Stop pretending, the fake heiress is actually a master of metaphysics.

As Fang Xiaoyuan walked, he said, "Fenglin Town used to be quite poor, but it had a lot of trees. After the roads were built, timber, bamboo, and wild goods could be transported out, and conditions improved."

"In the past two years, most young people have gone out to work, and those with some money have bought houses in the city. Only a few elderly people and people who do timber business are left in the town."

As they were talking, the three of them passed by a rather large timber store.

The signboard at the entrance prominently displays the four large characters "Wang Family Timber".

Only two children, around seven or eight years old, were in the shop. When they saw strangers, they curiously peeked out.

One of the children suddenly pointed at Fang Xiaoyuan and shouted, "I know you!"

"You're the little wife my father arranged for our ancestor!"

"Did you come back to live with your ancestors?"

Fang Xiaoyuan, suppressing his anger, asked, "How did you know it was me?"

The child said, "Your photo is hanging in our house, next to our ancestors' tablets. We see it every day."

Fang Xiaoyuan felt like her anger was about to reach the top of her head.

Shen Nian patted her shoulder and looked at the child, saying, "Yes, can you tell us where our ancestor is?"

The child muttered, "Our ancestor can't see. He's a god."

Another child nudged his shoulder: "Idiot, she's definitely asking where our ancestors' graves are."

"Yes, could you point out where your ancestors' graves are?"

The child thought for a moment, then pointed to the mountain behind Fenglin Town: "It's halfway up the mountain. The biggest grave there is our ancestor's. There's a willow tree next to it, so it's easy to spot."

Shen Nian reached out and patted the child's head: "Okay, we understand. It's getting dark, let's go back inside."

After the two children left, Shen Nian looked down at her fingertips.

A wisp of yin energy clung to it.

It's very shallow, but it's still unusual for a boy this age.

Gu Yuncheng: "Is there something wrong with those two kids?"

Shen Nian smiled and said, "These two children were born with incomplete souls and should have been completely stupid."

"But now... it seems someone used a secret technique to mend their broken souls."

This person is the ancestor they are talking about.

"Let's go, let's go to your house first."

Fang Xiaoyuan hasn't been home for a long time.

Looking at my familiar yet unfamiliar rural courtyard, I felt a pang of melancholy.

A large yellow dog was tied up at the gate of the courtyard. It was bought later, and it immediately started barking wildly when it saw Fang Xiaoyuan and his group of strangers.

"Who is it!"

A middle-aged woman hurried towards the courtyard gate. Seeing Fang Xiaoyuan standing there, her face immediately darkened: "Why are you back?"

"Why didn't you stay in the city and work hard to earn money? What are you doing back here?"

"I……"

Before Fang Xiaoyuan could speak, Gu Yuncheng had already walked up to her.

He took off his sunglasses and glanced at the woman with disdain: "You're Fang Xiaoyuan's mother? You're the one who arranged her ghost marriage, aren't you?"

The woman said, "Who are you? What business is it of yours? Fang Xiaoyuan is my daughter. I can marry her off to whomever I want."

Gu Yuncheng sneered: "Fang Xiaoyuan is my girlfriend. I came here to propose marriage, and now you're arranging a ghost marriage for her, and you still say it has nothing to do with me?"

"I originally planned to give your family 500,000 yuan as a bride price to marry Xiaoyuan, but you actually arranged a ghost marriage for her. Our family can't accept a woman in a ghost marriage, and I can't accept being cuckolded. This marriage is off."

"What? A dowry of 500,000?"

Upon hearing this, the two men who had been hiding inside the house could no longer remain seated.

They were Fang Xiaoyuan's father and brother, respectively, and their eyes were filled with disgusting greed and covetousness as they looked at Gu Yuncheng.

"Hey bro, are you serious? You really plan to spend 500,000 to marry my sister?"

Fang Xiaoyuan's older brother approached Gu Yuncheng in a fawning tone.

Compared to his elderly parents, Fang Dacheng was a young man who had seen the world in the city and could tell that Gu Yuncheng's clothes were high-end.

He shifted his gaze to Shen Nian beside Gu Yuncheng, and his eyes suddenly lit up—he had never seen such a beautiful girl before, with delicate features like a TV star, which further convinced him that Gu Yuncheng was a rich man.

"Is this your sister-in-law?"

Gu Yuncheng waved his hand dismissively: "What are you calling me? This is my sister. She came with me to propose marriage, but who knew you'd pull this stunt?"

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to talk to you anymore, sis, let's go."

Seeing Gu Yuncheng turn to leave, Fang Dacheng panicked and chased after him, saying, "Wait, bro! Everything can be discussed. We didn't know Xiaoyuan had a boyfriend before making this decision. Xiaoyuan, why didn't you tell your family you were dating someone?"

Fang Xiaoyuan lowered her head and didn't say anything.

She is now completely disillusioned with her family.

"This ghost marriage isn't unbreakable! Young man, don't rush off. Let us discuss it with that family and cancel the marriage! Since you were prepared to propose, you must have feelings for our Xiao Yuan. It would be such a pity to separate!"

Gu Yuncheng snorted coldly: "I'll only give you three days."

"If the ghost marriage cannot be resolved within three days, my sister and I will leave immediately."

Fang Dacheng said excitedly, "Okay, Mom, go and tidy up the house and make room for Xiaoyuan and the others."

Fang Xiaoyuan's mother nodded hurriedly and said, "I'll go right away, I'll go right away."

Gu Yuncheng said impatiently, "This place is as dilapidated as a pigsty, I'm not staying here. We're going to stay at a hotel in town. Anyway, you'd better resolve this ghost marriage issue as soon as possible."

As soon as he left Fang Xiaoyuan's courtyard, Gu Yuncheng immediately dropped his act and cursed, "A bunch of scumbags, they don't even treat their daughter like a human being."

Fang Xiaoyuan said coldly, "If they treated me like a human being, they wouldn't have sold me to a dead man."

"Sis, what do we do next?"

Shen Nian glanced at him: "You call me that pretty smoothly, don't you?"

"Let's find a hotel to rest. Aren't you two tired after traveling all day?"

Gu Yuncheng scratched his head: "I thought... we were going to dig up someone's ancestral graves tonight."

Shen Nian: ...

She was somewhat speechless, but considering that the young master hadn't caused any trouble so far, she explained, "The yin energy is heavy at night. If I take you all to dig graves, I might not be able to protect you."

"But if we leave you alone in the hotel, there's no guarantee they won't attack you."

So stop thinking about all that and get some rest.

If they stayed at Fang Xiaoyuan's house instead of going to a hotel, they would have to be wary of more than just ghosts.

And that family of people with ulterior motives.

After they left, the Fang family immediately started arguing.

Fang Xiaoyuan's mother pounded her chest and stamped her feet, saying, "That's 500,000 yuan! If Xiaoyuan's boyfriend hadn't been willing to give 500,000 yuan as a bride price, I would never have agreed to a ghost marriage."

Fang Xiaoyuan's brother scolded, "You're all talk and no action! You lose your head over a little money. What are we going to do now! They don't accept ghost marriages."

"Wasn't agreeing to the ghost marriage with the Wang family all to find you a wife? And you're blaming me for it?"

"Stop arguing, all of you. I haven't touched that money yet. I'm going to the Wang family later to cancel the ghost marriage!"

-

Gu Yuncheng booked a suite at the only star-rated hotel in town.

Shen Nian and Fang Xiaoyuan still share a room, while Gu Yuncheng has his own room.

Fang Xiaoyuan said apologetically, "Master Shen, and Young Master Gu, thank you for your hard work."

These two people, who look incredibly wealthy, took a day-long train and bus journey for her sake, and now they have to stay in a cramped hotel.

Gu Yuncheng: "It's okay, just consider it an experience."

Shen Nian: "These conditions are already much better than when I went down the mountain to gain experience back then."

When they went down the mountain to gain experience, it was common for them to sleep in the wilderness or spend the night in abandoned temples.

They mostly travel on foot—in ordinary people's villages or other sects' territories, they cannot freely fly on swords.

Shen Nian paused for a moment and said, "Keep the talisman I gave you close to your body when you sleep tonight."

"No matter what sound you hear, do not get up."