Most people actually believed the rumor.
“Ning Lu used to go to the Lin family every day and wait on them hand and foot. Nobody is that kind-hearted for no reason. Lin Anguo must have taken her virginity, which is why she willingly served Lin’s mother.”
“Exactly. She looks honest enough, but she’s actually quite loose. No wonder Lin Anguo dumped her. If it were me, I wouldn’t want such an easy girl either.”
“I need to tell my second brother’s family right away. They were thinking about sending a matchmaker to propose. A woman with a tarnished reputation is out of the question!”
The rumors spread wildly throughout the area, and Lin Anguo was very pleased with himself.
Neither Ning Lu nor Yan Bingqin knew anything about it.
The mother and daughter were busy following their weight-loss program.
Every day was carefully planned. They got up at 5:30 in the morning to jog, exercised regularly, and ate healthy meals.
After only three days, Yan Bingqin exclaimed happily,
“Lu Lu, I’ve lost weight again!”
Ever since they stopped consuming the drugs Ning Yue had secretly been giving them, their appetites had returned to normal. Their bodies were already slimming down rapidly, and with exercise and a light diet, the pounds seemed to melt away.
Ning Lu was delighted too.
Her waist had once felt like a barrel wrapped in layers of fat. Now, she could actually feel some curves forming. Her stomach had flattened considerably, and her pants were noticeably looser.
Excitedly, Yan Bingqin tightened the elastic waistbands on both their trousers.
Otherwise, they simply wouldn’t stay up anymore.
“Lu Lu, the train to Xiping City only comes once every half month. We still have a few days before departure. If we can lose a little more weight before we leave, and then lose a few more pounds during the long train ride, I should be down to around 150 pounds by the time we reach the military base. Then at least people won’t laugh at me.”
One hundred and fifty pounds was still considered heavy, but it was more plump than obese. Combined with Yan Bingqin’s beautiful face, it shouldn’t be enough to make Commander Xie a laughingstock.
Ning Lu smiled and took her mother’s hand.
“Mom, you’re already beautiful. Your face stayed slim even when you gained weight. Most of the weight went elsewhere. If you wear the right clothes that hide the heavier areas, people will only notice how pretty you are.
“How about this? Let’s alter our clothes. The weather over there gets cooler earlier anyway. We’ll wear long sleeves and wide-legged pants. Those are very flattering.”
“Good idea!”
The two immediately got to work.
Yan Bingqin was excellent with needlework and spent the afternoon altering their clothes.
Before they knew it, night had fallen.
Tired, they put away their sewing supplies and prepared for bed.
But lying in bed, Ning Lu couldn’t fall asleep.
She was thinking about the four drowned spirits.
Before leaving the village, she wanted to help them get justice.
Now that she possessed the mysterious space, she intended to use it properly.
With a thought, she entered the space.
With another thought, she stepped back into the real world.
She soon discovered she couldn’t travel very far after emerging—only within about ten meters of where she had entered.
Still, that was more than enough.
The first person she targeted was Li Second Aunt.
Years ago, Li Second Aunt had driven her daughter-in-law Zhou Xiaocui to suicide.
At the time, Zhou Xiaocui was still recovering from childbirth. Because she had given birth to three daughters in a row, Li Second Aunt despised her.
One day, during her confinement period, Li Second Aunt dragged her into the pigsty, shoved her head into a pig trough, and cursed her.
“You’ve eaten twelve pumpkins from my family! You’re worse than a sow! At least a sow can give birth to male piglets!”
Humiliated and physically broken after three difficult pregnancies, Zhou Xiaocui eventually crawled out of the pigsty and drowned herself in the river during the dead of winter.
After her death, her three daughters were abused by their grandmother.
Their father quickly remarried and treated his new son like a treasure.
Meanwhile, Zhou Xiaocui’s daughters were beaten, cursed, and neglected every day.
It was already late at night.
Li Second Aunt, her son, daughter-in-law, and precious grandson were asleep.
Only the eldest granddaughter was still washing clothes in the courtyard.
The second granddaughter was cutting pig feed.
The youngest cried pitifully.
“Big Sister, Second Sister, I’m hungry. Grandma didn’t let me eat dinner.”
The older girls wiped away tears.
“Grandma locked the kitchen. Be patient, Third Sister. Once we finish our chores, we’ll beg Grandma for a steamed bun.”
Ning Lu’s anger immediately flared.
She slipped into Li Second Aunt’s room.
The old woman was snoring with her mouth wide open.
Ning Lu covered her eyes, stuffed a filthy old shoe into her mouth, and slapped her repeatedly.
Then she poured chicken blood down her neck.
Using a shrill, ghostly voice, she cried,
“Mother-in-law… dear mother-in-law… after I died, this is how you treat my daughters?
“Are you even human?
“They’re your granddaughters!”
Li Second Aunt kicked wildly in terror.
Ning Lu shoved a handful of incense ash into her mouth.
“I’ll come every night from now on.
“If you continue mistreating my daughters, I’ll take you with me…
“To hell!”
Then she burst into eerie laughter.
Li Second Aunt’s eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Ning Lu next visited Zhou Xiaocui’s husband, Li Datou.
He and his new wife were sleeping comfortably with their beloved son.
Neither spare a thought for the three daughters suffering outside.
Inside the space, Ning Lu changed into white clothing, let her hair hang loose, splashed fake blood across herself, and appeared beside their bed.
In a low, haunting voice she whispered:
“Li Datou…
“My daughters are starving.
“They’re working outside while you sleep.
“Are you deaf? Blind?
“You deserve to die.
“I’m going to ask the King of Hell to take you away too.”
The couple woke up and screamed.
Li Datou tried to act brave.
“Zhou Xiaocui! You cursed woman! Even after death you dare come back? I’ll kill you again!”
He lunged forward.
The white figure vanished instantly.
His wife suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder.
Turning around, she found a pale face inches from hers.
“AAAAAHHH!”
She nearly wet herself.
Li Datou kept trying to grab the ghostly figure, but it repeatedly disappeared and reappeared.
His scalp tingled with terror.
Then suddenly the ghost appeared behind him and wrapped cold hands around his throat.
Not saying a word.
His wife scrambled out of bed and ran.
A basin of chicken blood splashed over her entire body.
At last, Li Datou broke down.
“Zhou… Xiaocui… I was wrong! I’ll treat the girls well! Please spare me!”
For nearly two hours, Ning Lu tormented the Li family.
By morning, Li Second Aunt had practically gone mad, screaming constantly about ghosts.
Li Datou opened the kitchen, fed his daughters, and tearfully apologized, swearing to care for them properly.
His current wife fled to her parents’ home that very night with her son.
But Ning Lu wasn’t finished.
After dealing with Zhou Xiaocui’s case, she visited the families connected to the other drowned spirits:
Each woman had died with deep grievances.
Using her space, Ning Lu terrified every one of their killers.
Some went insane.
Some cried and confessed.
Some were scared half to death.
The next morning:
But village marriages rarely involved traveling far.
That night, Ning Lu followed him to the relative’s home.
After terrifying the entire household, the man finally collapsed to his knees and confessed publicly that he had murdered Chen Fangfang.
The villagers immediately reported him.
He was arrested.
At last, all four murderers had paid a price.
That night, Ning Lu dreamed of the four drowned spirits again.
This time, they were no longer trapped in the water.
All four wore gentle smiles.
“Lu Lu, thank you.
“Do you know why we chose you?
“When you were little, both you and your mother helped us.
“We were the weakest women in the village. Nobody was willing to lend a hand.
“But your mother brought you to us when we were at our lowest.
“A bowl of brown sugar water.
“A steamed bun.
“A bit of medicine.
“We can never live our lives over again.
“But we hope that you and your mother will find happiness.
“And thank you for helping us obtain justice.
“We’re going to be reincarnated now.
“We won’t be able to help you anymore.
“Please protect yourselves.”
Ning Lu opened her mouth to speak.
But no words came out.
The four women smiled and waved goodbye.
When Ning Lu woke up, tears covered her face.
She silently swore that no matter where life took her in the future, she would continue helping innocent women who had no one else to stand up for them.