Downstairs, Xu Liang Han was wearing a polite smile, exchanging pleasantries with Yu Yan and his wife in the living room.
Seeing Ruan Yao Yao and his wife coming down holding the child, he immediately felt relieved and quickly stood up to greet them.
Yu Xiang Qiao walked a bit faster, stepping beside Xu Liang Han, and smiled as she greeted her elder brother and sister-in-law.
Yu Yan and his wife also greeted them, especially Ruan Yao Yao, who was holding the baby. As an elder, she even stood up to say hello.
“Sit down!” Ruan Yao Yao’s face showed no smile, her expression indifferent, as if she wasn’t particularly welcoming.
She sat holding her granddaughter at the farthest distance from them, with no intention of bringing the child over for them to see.
[Tsk tsk tsk… Who would have thought? My daughter-in-law’s elder brother is actually that kind of person. He’s already married, yet he still pines for his White Moonlight. No wonder even his own wife ended up being schemed against.]
She saw right through “Gong Min Hui’s” body. The soul, as pure as a little white flower, looked completely different from Gong Min Hui herself and didn’t seem very likable.
It was just a pity for Gong Min Hui’s own soul. Like her daughter-in-law’s situation back then, it had shrunk to the size of a thumb girl, squeezed into the mud-pill palace and entangled with a mass of black threads.
Compared to her daughter-in-law, whose limbs were bound, Gong Min Hui was even worse off—almost completely wrapped into a cocoon, with only her head exposed.
Her eyes were tightly shut, her face numb, clearly having long given up hope and waiting for death.
[Sigh… How pitiful!]
Looking at Yu Yan again, she felt even more dislike.
[If he hadn’t provoked her, how could Gong Min Hui suffer like this?]
[I wonder if there’s anything I can do…]
Yu Xiang Qiao’s eyes instantly lit up, and she quickly thought: Mom, you definitely can! Give it your all!
Xu Liang Han noticed Yu Xiang Qiao was so excited she could barely sit still. He quickly reached out and grabbed her hand, giving her a look that said “calm down.”
On the other side, before Yu Yan left home, his parents had reminded him that his sister’s mother-in-law was ill. No matter what he heard or saw at their house, he wasn’t allowed to show any reaction. If anything happened, he could discuss it with them after returning home.
“Huh? Madam Xu is sick? How come I didn’t hear about it?”
Zhong Wenmei glared at him. “You didn’t hear about it, so you didn’t. Did you even listen to what I said?”
“I heard you,” Yu Yan replied helplessly. He had come to visit his sick sister, but before he even knew how she was doing, he first learned that his sister’s mother-in-law was “sick.”
Afraid his wife didn’t know, he also explained the situation to Gong Min Hui.
Thus, when Yu Yan “heard” any strange sounds, he merely glanced at Ruan Yao Yao before looking away, silently thinking to himself: No wonder my parents warned me. This illness is just too niche! Has she been watching too much TV?
He didn’t notice that Gong Min Hui, sitting beside him, heard nothing. She was still smiling and chatting with Yu Xiang Qiao, acting like a good sister-in-law.
As for Yu Xiang Qiao, her responses were somewhat perfunctory. Right now, she only wanted to know whether her mother-in-law could “save” her sister-in-law. If not, things would be troublesome.
Four adults and one child—not a single one of them was focused on the conversation at hand.
Ruan Yao Yao wasn’t sure if she could actually do it. After all, the last time she “saved” her daughter-in-law, it had been entirely by “coincidence.” She hadn’t even figured out what was happening before it was all over.
After those black threads drifted into her body, she observed herself for several days but didn’t notice anything unusual.
So, were those black threads harmless to her body?
Ruan Yao Yao stared intently at the black threads, repeating in her mind: 【Untie!】
【Untie!】
【Untie!】
…
That feeling came again. It was as if her consciousness had grown tentacles, gently brushing against the black threads, causing them to stir slightly.
This time wasn’t like the last, where she had immediately found the end of the thread and pulled it loose like untying a shoelace. This was more like a tangled ball of yarn, and Ruan Yao Yao needed patience to unravel it.
Ruan Yao Yao admitted that patience was what she lacked most.
If she had been patient, she would have achieved fame and success long ago—how could she have ended up as just a wealthy housewife?
But this was a life at stake, different from other matters.
With a compassionate heart, Ruan Yao Yao glanced again at the motionless soul of Gong Min Hui, silently urging herself to take it slow. There was no rush; she would eventually sort out this tangled mess.
She tugged here and there, but instead of loosening the knot, she only tightened it further.
【Uh…】
Feeling a bit awkward, Ruan Yao Yao had to figure out how to undo what she’d done.
It took her quite a while before she finally found a clue.
Ruan Yao Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
【Finally found it…】
With a pull and a tug, the tangled black threads wrapped around Gong Min Hui loosened. Delighted, Ruan Yao Yao worked with increasing vigor—the feeling was simply exhilarating!
【Who knew unraveling knots could be so satisfying!】
As the tangle loosened, Gong Min Hui’s soul seemed to sense it. She opened her eyes in confusion and instinctively began to struggle.
And so, one worked on untying while the other struggled. Before long, the black threads slipped off her soul, drifting lightly toward Ruan Yao Yao.
Having experienced this once before, Ruan Yao Yao remained much calmer this time, watching as the threads entered her body.
At the same time, Gong Min Hui across from her seemed to react, lunging fiercely at the entity that had occupied her body. Whether it was the years of torment that had driven her mad or something else, Gong Min Hui clawed and bit like an enraged tigress.
“Gong Min Hui” was caught completely off guard, seized by the real Gong Min Hui, and let out a piercing scream: “Ah…”
Her agonized expression startled Yu Yan, who was sitting beside her.
“Honey, what’s wrong?!”
But before he could approach “Gong Min Hui,” Yu Xiang Qiao, who had been prepared, grabbed him, and Xu Liang Han stepped forward to help, wrapping his arms around Yu Yan’s waist to pull him back.
“Don’t go near her!”
“What are you doing?! That’s my wife…”
Yu Xiang Qiao exploded in anger: “Your wife, my foot! Your wife has long been…” She nearly shouted the words out loud.
What interrupted her was none other than Gong Min Hui collapsing—she fell straight to the ground.
In her ear, Ruan Yao Yao’s voice echoed: 【Oh dear! Did her soul scatter again?!】
【Serves her right for her wicked deeds!】
【It’s just a shame for this young woman. After having her body taken over for so long, her spirit is unstable. She’ll likely be ill for a long time.】
…
Yu Xiang Qiao did not stop her brother again, but instead helped make the call and immediately sent her real sister-in-law to the hospital.
This time, Ruan Yao Yao did not follow along. The person had already been saved, and she still had to take care of her precious granddaughter. Besides, there was no excitement to watch, so she didn’t go.
Yu Xiang Qiao estimated in her heart the time for her daughter’s next feeding. She accompanied Xu Liang Han to see her brother and sister-in-law off, and along the way, told him the “truth” they knew.
Yu Yan looked utterly incredulous: “How is that possible?! Have you two also fallen ill?”
“No, this matter is real. Mom and Dad both know about it. Otherwise, why would they have given you those instructions and asked you and sister-in-law to come all this way? Did you really think it was just to visit me?” Yu Xiang Qiao was exasperated. “They were hoping my mother-in-law would save you. If you don’t believe it, call Mom and Dad and ask.”