“Nannan won’t kill Xiao Nan, will she?” Fang Ming asked with some worry, feeling that Nannan’s hostility towards Xiao Nan was a bit too strong, and she didn’t know why.
“No,” Qing Mian replied decisively.
“How do you know?” Fang Ming wondered.
“Nannan listens to you very well. If you don’t let her attack Xiao Nan, she won’t do it herself,” Qing Mian explained.
Fang Ming thought about it and agreed. Nannan had never disobeyed him, always being exceptionally well-behaved.
“Then let’s get some rest early. We’ll investigate further tomorrow.”
“Alright.” Qing Mian transformed into a shadowy pattern and returned to Fang Ming’s body. Fang Ming lay down in bed, gazed at the moonlight outside the window for a while, and gradually fell asleep.
Meanwhile, next door, Nannan did not attack Xiao Nan. Instead, like a little adult, she stood with her hands on her hips, staring at Xiao Nan.
“Why is Miss looking at me like this?” Xiao Nan felt extremely uncomfortable under Nannan’s gaze and asked, “Miss, why are you looking at me like this?”
“You’d better give up any thoughts of Fang Ming. He is not someone you can reach,” Nannan threatened.
Xiao Nan’s eyes lit up at this. Someone she couldn’t reach? Could it be some incredibly important figure? Perhaps a prince or something?
Nannan didn’t realize that her threat not only failed to scare Xiao Nan but instead strengthened Xiao Nan’s resolve to cling to Fang Ming.
“Miss, you are overthinking things. I have no intentions towards Gongzi,” Xiao Nan said.
“Heh, you can fool Fang Ming with those words, but you can’t fool me. I know exactly what you’re thinking,” Nannan said, sounding fierce like a wicked mother-in-law.
There was nothing she could do. Fang Ming wouldn’t allow her to harm Xiao Nan, otherwise, she would have killed this woman long ago. How dare she harbor designs on Fang Ming!
“Miss, what are you talking about? I have absolutely no ill intentions towards Gongzi,” Xiao Nan said with a wronged tone.
“It’s best if that’s the case,” Nannan sneered, then turned and walked towards the wall. Her body merged with the wall and passed through it, arriving in Fang Ming’s room. Seeing that Fang Ming was already asleep, she grinned and snuggled into his bed.
“Why are you here?” Fang Ming was woken up. He looked and saw it was Nannan, and then he gently stroked her head.
“I don’t want to sleep with that woman,” Nannan said with disdain. Apart from Fang Ming, everyone else was inferior in her eyes. However, she had the confidence to say this, as she had now become a Nether Fiend, detached from the realm of living beings.
“Alright, alright, go to sleep,” Fang Ming smiled indulgently, stroked Nannan’s head, and fell asleep again.
On the other side, Xiao Nan stared at Nannan passing through the wall in shock. A chill spread from the bottom of her heart. This… this Nannan, she wasn’t human! No wonder she always felt a faint sense of fear from the depths of her heart when looking at Qing Mian and Nannan. That man named Qing Mian probably wasn’t human either! What should she do? Should she escape? Did Fang Ming know that these two people were not human? Should she tell him? She was terrified. Ancient people feared ghosts and spirits the most, but she didn’t want to give up on Fang Ming, this excellent prospective husband. Fang Ming was a good person, and this was her only chance to change her fate! “Those two seem to obey Fang Ming’s commands very well. As long as Fang Ming doesn’t say anything, they shouldn’t dare to act against me.” The meticulous Xiao Nan quickly observed their attitude towards Fang Ming. She didn’t know the reason, but she should be safe for now. Nannan’s intimidation was soon suppressed by Xiao Nan. Compared to ghosts and monsters, poverty was more terrifying!
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, Fang Ming got up, had breakfast with the others, and walked out of the inn. Since they couldn’t find any clues from the painted boat, Fang Ming decided to approach it from a different angle and find the landlord’s foolish son who hosted the Cloud Immortal Poetry Gathering to see if there was anything different about him.
“Xiao Nan, do you know where the young master of the Wanwu Chamber of Commerce is?” Fang Ming asked.
Xiao Nan pondered for a moment and guessed, “He should be at the Liu family’s ancestral home. Young Master Liu has a fondness for painting. A major purpose of hosting the Cloud Immortal Poetry Gathering was to collect various famous paintings. He probably spends his time painting in his ancestral home.”
“Take us to the Liu family’s ancestral home,” Fang Ming said.
“Go there?” Xiao Nan was surprised for a moment, but then she realized Fang Ming might want to visit Young Master Liu in advance. She quickly said, “Gongzi, follow me.”
Under Xiao Nan’s guidance, the three walked down the street. Fang Ming was not in a hurry to find the mastermind. Seeing various interesting ancient trinkets and snacks on the street, he took them to buy some. They walked and ate, and as the surroundings became sparser, a grand courtyard soon appeared in Fang Ming’s sight. The courtyard walls seemed endless, indicating its vastness. The pavilions within were elaborately carved and painted. Apart from the gray-blue color, their specifications were likely no less than those of an ordinary palace.
“That is the Liu family’s ancestral home of the Wanwu Chamber of Commerce,” Xiao Nan pointed at the courtyard and said.
“Let’s go and pay a visit.” Fang Ming glanced at the Liu family’s ancestral home. A faint resentment emanated from it, and a smile appeared on his face. It seemed he had found the right place.
The four walked towards the main gate of the Liu family’s ancestral home. Four household guards stood at the entrance. Seeing the four approaching, two of them ran over.
“This is a restricted area of the Liu family, keep out!” the two guards blocked Fang Ming and the others. They sized up their attire and their expressions turned disdainful. Among the four, only Fang Ming’s clothes were somewhat decent, a standard design from Tianyi Workshop. The other three were just commoners. They guessed Fang Ming was a minor wealthy merchant, someone they saw countless times a day.
“We are here to visit Young Master Liu,” Fang Ming said politely, cupping his hands.
“Do you have an invitation or a letter?” the guard asked.
“No,” Fang Ming shook his head.
Upon hearing that they had none, the guards’ attitude worsened. They cursed, “Scram, scram, scram! Any cat or dog dares to visit our Young Master. Scram again, or we’ll break your legs!”
A hint of anger flashed in Fang Ming’s eyes, but he suppressed it. He reached out and stopped Qing Mian and Nannan, who were about to explode, saying, “Let’s go.” With that, he turned and left. The guards spat behind them and swaggered back to the gate.
Out of the guards’ sight, Fang Ming whispered a few words to Qing Mian. Qing Mian nodded in agreement, then turned and left, finding a secluded corner to enter the mirror dimension.
“We’ll go ahead. Qing Mian needs to do something,” Fang Ming said to Xiao Nan and Nannan. The three walked towards the bustling street.
An hour later, Qing Mian emerged from a corner, but he was injured.
“Qing Mian, your injuries…” Fang Ming was surprised. Qing Mian was inside the mirror dimension, so how could anything harm him?
Qing Mian shook his head helplessly. “You guessed correctly. There are many malevolent spirits there, and their abilities are very strange. I was discovered by a malevolent spirit in the mirror dimension and barely escaped with injuries after a desperate fight.”
As expected! The Liu family ancestral home had a problem!
“Are your injuries serious?” Fang Ming asked with concern.
Xiao Nan returned to her room and recalled their conversation, feeling uneasy. From Fang Ming’s words, it seemed he understood Qing Mian’s identity, which meant he knew Qing Mian was not human! Or perhaps, Fang Ming was not human either! Xiao Nan felt a sense of dread. Recalling various ghost stories, her fear grew. “No, I must find a way to test their identities.” Xiao Nan took a deep breath, suppressed the fear rising in her heart, walked out of the room, and stood in front of Fang Ming’s door, calling out, “Gongzi, I need to go out to buy some things. Can I leave for a while?”
Fang Ming, who was discussing the situation at the Liu family ancestral home with Qing Mian, heard Xiao Nan’s voice and said, “Okay, be back soon.”
Xiao Nan left the inn and walked in a certain direction. She then ducked into a small alley. After winding through the alley, she soon arrived in front of a stall. The stall was for fortune-telling, manned by a blind old man with messy hair and patched clothes. He leaned lazily against the wall, dozing, with a torn cloth covered in five-element and eight-trigram symbols in front of him. A sign beside it read, "No charge if inaccurate."
“Liu Banxian,” Xiao Nan called out tentatively.
The blind man heard someone call him and slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing the visitor’s face, he suddenly jumped up. “Oh my god, you… you stay away from me!” Liu Banxian exclaimed, “Hurry and step back!”
Startled, Xiao Nan quickly retreated a few steps. “Further back!”
Xiao Nan reluctantly stepped back a few more steps. Only when they were nearly ten meters apart did Liu Banxian sigh with relief and sit down.
“What’s wrong?” Xiao Nan asked, confused.
Liu Banxian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, “Little girl, your life is short!”
Xiao Nan’s heart sank. She quickly asked, “What’s going on?”
Liu Banxian took a sip of tea and then asked, “Have you met anyone strange recently? And have you been in contact with them for a long time?”
Xiao Nan thought for a moment and nodded.
“You are now entangled with resentment, and there is likely a great malevolent entity by your side. Within half a month, you will surely die!”
Xiao Nan immediately turned pale with fright. She knew it, she knew those two had a problem!
“Ban… Banxian, is there any way to resolve this?” Xiao Nan asked in a panic.
Liu Banxian stroked his beard and remained silent. Xiao Nan understood and took out all the silver she had, placing it on the ground. “This is all I have.” This was her pocket money from Fang Ming these past few days.
Seeing the silver, Liu Banxian finally spoke, “Although there is a great malevolent entity by your side, I can see from your countenance that you should have a noble person to assist you. You only need to take three drops of his heart’s blood to dissolve the resentment surrounding your body, and you will be at peace.”
“Heart’s blood?” Xiao Nan’s eyes widened. “Then I would have to kill him!”
Liu Banxian remained silent, which was an implicit confirmation. Xiao Nan’s legs went weak, and she almost collapsed. She had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.
Seeing her pitiful state, Liu Banxian tossed her a yellow paper packet. “Burn this talisman to ashes and consume it. It will prolong the time before the resentment erupts and also allow you to see the true form of those great malevolent entities.”
Xiao Nan, crestfallen, picked up the talisman and walked out of the alley step by step. Liu Banxian watched her retreating figure and after a long while, sighed helplessly, “The world is becoming too chaotic. I didn’t expect anyone more terrifying than the Liu family to appear.”