Sudden Turn of Events

Next, Zheng Que began cultivating the 【Life Seed Art】 to replenish the spiritual power consumed from practicing the two spells earlier.

In the boundless void he focused intently on capturing streams of cold air. The familiar chill seeped into his body bit by bit, and under the influence of the cultivation method it transformed into wisps of Spiritual Breath, accumulating in his Qi Sea into an increasingly dense mist.

As more and more Spiritual Qi and Yin Qi entered his body, Zheng Que opened his eyes and found himself in the decaying hall once more.

He lowered his head and looked at the Book of Life and Death spread open on the long table.

Behind his name, his remaining lifespan was still sixteen years, seven months, and ten days.

Seeing this, Zheng Que nodded slightly. His lifespan remaining unchanged meant he would not encounter any life-threatening danger when he went to Zhao Lao’er’s house later.

He glanced around the decaying hall, confirmed that nothing had changed, and sat down on the rickety armchair to wait.

After a long while the black energy surging from between his eyebrows completely merged into the Book of Life and Death.

The surrounding scenery rippled like water. After a bizarre, distorted shift, he returned to the house in the small town.

Feeling that his spiritual power had fully recovered, Zheng Que immediately stood up.

He glanced at the sky outside. The sun was setting in the west, and the remaining daylight shone through the window lattice into the room, casting long, slender shadows across the clutter on the floor. It was already dusk.

Without hesitation he said to Qing Li, who was hanging from the beam, “Follow me.”

With that, Zheng Que went straight out the door.

The Zhao family lived next door. After walking a few steps along the courtyard wall, he reached the gate adorned with faded Spring Festival couplets.

The setting sun stretched across the moss-covered wall, dyeing it a warm golden hue, making the courtyard beyond appear even darker, like a well filled with gloom and chill.

Zheng Que stood before the courtyard gate. Suddenly the wind picked up and fallen leaves fluttered around, pattering against his shoulders like a sudden shower of rain.

He glanced behind him. Qing Li hovered in mid-air, closely following by his side.

Knock, knock, knock!

He knocked three times on the door and called out, “Big Brother Zhao, are you home?”

Creak!

The courtyard gate opened from the inside. Standing at the door was a woman wearing a wooden hairpin and a cloth skirt, an apron tied around her waist, a half-trimmed handful of vegetables in her hand. She carried the scent of a cooking fire, as if she had just been tending to the stove. This was Zhao Lao’er’s wife, Sun Cui’er.

Upon seeing her, Zheng Que’s expression remained unchanged. He immediately activated the 【Spirit Eye Technique】.

In the next moment, through his altered vision, this seemingly virtuous and beautiful farm woman was enveloped in swirling black energy, with a concentration of Yin Qi almost as dense as Qing Li’s.

Zhao Lao’er’s wife indeed had a serious problem.

At this moment Sun Cui’er glanced around and immediately moved closer to Zheng Que, whispering very softly, “Young Master, please come in quickly. Tonight, you must help me!”

Her expression was urgent, her gaze fixed intently on Zheng Que, seemingly completely unaware of Qing Li behind him.

Hearing this, Zheng Que calmly entered the courtyard and quickly scanned his surroundings.

The Zhao family’s courtyard had a simple layout. Directly facing the gate were three main rooms, with one side room on each side: the kitchen and the woodshed. Farm tools like rakes and hoes were placed by the door.

All the doors and windows were tightly shut, making it impossible to see inside. Two large trees were planted against the wall, with a rope stretched between them for drying clothes.

Aside from that, the ground was packed earth, bare and unobstructed at a glance.

At that moment a fierce, cold wind swept through the courtyard. The lush trees shed their leaves like a sudden downpour, covering the ground in an instant.

The last rays of sunlight were blocked by the surrounding walls, plunging the courtyard into a dim, hazy gloom. No lamps were lit inside the houses, leaving them pitch-black. Only Sun Cui’er stood alone behind the door, her fair face half-bathed in the lingering twilight, glowing with the warmth of the setting sun, and half-hidden in shadow. The eye on that side gleamed like shards of ice, fixed unwaveringly on Zheng Que.

Zheng Que quickly recalled what he knew about Zhao Lao’er’s family. There had originally been four members: Zhao Lao’er’s father, mother, and his older brother Zhao Lao’da.

Zhao Lao’da had died unexpectedly at the age of ten, and Zhao Lao’er’s father had passed away from illness half a year ago.

Now, only Zhao Lao’er and Old Madam Zhao remained alive in this household.

Bang!

The courtyard gate swung shut on its own.

“Young Master, please come with this servant to the inner room,” Sun Cui’er said, stepping close to Zheng Que and reaching out to grab his arm.

Zheng Que immediately took a step back, avoiding her outstretched hand, and asked coldly, “What for?”

Sun Cui’er lowered her head, a few stray strands of hair drifting by her ear, as if shyly replying, “This servant has heard that once a husband has a child, he will love the mother for the child’s sake and become more considerate toward his wife.”

“However, my husband refuses to touch me now. If I want a child, I can only ask you, Young Master, to come with me to the inner room and share pleasure, so that I may bear your child.”

“Once I have a child, my husband will surely treat me well!”

“You already agreed earlier, Young Master. I beg you to help me!”

???

This request was certainly something, but…

Swish!

Suddenly Zheng Que sliced open his own palm while forming a complex hand seal.

【Ghost Taming Art】!

Since he had already confirmed the other party was not among the living, he had no intention of wasting time.

In the next moment the cultivator’s blood infused with Yang Qi transformed into a mist of blood that surged upward like a living thing, encircling Sun Cui’er.

Ah!!

Sun Cui’er immediately let out a piercing scream, seemingly terrified of Zheng Que’s spiritual blood.

Her cry alerted someone inside the house. The door to the kitchen swung open, and an elderly woman dressed in a heavily patched skirt, her face weathered by hardship, rushed out.

As soon as the elderly woman saw the scene in the courtyard, she flew into a rage. Grabbing a hoe from nearby, she charged toward Zheng Que. “Let go of my daughter-in-law!”

With that, Old Madam Zhao swung the hoe fiercely at Zheng Que’s head.

Zheng Que happened to have his back to her at that moment. Hearing the rush of wind behind him, he frowned. He was in the middle of casting a spell. If he stopped now, Zhao Lao’er’s wife would surely escape.

In a flash of thought he immediately turned to Qing Li. “Stop her! Don’t harm anyone…”

Before the words “their lives” left his mouth, Qing Li’s figure had already vanished from where she stood.

Clang!

The hoe hit the ground. Old Madam Zhao, who had just rushed out of the house, was instantly hoisted into the air.

Zheng Que immediately furrowed his brow and turned his head to say something, when his expression suddenly changed.

Through the 【Spirit Eye Technique】, Old Madam Zhao, hanging there in the air, was enveloped in surging black smoke, its intensity even greater than Sun Cui’er’s.

This Old Madam Zhao was also no longer among the living.