That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

Chapter Fifty-One: The Fox

The moon set and the sun rose, and the sky became completely bright.

Jiang Jingming stood at a distance, watching the old house burning.

The owners of the old house and the young master are both dead. A fire will burn away all traces, and gradually everyone will forget the father and son, and also forget the rumors of the cannibalistic ghost.

Dust billowed up, and Jiang Jingming coughed lightly, looking down.

They didn't have much time to reflect. The ferry on the Posuo River usually departs in the morning, and since the weather was fine today, they wouldn't wait for late passengers.

Xie Yunqi stood very close to the house, with raging flames shooting up in front of her. She had changed into a bright red dress, looking as if she wanted to blend into the fire.

Jiang Jingming watched her retreating figure and sensed that the young lady was quite upset about what happened last night.

It's probably because she had longed to leave home and make her own way in the world since she was a child. She finally grew up and got the chance, but all she saw were these kinds of things.

Lu Zhao shared a similar mood. He walked around the house checking for any unburned traces, his expression serious, yet with a hint of obvious confusion.

He entered officialdom at a young age, driven by a desire to serve the court and uphold justice.

Countless young people in the capital city hold this belief, but they cannot see what is happening every day thousands of miles away.

The peaceful and prosperous era that the Divine Capital Guard tried so hard to maintain was, in the end, only a limited and superficial one.

So what is the point?

......

Jiang Jingming, however, was thinking about something else entirely.

The mysterious sorcerer walked ahead of the crowd.

He deliberately created this chaos, as if it were a provocation, or perhaps a welcoming ceremony.

He didn't care about the suffering and death of ordinary people; he only wanted to create enough bizarre chaos to make the fires of the chaotic world burn even brighter.

Then, this is the real enemy.

Jiang Jingming rested one hand on the hilt of his knife, gazing silently at the distant fire.

After crossing the Posuo River, he set foot on the land of Zhongzhou once again.

He had already sworn to make those people pay the price, and now that vow carried even more weight.

"It has a very menacing aura."

Fang Zhiyi's cheerful voice rang out behind him.

Jiang Jingming simply turned to look at her without replying.

Are you angry?

Fang Zhiyi smiled gently, her tone as if she were teasing a child.

"Is it because I didn't intervene to save them this time?"

"No."

Jiang Jingming shook his head in denial.

He just felt that Fang Zhiyi was hiding too many secrets: the Dream of the Dragon, the creation of merfolk, the sewing of corpses to bring the dead back to life—it was all too coincidental.

But her detached, bystander demeanor throughout the night did indeed bother him.

"Do you want to hear the truth? I can't save him."

Fang Zhiyi's eyes reflected the rising flames, yet her expression remained calm and aloof, like a gentle breeze brushing past.

“There is no true way to bring the dead back to life. Once someone is dead, they are dead. The person who comes back to life will never be the same person again. So, I knew from the beginning that I couldn’t save him. All I knew was how to kill him completely.”

As a doctor, she was probably used to seeing scenes of life and death, so when she talked about these things, she remained indifferent and unemotional.

"Besides, I think that sorcerer was probably also surprised that the father's determination to exchange his life for another made the resurrection of the corpse so successful."

"No, he'll probably be very smug."

Jiang Jingming's tone was icy, tinged with a clear anger.

"The more successful the secret technique, the heavier the despair will be when it is discovered that what has been resurrected is just a monster. Isn't that exactly what he wanted to see?"

"Perhaps."

Fang Zhiyi smiled gently, the corners of her mouth curving upwards.

"But has Jingming considered this? Perhaps some people would accept this outcome, even if they know that the resurrected creature is a monster that eats people every day."

"..."

Jiang Jingming was slightly taken aback.

That seems to be true.

Therefore, if we were to ask the question of whether to kill ten thousand innocent people or to kill a loved one, more people would probably choose the former.

Ultimately, some people's world is so small that it can only hold the people they care about. Since others are not in their world, their life or death is none of their concern.

In that case, even knowing that her resurrected lover is a cannibal, she would still be willing to accept it.

Just as Xie Yunqi initially misjudged, the tea stall owner lured passersby to eat Sanxi.

"That's just who I am."

Fang Zhiyi looked into his eyes and smiled slightly.

Jiang Jingming suddenly felt something throb violently in his chest; she was telling the truth.

This is one of the few truths Fang Zhiyi has told so far.

"So Jingming, you need to take good care of yourself."

Fang Zhiyi suddenly leaned closer, blinked, and gave her careful instructions like a caring older sister.

"why?"

Jiang Jingming subconsciously asked a question in return.

"Because if you die, I'll turn you into a monster like this."

Fang Zhiyi stared intently into his eyes.

"?"

A question mark slowly appeared on Jiang Jingming's face.

Fang Zhiyi's tone was anything but joking; she had even begun to seriously plan ahead.

"They eat children at the beginning of the month, and young adults in the middle..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Jiang Jingming quickly interrupted her.

Fang Zhiyi smiled gently at his nervous expression, like a spring breeze melting ice and snow.

"Just kidding."

This woman always says some very shocking things in a nonchalant tone.

Jiang Jingming looked at her crescent-shaped eyebrows and suddenly realized something.

"You're saying all this... just to make me happy?"

Is it hard to guess?

Fang Zhiyi tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow in response.

Jiang Jingming lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze, concealing his complicated thoughts.

He really wanted to ask her a lot of questions right there.

I want to ask if the technique of resurrecting corpses through sewing, like the secret art of creating merfolk, originated from the Ghost Doctor. I want to ask if her medical skills were truly inherited from the Ghost Doctor. I want to ask if she knows anything about the organization hidden behind the scenes...

But in the end, Jiang Jingming's own identity is also fake.

Miss Xie was naive and easily fooled, readily believing his flawed lie.

Fang Zhiyi clearly knew it was fake, but she didn't expose him.

Therefore, I have even less grounds to question her.

The fox is still the same fox, and your suspicions about her grow deeper each day, but she still just walks around her tail.

If the fox sees that you are preoccupied, it will go to great lengths to cheer you up.

Jiang Jingming couldn't help but sigh.

Just then, the sound of approaching hooves stopped beside them. A cool, aloof young woman in a blue dress reined in her horse and nodded gently to him.

Aqing retrieved the horses that everyone had lost the day before and made final preparations for setting off.

Looking into A Qing's clear and beautiful eyes, Jiang Jingming suddenly remembered what Fang Zhiyi had said.

She probably said that to make him fall into such deep thought.

If Ah Qing had become that kind of monster today, could he really plunge that knife into her heart?

Jiang Jingming stood with his head bowed in the dim morning light, vaguely recalling a question he had seen many years ago.

"If you were to transform into a snake tomorrow and begin devouring people, shouting with that man-eating mouth that you still love me, would I still be able to say 'I love you' as I do today?"

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Broken Jade Piece

"What do you mean there's no place for us anymore?!"

Jiang Jingming had just jumped off his horse when he heard the angry voice of a young lady.

They were still a bit late; the ferry on the Posuo River was already full of people, its sails billowing high in the sunlight and river breeze.

The Posuo River stretches for hundreds of miles, separating Yongzhou and Zhongzhou. Even with good weather and favorable winds, it takes two or three days to cross the river.

The innkeeper, who usually managed the accounts for the boatman, was used to bossing around travelers who relied on boats to cross the river. This was the first time he had seen such an aggressive young girl, and he was a little overwhelmed.

"Young lady, you need to be reasonable, right? It's true you booked the boat through someone, but you're late. We can't keep holding a seat for you forever, can we?"

"Then let me ask you! Has the ship left yet?"

Xie Yunqi stared wide-eyed, dragged the shopkeeper out from behind the counter with one hand, and shoved him against the windowsill.

"Look for yourself! Isn't that the ship we ordered?!"

The shopkeeper's face was pressed against the windowsill and he couldn't lift it, crying out in pain.

Looking out the window, the Poshuo River resembles a vast ocean, with the morning sunlight scattering across its surface, creating dappled golden light.

In the direction Xie Yunqi pointed, a huge ferry was sailing against the wind, and sailors were running and busy on the deck, making final preparations before departure.

The passengers about to embark on their journey gathered on the deck, waving goodbye to their relatives and friends who came to see them off, their smiles concealing tears of parting.

Jiang Jingming stopped and leaned against the door of the inn.

"I don't care! I want to ride that boat! There are so many hydrangeas on it, I specifically chose it!"

Xie Yunqi was pouting and throwing a tantrum.

During the off-season, the ferries on the Posuo River will try every means to attract passengers.

Xie Yunqi had made up his mind to take that particular boat. The boatman's way of attracting customers was to hang colorful hydrangeas all over the hull, which he said he had grown himself.

As the boat sails with the wind, the petals of these hydrangeas will flutter up and fall like a rain of flowers.

Xie Yun was unaware of these river rules when he got up, and thus missed one opportunity. This time, he would definitely not give in easily.

"Grandma, please spare me! I'm just an accountant; I can't just hold the anchor and prevent people from leaving, can I?"

The shopkeeper looked miserable, regretting that his momentary greed had brought such a powerful figure upon him. He wished he hadn't accepted the money from the later group.

"Who cares about you!"

Xie Yunqi pursed his lips, his anger blazing.

"You need to figure it out yourself now!"

Jiang Jingming leaned against the door and listened for a while, finding it amusing.

She has the temperament of a spoiled young lady; if she doesn't get what she wants, she will never give up easily.