Chapter Two

The wound on the owner's face was still fresh, and without any treatment, soon, the concern wasn't disfiguration but an infection. As there was no way for the person to get help from the family, they had to figure out another way to treat the wound. However, with no money, they could not do anything. Suddenly, the person felt their feet step on something. They bent down to pick the object up. Turns out it was a jade pendant. From the looks of it, the tassel would fetch enough money to buy the medicine they needed. After grabbing the weimao hanging from the wall, they decided to sneak out and find a pawn shop. At first, the person thought it would take a while to find a way out of the mansion. However, to their luck, a few meters from the woodshed was a doghole just big enough for them to slip right out without being caught.

 The streets were still crowded, just as they were 15 years ago. Yet, everything looked and smelled different. The air was heavy with nostalgia, a bittersweet reminder of what once was.

 Upon finding a pawn shop, the person stepped inside and went to the counter where an old man was sitting.

 "Excuse me, sir. Could you tell me how much this is worth?" they asked.

 The man looked up and reached out for the tassel on the counter. A few minutes later, he said.

 "Two gold taels."

 The person nodded, and the old man placed the gold taels on the counter. Taking the money, the person thanked the man and left. Smiling as they went on to their next destination, they thought.

  It was worth more than I expected.

 Feeling less concerned about the money, they bought enough medicine to last a few days. On their way back, they came across a stall selling face masks. Thinking it would be more convenient to wear a mask than the weimao, they stopped to look at the selections. Although the stall was small, there were numerous options. Out of all the masks, the one that caught the person's eye was a metal three-quarter mask. It was sturdy and could cover up the wound on their face.

 As the person paid the stall owner, a young group of boys walked by. They were all dressed in black with red embroidery, each with a sword by their side. With a single glance, they could tell these boys were cultivators, but the embroidery on their clothes jogged an old memory in their mind of a person and a promise.

 Seeing the stall owner gaze at the group with admiration, the person asked.

 "What are they doing?"

 Shock and confusion grew on their face as they responded.

 "You don't know who they are? They are the disciples of the Feng Clan of Huohai."

 Nodding along with the owner, they said.

 "Of course, I know who they are. I meant, why are they here? I heard they don't usually leave the clan unless needed."

 The boss only shook her head and shrugged.

 "Don't know why, but recently, the Xia family has been haunted by a ghost."

 "Oh? The Xia family?" the person asked.

 This time, the boss leaned in and said.

 "I heard that that the younger sister of the patriarch died by jumping off a cliff. Maybe it's her who came back for revenge."

 Acting surprised again, the person asked.

 "Revenge?"

 The boss looked at the person, wondering what rock they had been living under. Out of the goodness of her heart, or rather her love for gossip, the boss began to explain.

 "About 21 years ago, the Xia family fell into debt. At that time a cultivation clan leader passed by and saw the young lady of the family. Attracted to her beauty, he wanted to take her as his concubine, but she refused. In the end, the clan leader offered to pay the family's debt and support them in their business. The young lady's brother was greedy and agreed to sell his sister to the leader. The day they left, she cried and begged her brother not to sell her, but he ignored her and pushed her into the carriage."

 The boss took a quick break for air and then continued to gossip.

 "Not long ago, her son came back after her death. If I had to guess, the lady has come back for revenge. I mean, who wouldn't? But anyway, those cultivators have come at the family's request to catch the ghost haunting them."

 The person only nodded along as they listened to the story. When the boss was finished, they thanked them and went on their way. As they made their way back to the manor, they thought back to the letters left by the owner's body and sighed.

  Xia Luli, Xia Luli, you clearly have a girl's name. How come everyone assumes that you are a boy? Just who are you hiding yourself from?

 Once the person successfully snuck back into their woodshed, they hung up the weimao and prepared the medicine. Using whatever they could find in the room as a mortar and pestle, they crushed the herbs to make a paste before applying it to their face. While letting the medicine do its job, they lay down on the makeshift straw bed and went to sleep. When they woke up the following day, the herbs had dried up overnight and fallen off. Lightly touching the cheek, they could feel the wound had healed a little.

 Dusting whatever was left off their face, they got up and prepared another batch. For the rest of the morning, the person rested and tried to find a way to fulfill the revenge for Xia Luli. Typically, one had to kill to complete the revenge. However, killing wasn't always the requirement, but in a case where one used Wrath Ritual, the requirement was sure to be death upon their enemies.

 When the late afternoon rolled around, the manor was filled with noise. It seemed as though the young cultivators had arrived.

 Took them long enough, they thought.

 Curious about what the family would say about the ghost, the person put on their mask and snuck out to the main hall to enjoy the show. No one was outside guarding the reception hall, so finding a spot to eavesdrop was easy. Taking a peek inside the hall, the person could see that on one side sat the young disciples. Opposing them were Luli's two older cousins, and sitting at the head of the room were her uncle and aunt. They were all dressed lavishly, while Xia Luli's clothes were worse than a rag.

 The uncle smiled widely as he greeted the young disciples.

 "Welcome! And thank you for coming all this way to help us."

 "Thank you. Please tell us what the issue is."

 The voice belonged to the young disciple who sat closest to the uncle. Although he appeared to be quite young, his words were smooth and full of confidence.

 Xia Luli's uncle sighed deeply, changing his expression to pain and sorrow.

 "To tell the truth, I think the ghost haunting us is my little sister. You see, about a year ago, she committed suicide. At first, everything was fine, but it was after her child came back that we started to hear her screams every night. Fortunately, no one has been hurt. But everyone is scared."

 The young boy nodded and asked.

 "Do you have any idea why she might have come back?"

 Another sigh came out before the uncle responded.

 "I... I don't know. I thought my sister was living a good life. Who would have thought that she would commit suicide."

 The person who had been listening carefully the entire time almost bursted out laughing.

 A good life? How can anyone who had been sold off like cattle live a good life? they thought.

 But it was also while listening to the uncle recall the story that the person remembered not feeling or hearing the presence of any ghost nearby the night before. They couldn't help but think.

 Could it be that since Luli is dead, her mother has also left this place?

 Before the person had time to consider the situation, a loud scream and a crash of cups filled the front yard and reception hall. Stunned, the person looked up and saw a maid with a look of horror on her face, as though she had just seen a ghost.

 "A GHOST! THERE'S A GHOST! HE'S BACK FOR REVENGEEEE!"

 Everyone from inside the hall ran out to see what the commotion was. As they emerged, the color drained from the family's faces at the sight of Xia Luli standing before them, but confusion grew on the disciple's faces.

 "Everyone, please calm down. This person isn't a ghost."

 They all turned back to the young boy from before. Fear was still coursing through their veins, but they all tried to calm down. After leaving Xia Luli for dead, no one came back to dispose of her body, so it was natural that they didn't know that she wasn't dead, or at least her body now had a new owner.

 After recovering from the shock, the uncle quickly told the disciples.

 "I apologize for the chaos. This is my sister's son. After her death, he went crazy. No matter what we do, he just won't get be-"

 Before the uncle could finish, the person interrupted and shouted.

 "Who says I'm crazy? You're the one that's crazy!"

Before their death, the person was known far and wide as a madman, so it wasn't hard to play the part. However, as they knew nothing about Xia Luli, they had to be cautious not to blow their cover. But then again, a madman is a madman, so who can say when their behavior will change?

 "Y... you... shouldn't you be-"

 "Shouldn't I be what?! Dead?!" the person shouted back at the biao jie.

All the young cultivators stood there in confusion, yet they had more important things to worry about than to question about the family's business. Chaos erupted as the person began darting around, demanding compensation for the perceived injustice they had endured. They swung around the pillars like a squirrel on a mission and leaped over tables and chairs while letting out hair-raising screams. Unable to stand the unsightliness of their cousin, the biao ge chased after the person, wanting to give them a beating. However, before he could lay a hand on the person, the young cultivator from before stepped up to protect them. Quick as a flash, the person ducked behind the boy, using him as a human shield.

 "Xia gongzi, if there's anything, we can talk it out. No need to use violence," the young cultivator said as he tried to defuse the situation.

 But what the person wanted wasn't peace. What they wanted was chaos. Throughout the day, they thought of many plans that could be used to take revenge for Xia Luli. However, the only one that they knew Xia Luli wanted was death. Yet, they still wanted to try other methods and test the limits of Xia Luli's hatred for her enemies. So, to add fuel to the fire, they took off their mask, turned the cultivator around, and said.

 "Look at my face! Look at what they did to me! Don't I deserve compensation?!"

 All the cultivators were shocked, and the person was shocked too. Looking at the face in front of them, they suddenly had another flashback, back to a time when a small boy called out to them in a cheerful and carefree voice. But they knew that no matter the resemblance, this person was not them. The child from back then was gone.

 "Enough!" the uncle yelled.

 He came over and tried to drag the person out of the room, but again, the person hid behind the cultivator.

 "Sir, the sun will set soon, and we must get started. So please, do not go near the garden area or leave your rooms until we come to get you."

 Seeing as the young cultivator was adamant on protecting the madman, the uncle let go of the topic and agreed with the cultivator. The person quickly ran out of the hall, and as they did, they shouted back.

"The next time someone dares to mess with me, I'll make sure they pay!"

Stunned into silence again, the cultivators did their best to ignore and made their way to the garden.

*Biao ge and Biao jie mean older male cousin and older female cousin on the mother's side of the family.