rtifacts.” Lin Yanhuan handed over a check, as casually and naturally as handing out a business card."I frowned. "Mr. Lin, one shouldn't accept payment for something not yet done. You gave us money be..."Brother!" I couldn't help but glare at him, though a smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

To keep Shen Qingrui here as the head wife I reckon she'd rather die than stay.

"What's wrong with that She's been so stubborn, always thinking she's the only one who deserves to be a third party. What does she mean! She's arrogant and bullheaded, staying in the Shen family is like having a ticking time bomb, and she doesn't even listen to your discipline. I think it's good that she stays here." My brother chuckled.

The village head squinted and chuckled, "Well then, if she's willing to stay here and raise a family, we'll just pretend this never happened. You won't have to pay any compensation either."

"Is it really okay for such blatant 'buying and selling of people' I gave my brother a suspicious look, he was just joking, not really planning to sell Shen Qingrui."

"Alright, take us to see the person being held captive. We'll do some ideological work on her, make her willingly stay here and be your daughter-in-law." My brother secretly winked at me.

He wanted to see them first, make sure everyone was still alive.

The village head leaned the water pipe aside and stood up, sneering, “Alright… come… I’ll take you there.”

He leaned on a cane, trembling as he walked out of the stilt house, leading us toward the back mountain.

This place is truly treacherous; one step could send a swarm of insects scattering in fear. It's a natural birthplace for concocting remedies and insect repellent.

"Do you have a shaman in your village" I suddenly blurted out.

The village head squinted, a knowing look in his eyes, as he said to me, "Yes…but it's a bit special here…most of the spirit mediums here are outsiders who smuggled in and took refuge here. They were helped by the villagers later on, so they passed down a lot of their skills to those in the village who were destined for it. Now there are about seven or eight spirit mediums in the village."

He turned back with a smile and reminded me, "A girl like you who is so gloomy is most likely to attract bad things. Be careful..."

I desperately wanted to finish this matter as soon as possible and leave with the Shen family. Unexpectedly, the village head led us to a "cell" deep in the woods.

Even from afar, I could smell a medicinal scent. This forest was filled with the stench of decay. My brother frowned and bit on his copper amulet, saying unhappily, "Old man, you didn't hurt someone and abandon their body in the wilderness, did you"

"Hee hee... You can just see for yourselves..." The village head pointed forward, and I saw from between the trees a patch of glistening...

"What is this Water Or swamp" my brother asked, frowning.

I took two quick steps forward, walked around an ancient tree, and saw a man-made stone pond. The water inside was a sickening shade of green!

It was stagnant and filled with debris, like a neglected, moss-covered swimming pool with just a little water left.

Inside, there were many tree trunks stuck in, each with a person tied to the top, just soaked in this disgusting pool!

I was furious, but I forced myself to control my anger and said: "Village chief, what year is it You're using corporal punishment. Aren't you afraid of the law"

"Law Hehe, law can't reach here... This water is somewhat poisonous, but it protects the surrounding beasts. That's why they haven't gnawed on them into a pile of white bones." The village chief said with a nonchalant expression.

"That won't do! Get it up here for me right away!" I said angrily.

"Heh heh...that depends on you guys fulfilling your end of the bargain..." The village head laughed wickedly.

I took a few steps forward, walked up to the pond, and shouted towards the not-so-distant bottom: "Shen Qingrui, are you still alive!"

After calling out several times, Shen Qingrui slowly woke up. She looked at me with hazy eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "Mu Xia Qiao... you, how..."

My brother interjected, "How is it Touching, right We actually came to rescue you personally... Let me propose something, this old man needs a daughter-in-law. How about you come and be his young mistress"

"Shut up!!" Shen Qingrui was so angry she could die.

She roared in fury, "Mu Xiaoqiao! You could have just sent someone else. Why did you come personally This is a plot!"

Conspiracy

As soon as the words left his mouth, the village head suddenly pushed me hard in the back of the shoulder. I lost my footing and stumbled off the edge of the pool.

That bastard old geezer!

I quickly muttered a spell and pinched a talisman. Two small lotus flowers appeared beneath my feet, stabilizing my form for a moment!

“Damn old geezer, what do you think you're doing!” My brother pulled out his electric baton, ready to beat the crap out of that old bastard.

Several villagers in traditional clothing appeared from the forest behind me. They all had their faces covered with black cloth, and one of them was tall and vaguely familiar—where had I seen this man before

Shen Qingrui shouted with all her might in the pool: "These people are mediums who fled from Nanyang many years ago! They have been hiding their identities here for a long time! Any daughter-in-law who gets bewitched, they would call Shen's family Taoist priest to exorcise and cure the disease! This is all part of their scheme!"

"That woman was killed by them! They just wanted to trap the Shen family here, until they lured you in!"

What brings you here What do you want me to do

My brother pointed an electric baton at the tall, masked figure and said, “I think I’ve fought you before! Damn it, are you the convenience store owner! You colluded with that slut Zhu Weiti to gather evil spirits, and we messed it up! Impressive! Such a big conspiracy, how many years have you been planning this!”

"No wonder Zhu Weiti, that brazen woman, dared to escape! She knows there are still so many die-hard imperial loyalists fighting for her life! That's why she's so bold and audacious, isn't she What a disgrace! What era is this"

I am connecting the previous clues together.

As a member of the imperial family, Zhu Weiti resisted the invasion of foreign tribes and became a hero of the time. Among the exiled imperial court officials, a mage collected her bones and remains, killed a fox, and pieced together a "whole corpse" using its head.

But Zhu Weiti's ghost was attached to the skull and carried away by the survivors.

The world was in chaos, rivers of blood flowed, and countless massacres filled the underworld with restless spirits. To address this, Jiang Qiyun drew a boundary on the ground to confine them, allowing her followers to cultivate into ghosts while under her tutelage. She also set a deadline for them.

Descendants of imperial court officials lived abroad and infiltrated this "lawless" region from the border many years ago. They ventured north in search of their ancestors' burial place.

Until about a decade ago, she gradually came to be known again when some grave goods with special curses began to emerge from her tomb.

Zhu Weiti's arrogance stems from the fact that she believes, even after all these years since her death, people still follow her. She feels she still has influence and therefore desperately wants to establish a stronghold.

Beyond the Three Realms, outside the Five Elements.

The Mi River Basin is the forgotten parallel world of Shen Du. She intends to rule over it with these ghosts, unwilling to go to the underworld and atone for her sins through reincarnation.

As for me—

Her intentions were clear from the first meeting!

"...Our princess needs your body." The masked, tall man said ominously, raising the dark muzzle of his gun—ng around like this…”The moment her words left her mouth, I felt a faint dizziness as if the world around me was wavering.Maybe I was just seeing things. After all, in this dreary and dim tomb, the on...