Madam Ren introduced, " Shopkeeper Jin... this is my residence."
Jin Shanyao didn't answer, but walked past her and went straight into the house. As soon as the door opened, a blast of cold air hit her face. Her gaze swept around and finally settled on the purple ceramic bottle, from which black mist was continuously billowing out.
She turned to look at Meng Anzhi, "Do you want to see the little devil?"
Meng Anzhi and Madam Ren stood together. Madam Ren thought she was being spoken to, so she braced herself and asked, "That brat is in my room."
Jin Shanyao her head. "It's in the bottle."
Upon hearing this, Madam Ren nearly fainted. She wiped this bottle at least three times a day, and now she was being told there was something sinister inside? Madam Ren's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.
" Shopkeeper Jin, this is no joke. This bottle is a gift from the Emperor. Do you know that what you just said could cost you your head?"
Another head loss. Actually, she didn't really want to change her hairstyle... Her current canopy looks quite nice.
Jin Shanyao took out a talisman and waved it haphazardly in the air. Then, he sprinkled his Spiritual Power on Meng Anzhi and Madam Ren. Meng Anzhi took a deep breath and opened her eyes again.
With a helpless expression that said, "It's just as I thought," she realized she wasn't actually that interested in ghosts; she didn't need to see what ghosts looked like every time.
Madam Ren was far less composed than Meng Anzhi. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the room filled with black mist churning like living things.
She opened her mouth, wanting to shout, but no sound came out. Her legs went weak, and she was about to fall backward when Meng Anzhi caught her.
She lived in this house for nearly ten years.
ten years.
Madam Ren's face was as white as paper, and her lips trembled so much she couldn't speak. She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't obey her; she wanted to close her eyes, but they were fixed on the bottle, as if nailed to it.
"Master..." her voice trembled uncontrollably, "This... this thing... my husband brought it back from the palace... will he be alright?"
"No..." Jin Shanyao forward and reached directly into the bottle. The bottle jolted violently, and a piercing scream instantly rang out.
She pulled her hand back, and a twisted soul was forcibly dragged out.
Jin Shanyao it into the air, and the distorted phantom gradually transformed into a human form—a little girl of six or seven years old. Her soul was unharmed, and she timidly gazed at Jin Shanyao.
"Who... who are you? Let me tell you... I'm a ghost, a very powerful ghost. You'd better not mess with me!"
Jin Shanyao and gave a noncommittal "Oh," "How powerful? Is it powerful just because it can release black mist?"
"No way... Don't underestimate me just because I'm young, I'm already an old ghost!" The little girl Jin Shanyao, trying her best to make a fierce expression.
The fierce aura that had just gathered around her was punctured by the Jin Shanyao as she raised her hand, leaving the little girl stunned in mid-air.
She forced herself to remain calm, clenched her fists tightly, and a surge of anger welled up in her eyes, but it was immediately extinguished by a Jin Shanyao.
The little girl stared blankly at the Jin Shanyao, filled with anger, anxiety, and fear... and burst into tears... "You treacherous traitors, how dare you bully me like this! I'll have my father behead you!"
"Little Princess???" Madam Ren felt that the person in front of her looked familiar. Only after the little girl reminded her did she remember who she was. She was the youngest daughter of the former emperor, who died in the fire on the night of the coup.
The little princess looked up at the sound, her eyes instantly reddening. " Wan Ning... why did you have me trapped? Let me out!"
As Madam Ren gazed into the air, she felt a sense of temporal and spatial disorientation.
She was the same age as the little princess and had served as her companion in the palace when she was young; the two had always been close friends.
However, half a month before the Xiao family launched their rebellion, her father requested leave from the palace and confined her to the house, forbidding her from going out. She was young at the time and did not understand the reason, and she threw a tantrum for a long time.
By the time she was finally able to leave her home, the world had already changed hands. Now, it has been thirty-seven years since the founding of the Sheng Dynasty.
She had asked her father about the whereabouts of the little princess years ago, and he only said that after the fire in the palace, the little princess never came out again.
She was saddened by this for a long time.
Upon suddenly seeing her old friend today, Madam Ren was overwhelmed with emotion and softly asked, "Little princess, why were you hiding in the bottle? Why... why didn't you reincarnate?"
The little princess shook her head, her eyes red-rimmed. "I don't know either. I only know that when the rebels stormed the bedchamber, my mother hurriedly hid me under the bed and covered me up tightly with something..."
I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly a fire broke out inside the room. I was choked by the thick smoke and could hardly breathe. I tried to climb out, but I couldn't push aside the things blocking the way beside the bed.
The scorching heat wave burned my entire body with excruciating pain, almost causing me to faint.
Just as I ran out of strength, I suddenly felt light, and I finally crawled out from under the bed. But the room was filled with thick smoke, and I couldn't find a way out.
There happened to be a bottle standing next to me; its surface was ice-cold. Instinctively, I crawled inside. When I came out, I realized no one could see me, and that's when I knew I was dead...
The little princess burst into tears, Jin Shanyao covered her ears with her hand, "Stop crying like a ghost..."
The little princess cried even harder when she heard Jin Shanyao scolding her, Meng Anzhi covered her ears.
Madam Ren looked at her former friend, and tried to speak several times but couldn't find the words.
The only sound in the dark room was the little princess's crying.
Madam Ren turned to look at Jin Shanyao, "Master... why didn't the little princess reincarnate?"
Jin Shanyao gazed at the purple ceramic bottle. If she wasn't mistaken, this should be the bottle that Tian Family Village had presented as tribute to the villagers and that had been fired in the kiln after Ghost One.
Ghost One committed suicide back then, but her lifespan wasn't over, and her blood spilled onto the bottle, making the bottle connected to her aura. The little princess hid inside the bottle, completely concealing her own aura, which is Black and White Impermanence couldn't find her.
Jin Shanyao gazed at the sobbing little princess and softened her voice, saying, "Your lifespan has ended. Shall I send you to be reincarnated?"
The little princess paused in her sobs, "Reincarnation... does that mean going to the Underworld? I'm scared, I'm afraid of ghosts."
Jin Shanyao said patiently, "The porcelain vase you are in is a tribute from Tian Family Village, fired by sacrificing a living person in the kiln."
The woman who died in the kiln accident hasn't reached the end of her lifespan and is still accumulating Merit in the mass grave. If she were to be reincarnated one day, the aura tainted on the bottle would dissipate, and you would immediately be exposed to the Black and White Impermanence, at which point you would likely be cast into hell.
Upon hearing the word "hell," the little princess trembled uncontrollably, crying out, "I don't want to go to hell! I don't want to go to hell... I haven't done anything wrong, why should I go to hell?"
Jin Shanyao patience exhausted, said coldly, "It's all because your yin energy is too heavy, already disturbing the living. Madam Ren has been childless for many years, which is due to you. This karmic debt should naturally be settled on your head."
Having said that, she turned to look at Madam Ren, "Five hundred taels, not a single coin less. Now, whether she stays or leaves is entirely up to you."