Villainous Malevolent Ghost (8)
“You—”
Seeing Song Xuyi’s astonished look, Bai Yu truly felt like her tears were about to fall.
She also didn’t know what was wrong with herself. Clearly, she had always been calm and composed, praised by everyone for having the demeanor of a great family, and as the predetermined head of the Bai family, she never thought she would be angered by a few words like this. She also knows that times have changed, and the story of “a scholar can be killed but not humiliated” no longer applies to this era, but when she looks at Song Xuyi, she just feels a bulging anger in her chest that she cannot digest.
Being angry with Xuyi is impossible, in this lifetime, it is impossible to be angry with Xuyi: because of her, Xuyi was dragged into these life-and-death predicaments time and again, where does she have the face to be angry with Xuyi.
But this feeling really cannot be relieved, Bai Yu cooled her eyes, her gaze involuntarily falling on Huang Feng beside her——
All because of this person!
He has been spouting nonsense in front of Xuyi, ruining my reputation in future generations, and he even dares to overestimate himself by coveting Xuyi…
Killing intent spread in her heart, Bai Yu tightened her eyes and raised her hand towards Huang Feng, a mass of gray-black smoke appeared in Bai Yu’s palm——
?!
Song Xuyi had been closely watching Bai Yu’s expression, originally wanting to find a way to comfort Bai Yu, but did not expect Bai Yu to remember something, her gaze turned to Huang Feng beside her. In her black eyes, there was a bright killing intent, completely different from the red-eyed little crybaby she was when facing herself.
“Bai Yu!” Song Xuyi’s heart skipped a beat and she couldn’t help but grasp Bai Yu’s hand.
Bai Yu pursed her lips, turned her head, and looked towards Song Xuyi, her eyes still tinged with a red hue, the low pressure around her almost visible to the naked eye.
Song Xuyi looked at Bai Yu’s expression, and in a flash of insight, suddenly understood what Bai Yu was concerned about——
Just as she had thought before: Bai Yu is from ancient times, and in her era, rumors spread by a few can become overwhelming, and gossip can completely ruin a person!
When facing rumors that lack enough evidence but can be very harmful to others, Song Xuyi always feels: one should remain calm when things happen, let the situation settle, and see if new evidence emerges; and for rumors that obviously sound false, Song Xuyi always chooses not to get involved.
So today, Song Xuyi did the same. When she heard Huang Feng spreading unofficial stories about Bai Yu, even though she knew in her heart they were false, she didn’t want to engage with Huang Feng because she disliked him, so Song Xuyi did not speak up to refute for Bai Yu.
At that time, she didn’t feel much about it, but recalling it now, Song Xuyi suddenly realized she was wrong.
Sometimes, even when knowing something is wrong, not speaking up to refute it for various reasons can, to some extent, further indulge the growth of rumors.
Moreover, Bai Yu is not “others;” she is her friend.
Thinking this way, Song Xuyi understood Bai Yu’s anger and felt even more guilt towards Bai Yu in her heart.
But the most important thing right now is to protect Huang Feng: even though Huang Feng is disgusting, the law will punish him, and Bai Yu cannot dirty her hands by staining them with murder.
“Bai Yu, now is a law-governed society,” Song Xuyi took a deep breath, calmed herself, and tried to look directly into Bai Yu’s eyes, softly saying: “Hurting people is illegal.”
Bai Yu’s expression shifted, and she tilted her head to look at Song Xuyi. The black mist in her palm disappeared, but she did not lower her raised hand.
“Others do not know about you and the existence of evil spirits; in the room, there are only me, Huang Feng, and the shop owner, who has also fainted,” Song Xuyi knew Bai Yu’s murderous intent had not faded and could only change her approach, guiding from another angle: “If something happens to Huang Feng, I will be the first suspect and will be locked in jail…”
As Song Xuyi expected, when Bai Yu realized this issue would involve Song Xuyi, she lowered her hand but coldly said: “No one dares to lock you up, and even if they do, I will rescue you!”
“Of course,” Song Xuyi felt warmth in her heart, knowing Bai Yu had put aside her intent to kill, and quickly smiled to reassure her: “I certainly know Bai Yu is the most powerful, you will definitely protect me.”
When Song Xuyi smiled, there were two small dimples on her cheeks, and her eyes seemed to hide sparkling stars. Bai Yu really liked Song Xuyi’s smiling appearance; as long as she saw Song Xuyi smile, Bai Yu felt she could ignore all life’s dissatisfactions…
However, at this moment, looking at Song Xuyi’s clear and joyful smiling face, Bai Yu bit her lip tightly, increasingly feeling dirty herself, recalling her thoughts after watching the movie yesterday, wanting to rashly approach Song Xuyi. Bai Yu lowered her head, and her mood suddenly dropped, her voice sounding muffled with an ‘mm.’
What happened to Bai Yu?
“Bai Yu, let’s first move the shop owner out; he is innocent and should not be involved in this matter.” Song Xuyi had been observing Bai Yu’s expression, thinking Bai Yu was unhappy because the bad person didn’t receive retribution, she shared her plan with Bai Yu: “As for Huang Feng, his drug is an illegal substance, and he tried to harm me. Even though the attempt failed, it reached a level sufficient to report to the police. When dawn comes, I will report it…”
Saying this, Song Xuyi looked at Bai Yu again, her eyes curving into a smile: “Bai Yu, you’re so powerful, you should have a way to make him confess everything he did at the police station, right?”
“Mm.”
However, Bai Yu was not pleased, still appearing very low in spirits. She turned her head and glanced at Huang Feng, squinted her eyes, and with a flick of her finger, a mass of gray smoke entered Huang Feng’s mind.
Although she couldn’t take Huang Feng’s life, Bai Yu did not want to let him off so easily either. She incidentally planted a Gu worm in Huang Feng’s body, so that whenever he has evil thoughts, his limbs and bones will be stirred by the worm, causing unbearable pain.
Of course, Bai Yu did not tell Song Xuyi about this matter.
With the smoke entering his body, the sleeping Huang Feng immediately furrowed his brows and murmured in pain.
But Song Xuyi and Bai Yu didn’t pay attention to him. Bai Yu stood beside the shop owner, softly chanting an incantation, and starry bright spots gradually merged into the shop owner’s body, whose originally pale face slowly regained color.
Bai Yu, concentratedly chanting scriptures, had a kind of holy beauty that made Song Xuyi recall the dream where Bai Yu stood on a high platform chanting prayers. Song Xuyi still found it hard to believe: a person from a thousand years ago had suddenly appeared in her life.
“He will wake up in about the time of one incense stick.”
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Bai Yu did not dare to meet Song Xuyi’s gaze and walked to the door, pushing it open: it was as if an invisible hand lifted the shop owner’s body, and his body floated up, slowly drifting to the end of the corridor and gently settling down.
“Bai Yu, actually, I still have many questions in my heart.” Song Xuyi organized her thoughts and looked up at Bai Yu, who had her eyes lowered: “But before asking those questions, I want to apologize to you first.”
“I’m sorry!” Meeting Bai Yu’s somewhat puzzled gaze, Song Xuyi sincerely apologized: “As your friend, when I heard Huang Feng slandering you, I didn’t help to refute it, I’m really very sorry, in the future I…”
“Xuyi, I never blamed you.” Song Xuyi hadn’t finished speaking when Bai Yu interrupted her. Song Xuyi didn’t know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that Bai Yu seemed even sadder. Bai Yu quickly raised her head to glance at Song Xuyi and once again sadly lowered her head: “It is my lack of cultivation and restless mind that let the inner demon invade, almost bringing disaster to you.”
Xuyi is so good!
In this situation, she still comes to apologize to me. She is really so lovely, lovely to the point that I want to always hold her in my arms, protecting her from any wind and frost. But the one who should apologize is myself, I… seem to have developed some unforgivable dirty thoughts towards Xuyi.
Bai Yu knows what Song Xuyi wants to ask, but in this situation, she has no mind to think of an excuse to explain everything…
Bai Yu strongly suppressed the sadness in her heart, pursed her lips, and looked towards the door.
She waved her hand, and in a daze, something ‘crash’ shattered, the sounds of playing cards in the living room and the whistling wind clearly transmitted into their ears.
“You handle all this first, and when you have time, call me, I will give you an explanation.” Bai Yu, pretending to be calm, looked at Song Xuyi for a moment, almost fleeing in panic, once again escaped into the curse stone.
Except for the fainted Huang Feng, it was a sleepless night for everyone.
The shop owner found himself inexplicably fainted at the end of the corridor and then suspected that there was something wrong with his body. He tossed and turned and quickly went to the hospital for a check-up the next day. Later, he discovered an early-stage malignant tumor, but because it was found in time, he recovered very well, turning misfortune into a blessing.
The people playing games heard Song Xuyi say that Huang Feng had attempted to drug and harm her but failed. Each one was extremely indignant, as they were all students and were afraid Huang Feng might do something again. Several boys guarded the sleeping Huang Feng all night. Xu Juan’s boyfriend even ignored everyone’s dissuasion, slapped himself several times, and continuously apologized to Song Xuyi; the girls, afraid that Song Xuyi would be left with a psychological shadow, all stayed by her side, comforting her. Even though Song Xuyi repeatedly emphasized that she was okay and wanted to rest, her shocked partners did not believe her words and periodically checked on her condition…
Song Xuyi closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, feeling extremely warm in her heart because of her friends’ actions, but she did not forget the main matter and began to interrogate the system:
“Xuyi, I really was forced.” The system had been tormented by guilt during this time, and under Song Xuyi’s questioning, it thought that even if that bad woman wanted revenge on it, Xuyi would protect it, so it decisively spilled everything completely—
“I actually always felt that something was not right before, as if someone was secretly taking care of you,” the system hesitantly said: “Refilling water in your cup, helping you find books… and other various details, but at that time, I could not confirm it and was also afraid of disturbing your exam, so I did not tell you.”
“Until that day when your second brother was possessed by an evil spirit, the bad woman appeared in the room and killed the evil spirit, I then confirmed my guess,” the system’s voice carried a crying tone: “Xuyi, I really wanted to tell you at that time, but… but the bad woman threatened that if I talked too much, she would make me mute, I simply did not dare to tell you! Wuwuwu, she was too scary!”
The system’s fake crying sounded really terrifying, and Song Xuyi got goosebumps listening to it and couldn’t help interrupting the system’s wailing: “And then?”
“Ying! Then I was blackmailed by her,” the system sobbed: “Then that time you stayed at the hotel, she was also worried about affecting your exam, so she made you fall asleep, and then she used some terrifying means to tie those people and throw them into the construction site…”
Regarding these issues, Song Xuyi already had guesses in her heart, but she was more concerned about another question: “Then… as her ally, do you know why she can follow by my side?”
“Actually, at first I was also extremely puzzled, not understanding why she would leave the Bai family mansion to follow behind you, until that day I heard her conversation with you, then…” the system’s voice became hesitant: “Xuyi, you’re so smart, you should understand, right?”
Song Xuyi froze for a moment.
She recalled Bai Yu’s words about “only by following Bai family members can one leave the mansion,” and subconsciously asked, “Could it be that my body is the illegitimate daughter of the Bai family?”
“No!” The system violently coughed and raised its volume: “Think about what exactly happened that night you met Bai Yu!”
Song Xuyi blinked and finally remembered that night when she helped Xia Tian prepare for the sacrifice.
A certain guess emerged in her heart, and Song Xuyi felt extremely horrified. Her reason was simply unwilling to believe it, and she almost subconsciously opened her eyes and looked at Xia Tian: “Tiantian, before me, was there anyone else not from the Bai family involved in the Bai family’s sacrifice preparation?”
Xia Tian had not fallen asleep and, seeing Song Xuyi’s clear expression, showed a pained look that seemed to say, “As expected, Xuyi was pretending to sleep to comfort us,” and shook her head: “Probably not, right?”
“Bai Jin previously told me that the sacrifice is their Xia family’s strictest ritual. Before Bai Jin’s family fell into decline, whenever they held a sacrifice, their family would even use infrared detectors to drive non-Bai family people indoors, let alone let outsiders participate in the sacrifice! After all, it’s rumored that a guardian deity protects the Bai family’s fortune, and those who participate in the sacrifice are considered Bai family members and receive good luck. If anyone could participate, wouldn’t any random person share the Bai family’s luck…”
“The Bai family even seems to have made a rule and burned it as an offering to the ancestors, saying that if non-Bai family people participate in the sacrifice, they would be killed on the spot! After I asked you to help that day, I always felt afraid, and this is what I found while researching, but I didn’t dare tell you to avoid causing unnecessary worry. Luckily, that rule seems fake, you were fine that day, so I felt relieved and didn’t tell you…”
Xia Tian said more afterward, but Song Xuyi couldn’t hear it. She sat dazed at the bedside, asking the system in her mind: “So, why wasn’t I killed?”
“Yeah! Why weren’t you killed then?” The system’s voice sounded extremely dazed, regretfully muttering: “I should have stopped you.”
Song Xuyi covered her head, her face suddenly flushed red, and she buried her face into the blanket, only thinking that all this was a nightmare.
However, Xia Tian’s words continuously echoed in Song Xuyi’s mind, reminding her of a fact: as early as her first meeting with Bai Yu, she might have been accepted by Bai Yu as Bai Yu’s bride!
No wonder Bai Yu did not dare to speak, only daring to silently follow by her side. After all, with the recent graduate exams, if she had known about this, she definitely would have had a mental breakdown.
Just like now, after knowing about this, whenever Song Xuyi thought of Bai Yu’s stunningly beautiful face, she felt very uneasy, simply not knowing how to face Bai Yu in the future…
In Song Xuyi’s torment, a night quickly passed.
The next day, early in the morning, the group took the earliest cable car and, as they descended the mountain, they happened to witness the holy morning light they missed the previous day: splendid rays shone through the surging sea of clouds, illuminating the white marble statue, making the entire statue look magnificent, wrapped in holy light, as if a celestial maiden had descended to earth…
Now knowing that Bai Yu was in the bead on her wrist, Song Xuyi no longer had the mind to capture these beautiful scenes for Bai Yu to see, nor did she have much interest herself: no matter how beautiful the statue was, it was a dead object, simply unable to compare with Bai Yu’s real stunning face.
After getting off the cable car, the group took a taxi to the nearest police station.
Strangely, Huang Feng had not woken up before, but upon arriving at the police station, he just happened to wake up, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief: after all, if Huang Feng had woken up in the car, who knows how much trouble he would have caused.
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Huang Feng opened his eyes and saw himself at the police station, fearfully widening his eyes.
But he quickly calmed down: before he acted, he had already observed that the corridor’s surveillance cameras were not plugged in due to guest room renovations, and he also did not cause Song Xuyi any actual harm. Since no one knew what happened in the room, he planned to counteraccuse by saying that Song Xuyi confessed to him, failed, and deliberately framed him…
Huang Feng listened fearfully to the police’s questioning. He desperately wanted to stop talking, yet the words involuntarily came out one by one…
It was over!
Looking at the serious-faced police officers across from him, Huang Feng felt fear for the first time, his legs uncontrollably trembling, and he wet his pants…
Because Huang Feng confessed to everything, the case was handled extremely quickly, and after completing the necessary procedures, the group left the police station at noon.
“I asked a friend to find out that purchasing illegal drugs and intending to commit rape, even if attempted, carries a minimum sentence of at least three years.” On the way back, Xia Tian was very happy, arranging for a vehicle to return to the hotel.
Song Xuyi remained composed, not showing any abnormality throughout the day, which relieved everyone’s minds. However, Xu Juan’s boyfriend, probably not expecting that bringing Huang Feng would cause so much trouble, felt guilty and looked very dejected with his head lowered.
The group had no interest in participating in the originally planned itinerary, so they returned to the hotel and began to catch up on sleep.
Because of Huang Feng’s detention, his room was vacated. Xu Juan had previously had a tiff with her boyfriend, but seeing him in this state made her a bit worried. After repeatedly confirming with Song Xuyi that everything was fine, she moved back to sleep in the same room with her boyfriend.
Song Xuyi stayed alone in a room.
The quiet space was very suitable for conversation. Originally, Song Xuyi planned to ask Bai Yu, but at this moment, Song Xuyi suddenly didn’t know what to ask, as everything that needed to be said had already been spoken by the system.
Everything was a series of accidents, and even if I wanted to blame someone, I couldn’t blame Bai Yu, after all, she stayed by my side just to protect me.
However, even though I rationally understood this, when actually facing Bai Yu, Song Xuyi simply had no courage: whenever Song Xuyi thought about becoming Bai Yu’s bride, she felt extremely ashamed.
Her heart was heavily troubled, but having not slept the previous night, fatigue eventually overcame everything, and Song Xuyi couldn’t help but fall into a deep sleep.
In the dimness, Song Xuyi felt someone standing by her side, their gaze extremely sorrowful, carefully covering her with a blanket, then once again disappearing into the air.
Song Xuyi’s eyelashes trembled, and before completely falling into a dream, she made a decision.
When Song Xuyi woke up, it was already dinner time.
Song Xuyi felt her whole body was sticky, so she took out a change of clothes to shower. As she walked to the bathroom door, her footsteps paused, and she returned to the table, blushing as she took off the red string on her wrist.
Song Xuyi did not know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that the originally radiant bead seemed to become dimmer at that moment.
Song Xuyi’s eyelashes trembled, her lips moved slightly, but she couldn’t express her original decision and, still blushing, returned to the bathroom.
When Song Xuyi finished showering and came out, there were several missed calls on her phone. The others had all woken up and were calling to urge her to come downstairs to eat. Song Xuyi picked up her phone and went downstairs, only then remembering she hadn’t put on the red string.
“That bad woman had already investigated,” the system, seeing Song Xuyi looking at her wrist and intending to make amends, eagerly told her: “The area around the hotel is very safe, with a formation set by an expert, and there is no evil presence…”
Had Bai Yu secretly done so many things without my knowing?
Song Xuyi’s expression was momentarily dazed, but she strengthened her resolve, and after a long time, she lightly said “hmm,” and buried her head in eating.
The system actually also wanted to know how Song Xuyi planned to treat that bad woman. The system thought of the bad woman’s heartbroken look when she watched Xuyi’s sleeping face and felt extremely satisfied, eagerly anticipating that Xuyi would harshly scold the bad woman. But remembering that it was once the bad woman’s accomplice, the system dared not ask and could only anxiously watch the development of events.
After eating, Song Xuyi went upstairs.
The red string with the cursed stone was still on the table, accentuating the cold and empty room, inexplicably giving a sense of loneliness.
“Bai Yu,” Song Xuyi took a deep breath, finally mustered the courage, restrained the heat on her cheeks, and softly spoke: “Can you come out? Can we talk?”
After about ten seconds, a pure white figure slowly formed in the air: Bai Yu did not dare to look up at Song Xuyi; she lowered her head and bit her lower lip, leaving only a side view for Song Xuyi.
Not going to cry again, are you?
Song Xuyi looked at Bai Yu and only then realized that her shy actions seemed to suggest she was distancing herself from Bai Yu. Bai Yu wholeheartedly wanted to protect her but was met with avoidance. If she were Bai Yu, she would definitely feel sad.
Thinking of this, Song Xuyi couldn’t care about the shyness in her heart and hastily spoke: “Sorry, Bai Yu, don’t cry! I didn’t mean to distance myself from you. It’s just that I don’t know how to accept this reality, so I’ve been thinking for a long time…”
Bai Yu did not speak, but turned her head and raised her eyes to quietly look at Song Xuyi. Song Xuyi, seeing Bai Yu’s clear eyes and realizing she wasn’t crying, immediately felt relieved.
“But after thinking for a long time, what kept appearing in my mind was all your kindness to me. Bai Yu, you sincerely treat me well, and I cannot let down your friendship.”
Song Xuyi was still somewhat unused to being stared at directly by Bai Yu, but she was afraid that avoiding it would hurt Bai Yu, so she could only endure the heat on her cheeks and continue to speak: “Since by accident, you and I have become family, I thought about it, and having you follow me would be more convenient than following Bai Jin. I will treat you as a younger sister and help you adapt to this world…”
“Bai Yu?”
Song Xuyi endured her shame and spoke for a long time, only to find that Bai Yu seemed to have no reaction. Bai Yu’s gaze appeared very vacant, as if she was pondering something.
Hearing Song Xuyi’s inquiry, Bai Yu’s vacant eyes focused, meeting Song Xuyi’s concerned gaze. Her eyes gradually regained their bright expression, and she curved her lips: “Thank you, Xuyi, thank you for being willing to take me in.”
“Actually, I should be the one thanking you! Your abilities are so strong, yet you can only stay by my side to protect me. It’s really a waste of your talent!”
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Song Xuyi was speaking, but in her heart, she felt that Bai Yu had just looked extremely strange, as if she had suddenly become another person. She was no longer the high-spirited genius mystic, but instead, her whole body seemed full of pain, making people feel distressed…
Is it because of my previous distancing?
The more Song Xuyi thought about it, the guiltier she felt, and she couldn’t help but continue sharing her plans: “Actually, you don’t have to stay in the bead all day. Since we’ve talked things out, when there’s no one around, you can come out of the bead and talk with me. Being alone in the bead must be very boring. If you don’t want to talk with me, you can play with a phone. I’ll buy you a phone tomorrow, and you can use it to get familiar with this world…”
Song Xuyi spoke while paying attention to Bai Yu’s reaction, noticing the curve of Bai Yu’s lips deepening and knowing that Bai Yu had finally become happy. Song Xuyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief but didn’t notice Bai Yu’s gaze becoming deeper.
The previous night, Bai Yu had hurriedly fled into the bead, but after thinking for a long time, she couldn’t come up with an excuse to explain why she could follow Xuyi. In her anxiety, she heard the little sprite in Song Xuyi’s mind ‘chattering away’ sounds.
Even though she couldn’t understand what the little sprite said, upon hearing Song Xuyi ask Xia Tian’s question, Bai Yu understood that Song Xuyi probably already knew everything.
Bai Yu spent the entire next day somewhat on edge, afraid of being disliked by Song Xuyi, afraid of being driven away from Song Xuyi’s side… She herself was also confused by this kind of fear and terror that emanated from the depths of her soul.
And what happened later? What happened later that the outside world thought I died, but I became the Bai family’s guardian deity?
……
Certain painful fragments passed through her mind, with anxious, sharp emotions constantly wandering in her heart. Bai Yu’s eyes gradually became shadowed with gloom, but upon seeing Song Xuyi’s worried gaze, she instantly became clear-headed—
It’s Xuyi! Xuyi, who is not afraid of me becoming a ghost, who is willing to approach me, who would worry about me being barefoot without shoes, Xuyi who wholeheartedly thinks about taking me away from shackles, who feels sorry for me…
And this is also that Xuyi; who she said she will not abandon me.
The author has something to say:
Aowu, thank you to the little angels in the comment section for your concern about my health. I will try to change my routine tomorrow, finish writing early, and go to bed early (I’ll try…), and also, to the night owl little readers in the comment section, make sure to go to bed early too~
LP: Re-translated on September 19, 2024