Ch 190: Is There Really Such a Good Thing? [QT]

Some ghosts who were still hesitant, wanting to observe the situation a little longer, found themselves left behind. Seeing that they were already too late to secure a spot in line, they immediately regretted it. They should have at least stepped forward earlier! Now, unless they could present some rare and priceless treasure, there was no way to cut in line.

Meanwhile, Shen Yunxuan was already reviewing the summary compiled by Elder Xu, organizing it based on the value of the offered rewards and the difficulty of each case.

She first chose the ghost of a woman who had died in childbirth while still carrying her baby. Her enemy was relatively weak, making it an easier case to resolve—best to start with the softest target.

The female ghost stepped forward excitedly. “Master! Master, look, this is my child. Ever since we died, she has stayed with me. It has been a whole year now. Can she still reincarnate?”

The ghostly woman was frail and thin, with sunken cheeks. She picked up a shriveled, ghostly infant from her feet. More accurately, it was still a fetus, as she had died in labor with the umbilical cord unsevered. The child had never even let out a cry before they both perished. Now, it remained a bluish-purple shade, its eyes tightly shut, emitting an eerie, spectral wail.

Shen Yunxuan calculated for a moment and said, “This child shares a karmic bond with you from a past life. She had agreed to be your daughter, but fate was cut short, and you both met untimely deaths. She could have left already, but she stayed because she was worried about you. Once your resentment fades, you can reincarnate together.”

The female ghost was stunned, staring blankly at the silent infant in her arms. “Because… she was worried about me?”

She had died before the age of twenty, suffering countless hardships in life without ever experiencing true affection. After her death, she remained in the mortal world, consumed by hatred, with her child always at her side. She had never given it much thought, assuming it was simply because they had perished together. She never realized the child had stayed for her sake.

The ghostly mother was overwhelmed. “Then… have I wronged her? Have I failed her? She seems so small and ignorant, just like a newborn. I thought she didn’t understand anything, so I never really spoke to her…”

“She doesn’t feel wronged. Simply being with you makes her happy.” Shen Yunxuan thought for a moment before pulling out a talisman and drawing two spells on red paper. She folded them into two small triangles—one she placed in the baby’s swaddle, and the other she handed to the mother. Then, she chanted a few incantations.

“It’s done. Now you and your daughter can communicate telepathically.”

[Haha, Mother~]

The female ghost shuddered, her eyes widening in disbelief as she looked down at the child in her arms.

[Is… is that you speaking?]

[Yes, Mother! Please don’t be sad. Being a ghost isn’t painful at all. I’m not suffering one bit, and you haven’t wronged me.]

The mother’s tears began to fall.

[I’m sorry… It was my failure. I couldn’t protect you. I let you die with me, never giving you a chance to see the world, to grow up.]

[It’s okay! If there’s no world with you in it, I don’t want to see it anyway. Once you take your revenge, we’ll reincarnate together. In the next life, we’ll explore the world hand in hand.]

The ghost mother nodded frantically.

[Yes, yes! Next time, I will protect you well. I will give you the best of everything and be the best mother in the world. We’ll see everything together.]

The ghost mother sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. The others—both ghosts and the living—saw how she would burst into tears, then suddenly smile, nodding to herself. They immediately understood that Shen Yunxuan’s spell had worked. The mother and daughter could now communicate!

Both the people and ghosts watching were amazed, their eyes filled with wonder as they studied Shen Yunxuan.

Shen Yunxuan then turned to the ghost mother and said, “There’s no time to waste. Let’s go.” Then she called out to another ghost, a man who had died by hanging. “You’re nearby as well. Let’s resolve both matters at once. Come along.”

The ghost mother, carrying her infant, led them to a small, dilapidated courtyard in a narrow alley. The house was run-down and in poor condition.

Staring at the front door, her voice was filled with deep hatred. “This is the place. I worked like an ox in the countryside, laboring day and night. I took care of his sick parents and spent every coin we had to fund his studies. When his parents passed away, he couldn’t return, so I arranged the funerals alone.

After that, I endured hardships and near-death experiences to travel to the capital, where I cared for him, cooked for him, and earned money by washing clothes and embroidery. When he finally passed the provincial exam, I thought our suffering was over. But instead, he said I wasn’t worthy of him! When I was dying in childbirth, he abandoned me and let me and our baby die!

He had wanted to divorce me for a long time, but since I had served his parents until their deaths, he couldn’t just discard me—he had to become a widower instead. And to ensure I wouldn’t haunt him, he nailed my baby and me into a coffin with willow stakes! If not for a kind old ghost who saved me, I’d still be trapped inside that coffin today!”

Shen Yunxuan placed her hand on the door and channeled her spiritual energy. With a single pulse, the door creaked open.

She led the group inside, where a scholar, hearing the commotion, stepped out.

He couldn’t see the ghosts, only Shen Yunxuan and her six well-trained men. Frowning, he asked, “Who are you, miss? Why are you trespassing on private property?”

Shen Yunxuan clasped her hands behind her back and said, “I am a Taoist master. I have come to settle accounts for the harm you have done.”

The scholar froze, fear and resentment flashing in his eyes. “What nonsense are you spouting? I am an honest man! When have I ever harmed anyone? Who are you people? Leave at once, or I will report you to the authorities!”

Shen Yunxuan calmly placed a talisman on the ghost mother’s body, allowing her to manifest.

The ghost mother, still cradling her infant, instantly appeared before the scholar. She floated up to him and lifted her baby for him to see.

With a mournful, eerie smile, she whispered, “Husband… you murdered me and our child. Have you forgotten?”

“Ah—ghost—!” The scholar fell to the ground, his face ashen as he scrambled backward, screaming in terror.

The infant floated above him, giggling eerily. The strange laughter sent chills down the scholar’s spine, making his already pale face turn a shade of blue. He waved his hands wildly and shouted, “Go away! Don’t come near me! Get away!”

The female ghost stood nearby, half-crying, half-laughing. “Husband, how can you treat our child like this? She is your flesh and blood! That day, you stood by the bedside and watched her suffocate to death. Have you ever had nightmares? Have you ever felt guilty? You nailed us, mother and child, into a coffin, thinking that would let you sleep peacefully at night? Husband, you have such a cruel heart.”

“Giggle… giggle… giggle…” The infant’s laughter seeped into every corner of the scholar’s mind. Unable to withstand the terror any longer, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

The female ghost picked up the infant and sneered, “Useless coward, fainting just from this.”

[Mother, let me wake him up!]

[No, let me do it. In this life, you were his child, connected by blood. You shouldn’t have to deal with him yourself. I fear it would harm you. Let me handle it.]

After saying this, the female ghost went to the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and carved the characters “Wang Ba” (meaning “bastard”) into both of the scholar’s cheeks.

The excruciating pain jolted the scholar awake. “Ah! What have you done to me? You wicked woman! My face hurts so much! You ruined my looks? I am a scholar! How dare you?!”

The female ghost scoffed. “To me, you’re nothing but a scoundrel! Didn’t you dream of becoming an official? Didn’t you crave a glorious future? Didn’t you think I wasn’t good enough for you? Then I will strip you of everything you desire and make the rest of your life a living hell!”

As she spoke, the female ghost severed the tendons in both of his hands.

“Ah—my hands!”

“Hahaha, you won’t be writing anymore! A disfigured scholar who can’t write, hahaha…”

Terrified and wracked with pain, the scholar fainted again, blood pooling around him, his face deathly pale. The female ghost’s laughter faded as she stood over him, silently watching for a long moment. Then, she tossed the cleaver aside and turned to Shen Yunxuan. “Thank you, Master, for helping me avenge myself. My wish has been fulfilled. I have no more resentment.”

Gao Lang was shocked. “That’s it? You’re not going to kill him?”

The female ghost smiled. “Because I know him well. His ambitions are sky-high; he dreams of rising above others. I have destroyed his future—though he still holds the title of a scholar, he will never be able to assume an official post. Even finding a respectable job will be impossible.

With his arrogant nature, he won’t dare to show his face in public. He won’t want others to see him like this.

That means he will have to do his own laundry, cook for himself, and handle all the menial tasks he once looked down upon. He will spend every day consumed by hatred, tormented by his own resentment. But he won’t have the courage to end his own life.

Instead, he will live on, trapped in endless despair…”

Just imagining such a scene filled her with satisfaction. Her eyes were now clear, free of any lingering resentment. She smiled at Shen Yunxuan. “Master, please accompany me to the graveyard. The two kind old ghosts who helped me left their burial treasures there. They said I cannot retrieve them myself. I tried before, but I felt a burning pain whenever I touched them.

I never understood why they left me those items. But after today, I feel like it was fate. Perhaps they foresaw that I would meet you, Master, and that you would help me get my revenge. That’s why they left me those treasures as a reward.”

Gao Lang and the others were surprised to hear such reasoning. But Shen Yunxuan found it perfectly normal. As a reincarnated soul, she had always believed in mystical forces. Back in the Giant Tribe, the High Priest had seemed to know something as well—not the details, but at least whether something carried good or ill intent.

This time was no different. She, too, believed that fate had brought them together. She sought justice for these ghosts, and in return, they gave her what she needed. This was their bond.

Beyond collecting supplies in different dimensions, this was also a meaningful pursuit. She liked it. It gave her a sense of purpose.

She smiled. “No rush. Let’s finish dealing with the hanging ghost’s matter first, and then we’ll go.”

Shen Yunxuan turned to the hanging ghost. “Your home is nearby as well? Lead the way.”

The hanging ghost, having just witnessed another spirit’s successful revenge, was overwhelmed with excitement. “Master, come with me. I was just an ordinary woman, childhood sweethearts with my husband. After we married, we loved each other dearly. But a wicked nobleman took a fancy to me and forcibly abducted me. I couldn’t bear the humiliation and hanged myself. That villain, enraged, ordered my body to be flogged and discarded in a mass grave. That was where I found a robe imbued with mystical power. Though I couldn’t wear it, keeping it with me prevented other ghosts from devouring me.

When I rushed back home, I saw that the villain was beating my husband again. My poor husband refused to bow down. He wanted to file a complaint with the authorities, but the villain had deep connections—his aunt is a favored imperial concubine.

Now, my husband lives in misery, unable to let go of his pain. I cannot reveal myself to comfort him, and my growing resentment only festers.

Master, that villain has harmed many women, using his status and power to torment countless innocent families. Please, I beg you to seek justice for me.”

As she spoke, the hanging ghost had already led Shen Yunxuan to the back gate of a grand three-courtyard residence. She phased through the wall and quickly reappeared, saying, “Master, there are guards inside.”

Qin Wenshu volunteered, “I’ll go!”

Shen Yunxuan nodded, and Qin Wenshu phased inside, materialized, and used her hair like a whip to strike the guard unconscious before unlocking the door.

Gao Lang, now familiar with Qin Wenshu, was not only unafraid but also found the ghostly abilities impressive. Passing through walls, using hair as a weapon, even bleeding from all seven orifices to scare people—if he were to die in battle one day, he’d rather not reincarnate but instead become a powerful ghost cultivator under Shen Yunxuan’s command.

Unaware of his thoughts, Shen Yunxuan led the group inside while the ghosts instinctively split up, hiding and searching for the villain’s whereabouts.

The hanging ghost headed straight for the secluded courtyard where she had once been imprisoned. As expected, the villain was there, attempting to assault another innocent woman.

The villain smirked as he approached the bound woman on the bed, threatening, “If you resist, I can have your entire family thrown in jail or exiled to the frontier. Do you believe me?”

Tears streamed down the woman’s face as she frantically shook her head. “No, please don’t do this to me…”

The villain pinched her chin and laughed. “If you serve me well, with my noble aunt as a favored consort, I can guarantee you a lifetime of wealth and prosperity. Your family will never have to worry about food or clothing again…”

The hanging ghost trembled with rage, her long, dangling tongue uncontrollably extending to the ground. She lunged at the villain, only to pass right through him.

The villain shivered and glanced at the window in confusion. “It’s not open… Why did it suddenly get so cold?”

Realizing she couldn’t manifest physically, the hanging ghost quickly fled to find Shen Yunxuan. “Master! Hurry! Another girl is about to be harmed!”

Shen Yunxuan rushed over with Gao Lang and Dong Yue, instructing the others to stay back and scan the books retrieved by Madam Li.

By the time they arrived, the villain had already pinned the woman down, attempting to violate her. Shen Yunxuan’s expression turned cold, and with a flick of her hand, she sent a surge of spiritual energy, throwing the villain off his feet.

Gao Lang stepped forward and kicked him several times, sneering, “Scum like you, preying on women—do you even deserve to be called human?”

Dong Yue quickly helped the terrified woman dress and untie her bindings, shielding her while offering reassurance.

Furious, the villain tried to fight back. “Who are you people? How dare you cause trouble in my domain! Do you even know who my aunt is? She’s the emperor’s most favored consort!”

Gao Lang broke three of his ribs with a heavy stomp. “Pah! Even if your aunt were the emperor himself, I’d still beat the hell out of you!”

Seeing the hanging ghost’s eager gaze, Shen Yunxuan took out a manifestation talisman and placed it on her. Immediately, she materialized and lunged toward the villain, displaying her terrifying, hanged appearance.

Her eyes bulged grotesquely, her tongue stretched long and limp, her entire face twisted in the agony of suffocation. Her body bore the wounds from being flogged posthumously, and blood dripped from her ghostly form.

The villain’s eyes widened in horror as he let out a terrified scream. “GHOST—! HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME—!”

He scrambled to crawl away, but the hanging ghost grabbed his legs and hoisted him upside down, suspending him from the ceiling. Their faces were inches apart as she taunted, “Didn’t you love telling your victims ‘Scream all you want, no one will save you’? Go on, scream. See if anyone comes to save you.”

She then hurled him onto the ground. His broken ribs left him writhing in agony, but before he could catch his breath, the hanging ghost began dragging him around the room, his skin scraping raw against the floor. Blood seeped from his hands and face, the burning pain making him wail in misery.

“Please! Spare me! I won’t do it again! I’ll compensate you! Don’t you love your husband? I’ll give him money, a fortune! If he wants to be an official, I’ll have my aunt arrange it! Just let me go, I beg you—”

For a brief moment, the hanging ghost hesitated. Such compensation could indeed secure a prosperous life for her husband. But the thought was fleeting—she knew her husband loved her deeply and would never accept the villain’s dirty money. He would rather see this scum suffer, just as she did.

Her resolve hardened. She grabbed a pair of scissors from the room and, with furious intensity, stabbed the villain between the legs.

“AH! IT HURTS! NO—!”

The hanging ghost ignored his screams and continued stabbing. Qin Wenshu and the ghostly mother joined in, each holding the villain down so he couldn’t struggle.

The villain, seeing them manifest, screamed even louder. There were now two more terrifying female ghosts—one in a bloodied wedding dress with ghostly long hair, the other carrying an eerie, lifeless infant. Their presence alone was enough to make him tremble in utter horror, while the child’s eerie laughter echoed through the room.

In the end, the hanging ghost had completely shredded the villain’s manhood, leaving nothing but a bloody mess mixed with the urine he had expelled in terror. The room reeked of filth and death.

She finally sighed in satisfaction, but it wasn’t enough.

It wasn’t enough.

Even as she brutalized the villain, the rage inside her only grew.

What was the point?

This man had harmed so many women—torturing and killing him alone wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t erase the pain he had caused. It wouldn’t bring back those who had suffered.

She clenched her fists, her ghostly form trembling.

What else could she do?

Shen Yunxuan noticed that after venting her anger, the Hanging Ghost seemed to be on the verge of turning dark. A brief thought allowed her to understand—it was the helplessness of ordinary people when facing those in power. She reminded, “The reason this man has been so arrogant and unrestrained is solely because he relies on his favored imperial consort aunt. He has been running rampant for so long, and his family has done nothing to restrain him, which clearly means they are not good people either.”

She then posed a question, “But… what if his aunt were to fall out of favor? What would happen to his family then?”

The Hanging Ghost’s eyes lit up. That’s right—why hadn’t she thought of this before? The villain’s greatest backing was the favored consort. If she could bring her down, then his entire family would collapse with her. At that point, all those who had suffered at their hands would have a chance to exact revenge. The villain would end up suffering a fate far worse than death.

But then, the Hanging Ghost hesitated. “Master, how can I do that? That consort is so favored. She was granted the title without even bearing a son. What can a mere ghost like me do to bring her down?”

Shen Yunxuan smiled. “No children? That makes it even easier. Now, the question is—was she a good person or a bad one? Why don’t you interrogate this scum? He might know something useful. Or better yet, question his entire family.”

The Hanging Ghost’s eyes gleamed with excitement. Now that she had a plan, she launched into a fresh round of torture, forcing the villain to spill everything about his aunt—the imperial consort—and her crimes.

From the villain’s face, Shen Yunxuan could tell he had been riding on his aunt’s influence, and that she was likely just as corrupt as he was. That was why she had suggested it in the first place.

The villain was spineless. He knew that revealing such information could harm his aunt, but the agony he was enduring was simply unbearable. So, before long, he spilled everything—how the consort had framed the families of other concubines, secretly sabotaged royal pregnancies, and even staged fake encounters with the emperor to increase her favor.

The Hanging Ghost wasn’t satisfied after interrogating him. She then rushed to question his parents and siblings. However, she was nearly harmed by the talismans and charms they carried or had placed around the house. Fortunately, Gao Lang and Dong Yue were there. Those objects could hurt ghosts but had no effect on living people. The two special forces soldiers swiftly subdued the family and used modern interrogation techniques to extract the same damning confessions about the consort’s misdeeds.

Qin Wenshu’s eyes sparkled as she watched. These two were amazing—they hadn’t used any supernatural or celestial master techniques. They had simply relied on human methods and still managed to achieve results that even ghosts struggled with. She suddenly felt that she had a lot to learn.

She also grew even more curious about Shen Yunxuan. Where exactly had she come from? By now, Qin Wenshu had realized that Shen Yunxuan’s identity was likely not as she had claimed, and she might not even have any real vendetta against Xiao Zhen’an. But what did it matter? In just half a day, she had already been completely won over by Shen Yunxuan. She now felt nothing but admiration and awe for her.

And so, her curiosity about Shen Yunxuan’s story deepened, while her own grievances suddenly felt much less significant.

Once the villain’s entire family had confessed everything, Shen Yunxuan gestured with a slight nod. “Write it down. Sign it. Press your fingerprints on it. And don’t forget to hand over any evidence you have.”

The villain’s father glared at Shen Yunxuan with seething hatred. “If you do this, the Imperial Consort will never let you off!”

Shen Yunxuan smiled faintly. “Let’s see if she can find me first.”

🌸˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚⋆