Damn... The old man had actually led the vengeful ghost straight to her. She had known Zhang Banxian was no good.
Jin Shanyao's face darkened with displeasure. As the ox cart drew closer, the presence grew stronger.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci couldn't see it. They assumed someone had come to visit and studied the carriage curiously.
This carriage was different from ordinary ones. Its compartment extended almost half a meter beyond the wheel tracks, and thick curtains covered its windows and door, hiding the interior.
Copper bells were tied to all four corners of the compartment. Though there was no wind, they jingled and clanged.
When Zhang Banxian saw Jin Shanyao return, he tumbled off the carriage and said with a cheeky grin, "You're finally back. If you'd taken any longer, I'm afraid you wouldn't have seen me again."
He had intended to carry Young Master Wang into the Meng home and lay him on Jin Shanyao's kang.
Damn it, there was a cat and a dog in the courtyard. The big yellow dog had a large frame, and when he stood there with a fierce look on his face, he came up to Zhang Banxian's thigh.
There was also that wildcat, with glossy fur and sharp teeth. He was only half a head shorter than the big yellow dog, and when he sprawled atop the wall, the horses hadn't dared take a single step forward.
If the servant hadn't been holding the reins, the beasts would probably have bolted long ago.
The Wang family's servants had tried to carry Young Master Wang into the courtyard, but the cat and dog had driven them back every time. With no other choice, Zhang Banxian had parked the carriage outside the courtyard and tied the reins to a tree with a tight knot.
And sure enough, once he stopped there,
Young Master Wang had actually been able to catch his breath. Zhang Banxian had breathed a secret sigh of relief, glad that he hadn't ruined his reputation on this trip and that the young man's life had finally been saved.
Earlier, he had talked Madam Wang in circles and casually claimed that the feng shui at Jin Shanyao's home could suppress evil. Madam Wang had believed him.
Now that she saw her son really was improving, Madam Wang was overjoyed and trusted Zhang Banxian without the slightest doubt. Just as she was considering buying the Meng family's little courtyard,
a scream suddenly came from outside the carriage. Madam Wang immediately lifted the curtain and looked toward the sound.
She saw Jin Shanyao seize Zhang Banxian by the arm, lift him, and fling him several meters away. Madam Wang stared in astonishment. How could a person be so strong?
Though Jin Shanyao had some reputation in the county town, in the eyes of the wealthy and the educated, she was still one of the disreputable rabble, unfit for polite company. At that moment, however, Madam Wang could no longer concern herself with maintaining her lofty airs.
A maid helped her down from the carriage. "Miss Jin, please don't be angry. Zhang Banxian was simply desperate to save a life and wished to borrow your treasured grounds for a while."
Jin Shanyao couldn't sympathize with her. Right now, she had more sympathy for herself. Human cubs were especially vulnerable to dark and evil things; at best, they could fall gravely ill, and at worst, their lives could be in danger.
Although Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci had the protection of ginkgo leaves, she still didn't dare let her guard down.
Zhang Banxian had brought this trouble here for his own selfish desires. She had already shown mercy by not tearing his arm off.
Night had deepened, and midnight had arrived.
With a mixture of coaxing and deception, Zhang Banxian helped the delirious Young Master Wang over to the Meng family's courtyard gate and propped him against it. He turned to Madam Wang and said, "This is the only gate of life within a hundred li. As long as he makes it through tonight, he'll be safe and sound."
"My son has never suffered like this in his life." Madam Wang clutched her chest, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes. "I don't care what method you use. You must strike that vengeful ghost until her soul scatters and she can never be reborn."
Zhang Banxian had spent most of his life catching ghosts. What filth hadn't he seen? If the Wang family hadn't paid so much, he truly wouldn't have wanted to take this sinful job.
He carried black dog blood down from the carriage, dug out some cinnabar, and covered Young Master Wang in talismans. Then he used a copper coin sword to draw a circle around him.
He sat cross-legged in front of Young Master Wang and closed his eyes.
Inside the house, Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci were already fast asleep. Suddenly, a shriek of utter terror, unlike any human voice, tore through the night sky.
Both children jolted awake. Meng Anzhi instinctively pulled her younger brother into her arms, only to find herself gathered into a warm embrace.
"Auntie, has the ghost come?" Ever since Meng Anzhi had seen Zhang Banxian, she had been anxious and frightened all evening, but the scream actually set her heart at ease.
A ghost? Terror flashed in Meng Anci's eyes. Then he summoned his courage and stood in front of Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi. His father had once said that men had strong yang Qi, and ghosts didn't dare approach them.
He was the only man in the family. He couldn't let his sister and auntie be bullied.
Meng Anci's presence was ten feet tall, but when he sat on the kang, he wasn't even as high as half a stack of quilts. He spread his arms and fixed a fierce glare on the door.
Creak... The wind blew the door open a crack. With a yelp, Meng Anci burrowed into Jin Shanyao's arms, his little body trembling with fear. It was too frightening. He didn't want to be a man anymore.
Outside the courtyard, a sinister wind howled, and the temperature plummeted.
Black Qi gathered from all around and gradually coalesced in the air into the figure of a woman dressed in white, her belly swollen. Her face was deathly pale, two streams of bloody tears ran from her eyes, and her expression seemed caught between crying and laughing.
She hurled herself madly against the barrier. Zhang Banxian was fighting for his life too. Standing in front of Young Master Wang, he earnestly tried to persuade her. "Dust to dust, earth to earth. Now that you're dead, it would be better to seek reincarnation sooner rather than later."
The moment he finished speaking, the female ghost grew even more frenzied.
In no time, Zhang Banxian's copper coin sword was shattered by the force of her blows, and the talismans burst into flame. He flung all the black dog blood and cinnabar into the air, but not only did they fail to work, they completely enraged the female ghost.
Unable to hold her off, Zhang Banxian pounded desperately on the courtyard gate. "Jin Shanyao, open the gate! Hurry, open it! Young Master Wang isn't going to make it!"
But no matter how he pounded, no one came out of the house.
Seeing that Young Master Wang was drawing more breaths than he let out, and that he himself would certainly be the vengeful ghost's next target, Zhang Banxian felt anger rise in his heart and malice grow in his gut.
He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "Fine, fine, fine! If you won't show mercy, don't blame me for being ruthless! If I can't live, don't think you'll have an easy time either! If we die, we all die together!"
With that, he turned to Madam Wang.
"Light them."
Madam Wang had long since lost patience. She ordered her servants to bring out and light the oil torches. Four or five torches lit the night sky as bright as day, casting everyone's faces in a sinister light.
When Meng Anci heard they were going to burn the house, he sprang upright, pushed open the window, and shouted furiously outside, "Under this dynasty's laws, anyone who burns another person's property is put to death..."
Before he could finish, he heard Zhang Banxian shout, "Throw them!"
Whoosh... A streak of fire shot across the night sky and landed squarely in the courtyard. Meng Anci couldn't believe it. His teacher had never taught him what to do when the other side refused to obey the law.
As he sat there bewildered and stunned, an axe appeared in his hand.
"Auntie... killing people is against the law..."
"Oh, you mean they've broken the law?"
Only then did Meng Anci understand. That's right... When one side didn't follow the rules, the person who did would be the one to suffer. He gripped the axe tightly, ready to fight them until either the fish died or the net split.
But Jin Shanyao held him back. She gathered both children into her arms and opened the window a crack.
Instead of sleeping at night, you're putting on a ghost tale for me here. Since you want to see a ghost, we can all watch together. She reached into the air, sweeping her Spiritual Power over everyone.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci felt an itch in their eyes. When they opened them again, it was as though they were surrounded by black fog. They couldn't see what lay ahead, only a woman with disheveled hair.
She was tearing at Young Master Wang with her teeth. Madam Wang saw it too and rushed at her like a madwoman, only to pass through the female ghost and crash into the wall. She pointed at the ghost and cried herself hoarse.
"Lady Li, he's your husband! Are you really going to kill him?"
The female ghost giggled as though she had heard the greatest joke in the world.
Her chilling laughter frightened the two children so badly that they clung tightly to Jin Shanyao's arms, burying their faces in her embrace and not daring to look up.
The female ghost said in a chilling voice, "Husband... would a husband have the heart to push me down a dry well over those gambling debts? Would a husband take my dowry to pay off his gambling debts? I was pregnant. Eight months pregnant."
The female ghost clutched her belly and laughed a mournful, piercing laugh.