Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
However, happiness was always fleeting. Zhuang Li’s voice turned serious as he changed the subject: “Now, I’m going to take you back to the day the evil spirits first appeared.”
Miss Zhou had completely entered a deep hypnotic state. Even though the smile on her face immediately twisted into fear, she was unable to disobey Zhuang Li’s orders.
The beautiful scenery was instantly shrouded in boundless darkness. She returned to her boudoir, curled up in the corner of the canopy bed, and wrapped her head tightly in the quilt.
“What did you see? What did you hear? Tell me!” Zhuang Li gave the order.
In her dream, Miss Zhou hid under the covers and said, “There’s a ghost under the bed! I can hear it knocking on my bed board, bang bang bang, bang bang bang, it knocks every night.”
“How did you know there was a ghost under the bed?” Zhuang Li quickly pressed.
“Qiu Tong told me, and I heard it myself!”
“Seeing is believing. I want you to go and look under the bed yourself. Don’t run away, go and take a look!” Zhuang Li’s tone became extremely firm.
Unable to disobey his orders, Miss Zhou had no choice but to lift the covers, trembling as she crawled to the edge of the bed, lowered her head, and looked down at the floor in terror.
“What did you see?” Zhuang Li asked at the opportune moment.
“I didn’t see anything. No, there were no ghosts!” Miss Zhou, who had been tense all over, relaxed instantly.
Mrs. Zhou, who was sitting to the side, slumped down like a limp rag. She had been truly terrified.
Mr. Zhou could no longer sit still. He took a few steps to the soft chair and looked at his daughter with quiet demeanor.
“Then why did you hear the knocking on the bed?” Zhuang Li pressed for an explanation.
Miss Zhou shook her head from side to side: “I don’t know either.”
“No, you know. You’ll always remember someone knocking on your bed, but you’re just half asleep and think you’re dreaming, and you forget it when you wake up. I want you to think carefully, you must remember. Tell me, who was knocking on your bed? Or was it just your hallucination?” Zhuang Li guided him step by step.
Miss Zhou racked her brains trying to recall what she was thinking, and finally cried out in alarm, “It’s Qiu Tong! When she was keeping watch for me, she secretly knocked on my bed. I glanced at her half-asleep and then fell asleep again.”
In this era, maids who kept watch over their mistresses at night had to sleep on the footstool next to the mistress’s bed, so knocking on the bed was very convenient for Qiu Tong.
“She knocked on the bed herself but then pretended to be frightened and shouted in my room, waking me up, saying she saw a ghost under the bed! I believed her, I believed her! It wasn’t a ghost knocking on the bed, it was Qiu Tong knocking!” Miss Zhou seemed to realize something and cried bitterly.
“Qiu Tong said an evil spirit had possessed me, and I believed her; Qiu Tong told me to find a Taoist priest to exorcise the evil spirit, and I believed her again; Qiu Tong also said that Master Ling Xi had great magical powers, and I believed that too. I asked my mother to go find Master Ling Xi, and I led a wolf into the house. Master Ling Xi insulted me! He dismissed everyone and forcibly took me, took me…”
Even under deep hypnosis, this terrifying memory was suppressed deep within Ms. Zhou’s subconscious.
She couldn’t continue speaking.
However, Madam Zhou and Master Zhou could fully imagine the things she didn’t say aloud.
Both of them showed expressions of horror, then swayed and collapsed.
Every time Master Ling Xi came to perform a ritual for his daughter, he would send everyone away and tell bystanders not to go near anything they heard, because it was the work of evil spirits.
So they had no idea how Master Ling Xi had exorcised the evil spirit from their daughter. All they knew was that after Master Ling Xi’s visit, their daughter would become unusually well-behaved and quiet. But now, looking at her, it was not being well-behaved and quiet at all; she was clearly utterly despondent!
In addition, Master Ling Xi would bring several of his disciples along to perform the exorcism. As they left, the disciples all wore expressions of satisfaction. What had those people done to their daughter?
Unable to think any further, Madam Zhou clutched her clothes, nearly fainting from the pain.
Master Zhou gasped for breath like a trapped beast, his bloodshot eyes filled with intense murderous intent.
The two maids wept softly, their faces streaked with tears, as if they too were experiencing the same despair.
Zhuang Jiuge, who had been curled up in the corner, had woken up and was listening in disbelief to these incredibly dark and filthy things. He thought that Zhuang Tian’er, who had strangled Lu Dan, was already the most evil person in the world, but he never expected that there was a demon in human skin above her.
In the next private room, Qi Wang had already opened his eyes, now sitting up, he was surrounded by a chilling aura.
Several guards gripped their sword hilts, their teeth clenched in hatred.
When the situation was nearly out of control, Zhuang Li’s voice became soft and soothing again: “I understand, this is the demon in your heart, you’ve caught it, you’ve done well. Now, I want you to leave this dark room and go outside.”
“When you push open the door, you will forget everything behind you. You will walk into a warm ray of sunshine, every inch of your skin will be soaked in the fragrance of flowers, and a gentle breeze will tease your hair, bringing a slight itch and taking away this painful memory.”
“You look up at the sunlight and laugh heartily. When you wake up, you will feel incredibly relaxed and happy. You will forget all your pain and continue your new life.”
Zhuang Li slowed his speech: “When I count to five, you will wake up. Now, I’m going to start counting: one: you push open the door and walk out without looking back; two: you step into the sunlight, your body feeling slightly warm; three: you smell the fragrance of flowers, feel the gentle caress of the wind, and you feel very relaxed and happy.”
“Fourth, all the painful memories in your mind will disappear, leaving only the beautiful ones. After waking up, you will begin a new life. You will become strong and brave, ignoring the gossip and strange looks from others. You will live for yourself.”
“Fifth, you are awake. You now feel relaxed and refreshed.”
As soon as Zhuang Li finished speaking, Miss Zhou woke up. She blinked her eyes and looked around in a daze, then clutched her stomach and said in a sweet voice, “Father, Mother, I’m so hungry! This looks like Jin Manlou Restaurant. Have you brought me to eat here?”
She hadn’t eaten for two days, so naturally she was hungry.
Seeing her adorable expression and clear eyes, Mr. and Mrs. Zhou were stunned.
This, this is clearly their daughter from before the tragedy happened! She has actually forgotten all that pain and despair!
She had only taken a nap, yet her time had completely reversed.
The wounds in her heart have been completely healed. As long as she doesn’t think about that horrific experience, she could live happily!
Thinking of this, Mr. and Mrs. Zhou wanted to hug their daughter and cry their hearts out, but they also wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong and put on a smile.
The two forced a smile, but their eyes were red. They tried their best to suppress their sobs and said in a muffled voice, “Yes, your parents are taking you out to eat. What do you want to eat? Your parents will have the chef make it right away.”
With the help of a maid, Miss Zhou sat up, rattled off a list of dishes, and joked that she was so hungry she could eat a whole cow.
Madam Zhou covered her mouth and laughed, but tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. She had no choice but to turn her head away and pretend that the wind had blinded her.
Mr. Zhou couldn’t take it anymore. He opened the door and strode out, wiping his face haphazardly with his sleeve. Although he was strict and rigid, his love for his daughter was no less than that for his wife; he just wasn’t good at expressing it.
Zhuang Li quietly left the private room with his younger brother, pulled Master Zhou to a secluded corner, and said in a deep voice, “After you go back, you should thoroughly investigate that maid named Qiu Tong. She is the one who instigated all the evil.”
“Also, later you should tell Miss Zhou that she has been seriously ill for years and has been lying in bed in a coma, which is why she is so weak and has no memory of this period of time.”
“Her fiancé also broke off the engagement because of her illness. It’s no pity that such a person who doesn’t keep his promises didn’t get married. Tell her not to worry about it. You should keep the servants in the house in check and try not to mention that she was possessed by a demon.”
“Of course, even if the matter of possession is brought up, my memory seal will not loosen. However, if Miss Zhou becomes curious and investigates on her own, I can’t say what the outcome will be. So you should try your best to dispel her suspicions. Once she remembers the past, you can come to me again. After sealing it once, the second sealing will be much easier, and the third sealing may be able to permanently erase this memory.”
“What happened today will remain in our hearts, you don’t need to worry.”
Master Zhou nodded repeatedly in agreement: “Yes, yes, I understand, I will pay attention. Thank you for your help to my daughter. I trust you completely. This is just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it.”
Master Zhou took out a stack of silver notes from his pocket and stuffed them into Zhuang Li’s hand without saying a word.
Zhuang Li wasn’t a real fortune teller, so he didn’t need to worry about the five deficiencies and three lacks. So he pocketed the thick stack of silver notes and turned to leave.
Master Zhou wanted to invite the two to stay for dinner, but they absolutely refused.
“I have to go back to my stall,” Zhuang Li said, waving his hand.
“That stall isn’t going to run away if it’s just left on the roadside,” Old Master Zhou joked.
“But the person I’m waiting for might run away,” Zhuang Li said seriously.
Master Zhou pressed further, “Who are you waiting for?”
Zhuang Li pointed to his chest, his smile gentle and serene: “Waiting for my beloved.”
Sitting in the next private room, Qi Wang somehow recalled the words the young master had uttered in a soft voice when they parted the day before: “I will wait for you here in the future.”
So, is the person he’s waiting for me? Thinking this, Qi Wang’s heart began to pound uncontrollably, and his pale ears blushed with an unusual red.
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents• Next
