“Oh?”
Du Yueyao suddenly realised, her expression stunned as she looked at Liu Qingyan, “Sister Liu, can you also sense the ghost energy on him?”
Liu Qingyan shook her head with a smile, then softly explained, “Light steps, weary eyes with redness, pale cheeks with a bluish tint, and a cold body surface. These are signs of external evil invading the body, with a deficiency in kidney essence.
Now that spring is warm and cold no longer lingers, this Young Master Zhao doesn’t seem like someone indulging excessively in bed.
To drain his vitality so quickly, costing him years of lifespan, what explanation is there besides encountering a female ghost?”
Du Yueyao: (°ー°〃)
So that’s how it was. To think one could detect traces of a ghost using mundane medical skills…
She truly learned something!
“What should we do?” Du Yueyao looked at Liu Qingyan, concerned, “Is he going to die? Can he be saved?”
Though a spoiled rich kid, Du Yueyao’s instinct as a kind physician was to save people.
Liu Qingyan looked to Lu Zheng.
Logically, encountering a ghost harming someone meant they’d likely intervene, but Zhao Wenrong had offended Lu Zheng before.
Lu Zheng blinked, “Don’t you think this is like a modern *Legend of Hongling*?”
Liu Qingyan couldn’t help but laugh, “Hongling is a cultivated ghost immortal, not one to drain yang energy or shorten lives. If Young Master Zhao continues with that female ghost for a few more months, he might not survive this winter.”
Lu Zheng burst out laughing, then nodded with a smile, “I’ll go check tonight and see what Young Master Zhao thinks.”
He was joking. If Zhao Wenrong knew his dalliance with the ghost would kill him this year, he’d probably flee back to Yizhou Prefecture.
Du Yueyao was eager, then calmed herself after a moment, “So he can be saved?”
Lu Zheng nodded, “If he stops consorting with the ghost and rests well, he can recover. Of course, the lifespan he’s already lost is gone for good.”
Du Yueyao nodded repeatedly, relieved, then said with anticipation, “Brother Lu, you’re going tonight, right? Can you tell me tomorrow if the female ghost is pretty?”
“Sure!” Lu Zheng laughed heartily, agreeing at once.
…
Leaving Yuling Garden, despite the Zhao Wenrong incident, their plans weren’t delayed, and they soon returned to the Liu residence.
Learning that Du Yueyao and Lu Zheng would dine at home, Madam Liu went to the kitchen, preparing several hearty dishes.
When Old Master Liu returned, they all had dinner together.
After dinner, Du Yueyao went home. Lu Zheng relaxed in his backyard, and soon Liu Qingyan glided over.
“Thank you, Lu Lang!”
Liu Qingyan called softly, nestling gently into Lu Zheng’s arms.
“Thank me for what?”
“For indulging Qingyan’s whims,” Liu Qingyan said timidly.
Zhao Wenrong had no bond with them and had even caused trouble. Now, afflicted by a ghost, he neither noticed nor sought their help.
They had every reason to ignore his plight.
It was Liu Qingyan’s compassionate physician’s heart that couldn’t bear to see him killed by a ghost, prompting her to speak up.
Of course, she wasn’t naively saintly. Zhao Wenrong was a mere mortal, no threat to them, and his behaviour today showed he was merely spoiled, not malicious, so she wanted to save him.
“Heh!”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow, grinning. Since Liu Qingyan had softened, he wouldn’t hold back.
With a sly smile, he reached out gently, “If that’s the case, you know what to do.”
Liu Qingyan’s chest heaved, her breathing quickened, and she murmured weakly, “Here?”
Lu Zheng nodded lightly.
Liu Qingyan leaned forward softly.
…
Near the end of the Xu hour, Lu Zheng arrived near Zhao Wenrong’s residence.
What a gain!
Lu Zheng wore a refreshed grin, feeling like a true actor.
He never intended to let Zhao Wenrong die. Though he held grudges, he wasn’t heartless.
Plus, slaying supernatural beings brought rewards of karmic light.
But since Liu Qingyan took the initiative, he had no reason to refuse, right?
At the Zhao residence.
As Lu Zheng approached, he sensed a chilling ghost energy from the neighbouring house, condensed and contained within its grounds, not spilling out.
“Tch, Brother Xin’s city patrol isn’t doing their job, missing this ghost…”
Lu Zheng used his aura-concealing and invisibility techniques, approaching silently. Before he could decide whether to enter the Zhao residence or the neighbouring house, a sharp scream came from the Zhao residence.
“Hm?”
Lu Zheng’s eyes flashed, and with a swift movement, he slipped into the Zhao residence.
The ghost had sealed off the backyard and now stood outside the main house, glaring angrily at a whisk hanging on the door.
Lu Zheng saw clearly that the whisk emitted an aura, enveloping the main house.
“He has a magical artefact?” Lu Zheng was surprised, then realised, “No, he must’ve gotten it this afternoon!”
If Zhao Wenrong had the whisk earlier, this scene wouldn’t be unfolding now.
“Zhao Lang, how could you listen to that Taoist’s nonsense and act against me?”
The ghost, a charming woman in red, spoke. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, her skin pale as snow, but under the whisk’s influence, her eyes were pitch black, her lips deathly white.
“Yingniang… you, you’re really a ghost?”
Zhao Wenrong cowered behind the door, leaning against the wall, only his head visible, trembling as he looked at the ghost outside.
“What if I’m a ghost?” Yingniang said, “Our love is true. Why care about human or ghost? The *Legend of Hongling* you saw today, isn’t that a human-ghost romance too?”
“But… but…”
Zhao Wenrong stammered in fear, “But that Taoist said if I sleep with you again, I won’t live past this year.”
“So what?” Yingniang replied, “We could be a ghostly couple, together day and night. Isn’t that better?”
“But… but…”
Zhao Wenrong’s voice trembled, “But I don’t want to die!”
Yingniang tried to approach but was blocked by the whisk, shouting angrily, “You said you loved only me, that you’d be with me forever!”
“But… but…”
Zhao Wenrong quivered, “But I thought you were human!”
Yingniang took a deep breath, stepping back from the whisk.
Her eyes returned to normal, her lips turned vermilion, her figure tall, her face radiant and beautiful.
“Zhao Lang, take down the whisk, and let’s talk properly,” Yingniang said softly. “When you said that Master Lu humiliated you, I cursed him for you. We’re kindred spirits, both disliking cultivators. What can’t we discuss?”
