In the afternoon, the steward came to notify them that He Pan’s corpse had already been buried in the earth.
This matter seemed to lack any immediate clues, and the servants all speculated that within a few days, the major issue would be reduced to a minor one, and the minor one to nothing at all, sparing them from making a massive fuss over investigating back and forth.
Haiyuan Wei shared this exact belief.
He was thoroughly convinced that Yunchan Wei could never unearth any evidence implicating him, and now that He Pan’s corpse was buried, it was even less possible to expose any flaws for Yunchan Wei to grab onto.
With his spirits soaring and his mood refreshed, he even tagged along with a few scoundrel friends that afternoon to head over to the Rouge Tower to drink wine and listen to tunes.
Jinshu Fu exceptionally skipped his afternoon nap. Taking advantage of the time Yunchan Wei spent studying in the study, he went out to seek out Qiuli and He Pan.
He Pan had yet to witness Jinshu Fu’s abilities firsthand, but knowing that Jinshu Fu could perceive their ghost forms meant he was inherently no ordinary individual. Following Qiuli’s lead as she dropped to her knees, he respectfully addressed him as “My Lord,” and grabbing onto the hem of Jinshu Fu’s robe, burst into tears once more: “My Lord, you must uphold justice for me! Wuwu. that beast.”
Jinshu Fu communicated with him using his intent: “Relate the scene as it transpired back then.”
Though being subjected to violation and humiliation was difficult to put into words, upon second thought, He Pan realized his physical vessel was already completely dead, so why continue avoiding such minor matters?
Thus, he recounted everything that occurred that morning from beginning to end.
This very morning, He Pan was carrying out the tasks assigned by the steward just as he had on previous days. Within this grand estate of the Wei household, the gardens alone numbered several, let alone the residential quarters, dining halls, and the like. In truth, however, it wasn’t overly exhausting. Given the expansive grounds and abundant staff, the workload allocated to each person’s hands remained quite manageable.
The courtyard assigned to He Pan for cleaning was precisely the dwelling where the fourth young miss of the secondary courtyard kept her puppy.
In this era, the dogs of wealthy households were valued far above human lives.
“Upon entering, there was simply too much dog fur, so I thought about fetching a bucket of water to clean the room thoroughly.”
Before he could even step out of the courtyard, he collided straight into Haiyuan Wei.
Mentioning the individual caused He Pan’s eyes to redden as he gnashed his teeth in hatred: “I had already seen him at the Rouge Tower before, because we few newcomers hadn’t yet lit the grand candles, so the madam didn’t let us receive patrons.”
As he spoke, he casually brought up the matter of Yunchan Wei purchasing him from the Rouge Tower.
Jinshu Fu inquired: “What kind of place is the Rouge Tower?”
Having received no formal education, He Pan naturally expressed himself quite straightforwardly: “It’s a place where men go to find women to sleep with.”
Fixing this phrase in his mind, Jinshu Fu asked further: “And then?”
“Then, seeing that he wore a foul expression, I hurriedly tried to dodge out of his way, but to my surprise, he spotted me and trailed right behind me into the room.”
To avoid disturbing Niangzi Shuang and the others resting, the dwelling designated for the puppy occupied a relatively secluded location with scant foot traffic on ordinary days.
“He bound my hands, and when I cried out a couple of times, he used a handkerchief to stuff my mouth, and then pinned me to the ground to torment and humiliate me.”
Only now did Jinshu Fu finally understand why Haiyuan Wei bore no traces upon his body earlier today.
“Later on, I fainted from the pain, and upon waking, feeling a shame and grief worse than death, I jumped into the lake.” Clenching his fists tightly, He Pan voiced his bitter, unavailing regret: “I should have seized a pair of scissors before dying to stab that beast to death! Even perishing together wouldn’t have frightened me!”
Patting his shoulder from the side, Qiuli offered words of comfort: “Haiyuan Wei has countless human lives on his hands, he will certainly not meet a wholesome end!”
Hearing Qiuli speak, Jinshu Fu recalled the matter he pondered while passing by the lake earlier: “I have also enhanced your cultivation, why have you yet to make a move?”
If Haiyuan Wei perished under the retaliatory fury of a vengeful spirit, ordinary mortals would find it entirely impossible to trace, serving as the optimal method of execution.
Sighing heavily, Qiuli replied with simmering indignation: “Replying to My Lord, that beast possesses an amulet bestowed upon him by Niangzi Shuang, who spent a heavy sum of gold to acquire it from the Jinguanzhi Temple. The moment this humble servant draws close, she is repelled by a golden radiance, making it entirely impossible to approach within his vicinity.”
Jinguanzhi Temple, mulling over these three characters in his mind, Jinshu Fu recalled an old acquaintance.
“Very well, let me ponder a solution.” Turning his head, Jinshu Fu addressed He Pan once more: “Now that you have perished, do you wish to undergo reincarnation or remain a wandering nether ghost?”
Scratching his head with honest, rustic simplicity, He Pan asked: “Can undergoing reincarnation secure a favorable birth?”
Such matters fell outside Jinshu Fu’s jurisdiction. Initially, Jinshu Fu intended to return the two-word response “I do not know,” yet with the words resting on the tip of his tongue, gazing upon his pitiful, pathetic appearance, he suddenly recalled that he still possessed a passage pass from the Ghost Realm. Producing the jade token from his person, he handed it into He Pan’s grasp: “Take this jade token, proceed to the West Street intersection to find Tailor Gao, mention my name, and have him guide you on a trip to the Ghost Realm. Upon reaching the Ghost Realm, display this jade token, and naturally someone will properly and securely arrange the matters concerning your reincarnation.”
Fortunately, He Pan harbored far less lingering resentment than Qiuli and, having died only recently, had yet to transform into a fierce ghost. With Yanzha’s assistance, securing a favorable birth in his next life shouldn’t prove overly difficult.
Pouring out endless expressions of gratitude, He Pan kowtowed and bowed deeply toward Jinshu Fu before blurting out with artless bluntness: “My Lord, you possess boundless divine powers, why did you choose to marry someone as ugly and sinister as the Wei Young Master? He is far too terrifying. Just a few days ago, simply because I followed Madam Wen’s instructions to sleep in his bed for a spell, he went ahead and burned the entire bed along with the bedding and pillows.”
Jinshu Fu froze in surprise: “Why did Madam Wen instruct you to sleep in his bed?”
Owing to the events that transpired today, Jinshu Fu acquired a brand-new comprehension regarding the concept of “sleeping.” As it turned out, sleeping also carried the connotation of mating, ah, cross-breeding could not be said, as Yunchan Wei stated, it was termed “mating.”
Sensing the surging displeasure contained within his tone, He Pan hastily explained: “Madam said the Wei Young Master lacked experience in sleeping with people, fearing he might cause you pain down the road, and had me accompany him in sleep for a couple of turns first. I had no wish to do so, My Lord, I possess zero interest in sleeping with men! I still plan to marry a pretty young bride in the future!”
Following this lengthy explanation, Jinshu Fu’s brows remained slightly furrowed, though he merely uttered: “I understand.”
He Pan heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing Jinshu Fu turn as if to depart, he had barely taken two steps before halting, swiveling his head back to speak in an earnest, solemn tone: “Yunchan Wei is not ugly.”
That evening, Yunchan Wei finished washing up first and climbed into bed. He fished out the red mahogany box placed preemptively beneath the pillow, holding it within his palm to turn it over and play with it.
Once Jinshu Fu likewise emerged from bathing and changing clothes, Yunchan Wei beckoned to him: “Come here.”
With his mass of dark, lustrous, long hair falling loosely down his back, Jinshu Fu yawned as he crawled leisurely onto the bed, crossing his legs to sit down while fixing his gaze upon the box in Yunchan Wei’s hand.
Reaching out to snatch it directly, Yunchan Wei deliberately teased him by raising his arm high and shifting it toward the outer side. Jinshu Fu simply scrambled onto his body, straddling his legs and shifting his posture to sit right atop his abdomen, while keeping his hand extended to grab that small box.
The dark hair swept lightly across Yunchan Wei’s face and neck, stirring an indescribable, tickling numbness. Terrified of letting him tumble off, Yunchan Wei instinctively extended his other arm to loop around Jinshu Fu from behind.
They pressed closer together than they had yesterday when their vision was blocked beside the bathing tub.
With spring garments remaining light and thin, separated by merely a single layer of fabric, Yunchan Wei clearly registered his softness.
A wave of heat surged downward from his chest. Initially failing to comprehend its meaning, Yunchan Wei experienced an abrupt stiffness throughout his frame as sudden realization struck.
Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Jinshu Fu snatched the box away with swift dexterity. Shifting his hips unconsciously by a fraction, the next instant, he was overturned flat onto the bed by Yunchan Wei.
Acting like a fire-stricken firecracker, Yunchan Wei scrambled down from the bed in a panicked rush. Rubbing his bruised wrist, Jinshu Fu sat up from the bed, staring at the back of Yunchan Wei as he slammed the door and stormed out, feeling entirely clueless and lost.
Yet Jinshu Fu’s attention wasn’t anchored to him at the moment either, lowering his head to flip open the box, resting inside was a peony-flower-styled jade pendant crafted with exquisite workmanship, whose grade alone indicated it commanded a substantial sum of wealth.
He pinched the slender chain connecting to the jade pendant; the chain appeared to have been forged from gold, remaining extremely fine, yet gleaming brilliantly under the illumination of the candle flame.
Half an hour later, Yunchan Wei finally returned to the room.
The interior remained shrouded in pitch darkness. Walking toward the bedside, he could hear Jinshu Fu’s steady breathing, clearly indicating he had drifted off into a sound slumber.
Conversely, looking at Yunchan Wei, after rushing out to blow in the night breeze for a full quarter-hour, he sat upon a courtyard stone stool to sort out the preceding situation entirely by himself. Presently carrying a body chilled through by the night air, his head throbbed with splitting pain.
Stepping lightly and carefully as he reclined into the warm blankets, Yunchan Wei maintained a vigilant distance against the edge of the bed, neither his hands nor his feet brushing against even a fraction of Jinshu Fu’s person.
Closing his eyes and preparing to brew up some drowsiness, a warm, soft body leaned closely against his side, naturally and familiarly hooking a leg across Yunchan Wei’s thigh, draping an arm across Yunchan Wei’s waist, rubbing her cheek against Yunchan Wei’s arm, and returning once more to sleeping soundly and sweetly.
Leaving Yunchan Wei staring wide-eyed at the bed curtains, utterly stripped of any remaining sleepiness.
Turning his head, Yunchan Wei froze in momentary shock.
Across Jinshu Fu’s fair neck, a gentle golden radiance flashed, and casting his gaze downward, that white jade pendant was already resting worn upon his person.