The Li Family Residence, Ning City.
In the study, Uncle Li sat in his chair, glancing up at the clock on the wall, his brow furrowed. “Li Miao isn’t back yet?”
Li Da, the eldest son, nodded. “Not yet. The servants have been keeping watch at the door. They’ll report as soon as she returns.”
Li Yang was getting impatient.
As the youngest of the five Li children and the only daughter, she had been spoiled since childhood, fostering her arrogant and domineering personality.
Today was her engagement day. She was supposed to be spending the evening with Xi Zimo, but her father insisted she stay home and wait for Li Miao.
She kicked the table irritably. “Dad, why do we have to wait for her? Who cares where she went? It would be better if she died out there.”
“Nonsense!” Uncle Li scolded. “She is your sister.”
Ye Cuiyun patted her daughter’s shoulder, signaling her not to anger her father.
Li Yang leaned on her mother’s shoulder and pouted. Although unhappy, she didn’t speak again.
Li Si, the fourth brother, sat with his legs crossed, looking unconcerned. “Dad, you worry too much. She’ll come back on her own in a bit. Didn’t Third Brother say Li Miao can’t disobey our orders, let alone leave the Li family?
“She’s just throwing a little tantrum. She can’t escape the palm of our hands.
“After all these years, her destiny is almost completely swapped. What could happen? She’s probably hiding in some corner, crying.
“When she gets back, just say a few comforting words to her, and she’ll be fine.”
Uncle Li nodded, evidently agreeing with Li Si. However, he still kept a stern face as he pointed at his children. “You lot need to restrain yourselves. Don’t bully her too hard. And stop playing that ‘Ball Game.’
“And you, Li Yang, don’t use a knife on her. It’s too dangerous.”
Li Yang pouted. “I didn’t want to use a knife either. Today, her blood splattered on my hand. It was disgusting. I just wanted to be a little prettier. Women love beauty, after all.”
Seeing his daughter act coquettishly, Uncle Li’s attitude softened instantly. “Alright, alright, I know. It’s not our precious Yangyang’s fault. Next time, feed her some disfiguring medicine. That’s safer and won’t splatter blood.”
“Dad, you’re too biased,” Li En, the second brother, rolled his eyes. “Li Miao’s beauty was all taken by Little Sister. I need some too. Don’t forget, I’m a top celebrity. My face is everything.”
“Get lost. What use does a man have for vanity? It’s all your fault for insisting on taking part of Li Miao’s beauty. If it had all gone to Yangyang, she wouldn’t have needed to use a knife today.” Uncle Li was unabashedly biased.
“It’s getting late,” Li Yang yawned. “I’m going back to get my beauty sleep. When Li Miao comes back, tie her up so she doesn’t run around. I heard from Third Brother that Li Miao only has a tiny bit of her destiny left. It won’t be long before we can swap it completely.
“Once that’s done, we can relax.”
“Once the swap is complete, will she die?” Li Si asked curiously.
“Yes,” Li Yang nodded. “That’s what Third Brother said.”
The third son of the Li family was a Daoist priest. He had left home young to become a monk at the Ziyang Temple on Mount Heming and hadn’t been back for years, usually communicating only by phone.
“Sigh, that’s a pity,” Li Si lamented. “One less person to bully. It’s hard to find a punching bag as submissive as her.”
Li En laughed. “That’s easy. When she comes back, just bully her extra hard. Save it up before she dies and you can’t anymore.”
“Alright. I’ll come up with a few more games. I’ll give her the full set of the Ten Tortures of the Qing Dynasty.”
“Hahaha.”
Cheerful laughter echoed through the room.
Fengdu.
Li Miao woke up early. After washing her face, she found paper and a pen to draw design plans.
She was always rigorous in her work, striving for perfection.
She needed to design a complete scenario for the Painted Skin demon despite her insufficient funds.
While drawing the designs, she even asked for the Painted Skin demon’s opinion.
The Painted Skin demon had now put on his beautiful woman skin, transforming into a gentle, fifteen-year-old girl in ancient costume, sitting quietly beside Li Miao.
When Li Miao asked, the demon extended a delicate finger and pointed to the location of the study. “Wang Sheng’s study is in the rear courtyard, some distance from the front courtyard.”
Li Miao nodded and continued refining the design.
The Painted Skin demon didn’t leave, remaining seated beside her.
Li Miao looked up, glancing at him questioningly.
The Painted Skin demon grinned. “Master, can I eat a human heart?”
Li Miao’s face hardened. “No! Behave yourself. If you don’t listen, I’ll have Mingye beat you!”
At the mention of Mingye, the Painted Skin demon shuddered in fear and hurriedly covered his face. “I won’t dare! I won’t dare!”
Li Miao used the carrot and stick approach. “If you behave and work hard, once we open for business, I’ll burn an incense stick for you every day. If you get good reviews from customers, I’ll prepare a feast with fish and meat, so you can consume the essence of the food.”
The Painted Skin demon was already happy about the daily incense, but hearing there would be meat made him drool.
“Alright, wipe your drool,” Li Miao said with disdain.
Even wearing a beautiful woman’s skin, this Painted Skin demon didn’t act like a beauty. He acted like a complete loser.
After finishing the design, Li Miao went to the building materials market. She picked the cheapest materials and then found two bricklayers by the roadside.
Bricklayers were expensive these days, costing 450 yuan a day.
Li Miao pinched her phone painfully. She had spent over ten thousand yuan just this morning.
She needed to open for business and make money soon, or she wouldn’t even be able to afford food next month.
Seeing a young girl like Li Miao looking for workers, a pockmarked man had a crooked idea. He shoved aside the two honest-looking bricklayers Li Miao had chosen and leaned in. “Boss, are you renovating your own place? Where is it?”
“In the western suburbs. I’m opening a haunted house and need some renovations.”
“Western suburbs?” The pockmarked man’s eyes darted around. “That place is desolate and remote. But since you’re opening a haunted house, the more desolate, the better. This looks like big business, Boss. You’ll definitely need long-term cooperation. Why don’t you hire me and my brother? We’re cheap—300 yuan a day.”
This pockmarked man clearly had bad intentions.
Li Miao didn’t want any trouble, so she refused. “Forget it, maybe next time. I’ve already found people.”
She waved to the two bricklayers she had chosen earlier, signaling them to follow her.
“Found people?” The pockmarked man chuckled. “Boss, they have something to do; they can’t go.”
Saying this, he turned and patted the two honest bricklayers.
The two honest workers didn’t dare cause trouble. They gave Li Miao an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Boss. We just remembered we have other work on hand. We can’t go.”
Can’t go?
Li Miao lowered her phone and looked up at the pockmarked man.
He’s looking for trouble.
Seeing Li Miao alone and just a young girl, someone soft-hearted nearby gave a subtle hint. “Boss, if you’re not in a hurry, you can come back and ask tomorrow.”
The pockmarked man and his crew were not good people.
“Shut your mouth. No one thinks you’re mute if you don’t speak.” The pockmarked man turned and punched the speaker directly.
Seeing this, Li Miao frowned and spoke up. “Fine. I’ll use you and your brother.”