He Family, West Courtyard.
“Ah Feng! Chen Quanhai is dead!” A man paced back and forth anxiously in the courtyard.
Gu Feng shot to his feet, smashing the wine bottle on the table.
“What did you say!?”
“Chen Quanhai is dead!” The man’s pale face had a greenish hue, his eye sockets sunken, eyes bloodshot. He gripped Gu Feng’s arms tightly. “This morning—they found his body. It was floating near the lakeside pavilion where we drank ten days ago!”
He released Gu Feng and clutched his own head in terror. “I saw it from afar—his body was swollen, face unrecognizable! But he was wearing the same green robe from that night!”
He grabbed Gu Feng’s arms again, his eyes wide. “And over it—a red dress! He was wearing a red dress!”
Gu Feng’s knees went weak; trembling, he had to lean on the table to keep from collapsing.
“…A red dress?”
“Yes! That same red dress! Chen Quanhai was killed by her! She’s become a vengeful ghost—she’s come back for revenge!”
“Yuan Zheng, stop talking nonsense… there’s no such thing as ghosts and demons in this world!” Gu Feng snapped sharply, trying to steady his nerves by saying it aloud. He straightened his back. “You’re overthinking! Chen Quanhai must’ve just fallen into the lake drunk!”
“…” Yuan Zheng nearly went mad. He laughed wildly for a long time, then wiped his tears with trembling hands. “Gu Feng! Don’t be so naïve! You saw it too, didn’t you?”
He leaned close to Gu Feng’s ear, his voice low and cold. “You saw her too—that wine-seller woman. She’s been dead for so long… if she isn’t a ghost, then what is she!? We all saw her! Me, Wei Lai, Gou Ting… and now Chen Quanhai, dead in the lake!”
Yuan Zheng’s face twisted slightly, and under the dim light, his expression looked terrifying.
Gu Feng’s legs buckled again, and he fell onto the stone stool.
“No… impossible…” His throat was dry and tight. “Didn’t we hire a priest to send her soul off? She should’ve reincarnated long ago!”
“…”
“Then how do you explain Gou Ting, who hanged himself? Wei Lai, who fell to his death? And Chen Quanhai, drowned in the lake this morning?” Yuan Zheng’s fear made his voice tremble as if his very guts were twisting. “All of them—everyone who saw Fang Wuyan that night and was close to us—they’re all dead!”
“…” Gu Feng couldn’t say a word, his shoulders slumping.
Yuan Zheng lifted a wine cup, his gaze distant as he took a sip. “This wine… seems like the one she brewed. It’s good. So very good…”
He poured the rest onto the ground, then suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud on the stone floor. “Fang Wuyan—it was our greed, our blindness. Please, spare me. I shouldn’t have followed Gu Feng’s orders that night…”
A grim determination flashed across his face, giving him the courage to continue.
“Every debt has its debtor. If you want a life, take Gu Feng’s!”
“Yuan Zheng!” Gu Feng roared, standing up, eyes blazing.
But Yuan Zheng only stepped closer, pulling a white silk ribbon from his sleeve.
“Every debt has its debtor. I’ll execute Gu Feng for you—please, spare me in return.”
“Yuan Zheng, you’re insane!” Gu Feng shouted as he circled the table, searching for a way to escape. “Help! Somebody! Gu San!”
“Hehehe… don’t bother shouting. I sent Gu San away before coming here. No one in this courtyard will save you…” Yuan Zheng pulled the silk taut, approaching slowly. “Don’t worry, I’ll find you a good resting place. I’ll burn you plenty of paper money every year and have priests chant for you—so you’ll be reborn rich and noble in your next life…”
“Madman! You’re insane!” Gu Feng’s forehead veins bulged, his chest heaving violently.
“Killing is a crime, Yuan Zheng! Don’t you want to sit for the imperial exams!? If you kill me, Tang Peiqian will see to it you hang!”
“Hahahahaha!” Yuan Zheng laughed hysterically. “Tang Peiqian… so what if I kill you? One more life on my hands—what’s the difference? It’s not like we haven’t killed before!”
“…” Seeing his friend truly deranged, Gu Feng stopped reasoning. He grabbed a broom and swung it.
To his horror, the frail-looking Yuan Zheng overpowered him with terrifying strength, throwing him to the ground. The broom flew aside.
The moment the soft, cold silk brushed Gu Feng’s neck, goosebumps prickled all over his skin.
His breath caught in his throat, blood rushing to his head. The man before him seemed to morph into the very image of a ghostly judge from hell—Fang Wuyan, the woman they had beaten half to death that night.
“Gu Feng! Return my life to me!”
“Ahhh!”
Darkness shattered—yet that burning suffocation still lingered in his throat.
“Cousin? Cousin, are you alright?”
The face before him was no longer the disfigured wine-seller’s, but his beautiful cousin’s.
Meeting her worried gaze, Gu Feng finally realized—he was alive.
“I… I’m still alive?”
Speaking hurt; his throat burned and scratched. But relief and disbelief filled his chest.
“Yes, you’re alive,” said his cousin He Huilan. “These immortal masters saved you.”
Gu Feng followed her gaze. Four figures sat nearby, their sharp eyes fixed on him, as though looking straight through his soul.
Especially the one in red—the same color Fang Wuyan had worn the night she died.
That fair, elegant face now seemed to him like the visage of a soul-reaping deity.
Cold sweat crept down his spine.
He avoided her gaze and bowed respectfully. “Thank you, masters, for saving my life. I, Gu Feng, will never forget this kindness.”
“To slay demons and protect the innocent is our duty,” said Cui Mingcan proudly.
Gu Feng smiled weakly and nodded. “The masters are truly righteous.”
“I wish to ask something, if I may…”
“Ask freely,” Cui Mingcan said.
“Was the one who attacked me last night the ghost people speak of?”
Cui Mingcan was about to answer, but Bai Yuhen raised her hand to stop him. She smiled faintly. “Yes… and no.”
Gu Feng blinked. “I don’t understand. Please enlighten me, master.”
“The one who tried to kill you was not a ghost, but a demon.”
Gu Feng exhaled in relief—only for her next words to chill him to the bone.
“But this demon, Brother Gu… you definitely know her.”
“…” Gu Feng forced a stiff smile. “Surely master jests. How could I possibly know such an evil creature?”
Bai Yuhen only smiled quietly.
Cen Ying, however, could not hold back her temper. “What were you doing the night Fang Wuyan hanged herself?”
Gu Feng recited the story he’d practiced countless times. “That night, my friends and I were drinking and having fun at Yichun House. If you don’t believe me, you may ask the courtesan Zijuān yourself.”
His calm, straightforward tone nearly made Cen Ying lose her temper. “You—!”
Bai Yuhen stopped her with a gentle smile. “Thank you for your cooperation, Young Master Gu. Rest well. We’ll take our leave.”
Gu Feng bowed. “Huilan, please see the masters out.”
He Huilan nodded. “Rest well, Cousin.”
“This way, masters.”
When they were gone, Gu Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Thank you, masters, for saving my cousin,” He Huilan said, bowing deeply.
“No need,” Bai Yuhen replied.
“If not for you, my cousin would already be dead…”
“Catching demons and saving people is our duty,” said Bai Yuhen calmly.
He Huilan dabbed at her tears. “Then… is there a way to catch that demon?”
Bai Yuhen shook her head. “We still don’t know what it truly is. When we arrived, it was already gone. The person who tried to strangle your cousin was only being controlled.”
They reached the gates of the He residence.
“No need to see us off, Miss He.”
“Masters, won’t you stay? I fear the demon may return to finish the job…”
Cui Mingcan leaned in with a grin. “We could stay, sure—ow!”
Cen Ying yanked his ear sharply. “No need to worry, Miss He. If the demon comes again, we’ll capture it.”
He Huilan nodded reluctantly.
“You didn’t have to pull my ear!” Cui Mingcan protested, trying to break free—only to bump into someone.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” a child’s voice piped angrily.
“Goudan! Don’t be rude!”
“Grandma!”
“Sorry, elder—are you hurt?” Cui Mingcan and Cen Ying quickly helped the old lady up.
“I’ll take full responsibility!”
“It’s alright, it’s alright…” The hunched old woman waved her hand. “It was my fault too—I didn’t stand firm.”
“But Grandma’s embroidery!” cried the little boy, staring at the bright red fabric that had fallen to the ground. “You ruined it! That’s for Miss Hui’s wedding! Grandma stayed up so many nights making it! How can you pay for that!?”
“Goudan! Don’t be rude to our betters!”
“Then what are you going to do about it?” Cui Mingcan said, flustered.
He Huilan, recognizing them as the same old woman who’d once helped her years ago, hurried to reassure them. “It’s alright. It only fell; it can be washed.”
“Granny Yang, it’s been a long time,” she said warmly. Though she seldom left home, she’d often bought the old woman’s embroidery through others.
“Miss He, you’ve become even lovelier,” said the old woman, her cloudy eyes glistening with tears. “May your marriage be blissful and long. Thank you for buying my embroidery all these years—it kept food on our table.”
He Huilan smiled softly. “It’s I who should thank you. Without your help back then, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
“It was nothing… just lending a hand.”
The two women exchanged heartfelt gratitude.
Cen Ying noticed the old woman’s trembling legs and said gently, “Granny, let me take a look at your leg.”