The Hand of Confession – Chapter 261

Volume 8: The Days of the Ghost Marriage

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A godly maneuver of coming out to an NPC

That leap just now had made her take a dog-eating-shit fall¹, but she immediately scrambled up. Without even having time to pat the dirt from her body, she charged directly toward the location where Lou Jingmo was hiding.

Shen Maomao had never been as anxious as she was right now. She felt as if her heart had risen into her throat and was just a hair’s breadth away from leaping out.

However, those Pima Sha moved incredibly fast; no matter how she chased, she couldn’t catch up.

She was so frantic that the rims of her eyes were bright red, wishing she could sprout a pair of wings and fly to Lou Jingmo’s side to rescue her from the hands of the ghosts and monsters…

However, she possessed no such prop.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

Just as she was frantic to the point of death, Lou Jingmo’s familiar voice suddenly came from behind her.

She whipped her head around to find the person she had been longing for standing not far behind her, looking at her inexplicably.

Shen Maomao wailed as she threw herself into her arms, “You scared me to death!! I thought you were going to be discovered by those Pima Sha!”

Lou Jingmo froze for a second, then instantly understood the reason for her behavior—it was likely because she had pretended to be too fragile before, leading Shen Maomao to believe she was incapable of taking care of herself, which was why she was so worried.

She opened her arms to encircle the girl in her embrace, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as she said, “Am I a dead person? To see something coming and not know to move out of the way?”

Shen Maomao pulled away from her embrace, embarrassedly wiping her tears. “Holy cowt anxious and forgot.”

Lou Jingmo raised a hand to pinch her nose. “That worried about me?”

Shen Maomao: “I was worried about myself.”

Lou Jingmo’s smile gradually vanished.

Shen Maomao asked again, “Did you see clearly which way they went?”

“The main gate.”

Shen Maomao immediately thought of the well. “If all eight wells are filled with people, what changes will happen to the Shao Manor?”

Lou Jingmo said, “In any case, it won’t be any good change. Let’s be careful and follow them to take a look.”

All the Pima Sha had run off after them. The two walked openly under the lanterns, exchanging information about everything Shen Maomao had just seen as they went.

“Why do you think Ying Meng was looking for other wells?” Shen Maomao asked, puzzled. “Out of curiosity? Or did she already know them?”

Of course, Lou Jingmo didn’t know either. She looked at the white lanterns above their heads and said thoughtfully, “Do you think those Pima Sha knew all along that we were sneakily following them, and were just too lazy to bother?”

Shen Maomao looked at the eyes on the lanterns, which swiveled back and forth with their movements, and felt that her idea made a lot of sense. She immediately straightened her back to make herself look less sleazy.

Lou Jingmo: “…” The points Shen Maomao focused on were always the wrong ones.

The two of them hid far behind the Pima Sha, their eyes fixed on the scene ahead.

Steward Shao was standing by the well, a head taller than the surrounding yaomo guiguai². He held his cane aloft, mumbling something mysteriously, but the sound was completely drowned out by the noise of the suona; from their position, they couldn’t hear a thing.

A red glow gradually began to emanate from the mouth of the well. Steward Shao finally stopped his pre-ultimate-move chanting and, with a fierce wave of his hand toward the well, the Pima Sha let out a sudden sword-like cry, lifted Milk Tea up, and threw her directly into the well.

Shen Maomao: “I thought Steward Shao was a good person. Could he be the final boss? But isn’t he just an ordinary human?”

Lou Jingmo: “I have a feeling that Milk Tea might become the boss.”

Shen Maomao: “Holy cow, it’s that exciting?!”

The words had barely left her mouth when the sound of a gengfu’s³ bangzi⁴ came from the street outside the gate, one strike after another.

“Dong—du! du! du! du!”

“The weather is dry and things are parched! Be careful of fire and candles!”

Lou Jingmo suddenly said, “It’s three o’clock!”

Shen Maomao: “Hm?”

As her voice fell, a rooster’s crow echoed through heaven and earth. The light from the lanterns turned red again, and the Pima Sha at the gate vanished from where they stood with strange laughter.

It was like a comical play had abruptly ended, leaving only a stage of cups and plates in disarray.

The Eldest Young Master crashed heavily onto the ground from mid-air. Steward Shao carefully climbed down from the edge of the well, sighed while leaning on his cane, and said, “Eldest Young Master Shao, it’s getting late. You should head back early, lest you be seen and cause gossip…”

With that, he walked away unsteadily, leaning on his cane.

Lou Jingmo and Shen Maomao shifted their position as he moved, managing to remain undiscovered.

Eldest Young Master Shao lay on the damp, filthy floor for a long while before slowly propping himself up with his arms. He then clenched his right hand into a fist and slammed it hard against the floor.

He climbed to his feet on his own. The back of his wedding garment was stained with black, muddy water, but upon closer inspection, the stain looked like a woman with her eyes closed…

He staggered toward his own courtyard. Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo once again circled around their cover, watching him depart.

Lou Jingmo said, “It’s three o’clock. Time to get up and work.”

Shen Maomao said, “What about Ying Meng? Should we still go look for her?”

Lou Jingmo: “What’s there to look for? We’re going back to look after the child.”

Shen Maomao: “…” The two walked toward their living quarters, swinging by the kitchen on the way to pick up the kite.

Bi Chun had already arrived. The moment she saw the two of them enter from outside with their clothes in disarray, she asked with a cold face, “What have you two been doing?”

I wonder if Bi Chun would believe me if I said we went to the toilet holding hands.

Just as Shen Maomao was struggling with how to bluff her way through, Lou Jingmo grabbed her hand and said to Bi Chun, “Young Lady Bi Chun, we are together.”

Shen Maomao: “???” What the hell?! Why is Lou Jingmo telling her this??

Bi Chun was also stunned. “Wha… what together?”

Lou Jingmo said, “It’s the literal meaning. We want to spend our lives together.”

Bi Chun was dumbfounded. “But… aren’t you both women?”

Lou Jingmo said earnestly, “Why can’t two women be together? Neither of us likes men, and being together doesn’t get in anyone else’s way. So what if we’re together?”

Bi Chun: “But… the harmony of yin and yang⁵ is the righteous path… For you to be like this is a violation…”

“Are we the ones who are wrong?” Lou Jingmo interrupted her. “We are both just pitiful women who have been deceived by men. Is this to be blamed on us as well?”

Shen Maomao stood to the side, her cringe cancer⁶ about to flare up.

How can Lou Jingmo say such things in front of an NPC without her expression changing? What kind of closet is she coming out of to an NPC??

How can I not follow her brain circuit⁷ at all??

Bi Chun was silent for a second, then, under Shen Maomao’s shocked gaze, her eyes reddened. “It is I who was too narrow-minded. So, your return from outside… was it to confirm your relationship?”

Lou Jingmo nodded.

Bi Chun smiled gently at her. “To have made such a decision, you must have gone through much struggle. Then this paper kite next to you is…”

Lou Jingmo said, her expression unchanged, “A token of our love⁸.”

Shen Maomao: “???”

Not knowing what fantasies she had conjured, Bi Chun revealed an expression of both envy and gratification. “It is very good that you are like this, but do not let romantic… woman-womanly affections delay proper business. Otherwise, I will certainly not let you off lightly.”

Lou Jingmo nodded. “Many thanks for Young Lady Bi Chun’s understanding.”

Bi Chun nodded, two strange patches of red appearing on her face. “You two should go back and change your clothes first…” She didn’t assign them any tasks.

Lou Jingmo pulled Shen Maomao’s hand, her other hand holding the kite, and led her back to their room.

As soon as they opened the door, they saw two people already dressed, and the little fatty still fast asleep on the bed.

Potato Chip said in surprise, “You two are truly amazing. You went out for a stroll in the middle of the night and actually returned completely unscathed.”

Shen Maomao frowned, for some reason feeling that there was a hidden meaning in her words.

Lou Jingmo smiled. “It can’t be helped. Perhaps it’s because I’m too amazing? After all, I have once punched an instance boss and stepped on a cleaner. This level of difficulty is nothing to speak of.”

Potato Chip’s expression turned a little ugly.

Shen Maomao also smiled, a dagger hidden in her smile⁹, and casually told Su Han about the wedding outside, deliberately mentioning the bride’s identity. “I was quite startled. Milk Tea suddenly disappeared, and I thought something terrible must have happened to her. Who knew that she would transform in a flash, directly becoming the Eldest Young Master’s bride. Her status rose with the tide¹⁰ all at once.”

Su Han asked, “So is she dead or alive?”

Shen Maomao: “I don’t know. Don’t even get me started on how bizarre that wedding scene was. She didn’t look like a living person. Maybe she became a ghost after she died…” At this point, she paused, putting on an expression of sudden realization. “Right! Since she’s already a ghost, she must possess the abilities of a ghost, right? Do you guys think she’ll tear into the female ghost who harmed her?”

The color drained from Potato Chip’s face, bit by bit, and a look of disbelief flickered in her eyes.

Shen Maomao patted Su Han’s shoulder. “You two be careful. Young Lady Bi Chun is still waiting outside.”

Su Han replied, “Okay. I want to try the water from the other wells today. If I’m lucky enough to come back alive, I’ll share the experience with you.”

The two pushed open the door and left. Shen Maomao blew out the oil lamp.

After a night of terror, she was now exhausted and sleepy. She figured she would fall asleep the moment her head hit the bed, so she stood strong and said to Lou Jingmo, “Ms. Lou, may I interview you for a moment?”

Lou Jingmo: “No comment.”

Shen Maomao: “…”

Lou Jingmo turned the question back on her. “You want to ask me why I said those things to Bi Chun?”

Shen Maomao shook her head. “I want to ask, how did you manage to say such embarrassing words? That whole ‘We are both just pitiful women who have been deceived by men’ thing, weren’t you embarrassed when you said it??”

Lou Jingmo: “…Hm, you guessed correctly. The reason I said that to Bi Chun is because I suspect she resents anyone who gets close to the Eldest Young Master, and she also suspected that we wanted to hook up with him.”

Shen Maomao: “…That’s not the question I asked. Don’t just talk to yourself.”

Lou Jingmo: “It is indeed so. Bi Chun probably doesn’t like the Eldest Young Master, but for some reason, she hates any woman who gets close to Eldest Young Master Shao…”

Shen Maomao: “…” Forget it. The child is already deceiving herself to this extent. I should leave her some face.

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