In front of the Minister's Manor, white silk banners hung high.
Unlike the chaos of last night, the Minister's Manor was unusually quiet now, feeling more like a trap.
The one who came to greet them was the steward from the wedding procession day.
"Greetings, Your Highness... Your Highness Consort..."
"The Master and Madam are overcome with grief and unable to receive guests, so they sent this old servant to greet you. Please forgive us."
Qing Wu suddenly covered her nose and mouth, took a big step back, and exclaimed, "You... have you been soaking in a cesspool? It stinks... Ugh—"
Her back bumped into Xiao Chenyan. She immediately turned around, and smelling the clear, cold malevolent energy on the man, she finally managed to suppress the nausea.
Qing Wu was not pretending at all.
The Judge's Brush also dry heaved, "It stinks! It's utterly unbearable! What bad deeds has this steward committed for his soul to be so thoroughly marinated in the stench of death!"
Xiao Chenyan initially thought Qing Wu was deliberately causing trouble. He lowered his eyes and saw her patting her chest, her eyes red at the corners, her eyelashes wet, clearly disgusted.
She looked quite pitiful in that state.
The man glanced at the steward with his phoenix eyes. A casual look, yet it was imposing, "Was it you who greeted us during the wedding procession that day?"
"I accompanied the Princess Consort for a return visit, and Minister Yun sent a filthy thing like you to greet us. Are you trying to intimidate someone?"
The Black Armored Guards behind him had their hands on their sword hilts.
The steward, terrified, knelt with a thud, repeatedly denying it.
Prince Yan, this god of slaughter, wasn't here for a return visit; he was clearly here to stir up trouble!
And this Eldest Young Lady... she's clearly a resurrected evil ghost, and now that she's hooked up with Prince Yan, she's throwing her weight around. Does she really think no one can handle her?
The steward was both fearful and hateful. The original Yun Qingwu had no status in the Minister's Manor, and even the servants looked down on her. The steward had also added insult to injury many times.
Qing Wu lowered her eyes in disgust, sensing the malice emanating from the steward, and scoffed:
"Forget it. Dogs take after their masters' scent. It's a cesspool, after all. What good smell could possibly come from it."
The steward dared not retaliate, only begging for mercy.
Qing Wu said to the rear:
"Bring in the items I've prepared for Father and Younger Sister. Be careful not to damage them. We can't let my sister depart too lonely!"
In broad daylight, it felt as if a chilling wind was blowing.
Ingots and incense were carried in box after box. Most horrifying were the paper effigies and paper cars and horses. The smiles on the paper figures' faces looked particularly eerie to the people of the Minister's Manor.
They all felt as if the paper figures had come to life.
The steward took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm, remembering Madam Luo's instructions.
"The Madam is waiting for the Young Lady in the backyard."
As the inner courtyard was a place for the womenfolk, it was naturally inconvenient for Xiao Chenyan to go there. He glanced at Qing Wu and, uncharacteristically, spoke to Lu Qiao and Hong Rui, "Protect the Princess Consort."
The two women quickly replied, "Yes."
Qing Wu raised an eyebrow. Oh, has Xiao Yantai changed his ways today?
The steward stood by respectfully, but his lowered gaze was full of malice.
The Judge's Brush said, "This steward is getting smellier. It seems they were waiting for you to come today."
"But they reacted quite quickly. I thought Yun Qingwu's ghost would cause trouble for a few more days."
Qing Wu was not surprised.
Since Yun Houxing could find those two Demonic Daoists, Wushuang and Wuji, he naturally had connections in that regard.
Last night, she had a fleeting glimpse of Madam Luo and discovered something strange.
Yun Houxing was plagued by karmic debt, yet this woman of the inner courtyard, Madam Luo, had even more, if not as much. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was covered in blood debts.
Qing Wu stared at the steward's retreating back, her smile eerie. This Minister's Manor was full of corruption; it was quite interesting!
The steward led the way. After entering the courtyard gate, his steps suddenly quickened. Qing Wu and the other two entered the courtyard one after another.
"Quick! Close the door!"
Guards had already ambushed outside and immediately closed the courtyard gate, nailing it shut from the outside.
The moment the gate was locked, the guards who had been ambushing inside, armed with knives and axes, charged forward.
Lu Qiao and Hong Rui shouted angrily, "The Minister's Manor has quite the audacity!"
They were also former secret guards, and their skills were certainly not inferior. Let alone these seven or eight guards, they wouldn't fear ten more.
The steward hadn't expected two mere maidservants to be so skilled. Seeing that the guards were being defeated, he shouted inside, "Madam!"
"What's the panic!" Madam Luo strode out, adorned with pearls and jewels, showing no sign of the distress from losing her daughter and being tormented by a ghost all night.
She held a bronze mirror, glaring venomously at Qing Wu, "Just a bastard and two lowly maids, and you've already messed things up. Hurry and ring the bells!"
The steward quickly pulled a red thread tied to a nearby pillar.
The tinkling of bells rang out, but the arrangement in the courtyard was extremely bizarre. The entire courtyard was crisscrossed with red threads overhead, like a spiderweb.
Bells were tied to the red threads, and a bronze mirror hung in each of the eight directions, facing the entrance.
Lu Qiao and Hong Rui both felt something was wrong. The sound of the bells made their hearts churn, as if an axe was splitting their skulls, causing a sharp pain inside their heads.
Suddenly, the place where they kept the red talismans became scorching hot, as if a cool air had entered their bodies.
The headache-inducing bell sound also became fainter. The two women were surprised and delighted, looking at Qing Wu.
The talismans the Princess Consort gave them were indeed effective!
However, they saw Qing Wu covering her ears, in great pain, crying out, "So noisy... it's so noisy... my head is going to split..."
The two women were stunned.
Seeing this, the steward burst into laughter, and Madam Luo also looked smug. She sneered venomously:
"You bastard are truly lucky to have survived even after being refined into a Living Fiend."
"Although I don't know what luck you've had to gain such profound abilities, do you think with your meager skills, you can cause trouble in the Minister's Manor by summoning a little ghost?"
"Do you feel your head splitting? Hahaha, if these bells ring for half an incense stick more, you'll go mad. Then I'll chop you into pieces and feed you to the dogs, and let you taste the sensation of your soul scattering!"
"You'll be buried with Yu Jiao!"
Madam Luo laughed heartily, as if she could already see Qing Wu's end.
Qing Wu: "Ooh ooh ooh, that sounds so scary." She lowered her hands, her charming and alluring face filled with disdain. She couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore, "I'll give you half a day to perform, and this is all you've got?"
She glanced at the bronze mirror in Madam Luo's hand.
In the mirror, a female ghost was pounding on the surface; it was Yun Qingwu.
Last night, she was causing quite a stir in the Minister's Manor before being captured in this mirror.
Madam Luo's eyes widened in disbelief, like a goose with its neck squeezed, "You're unharmed? How is that possible!"
Qing Wu scoffed, "What else? Just a few broken bells? Or that broken mirror in your hand, or your wishful thinking?"
"At least those two Demonic Daoists had some skill. Where did you, an ordinary person, get your confidence?" Qing Wu was genuinely puzzled.
"No! This is impossible!!"
Madam Luo screamed. That ghost from last night had surrendered immediately upon hearing the bells.
Madam Luo hardened her heart, bit her finger, and wrote the character 'Death' on the mirror.
As the word 'Death' appeared.
The bronze mirrors hanging in the courtyard all trembled, as if something was about to burst out of them.
The bells tied to the red threads rang even more violently.
Lu Qiao and Hong Rui felt the red talismans on their waists burning intensely.
"Yun Qingwu! Die!!"
Madam Luo's fierce cry was short-lived, turning into a terrified scream.
The steward also yelped, falling to the ground in fright.
Lu Qiao and Hong Rui's eyes widened. They hadn't even seen Qing Wu move; it was as if in the blink of an eye, she had appeared in front of Madam Luo.
Qing Wu grabbed Madam Luo by the neck, swung her arm, and delivered a fierce slap.
Slap—
Madam Luo: "Ah—"
Qing Wu hissed, muttering, "When it comes to slapping faces, one has to do it personally to feel satisfied."
She backhanded another slap, imbued with Ghost Power, directly sending Madam Luo's molars flying.
"Wow~ Satisfying!" Qing Wu felt exhilarated, delivering a barrage of slaps.
The steward, terrified and wetting himself, tried to run. Qing Wu gave him a look, and the red thread originally tied to the pillar directly wrapped around the steward's neck, dragging him up like a dead dog.
Screams continued to erupt. The guards, still conscious, were all terrified and retreated. Some banged on the door trying to get out, while others tried to climb over the wall.
Thump, thump, thump—
The red threads suddenly snapped, like writhing snakes, dancing like demons as they wrapped around the necks or ankles of the guards, hoisting them into the air.
They were like flies caught in a spiderweb; all struggles were in vain.
Madam Luo trembled in Qing Wu's hands. She couldn't understand. Yun Qingwu was just trash. Even after becoming a Living Fiend, even after resurrecting, she shouldn't be this powerful!
"You... you're not Yun... *cough*..." Madam Luo, with her throat choked, struggled to speak.
Qing Wu chuckled softly, leaning in to whisper, "You're only realizing that now? Idiot."
"Unfortunately, it's too late."
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