It seemed as if she heard Er-ge saying, “Sure, sure, everything is fine.”

Picking the two jiaobei from the ground, Luo Yuan thought, did Er-ge mean that no matter what she did, it would be fine? Thinking about it, ever since she’d met him, he had always indulged her. Hmm, an old husband with a young wife, that was how it was. But with such a pampering attitude, as time went on, she might very easily be spoiled rotten.

If one’s desires were not restrained, they would swell infinitely. If Er-ge was that type of person, she would have to be more careful.

Still, these jiaobei were quite fun.

“I want to remove the position of shinu in the future, is that okay?”

“Pa.” One up, one down. Yes.

“I want to rebuild the old residence, is that okay?”

“Pa.” Yes.

“I also want to manage the Qin family’s company, is that okay?”

“Pa.” Yes.

All of these were allowed? Luo Yuan considered for a moment, then said: “I want to go live by myself in another place for a few years.”

“Pip-pa.” No.

Luo Yuan let out a breath of relief. Good, he still knew how to say no. Er-ge still had a bottom line. She felt reassured.

Satisfied, she put the jiaobei away. “I won’t move out. Er-ge must come out soon, okay?”

The old residence was built entirely within the forest. Inside the courtyard were also lush ancient trees. Qin Zhi and Minghui walked side by side beneath the old trees. Flowering vines often hung down from the branches, swaying slowly with the wind. Birds sang deep in the woods, giving the secluded feeling of being cut off from the world.

“The sun is about to set. I’ll take you back to rest,” Qin Zhi said.

“Mm.” Minghui raised her head and glanced at him.

As the two walked back, Qin Zhi seemed to speak casually: “I feel that Madam seems to have some opinion about me. She doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

Minghui let out a snort of laughter, not knowing what she recalled. Her tone carried envy: “That’s totally normal. Sister An has this attitude toward all men except the clan deity. There is only the clan deity in her heart.”

Qin Zhi fell silent, then said again: “I think maybe it’s because the first time she saw me, she saw me quarreling with Liang Wenye, so she took issue with me. It might also be because of my status. In the clan… Madam should know about the matters of my branch, right?”

Minghui: “Sister An did ask, but I’m not sure if she knows the details. Oh, right, she entered the ancestral hall before, so she should have looked through the genealogy, so maybe she knows.”

Qin Zhi revealed a pained expression. “They all say that our branch once offended the clan deity, which is why we ended up like this. Madam cares about the clan deity, so she has prejudice against me. I can feel it.”

“Don’t say it like that. No matter what your branch did in the past, that has nothing to do with you now.” Minghui said very seriously: “But, if things are really like what you guessed, then you should appear less in front of Sister An, and also don’t go near the shrine. Otherwise, if she really has an opinion about you, even I won’t be able to protect you.”

Qin Zhi: “??” This answer was not what he expected.

He controlled his expression and agreed, but inside he felt as if he had swallowed a fly. Saying she liked him… yet hearing he was disliked by the clan deity’s wife because of his background, she was not willing to stand with him against the enemy, not willing to help him change any of it, and instead wanted him to avoid her. Was that supposed to count as liking? The affection of these little girls really was useless.

Qin Zhi took his leave from Minghui and slowly walked back to his room, contemplating what he should do next.

The work of guarding the old residence was very easy, because the clan deity protected this place, everyone behaved themselves, so the Qin clansmen who came here were basically all here to admire the clan deity up close, and some were here to strengthen their bodies — living by the clan deity’s side year-round, one’s health would naturally improve. Otherwise, how could the Qin clan have so many healthy and long-lived clan elders?

These clan elders, who were very old and had experienced decades of turmoil and prosperity, were greatly respected by the clan members. But in Qin Zhi’s eyes, they were all old thieves who refused to die. It was precisely because they existed that the Qin clan became increasingly decayed.

Of course, the greatest culprit was the clan deity. He was the shadow looming over the Qin clan, a man-eating demon that became a cage, imprisoning everyone.

All those who tried to escape his control — for example, his ancestors — were all devoured. Even though his branch survived by luck, they were cursed by the clan deity, everyone dying young and sickly. He even used “bestowing blessings” upon infants to control the thoughts of generation after generation of Qin clan leaders. He ruthlessly eliminated clan members who resisted him and controlled their minds. How was that a god? Clearly, he was a malicious ghost!

One day, he would reveal the true face of the clan deity, and he would also find a way to make him completely perish, so that the tragedy from more than two hundred years ago would never repeat. A new era had already arrived — they no longer needed this sorrowful relic of the old era.

As he entered the room with a dark expression, a black cat lightly swept across the eaves, stepping over those dark green tiles, then suddenly disappeared on the spot.

Luo Yuan carried a watering can and watered the flowers and plants in the courtyard. Before, she only had a balcony where she could show her skills; now she had an entire courtyard to tend. It probably wouldn’t be long before she could become a gardening master.

While watering, she suddenly felt someone watching her. She raised her head and saw a black cat squatting atop the wall.

Small animals appeared often in the old residence — birds, squirrels, and foxes — since those were very common in the forest. Previously, even a sika deer had leisurely wandered into the courtyard and was finally escorted out by several guards.

But she had never seen a cat here before. This black cat gave her a very strange feeling. Its pair of eyes stared straight at her, making her suddenly recall that back in Yulin District Prison, before the Qin family selected her as a sacrificial offering, she had also seen such a black cat. The black cat’s tail brushed against her leg, and she, who originally stood at the very back of the crowd, suddenly drew their attention. It had appeared suddenly, and disappeared just as suddenly.

Was this black cat the same one she had seen before?

The black cat jumped down from the wall, walking toward her with elegant steps, then leapt up and stepped on the red camellia that had not been transplanted for long in front of her. The not-so-sturdy branches were almost bent to breaking by it.

Seeing this, Luo Yuan put down the watering can and immediately lifted this mysterious and elegant black cat, placing it on a large rock to the side, lest it crush Er-ge’s flowers.

The black cat flicked its tail and stayed steadily on the rock. Suddenly, it spoke human language.

“Do you want to know the original ending of the Qin clan’s god?”

Luo Yuan: “…Cats can talk?”

Humans really did react the same. Clearly they had experienced far stranger things themselves, yet still felt surprised about something like a cat speaking. The black cat slowly swayed its tail and continued: “Do you want to see what this place would have become if you hadn’t appeared?”

Luo Yuan tried to interpret the black cat’s words and asked: “You can let me see those things? With what purpose?”

The black cat revealed a strange smile and leapt forward. Luo Yuan instinctively raised her hand and stepped back, but it was useless — the black cat passed through her hand, its illusory body sweeping across her head. In that instant, Luo Yuan’s vision blurred, and the surroundings changed completely.

This was… the gate of the old residence? She was startled to find that she was standing before the old residence’s main gate, and her semi-transparent body was like that of a ghost.

The main gate of this old residence was extremely dilapidated, as if it had not been used or maintained for many years. The exquisite carvings were rotten, the red paint peeling, ravaged by wind and rain, and there were even marks of fire.

She looked toward the half-collapsed gate and was just about to step inside when she suddenly heard loud, fast-paced music accompanied by the roar of a car engine coming closer from afar. She waited a moment and saw a flashy car speeding down the road. Four unfamiliar young people — two men and two women — got out of the car, joking around as they walked this way.

“Wow, this is the Qin clan’s old residence? We actually found it! We’re awesome!”

“Look at this door, tsk tsk, such a huge door — no wonder it used to be a wealthy family. Hey, you think there might still be antiques inside? If we find something, wouldn’t we strike it rich?”

“Hiss, wait, don’t you feel a chilly wind? It really has the vibe of a haunted house… Why is there no signal? I was going to livestream!”

“Normal. In deep mountains and forests like this, you can’t even find the road, how could there be signal. Go, go, everyone get in the car, we’ll just drive straight in.”

Luo Yuan watched them get back into the car again. Accompanied by the upbeat music, they cheered as they drove into the old residence, completely breaking apart the remaining half of the main gate. Seeing the door planks being knocked flying, the few young people laughed loudly together.

“Wooh– yeah~”

“Charge, charge!”

Following behind them, Luo Yuan tightly furrowed her brows, looking at everything around her that was both unfamiliar and familiar. The appearance of the old residence was largely unchanged, but like that gate, there were traces everywhere of being smashed and burned, as well as marks left by years of exposure to wind and rain. It was clear it had already been abandoned for a long time.

The paths were covered by plants, and the once exquisite houses had collapsed. From the collapsed places grew clusters of trees, and the roofs were covered in vines.

Their car could no longer move forward and was forced to stop.

“A shabby house, just drive straight through it! Why stop!”

“It’s not your car, of course you don’t feel distressed. If it gets damaged, what am I supposed to say when we go back!”

They got out of the car, looking around everywhere. The boldest boy walked ahead, and whenever he saw a door, he would kick it down. He went in and took a look around. After a series of loud crashing sounds, he came out looking very displeased, clapping his hands. “There’s nothing left. All just rotten wood.”

“You really expected to find treasure? Give it a rest, we came for an adventure, okay?” Another boy raised his camera, clicking repeatedly. “Let’s go further in. There’s nothing interesting around the edges.”

They continued inside, passing through a corridor that was still fairly intact.

One girl pointed ahead and shouted: “Look over there!”

“Wow, that building with the roof sticking out — hurry, go look!”

Compared to the ruins outside, that roof showing beyond the courtyard wall was especially different. Even covered in dust and slightly mottled, its exquisite craftsmanship was still shocking.

The group ran excitedly into the courtyard. When they saw the building clearly, all of them were a bit stunned. The boy with the camera reacted first, raising his camera to take photos nonstop, exclaiming endlessly, “This old house is incredible. How was this made? It’s too exquisite! How has no one come here to film this? Once we upload this online, it’ll definitely go viral!”

“You think if we take down one of these columns and bring it back, we could sell it for money?” One girl walked up and touched the dark carved pillar, unable to put it down.

The boy with the camera shouted: “Lin Luo, don’t just stand there, move aside, let me take pictures!”

Lin Luo rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips and deliberately standing between two columns, tugging on the damaged hanging curtain above. “I won’t! All you know is taking pictures, pictures, pictures. Liu Yuandong, do you not want a girlfriend anymore, huh? You dare say I’m in the way?”

The other pair stood aside enjoying the show. Suddenly, Liu Yuandong’s expression changed. He lowered the camera and stared behind Lin Luo. This building wasn’t large, with curtains on all sides. It should’ve been quite bright, but perhaps because the wood was so dark and heavy, the interior looked dim, with only vague shadows.

“Lin Luo, get down!”

“I won’t!”

Liu Yuandong’s tone had changed, “I just saw a white figure behind you!”

Lin Luo froze, not daring to look back. She screamed and quickly jumped down, throwing herself at his side. “Are you lying to me?!”

Liu Yuandong didn’t speak. He picked up the camera and flipped through his recent photos, his brows gradually furrowing. He had clearly felt he saw a white figure just now, as if long sleeves were hanging down from above, but nothing appeared in the photos.

The other boy leaned over, “You must’ve been seeing things. How come we didn’t see any white figure? Bro, not to say it, but you sure are timid.”

He said that, then stepped long-legged into the eerie building. The inside was not big, nor were there many objects. He kicked over the offering table and several incense burners, swaggering around in a circle before coming back out.

Following behind him, Luo Yuan felt an indescribable discomfort in her heart. This was the shrine she was most familiar with, but the clan deity she was most familiar with was no longer here. The black cat said this was the future, then where did her Er-ge go?

“There’s nothing inside. If you don’t believe it, go look for yourselves?”

Liu Yuandong, half convinced, quickly snapped a few photos. “Forget it, forget it. Let’s not stay here. Go check somewhere else.”

Because of his insistence, the group headed outward again. The boy who had entered the shrine first walked at the front, turning his head to mock him, “Dongzi, you’re scared, huh? Hey Lin Luo, didn’t expect your boyfriend to be such a coward, right? Thinking of breaking up with him? Hahaha!”

Lin Luo picked up a small stone and threw it at him. “Talking nonsense—go die!”

The boy stepped over the courtyard threshold, still wearing a smug grin.

Suddenly, his head flew off, his body spraying blood, collapsing limply right upon the threshold.

The other three stared at the scene. It took quite a while before they reacted, exploding into terrified screams.

“Ah——!!!”

Only Luo Yuan, who was behind them, saw it clearly—there was a red string suspended inside the courtyard gate. That boy’s neck had hit that thin red string, and in an instant, it was severed.