At the second mark of Yin Shi (3-5 AM), Yun Song and the others responsible for procurement went out.
Several people carried lanterns as they passed by a long river. Under the lantern light, the river water shimmered with an eerie green glow.
A faint fishy smell emerged from its surface.
One of them couldn’t help muttering: “What bad luck. We can’t avoid this river for our procurement trip this time.”
Yun Song’s heart skipped a beat, a chill spreading across his back like countless ants crawling and nibbling.
His heart sank gradually, and he couldn’t resist asking his companions, “What’s wrong with this path?”
His companions were startled, looking at him with surprise. “Don’t you know? This river is really sinister.”
“Every year, several passersby drown in this river. Gradually, everyone considered it unlucky and stopped coming this way. Unfortunately for us, not only do we have to pass by today, but it also has to be during Yin Shi.”
The yin energy is strong at night, when people’s yang energy is weak.
Those with light fate and weak constitution are prone to seeing things others cannot during this time.
Someone quietly leaned close to Yun Song’s ear and whispered: “I heard it’s because there’s a Water Ghost in this river.”
“Those who died were all taken as substitutes by the Water Ghost.”
“We must be careful and watch our steps.”
Yun Song’s heart trembled violently, his back soaked with cold sweat. The sound of nails scratching through wooden boards flickered intermittently in his ears, and the bracelet on his wrist began to grow faintly warm.
The closer they got to the river, the more distinct the burning sensation became.
On such a cold day, with the chill piercing to the bone, everyone else was shrinking from the cold, yet Yun Song alone felt as if his wrist was about to be scorched through.
Yun Song swallowed hard, the cold wind brushing against his face. His expression was tense, somewhat fierce in appearance but weak at heart. “Don’t scare yourselves in the middle of the night. If there really are ghosts, they wouldn’t come for us!”
After all, as the saying goes: A clear conscience laughs at false accusations.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, so why would ghosts bother him!
Holding his breath, Yun Song lifted his lantern and continued forward.
But at that moment, he suddenly tripped over something and lost control, falling forward.
Fortunately, there was a thick pile of grass ahead that cushioned his fall. His whole body landed on the grass pile, just barely avoiding falling into the river.
Something icy cold suddenly gripped his foot tightly. Yun Song’s scalp tingled, and just as he was about to shout for help, the bizarre chill disappeared.
As if it had never existed.
Meanwhile, the bracelet on his wrist burned so hot it nearly scorched through his skin.
Yun Song stared blankly at the grass pile beneath him. Two companions helped him up from either side, casting strange glances toward the river.
“What happened? How did you fall right after we finished talking!”
“I didn’t see any branches or stones blocking the path ahead. We just said this river is problematic, and this guy falls. Let’s go quickly, this is too creepy!”
The companions all gasped in shock.
Yun Song’s scalp tingled, not daring to turn his head, he could only glance at the eerily cold green-glowing river water from the corner of his eye. “Just now… I felt something icy cold touching my foot…”
As these words were spoken, another wave of gasps and panicked footsteps arose.
“You damn bastards, wait for me!”
After those earlier incidents, no one dared to linger any longer. Suppressing the discomfort that made their scalps tingle, they quickened their pace and hurried away from that troublesome place.
Yun Song secretly glanced back and nearly fainted from fright at the sight before him.
He saw a green-glowing figure rubbing its wrist with intense hatred, its expression venomous and resentful as it stared in their direction.
But when he looked again, the thing seemed to have sunk into the water, as if everything had just been his illusion.
Yun Song’s heart trembled, making him even more unwilling to stay.
Little did he know that at this very moment, the aura of death completely vanished from his face, and his previously short-lived appearance began to change.
The next day, Yun Song found an opportunity to have Rui Hong summoned to the front courtyard.
Taking advantage of the absence of others, he took out the bracelet and pointed to one bead that had already lost its luster.
“Thanks to this, otherwise I might not have returned last night!”
Yun Song lowered his voice and recounted everything that happened to him by the river last night to Rui Hong without omitting a single word.
Upon hearing this, Rui Hong’s eyebrows twitched violently, her expression turning extremely peculiar.
Yun Song frowned. Having narrowly escaped death, why was his sister making such an expression? “What’s wrong with you?”
“Did something happen in the rear courtyard?”
Rui Hong’s expression was most peculiar. She glanced around, ensuring no one was nearby, then lowered her voice to a volume only she and Yun Song could hear: “The young master threw a tantrum all night, insisting that I burn all the things his birth mother made.”
“When I refused, he threatened to have me burned instead.”
“But guess what? This morning, I noticed dark circles under the young master’s eyes. Upon asking, I learned he had nightmares last night.”
“He said he dreamed of many children with indistinct faces chasing him.”
“And there was a little girl covered in blood, grabbing his neck and demanding why he took her A Niang but didn’t treat A Niang well.”
As Rui Hong spoke, she felt goosebumps rising all over her body.
Yun Song also broke out in a cold sweat listening to this. He couldn’t help saying: “I remember you telling me before that this young master often sees unclean things others can’t, and he used to frequently fall ill.”
“Then somehow, his health gradually improved, and we stopped hearing about him encountering those unclean things.”
“Now… now it seems it wasn’t because he grew older and healthier, but because the things his birth mother made were working?”
Otherwise, why would Song Xiao start having such nightmares right after Su Tan’s creations were removed from his courtyard?
Rui Hong nudged his arm. “I don’t know, but don’t speak of this to others.”
“You know how that master never acknowledges his birth mother, only caring about the one in Tingfeng Pavilion.”
Yun Song’s face showed contempt. People outside said the young master was worse than beasts, and he thought so too. “Someone who won’t even acknowledge his own mother doesn’t deserve your full attention. Slack off when you can.”
Rui Hong had previously been diligent, but after yesterday’s incident with Song Xiao’s tantrum and his threat to ‘burn her,’ she felt chilled and now found her brother’s words reasonable.
You can’t warm up an ungrateful wolf.
Old Madam Song and Liu Qingyin doted excessively on Song Xiao. Previously afraid the child might be spoiled, Rui Hong would occasionally offer advice, but now she resolved to refrain from speaking out anymore.
“He may reject his own mother now, but just wait until the lady from Tingfeng Pavilion marries the general. Let’s see if there’ll still be a place for him in this manor.”
“Never mind that, this morning I saw that woman shamelessly clinging to the general again. He took her out of the manor.”
Though she didn’t catch exactly where they were going.