Wang Jiaotong: "What kind of tea is this? It tastes awful. Hey, your Second Grandfather is so slow. Our room is already tidied up; why hasn't he come out yet?"
Shen Moqing: "Shh... keep it down. Second Grandfather values etiquette very much. He won't be happy if a woman is picky about her elders."
Wang Jiaotong: "Your family has so many rules. It’s not like it’s an old-society clan or anything."
Xuān Zǐsū: "He’s just like that. He values rules, but he’s actually quite a good person."
Xuān Zǐsū walked in from outside. Having just woken up, he found himself standing at the doorway hearing the two young people talking. He went to the door of Wang Jiaotong and Shen Moqing's room and used the Metal Element to replicate the key for the window lock to their room, then turned back to the main house.
Shen Moqing: "Ah, this is another elder. He was kidnapped by human traffickers a long time ago, and by the time he was found, he was already grown up. His adoptive parents had already passed away, so he didn’t change his name and kept the surname 'Xuān'. He wasn’t given a ranking, either."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Mm, Qingqing, is this Tongtong, that girlfriend you always talk about? Just call me Brother Xuān."
Wang Jiaotong: "Oh, hello, Brother Xuān."
Second Grandfather: "*Cough, cough.*"
Shen Moqing: "Ah, Second Grandfather."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Old Second, you’re here."
Shen Moqing: "This is my girlfriend, Tongtong. Tongtong, this is my Second Grandfather."
Wang Jiaotong: "Hello, Second Grandfather."
Second Grandfather: "Hmph. Holding the teacup with your left hand—no manners. And this outfit, like a little child. It’s unsightly."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Tsk, it’s fine. Whatever she likes is fine."
Second Grandfather: "Sigh, that physiognomy... it’s truly the look of one who brings death to her husband."
Wang Jiaotong: "Huh? What?"
Xuān Zǐsū: "Old Second... it’s fine, he doesn’t understand..."
Second Grandfather: "*Sigh*, oh my, how could I not understand? I told you long ago that this woman is not suitable. Their horoscopes don't match, and her physiognomy is bad, too. She’s inferior to the previous one in every way."
Wang Jiaotong: "You! The lot of you! Shen Moqing, what is this supposed to mean? You’re colluding to give me a hard time, aren’t you?"
Shen Moqing: "Tongtong, I didn’t..."
Wang Jiaotong: "I’m going back to sleep!"
Wang Jiaotong ran out quickly.
Xuān Zǐsū: "Hey, Shen Old Second! Can you stop that?"
Xuān Zǐsū looked furious and slapped the table beside him.
Xuān Zǐsū: "I know that Qingqing is the only child in our family after all these years, and you feel for him and want him to live well. But what you just said really was too much. What era do you think this is? You can't keep using those feudal rituals and superstitions as an excuse! Can’t we just let the children live their own lives? Isn't it enough that they love each other? Go back!"
Second Grandfather: "Hey, can I not even manage my own grandson and granddaughter-in-law? You... you... *sigh*, I’m done with you people. Hmph."
Shen Old Second returned to his room.
Xuān Zǐsū sighed. This plot was truly annoying; it made him want to scold Shen Old Second every time he saw it. But if Xuān Zǐsū were to really scold him, it wouldn't suit his identity and wouldn't be good either. Xuān Zǐsū composed his emotions and looked at Shen Moqing.
Xuān Zǐsū: "Sorry, I lost my composure. Your Second Grandfather is just like that—a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He actually likes Tongtong quite a bit, and I like her too. You don't need to worry about us disapproving anymore. Here, this is the key to the window lock of your room. Go talk to Tongtong and comfort her."
Shen Moqing: "Ah? Oh, okay, thank you, Brother Xuān. Wait, the door bolt is locked from the outside."
Xuān Zǐsū: "? Oh, right, there is that. I’ll open it."
Xuān Zǐsū pulled a very thin piece of wood from his sleeve, reached it through the gap in the door, lifted the bolt, and let Shen Moqing out so he could stay with Tongtong. With him there, that basin of black dog blood would certainly not be splashed on her.
After a while, a knocking sound came from outside the courtyard gate.
Voice: "*Knock, knock, knock*. Shen Old Second, open the door."
Xuān Zǐsū went to open the door. The courtyard gate was tied shut with wire. Xuān Zǐsū couldn't be bothered with all that; he gripped the tangled wire and gave it a gentle twist, and the wire was unwound. Xuān Zǐsū opened the door to find Granny Tang standing outside.
Granny Tang: "Oh, Brother Xuān, haven't seen you in a few days. Come, let me in."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Granny Tang? Why are you here? Please, come in. Old Second is in his room. I’ll take you to him."
Granny Tang: "Good, good. I’m here this time because of the girl your family took as a granddaughter-in-law. You’ve met her, right?"
Xuān Zǐsū: "My granddaughter-in-law? I just met her today. What about it?"
Granny Tang: "Let’s talk inside, let’s talk inside."
Second Grandfather: "Granny Tang, you’re here. Just as you said, it is indeed a 'husband-killing' physiognomy. What should we do?"
Granny Tang: "What else can we do? Either don't let Qingqing marry the girl, or just leave it be and let the two be together."
Second Grandfather: "How could that..."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Wait, wait. What are you two talking about?"
Second Grandfather: "*Sigh*, it’s about the granddaughter-in-law you met today."
Xuān Zǐsū: "What’s wrong with her? She’s very well-behaved and lively. I quite like the girl."
Second Grandfather: "I like the child too, but, but..."
Granny Tang: "*Sigh*, back in the early years, wasn't I a midwife? I delivered Qingqing too. At that time, when Qingqing was just born, there was a deathly aura wrapped around him. After a while, it dissipated, so I thought, let me calculate for the child. I calculated and found out that at age 18, there would be a major change, with the hexagram aligning with Yin. I thought it was related to a woman by his side. It just so happened that we encountered a girl with such bad horoscopes and physiognomy. I hadn’t met her, so it wasn’t appropriate to say too much, but for the two of them to be together, they likely won't be happy. It would be best if they weren’t together. Your Old Second has accompanied Qingqing growing up since he was small and spoiled him. He doesn't want Qingqing to be unhappy, and he doesn't want him separated from someone he likes. Plus, he likes the girl, too, so he asked me to see if there were any ways to change their fate, to see if we could get them to have a happy life together."
Xuān Zǐsū: "This major change, what does it refer to?"
Granny Tang: "Oh, it’s nothing too major, just that if it’s not handled well, their future luck won't be good and they won't be happy."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Oh, then it likely has nothing to do with Tongtong. I’ve calculated it; the physiognomy and horoscopes of Tongtong and Qingqing are a perfect match. Tongtong is, for Qingqing, a massive boon to his fortunes. It’s actually Qingqing—he might not be able to protect Tongtong... wait, 18 years old! Old Second, do you remember how Qingqing came to be?"
Second Grandfather: "...You mean... right, Qingqing was someone I paid for, seeking out Qi Niangzi!"
Granny Tang: "What?"
Second Grandfather: "You know the Shen family was a prominent, prosperous clan in the past. But by my generation, only Qingqing’s grandfather had a son; all the other brothers only had daughters. A fortune teller said my father committed some kind of curse back then, so the family line would be broken within three generations. Qingqing’s father was the only seedling. I treated him like a real son, but he also only had a daughter. He didn't want to have any more, saying a boy or girl was the same. How could that be! I heard that in ancient times, Zhuangling Village worshipped this 'Paper Bride,' and one of them had intense resentment; she turned into a vengeful spirit called Qi Niangzi, who harmed many people. Later, she was sealed by the Grand Wizard of the village. This Qi Niangzi had great magical power. As long as you made a sacrifice to her, you could pray to her for marriage or offspring. I found the Grand Wizard in the village, gave him some benefits, and he let me in to worship Qi Niangzi. It really worked, and later, Qingqing was born."
Granny Tang: "Worshipping such an evil spirit means you owe a debt. What did you promise to pay her back?"
Second Grandfather: "Er... I heard that once you worship Qi Niangzi, you owe her a 'Mandarin Duck Debt.' If you have more than one son, one will die young when they reach adulthood, as if being dedicated to her because he was her 'groom.' Otherwise..."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Otherwise what?"
Second Grandfather: "*Sigh*, otherwise the eldest son must pay; she will take the eldest son away. I guess, is it... is it that Moqing wants to marry another woman, so she’s coming out for revenge?"
Xuān Zǐsū: "...That can't be it. Qi Niangzi is also a pathetic soul; she wouldn’t harm others. It’s likely someone else is using the power of Qi Niangzi, wanting to harm Tongtong and Qingqing."
Granny Tang: "So, the problem isn’t with the two children, Tongtong and Qingqing. I originally thought using black dog blood to exorcise the evil and change the fate for Tongtong would be enough, but it seems quite troublesome now."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Someone’s coming. Follow me."
Xuān Zǐsū led Granny Tang and Second Grandfather out of the house. They arrived at the door of Tongtong and Qingqing’s room. The lights in the room were already out; it seemed the two had already gone to sleep. An extra piece of yellow paper appeared in Xuān Zǐsū’s hand, the symbol for warding off evil clearly visible on it. Xuān Zǐsū stuck the talisman on the door of the room to prevent those paper dolls and ghosts from harming the two.
Xuān Zǐsū: "Where is the black dog blood you prepared?"
Granny Tang: "We haven't prepared it yet, we only brought the carcass of an old black dog that had died naturally."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Fine. Hurry up and prepare some to sprinkle around the house. Don't disturb the two juniors’ rest."
Xuān Zǐsū rushed out of the courtyard and reached into the void beside him, pulling out Poseidon's Trident. He pushed off the ground with one foot, leaped several hundred li, crossed the farmland at the courtyard gate, and arrived on the road opposite. A red sedan chair was parked there. The area around it was filled with people—some carrying the sedan, some holding wind and percussion instruments, as if escorting someone in a wedding procession. But looked at closely, one could see those people were all paper dolls.
Xuān Zǐsū didn't think much; he landed not far in front of the sedan, swung Poseidon's Trident around in a circle, and planted it firmly in the ground. Blue ripples spread out with Poseidon's Trident as the center. Countless currents rose from the tip of Poseidon's Trident. Suddenly, a change occurred: thick, dense fog rose all around. Ghostly blue flames ignited around Xuān Zǐsū, and several crimson plants suddenly burst from the nearby ground. Countless threads the thickness of a thumb also sprayed from the ground, all piercing toward the surrounding paper dolls. Some of those paper dolls turned into stone, some into ice, and then they were shredded into fine debris by the red plants and threads. Images of countless humanoid creatures flickered behind Xuān Zǐsū and then dissipated, each figure exuding an ancient, terrifying aura from the depths of people's hearts.
Xuān Zǐsū approached the red sedan slowly and lifted the curtain. A figure in red appeared in his view. Xuān Zǐsū looked at the person in the sedan. A pair of mandarin ducks was embroidered on the bright red wedding dress, she was wearing a pair of red embroidered shoes and a red hijab covered her head—a traditional ancient bride look. The person was staring straight at Xuān Zǐsū at the sedan opening. Even without lifting the hijab, Xuān Zǐsū could feel the person's fear.
Xuān Zǐsū: "Nie Moli?"
Nie Moli: "You... know me?"
Xuān Zǐsū: "Yes. I’m here to help you."
Xuān Zǐsū hadn’t thought much at the beginning. He only thought that Nie Moli would try to harm the couple just because she wanted to resurrect herself with the power of Qi Niangzi. So, couldn’t he just resurrect her? He had used Poseidon's Trident because he hadn’t organized his inventory; he had just pulled it out out of habit. He had intended to wash the paper dolls away with water and leave only Nie Moli. As it turned out, he had even used the power of the creatures temporarily inhabiting Poseidon's Trident—their power was definitely stronger than half of Qi Niangzi’s, so it was completely normal for Nie Moli to be afraid.
Xuān Zǐsū raised his hand and performed an incantation. A force of life manifested and spread in his hand, turning into a rope that bound Nie Moli’s body, pulling her out of the sedan. A massive amount of life force poured into Nie Moli’s body. Her body began to fill out rapidly, changing from an illusory soul to a real, living physical body bit by bit. The power of Qi Niangzi was also preserved; even the wedding dress became real.
After Nie Moli was successfully resurrected, she fell into a coma. Xuān Zǐsū used silk thread of spiritual energy to hang her around his side and brought her back to the courtyard, handing her over to Granny Tang. This Nie Moli was already an adult; he couldn’t correct her worldview and life experience, and she had already hurt her younger sister. He couldn’t solve everything, so he could only save Tongtong and Qingqing first. Xuān Zǐsū put Nie Moli down and cleared away the other paper dolls and the paper matchmaker. This way, no one would be able to harm Tongtong and Qingqing.
Nie Moli woke up feeling dazed. Before her was the granny who loved her; her body had recovered into a physical form, and the power within her had not disappeared. The crisis had been easily resolved in her sleep.
Xuān Zǐsū persuaded Second Grandfather and Nie Moli for a long time. Second Grandfather agreed to let Tongtong and Qingqing be together, and Nie Moli agreed to return to Granny Tang’s side to live for a period.
Xuān Zǐsū: "Alright, alright. Next, let’s go to the other battlefield."
Xuān Zǐsū opened his eyes and arrived at the final scene of Tongtong and Qingqing’s journey: the place of the sacrifice. Based on the adapted plot, it was impossible for them to come here, but this was a part of the original plot that he was adapting.
Granny Tang: "Is this the Grand Altar of Zhuangling Village? They don’t easily let outsiders in; even I haven’t been here. Hmm? Why does the layout here look like a 'Soul-Returning Ritual' for summoning spirits?"
Shen Moqing: "Summoning spirits? Can we use these things to summon Tongtong’s soul back?"
Granny Tang: "This is evil. It’s too coincidental to feel right. Don’t think about those side-door methods yet; let’s go find the token. Wangzong, where did you bury that thing?"
Second Grandfather: "Right by the old tree on top of that small hill. As for the specific location... *sigh*, I’m old and can’t remember clearly. Oh my, back when I was young, I climbed up there myself, but I can't now."
Xuān Zǐsū: "It’s fine. I’m still sturdy; I’ll help Qingqing."
Granny Tang: "That’s good. Here, you two are young; help each other out."
Xuān Zǐsū and Shen Moqing climbed the cliff. Shen Moqing was searching everywhere for clues to prepare to solve the mystery. Xuān Zǐsū didn't bother with that; he directly dug out the box containing the jade hairpin, opened it with force, and handed the hairpin to Qingqing, telling him to go ask Second Grandfather to proceed with the plot. Xuān Zǐsū broke apart the tombstone with the word 'Funeral' written on it with his bare hands, took out the item, and then used the answer to unlock the stone door below. He quickly dismantled all the boxes and mechanisms that needed solving and took all the necessary items.
Shen Moqing: "Brother Xuān, I asked Second Grandfather. He said he originally hid a pair, but now there is only one left."
Xuān Zǐsū: "Mm, good, I know. Don’t think about it anymore. Someone wants to use you to resurrect a soul. You are the pair being tricked. The person tricking you is your landlord's twin sister—that is, the Nie Moli that Granny Tang is raising. Next, listen to me and proceed with the ritual. I will cover everything."
Shen Moqing was stunned for a moment because, according to the original plot, he should have run around and risked half his life to complete the spirit-summoning ritual, only to summon back half of Nie Moli’s soul, leading Tongtong to cut the red thread tied to Nie Moli and fall into Hell’s Gate.
Shen Moqing quickly performed the ritual. The three parts of the soul were released. Although Shen Moqing lost three of his senses, it wasn’t as painful. Halfway through the incantation, Tongtong woke up.
Shen Moqing: "Soul return to the heavens, send the spirit back to the body... Soul return to the heavens, send the spirit back to the body... return to the heavens and send the spirit back to the body..."
Wang Jiaotong: "Qingqing, what’s going on? Why am I here? How did you get hurt?"
Xuān Zǐsū: "No, stop pretending, Nie Moli. You aren't Tongtong."
Shen Moqing: "What?"
Wang Jiaotong: "Hmph. I didn't expect that even with my acting, I would still be seen through by you. Did I miscalculate something?"
Xuān Zǐsū: "No, it’s because the tone of caring is different. If it were Tongtong, seeing Qingqing injured, she would definitely be more worried. She wouldn't just ask once 'How did you get hurt?' like you did."
Granny Tang: "You... are Moli? What are you trying to do?"
Xuān Zǐsū: "Don’t ask. Wang Jiaotong was dragged into the underworld by her. Going there and coming back is against the laws of the universe. If you don’t hurry and save her, Tongtong will be dragged into Hell’s Gate."
Wang Jiaotong: "You better decide soon; you don’t have much time left."
Wang Jiaotong collapsed to the ground again. After Shen Moqing helped her to a safe place, he continued reciting the spirit-summoning incantation.
Not long after, a *pailou* appeared in mid-air, with the words 'Hell's Gate' written on it. Looking down, Nie Moli and Wang Jiaotong were standing there. Wang Jiaotong seemed to be drawn to Hell’s Gate. Nie Moli used a red thread to tie Wang Jiaotong to her arm.
Wang Jiaotong: "Qingqing! This is a trap, leave me alone! You’ll die!"
Xuān Zǐsū: "Don’t worry, keep reciting. I’m here."
Xuān Zǐsū stomped his foot, and countless vines shot out from the ground, binding Wang Jiaotong’s feet. At the same time, he performed an incantation, and a force of life manifested and spread in his hand, turning into a rope that bound Nie Moli.
Xuān Zǐsū: "Tongtong! The scissors!"
Wang Jiaotong understood immediately. She took out a pair of red scissors from somewhere and cut the red thread connecting her and Nie Moli. Because she had been bound by the vines in advance, Wang Jiaotong did not fly into the sky. At this moment, Xuān Zǐsū pulled hard, and Nie Moli was jerked over by the rope. A massive amount of life force quickly poured into Nie Moli’s body; her body filled out quickly, changing from an illusory soul into a real, living physical body bit by bit. The power of Qi Niangzi was also preserved. On the other side, Shen Moqing gathered all his strength and finished the mantra quickly. Wang Jiaotong’s soul slowly floated back into her body.
Granny Tang took Nie Moli and left first. Not long after, Tongtong woke up, and Qingqing and Tongtong embraced each other.
The sun rose as usual today.