Wife is hell

Chapter 94 Killing Shi Yuyuan? (6,000 words)

Hang yourself?

suicide?

The master and servant looked at each other, completely bewildered.

Wenxiuniang stammered to the beautiful woman:
"Mrs. Chen, what nonsense are you talking about? I...I...when did Xiaotao and I hang ourselves?"

boom--

The window that had just been closed was suddenly blown open by a gust of cold wind.

A cold wind carrying raindrops rushed into the room, instantly extinguishing the flickering candlelight on the table.

"Oh dear, this is really bad timing."

Jiang Mu murmured to himself, "I was planning to try and get more information out of him."

Mother Chen seemed not to notice the bewildered Wen Xiuniang at all, and only stared at Jiang Mu in surprise: "What are you doing in my daughter's room?"

The middle-aged Taoist priest held a whisk, his eyes wary.

Jiang Mu ignored the two of them and sighed to Wen Xiuniang:

"A living person is formed by the gathering of their soul and spirit, and all memories are stored in their spirit. When the body perishes, the body is like a withered tree, and the spirit is like a lamp going out."

Therefore, many people do not know that they have died after they die.

Especially for those who commit suicide, are murdered, or die unexpectedly, their "spirit" collapses instantly under extreme stimulation, resulting in particularly severe damage and confusion of their memories, and naturally, their obsession is the strongest.

Therefore, they are most likely to fall into the delusion of 'believing they are still alive,' lingering there and eventually becoming earthbound spirits, or even vengeful ghosts.

"No, I'm not dead... I'm not dead..."

Wenxiuniang shook her head, resisting the reality before her.

The maid, Xiao Tao, looked bewildered and huddled to one side.

Seeing Jiang Mu talking to himself alone in the room, the middle-aged Taoist priest's eyes grew colder, and he picked up a yellow talisman between his fingers: "Boy, who exactly are you?"

"Master, this is the woodworker from the county government."

The madam quickly replied.

"A yamen runner?"

Zhao Aqiu was taken aback.

He then breathed a sigh of relief, flicked his whisk, and said coldly:
"What are you doing here, a mere constable pretending to be a ghost? Get out of here at once. This is no place for your nonsense!"

Chen's mother also quickly stepped forward and pulled Jiang Mu back:

"Hurry up and leave, Master Mu. Someone died in this house. I don't know how you sneaked in. You're really bold."

“Mother Chen…”

In a panic, Wenxiuniang instinctively reached for the beautiful woman's arm, but her hand passed right through the woman's body.

Xiu Niang stood there, stunned.

"I'm dead...I'm really dead...I'm really dead?"

"No! I don't believe it!"

“I don’t believe it!!”

The woman staggered backward.

Her expression turned ferocious and pained.

Wisps of black mist oozed from her seven orifices.

His eyes gradually turned bloodshot.

Jiang Mu grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth: "It's alright, Aunt Chen, I'm just chatting with Miss Wen."

Chatting?

The beautiful woman trembled at Jiang Mu's words, her rosy cheeks turning pale.

But considering that the other party was just a yamen runner and not a real Taoist priest, he spat and said, "What nonsense are you spouting, you constable? Hurry up and leave. The immortal is about to perform a ritual. It would be bad if you were accidentally injured."

She pulled Jiang Mu and pushed him outside.

Before Jiang Mu could explain, he hurriedly returned to the house and said to Zhao Aqiu in a trembling voice, "Immortal Master, do you think this house is really haunted? Is it because of my daughter...?"

Her eyes were red again, but her face was deathly pale.

She was afraid even of her own beloved daughter.

Zhao Aqiu, making hand seals, said calmly:

"Madam, rest assured, if it is indeed the spirits of Miss Wen and the others causing trouble here, I will help them return to the netherworld, find peace in the cycle of reincarnation, and be freed from the suffering of being wandering ghosts."

As an elite exorcist from Chongtian Temple, he didn't care about such trivial matters.

In fact, he had only seen very few real ghosts; most of them were just yin and filth, or the result of the homeowner's psychological malice.

"Thank you, Immortal Master, thank you, Immortal Master."

Mrs. Chen quickly bowed and thanked her.

Zhao Aqiu took out a small porcelain bottle from his bosom, dipped a willow leaf in the dew, wiped it on his eyes, and suddenly shouted sharply:
"The sky is clear and the earth is bright, the yin is turbid and the yang is clear, open my Dharma eye, I will see ghosts and gods—swiftly!"

A faint white light instantly appeared in the Taoist's eyes.

Upon seeing this, Chen's mother was filled with awe and dared not utter a sound.

Zhao Aqiu glanced around the room, frowned, then relaxed and said calmly, "There are no evil spirits in this house. It's probably just that someone who recently died has a heavy yin energy. This humble Taoist..."

"Master, be careful!"

Jiang Mu's voice suddenly rang out from outside the window, reminding them.

Zhao Aqiu was startled. Just as he was about to turn around, his neck was gripped by an invisible force, and his toes were lifted off the ground.

But Wenxiuniang grabbed his neck and lifted him up.

At this moment, Wenxiuniang's hair was flying wildly, her whole body was shrouded in black mist, her face was distorted, and her eyes were bloodshot.
"Die! All of you die! If I die, none of you will live!!"

"Miss……"

The spirit of the maid Xiaotao was weeping nearby.

"Help... help..."

Zhao Aqiu kicked her legs wildly in the air, her face turning a liverish color from lack of oxygen, her eyes filled with fear and regret.

What the hell!

A vengeful ghost!
I knew I wouldn't have come even if they offered me more money!

Mrs. Chen screamed in fright.

The two arcs trembled precariously, almost spilling out of the collar.

At that moment, Jiang Mu climbed in through the window, carrying a brick in his hand.

"Sigh, I was planning to use nagging to defuse her resentment and get more information out of her, but you guys had to interfere... Now look what happened, she's completely turned into a vengeful ghost."

"Wenxiuniang!"

Jiang Mu suddenly roared.

Wenxiuniang, now a vengeful ghost, suddenly turned her head.

A brick is coming right at me!
Bang!
Wenxiuniang staggered from the impact, and some of her dark aura dissipated.

The middle-aged Taoist priest, whose eyes had rolled back from being choked, fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious.

Before Wenxiuniang could react, Jiang Mu grabbed a brick and pounced on her from behind, straddling her massive hips. He grabbed her hair and started hitting her head repeatedly.

He didn't intend to use the Donghuang Taichu Bell to deal with this vengeful ghost.

After all, we still need to ask questions; it wouldn't be good to kill him outright.

Moreover, the bell usually takes the initiative, but perhaps because of the presence of Qingyi, there was no movement at this moment.

The woman in green floated to the side, clicking her tongue in disapproval.
"This young man has no sense of chivalry whatsoever. I'd rather do it."

"Stop hitting them! Please, Immortal Master, stop hitting them!"

Xiao Tao, whose resentment was not deep, did not become a vengeful ghost. Seeing her mistress being beaten, she felt sorry for her and shed tears.

She couldn't help but step forward.

As a result, he was indeed hit with a brick.

She cried even harder.

With most of the malevolent energy dissipated, Wenxiuniang finally regained her senses and begged for mercy, "Immortal, spare my life! I won't do it again, it hurts..."

What kind of straight-male god is this?

Such a beautiful female ghost was beaten with a brick.

Jiang Mu, panting, added another brick before standing up. He twisted his aching neck and gestured with his chin to the stunned Chen's mother: "Go outside, I need to talk to Miss Wen for a bit. Wait outside."

Mrs. Chen stared blankly, trembling all over.

No, these days even yamen runners can exorcise ghosts?

"Go!"

Jiang Mu threw the brick over.

"oh oh."

Startled, Chen's mother jumped up and ran out of the house.

She had just run out when she turned back and hugged the brick to her chest. Her pale face showed a complicated expression as she trembled and said, "Immortal...Immortal Master, is it really Xiu Niang?"

Jiang Mu waved his hand:
"Don't worry, I will make sure they have a safe journey."

Mrs. Chen bit her lip, hesitated to speak, and finally left the house sadly.

“I know Chen’s mother wants to say a few more words to you, but there’s no need. First, your resentment hasn’t subsided and your lingering soul is unstable. Second, you don’t have much time left.”

Jiang Mu sat in the chair, wiping the sweat from his neck with his sleeve.

When Wenxiuniang regained her senses, her soul became noticeably thinner, almost transparent, as if it would dissipate with a gust of wind.

The same applies to Little Peach, who is one with the Lord.

Xiao Tao stood nervously to the side, unable to contain her curiosity, and asked, "Immortal Master, aren't you a yamen runner?"

"Who says yamen runners can't exorcise demons and ghosts?"

Jiang Mu countered with a question.

Xiao Tao was speechless.

She then pointed curiously at Zhao Aqiu on the ground and asked:

"Immortal Master, why can't he see us? Isn't he a Taoist master too? Also, when are we going to be reincarnated? I want to continue following Miss in my next life, is that alright?"

The little maid mistook Jiang Mu for the King of Hell.

"Because he's bad at cooking, it's that simple. As for the rest, it's not my concern, and asking won't change anything."

Jiang Mu rubbed his temples and said to the dejected Wen Xiuniang, "Let's not talk about these things for now. Let's talk about your situation. Now you should remember why you dragged Xiao Tao to commit suicide."

"I remembered."

Wenxiuniang nodded, "Xiaotao and I didn't commit suicide. We were hanged by a female ghost!"

"?"

Jiang Mu's expression suddenly froze.

"Wait a minute, you mean... there's a female ghost in this house?!"

No, there should be two.

After all, there's still the woman in blue.

However, a female ghost that neither he nor Qingyi noticed must be very terrifying.

click-

A sound like a piece of wood breaking suddenly rang out behind Jiang Mu.

Outside the window, a colder wind, mixed with denser rain, howled in, causing the room temperature to drop several degrees.

Snapped!
A pale hand landed on Jiang Mu's shoulder.

Jiang Mu swallowed.

No way, there really are terrifying vengeful ghosts?

He stiffly turned his head away.

Then he saw that Zhao Aqiu, who had been unconscious, had woken up at some point, with a hand on his shoulder, still looking dazed.

"help me……"

Jiang Mu was silent for a moment, then grabbed Zhao Aqiu and threw her out the window.
"So incompetent, yet they dare to come here to exorcise evil spirits. What kind of deformed and monstrous people are Master Hongyuan's disciples and grand-disciples?"

"Alright, let's continue."

Jiang Mu closed the window, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and started cracking them open, muttering, "The nagging female ghost."

Wenxiuniang sat in the chair and said softly:
"Some time ago, Xiao Tao and I went to Sifang Temple to burn incense. On our way back, we spotted a woman in red floating in the river and immediately reported it to the authorities."

But when the officials arrived and retrieved it, they discovered it was just a piece of clothing; I must have been seeing things. But from that day on, I felt something was amiss.

At night, I always feel like someone is spying on us in the dark, especially when I'm taking a shower; the house feels eerie.

So I asked Mother Chen to find some Taoist priests and monks to perform a ritual.

Six nights ago, while I was sleeping, I suddenly heard a sound in the room. When I opened my eyes, I saw a woman standing in front of my bed.

The woman was holding something that looked like fruit.

fruit?

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mu's spirits lifted.

It turns out that Wenxiuniang was also a victim of the Apple case!
Why wasn't she drained of her lifespan and turned into an old woman like the other young women?
Jiang Mu's expression turned serious as he pressed, "Did you get a clear look at the woman's face?"

Wenxiuniang gently shook her head, her black hair slightly disheveled:

"It was dark at the time, and I couldn't see clearly. Just as I was about to call for help, my throat felt like it was blocked by something, and I couldn't make a sound or move."

However, when the woman walked to Xiao Tao's bedside, I caught a glimpse of a shiny mark on the back of her neck, which looked like a willow leaf or a butterfly wing...

The woman then left, and Xiao Tao and I, without knowing why, somehow ended up hanging ourselves in a daze.

Wen Xiuniang's words stirred up a storm in Jiang Mu's heart.

Because he remembered Mo Hai'er!
That pervert who once hid in the bathtub to spy on Pan Sheng'er.

Jiang Mu clearly remembered that when Mo Hai'er was recounting his childhood memories, he mentioned that he often spied on the widow next door while she was bathing, and that the widow had a birthmark on the back of her neck that resembled both a leaf and a butterfly.

What a coincidence?
Could it be that the mysterious woman who killed Wenxiuniang, the real culprit in the Apple Case, is actually Mo Haier's neighbor?

This spans far too long a period of time.

Jiang Mu realized that he was only one step away from touching the edge of the truth.

"Miss!"

Xiao Tao suddenly let out a scream.

Jiang Mu turned his head and saw that Wen Xiuniang's soul was shattering from her toes, like smoke and gauze blown away by the wind, turning into cold fireflies inch by inch.

The soul of the maid Xiaotao also began to dissipate.

Jiang Mu sighed:

"That's normal. Your soul was already unstable; it's just that your obsession is causing this. If you become a vengeful ghost, the situation will be even worse. I don't know if reincarnation exists in this world. If it does, I hope you can be reborn into a good family in your next life."

Wenxiuniang is different from Qingyi.

The soul of the woman in green seemed to have been tempered, and it could survive wherever there was a strong yin energy.

The Eastern Emperor Taichu Bell will also take the initiative to subdue it.

Wenxiuniang and her servant were merely ordinary remnant souls.

Wenxiuniang's beautiful eyes were filled with tears, seemingly relieved yet still carrying a hint of resentment.

She bowed to Jiang Muying, her voice as soft as the wind: "Immortal, your great kindness will be repaid in my next life."

She paused, then said softly:

"Immortal Master, I was sold into this brothel by my parents when I was thirteen. Like a caged bird, this was how my life was supposed to be. But I still have one unresolved issue."

When I was twenty years old, I met a scholar. We fell in love and I gave him all the gold and silver I had saved to help him study and take the exams.

But after he went to the capital, there was no news of him. I waited in vain, and even after asking around, I still got no results. Later, my heart died, but the knot in my heart could never be erased.

She raised her almost transparent hand and pointed to the dressing table:

“Master, there is a hidden compartment under that table. Besides some jewelry and money, there are also the tokens of our love.

All those gold and silver ornaments are given to you, only asking that if you ever meet this person, please give him this token.

He said that Xiu Niang had lied to him that day; the flower hadn't actually withered.

Wenxiuniang raised her tear-streaked face, her neck appearing porcelain-white in the dim light.

Jiang Mu didn't understand the meaning of those words, but he nodded in agreement:

"Alright, if I come across it, I will definitely pass it on."

The maid Xiaotao sobbed uncontrollably, "Miss, Xiaotao will always follow you."

Jiang Mu lit the white candle on the table again and wrote several talismans, placing them in the four corners of the room.

The candle was relit, but the flame was a deep blue.

Jiang Mu said to Qingyi:
"Do me a favor and suck away the evil energy from them, so that even if they go to the underworld, they won't suffer torment."

In the understanding of the Xuanming Realm, the longer a remnant soul lingers in the mortal world, the deeper its obsession becomes, and the heavier the evil energy it accumulates.

Upon arriving in the underworld, one must endure the torment of shedding evil spirits, a process that is extremely agonizing.

Although I don't know much about the world, it's never wrong to do more.

The woman in green understood immediately and floated in front of the two women.

Because of the bell's shielding ability, even the master and servant, both ghosts, could not see Qingyi.

The woman in green closed her beautiful eyes, her sleeves billowing in the wind.

Strands of black energy were drawn from the master and servant, like two thin snakes, one thin and one thick, into the soul of the man in green.

The souls of the master and servant instantly became clear, scattering into starlight.

The candle swirls around once, then dissipates completely.

Silence returned to the house.

"If the underworld truly exists, may you never again enter the world of prostitution in your next life."

Jiang Mu let out a sigh of relief.

He then fell into deep thought.

Fireworks are places with extremely heavy yin energy, so it's not surprising that souls can linger there for a long time.

But when people die in this world, most of them are simply scattered souls.

Why were the souls of Wenxiuniang and her servant preserved?

"Did that mysterious woman do something?"

After a moment's thought, he said to the man in green, "Sensitize this place; perhaps there's some magical artifact here that can retain a soul."

The figure in green floated and moved erratically inside the house, sometimes disappearing into the ground, sometimes passing through the beams and pillars.

A short while later, she crawled out from under the bed and pointed to the carved wooden bed, saying, "There's something under here."

Jiang Mu immediately bent down to search.

A moment later, he took out a horn stick, his lips twitching.

"This is the divine artifact you were talking about?"

Jiang Mu raised an eyebrow and looked at Qingyi.

The woman in green said innocently, "I didn't say it was a divine artifact. I only said there was something down there."

Seeing the man's displeasure, she winked playfully:
"Just kidding, but I didn't find any magical artifacts here. Maybe I just couldn't sense them?"

Jiang Mu tossed the old man back and said in a low voice:

"It seems that the murderer must have used some special means to preserve the souls of Wenxiuniang and her maid. It is necessary to investigate the neighbor that Mo Haier mentioned."

Jiang Mu retrieved the box that Wen Xiuniang had mentioned from a hidden compartment under the table.

Sure enough, it contained a lot of banknotes and gold and silver jewelry.

Among these items is a small brocade box.

Upon opening the box, one finds a very ordinary Buddhist rosary.

There was another name in the box—Li Yuhua.

Jiang Mu murmured, "It seems this is the token of love that Wenxiuniang mentioned."

The woman in green leaned closer and sneered, "A broken bead has managed to seduce a woman's body, soul, and wealth. That's quite something."

Jiang Mu gently stroked the prayer beads and sighed:
"Perhaps Wenxiuniang had already guessed the answer, but she was unwilling to wake up from this dream. Sometimes, if a dream is shattered, there is no reason to live."

After packing up his belongings, Jiang Mu left Yuxianglou.

The rain outside hasn't stopped.

Fine as silk, it shrouds the long street in a misty, watery hue.

He hadn't gone far when he heard a shout from behind: "Young friend, please wait!"

It was the Taoist priest Zhao Aqiu who chased after them.

Jiang Mu turned to look at the disheveled Taoist priest, raising an eyebrow: "What? Want to fight?"

"no no……"

Zhao Aqiu waved his hands repeatedly, his face showing shame, and bowed solemnly, "I apologize for making a fool of myself earlier. May I ask where you learned your exorcising skills?"

Jiang Mu joked, "I learned it from your grandmaster, Master Hongyuan."

"Master?"

Zhao Aqiu was stunned on the spot.

Jiang Mu waved his hand: "Go back and ask your master or grandmaster. They know my name."

After that, he turned around and left.

Zhao Aqiu stared at Jiang Mu's retreating figure, completely bewildered.

-

Jiang Mu originally planned to go to the yamen first to investigate the clues about the mysterious neighbor that Mo Hai'er mentioned, but after thinking about it, he went directly to the patrol office instead.

After all, the patrol offices have higher authority and are more efficient at finding people.

Upon arriving at the hall where Tang Jinxian handled official business, they found no trace of her.

Upon asking Xiuxiu, it was learned that Tang Jinxian had not yet returned.

It's likely that the other person is still with that worldly Taoist nun.

So Jiang Mu left a note and gave it to his personal maid Xiuxiu, instructing her to pass it on when Tang Jinxian returned.

Back home, Jiang Mu didn't rush to set up the Ghost Refining Pill formation. Instead, he took out the painting he had obtained from Mu Qingshan and began to study it.

Jiang Mu spread the painting on the table, gazed at the woman in the blue dress in the painting, and murmured to himself:

"The headmaster of Chongtian Temple said that this painting is not a spiritual artifact. But Mu Qingshan said that he offered the apples that grew on the tree in front of the painting and let the other party take them away."

How did the murderer take the apple?

Did they sense the location of the apple through this painting and then secretly sneak into Mu Qingshan's secret room to take it?

Or perhaps, this painting could be used for teleportation?
Also, why was the daughter-in-law's face burned? Was it intentional or accidental?

Jiang Mu tapped his fingers lightly.

He was convinced that the painting held a great secret.

Now that Mu Qingshan is dead and the fruit trees are destroyed, we have no idea what the murderer's next plan is.

Without the fruit, would she still harm people?

What was the murderer's purpose in having Wenxiuniang and her maid hang themselves?
Jiang Mu's fingertips gently traced the outline of the woman in the painting, feeling the slightly cool texture of the paper, while his mind continuously pieced together and deduced from the jumbled clues.

After a moment's hesitation, he took out a small knife, made a light cut on his fingertip, and dripped the blood onto the painting.

However, the painting remained calm, without the slightest disturbance.

Just as Jiang Mu was about to put the painting away, the woman in green beside him suddenly let out a soft exclamation:
"Strange, why has another painting appeared?"

painting?
Jiang Mu was taken aback and quickly looked down to examine it carefully.

I searched for a long time but couldn't find any extra paintings.

Are you teasing me again?

Jiang Mu frowned.

The woman in green blinked her beautiful eyes: "Can't you see?"

She extended her slender finger and touched a blank spot next to the woman in the painting, saying in a sweet voice, "There's clearly a small painting here."

Seeing that the woman wasn't joking, Jiang Mu was speechless.

Could it be that only people from the underworld can see this painting of the underworld?
"Tell me about what's in the painting?"

Jiang Mu asked.

The woman in green bent down to examine the body closely.

However, as she looked at her, her charming face gradually froze, revealing an extremely strange expression.

In her line of sight, there appeared two people in this exquisite little painting.

A man and a woman, their features delicate and discernible.

The man held a long spear, the sharp tip of which pierced the woman's heart.

The man is Jiang Mu.

The woman whose heart he pierced was none other than Shi Yuhua!
(End of this chapter)