Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

Midnight.

Tianqing was awakened by a crying sound that came from near and then faded away.

When I opened my eyes, I was momentarily convinced that I was still dreaming.

She rubbed her eyes, saw that it was still dark outside the window, and decided to turn over and go back to sleep.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure standing at the doorway.

"Miss Xia?"

She sat up, picked up the tinderbox to light the candle, and asked again, "Miss Xia, is there something you need?"

The shadow didn't answer, but reached out and knocked on the door.

Although Tianqing felt something was off, he still mustered up his courage and got out of bed.

She steeled herself and walked to the door, glancing into the main house. The lights were on, proving that Xia Ximo had indeed gotten up.

Tianqing hesitated and slowly opened the door. Suddenly, a gust of cold wind rushed in, blurring her vision.

However, when she opened her eyes again, the person standing outside the door was gone.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only a pot of begonias standing alone in front of the steps.

Under the bright moonlight, the crimson petals slowly oozed crimson blood.

From one drop, two drops, gradually it turned into a puddle…

Blood began to flow down the steps, spreading throughout the courtyard, and even the moon gradually turned an eerie red.

Tianqing was terrified. She opened her mouth but found that she couldn't make a sound, and she couldn't move her feet at all.

She could only watch helplessly as the begonia tree seemed to have grown legs and rapidly approached her.

Getting closer and closer...

The eerie, vibrant flower branch, like a ghostly hand, began to climb up her legs...

He was about to wrap his arms around her neck.

A slender, fair hand suddenly reached out and grabbed the flower branch.

"go back."

Xia Ximo gave a soft shout, and Tian Qing's body staggered backward uncontrollably.

The door slammed shut.

Looking at the "Begonia" in his hand, Xia Ximo narrowed his eyes.

"What are you?"

The flower branch tried to struggle but failed, and could only emit a strange and piercing hiss.

Xia Ximo quietly gathered his strength and threw the flower branch into the air.

A formless ghost was immediately flung to the ground.

"Are you... a human or a ghost?"

Looking at the person in front of him, the ghost trembled with fear.

Xia Ximo retorted, "I'd like to ask you, what are you?"

The ghost trembled, bewildered, unsure whether it couldn't answer or simply couldn't remember.

"I…"

As formless spirits, Wuyou couldn't help but reveal herself. The two spirits stared at each other, unable to distinguish one another for a moment.

The soul-ferrying lamp trembled slightly, proving that this was a soul that had died unjustly.

嗏

Wuyou sniffed again and again, but was still confused.

"Besides having a malevolent aura that doesn't belong to it, it also carries a great deal of resentment."

"But its independent consciousness is weak, and it doesn't seem like a scattered soul; it can still possess other bodies..."

"I can't really explain what it is..."

Xia Ximo frowned.

He thought to himself that because Ren Fengjue was there, ordinary ghosts wouldn't dare to enter the Ren residence.

But this vengeful spirit not only dared to show itself, it even dared to harm people…

"Where did you come from? And how did you die?"

The ghost shuddered, then slowly transformed into the form of a woman, sobbing, "I don't remember anything, I only know that she died a terrible death..."

"she?"

Xia Ximo's gaze sharpened, as if deep in thought.

-

The mornings at Hongxiulou are always exceptionally peaceful and quiet.

This is completely different from the scene of dazzling lanterns and throngs of guests at night.

The housekeeper, Sister Fu, seemed somewhat at a loss when faced with the sudden arrival of the "young master."

Brothels and entertainment venues primarily operate at night; who would come in early in the morning?

They really don't know the rules.

Seeing that the other party was well-dressed and had an extraordinary demeanor, Sister Fu patiently invited him to take a seat and have some tea.

"This young master looks unfamiliar. Is this your first time here?"

Sister Fu's face was full of smiles. Although she was middle-aged, she still had a lot of charm.

After taking his seat, the "young master" Ren Fengjue looked around and got straight to the point: "I'm looking for your Miss Ruyan."

"Like smoke?"

Upon hearing this name, Sister Fu's expression changed, and she said, "This is probably unfortunate. Miss Ruyan fell ill a few days ago and is still recuperating in her room."

Ren Fengjue, however, grew suspicious. "What illness has he contracted?"

Sister Fu knew that the distinguished guests who came here were picky. Since the other party specifically asked for Miss Ruyan, it was unlikely that other courtesans would easily see her.

However, given Ruyan's current situation, it is indeed difficult for her to face people.

She could only look troubled and sigh, "I don't know what's wrong. I've seen several doctors and taken a lot of medicine, but nothing seems to be working."

"It's strange, a perfectly healthy person suddenly fell ill overnight, without any prior warning."

As if afraid that Ren Fengjue would misunderstand, Sister Fu added, "But don't worry, young master, it's not some kind of illness. She's just too weak. She'll be fine after some recuperation."

Hearing her say that, Ren Fengjue's doubts deepened, and he echoed, "That's a real pity."

"To be honest, I've wanted to see Miss Ruyan for a long time, and today I only wish to catch a glimpse of her beauty."

As he spoke, he took out a gold leaf and silently placed it on the table.

Sister Fu was genuinely surprised by his generosity.

Although she was conflicted, how could she turn down money in this business?

"As long as you don't mind the unpleasant smell in the patient's room, I can arrange that..."

Ren Fengjue nodded: "I'll trouble you to make the arrangements."

Sister Fu casually took the gold leaf, bowed gracefully to him, and said, "In that case, please wait here for a moment, young master."

About half an incense stick later, she personally led Ren Fengjue upstairs to a room.

Sister Fu knocked on the door first and said, "Miss, our distinguished guest has entered."

Without waiting for the person inside to agree, he pushed the door open and went in.

The moment the door opened, a strong stench immediately wafted out.

Having handled cases for many years, Ren Fengjue immediately sensed something was wrong with the smell.

If I'm not mistaken, it's very likely the smell of a corpse...

How could there be a stench of corpses coming from a room where a living person was?

Sister Fu had no idea the stench would be so strong; it had been fine just before she arrived…

She covered her nose, forcing back her nausea, glanced back at the distinguished guest's expression, and tentatively asked, "Young master, perhaps we should call it a day?"

"The young lady needs to rest these past few days, and her room hasn't been cleaned..."

The reputation of Hongxiu Tower is far more important than this golden leaf.

A foul stench emanated from Hua Niang's room; it's likely no one will dare to come here again.

"It's alright."

Ren Fengjue didn't back down; instead, he took a few steps further in, his eyes sweeping around. He saw a woman in white sitting in front of a dressing mirror, absentmindedly combing her hair...

Even when someone entered the room, she didn't turn around to look.

Seeing this, Sister Fu could only open the window to ventilate the room. Then, she said unhappily to the woman in front of the mirror, "My dear girl, our distinguished guest has already entered. Why don't you get up and greet him?"

Ruyan remained silent, still quietly combing her hair.

Sister Fu thought she was still throwing a tantrum, so she could only walk over and touch Ruyan's shoulder.

However, the next second, Ruyan, who was sitting in front of the mirror, suddenly collapsed to the ground, revealing a half-rotten face that looked like it had been dead for many days.