#Chapter 20: The Resentful Xiao
“Father, it’s fine. I promise to bring Mother back safe and sound.”
Hearing her daughter joking with him, Wang Chengye’s worries did not lessen in the slightest.
Yet he truly could not get away. During the time his daughter was ill, he had taken quite a bit of leave, all while the shopkeeper covered for him.
These past two days were even busier.
Wang Chengye observed his daughter’s condition; her face still lacked any trace of color. “Don’t let Eldest Son and Second Son go out today. Have them accompany you two over there.”
“It works out timing-wise—let the two of them rest for a day.”
Wen Caimei handed Wang Chengye’s things to him. “With me around, there’s no need to worry so much. Go and do a proper job for the shopkeeper.”
“Listen to me,” Wang Chengye’s tone was exceedingly firm.
After a moment’s thought, Wen Caimei agreed. “Understood.”
Before stepping out the door, Wang Chengye instructed once more with lingering unease, “If anything happens, go to town and find me.”
“Understood, go on now.”
Watching Wang Chengye leave, Wen Caimei leaned against the door, turning her head to ask Wang Zhaoming, “Zhao’zhao, can’t other doctors treat this county magistrate?”
Wen Caimei did not want her daughter’s special nature to be known by others, nor did the family need her to use her abilities for anything. As long as she was well and they could see her when they returned, that was enough.
However, things never went as wished.
Clearly, her daughter and the county magistrate had never even met, so how were they suddenly dragged together?
“Mother, his isn’t an ordinary illness; ordinary doctors can’t cure him.”
“Have you ever heard of a Resentful Xiao?”
“What kind of thing is that?”
The name was so tongue-twisting that, let alone having heard of it, Wen Caimei couldn’t even pronounce it clearly.
*Resentful Xiao?*
Wang Zhaoming took her arm, using her own strength to guide Wen Caimei out the door, explaining as they walked, “If a person suffers torture before dying, then at the moment they draw their last breath, the resentment generated on their body will linger on the corpse, refusing to dissipate for a long time.”
“If the corpse receives proper burial and sacrificial rituals, then this resentment will likely disperse in about half a year to a year.”
“If the corpse is carelessly discarded, this resentment will remain on the corpse forever.”
“The formation of a Resentful Xiao is exceedingly difficult; it must gather a certain quantity of resentment before taking shape.”
“Do you know what the formation of a Resentful Xiao signifies?”
It was not as if Wen Caimei had never heard ghost stories, but in the past, she would simply forget them right after hearing them, never taking them to heart.
Yet Wang Zhaoming’s explanation of how a Resentful Xiao formed caused a wave of chill to rise along Wen Caimei’s spine.
This chill shot straight to the top of her head, raising dense goosebumps on her exposed skin.
“You mean… there’s a body-dumping site on this mountain?”
Wang Zhaoming raised her hand and stroked Wen Caimei’s back. Whether it was psychological or not, the chill that had made Wen Caimei uncomfortable just moments ago vanished in an instant.
“Mm,” Wang Zhaoming nodded softly.
However, she did not say where that body-dumping site was located.
“Your father and I have lived in this village for over twenty years, yet we’ve never heard of anyone dying a violent death or disappearing from any household.”
“Where did those corpses come from? Could they have been discarded over here from other villages?”
“Mother, what if those discarded were newborn infants?”
“Or what if they were people abducted from elsewhere, tortured to death before you ever saw them?”
The resentment in that cellar was enough to form a small-scale Resentful Xiao.
Not to mention…
Wang Zhaoming’s gaze drifted almost imperceptibly toward the mountain where the county magistrate had gone missing.
Wen Caimei stopped in her tracks.
Her expression turned exceedingly grim.
Wang Zhaoming stood in place, her eyes brimming with obscure, unreadable emotions.
She heard Wen Caimei curse under her breath in a low voice: “Those beasts!”
The mother and daughter tacitly avoided mentioning this topic again.
They walked in silence all the way. Upon arriving at Dr. Chen’s house, they saw that the crowd of onlookers had not diminished in the slightest.
Although they all kept their voices down, when so many people spoke at the same time, the power was still quite formidable.
The county magistrate’s subordinates could not stand these people chattering away and signaled the village chief to clear the people out first.
Song Xingjian, who hadn’t closed his eyes all night and still bore injuries on his body, had long grown impatient with the presence of these people. Now having received the order, he immediately walked out with a stern face.
“All of you, shut your mouths!”
“Go do whatever you ought to be doing—what are you all crowding around here for!”
“Village Chief, we’re just concerned about Lord County Magistrate and thought we’d stay behind to see if we could lend a hand.”
“Can’t you have a little self-awareness? Besides tilling the fields and beating your wife, what else can you do?”
“None of you know how to treat illnesses, nor can you recognize a single medicinal herb—how on earth could you help!”
“Go back, go back! Lord County Magistrate is still unconscious right now; this isn’t the time for everyone to curry favor!”
“Whatever business you have, wait until Lord County Magistrate wakes up!”
“Let me lay down the harsh truth first: the officers inside don’t have a good temper like mine. So many of you have already disturbed their rest; if you truly make them angry, I won’t be able to protect you!”
The power of this last sentence successfully scared off those who wanted to shamelessly stay behind to get close to the county magistrate.
They acted tough with their wives and mothers at home, but lacked the courage to clash with those official guards.
“Village Chief, when Lord County Magistrate wakes up, you must send us word! We are all very concerned about Lord County Magistrate’s health!”
The speaker deliberately raised his voice, terrified that the people inside might fail to hear him.
The several official guards watching over the magistrate sighed helplessly.
Once the crowd dispersed, the Song family members following the village chief spotted Wang Zhaoming and Wen Caimei.
“Village Chief, they aren’t here to claim credit with Lord County Magistrate too, are they?”
Regarding the rescue last night, the three members of the Wang family indeed held the primary credit.
Song Xingjian looked toward Wang Zhaoming’s tranquil eyes and the absentminded expression on Wen Caimei’s face, then stepped toward the two.
“What are you two here for?”
Wang Zhaoming looked straight into his eyes. “To save a life.”
Song Xingjian’s heart thudded.
Having witnessed Wang Zhaoming’s abilities, he dared not question her words.
“Follow me.”
The rest of the Song family members behind wanted to follow, but a single glare from Song Xingjian kept them outside, as he led the mother and daughter inside alone.
Seeing Song Xingjian bring two unfamiliar faces in, the official guards felt somewhat puzzled.
“Village Chief Song, our lord does not require female care.”
The official guard spoke with a somewhat sharp tone. Ever since their lord was carried down the mountain last night, he had remained unconscious throughout.
The village doctor had merely given basic treatment to his injuries, not daring to proceed with further medical care.
Their lord’s newly stabilized injured leg could not be moved carelessly either, so they could only send someone to the county seat first to invite a doctor of high medical skill to treat him.
At a time like this, when the village chief arranged for female family members to come over, it was inevitable that they would misunderstand his intentions.
Song Xingjian quickly explained, “You’ve misunderstood. They are here to save a life.”
“Save a life?”
The five official guards sized up the mother and daughter from top to bottom, their gazes ultimately settling on Wen Caimei.
“Auntie, you know how to treat illnesses?”
Wen Caimei shook her head.
“The one treating the lord is my daughter.”
“Nonsense!” official guard Hu Kaigui barked angrily.
“Sirs, please don’t be angry, let me explain!”
Fearing they might harm Wang Zhaoming, Song Xingjian quickly stepped in front of her.
Just as he was about to tell these official guards about Wang Zhaoming’s abilities, Wang Zhaoming ignored the guards’ angry, doubtful gazes and walked to the lord’s bedside, looking down at him from above.
“No wonder he would form a karmic bond with me.”
An aimless remark left everyone present bewildered.
“Do you gentlemen know of the Resentful Xiao?”
Wang Zhaoming spoke with casual indifference, yet her hands raised to perform movements that no one could comprehend.
“There are three types of Resentful Xiao in this world. One is named the City of the Wronged, formed from the gathered resentment of unpermitted births brought by female infants drowned or abandoned to death.”
“The second type is named the Blood Clothes, formed from the lingering resentment of those abducted, trafficked, and abused to death—it possesses the most formidable resentful power among all Resentful Xiao.”
“The third type is named Abyssal Sink, gathered from the resentment of women raped, murdered, or drowned in ponds with unvindicated grievances—it belongs to the most low-profile type of Resentful Xiao.”
Although her tone was exceedingly calm, those present could nevertheless feel a rising chill on their backs.
Unable to bear this eerie atmosphere, Hu Kaigui interrupted Wang Zhaoming: “What utter nonsense are you spouting, little girl!”
“Our lord is a man of upright integrity—how could he possibly be tainted by such things!”
“Get out, get out! For the sake of your young age, we won’t hold it against you.”
“Village Chief Song, don’t tell me your body has developed problems after not resting all night, making you actually believe such words!”