes was a screen covered in blood, with shreds of flesh stuck to the floor, the bed, and even the ceiling. Although most of the bodies had already been cleared away, it was still a gruesome sight.

He countered, "Has Constable Zhou already seen the bodies?"

"Don't even mention it." Zhou Dafu looked dejected. "The servants were better off, they were bitten to death, with only a few scratches at most. Xue Dayong's death was too tragic, more so than being cut into a thousand pieces! It was like someone tore the flesh off his body with their fingernails, shred by shred! It couldn't have been done by a human, even a wild beast couldn't do something like this. I took a look this morning and threw up last night's dinner!"

Li Chu nodded. As he leveled up from monster grinding, his senses had become extraordinarily sharp. At this moment, he could clearly sense a nauseating, cold aura in the room, similar to the places where ghosts had appeared before – the Yin Qi left behind after a ghost's appearance.

"Listening to Xue Yangshi's account, it does sound like the work of a Vengeful Spirit," Li Chu said. "Then I'll stay here tonight and see if she appears again."

A Vengeful Spirit is a type of ghost that can form when a person dies with extreme resentment, lingering in the mortal world solely on a breath of resentment.

Most Vengeful Spirits are earth-bound ghosts, meaning they cannot leave the place of their death. After death, their intelligence gradually dissipates. They forget most things, only remembering revenge. Even if they have already killed their enemy, they will remain in place and harm more innocent people.

As the Vengeful Spirit kills more people, the resentment it accumulates will grow heavier, so it must be eliminated as soon as possible.

"However, there are still some doubts," Zhou Dafu said, stroking his chin in thought. "Vengeful Spirits are not that easy to create. I've been a constable for decades and have only encountered two or three cases, all involving earth-shattering injustices. Logically speaking, Xue Family's First Wife was just a jealous woman. Even if she was neglected, she wouldn't necessarily have to die to prove a point. And if she committed suicide, not being killed by someone else, how could she so easily turn into a Vengeful Spirit?"

His doubts were reasonable. If Vengeful Spirits were so easy to create, then anyone with a petty mind could harm people after death.

"Are you saying it's possible that Xue Dayong killed his wife?" Li Chu asked.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter anymore." Zhou Dafu spread his hands. "In any case, Xue Dayong has already descended to the Underworld. Let the couple confront each other there."

With that, the two walked out of the Xue family's bedroom.

In the courtyard, as the midday sun shone down, the Yin Qi in the house seemed to have been dispersed, and Xue Yangshi's spirits had stabilized a little.

Seeing the two approach, she looked at Li Chu with her tear-swollen apricot eyes, "Young Daoist Master, you must help me perform a proper ritual. I need an altar, incense, candles, talismans, and all the necessary items. You can order whatever you need, and I will prepare the best for you."

"Uh." Li Chu hesitated, then truthfully said, "I don't know how to perform rituals."

Xue Yangshi was stunned. "A Daoist priest doesn't know how to perform rituals? Didn't Constable Zhou invite you to perform Deliverance for the First Wife?"

"Setting up an altar... chanting scriptures... performing rituals, I'm not very good at those things." Li Chu replied calmly. "But don't worry, I have other ways of Deliverance."