Fighting Ghosts 02

From that day on, Fang Zhiyi became incredibly unlucky, even frequently seeing things that others could not see.

He saw a woman with blurred features constantly standing and weeping by the well in the He Mansion, and he also saw a hanged ghost dangling from a branch on the outskirts of town. As if realizing that Fang Zhiyi could see them, these ghosts relentlessly pestered him.

Fang Zhiyi grew increasingly haggard day by day, but he didn't know who he could confide in.

Fortunately, he encountered a wandering Daoist priest and spent some money to buy a talisman. By carrying this talisman on his person, it kept those ghosts and spirits at bay, allowing Fang Zhiyi to feel like he had come back to life.

During this period, He Yuling also constantly caused trouble for him, even trying to frame him. However, because Old Master He was still around, He Yuling's tricks never succeeded even once.

It was right around this time that Old Master He suddenly fell severely ill, and within a few days, he breathed his last.

Without Old Master He's restraint, He Yuling began her maneuvers. First, she spent large sums of money sending people to search for He Chusheng. Then, she had her trusted aide strangle the servant who had initially snitched. Finally, she took back the shop that Fang Zhiyi was running.

"A penniless loser is fit to marry me? Bah!"

Fang Zhiyi wanted to go pay his respects to Old Master He but was turned away at the door. He was quite open-minded about it, simply turning around and leaving. Although he had lost the shop, Fang Zhiyi had accumulated quite a few connections over this time; all he needed was an opportunity.

However, instead of waiting for an opportunity, he ended up facing a fatal disaster.

He Chusheng appeared. He Yuling was overjoyed, completely failing to notice the changes in He Chusheng. Under his sweet talk, she had absolutely no guard against him, giving him however much money he asked for. She even began preparing for her wedding with He Chusheng herself, paying no mind to the strange looks from the people around them.

As a result, right after she happily finished preparing her wedding dress, a piece of news struck her like a bolt from the blue.

He Chusheng was already engaged to another woman.

Only then did He Yuling realize in hindsight that He Chusheng hadn't returned for her, but for the He family's money. He needed money to dress himself up because he had found a new lover in the provincial capital. That girl came from a noble family, and he needed the He family's money to forge a good family background for himself.

But by this point, He Yuling was already deeply entrenched. She desperately clung to He Chusheng and stopped providing him with money. When He Chusheng tried to leave, she blocked him, even threatening him with the flesh and blood in her womb—if he left, she would go to the provincial capital and make a huge scene.

"Who do you think you are? If my father hadn't picked you up back then, you would have died long ago! You're just an orphan with no father and no mother!"

It was these words that made He Chusheng's eyes turn fierce.

"A lowly country bitch dares to insult me?"

That night, the door to He Yuling's room was pushed open, and several masked burly men barged in. First, they violated her. Then He Chusheng appeared. Faced with He Yuling's cries for help, He Chusheng merely loudly berated her for not abiding by women's virtues and threatened to spread the word about this incident.

In an era like this, encountering such a thing completely ruined He Yuling's reputation. Although her reputation hadn't been good before, if this got out, there would be no hope left for her and He Chusheng. He Yuling panicked. Faced with He Chusheng's threats, she completely compromised. She sold off all her fields and shops and gave the money to He Chusheng, only begging him not to abandon her for the sake of the unborn child in her womb.

But He Chusheng acted even more ruthlessly. After getting the money, he walked away, conveniently having people spread the news everywhere about He Yuling committing adultery. All her hopes dashed to pieces, He Yuling ultimately put on her bright red wedding dress and hanged herself.

Thus, the most ferocious malicious ghost in Jiang Town was born.

The first to suffer were the members of the He family. Overnight, not a single person in the He household was left alive.

The next day, it was Fang Zhiyi's turn to suffer. The talisman in his hand completely failed to withstand He Yuling's resentment. By the time he was discovered, his body had already grown stiff.

In He Yuling's eyes, if it hadn't been for Fang Zhiyi at the very beginning, she would never have ended up in this state.

The news of the He family's haunting spread like wildfire. Every few days, someone would die. Because of this, people gradually began moving away from Jiang Town. Before long, this originally bustling small town gradually grew deserted.

"Huh?" Fang Zhiyi frowned. "Is she sick in the head? I have no problem with her taking revenge, but what does that have to do with the original owner of my body?"

"Who knows." Little Hei shook his head. "Oh, right, extra information: Old Master He was also poisoned to death by her."

"Damn? That brutal?" Fang Zhiyi exclaimed. "And then? What about that guy, He Chusheng?"

"Nothing happened to him. He even ended up living out his twilight years in peace."

"Isn't that utter bullshit? She didn't kill the one she should have, but slaughtered a whole bunch of people she shouldn't have. Is she crazy?"

"Tell me about it. She became a malicious ghost and plagued Jiang Town for over a century."

As they spoke, Fang Zhiyi walked through the woods. A figure hung from a crooked tree ahead, swaying slightly in the wind.

Fang Zhiyi paid it no mind at all and walked straight past it, only making a point to step around when he got directly beneath the hanged ghost.

"My mom said that walking under someone's crotch stunts your growth."

"You're not going to grow anymore," Little Hei said with a straight face.

"What the hell do you know? What if I hit a second growth spurt?"

The hanged ghost was completely ignored just like that.

"But it really is a bit troublesome..." Fang Zhiyi casually drew a talisman on his hand but didn't feel that familiar power of heaven and earth. "Making me believe in gods, that's a bit unscientific, isn't it?"

Suddenly, he felt something brushing against his shoulder. As soon as he turned his head, he saw a foot wearing an embroidered shoe.

When he sidestepped the hanged ghost earlier, he had already exposed the fact that he could see them.

Fang Zhiyi felt somewhat helpless and could only tilt his head up. "Lady, do you know you're wearing a skirt?"

That dangling face stared fixedly at him, its eyes bulging out and its expression utterly sorrowful.

If an ordinary person saw this scene, they would be scared to death, but Fang Zhiyi acted completely unfazed. "I have no grudge against you, so why are you following me? Don't tell me you have a crush on me?"

The hanged ghost kept that same dead look. For every step Fang Zhiyi took, it followed, its body gradually lowering until it was riding on Fang Zhiyi's neck.

"You're crossing the line!" Fang Zhiyi frowned, but he really didn't have any good solutions right now.

If this were his previous world...

Wait? Previous world? Fang Zhiyi thought of something. "Little Hei, did you say this world is a traditional world of demons and ghosts?"

"Yeah," Little Hei said, looking like he was just enjoying the show.

Fang Zhiyi smiled. "That reminds me of something good..." As he spoke, the hanged ghost's skirt covered his eyes. Fang Zhiyi impatiently reached out and brushed the skirt aside. "Fine, fine, fine, you insist on pestering me, right? Just you wait!"