Nightmare Assault

The ghost in the painting was no different from a real person. Unfiltered hatred appeared in her eyes. She lifted one of her legs like she could walk out of the painting at any time. Chen Qiang knew that this was not an illusion. This was because he noticed with fear that the woman’s eyes were following their movement.

When he arrived the first time with Xia Meng, he remembered clearly that the woman was looking at the left side. However, when he and Hao Shuai arrived, the woman was staring at the door as if… waiting for them. The ghost knew that they would return!

Plus… why would Fatty appear in the painting? As well as the personal maid. She looked close to Fatty. Chen Qiang’s eyes dropped… He suddenly remembered the little beggar. After the little beggar was beaten to death, he remembered the state Fatty was in, he and Hao Shuai could barely stop him. If they didn’t knock Fatty out, things would get worse.

Fatty and the maid appeared in the painting after that incident. Could it be… between the maid and the beggar… Just as he thought he was about to grasp the main point, the door opened. A figure appeared outside the door. Before the sky fully darkened, An Xuan finally returned. His body was stained like he had been crawling. His sleeves, collar and elbows were dusty. However, he didn’t look flustered. In contrast, he was peaceful.

“I’ve found the way to deal with the ghost.” This was the first thing he said after he entered the room. It surprised everyone.

Xia Meng instantly asked, “What is it?”

“San Geng gong rings. Boat rides on the moon. The half-filled crop can cure the feeling of sadness.” An Xuan announced plainly.

Since he was Xia Meng’s ally, hearing Xia Meng’s clue from his lips didn’t surprise Jiang Cheng.

“At San Geng tonight, a boat ferrying the bride will appear at the lake. The boat will stop on the reflection of the moon in the water. During that moment, it is the time to solve this mission,” He explained. “I just came back from Young Master Huang’s loft. I found a book under the bed that faced the bronze mirror. It has the record of an evil ritual.” At this point, he glanced at Jiang Cheng. Clearly, he had already compared notes with Jiang Cheng.

“It’s for soul-summoning, right?” Fatty said fearfully, “We found a similar book at Gong Alley. It…”

Fatty suddenly paused because An Xuan was staring at him. The latter shook his head. “No.” He stressed, “It’s to claim life.”

“Those two are not contradictory,” Chen Qiang parsed through the information and analysed the conclusion.

Clearly, Butler Zhou was the female ghost, Xuan Ji’s father. After she was killed, he infiltrated the Huang Residence and took over the place by offering to revive Young Master Huang. He took on the role of Butler Zhou. He would follow the ritual inside a book and lure in humans to summon the soul of his daughter to revive Xuan Ji. This was reasonable and acceptable.

“There is only life claiming,” An Xuan said coldly, “No soul-summoning.”

“Then, how does he plan to revive his daughter?” Fatty asked dumbly.

“It has never been his plan to revive Xuan Ji.” Jiang Cheng asked An Xuan, “He is merely using Xuan Ji’s soul to kill people, is that it?”

An Xuan looked at him calmly before nodding, “That appears to be the case.”

“Then, what is his goal? Is it to avenge his daughter?” Fatty was so confused. He couldn’t understand the conversation between the Doctor and An Xuan.

“Because Xuan Ji is not Butler Zhou’s daughter. She is another poor person used by Butler Zhou’s people,” Jiang Cheng told him.

Fatty’s pupils shrunk.

“That’s right.” An Xuan continued, “Based on the book I found, the preparation for this ritual is long and complicated. It cannot be finished in a short period of time. In other words, Butler Zhou has been preparing for this for a long time already.” He turned to Fatty, “The preparation had already started when Xuan Ji was still alive. They didn’t start after they found out Xuan Ji was killed.”

Fatty swallowed nervously, “Before Xuan Ji died…”

“To be more precise, Xuan Ji’s death was also within Butler Zhou’s plan. I believe Young Master Huang’s death and even the love between Xuan Ji and Young Master Huang were also part of their plan.” Jiang Cheng elaborated, “They used Elder Huang’s distaste of Xuan Ji’s identity to borrow his hands to kill her. This wouldn’t be hard for them to do. Their ultimate goal is to have Xuan Ji die within the confines of the Huang Residence. Then, they would draw on her resentment to turn her into a vicious ghost and slaughter the people of Huang Residence.

“The victim, Xuan Ji, doesn’t know any of this. She probably still thinks that it was Elder Huang who killed her, so she has not hurt anyone on Butler Zhou’s side.”

An Xuan’s serene eyes rippled when he heard this. He glanced at Xia Meng before turning to Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng ignored the exchanges between An Xuan and Xia Meng. He addressed the startled Fatty. “Do you remember Xiao Wan?”

“Yes,” Fatty answered.

“If my guess is right, she is Butler Zhou’s real daughter.” Jiang Cheng revealed, “Otherwise, there is no reason why she should still be alive.”

Indeed, based on Fatty’s understanding of Butler Zhou, they were all ruthless executioners. If there were no specific reasons, they wouldn’t spare someone who no longer served any use, like Xiao Wan. Plus, she was a security risk.

Furthermore, this plan required years to set up. Xiao Wan was their aid in the brothel. She was responsible for aiding the relationship between Young Master Huang and Xuan Ji. Their meeting and relationship, as well as Young Master Huang’s stubborn decision to marry Xuan Ji into the Huang Family… Xuan Ji’s good sister must have helped tremendously.

Butler Zhou’s people used years or even decades to weave this giant net to entrap Xuan Ji, Elder Huang and Young Master Huang. Even when they died, they didn’t know the truth.

Chen Qiang recovered from his initial shock. For him, no matter how ridiculous the events sounded, it only mattered that they were valid.