Xian Ni: The God of Killing Returns, Marries Li Muwan at the Beginning

Just then, an old woman carrying a vegetable basket came in from outside. When she saw Lin Che, she said, "Mr. Lin, can you tell me when my lost cat will come back?"

Just as Lin Che was about to speak, the girl suddenly pointed out the window: "Isn't that your black cat? It's squatting on the wall!"

The old woman slapped her thigh with joy, and the girl laughed along. Sunlight streamed through the carved wooden window and fell on her hair. Lin Che suddenly remembered that there seemed to have been such a warm moment in his sealed memories.

I looked down at the gardenia in my hand. Dewdrops rolled down the petals and landed on the coarse cloth cuff, leaving a small wet patch.

"It seems that all our destinies have come together here today."

Lin Che placed the flowers into the celadon vase on the table. "Let's consider this second divination for Miss Su. There's probably something buried under the wall of your west wing. Just dig it up and let it air out."

The girl's father was stunned for a moment, then immediately sent someone to check the backyard. After a short while, an exclamation came from behind: "We really found it! It's a copper basin with a hole in the bottom, and it's full of muddy water!"

Lin Che took a sip of Longjing tea and gazed at the flowing crowd outside the window.

An old man selling flowers called out from a street corner, a peddler carrying a load shook a rattle drum, and in the distance, wine flags fluttered in the wind.

"Why do I always feel like something's off...?"

When the thought popped into Lin Che's mind, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, startling the gardenia in the celadon vase, which shook off another dewdrop.

Just as they were laughing, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the door. Old Li, who sells sugar paintings, ran in holding a freshly made phoenix sugar painting, his voice so loud it could lift the roof off.

"Mr. Kobayashi, Mr. Su, look at the western sky!"

As the crowd rushed to the door, they saw that the clouds in the west had inexplicably turned a strange crimson-purple, with gold and red rims around the edges, as if a rouge box had been spilled.

Master Su stroked his beard and muttered, "These clouds are strange; are they about to hail?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than several glittering objects rolled down from the cloud and landed on the opposite bluestone slab with a crisp clang.

"Is it hail?"

The maid reached out to take it, only to find that the object in her palm was a round pearl, still slightly warm.

Immediately afterwards, more pearls mixed with shattered jade-like sparks fell down, stunning the pedestrians on the street. Some children jumped to pick them up, only to be hurriedly pulled back by adults.

Lin Che gazed at the crimson clouds, his brows furrowing slightly. The comforting atmosphere of everyday life, which had just felt so pleasant, suddenly carried a hint of inexplicable unease.

It's like a perfectly good ink painting that's been smeared with a drop of cinnabar. He touched his waist, where the fortune-telling coin pouch should have been, but it was now empty.

"What's wrong, sir?"

Seeing that his expression was off, Su Wan handed him a freshly brewed cup of tea. "These clouds are indeed strange, but the pearls seem to be good things."

She held a freshly picked pearl between her fingertips, its shimmering white light making her cheeks appear even more translucent.

Lin Che took the teacup, his fingertips touching the warm porcelain wall, and suddenly remembered a strand of hair that had slipped down his temple when the old servant had scolded him harshly that morning.

Although it is grayish-black, it takes on a very faint silvery-blue hue when exposed to sunlight, much like some kind of algae in the deep sea.

There was also the bronze basin that had just been unearthed. The patterns engraved on the bottom of the basin seemed messy, but when I pieced them together in my mind, they vaguely resembled the broken strokes of the character "镇" (zhen, meaning town).

“Miss Su,” Lin Che looked up at her, “how many generations have lived in this house of yours?”

Master Su interjected, "It's been three generations. A couple of years ago, when we were renovating the west wing, we dug up some old bricks that looked even older." Just as he finished speaking, the old man selling flowers across the street suddenly fell straight down, his flower basket overturned, and the gardenias in his basket scattered all over the ground, rustling as they hit the ground like pearls.

The crowd immediately descended into chaos, with cries and screams mingling together. The once vibrant street was instantly shrouded in panic.

Lin Che put the teacup on the table and stood up: "Master Su, may I borrow a shovel?"

"What does the gentleman need a shovel for?" Su Wan asked, puzzled.

"Go to the west wing and bury that copper basin back."

Lin Che's voice was deeper than before, and his expression became strange. "These pearls didn't fall from the sky; they came out of the ground."

Looking out the window at the increasingly dense pearls falling, it seemed as if blood was slowly seeping from those shimmering white lights, revealing a strange color.

Lin Che looked puzzled. He figured only immortals could probably do such a thing.

Although Master Su was puzzled, seeing Lin Che's solemn expression, he quickly ordered a servant to bring a shovel.

Lin Che carried the shovel toward the west wing, and Su Wan quickly followed, still clutching the pearl she had just picked up. At this moment, the pearl, which was white, had turned a faint pink, as if covered with a thin layer of blood.

At the base of the west wing, the leaky copper basin still stood in its original spot, muddy water seeping out from the hole in the bottom of the basin, accumulating into a small puddle on the bluestone slab.

Lin Che bent down to examine it closely and found that next to the broken stroke of the character "镇" at the bottom of the basin, there were several extremely fine scratches, like the scales of some kind of aquatic creature.

"This copper basin is probably no ordinary object."

Lin Che slammed the shovel into the ground, the clods of earth mixed with tiny seashells, and asked softly, "Mr. Su, is there a former riverbed beneath your house?"

Just as Master Su was about to reply, he heard a "glug" sound coming from the well in the backyard, as if something was churning in the water.

The servant boy guarding the well came running over screaming, "The well! Blood is bubbling up from the well!"

The crowd rushed to the well, only to find that the once clear well water was now tinged with dark red, with countless blood bubbles rising to the surface, and it also carried a fishy and sweet smell, just like the bloodstains seeping from the pearls that fell from the sky.

Su Wan turned pale with fright, her fingers clutching the pearl turning white: "What...what happened?"

Lin Che stared at the well and suddenly remembered the malevolent energy he had sensed from the girl this morning. It wasn't a ghost, but a water spirit.

She suddenly turned and ran into the street. Su Wan and the others hurriedly followed. The once chaotic street was now eerily quiet. The people who had been picking up pearls were frozen in place, their eyes glazed over, and a silly smile on their lips. The pearls in their hands had turned into blood beads.

The old flower seller lay on the ground, the once snow-white gardenia petals now stained crimson with blood, yet they slowly writhed beneath him, as if they had come to life.

Lin Che bent down and touched the old man's neck; it was ice-cold to the touch, and he was already lifeless.

"The water veins have been disturbed."

Lin Che's voice carried an imperceptible gravity, not out of fear, but because some kind of sealed memory was stirring.

"That copper basin was a magical artifact used to suppress water. The moment it was dug out, the thing underneath woke up."

Lin Che looked up at the crimson clouds, where a huge shadow seemed to be churning. The pearls fell even faster, crashing to the ground with a crackling sound, as if countless eyes were blinking. (End of Chapter)