The Hand of Confession – Chapter 272

Volume 8: The Days of the Ghost Marriage

Lily Love

Baizhu and Feicui are not a couple la

By now, Shen Maomao was certain that the one standing before her was not Madam Shao, but the Xiao Yu-jiejie the little fatty had mentioned.

Her days in the well had not been long, and she probably hadn’t communicated with anyone for a very long time. Now that she had caught an unlucky soul like Shen Maomao, she immediately opened her chatterbox and began to speak without end.

She was indeed Old Master Shao’s second concubine. However, the person she liked was not Old Master Shao, but rather this Madam Shao whose body she possessed.

Madam Shao’s original surname was Cui. She had been with Old Master Shao before he made his fortune. She was beautiful, well-read and reasonable, but her personality was very soft. She had no strong opinions of her own, adhering to the most ancient rule of “the husband is the wife’s guide,”¹ leaving all major and minor household matters for her husband to decide.

So even when she knew Old Master Shao was doing things that violated morality and human ethics, she chose to remain silent, and even, when necessary, handed Old Master Shao that murderous knife……

As Cui Luoyu spoke, the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile, yet two lines of bloody tears flowed from her eyes: “I thought she didn’t know anything…… I thought she was innocent……”

But in fact, none of these people who enjoyed the wealth of the Shao Manor, which was built on human lives, were innocent.

Cui Luoyu’s background was more or less the same as Ying Meng’s; both were orphans without a father or mother, the kind that no one would miss if they disappeared. Ying Meng traveled with a theater troupe² selling her skills³, while she was forced into prostitution⁴ and sold to a brothel⁵.

Her story was actually quite cliché⁶—she bumped into Madam Shao’s sedan chair⁷ while trying to escape. After asking about the reason, Madam Shao paid to buy her, brought her home, and even used a fragrant handkerchief to gently wipe the dust from her face.

She took care of her, showed concern for her, causing that heart of hers, which already disliked men, to stir restlessly.

Unfortunately, this kind of love, which went against common sense, could not be spoken aloud, and was even destined to have no result.

She had originally only wanted to be a maidservant and stay by Madam Shao’s side forever, but one day, she was begged by Madam Shao to sit in Old Master Shao’s bridal sedan chair⁸.

“She said that Shao Xuanmo⁹ would cheat on her while she was pregnant, and also said that the only person she trusted was me, begging me to help her.” Cui Luoyu’s tears had already dried, and now only hatred remained. “She deceived me so bitterly……”

After possessing Madam Shao, she obtained all of her memories. Madam Shao didn’t not know what her husband was doing; she just pretended not to know. Not only did she know these things, she also knew of her feelings for her, and she utilized this sincere heart to the absolute fullest. It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. She had already grown accustomed to her current luxurious life, so how could she bear to go back to days of eating chaff and coarse vegetables¹⁰?

Everything was so logical and natural. With a shake of her body, she transformed¹¹, becoming Old Master Shao’s concubine. After giving birth to a daughter, she was pushed into the well by Old Master Shao in front of Madam Shao.

Thinking back now, all of that pity, all of that kindness, was more like the hypocritical posturing of a murderer, a cruelty and heartlessness that had seen through everything from the start.

Shen Maomao wailed loudly: “Wuwuwu, these two things are worse than pigs and dogs¹², snakes and rats in one nest¹³, so shameless, wuwuwu, those bastards¹⁴ who deceive people’s sincere feelings……”

Cui Luoyu: “???”

Shen Maomao wiped her tears: “To be honest with you, I’m actually the same as you, I only like women. But I’m a bit luckier than you; the person I like loves me back. I came here specifically to find her.”

Cui Luoyu raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.

Shen Maomao seized every opportunity to increase her probability of survival: “Actually, we also recently discovered the abnormality in the Shao Manor and want to get you victims a measure of justice¹⁵. My lover snuck in secretly precisely to investigate the truth. Do you want revenge? Or do you want to save those innocent women who are just like you? We can team up¹⁶……”

Cui Luoyu gave her a deep look and said in a heavy voice: “You people aren’t afraid of ghosts?”

Shen Maomao said that famous quote without a change in expression: “What’s more terrifying than ghosts and monsters is the human heart. What’s there to be afraid of about you? You are all just pitiful people who gave your sincere hearts to the wrong person……”

Cui Luoyu swayed her head from side to side, then suddenly raised her hand like a bolt of lightning, instantly grabbing Shen Maomao’s fragile neck and lifting her up with just one hand: “You’re right, it is indeed a lot more relaxing after saying it all. But humans are just this kind of insidious and cunning thing, so I won’t trust you either. You have now lost your due use……”

Shen Maomao grabbed her wrist with both hands, her legs kicking about wildly in the air, her face flushed red from suffocation. She opened her mouth wide, trying hard to draw oxygen from the air. Her brain also began to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen, and she even started having hallucinations.

Knock……

She hadn’t expected this Cui Luoyu to be so capricious. Am I really going to meet my end here this time?

At this critical juncture¹⁷, a dagger suddenly flew out from under the table holding the memorial tablets, slicing straight through Cui Luoyu’s arm, cutting the entire arm off.

Blood splattered out. Cui Luoyu let out a sharp shriek, her eyes and mouth opened to their widest extent. Trembling, she grabbed her own hair with her other hand, and her whole body went soft as if it were melting.

Shen Maomao fell to the ground with a thud. Prying the fingers from her neck, she tore the severed hand off and threw it aside. Ignoring her dizziness, she quickly scrambled up and shouted, “Lou-jie!”

Lou Jingmo flipped the table over with one move, shot out from under the tablecloth, and leaped over the puddle of filth on the ground to open the door: “Run!”

The puddle of mud that Madam Shao’s body had turned into began to reassemble, gradually forming into a four-legged monster before them.

The door opened, and the dozen or so paper effigies surrounding the doorway all turned to look over in unison.

Shen Maomao let out a “Holy shit”: “What do we do, Lou-jie!”

Lou Jingmo was the same as always: “Cold mix.”¹⁸

She said that, but it was impossible to really just “cold mix” it. Lou Jingmo took a fire tinder from her bosom and blew on it. A bright yellow flame immediately appeared, illuminating the surroundings.

The paper effigies took a step back, wary of the flame and not daring to approach.

Lou Jingmo grabbed Shen Maomao’s arm and led her past the mesmerizing gold, silver, and jewels, her footsteps flying as she ran towards the courtyard exit.

But those two strong men had turned back and locked the door after they went out!

Where was the time for them to climb the wall now! Shen Maomao banged on the door frantically, watching the paper effigies behind her as she knocked: “Hurry up and open the door! Let us out!”

The paper effigies were densely packed under the eaves, probably not chasing them out because of the sunlight, but besides them, there was still a transforming big boss inside, which didn’t allow her to relax for a second.

A man’s voice came from outside the door: “Who are you people? Why are you inside?!”

Shen Maomao said anxiously: “Stop asking so many questions! It’s haunted in here, Dage¹⁹!”

In the next second, the sound of the two men’s footsteps grew more and more distant from outside the door……

Shen Maomao: “?? Holy shit?!”

These two grown men looked so tall and strong, who would have thought they’d be afraid of ghosts?! And to think she was worried about what the paper effigies would do to them before!!

Lou Jingmo patted her on the shoulder: “Move aside.”

Shen Maomao quickly gave up her spot by the door.

Lou Jingmo held the dagger in a reverse grip, plunged it into the door panel, then gritted her teeth and slid it downwards with force.

The splintering wood shards scratched her hand, and a faint smell of blood immediately spread out, causing the paper effigies behind them to go crazy. Squeaking and screeching, they rushed out from under the eaves, only to be ignited by the sunlight, turning into clouds of black smoke with screams.

Shen Maomao shouted: “They really are afraid of sunlight! They can’t come out!”

Hearing this, Lou Jingmo stopped her actions and retracted the dagger: “We have enough time, so we’ll climb the wall. This door is useful.”

Shen Maomao: “This, this, this…… how do we climb it, is there a stool?!”

Lou Jingmo walked to the wall and bent her knee: “Here, hurry up.”

If there were background music right now, it would definitely be fast-paced and tense. There was no more time for her to hesitate. Shen Maomao stepped up, making Lou Jingmo’s knee buckle for a moment.

When she had climbed to the top of the wall, Lou Jingmo said with a smile: “So heavy.”

A “You’re full of shit”²⁰ almost came right out of her mouth, but Shen Maomao looked up and saw Cui Luoyu crawling out of the house.

In just a few short minutes, her appearance had changed drastically: her original clothes were torn to shreds, revealing the bones jutting out in all directions inside. These bones had not managed to break through the skin, but they made her skin as thin as a cicada’s wing²¹. As she moved, one could even see the white of the bones inside. It looked both terrifying and disgusting.

“Hurry up!” she anxiously extended her right hand downwards, wanting to pull her up.

At the same time, Cui Luoyu pushed off with her hind legs and charged straight over.

Lou Jingmo grabbed her hand with one hand, braced against the wall with the other, and with a single effort, jumped right onto the top of the wall. Cui Luoyu also leaped high into the air not far from them, crashing towards them like a cannonball.

“Get down!” Lou Jingmo roared.

Without time to adjust their posture, the two of them fell backward with the momentum, landing heavily on the grass.

At the same moment, Cui Luoyu leaped onto the top of the wall, wanting to jump right out, but she was stopped at the wall by a transparent barrier and fell back into the courtyard.

Shen Maomao was stunned by the fall. She remained dazed for two seconds before jolting up to help Lou Jingmo.

Inside, Cui Luoyu had not given up. She roared as she launched attacks against the barrier.

Ripples like water spread across the barrier, circle after circle, but it was never broken through.

The two helped each other to their feet. Shen Maomao asked: “What is this thing?”

Lou Jingmo: “A setup I made before we went in. It can probably last for ten minutes.”

Shen Maomao: “Only ten minutes! What can we do in ten minutes?”

Lou Jingmo fell into deep thought: “Maybe we can use this time to steal a kiss.”

Shen Maomao: “????”

Lou Jingmo had a disappointed look on her face: “I’m kidding.”

Shen Maomao: “?? The disappointment on your face is about to overflow!!”

Lou Jingmo gave a dry cough and said: “Don’t be anxious, just be prepared. Have you ever played online games²²? Do you know what it means to kite the boss²³?”

Shen Maomao revealed a suspicious look in her eyes, getting a bad premonition—she suspected Lou Jingmo want to play a big game²⁴, the super-exciting²⁵ kind.

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