Chapter 8: The Sky-Turning Seal

Amidst her rising anger, Di Jiang suddenly heard a few eerie giggles from the corner—”giggle giggle giggle”—each sound sending chills down her spine.

Di Jiang threw the light towards the corner and saw the little boy who had disappeared earlier reappear before her eyes.

He stood amidst the corpses, smiling at her with amusement, his smirk resembling that of someone who had discovered an extremely entertaining toy.

“You’re not gone?” Di Jiang felt a chill. A strong premonition told her that danger was approaching.

Indeed, the next moment, the little boy let out a sinister chuckle and said, “I only said I’d spare that Daoist; I didn’t say I’d spare you.”

“What do you want?”

“Guess?” The little boy blinked innocently, his expression so pure it made him seem utterly harmless.

But Di Jiang suddenly felt a headache coming on.

This phrase was something she often said herself, but hearing it from the Lord of Ghosts now made her realize how annoying these words could be.

At this moment, a thunderous explosion echoed in the cellar. Immediately, Di Jiang felt an overwhelming force from all directions pressing down on her, making it impossible to breathe.

The next instant, she felt herself completely enveloped in a sphere. She couldn’t even use her powers, let alone lift a hand—it was a luxury she couldn’t afford.

“The Sky-Turning Seal!” Di Jiang exclaimed in shock. “You would use the Sky-Turning Seal against me—how wicked your heart is!”

“If I don’t use it, how can I subdue you? Blame yourself for being too arrogant,” the little boy chuckled softly. His voice sounded dreamlike, indicating he was in an excellent mood.

Of course, the satisfaction of revenge was stronger than ever...

Di Jiang gave up resisting and slumped to the ground, resignedly asking, “What exactly do you want?”

“I don’t want anything. I just want to play a game with you,” the little boy leaned over and whispered in her ear, “If you survive this calamity, I will forgive your great disrespect.”

“And if I don’t?” Di Jiang’s lips curved into a bitter smile.

“I’ll forgive you as well.”

“You! You’re absolutely shameless!”

“If you continue cursing, I’ll let these dead people resurrect and keep you company for the night. It’s your choice.”

Di Jiang paused for a moment, then suddenly broke into a wide grin.

She chuckled, hugged the boy’s waist, and flattered him, “Lord of Ghosts, may you reign forever and unify the underworld. Di Jiang respectfully sees you off. Please take care.”

The little boy snorted coldly, pushed Di Jiang away, and with a flick of his sleeve, vanished without a trace.

“Doctor Di, enjoy yourself.”

The voice of the Lord of Ghosts still echoed in Di Jiang’s mind, but there was no longer any life around her.

Now, only Di Jiang, powerless and surrounded by decaying corpses, remained in the cellar.

Fortunately, there was no light, so she couldn’t see the horrifying scene, which lessened her fear somewhat.

The air was damp and foul, a chilling cold hit her face, freezing her speechless. Ignoring her revulsion, she forcefully moved a few corpses, crawled to the corner, sat down, and curled up with her knees hugged tightly to her chest.

Di Jiang sniffled, shivering, and suddenly realized that she shouldn’t have let the Lord of Ghosts go. She should have dragged him to chat with her. Otherwise, in this long night, who knew when someone would come to rescue her...

Shuxiang and Zhuchi were still missing, their fates unknown. Wenyao alone couldn’t turn the tide. Zhong Xu would surely be the first to know she was in trouble, but given his intellect... he probably wouldn’t figure out that she was imprisoned here.

No matter how she thought about it, she felt this time she was doomed...

Meanwhile, when Zhong Xu arrived at the mountainside, he coincidentally saw Old Master Meng crawling in the rain, his hands clawing at the mud, seemingly struggling hard to crawl downhill.

Only then did Zhong Xu truly sense that Old Master Meng’s body was gradually regaining strength. In just one day, he could already move slowly.

But Zhong Xu didn’t know that every step Old Master Meng took caused his entire body to ache with unbearable pain. Even the slightest movement of grass or rustle of wind could cause him immense harm.

From the tombstone to the platform was only three steps, but he had already exhausted all his strength.

Zhong Xu quickly went forward to help Old Master Meng up, only to realize that the latter had once again fallen unconscious.

Ignoring the pouring rain, Zhong Xu directly carried him and flew towards the coffin shop on the southern street of the city. This time, it took him only half an hour from Yangchun Mansion to the southern street.

“Master, how did you get completely soaked? Didn’t you bring an umbrella?” Seeing Zhong Xu in such a state, Changsheng looked worried and immediately went to the backyard to fetch a clean towel.

“Let me wipe your body for you.” As Changsheng spoke, he extended the towel towards Zhong Xu’s forehead. However, Zhong Xu shook his head and avoided it.

Zhong Xu directly placed Old Master Meng on his own bed, then took the towel from Changsheng’s hand, bent down, and carefully wiped Old Master Meng’s body.

Old Master Meng’s body was covered in mud and water, mixed with his hair. A gentle wipe caused a large patch of his scalp to peel off, revealing only a few blood streaks at the wound, slowly seeping blood.

“What happened?” Zhong Xu was extremely anxious. He didn’t know much about medicine and couldn’t understand how severe his injuries were.

But he knew that if Old Master Meng was still alive now, he should be over 120 years old. Such a frail body couldn’t withstand this kind of torment even if he were a living person, let alone someone who had come back to life from the grave.

“Go buy some clean clothes in the eastern part of the city, and then go across the street to ask Wenyao for some hemostatic powder,” Zhong Xu instructed.

“Yes, Master.” Changsheng took some money and went out, while Zhong Xu continued his task. He no longer touched Old Master Meng’s dry, wrinkled outer skin but carefully cleaned the dirt embedded in his flesh.

After finishing treating these wounds, he found a clean blanket and carefully covered him with it.

As the sky gradually darkened and Changsheng hadn’t returned yet, Zhong Xu personally went to the Su Medical Hall.

As soon as Zhong Xu left the shop, he saw a man dressed in bright colors striding towards him. Upon seeing Zhong Xu, the man immediately greeted him with a smile: “Master Zhong, you’re finally back!”

Zhong Xu was startled and quickly bowed: “Zhong Xu pays respects to Prince Wu.”

Wu Ruian shook his head repeatedly and immediately helped Zhong Xu up, saying, “Master Zhong, please don’t bow. I’m wearing plain clothes, so there’s no need to treat me as a prince.”

“No matter what a prince wears, he is still a prince. Zhong Xu dare not break the etiquette.” Zhong Xu insisted on bowing, and Wu Ruian had no choice but to let him.

After a while, Wu Ruian leaned closer to Zhong Xu with a profound expression and whispered in his ear, “Master Zhong, I came here today because of last night’s incident. You must help me!”

Zhong Xu had seen everything clearly from the second floor last night and understood what Wu Ruian wanted to say. He replied, “Your Highness, last night was just a misunderstanding. Shopkeeper Di was just joking with me. I didn’t kill anyone, nor did I hide any corpses.”

“Eh, I’m not talking about that,” Wu Ruian waved his hand. “That’s just a minor issue. Even if you hid ten corpses, this prince could solve it for you. Besides, you run a coffin shop. Why can’t people try them out first?”

“Then what else is it?” Zhong Xu frowned.

Prince Wu Ruian looked somewhat embarrassed and cleared his throat before saying, “Yesterday... I unintentionally said something bad about Shopkeeper Di, and she overheard it. Today, she refused to see me. I want to apologize sincerely! You must help me.”

“Shopkeeper Di refuses to see you?” Zhong Xu furrowed his brows even more.

Wu Ruian nodded repeatedly: “Yes! Today, I’ve visited three times, but Wenyao insists that the shopkeeper isn’t here. But how could Shopkeeper Di not be here? I’ve already checked. If Shopkeeper Di goes out, she will definitely take Wenyao with her. How could she leave her alone to watch the shop?”

“Your Highness has misunderstood. Doctor Di is indeed out,” Zhong Xu thought to himself.

“Oh?” Wu Ruian was surprised. “Where did she go? Why didn’t she take Wenyao?”

“Doctor Di and I went to Jiudu River.” Zhong Xu looked calm, but this expression appeared provocative to Wu Ruian.

“Oh, that’s why she didn’t take her,” Wu Ruian’s expression dimmed, and he forced a laugh and nodded. Then he said, “You... went to admire peach blossoms?”

Zhong Xu shook his head: “We went to visit an old acquaintance.”

“I see... Your relationship has improved quite a bit,” Wu Ruian sighed in relief and smiled. “Since that’s the case, I can rest assured. I’ll apologize to Doctor Di and leave.” As Wu Ruian spoke, he was about to knock on the door of the medical hall again.

Zhong Xu hurriedly stopped him and said, “Doctor Di hasn’t returned yet.”

“Not back yet?” Wu Ruian’s expression froze. “Then why are you back?”

“I forgot something and came back to get it. I’ll return to pick her up later.”

“Oh, that’s perfect! I’ll go with you to express my apologies.” Wu Ruian said and put his arm around Zhong Xu’s neck, taking steps forward.

Unexpectedly, Zhong Xu didn’t agree. He firmly refused: “No!”

Wu Ruian stopped and looked surprised: “Why?”

“Because...” Zhong Xu looked troubled, not knowing where to start.

He had promised the First Madam to temporarily keep Zhang Siyao’s matter a secret. If Wu Ruian learned about this, the whole world might find out. The news of Old Master Meng coming back to life would also spread, leading to unimaginable consequences...

While Zhong Xu was in a dilemma, he heard Wu Ruian sigh deeply. He laughed and said, “Since Master Zhong feels it’s inconvenient, I won’t bother you. I’ll wait for you to return to the shop.”

“That’s very good. Thank you, Your Highness, for your understanding.” Zhong Xu quickly bowed and excused himself. He wasn’t good at lying, and recent events were really exhausting him.

After returning to his shop, Zhong Xu realized that he originally went to fetch hemostatic powder. Now, after being interrupted by Wu Ruian, he had forgotten this important matter.

With no other choice, he had to return again.

As the sky grew darker and the season was cold, without the warmth of the daytime sun, coupled with continuous drizzle, Zhong Xu felt extremely cold.

“Knock, knock, knock—” Zhong Xu knocked on the door of the medical hall. No one answered for a long time. He waited in the rain for a while before Wenyao cautiously peeked out.

Seeing that it was Zhong Xu, Wenyao lowered her voice and asked, “What else does Master Zhong need?”

Seeing Wenyao like this, Zhong Xu knew that their earlier casual conversation on the road had been overheard by her. Although Wenyao seemed careless, she understood the difference between people like them and ordinary people.

Prince Wu Ruian was currently sitting in the medical hall, enjoying tea by the charcoal fire. She didn’t want their conversation to scare him, so she acted stealthily.

Both parties tacitly understood each other, and Zhong Xu didn’t waste words. He similarly lowered his voice and said, “I need a bottle of hemostatic powder.”

“For whom?” Wenyao was startled.

“Not for Shopkeeper Di.”

Hearing this, Wenyao relaxed and said, “Wait a moment.” Afterward, she went back to search through the cabinet and threw a small white porcelain bottle at him.

“Three taels of silver. I’ll record it on your account for now.”

“I’ll have Changsheng send it to you later.”

Although this bottle of hemostatic powder was three times more expensive than the market price, Zhong Xu didn’t say anything more. He was eager to properly settle Old Master Meng and then return to look for Di Jiang.

Since leaving Yangchun Mansion, he had felt uneasy, with his right eyelid twitching incessantly. His intuition told him that something major was about to happen…