Nan Zhi hadn’t even managed a full night’s sleep. She had only collapsed on the bed and dozed for a few hours when she heard her family calling for her in a panic.
“Eldest Sister! Eldest Sister! The Wang family is haunted! They’ve come to ask you to catch the ghost!”
Nan Ye stamped her feet with excitement, a faint trace of secret glee dancing on her face.
“I heard that a female ghost strung Master Wang up from the roof beam yesterday! His tongue was hanging out ever so long—it was horrifying!
Young Master Wang has been waiting outside since early this morning, saying they were neglectful before and treated you poorly, and now he’s asking you to go back and save his life!”
Her family all knew about Nan Zhi’s previous visit to the Wang family.
They believed in Nan Zhi’s abilities; if she said the Wang family was haunted, then it was certainly haunted.
In Nan Ye’s eyes, Master Wang’s refusal to invite Nan Zhi to exorcise the ghost, opting instead to beg for talismans from a temple, was the height of foolishness.
—Refusing to worship the true Buddha before him, only to travel far and wide chasing false scriptures.
“After making a ruckus all night, it’s about time they came looking for me.”
Nan Zhi nodded. She rose unhurriedly and freshened up, not forgetting to instruct Nan Ye along the way:
“Right, Sister Ye, remember to tell Mother to gather the gifts and silver the Wang family sent over earlier and get them ready. We’ll be returning them.”
“Huh? Did the Wang family offend you?”
Nan Ye’s eyes went wide. With an odd expression, she hesitated for a moment before trying to persuade her:
“Eldest Sister, this is a matter of saving lives. If you don’t help, wouldn’t that be standing by and watching someone die?
If the Wang family was rude to you, giving them a small lesson ought to be enough. There’s no need to... no need to go this far...”
—Nan Zhi telling them to return the Wang family’s gifts clearly meant she had no intention of interfering.
“What are you thinking?! How could I be the sort of petty person who holds grudges?
I am now an arrest officer of the Demon Suppression Division, which makes me an official of sorts. By right, I have to attend to all matters involving monsters and ghosts under the jurisdiction of the Northwest Circuit, let alone the affairs of the Wang family.”
Nan Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She reached out and tapped her sister’s head:
“It’s just that the ghost plaguing the Wang family is a karmic debt-collector from decades ago coming knocking, not some ordinary monster or spirit.
I cannot fulfill what the Wang family is asking for, so I certainly cannot accept their gifts.”
Nan Ye understood only half of it, but realizing the urgency of the matter, she quickly ran off to find Chen Jingui.
Once Nan Zhi finished washing up and stepped out of her room, she indeed saw Young Master Wang waiting in the courtyard alongside his manager and several distillery workers.
In the carriage outside the courtyard, over a dozen gifts of various sizes were prepared, looking quite substantial.
Young Master Wang’s face was as pale as paper. Although it was early morning, beads of cold sweat covered his forehead.
Perhaps having rushed over in haste, the jade pendant hanging from his waist had become crooked, yet he hadn’t even noticed.
“Lord Nan, please come with me to save our lives! Disaster has truly struck my Wang family!”
The moment he saw Nan Zhi, it was as if he had seen his savior. He frantically rushed forward and was about to bow down to her:
“Last night, my father was tormented by a female ghost clad in mourning clothes. She hung him from the roof beam for a full shichen, and he nearly passed away!
My poor father was already frail and sickly, and after enduring such fright and torture, he now lies in bed babbling nonsense, unable to recognize anyone, screaming that there’s a ghost at anyone he sees—”
Strung up for a whole night and didn’t die?
What kind of neck did Wang Fugui have?
Was it forged from iron or crafted from gold?
Nan Zhi couldn’t help but lean back in sheer respect.
Naturally, she wouldn’t tell him that she was the one who had released the ghost into their house in the first place.
On the surface at least, she was still an arrest officer of the Demon Suppression Division. If word got out, people would surely use it against her.
“Oh? Such a thing happened? A monster or ghost is actually harming people in Dingyuan?
And the victim is none other than our widely renowned, charitable, and kind-hearted Master Wang? This is truly shocking!”
Nan Zhi immediately put on a solemn expression. Stepping forward with a furrowed brow, she helped Young Master Wang up and asked, “Has your esteemed father regained consciousness at all? Did he leave any instructions?”
Young Master Wang felt that Nan Zhi’s tone was somewhat unpleasant, and he also felt a slight aversion toward the appearance of this butcher’s daughter, instinctively shrinking back a little.
Nan Zhi naturally noticed his subtle movement, but she couldn’t be bothered to care.
However, since he was begging for help, Young Master Wang could only brace himself and explain:
“My father was conscious for about fifteen minutes this morning, and he only gave two instructions.
First, to check whether the divine statues on the door and the portrait of the Kitchen God in the distillery were still intact.
Second, to see if there was still water in the mother vat used for brewing wine in the courtyard.
If the statues and portrait remained, and there was still water in the mother vat, then there was no great issue; we would only need to stay home for a few days and recite Buddhist prayers while on a vegetarian diet for seven days, and everything would be fine.
But if the divine statues were destroyed, the Kitchen God closed his eyes, and not a single drop of water remained in the mother vat, we were to immediately pack our luggage and carriages, take our gold, silver, and valuables, and leave without a moment’s delay.”
At this point, Young Master Wang paused. In the eyes of the manager and workers behind him, there was the exact same palpable terror:
“Th-this morning, the divine statues on the door were gone, and the portrait of Lord Kitchen God in the distillery crumbled as if rotted, shattering all over the ground.
Even in the inner residence, the Bodhisattva Guanyin that my mother worships took on an appearance of closed eyes and streaming tears!
And the water in the mother vat!”
Unable to suppress the terror inside him any longer, he trembled uncontrollably and looked pleadingly at Nan Zhi:
“That vat was just filled to the brim with well water a few days ago, but when we checked today, it was bone-dry without even a trace of moisture—there were only clumps upon clumps of pitch-black woman’s hair inside!
The servants at home have all fled, except for those few who have served my father for years; the moment they stepped past the manor gates, they began vomiting mouthfuls of hair, their bellies swelling up like women in labor!
Today, I risked my life to come out and plead for help. Our ancestral property is still there, and it is hard to leave one’s homeland. I only beg Lord Nan to assist me and swiftly slay this ghost!”
“Woman’s hair?”
Nan Zhi suddenly remembered that even before Wanniang entered the Wang family residence, there were already rumors of hauntings in the distillery.
Wang Fugui was indeed shrewd and calculating.
He must have realized immediately that Wanniang had come to seek vengeance against him.
That was why he instructed his son to immediately gather their valuables and flee; as long as they could escape Dingyuan, they would have a slightly better chance of survival.
But Young Master Wang was a muddleheaded fool. Or rather, the greed in his heart overwhelmed his instinct for survival.
Nan Zhi looked at Young Master Wang, shifting her gaze back and forth between him, the distillery manager, and the workers until their skin crawled before finally stopping.
Young Master Wang’s legs shook violently as he spoke in a humble and subservient voice, “Lord Nan, could it be that the ghost followed me here?
Your dharma power is profound, and you have always hated evil with a passion. Please, quickly display your divine abilities and exterminate this ghost! The Wang family will never forget this kindness in the future—”
“You don’t seem at all surprised that a ghost came to claim your father’s life.”
Nan Zhi stared intently at Young Master Wang, refusing to miss any subtle expression on his face. Suddenly, realization struck her: “Could it be that you know the origin and identity of this female ghost?”
“...”
A flicker of embarrassment flashed across Young Master Wang’s eyes, but then, as if recalling something, he summoned his courage and demanded:
“It’s merely an old matter from decades ago! Could it be that you intend to stand by with folded arms and watch a vengeful ghost harm people without doing a thing?
The Demon Suppression Division belongs to the Great Song and ought to uphold justice for the common people under heaven.
Moreover, the reigning Emperor loves his subjects like his own children. Although I am untalented, I have earned the title of scholar, and with further opportunity in the future, I may become half a disciple of the Son of Heaven.
If Lord Nan knows of those past affairs, then all the more should you step forward to stop that female ghost from doing harm.
Even if you don’t think for yourself, you ought to consider your family—”
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp pain exploded in his lower abdomen, as if a mountain had crashed down upon him!
It hurt.
It felt as though a raging warhorse had trampled him, or an enraged ox had rammed its horns straight into his belly.
The speed was so swift he hadn’t even realized what was happening, catching only a blurred afterimage.
Nan Zhi kicked Young Master Wang flying, sending him tumbling out along with all the gifts.
“Ugh... You dare... How dare you... gag...”
Under the excruciating pain, Young Master Wang couldn’t help but retch violently.
Yet the moment he opened his mouth, he heaved with a gag, spewing a dense mess of woman’s hair all over the ground.
It was black, slender, and carried wafts of wine fragrance—long black hair that squirmed, twitched, and knotted into tangled clumps.
“Young Master!”
“Young Master!”
“Young Master, are you all right?!”
“Someone’s being beaten! Someone’s being beaten!”
Several servants screamed in unison and rushed forward, but in the next second, they were frightened back by the squirming strands of hair writhing on the floor.
“Using authority and status to pressure me won’t work.”
Nan Zhi slowly drew back her kicking leg and tilted her chin toward them.
“Thirty years ago, Wang Fugui committed his own sins, and now his karmic debt-collector has come knocking to demand payment.
You should understand the principles of a life for a life, and paying what is owed. If your conscience is clear, leave the Wang family and flee for your lives, and you’ll naturally be safe.
But if you were involved in the Wang family’s bloodstained business back then, you won’t escape even if you flee to the ends of the earth.”
The servants exchanged glances, looking at one another in hesitation.
Although servants who sold themselves to the household belonged to their masters, they had never agreed to give up their lives.
Even husbands and wives part ways when disaster strikes, let alone servants.
Now that they had witnessed Young Master Wang vomiting hair with their own eyes and had been frightened by Nan Zhi, the few of them immediately turned tail and ran.
Manager Wang still loyally supported Young Master Wang, speaking in a voice that bordered on pleading:
“Lord Nan, this old man knows I offended you in the past. In your great magnanimity, please show mercy and save our master and young master! The master... regarding the affairs of the past, he does indeed bear guilt in his heart. But this old man watched the young master grow up; by the time he was born, Wanniang had been dead for who knows how long!
The young master and young mistress had nothing to do with any of this!
I beg of you, please go to the manor to take a look and persuade Wanniang to spare the young master and young mistress! This old man is willing to forfeit his own life to her!”
—To be able to state Wanniang’s name so accurately, he was likely also an old servant from the Qu family back then.
“Very well, I shall make this trip with you.”
Nan Zhi glanced at the increasingly gloomy ghostly energy looming over the Wang family estate and promptly agreed.
As the saying went, “a ghost’s words are full of lies.”
Although Wanniang had promised not to harm the innocent, if her eyes turned red with bloodlust, there was no guarantee that ordinary mortals in the Wang family wouldn’t be swept up in it.
Ultimately, it would be safer for her to see it in person.
Rate on N.U.
